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This Innovative Practices piece details the design of a scaffolded project in a public health course that paired a narrative inquiry assignment with an empirical health literature review assignment to highlight both the positivist and constructivist epistemologies of critical health research in public health. The authors discuss and reflect on the five parts that constitute the project, student learning outcomes, and the benefits of engaging with critical information literacy in an undergraduate public health course. The goal of this article is to provide practical applications of critical information literacy to librarians in the health sciences who work with undergraduate students.

Undergraduate genetics courses have historically focused on simple genetic models, rather than taking a more multifactorial approach where students explore how traits are influenced by a combination of genes, the environment, and gene-by-environment interactions. While a focus on simple genetic models can provide straightforward examples to promote student learning, they do not match the current scientific understanding and can result in deterministic thinking among students. In addition, undergraduates are often interested in complex human traits that are influenced by the environment, and national curriculum standards include learning objectives that focus on multifactorial concepts. This research aims to discover to what extent multifactorial genetics is currently being assessed in undergraduate genetics courses. To address this, we analyzed over 1,000 assessment questions from a commonly used undergraduate genetics textbook; published concept assessments; and open-source, peer-reviewed curriculum materials. Our findings show that current genetics assessment questions overwhelmingly emphasize the impact of genes on phenotypes and that the effect of the environment is rarely addressed. These results indicate a need for the inclusion of more multifactorial genetics concepts, and we suggest ways to introduce them into undergraduate courses.

Background: Although participation rates vary by field, Latiné and women engineers continue to be underrepresented across most segments of the engineering workforce. Research has examined engagement and persistence of Latiné and White women in engineering; however, few studies have investigated how race, ethnicity, gender, and institutional setting interact to produce inequities in the field. Purpose: To address these limitations, we examined how Latina, Latino, and White women and men students' engagement in engineering was informed by their intersecting identities and within their institutional setting over the course of a year. Method: We interviewed 32 Latina, Latino, and White women and men undergraduate engineering students attending 11 different predominantly White and Hispanic Serving Institutions. Thematic analysis was used to interpret themes from the data. Results: Our findings illustrate how Latinas, Latinos, and White women developed a strong engineering identity, which was critical to their engagement in engineering. Students' engineering identity was grounded in their perceived fit within engineering culture, sense of purpose for pursuing their degree, and resistance to the dominance of White male culture in engineering. Latinas described unique forms of gendered, racialized marginalization in engineering, whereas Latinas and Latinos highlighted prosocial motivations for completing their degree. Conclusions: Findings suggest that institutional cultures, norms, and missions are critical to broadening participation of Latinas, Latinos, and White women in engineering. Disrupting White male culture, leveraging Latiné students' cultural wealth, and counter-framing traditional recruitment pitches for engineering appear to be key in these efforts.

Social media may promote health and social connectedness, but its misuse and frequency of use may pose risks. Social media use during adolescence requires parental monitoring and mediation to mitigate potentially harmful effects such as depression, anxiety, and risk-taking behaviors. While parents and health care professionals convey concern surrounding exposure to inappropriate content, prolonged screen time, and cyberbullying, appropriate social media monitoring remains challenging. The purpose of this study was to explore parental monitoring and mediation of social media use in adolescents. Online recruitment yielded a nationwide sample (n = 836) of parents of adolescents. The results of the online survey indicated that parents are concerned about adolescent social media use and endorse positive attitudes toward monitoring. Yet parents perceived little control over monitoring. Findings from this study support the school nurse in promoting healthy social media use, media literacy among parents and adolescents, and the use of screening tools.

No undergraduate or postgraduate programmes currently exist for the professional education of informal educators. The authors outline the development of previous programmes and consider the emergence of informal education as a discrete concept. The article then highlights some key failings in the professional education of informal educators and outlines some changes in the orientation and content of programmes.

The impacts of COVID-19 have been widespread, and the education sector has not been immune to its effects. In March 2020 Australian universities were forced into a shutdown, which prompted an unanticipated, sudden shift in education, from on-campus and face-to-face to an off-campus and online mode of teaching and learning. This paper describes the experiences of two Sydney-based university unit coordinators, from two different institutions, who rapidly shifted their units online as a result of COVID-19. In particular, it applies reflection as a research method, to share what the authors' encountered as successful, and what was challenging about teaching online. Motivating and retaining students was a key challenge identified by the authors. Therefore, the paper discusses the authors' application of various digital programs and tools in their response to this challenge of motivation and engagement. It is hoped that our experiences might benefit those looking to integrate programs and tools in the online teaching and learning space. Although Australia is currently one of the most successful countries in their handling of COVID-19, there is still great uncertainty about the future. Globally the pandemic shows no signs of abating, as many countries struggle to manage high levels of transmission and infection rates, which in turn have an impact on the education sector more broadly. Consequently, online learning may be the 'new normal' for many institutions in the near future. Therefore, it is important for educators to share their online teaching experiences that can contribute to greater understandings of this space.

