Emphasizing the History of Genetics in an Explicit and Reflective Approach to Teaching the Nature of Science

Science education researchers have long advocated the central role of the nature of science (NOS) for our understanding of scientific literacy. NOS is often interpreted narrowly to refer to a host of epistemological issues associated with the process of science and the limitations of scientific knowledge. Despite its importance, practitioners and researchers alike acknowledge that students have difficulty learning NOS and that this in part reflects how difficult it is to teach. One particularly promising method for teaching NOS involves an explicit and reflective approach using the history of science. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of a historically based genetics unit on undergraduates’ understanding of NOS. The three-class unit developed for this study introduces students to Mendelian genetics using the story of Gregor Mendel’s work. NOS learning objectives were emphasized through discussion questions and investigations. The unit was administered to undergraduates in an introductory biology course for pre-service elementary teachers. The influence of the unit was determined by students’ responses to the SUSSI instrument, which was administered pre- and post-intervention. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted that focused on changes in students’ responses from pre- to post-test. Data collected indicated that students showed improved NOS understanding related to observations, inferences, and the influence of culture on science.     

The Ocular Communicator: A Device to Enable Persons with Severe Physical Disabilities to Communicate Using Eye Movements

This report describes the Ocular Communicator(OC) and its use with a person who is severely physically disabled. The device is designed for persons who have minimal motor function and employs eye movements for the operation of a printer or computer keyboard.     

Exploring undergraduates' understanding of photosynthesis using diagnostic question clusters

We present a diagnostic question cluster (DQC) that assesses undergraduates' thinking about photosynthesis. This assessment tool is not designed to identify individual misconceptions. Rather, it is focused on students' abilities to apply basic concepts about photosynthesis by reasoning with a coordinated set of practices based on a few scientific principles: conservation of matter, conservation of energy, and the hierarchical nature of biological systems. Data on students' responses to the cluster items and uses of some of the questions in multiple-choice, multiple-true/false, and essay formats are compared. A cross-over study indicates that the multiple-true/false format shows promise as a machine-gradable format that identifies students who have a mixture of accurate and inaccurate ideas. In addition, interviews with students about their choices on three multiple-choice questions reveal the fragility of students' understanding. Collectively, the data show that many undergraduates lack both a basic understanding of the role of photosynthesis in plant metabolism and the ability to reason with scientific principles when learning new content. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

Young deafblind adults in action: becoming self-determined change agents through advocacy

Six young deafblind adults took a 1-week course on civic engagement and advocacy, which provided the focus for a participatory action research study with a collective case study design. They selected advocacy topics, were briefed on these policy issues, and were paired with experienced mentors for meetings with legislators in Washington, DC. Eight themes were identified from constant comparative and in vivo analysis of classroom discussion notes, interviews, and journals: (a) defining advocacy and advocate, (b) rights and equality, (c) expectations, (d) role of education in change, (e) deafblind expertise, (f) characteristics of effective change agents, (g) advocacy is teamwork, (h) future advocacy. In the classroom, the participants learned about policy issues, communication considerations, and leadership, then applied this knowledge in the legislative arena. Through the advocacy process, they learned to apply their personal strengths as advocates and experienced the importance of teamwork in advocacy.     

Using Virtual Field Trips to Connect Students with University Scientists: Core Elements and Evaluation of zipTrips?

Physical field trips to scientists?? work places have been shown to enhance student perceptions of science, scientists and science careers. Although virtual field trips (VFTs) have emerged as viable alternatives (or supplements) to traditional physical fieldtrips, little is known about the potential of virtual field trips to provide the same or similar science career exploration advantages as physical field trips. The overarching goal of this paper is to describe a VFT, zipTrips?, designed to provide middle school students, especially those in resource limited rural areas, with access to university scientists. Using zipTrips as a case example, the paper identifies and describes some of the core characteristics and elements of high quality authentic VFTs that foster student-scientist interactions. In addition, the paper uses program evaluation data to examine the impact of zipTrips on student perceptions of scientists.     

Te Wero—the challenge: reimagining universities from an indigenous world view

This paper provides a foundational framework to bring into conversation indigenous world views in reimagining universities. Highlighting a specific indigenous world view, the university is presented as a site for critical conversation and transformative praxis. We discuss the workplace experiences of indigenous staff in a university and infer from these how management practices related to indigenous staff could be enhanced. Building on our study of Māori academic and administrative staff in a New Zealand university, an indigenous typology and a Wero or challenge matrix is offered, which locates different positions and actions that universities adhere to or seek to emulate. The paper argues for universities to reimagine their policies and practices by drawing from the complex richness of indigenous world views.     

