Cognitive and environmental predictors of early literacy skills     

Davidse NJ  de Jong MT  Bus AG  Huijbregts SC  Swaab H 《Reading and writing》2011,24(4):395-412

Not all young children benefit from book exposure in preschool age. It is claimed that the ability to hold information in mind (short-term memory), to ignore distraction (inhibition), and to focus attention and stay focused (sustained attention) may have a moderating effect on children’s reactions to the home literacy environment. In a group of 228 junior kindergarten children with a native Dutch background, with a mean age of 54.29 months (SD = 2.12 months), we explored therefore the relationship between book exposure, cognitive control and early literacy skills. Parents filled in a HLE questionnaire (book sharing frequency and an author recognition checklist as indicator of parental leisure reading habits), and children completed several tests in individual sessions with the researcher (a book-cover recognition test, PPVT, letter knowledge test, the subtests categories and patterns of the SON, and cognitive control measures namely digit span of the KABC, a peg tapping task and sustained attention of the ANT). Main findings were: (1) Children’s storybook knowledge mediated the relationship between home literacy environment and literacy skills. (2) Both vocabulary and letter knowledge were predicted by book exposure. (3) Short-term memory predicted vocabulary over and above book exposure. (4) None of the cognitive control mechanisms moderated the beneficial effects of book exposure.  相似文献   

Head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment: results of a prospective Canadian national surveillance program     

Bennett S  Ward M  Moreau K  Fortin G  King J  Mackay M  Plint A 《Child abuse & neglect》2011,35(11):930-936

Objective

We sought to determine the incidence, clinical features, and demographic profile of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment (abuse or neglect) in Canada to help inform the development and evaluation of prevention programs for abusive head injuries.

Methods

From March 1, 2005 to February 28, 2008, an average of 2,545 paediatricians and paediatric subspecialists were surveyed monthly through the established network of the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program. We calculated incidence rates using the number of confirmed cases over the product of the duration of the study (3 years) and population estimates by age group.

Results

There were 220 confirmed cases of head injury from suspected child maltreatment. The annual incidence rate was 14.1 per 100,000 for children less than 1 year of age and 1.4 per 100,000 for those less than 15 years. Seventy three percent (141) of cases involved infants less than 12 months of age and 52% (100) of cases involved infants less than 6 months of age. Seventy-five percent (165) of cases presented to the emergency room. With regard to outcome, 12% (27) of cases resulted in death and 45% (75) of survivors had neurological sequelae at discharge. Thirty percent (67) of all cases, as well as 30% (8) of deaths were previously known to child welfare authorities.

Conclusion

This study provides an estimate of the rate of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment in Canada. The young age and poor medical outcomes of those involved highlights the need for prevention efforts that are implemented early in life. Given that a significant percentage of injured infants and children were already known to child welfare authorities, the study also highlights the need to establish and evaluate additional preventive efforts for parents and caregivers already in the child welfare system.  相似文献   

Profiling teachers’ sense of professional identity     

Esther T. Canrinus  Michelle Helms‐Lorenz  Douwe Beijaard  Jaap Buitink  Adriaan Hofman 《Educational studies》2011,37(5):593-608

This study shows that professional identity should not be viewed as a composed variable with a uniform structure. Based on the literature and previous research, we view teachers’ job satisfaction, self‐efficacy, occupational commitment and change in the level of motivation as indicators of teachers’ professional identity. Using two‐step cluster analysis, three distinct professional identity profiles have empirically been identified, based on data of 1214 teachers working in secondary education in the Netherlands. These profiles differed significantly regarding the indicators of teachers’ professional identity. Teachers belonging to the found profiles did not significantly differ in their amount of experience.  相似文献   

Using digital images of the zebra finch song system as a tool to teach organizational effects of steroid hormones: a free downloadable module     

Grisham W  Schottler NA  McCauley LM  Pham AP  Ruiz ML  Fong MC  Cui X 《CBE life sciences education》2011,10(2):222-230

