Do Advanced Mathematics Skills Predict Success in Biology and Chemistry Degrees?

The mathematical preparedness of science undergraduates has been a subject of debate for some time. This paper investigates the relationship between school mathematics attainment and degree outcomes in biology and chemistry across England, a much larger scale of analysis than has hitherto been reported in the literature. A unique dataset which links the National Pupil Database for England (NPD) and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data is used to track the educational trajectories of a national cohort of 16-year olds through their school and degree programmes. Multilevel regression models indicate that students who completed advanced mathematics qualifications prior to their university study of biology and chemistry were no more likely to attain the best degree outcomes than those without advanced mathematics. The models do, however, suggest that success in advanced chemistry at school predicts outcomes in undergraduate biology and vice versa. There are important social background differences and the impact of the university attended is considerable. We discuss a range of possible explanations of these findings.     

Math Shelf: A Randomized Trial of a Prekindergarten Tablet Number Sense Curriculum

Research Findings: Effective preschool mathematics instruction is especially important for low-income children. Previous research demonstrates that low-income children enter kindergarten behind their middle-income peers. They receive less mathematics support at home and from public preschools. The aim of this study was to test Math Shelf, a tablet intervention designed to improve at-risk preschoolers’ mathematics performance. A total of 100 children participated in a randomized controlled trial in a large urban Head Start center. Intervention students played Math Shelf on tablet computers for 6 weeks, whereas comparison students played the most downloaded and best reviewed preschool math apps on tablets for an equal amount of time. During game play, graduate student researchers supervised intervention and comparison students in separate rooms. Intervention and comparison groups did not differ on pretest assessments. Math Shelf students performed statistically significantly better (Cohen’s d = 0.57) than comparison students at posttest. Practice or Policy: Math Shelf results suggest that teachers can enhance low-income preschoolers’ mathematics knowledge in a relatively short amount of time by incorporating developmentally appropriate tablet interventions.     

Effect of angle stimulation during development on adult discrimination ability in rats

Hooded rats were reared in very restricted environments with angular, curved, or white-field stimulation. The extent of transfer from this exposure was assessed in adulthood by testing subjects for (a) learning ability in form, brightness, and pattern discrimination tasks, and (b) exploration and activity differences in an open field. The angle-reared group performed better than the other two rearing groups in all three discrimination tasks. Moreover, the curved and white-field groups were equivalent. These learning differences did not appear to result from differences in (a) exploration or activity or (b) dependence on kinesthetic cues. The results demonstrated that one type of early visual stimulation produced transfer to discrimination tasks that varied in difficulty and in degree of relevancy to the rearing forms. This effect was related to the results and interpretations from previous form-rearing studies. Three interpretations were proposed for this transfer and for the advantage of angular vs. curved stimulation.     

THE TEAM APPROACH TO INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION PRODUCTION: AN AMERICAN VIEW

Instructional television (ITV) is most likely to be successful when resulting from the coordinated efforts of a team of capable specialists, but the contributions of such specialists are frequently overlooked, oversimplified or perceived too late. The team or task force assigned to the organization and development of a televised teaching project should consist of (1) a specialist in the psychology of learning, (2) a content specialist/writer, (3) a production specialist, (4) a TV engineer, and (5) a research and evaluation specialist. Each of these specialists, when properly trained and experienced, can play a unique and significant part in the creation of effective ITV materials. It is possible for some of the roles to be combined, but this can be disadvantageous.

Public television stations in the United States have not made extensive use of the specialist team approach, for reasons of economy, scarcity of personnel and constraints of time and scheduling, but it is notable that the best known and apparently most effective producers of ITV programmes have used the specialist team approach. Amongst these successful users are the British Open University, the Children's Television Workshop, the Agency for Instructional Television, the University of Mid‐America and a few other large ITV consortia. Benefits to be derived from the specialist team approach should be carefully considered by all those engaged in the preparation not only of ITV programmes but also other audiovisual materials and multi‐media courses.     

Extending the apprenticeship of observation: how mentee experiences shape mentors

Although the importance of mentor teachers in clinical teacher preparation is well established, few researchers explore the social identity development of these individuals. Through our study we contribute to the body of research by exploring mentor teachers’ social identity development through the concept of Apprenticeship of Observation – specifically, how they felt their own mentoring experiences influenced their approaches to mentoring. The multi-case study includes findings about mentoring beliefs and practices during the laboratory school component of an Alternate Route to Licensure program. Incorporating semi-structured interviews and video analysis, the findings demonstrate how four mentor teachers’ prior experiences as mentees – including Alternate Route to Licensure, traditional teacher preparation programs, and inservice teaching – influenced their interactions with teacher candidates as mentors. Recommendations for practice and implications for future research are provided.     

Serpents and Sheep: The Harriman Expedition, Alaska, and the Metaphoric Reconstruction of American Wilderness

This article examines one mechanism for the radical change in public perception of wilderness. The published papers of the Harriman Expedition, a scientific expedition at the end of the nineteenth century, are used to illustrate a process that I call “metaphoric reconstruction.” I argue that conceptual metaphors are one of the tools through which texts and rhetorical contexts can be mutually transformative.     

Toward a dynamic generic framework of apologia: A case study of Dow chemical,Vietnam, and the napalm controversy

This study argues that the genre of apologia has distinct situational, substantive, and stylistic factors that are dynamically related. A dynamic theoretical framework using these three factors is proposed and used to analyze the protracted apologia of the Dow Chemical Company from 1966‐1969 in response to charges by antiwar protesters of immorality for producing napalm. Dow's rhetorical choices become much clearer when seen through the clear, serious, unprecedented, and diffuse accusatory climate that precipitated the adoption of a self actualized motive and an argumentative battle on the grounds of jurisdiction. Special constraints that corporate apologists may face as nonpersons are advanced to complete the configuration of this dynamic generic framework.     

Fetal Antecedents of Infant Temperament

This study established the emergence of stable individual differences in neurobehavioral functioning prior to birth and examined their relation to subsequent infant temperament. Fetal heart rate and movement were recorded longitudinally for 31 fetuses at 6 gestational ages beginning at 20 weeks' gestation. Maternally reported temperament data were collected at 3 and 6 months. Moderate stability in all measures except reactivity was apparent at some time before birth. By 36 weeks, fetal neurobehavior accounted for between 22% and 60% of the variance in prediction of temperament scores. In general, more active fetuses were more difficult, unpredictable, unadaptable, and active infants. Higher fetal heart rate was associated with lower emotional tone, activity level, and predictability. We conclude that features of fetal neurobehavior provide the basis for individual differences in reactivity and regulation in infancy.     

Study procrastination, achievement, and academic motivation in web-based and blended distance learning

Growth in distance education is increasing the need to examine students' learning strategies in distance and blended learning environments. Students' cramming or spaced-review behaviors were measured and compared across delivery formats as well as examined related to course achievement and attitudes across a term. Although theory would predict that spaced study rather than last minute cramming would yield higher achievement, researchers report mixed findings in both areas. One hundred fifty-seven students in distance and blended course formats were blocked into 5 groups based on their cramming/spaced-review patterns a week prior to each of 3 posttests. Significant differences were observed in cramming/spaced-review behaviors between delivery formats and for achievement and attitudes.