Student understandings of natural selection

This paper examines the continuation of a study investigating senior secondary students' understanding of concepts in biology. In this study, year 11 student understandings of natural selection were examined by questionnaire using different question formats. The SOLO taxonomy of Biggs and Collis (1982) was used as the theoretical framework with which the quality of student learning was assessed. This paper puts forward the usefulness of the SOLO taxonomy in assessing student understanding in biology in general and in examining student understanding of the concept of natural selection in particular. The paper goes on to examine the implications of these results and raises issues which have applicability to criterion-based assessment in secondary science. Specializations: science and technology education, biology teacher education, applications of multimedia to science education     

Beyond transition: a comparison of the employment experiences of American and Canadian adults with LD

With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States and the Canadian Chartre of Rights and Freedoms, there is a new work environment for individuals with learning disabilities (LD) in North America. This qualitative study sought to compare the employment experiences of 25 U.S. adults with LD and 24 Canadian adults with LD. Areas of comparison were job getting, experiences on the job, and job advancement. Remarkably, the U.S. and Canadian adults with LD had nearly the same employment experiences. In essence, each set of data mirrored the other despite marked differences in U.S. and Canadian federal disability legislation.     

An Online Course to Prepare Preservice Teachers to Promote Movement Integration

Previous research has not explored the potential of distance learning to prepare preservice teachers (PCTs) for promoting children’s physical activity. The purpose of this study was to (a) examine the perceptions and experiences of PCTs, inservice classroom teachers, university instructors, and elementary students who were involved in a semester-long distance delivery course that included a service-learning (SL) component with an emphasis on classroom movement integration (MI). Using a qualitative single case study design, interviews, observations, and artifacts (e.g. PCTs’ reflections and academic work) were thematically analyzed. Findings produced three themes including student-centered approach, benefit/importance of physical activity, and connect and reflect. These themes showed that participants’ perceptions and experiences support constructivist-guided SL using a distance delivery design. This study adds to the emerging research base on school-university partnerships to support schools in the implementation of comprehensive school physical activity programming.     

A comparison of student profiles based upon composite scale scores of the WISC-R

The purpose of this study was to investigate the similarity in the pattern of strengths and weaknesses between those students evaluated and placed in special education programs and those students evaluated and not placed in special education programs. The two groups were compared on the basis of 18 composite scale scores obtained from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). The sample consisted of 585 students in grades 1–6 located in eastern Kentucky schools. A test for parallelism of the two profiles was conducted with a multiple-profile analysis using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results revealed that the two profiles were parallel. The authors concluded that the two groups have a similar pattern of relative strengths and weaknesses.     

Searching for Dumbledore: A reflection upon the outcomes of a tailored emotional literacy programme on three key stage 2 children

Some children may only be able to express feelings of anxiety, frustration, stress or sadness through angry behaviours, which may prove challenging for schools (Barnes et al., 2016; Shechtman and Tutian, 2016). This is problematic when considered in relation to research evidence highlighting the negative impact such behaviours may have upon social relationships and academic outcomes (Sloan et al., 2017). The aims of this study were to explore whether a tailored emotional literacy programme can be used effectively to extend children's emotional lexicon and strategies for the self‐management of behaviours. Three children with social‐emotional difficulties were taught in twelve weekly sessions. The findings from this study suggests the positive benefits of using a programme tailored to meet a child's specific needs (rather than a programme without any adaptations), which may be an effectual tool in supporting children to change established patterns of negative behaviours.     

Role Fulfillment Mediates the Association Between Daily Family Assistance and Cortisol Awakening Response in Adolescents

Family assistance (helping the family) is associated with both positive and negative psychological and biological outcomes during adolescence. However, the association between family assistance and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis remains unstudied. Thus, we assess how helping the family relates to adolescents’ diurnal cortisol, an index of HPA activity, and psychological outcomes. Three hundred and seventy ethnically diverse adolescents (ages 11–18) reported daily helping behaviors and psychological experiences for 14 days and provided four saliva samples per day for 4 days. Multilevel modeling revealed that cortisol awakening response was lower the day after adolescents helped their families more. This association was explained, in part, by perceived role fulfillment (feeling like a good son, daughter, and sibling). Results highlight a possible psychological and biological benefit of assisting the family during adolescence.     

The NICE OECD countries' geographic search filters: Part 2—validation of the MEDLINE and Embase (Ovid) filters

Objective:We previously developed draft MEDLINE and Embase (Ovid) geographic search filters for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to assess their feasibility for finding evidence about the countries. Here, we describe the validation of these search filters.Methods:We identified OECD country references from thirty National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines to generate gold standard sets for MEDLINE (n=2,065) and Embase (n=2,023). We validated the filters by calculating their recall against these sets. We then applied the filters to existing search strategies for three OECD-focused NICE guideline reviews (NG103 on flu vaccination, NG140 on abortion care, and NG146 on workplace health) to calculate the filters'' impact on the number needed to read (NNR) of the searches.Results:The filters both achieved 99.95% recall against the gold standard sets. Both filters achieved 100% recall for the three NICE guideline reviews. The MEDLINE filter reduced NNR from 256 to 232 for the NG103 review, from 38 to 27 for the NG140 review, and from 631 to 591 for the NG146 review. The Embase filter reduced NNR from 373 to 341 for the NG103 review, from 101 to 76 for the NG140 review, and from 989 to 925 for the NG146 review.Conclusion:The NICE OECD countries'' search filters are the first validated filters for the countries. They can save time for research topics about OECD countries by finding the majority of evidence about OECD countries while reducing search result volumes in comparison to no filter use.     

Bridging the “Bayley-Binet GAP”

This study demonstrated that encountering children ages 18-23 months whose performance is not scorable by standard methods for either the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test or the Bayley Scales of Infant Development mental scale is a relatively frequent occurrence. However, the results of this study bring into question Sternlicht's (1965) suggestion that an 18-month basal level on the Stanford-Binet may be assumed, given success by a child on only one item at the two-year level. The study indicates that a child must succeed on at least two, or more conservatively, four items at the two-year level on the Stanford-Binet in order to assume an 18-month basal level.     

Twelve Ways to Have Students Analyze Culture

When the Marxist government of the state of Bengal announced, in the early eighties, that the supposedly elitist, colonialist teaching of English would be discontinued in government-run primary schools, many on the left denounced the decision itself as elitist, because it would deprive the masses of the many economic and social advantages of speaking the world's language, and only the affluent private-school elite would henceforth have that privilege.     

PART‐TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY: THEIR NEEDS FOR INSTRUCTION‐RELATED ASSISTANCE

An aura of controversy surrounds the proliferation of part‐time faculty members on community college campuses. The related literature provides evidence that part‐timers have fewer advanced degrees and years of teaching experience than their full‐time counterparts. Nevertheless, the increasing trend toward their employment shows no sign of slowing. As part‐timers comprise a growing proportion of community college faculties, and as they are recruited from nonacademic sources, opportunities should be provided for them to hone their pedagogical skills. The findings of a study undertaken at Arizona State University's Department of Higher and Adult Education reveal part‐timers’ needs for assistance and information in instruction‐related areas such as evaluation, handling paperwork, teaching community college students and community college philosophy. An instructional resource manual developed for part‐time faculty was perceived to be a viable method of providing assistance to part‐timers.