How do STEM-interested students pursue multiple interests in their higher educational choice?

Interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has lately received attention in research due to a gap between the number of STEM students and the needs of the labour market. As interest seems to be one of the most important factors in deciding what to study, we focus in the present study on how STEM-interested students weigh multiple interests in making educational choices. A questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended items was administered to 91 STEM-interested students enrolled in a STEM programme of a Dutch University for secondary school students. Results indicate that students find it important that a study programme allows them to pursue multiple interests. Some students pursued multiple interests by choosing to enrol in two programmes at the same time. Most students chose one programme that enabled them to combine multiple interests. Combinations of pursued interests were dependent on the disciplinary range of interests of students. Students who were interested in diverse domains combined interests in an educational programme across academic and non-academic domains, whilst students who were mainly interested in STEM combined only STEM-focused interests. Together these findings stress the importance of taking a multiple interest perspective on interest development and educational choice.     

Canadian Teaching and Learning Centres on Facebook and Twitter: An Exploration Through Social Media

Teaching and Learning Centres (TLCs) play a role in the professional development of faculty, staff and teaching assistants in higher education institutions. One of the functions of many TLCs is that of outreach, not only to the individuals within their institutions who are their primary clientele but also to the greater higher education community. This paper presents an introductory review of Canadian TLCs’ use of social media, seeking to address questions regarding the extent to which Canadian TLCs use social media and the ways in which these are used. Based on frequency of accounts, and on the content of posts in these accounts, the authors found that social media are used by nearly half of all Canadian TLCs to a wide range of purposes. Areas for further inquiry are suggested.     

Anatomy education in Namibia: balancing facility design and curriculum development

The anatomy curriculum at Namibia's first, and currently only, medical school is clinically oriented, outcome-based, and includes all of the components of modern anatomical sciences i.e., histology, embryology, neuroanatomy, gross, and clinical anatomy. The design of the facilities and the equipment incorporated into these facilities were directed toward simplification of work flow and ease of use by faculty, staff, and students. From the onset, the integration of state of the art technology was pursued to facilitate teaching and promote a student-centered pedagogical approach to dissections. The program, as realized, is comprised of three 16-week semesters with seven hours of contact time per week, namely three hours of lectures and four hours of dissection laboratory and microscopy time. Set outcomes were established, each revolving around clinical cases with integrated medical imaging. The design of the facility itself was not constrained by a legacy structure, allowing the School of Medicine, in collaboration with architects and contractors, to design the building from scratch. A design was implemented that allows for the sequential processing of cadaveric material in a unidirectional flow from reception, to preparation, embalming, storage, dissection, and maceration. Importantly, the odor of formaldehyde typically associated with anatomy facilities was eliminated outside of the dissection areas and minimized within via a high-performance ventilation system. By holistically incorporating an integrated curriculum, facility design, and teaching at an early stage, the authors believe they have created a system that might serve as a model for new anatomy programs.     

What do the public know about anatomy? Anatomy education to the public and the implications

Public knowledge of the anatomical “self” is lacking and evidence points towards a growing need for anatomy education to the wider public. The public were offered the opportunity to learn human anatomy and complete an anatomical knowledge survey afterwards. Sixty‐three participants volunteered to attempt to place 20 anatomical structures on a blank human body template. Responses were scored independently and then collated. A mixed effects logistic model was used to examine any associations with participants’ as a random effect and all other factors as fixed effects. Results showed a statistically significant quadratic trend with age. Participants in health‐related employment scored significantly higher than those not in health‐related employment. There was a significant interaction between gender and organ type with males scoring higher than females in identifying muscles, but not in identifying internal organs. The current study demonstrates the general public's eagerness to learn anatomy despite their limited knowledge of the human body, and the need for widening participation. Furthermore, it raises an awareness of the anatomical literacy needs of the general public, especially in school children and young adults. Furthermore, it emphasizes the value of health literacy as a focus in undergraduate medical education. Anatomy literacy appears to be neglected, and this experience provides an example of a possible mode of public engagement in anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 11: 117–123. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

The Transition from Kindergarten to Ungraded Primary: Longitudinal Predictors of Popularity and Social Reputation

The longitudinal stability of measures of peer acceptance, social status, and social reputation and the role of children's ages relative to classmates were studied during the transition from same-age kindergarten to mixed-age (ungraded) primary. Both overall peer acceptance and aggressive social reputation showed moderate stability from kindergarten to ungraded primary. Half of the children who were rejected at Time 1 (kindergarten) maintained their rejected status in ungraded primary. Results were comparable to previous research on same-age classrooms. Implications of children's peer relations for adjustment to ungraded primary are discussed.     

