Management of science classroom tasks and effects on students' learning opportunities

This study examined the work that students completed during six or seven week units of instruction in four different science classes. The purpose of the study was to assess the kinds of learning opportunities students had as they dealt with science content and the problems teachers faced in managing different kinds of assignments, particularly assignments that required students to use higher level cognitive operations. Management strategies associated with these assignments are described and the effects of these strategies are considered.     

A Method of Teaching Problem-Solving to Undergraduate Engineering Students

This paper reports the experiences of the staff involved in the design and operation of a method of teaching problem-solving to engineering undergraduates. The method is based upon a loop-type model consisting of a series of clearly identifiable component activities. Although no formal evaluation procedures have been carried out, a range of informal monitoring and evaluative activities have been associated with the development of the model. These have indicated that the model appears to promote the effectiveness of student learning both by it forming a basis for group communication and a focus for teaching methods. Even though the model was originally intended for specific use in the teaching of engineering design, experience has shown that it is suitable as it stands for use in a wider range of problem-solving situations and is readily adaptable for use in other specific cases.     

Dialogic voices in talk about drinking and pregnancy

Alcohol use during pregnancy poses a significant risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. This study presents the interpretive findings of the formative research phase of a funded grant to develop a community-based public health media campaign on the topic of drinking during pregnancy. In the initial wave of data collection, 50 rural women were recruited from four Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in southeastern Iowa to participate in semi-structured interviews. In the second wave, 10 additional WIC clients were interviewed for member-checking purposes. Findings revealed two competing discourses that organized these women's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding drinking and pregnancy: the discourse of individualism and the discourse of responsible motherhood. These two discourses offer opposing normative guidelines for talk among their close female relatives and friends. The implications of these findings for designing a community-based media campaign are discussed.     

Partnering to Analyze Selection of Resources by Medical Students for Case-Based Small Group Learning: A Collaboration between Librarians and Medical Educators

Librarians and medical educators analyzed the quality of information resources used by first- and second-year medical students in their case-based small group learning summaries. Librarians provided instruction on using library resources and gave formal feedback to students about appropriate resources for basic science and clinical questions. The team found that students used a high number of clinical and basic science journal articles and textbooks with a number of factors influencing their resource choices. The study demonstrates numerous areas where librarians can play a key role in assisting students to find and assess information to answer clinical questions.     

Opportunities for faculty‐librarian collaboration in an expanded dentistry curriculum

With the increased emphasis on evidence based practice, developing information literacy skills earlier in health care education programmes is widely accepted. However finding opportunities for relevant teaching can present challenges, often leading to a lack of integration. In this paper, guest writers Sean Stone and colleagues from Indiana University discuss their involvement with an expanded dental hygiene curriculum in the University School of Dentistry. This expansion has provided the opportunity to plan integration of information and oral health literacy instruction and evidence based practice across the new curriculum, and provide transferable skills for any major. In particular, the paper addresses the developmental work the health librarian team engaged in from course design, delivery and assessment to improve student preparedness for evidence based practice. H.S.     

Maternal DHA and the development of attention in infancy and toddlerhood

Infants were followed longitudinally to document the relationship between docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels and the development of attention. Erythrocyte (red-blood cell; RBC) phospholipid DHA (percentage of total fatty acids) was measured from infants and mothers at delivery. Infants were assessed in infant-control habituation at 4, 6, and 8 months augmented with psychophysiological measures, and on free-play attention and distractibility paradigms at 12 and 18 months. Infants whose mothers had high DHA at birth showed an accelerated decline in looking over the 1st year and increases in examining during single-object exploration and less distractibility in the 2nd year. These findings are consistent with evidence suggesting a link between DHA and cognitive development in infancy.     

The IE A preprimary project in Ireland

Despite great changes in the level and type of early childhood services in Ireland over the last decade, relatively little research has been carried out on this topic. We know little about the types of services used, the reason for particular choices, the numbers of children attending different settings and the experiences such children are having. In an effort to broaden the research base and learn more about the lives of our young children the authors undertook to take part in an international comparative study investigating the early experiences of children—the IEA Preprimary Project. This article provides an account of the recent developments in early education in Ireland, addresses the question of quality in service provision and describes Ireland's participation in the research project.