This article explores a mentoring program for English language teachers at a university in China. At the end of the program, the teachers and mentor reported feeling transformed and set out to investigate what was transformative about their experiences by writing final reflections. Then, the teachers and mentor became the researchers, and using a case study approach, examined the reflections for mentions of change, noting themes that emerged. They also drew on other data sources in order to understand and describe these transformative elements. Four elements identified in the literature, reflection, ownership, collaboration, and personalization, emerged in a way that was customized to the group. Two additional elements also emerged, empowering encouragement and bridging the gap between theory and practice. Both the tweaking and adding of elements led to some lessons for teachers and mentors and the observation that the form of professional development is not as important as its transformative style.

This paper investigates four teachers' efforts to innovate during a semester of English language teaching at a university in China. At the end of a mentor-facilitated action research cycle, the teachers wrote their 'Story of Innovation' in order to construct deeper understandings of their experiences. These stories were examined for themes and are retold here as a collective story in order to show what 'innovation' means to the four teachers and the benefits gained from innovating. Although the teachers' understandings of innovation converged with government policies and other top-down expectations, the individual emphasis of each suggests that different teachers view innovation from the perspective of their particular context. Moreover, although each of the four saw benefits for self and their students, what emerged from their stories was how they grew from the innovation process which may best be described as gradual restructuring.

Although American Sign Language (ASL) education for second language (L2) or additional language (Ln) learners in postsecondary education has increased rapidly over the past four decades, not much is understood about the field. The scholarship of ASL education is relatively new, and little is known of the perspectives of ASL professionals in ASL education. This qualitative study included focus group discussions with 13 ASL professionals who have worked in the field of ASL education to build a better understanding of ASL education as a discipline in regard to its strengths, challenges, and directions. The results from the four focus group discussions show three emergent themes: ASL professionals, the structure of postsecondary education, and the purpose of ASL education. The challenges in developing and sustaining ASL education as a discipline are discussed, and recommendations on how ASL education as a discipline can be elevated and sustained are provided.

American Sign Language (ASL) education is a relatively new field. Thus, further research is necessary, especially regarding developing assessment tools. The goal of this study was to determine the types of assessment tools ASL level 1 teachers use in the classroom and how those teachers measure students' language progression. This study is critical because no standard ASL level 1 assessment tool measures students' skill levels to advance to the next level. The survey was created to build a better understanding of what tools ASL instructors use to assess their students' language performance. Data were collected from 93 ASL level 1 teachers. The results demonstrated a need for additional training for ASL teachers to improve their knowledge of language assessments and skills in using assessment tools, especially to support ASL students' language progress and proficiency. The results of this study provide suggestions for future assessment tools to increase the effectiveness of ASL programs across the United States.

In the University Classroom Observation Program (UCOP), middle and high school teachers spend time on campus observing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes and engaging in discussions with colleagues and college instructors. The program provides a unique and reciprocal professional learning opportunity. Middle and high school teachers learn to use an observation protocol to collect data in STEM classrooms. These data serve as feedback for individual college instructors; help provide an aggregate snapshot of teaching throughout the university; and contribute to faculty professional learning opportunities, new teaching and learning initiatives, and the larger discipline-based education research (DBER) literature. UCOP offers middle and high school teachers discussion and networking opportunities to reflect on their own teaching and on ways to better prepare their students for college. Here we describe the program, articulate the benefits for stakeholders, reflect on lessons learned, and discuss important considerations for the development of similar programs. [Note: The print ISSN (1534-6104) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct ISSN is 1534-6102.]

The recent introduction of an online undergraduate equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) training workshop incorporating short authentic videos from a diverse range of voices is described. The training was designed to provide students with insights into how they can access support, act as allies, and respect diverse peers, preparing students for a professional life in chemistry. Embedding EDI training into a compulsory first year skills module was proposed to be an effective way to emphasize the importance of this topic. Usage statistics, instructor reflections, and student feedback were used to evaluate the workshop, and the implications for practitioners and future development of these online resources were considered. All of the materials and resources have been made available in the Supporting Information and on YouTube in order to support and encourage other institutions to embed the teaching of EDI principles into their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs.

Discussions on decolonizing the curriculum are common in Humanities and Social Science Faculties but still rare in the Physical Sciences. In this commentary, we describe the work we have conducted to begin decolonizing and diversifying our undergraduate chemistry curriculum. We also discuss what it means to decolonize chemistry and reflect on why it is an important thing to do. Finally, we discuss a number of different strategic approaches that could be followed to decolonize an undergraduate chemistry curriculum.

