Scientific Ideas Held by Intending Primary Teachers in Britain and Spain

This paper offers a comparative analysis of some science concepts held by intending primary teachers in Britain and Spain. Drawing on personal construct theory, a questionnaire was devised to elicit concepts of volume, mass and conservation of mass, and their application to physical and chemical transformations. The results from the two countries show the difficulties students have in applying the conservation of mass to the apparently simple cases offered here. The replies are analysed in terms of differences in national curricula and in the range of science previously studied. The implications for teacher education are elaborated.     

Single-cell assays

This review presents an overview of literature that describes the applications of microfluidics to assay individual cells. We quantify the content of an individual mammalian cell, so that we can understand what criteria a single-cell assay must satisfy to be successful. We put in context the justification for single-cell assays and identify the characteristics that are relevant to single-cell assays. We review the literature from the past 24 months that describe the methods that use microfabrication-conventional or otherwise-and microfluidics in particular to study individual cells, and we present our views on how an increasing emphasis on three-dimensional cell culture and the demonstration of the first chemically defined cell might impact single-cell assays.     

Analysis of Student Performance in Large-Enrollment Life Science Courses

This study examined the historical performance of students at Michigan State University in 12 life sciences courses over 13 yr to find variables impacting student success. Hierarchical linear modeling predicted 25.0–62.8% of the variance in students’ grades in the courses analyzed. The primary predictor of a student''s course grade was his or her entering grade point average; except for the second course in a series (i.e., Biochemistry II), in which the grade for the first course in the series (i.e., Biochemistry I) was often the best predictor, as judged by β values. Student gender and major were also statistically significant for a majority of the courses studied. Female students averaged grades 0.067–0.303 lower than their equivalent male counterparts, and majors averaged grades were 0.088–0.397 higher than nonmajors. Grades earned in prerequisite courses provided minimal predictive ability. Ethnicity and involvements in honors college or science residential college were generally insignificant.     

Clinical Assessment at College Counseling Centers: The Consultant‐on‐Duty Model

The consultant‐on‐duty (COD) clinical consultation model maximizes efficient use of services, is distinct from other university counseling center (UCC) services, and precedes therapy. This model enables clinicians to ensure optimal fit between client need and type of UCC services provided, including brief therapy. The 4 objectives of the COD model include quick access to initial consultation, management of treatment expectations, collaborative treatment decisions, and planning for client assistance.     

Normalization between stimulus elements in a model of Pavlovian conditioning: Showjumping on an elemental horse

Harris and Livesey. Learning & Behavior, 38, 1-26, (2010) described an elemental model of associative learning that implements a simple learning rule that produces results equivalent to those proposed by Rescorla and Wagner (1972), and additionally modifies in "real time" the strength of the associative connections between elements. The novel feature of this model is that stimulus elements interact by suppressively normalizing one another's activation. Because of the normalization process, element activity is a nonlinear function of sensory input strength, and the shape of the function changes depending on the number and saliences of all stimuli that are present. The model can solve a range of complex discriminations and account for related empirical findings that have been taken as evidence for configural learning processes. Here we evaluate the model's performance against the host of conditioning phenomena that are outlined in the companion article, and we present a freely available computer program for use by other researchers to simulate the model's behavior in a variety of conditioning paradigms.     

Child‐Care Subsidies: Do They Impact the Quality of Care Children Experience?

The federal child‐care subsidy program represents one of the government’s largest investments in early care and education, but little is known about whether it increases low‐income children’s access to higher quality child care. This study used newly available nationally representative data on 4‐year‐old children (N = 750) to investigate whether subsidy receipt elevates child‐care quality. Results indicate that subsidy recipients use higher quality care compared to nonrecipients who use no other publicly funded care, but lower quality care compared to nonrecipients who instead use Head Start or public pre‐k. Findings suggest that subsidies may have the potential to enhance care quality but that parents who use subsidies are not accessing the highest quality care available to low‐income families.     

Oh,won’t you stay? Predictors of faculty intent to leave a public research university

Understanding and predicting faculty intent to leave is important to the development of improved conceptual frameworks of faculty success as well as the implementation of effective retention strategies for academic leaders and institutions that invest considerable resources in recruitment, institutional support, and compensation. This study examined the relationship between various research-based factors and faculty intent to leave by integrating components identified in the extant literature for employee turnover more generally and faculty intent to leave more specifically. The results of binary logistic regression models identified workplace stress, being in a “soft-pure” discipline, fewer years of service at the university, and higher research productivity as key predictors of faculty having considered leaving for another institution. Key predictors for faculty having considered leaving academe altogether were being in a “hard-applied” discipline, not having a spouse or partner, a perceived lack of support, a perceived lack of fit, stress of raising a family, and dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the “faculty job”. The implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

From Margin to Center: Participating in Village Pedagogy at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) necessary in the twenty-first century so-called ??post-racial?? US American context? This question is raised loudly and frequently given the contemporary social climate and economic considerations. In this article, the author offers a response to and critique of this question and surveys histories, missions, and academic and social environments of the HBCUs. He contends that HBCUs offer alternate higher education experiences for Black educators and students who find themselves on the margins of the US American academic center. Demonstrating the parallels of HBCU settings to villages, the author illustrates how these HBCU village contexts contribute to pedagogy. Ultimately, he appeals to HBCU stakeholders to intentionally and consistently promote ??village?? environments to cultivate the academic and social sensibilities of its constituents.