The National Institutes of Health's AREA Program in Action

The National Institutes of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program introduces research funding into regional universities and liberal arts colleges where hurdles to successful pursuit of research programs are substantial. Nevertheless, the authors of papers in this issue competed successfully and have benefited undergraduates in their respective institutions, as evidenced both by heightened retention rates and the numbers of student assistants who advance to graduate school. We discuss the role of a summer institute in helping to advance the work of these investigators, and suggest that the network which evolved may be extended as a model for collaborative and interdisciplinary research. We also describe details of the AREA program and where to obtain additional information about it.     

Helping preservice teachers realize the transformative potential of read alouds

ABSTRACT

A common instructional practice in early childhood classrooms is the picturebook read aloud. The purpose of this investigation was to help preservice teachers learn to plan picturebook read alouds with the goal of helping children interpret the visual affordances of picturebooks, including visual elements (e.g., cclor, line) and peritextual components (e.g., title page, endpapers) as they engage in collaborative meaning making. In this qualitative study, the participants were 12 preservice teachers enrolled in an undergraduate children’s literature course. The findings presented here are focused on three participants that represented a range of growth and understandings about the picturebook format as well as growth and understandings about designing read aloud lessons. Findings indicate that while participants grew in their understandings of picturebook formats and in their ability to develop read aloud lesson plans with a visual focus, the rates and ways in which this occurred varied. Furthermore, the findings also suggest that crafting read alouds with a focus on visual affordances is a complex process and deserves careful attention in teacher preparation programs.     

Presence in teaching

This article articulates a theory of ‘presence’ in teaching and seeks to establish a theoretical foundation for presence that can serve as a platform for further research. It seeks to address the current educational climate that sees teaching as a check list of behaviors, dispositions, measures, and standards, and to articulate the essential but elusive aspect of teaching we call presence. Presence is defined as a state of alert awareness, receptivity, and connectedness to the mental, emotional, and physical workings of both the individual and the group in the context of their learning enviroments, and the ability to respond with a considered and compassionate best next step. The article is divided into four sections and explores existing conceptions of presence: presence as self‐awareness, presence as connection to students, and presence as connection to subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. Within each section the role that context plays in a teacher’s ability to be present is also explored. The authors draw upon papers and stories from student teachers, interview data from children and experienced teachers, and stories from a study group of experienced educators that explored the notion of presence on three different occasions. They conclude by connecting presence to the essential purpose of teaching and learning, the creation of a democratic society.     

Patterns of motivating teaching behaviour and student engagement: a microanalytic approach

Positive student engagement is a prerequisite for students’ educational success. In this study, a microanalytic approach was used to explore patterns in teachers’ use of specific motivating teaching behaviours from the perspective of self-determination theory in relation to indicators of students’ positive engagement. The lessons of 52 teachers were observed and event-based coded. Results showed that specifically asking motivating questions and providing positive feedback and support during exercises were associated with subsequent positive student engagement. Unexpectedly, some demotivating teaching behaviours were also found to relate to positive student engagement, although to a lesser extent. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

     

How to drag with a worn-out mouse? Searching for social justice through collaboration

We consider what a concern for social justice in terms of social inclusion might mean for teacher education, both practising and prospective, with particular reference to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in mathematics education taking place at a borderland school. Our discussion proceeds through the following steps: (1) We explore what a borderland position might denote to address what social inclusion might mean. (2) We consider the significance of mathematics education and the use of ICT for processes of social inclusion. (3) We briefly refer to the Interlink Network, as many of our observations emerge as reflections on this project. (4) We present different issues that will be of particular importance with respect to teacher education if we want to establish a mathematics education for social inclusion. These issues concern moving away from the comfort zone, establishing networks, identifying new approaches, moving beyond prototypical research, and getting in contact. This brings us to (5) final considerations, where we return to the notion of social justice.     

Unpacking the Ontogeny of Gesture Understanding: How Movement Becomes Meaningful Across Development

Gestures, hand movements that accompany speech, affect children's learning, memory, and thinking (e.g., Goldin‐Meadow, 2003). However, it remains unknown how children distinguish gestures from other kinds of actions. In this study, 4‐ to 9‐year‐olds (n = 339) and adults (n = 50) described one of three scenes: (a) an actor moving objects, (b) an actor moving her hands in the presence of objects (but not touching them), or (c) an actor moving her hands in the absence of objects. Participants across all ages were equally able to identify actions on objects as goal directed, but the ability to identify empty‐handed movements as representational actions (i.e., as gestures) increased with age and was influenced by the presence of objects, especially in older children.     