Expert credentials and scientific validity of expert evidence have been shown to impact mock jurors' perceptions of expert credibility. The current study investigated the interactive effects of these two variables. Participants (N = 273) were exposed to a mock civil trial based on a real hostile work environment case. We were interested in both the interactions of expert degree and overall validity of the evidence, as well the impact of degree with specific types of validity. In a between-subjects design, we varied the expert's educational degree (MS vs. PhD) and the scientific validity of the expert's evidence through internal validity (high vs. low) and ecological validity (high vs. low). Results indicated an interaction of degree with overall scientific quality, while controlling for participant sex. When the expert presented high-quality testimony, a PhD expert and their evidence were perceived more positively than an MS expert.

Contemporary concerns for college programs focus on the ability of the program to prepare students to become employable upon graduation. For a community college psychology program, that focus is somewhat muted by the fact that many of the community college graduates will transfer to four-year state universities. For this reason, it is imperative for the community college programs to ascertain from those four-year institutions what preparation those transferring students need. This study has captured what fourteen state public university psychology departments desire for transferring students and what they see as lacking in their students transferring from community colleges. The responding department chairs strongly cited basic scholarship skills, a stronger orientation toward critical and scientific thinking, and a professional and career focus in the transferring students.

Both traditional (offline) and cyber (online) bullying amongst children and young people are serious problems internationally, including in Thailand. Most studies of these were conducted in western countries, with research in Asian countries much less common. We report on a survey of 1,049 students (42% boys, 58% girls) aged 12 to 18 years, in 12 schools from 3 provinces in southern Thailand, of experiences of being a victim of traditional and cyberbullying over the past couple of months, and recommended coping strategies. Telling a teacher or parent was the most recommended strategy for traditional victimization; this was less so for cyber victimization, where blocking messages/identities or changing email address or phone number were most recommended. Older pupils were more likely to recommend reporting to the police, and keeping a record of bullying incidents. There were many gender differences, with girls recommending telling and reporting more, for both traditional and cyber victimization. Girls also recommended ignoring it more, or blocking messages; while boys recommended fighting back, but also making new friends. There were few differences by religion. Victims were more likely to recommend passive strategies such as avoiding the victims, or risky ones such as fighting back. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and implications for anti-bullying work in schools.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a form of writing instruction designed to teach second-graders to write compare and contrast informational texts. 73% of the participants (N = 45) were White, 22% were Hispanic, 2% were Asian, and 1% were Black, with 63% of the students eligible for free or reduced lunch. 48% of the students were female and 52% were male. Data collection included pre- and post-instruction writing samples that were scored using both a holistic and analytic writing rubric. A paired samples t-test revealed statistically significant differences (p = 0.000 for both the holistic and analytic rubric analyses) in student writing scores before and after instruction with a medium (d = 0.52) and large (d = 0.95) effect size reported. These findings suggest that the integrated science and literacy instructional approach supported the second-graders as they learned to write science informational texts that employed a compare and contrast text structure. Because the analytic rubric produced ordinal data, a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used to explore any differences noted for the individual rubric elements. Results in these analyses indicated that there were statistically significant increases from pre- to post-instruction for the use of science vocabulary and definitions, for word count, and for the use of periods. There were no statistically significant differences in the use of signal words to indicate the compare/contrast text structure, in the use of capitals, or an introduction or conclusion.

The main objective of this article is to explore the relationship between internationalisation, creativity and transformation in the context of higher education. It is argued in academic theory that the process of internationalisation in higher education has two pillars: transformational learning and creative development, and that creativity is an integral part of transformational learning. To explore this relationship further, the authors draw on primary research undertaken in the context of a higher education institution in Budapest, Hungary. A Delphi study with senior academic staff and a focus group with Hungarian and international students were included in the research. Questions were asked which aimed to determine whether creativity is indeed an integral part of transformational learning, and whether creativity and transformation are the most important elements of internationalisation. Staff and students recognise the creative and transformative potential of internationalisation, but they also identified several challenges. These include encouraging students to go beyond instrumental approaches to learning, providing staff with the relevant training and support, changing the culture of institutions and overcoming the lack of flexibility in existing national education structures. Overall, the research findings reinforced theoretical perspectives, which propose creative thinking, cooperative and communicative learning, project-based and problem-solving activities as some of the main tools in the process of transformational learning and prerequisites for internationalisation.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of LGB identity on career decision-making self-efficacy. This study utilizes a mediation model that incorporates a personal (self-compassion) and an environmental (social support) factor as key model variables. Mediating effects of social support and self-compassion were found. Specifically, LGB identity was associated with social support, which in turn was linked with increased self-compassion, resulting in greater self-efficacy in career decision-making.