F. Memoirs and Biography

ON TELEVISION by Pierre Bourdieu, translated from the 1996 French original by Priscilla Ferguson (New York: The New Press, 1998—$18.95, paper, ISBN 1–56584–407–6, 104 pp., appendix, translator's note, bibliography, notes, index)

BUYER'S GUIDE TO FIFTY YEARS OF TV ON VIDEO by Sam Frank (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1999—$22.95, paper, ISBN 1–57392–226–9, 1,498 pp., index)

THE TELEVISION STUDIES BOOK edited by Christine Geraghty and David Lusted (London: Arnold / New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998—$59.95/18.95, ISBN 0–340–66232 hard, 0–340–66231‐X paper, 337 pp., index)

WHY WE WATCH: THE ATTRACTIONS OF VIOLENT ENTERTAINMENT edited by Jeffrey H. Goldstein (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998—$49.95/17.95, ISBN 0–19–511820–0 hard, 0–19–511821–9 paper, 270 pp., illustrations, references, subject and name indexes)

BROADCASTING IN AMERICA: A SURVEY OF ELECTRONIC MEDIA by S. W. Head, C. H. Sterling, L. B. Schofield, T. Spann, and M. A. McGregor (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998 [8th ed.]—$52.00, paper, ISBN 0–395–87371–1, 337 pp., 280 photos &; graphics, bibliography, index, instructor's manual)

PRIME TIME LAW: FICTIONAL TELEVISION AS LEGAL NARRATIVE edited by Robert M. Jarvis and Paul R. Joseph (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1998—price not given, ISBN 0–89089–805–7 hard, 0–89089–808–1 paper, 323 pp., notes, index)

MASTERPIECE THEATRE AND THE POLITICS OF QUALITY by Lawrence A. Jarvik (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1999—$60.00, ISBN 0–8108–3204–6, 261 pp., notes, bibliography, index)

TELEVISION VIOLENCE: A GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE edited by P.T. Kelly (Nova Science Publishers, 6080 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 207, Commack, NY 11725—price not given, ISBN 1–56072–299–1, 193 pp., index)

UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY, CULTURE, AND TELEVISION by Paul Monaco (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998—$55.00, ISBN 0–275–96057–9, 152 pp., bibliography, index)

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TELEVISION NEWS edited by Michael D. Murray (Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999—price not given, ISBN 1–57356–108–8, 315 pp., photos, further reading, index)

STUDENT TELEVISION IN AMERICA: CHANNELS OF CHANGE by Tony Silvia and Nancy F. Kaplan (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1998— $29.95, paper, ISBN 0–8138–2160–6, 243 pp., illustrations, selected bibliography, appendixes, index)

LIVING COLOR: RACE AND TELEVISION IN THE UNITED STATES edited by Sasha Torres (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998—$49.95/17.95, ISBN 0–8223–2178–5 hard, 0–8223–2195–5 paper, illustrations, selected bibliography, index)     

Portugal

In the library literature, a great deal of interest in patron-driven collection development has recently been expressed, especially in those programs that link acquisitions with interlibrary loan. However, the implementation of such programs has been limited, at least in part because of concerns over the potential for wasteful spending. The authors will attempt to address this common concern by assessing whether monies spent via a patron-driven acquisitions program were more or less effective than monies spent via traditional modes of acquisition.     

Reprints of Interest

Parker Tyler, The Hollywood Hallucination (originally published in 1944) and The Magic and Myth of the Movies (originally published in 1947)

Jerome Agel's The Making of Kubrick's 2001 (Signet Books, $1.50)     

Practical Guides

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF RADIO, by Linda Busby and Donald Parker (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1984-$20.00).

ELECTRONIC ARTS OF SOUND AND LIGHT, by Ronald Pellegrino (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983—$28.50).

TELECONFERENCING HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO COST-EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, by Ellen Lazar et al. (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

THE CREATIVE CONNECTION: ADVERTISING COPYWRITING AND IDEA VISUALIZATION, by Arthur A. Winters and Shirley F. Milton (New York: Fairchild Publications, 1982—$16.50).

BROADCAST NEWSWRITING AS PROCESS and BROADCAST COPYWRITING AS PROCESS by J. Clark Weaver (New York: Longman, 1984—price not given, paper).

PUBLIC RELATIONS/PUBLICITY: A KEY LINK IN COMMUNICATIONS, by Lois Ehrenkranz and Gilbert Kahn (New York: Fairchild, 1983—$14.50).

EXPERTS IN ACTION: INSIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS, by Bill Cantor (New York: Longman, 1984—$29.95/ 14.95).