Young children's near and far transfer of the basic theory of natural selection: An analogical storybook intervention

Misconceptions about adaptation by natural selection are widespread among adults and likely stem, in part, from cognitive biases and intuitive theories observable in early childhood. Current educational guidelines that recommend delaying comprehensive instruction on the topic of adaptation until adolescence, therefore, raise concerns because children's scientifically inaccurate theories about species may be left unchallenged for many years, allowing them to entrench and become difficult to overcome. In consequence, this investigation sought to explore whether classrooms of kindergartners and second graders could acquire a basic but comprehensive understanding of adaptation from an intervention constructed around two picture storybooks that mechanistically explain natural selection. Learning was assessed in near and far transfer contexts both immediately and a month later. Kindergartners and second graders demonstrated substantial learning of biological information; however, second graders showed pronounced abilities to near and far generalize, immediately and over time. Results suggest that causally cohesive interventions with an emphasis on mechanistic explanation facilitate children's classroom learning of complex counterintuitive scientific ideas.     

A Grasshopperian Analysis of the Strategic Foul

The question of acceptability in respect to the strategic foul in sport has provoked a rich and seemingly irreconcilable dispute with normative theorists currently divided amongst three schools of thought including formalism, conventionalism and interpretivism. In this paper, I seek to transcend the three-way intellectual stalemate portrayed in the literature via a consideration as to whether or not the strategic foul qualifies as ‘Utopian’. More specifically, after demonstrating that Bernard Suits’ theory of game-playing is fully capable of embracing all three rival accounts, I seek to end the normative debate altogether via a conceptual analysis of the strategic foul as unacceptable via the higher-order point of view afforded by essentialism.     

The Effects of Age and Number of Demonstrations on Modeling of Form and Performance

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the effects of age and number of demonstrations on both form (strategy employed) and physical performance on a Bachman ladder-balance task. College age (n = 60) and elementary age females (n = 60) were compared under four modeling conditions consisting of no, four, eight, and 12 demonstrations in an Age Group × Demonstration Group (2 × 4) MANOVA. Results indicated that college age students had higher performance and form scores than elementary age students. Only form differentiated the four demonstration groups. Participants receiving 12 demonstrations had higher form scores than the control participants. Form scores were analyzed in a discriminant function analysis to determine which of five form components differentiated the four demonstration groups. Results also revealed that climbing quickly was the component of form that differentiated the groups the most. It was concluded that matching form by the learner may be a more effective measure of modeling effects rather than inferring modeling from performance, especially in the initial stages of learning. In addition, it appears that the number of demonstrations needed to create modeling effects is task specific and dependent on the length of the practice period.     

Doctoral Research Training of Counselor Education Faculty

Counselor educators (N = 167) in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs were surveyed regarding research training received during their doctoral studies. Respondents shared perspectives regarding the quality and quantity of their research course work as well as suggestions on how to enhance research training in counselor education programs. Differences in the amount, type, and attitudes toward research were found according to programs from which educators were graduated and year of graduation. The influences of mentoring as a critical practice in research training also emerged. Implications for research training in counselor education are discussed.     

Lowering the Cost Barrier to Higher Education for Undocumented Students: A Promising University-level Intervention

Undocumented students, many of Hispanic origin, face among the strictest cost barriers to higher education in the United States. Lack of legal status excludes them from most state and all federal financial aid programs. Furthermore, most states require them to pay out-of-state tuition rates at publicly supported institutions. In a new direction, boards of trustees at universities in several states have bypassed the legislative process to lower the cost barrier. This policy article evaluates one such university-level innovation.     

IV and SEN: Using interactive video with special educational needs pupils

Ten pupils with moderate learning difficulties worked on a series of mathematics related activities while visiting a school providing a whole range of multi-media. The investigation suggests that IV has a particular contribution to make in meeting special educational needs. In addition to specific benefits in the teaching and learning of mathematics, the technology proved to be a facilitator in the areas of geography and life skills. There was also some evidence to suggest that IV can help to raise self-esteem, provide equal opportunities and support collaborative learning. Sense of ownership, language development and motivational characteristics, together with the promotion of attention and the accompanying benefit for teachers of the reduction of anxiety over discipline, are other factors suggesting the usefulness of the medium in this context.     

Effects of Different Instructional Approaches on Young Children's Achievement and Motivation

Children in child-centered preschools and kindergartens were compared to children in didactic, highly academic programs in terms of their basic skills achievement and a set of motivation variables. The study included 227 poor, minority, and middle-class children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Children in didactic programs that stressed basic skills had significantly higher scores on a letters/reading achievement test but not on a numbers achievement test. Being enrolled in a didactic early childhood education program was associated with relatively negative outcomes on most of the motivation measures. Compared to children in child-centered programs, children in didactic programs rated their abilities significantly lower, had lower expectations for success on academic tasks, showed more dependency on adults for permission and approval, evidenced less pride in their accomplishments, and claimed to worry more about school. Program effects were the same for economically disadvantaged and middle-class children, and for preschoolers and kindergartners.     

Research on Social Integration: What Are The Problems?

THIS LIMITED REVIEW of research on the social integration of children with disabilities in mainstreaming programs showed that there are several factors which may explain the apparent inconsistencies within the research literature. The diverse groups of individuals involved necessitate that attention be paid to pertinent variables and that care must be taken when findings are generalized to other groups of children with disabilities. An issue of particular concern was the simplistic measuring techniques employed in some research, particularly where studies relied on a single technique such as sociometry. There is limited evidence to support the increased use of multivariate statistical procedures as a means of producing more consistent findings. While most studies reviewed did not incorporate special treatments, that is other than integrated settings, invariably such treatments produced positive outcomes. Studies involving research designs which used the social acceptance of normal children as the basis for assessing social integration frequently resulted in negative findings.     

Supporting the transition to inclusive education: teachers’ attitudes to inclusion in the Seychelles

The inclusion of children with disability in regular classroom settings has been identified worldwide as crucial to the provision of effective education for all children and to the creation of more inclusive societies. To this end there has been significant focus on pre-service and in-service teacher education to ensure that teachers are adequately prepared to teach in inclusive classrooms. When delivering a unit on inclusive education in the Seychelles, which was developed in Australia, we considered it essential to determine the suitability of the unit in supporting Seychellois teachers to teach inclusively. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about people with disability are two aspects that have consistently been shown to impact on a teacher’s willingness to include children with disability. Therefore, the Seychellois teachers were asked to complete questionnaires in the first and final weeks of the semester in which the teachers undertook the unit. The two sets of responses were analysed to determine significance and effect sizes of any change in attitudes and beliefs. Data revealed that the Seychellois teachers reported more positive attitudes and beliefs about the inclusion of children with disability in regular classrooms after completing the unit, suggesting that the unit of study was suitable for the Seychellois context.