Zebra finch song behavior is sexually dimorphic: males sing and females do not. The neural system underlying this behavior is sexually dimorphic, and this sex difference is easy to quantify. During development, the zebra finch song system can be altered by steroid hormones, specifically estradiol, which actually masculinizes it. Because of the ease of quantification and experimental manipulation, the zebra finch song system has great potential for use in undergraduate labs. Unfortunately, the underlying costs prohibit use of this system in undergraduate labs. Further, the time required to perform a developmental study renders such undertakings unrealistic within a single academic term. We have overcome these barriers by creating digital tools, including an image library of song nuclei from zebra finch brains. Students using this library replicate and extend a published experiment examining the dose of estradiol required to masculinize the female zebra finch brain. We have used this library for several terms, and students not only obtain significant experimental results but also make gains in understanding content, experimental controls, and inferential statistics (analysis of variance and post hoc tests). We have provided free access to these digital tools at the following website: http://mdcune.psych.ucla.edu/modules/birdsong.  相似文献   

Harnessing technology to improve formative assessment of student conceptions in STEM: forging a national network   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Haudek KC  Kaplan JJ  Knight J  Long T  Merrill J  Munn A  Nehm R  Smith M  Urban-Lurain M 《CBE life sciences education》2011,10(2):149-155

Concept inventories, consisting of multiple-choice questions designed around common student misconceptions, are designed to reveal student thinking. However, students often have complex, heterogeneous ideas about scientific concepts. Constructed-response assessments, in which students must create their own answer, may better reveal students' thinking, but are time- and resource-intensive to evaluate. This report describes the initial meeting of a National Science Foundation-funded cross-institutional collaboration of interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education researchers interested in exploring the use of automated text analysis to evaluate constructed-response assessments. Participants at the meeting shared existing work on lexical analysis and concept inventories, participated in technology demonstrations and workshops, and discussed research goals. We are seeking interested collaborators to join our research community.  相似文献   

The public understanding of nanotechnology in the food domain: the hidden role of views on science, technology, and nature     

Vandermoere F  Blanchemanche S  Bieberstein A  Marette S  Roosen J 《Public understanding of science (Bristol, England)》2011,20(2):195-206

In spite of great expectations about the potential of nanotechnology, this study shows that people are rather ambiguous and pessimistic about nanotechnology applications in the food domain. Our findings are drawn from a survey of public perceptions about nanotechnology food and nanotechnology food packaging (N = 752). Multinomial logistic regression analyses further reveal that knowledge about food risks and nanotechnology significantly influences people's views about nanotechnology food packaging. However, knowledge variables were unrelated to support for nanofood, suggesting that an increase in people's knowledge might not be sufficient to bridge the gap between the excitement some business leaders in the food sector have and the restraint of the public. Additionally, opposition to nanofood was not related to the use of heuristics but to trust in governmental agencies. Furthermore, the results indicate that public perceptions of nanoscience in the food domain significantly relate to views on science, technology, and nature.  相似文献   

Shrink-film microfluidic education modules: Complete devices within minutes     

Nguyen D  McLane J  Lew V  Pegan J  Khine M 《Biomicrofluidics》2011,5(2):22209

As advances in microfluidics continue to make contributions to diagnostics and life sciences, broader awareness of this expanding field becomes necessary. By leveraging low-cost microfabrication techniques that require no capital equipment or infrastructure, simple, accessible, and effective educational modules can be made available for a broad range of educational needs from middle school demonstrations to college laboratory classes. These modules demonstrate key microfluidic concepts such as diffusion and separation as well as "laboratory on-chip" applications including chemical reactions and biological assays. These modules are intended to provide an interdisciplinary hands-on experience, including chip design, fabrication of functional devices, and experiments at the microscale. Consequently, students will be able to conceptualize physics at small scales, gain experience in computer-aided design and microfabrication, and perform experiments-all in the context of addressing real-world challenges by making their own lab-on-chip devices.  相似文献   

The effect of climbing wall use on the grip strength of fourth-grade students     

Lirgg CD  Dibrezzo R  Gray M  Esslinger T 《Research quarterly for exercise and sport》2011,82(2):350-354

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Development of the Design Thinking and Instructional Lessons (DTAIL) model: a creative approach for teachers     

Elwood  Kristin  Jordan  Michelle E. 《Educational technology research and development : ETR & D》2022,70(5):1781-1807

Educational technology research and development - The educational landscape continues to become increasingly complex, which suggests a need for a teacher-driven creative approach to developing...  相似文献   

“That’s a Big Bad Wolf!”: Learning through Teacher-Child Talk During Shared Reading of a Story Book App     

Neumann  Michelle M.  Merchant  Guy 《Early Childhood Education Journal》2022,50(3):515-525

Early Childhood Education Journal - Touch screen tablets and story book apps provide opportunities for teachers to support young children’s shared reading experiences. Much research has...  相似文献