Developing the next generation of engaged youth: Inspire Aspire – Global Citizens in the Making

School-based character education (CE) programs provide an opportunity to increase the moral fortitude of adolescents. This study is a preliminary evaluation of Inspire Aspire, a CE program that was implemented with 13- to 14-year-olds in Scotland. A relational developmental systems meta-theoretical approach and person-centered analyses were employed to understand whether teacher implementation variability is associated with student outcomes. The study aimed to: assess variation in program implementation across teachers; assess student poster quality, which served as a youth outcome measure; and, assess the relationship between variations in program implementation and poster quality. Teachers who fully integrated Inspire Aspire with the broader curriculum (as opposed to using it as a standalone program) as well as teachers who made more modifications to Inspire Aspire tended to have students with higher quality posters. This finding stands in contrast to the common narrative regarding evidence-based programs that requires teachers to strictly adhere to program guidelines in order to maintain implementation fidelity.     

Assessing ozone damage to cutleaf coneflower in an ozone bioindicator garden

To collect data on ozone pollution and foliar damage, we established the first Philadelphia Ozone Bioindicator Garden at The Franklin Institute Science Museum. In this paper, we examine the relationship between ozone concentrations in an urban environment and changes in foliar damage in cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) plants. Higher ozone concentrations were observed during Summer 2015 than during Summer 2014 at our site. Diurnal analysis reveals a nightly diminishment of ozone's rate of dissipation around 4am, which we attributed to intrusions of air from the residual layer (the layer of air above the boundary layer). We saw that visible foliar injury starts relatively slowly and accelerates beginning in late July for stippling and early August for chlorosis and necrosis. We found that injury ratings on ozone-damaged leaves progress faster later in the season despite lower ambient ozone concentrations; we hypothesized that this is evidence of a “latency period” in the cutleaf coneflower's foliar injury response to ozone. Cutleaf coneflowers may serve as engaging tools to alert and inform Philadelphians about air quality issues. Our results suggest that these plants are good candidates for future work in developing bioindicators of ozone where direct monitoring is not feasible.     

Glycoprotein components in the serum of patients with cancer breast

The levels of total sialic acid, lipid bound sialic acid and fucose were estimated in the sera of patients with benign and malignant tumours of breast. An increase was noted in all the three parameters, with a more marked increase in malignancy, when compared with benign and controls. Consequent to surgery, there was an elevation in the serum levels of the above parameters than the values prior to surgery and a decline was noted two months after surgery although none of the values reached the normal range. These results suggest a close association of the glycoproteins with the tumour burden and further signify their role in early detection and staging of cancer breast.     

Attributing responsibility for child maltreatment when domestic violence is present

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence how child welfare workers attribute responsibility for child maltreatment and child safety in cases involving domestic violence. METHODS: The study used a factorial survey approach, combining elements of survey research with an experimental design. Case vignettes were constructed by randomly assigning characteristics to vignettes believed to be related to assessments about responsibility for child maltreatment. Public child welfare workers were systematically sampled and asked to rate vignettes on male and female caregivers' responsibility for child maltreatment and concerns for safety. RESULTS: The presence of domestic violence significantly affected workers' assessments of the attribution of responsibility and concern for child safety, more so than variables related to child maltreatment. Responsibility for exposing a child to domestic violence differed for males and females, with more factors explaining female responsibility. Substance use by either caregiver was significant in attributing responsibility for physical harm, not watching the child closely enough, and concern for child safety, but not for exposure to domestic violence. CONCLUSIONS: Domestic violence appeared to heighten workers' assessments of responsibility for child maltreatment and concerns about child safety, taking precedence over the characteristics of the child maltreatment itself. Battering tends to work against the domestic violence victim in terms of the attribution of responsibility. A greater number of factors affect female responsibility for exposing a child to domestic violence than male responsibility, even though in every case the male was the designated domestic violence batterer.