OPERATIONALIZING IDENTITY IN ACTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DIRECT VERSUS PROBABILISTIC MEASURES OF CURRICULAR ROLE IDENTITY FOR INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE TEACHING

Teachers’ curricular role identities are those dimensions of their professional identities concerned with the use of curriculum materials. In a previous study, we developed and tested a survey instrument designed to measure preservice elementary teachers’ development of curricular role identity for science teaching through their use of science curriculum materials. In this follow-up study, a revised version of the survey was administered to a second group of preservice elementary teachers in the same science methods course, and data were analyzed within and across years. Results from this study suggest that preservice teachers articulated important similarities and differences between the curricular role identities for science teaching they attributed to themselves and to more experienced elementary teachers. Over time, they were often able to begin to appropriate the curricular role identities for science teaching that they attributed to more experienced elementary teachers. However, findings from the second survey administration also suggest that preservice teachers’ curricular role identities for science teaching are more stable when characterized by their actual curriculum design practices than when characterized by comparative, probabilistic means. These findings have important implications for science teacher education and curriculum development, as well as the operationalization of curricular role identity in education research.     

Reaching Out: Newspaper Credibility Among Young Adult Readers

The researchers examined student perceptions of campus and community newspaper credibility at the University of Florida using a Web survey (n = 1,906) of those enrolled in a general education class. A moderate correlation (r = .28) existed between college newspaper credibility and community newspaper credibility. Using hierarchical linear regression, the researchers found interest in news content to be a statistically significant predictor of credibility for both local newspapers and college newspapers. In addition, students whose parents encouraged them to read a newspaper found both newspapers more credible than did their peers, and exposure to a newspaper was found to be a strong predictor of credibility for that newspaper. Finally, the results of this case study also suggest White respondents find local newspapers more credible than other races. Implications for researchers and practitioners were discussed.     

Fostering Third-Grade Students’ Use of Scientific Models with the Water Cycle: Elementary teachers’ conceptions and practices

Elementary teachers play a crucial role in supporting and scaffolding students’ model-based reasoning about natural phenomena, particularly complex systems such as the water cycle. However, little research exists to inform efforts in supporting elementary teachers’ learning to foster model-centered, science learning environments. To address this need, we conducted an exploratory multiple-case study using qualitative research methods to investigate six 3rd-grade teachers’ pedagogical reasoning and classroom instruction around modeling practices (construct, use, evaluate, and revise) and epistemic considerations of scientific modeling (generality/abstraction, evidence, mechanism, and audience). Study findings show that all teachers emphasized a subset of modeling practices—construction and use—and the epistemic consideration of generality/abstraction. There was observable consistency between teachers’ articulated conceptions of scientific modeling and their classroom practices. Results also show a subset of the teachers more strongly emphasized additional epistemic considerations and, as a result, better supported students to use models as sense-making tools as well as representations. These findings provide important evidence for developing elementary teacher supports to scaffold students’ engagement in scientific modeling.     

Factors associated with minimal changes in countermovement jump performance throughout a competitive division I collegiate basketball season

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to assess factors that contribute to countermovement jump (CMJ) performance in women’s basketball athletes. Thirteen female athletes participated and were tested for maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) and heart rate (HR_max). Athletes were monitored, daily for a total of 21 weeks with heart rate-based wearable devices and CMJ performance and body weight were tested weekly after one day of recovery. 3-jump average height (CMJ_avg), maximum height jump (CMJ_max), and CMJ power (Watts) were calculated and recorded. Playing intensities >85% HR_max, HR_avg, HR_max and training load were averaged for three consecutive days prior to the recovery day. After the season, data was grouped as changes in CMJ power from week one: Large (≤ ?4.39% change), Moderate (?4.4% to ?0.62% change), and Minimal (≥ ?0.61% change) changes. Fixed-effects models revealed a main effect of group (p ≤ 0.05) for CMJ_avg, CMJ_max, VO_2max, weekly percent changes in body weight and for 3-day training load, HR_avg, and playing time at >85% HR_max. When athletes experienced minimal changes in CMJ performance, relative to large changes, they produced greater power, jumped higher, avoided negative changes in weekly body weight, had a greater preseason VO_2max and 3-day average workloads appeared to have an impact on CMJ performance     

Collection development for new librarians: Advice from the trenches

There are many challenges facing new librarians in the academic environment, including collection development. This article analyzes the topic of collection development and how it relates to new professionals in the field of librarianship. The article contains a literature review of papers discussing the collection development curriculum in library and information science programs, expected skills required of collection development offices, and library training programs for new librarians. The article also provides practical advise by recent graduates and their collection development experiences. Topics of discussion include acclimation to a new environment, collection development policies and procedures, liaison work, resource selection, and time management.     

“It’s On Us.” The Role of Social Media and Rape Culture in Individual Willingness to Mobilize Against Sexual Assault

Stopping sexual violence has become a key issue in the public and media agenda. This study examines the role of social media and bystander intervention in predicting an individual’s willingness to engage in collective action against sexual violence. Two surveys were conducted in fall 2014 and early 2015 examining young adults’ views of social networking sites, rape culture, and collective action. Results indicated that gender and bystander intervention were key predictors of willingness to engage in collective action, along with the privacy concerns of social network users. Views supporting rape culture were found to have a negative association. Implications are discussed.     

Varying effects of subgoal labeled expository text in programming,chemistry, and statistics

Originally intended as a replication study, this study discusses differences in problem solving performance among different domains caused by the same instructional intervention. The learning sciences acknowledges similarities in the learners’ cognitive architecture that allow interventions to apply across domains, but it also argues that each domain has characteristics that might affect how interventions impact learning. The present study uses an instructional design technique that had previously improved learners’ problem solving performance in programming: subgoal labeled expository text and subgoal labeled worked examples. It intended to replicate this effect for solving problems in statistics and chemistry. However, each of the experiments in the three domains had a different pattern of results for problem solving performance. While the subgoal labeled worked example consistently improved performance, the subgoal labeled expository text, which interacted with subgoal labeled worked examples in programming, had an additive effect with subgoal labeled worked examples in chemistry and no effect in statistics. Differences in patterns of results are believed to be due to complexity of the content to be learned, especially in terms of mapping problem solving procedures to solving problems, and the familiarity of tools used to solve problems in the domain. Subgoal labeled expository text was effective only when students learned more complex content and used unfamiliar problem solving tools.