Investigating the effectiveness of computer simulations for chemistry learning

Are well‐designed computer simulations an effective tool to support student understanding of complex concepts in chemistry when integrated into high school science classrooms? We investigated scaling up the use of a sequence of simulations of kinetic molecular theory and associated topics of diffusion, gas laws, and phase change, which we designed and experimentally tested. In the two effectiveness studies reported, one in a rural and the other in an urban context, chemistry teachers implemented two alternate versions of a curricular unit—an experimental version, incorporating simulations, and a control version, using text‐based materials covering the same content. Participants were 718 high school students (357 rural and 361 urban), in a total of 25 classrooms. The implementation of the simulations was explored using criteria associated with fidelity of implementation (FOI). Each context provided insights into the role of FOI in affecting the effectiveness of the interventions when working with groups of teachers. Results supported the effectiveness of this sequence of simulations as a teaching tool in a classroom context, and confirmed the importance of FOI factors such as adherence and exposure in determining the specific environments in which these materials were most effective. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 394–419, 2012     

How Does Counseling Psychology Faculty Members’ Grit Relate to their Emotions and Success in Teaching and Research?

Innovative Higher Education - University faculty have many responsibilities, including teaching and research, that call for long periods of work before a significant payoff. Grit, the passion and...     

(Ad)Dressing the Body in Online Shopping Sites

The rapid and tumultuous growth of e-commerce has impacted nearly every aspect of the internet, including the construction, representation, and performance of online identity. Such developments invite us to rethink some of our key assumptions about this technological medium in light of contextual influences. Toward this end, this essay offers a critical analysis of virtual body models available in online shopping contexts. I critique the way in which virtual body models are used to address the online shopper and their body image, how web stores promote identification between the shopper and their virtual model, and the implications of virtual modeling technology for how bodies and identity are brought together in e-commerce situations. I argue that web stores articulate rhetorics of computational precision and user interactivity to declare a null margin between shopper and virtual model while simultaneously manufacturing and exploiting such a margin for their own commercial gain. The result is that even though online shoppers are instructed to create models that will precisely reflect their offline bodies, web stores' commercial motives effectively guarantee that the resulting model will be a misleading, but more commercially viable, image of the shopper's body. I conclude by discussing some of the implications of this strategically manufactured distortion with respect to user participation in e-commerce activities.     

Lost in Translation: Public Policies,Evidence-based Practice,and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Prevalence rates of autism spectrum disorder have risen dramatically over the past few decades (now estimated at 1:50 children). The estimated total annual cost to the public purse in the United States is US$137 billion, with an individual lifetime cost in the United Kingdom estimated at between £0.8 million and £1.23 million depending on the level of functioning. The United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has enshrined full and equal human rights—for example, for inclusion, education and employment—and there is ample evidence that much can be achieved through adequate support and early intensive behavioural interventions. Not surprisingly, most governments worldwide have devised laws, policies, and strategies to improve services related to autism spectrum disorder, yet intriguingly the approaches differ considerably across the globe. Using Northern Ireland as a case in point, we look at relevant governmental documents and offer international comparisons that illustrate inconsistencies akin to a “postcode lottery” of services.     

Framing ICT, teachers and learners in Australian school education ICT policy

It is well over 20 years since information and communication technologies (ICT) was first included as part of a future vision for Australia’s schools. Since this time numerous national policies have been developed, which collectively articulate an official discourse in support of a vision for ICT to be embedded in our schools, and routinely used by ‘digital’ learners and ‘competent’ teachers alike. The purpose of this paper is to critique how ICT, teachers and learners are positioned in this vision by an analysis of national school-education ICT policies from 1989 to the present day, including the National Goals of Schooling policies, the Learning in an Online World suite of policies, several Ministerial Statements relating to ICT and the recent A Digital Education Revolution policy. This paper suggests that determinist views of technology and a utopian vision underpin these representations, which creates a flawed, future vision for ICT in school education and its use by teachers and learners.     

A Survey and Empirical Study of Virtual Reference Service in Academic Libraries

Virtual Reference Services (VRS) have high user satisfaction. The main problem is its low usage. We surveyed 100 academic library web sites to understand how VRS are presented. We then conducted a usability study to further test an active VRS model regarding its effectiveness.     

RLG and OCLC: Combined for the Future

On July 1, 2006, The Research Libraries Group, Inc. (RLG) and the Online Computer Library System (OCLC) combined their organizations and resources. RLG's products and services were integrated with OCLC's, and RLG's program initiatives went forward within an expanded OCLC Research division. This was a historic moment for libraries and research institutions consonant with the incredible changes in the information environment that had been underway during the previous decade. The expansion of WorldCat that resulted and the renewed attention given to research libraries by OCLC in the merger has positively impacted libraries around the globe.     

Assessment matters—Trial,error, triumph: A college rethinks its core curriculum

When students and faculty alike rejected the College of Mount St. Joseph's revised core curriculum, no one dug in their heels to wait out the dissatisfaction.The entire campus engaged in a second round of good, hard discussions about scrapping the new for the newer.