The impact of an integrated approach to science and literacy in elementary school classrooms

This study investigates the efficacy of an integrated science and literacy approach at the upper‐elementary level. Teachers in 94 fourth grade classrooms in one Southern state participated. Half of the teachers taught the treatment unit, an integrated science–literacy unit on light and energy designed using a curriculum model that engages students in reading text, writing notes and reports, conducting firsthand investigations, and frequent discussion of key concepts and processes to acquire inquiry skills and knowledge about science concepts, while the other half of the teachers taught a content‐comparable science‐only unit on light and energy (using materials provided by their districts) and provided their regular literacy instruction. Students in the treatment group made significantly greater gains on measures of science understanding, science vocabulary, and science writing. Students in both groups made comparable gains in science reading comprehension. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 631–658, 2012     

From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses

The lack of academic engagement in introductory science courses is considered by some to be a primary reason why students switch out of science majors. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed methods approach to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between student engagement and introductory science instruction. Quantitative survey data were drawn from 2,873 students within 73 introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses across 15 colleges and universities, and qualitative data were collected from 41 student focus groups at eight of these institutions. The findings indicate that students tended to be more engaged in courses where the instructor consistently signaled an openness to student questions and recognizes her/his role in helping students succeed. Likewise, students who reported feeling comfortable asking questions in class, seeking out tutoring, attending supplemental instruction sessions, and collaborating with other students in the course were also more likely to be engaged. Instructional implications for improving students’ levels of academic engagement are discussed.     

A person-oriented approach to understanding dimensions of parenting in low-income mothers

The purpose of this study was to examine parenting types in a low-income sample from a person-oriented approach. Data were used from a public use data set from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) along with new extant ratings of parenting behavior from the EHSREP archive of videotaped parent–child observations. Parenting behavior indicators were examined using latent class analysis as a grouping strategy across three time points to characterize this sample of 2631 Early Head Start mothers. Three latent classes of mothers were identified at 14, 24, and 36 months: developmentally supportive (the largest group in this sample), unsupportive, and negative. Predictors of parenting types were also examined and parenting types were linked to child outcomes. The results of these analyses show common characteristics of these distinct types of parents likely to be in Early Head Start programs and may help programs identify which families would most benefit from services to help them increase behaviors to promote their young children's early development.     

Cooperating in constructing knowledge: case studies from chemistry and citizenship

This paper looks at three case studies within the teaching and learning of chemistry. Each case considers the effectiveness of group learning activities in terms of the ways in which they enhance cooperative learning. Group tasks are generally undertaken in order to encourage learners to develop their understanding of particular issues, lthough one key disadvantage is that much of the process of the group work is lost as soon as the group disbands. The cases explored here aim to: (i) investigate the development of cooperative attitudes among students, looking for significant learning of scientific concepts, (ii) encourage the development of ethical attitudes, to motivate, and then (iii) empower the participants so that they can build upon the communal knowledge that is generated. In this way learners enhance their levels of partnership and cooperation with other members leading to a fuller and broader understanding of the collaboration required within the values of citizenship education. Using science to educate for citizenship is a growing concern across many countries of the world, in this case illustrated by work in Brazil and the UK.     

The Implications of School‐Leaver Unemployment for Careers Education in Schools

’In particular I would urge that the Irish school system of the future should give freedom—freedom to the individual school, freedom to the individual teacher, freedom as far as may be to the individual pupiV. (Padraig H. Pearse [1916] Irish patriot, poet and educationist.)     

Facing our Heuristic Limits: Expanding the Terminology for Types of Positive Face

This article adds to Lim and Bowers’ (1991) framework featuring two types of positive face: competence and fellowship face. We propose the addition of three types of positive face: character, social, and status face. We differentiate between each new type of face by examining: (a) protective strategies adopted, (b) types of face threats, (c) corrective strategies, and (d) pejorative labels threatening/attacking each type of face. The heuristic value for the positive face terms proposed is also explored through re-visiting a scholarly article in which positive face is analyzed. Data presented in that article are examined through the lens of the three proposed positive face terms. Finally, broader implications of theorizing are discussed, particularly with respect to politeness.