Emergence and constructvalidation of the big five factors in early childhood: a longitudinal analysis of their ontogeny in Sweden

Researchers have shown that the five major dimensions of personality (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience) and two additional factors (irritability and positive activity) are evident from adolescence. This study attempted to replicate and extend these results in a longitudinal study of 102 Swedish children, followed from 2.3 to 15.2 years of age. Item analyses revealed consistently reliable irritability, conscientiousness, and positive activity factors, whereas the internal reliability of the extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience factors increased over time. Irritability and positive activity were not independent of the other factors. Scores on most of the personality factors were fairly stable over time. Over time, children became less extraverted, more agreeable, and more conscientious. Neuroticism and openness to experience increased in Phase III, although openness then decreased in Phase V. Validity of the original factors was demonstrated by correlations with independent assessments of the children's cognitive performance and adjustment to school.     

Beyond Awareness: Black Studies for Consciousness and Praxis in Teacher Education

Critical Studyin' is a Black Studies-inspired, morally engaged pedagogy. With roots in anti-racist teaching, it is focused on race, ideology, and education. This study explores the learning experiences and outcomes of seven, preservice educators after taking a course that was based on Critical Studyin' and offered in a College of Education at one university in the Southeastern region of the United States. Researchers employed constructivist grounded theory techniques to the analysis of semi-structured interviews and course documents. Findings highlight the development of students' critical consciousness and agency as they engaged in critical interrogation of the complex relationships among race, culture, and classroom teaching. This study highlights the potential of Black Studies as a pedagogy teacher educators can enact to orchestrate disruptive learning experiences and environments necessary for anti-racist teaching. It adds further support for culture-centered approaches in educator preparation that scaffolds preservice educators in their development of justice-oriented perspectives and practices in education.     

Two measures of the quality of group care for infants and toddlers

Two sets of quality measures of group care were used to assess their predictive power for two sets of measures of the development of infant and toddlers in group day care. One of the quality measures we investigated was the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). We replicated the findings of Scarr, Eisenberg, & Dealer-Deckard (1994) which were that the total score of the ECERS represents a global index and that the 37 items making up the scale are redundant and could be shortened considerably without loss of the scale as a quality criterion of group care for young children. Neither Scarr, Eisenberg, and Dealer-Deckard (1994) nor our own Factor Analyses of the 37 items supported the a priori distinction of seven Subscales. However further findings indicate that regardless of the redundancy within ECERS, two Subscales, dealing mainly with adult-child, child-child and adult-adult interactions, predict the development of infants and toddlers, but only when the measures of development were based on participant observations of the children over a longer period of time and in the broad context of the natural daycare environment. None of the Subscales, nor the total ECERS predicted social development when it was based on precise time sampling observations, assessed by non participant observers, in interactions between a child and a specific caregiver. Such measures of development were well predicted in our study by caregiver behaviors assessed through Time Sampling Observations.     

Can short-form WISC-R IQ tests identify children with high full scale IQ?

Forty-seven talented fourth graders were assessed on different WISC-R short-form combinations in order to determine which short-form was the most effective predictor of high Full Scale WISC-R IQ. The short-form combinations of Similarities + Object Assembly + Vocabulary subtests (SI-OA-VO) or Similarities + Object Assembly subtests (SI-OA) were more effective in this regard than eight other WISC-R short-form combinations, the Slosson Intelligence Test, and school grades in Math, Language, and Reading combined. The findings are of relevance to gifted assessment.