A Dialogic Path to Evidence-Based Argumentive Writing

Central to argument are evidence-based claims, requiring coordination of a claim with evidence bearing on it. We advocate a dialogic approach to developing argument skills and in the work reported here examine the further scaffold of prompts that exemplify functions of evidence in relation to a claim. This scaffold was successful in accelerating the prevalence of evidence-based claims in essays of low-performing middle schoolers compared to participants in the same year-long dialog-based intervention who received no or a limited form of evidence prompts and compared to previous samples engaged in a nondialogic curriculum. An experimental group achieved a proportion of evidence-based claims above 50% by the end of the year, transferring their newly developing skill from one topic to another. The use of different types of evidence emerged in a sequence corresponding to the cognitive demands they posed. Students first used support-own evidence. They used weaken-other evidence increasingly over time, but the two evidence types inconsistent with their position (support-other and weaken-own) showed lesser and later gains. Supporting a dialogic approach, qualitative data showed that evidence use occurred most readily in dialogs; then in individual writing on the same topic; and to a more limited extent in essays on a new, unstudied topic.     

A parallel microfluidic channel fixture fabricated using laser ablated plastic laminates for electrochemical and chemiluminescent biodetection of DNA

Herein is described the fabrication and use of a plastic multilayer 3-channel microfluidic fixture. Multilayer devices were produced by laser machining of plastic polymethylmethacrylate and polyethyleneterapthalate laminates by ablation. The fixture consisted of an array of nine individually addressable gold or gold/ITO working electrodes, and a resistive platinum heating element. Laser machining of both the fluidic pathways in the plastic laminates, and the stencil masks used for thermal evaporation to form electrode regions on the plastic laminates, enabled rapid and inexpensive implementation of design changes. Electrochemiluminescence reactions in the fixture were achieved and monitored through ITO electrodes. Electroaddressable aryl diazonium chemistry was employed to selectively pattern gold electrodes for electrochemical multianalyte DNA detection from double stranded DNA (dsDNA) samples. Electrochemical detection of dsDNA was achieved by melting of dsDNA molecules in solution with the integrated heater, allowing detection of DNA sequences specific to breast and colorectal cancers with a non-specific binding control. Following detection, the array surface could be renewed via high temperature (95 °C) stripping using the integrated heating element. This versatile and simple method for prototyping devices shows potential for further development of highly integrated, multi-functional bioanalytical devices.     

Integrated carbon fiber electrodes within hollow polymer microneedles for transdermal electrochemical sensing

In this study, carbon fiber electrodes were incorporated within a hollow microneedle array, which was fabricated using a digital micromirror device-based stereolithography instrument. Cell proliferation on the acrylate-based polymer used in microneedle fabrication was examined with human dermal fibroblasts and neonatal human epidermal keratinocytes. Studies involving full-thickness cadaveric porcine skin and trypan blue dye demonstrated that the hollow microneedles remained intact after puncturing the outermost layer of cadaveric porcine skin. The carbon fibers underwent chemical modification in order to enable detection of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid; electrochemical measurements were demonstrated using integrated electrode-hollow microneedle devices.     

The Benefits of Using Sociodrama in the Elementary Classroom: Promoting Caring Relationships Among Educators and Students

In the current age of academic rigor, standards and accountability, the fostering of caring relationships in the classroom may not always be a priority. Expressing care for another person is a skill that can be taught and nurtured through a supportive educational environment. Sociodrama encourages each of its participants to develop self-confidence and self-expression through risk-taking and exploration in activities that explore real life personal feelings and situations. By using sociodrama as a means for exploring issues in the classroom it is possible to celebrate participants’ individuality and to create caring and nurturing relationships among educators and students. This article examines the research describing the benefits of including sociodrama in the elementary curriculum.     

Data‐Driven Improvement in Prekindergarten Classrooms: Report From a Partnership in an Urban District

In 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, a metropolitan school system in the southern United States embarked on a unique mission to improve the quality of its public prekindergarten programs through a partnership with a group of developmental researchers in an iterative, data‐based venture. Data on 407 children in Year 1 and 433 in Year 2 (who were enrolled in 26 classrooms and extensively observed) are presented from the first 2 years of the ongoing partnership. All children were 4 years of age. Variability in classroom practices, measured empirically, and variability in child outcomes provided the means to examine the relations between children's gains in academic and social‐emotional areas and major areas of classroom practices. Lessons learned, the eight identified significant practices, implications, and next steps in the partnership are addressed.     

A NOTE FROM THE GUEST EDITORS

Working in animal behavior was challenging. It was the first time I came to the conclusion that I had to do something with my life, that there was work involved, and that if I wanted to accomplish something, I'd better figure out what it was and do it.—Exploratorium Explainer, 1974.     

Portfolio Assessment: More Than ABCs and 123s

Demands for educational accountability are being called for at all levels: preschool through graduate school. Standardized tests are being widely utilized, but this measurement is not appropriate for young children. Portfolio assessment is a more promising approach to measure children's growth, development, and achievement. This paper outlines criteria that portfolios must have in order to be effective assessment tools. Methods of gathering information and tips for portfolio development are shared and several examples of children's work samples are included     

Internalizing symptoms and affect of children with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study with an urban African American sample

Self‐reported internalizing symptoms of seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and regular education students in grades 4–6 were compared using the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children. All participants were African American and from an urban public school district in the Southeastern United States. Each of the two study groups consisted of 50 participants (35 boys, 15 girls) who were matched by gender and socioeconomic status. The SED group reported significantly higher levels of internalizing distress than the regular education group. In contrast to previous findings, there was no significant gender difference in self‐reported internalizing symptomatology in the present study. A discriminant function analysis found that the ISSC scores were able to correctly classify 91% of the participants into their respective educational group. Results of this study provide additional evidence of the construct validity of the ISSC, a recently developed and unique self‐report measure. Results are discussed in terms of future research needs and educational/clinical practice with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Process or Product? The Argument for Aesthetic Exploration in the Early Years

Early childhood educators often deliberate the difference between the use of arts versus crafts in the classroom as learning opportunities. This paper discusses the distinct differences between the two and how encouraging young children to engage within art making provides great opportunity for personal and communal exploration, expression, and discussion. Open-ended activities that focus on the process, and not necessarily the end product, provide children with authentic, differentiated, and holistic methods of exploration and learning. Fostering a willingness to creatively engage within an aesthetic problem-solving process that allows children to select, represent, and explain their thoughts and actions will help them develop skills necessary for success in an unknown future.     

Environmental education professional development for teachers: A study of the impact and influence of mentoring

Rivers2Lake helps teachers learn to provide watershed educational experiences for students through a summer institute followed by mentoring. Teacher focus groups were conducted to investigate the impact of mentoring, as well as toward understanding what was influential in bringing about those impacts. Mentoring impacted teachers in affective ways and helped them use what they learned at the institute. The influential nature of the mentoring may be due to the mentors providing a sense of accountability, personalized support, as well as encouragement of reflection and assistance with navigating barriers. Teachers also articulated qualities of effective mentors: invested, flexible, and responsive. With teachers varying in the degree to which they felt they could continue R2L implementation without the support of mentors, implications are discussed.