Functional fixedness involves difficulty with conceptualizing creative object uses. When it obstructs problem-solving, individuals must reframe their approach. We examined how different training techniques--chunk decomposition (i.e., considering an object's basic parts and physical properties) and constraint relaxation (i.e., considering an object's different functions)--might rely upon different routes to creative reframing. Additionally, we investigated how different forms of cognitive load interact with these dual routes. Participants learned one of three techniques. Chunk decomposition participants created object breakdown diagrams; constraint relaxation participants created object functions lists; and free association (control) participants wrote a word that they associated with each of several concrete nouns. After training, participants attempted to solve five functional fixedness problems. E1 investigated how increasing germane cognitive load via either direct or indirect prompting affected training transfer. Experiment 2 investigated how reducing extraneous cognitive load by providing no transfer instructions and using an eye-closure strategy. Across both experiments, results supported differences in accuracy and response latency by training. However, chunk decomposition and constraint relaxation did not follow the same pattern, suggesting different mechanisms of the effect. We discuss possible applications to increase innovation in real-world domains such as education, business, and engineering.

Student impressions formed during the first day of class can impact course satisfaction and performance. Despite its potential importance, little is known about how instructors format the first day of class. Here, we report on observations of the first day of class in 23 introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses. We first described how introductory STEM instructors structure their class time by characterizing topics covered on the first day through inductive coding of class videos. We found that all instructors discussed policies and basic information. However, a cluster analysis revealed two groups of instructors who differed primarily in their level of STEM content coverage. We then coded the videos with the noncontent Instructor Talk framework, which organizes the statements instructors make unrelated to disciplinary content into several categories and subcategories. Instructors generally focused on building the instructor--student relationship and establishing classroom culture. Qualitative analysis indicated that instructors varied in the specificity of their noncontent statements and may have sent mixed messages by making negatively phrased statements with seemingly positive intentions. These results uncovered variation in instructor actions on the first day of class and can help instructors more effectively plan this day by providing messages that set students up for success.

The purpose of the study was to examine how disciplinary literacy instruction influenced the quality of science informational text produced by second-grade students (N = 45) using the compare/contrast and the sequence text structures. The instruction took place over eight weeks with two four-week units, and with three 30-minute lessons provided weekly. A Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used to compare pre/post instruction writing samples because these data were ordinal. Results revealed that after the disciplinary literacy instruction students were able to produce higher quality texts, but only consistently in the areas of providing science facts and definitions and using ending punctuation in sentences. Finally a t-test was used to compare student writing based on text structure being used. Findings revealed that students were able to produce higher quality informational text when the sequence text structure was used compared to when students used the compare and contrast structure.

This paper explores a volunteer teaching project that set out to meet a school's need for English instruction and instead encountered other more profound needs. This case study investigates these needs as they emerged in the written and oral reflections of the four volunteer teachers. In tandem with the teaching project, the study found that the needs of learners were broader and deeper than a lack of English instruction. Drawing on the volunteer teachers' reflections, recommendations are made for the school and village where the teaching project took place. An attempt is also made to consider what English language teachers may be able to learn. From the heart of the investigation emerges a human need for love.

Background: The first day of class helps students learn about what to expect from their instructors and courses. Messaging used by instructors, which varies in content and approach on the first day, shapes classroom social dynamics and can affect subsequent learning in a course. Prior work established the non-content Instructor Talk Framework to describe the language that instructors use to create learning environments, but little is known about the extent to which students detect those messages. In this study, we paired first day classroom observation data with results from student surveys to measure how readily students in introductory STEM courses detect non-content Instructor Talk. Results: To learn more about the instructor and student first day experiences, we studied 11 introductory STEM courses at two different institutions. The classroom observation data were used to characterize course structure and use of non-content Instructor Talk. The data revealed that all instructors spent time discussing their instructional practices, building instructor/student relationships, and sharing strategies for success with their students. After class, we surveyed students about the messages their instructors shared during the first day of class and determined that the majority of students from within each course detected messaging that occurred at a higher frequency. For lower frequency messaging, we identified nuances in what students detected that may help instructors as they plan their first day of class. Conclusions: For instructors who dedicate the first day of class to establishing positive learning environments, these findings provide support that students are detecting the messages. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of instructors prioritizing the messages they deem most important and giving them adequate attention to more effectively reach students. Setting a positive classroom environment on the first day may lead to long-term impacts on student motivation and course retention. These outcomes are relevant for all students, but in particular for students in introductory STEM courses which are often critical prerequisites for being in a major.

Active learning is frequently used to describe teaching practices, but the term is not well-defined in the context of undergraduate biology education. To clarify this term, we explored how active learning is defined in the biology education literature (n = 148 articles) and community by surveying a national sample of biology education researchers and instructors (n = 105 individuals). Our objectives were to increase transparency and reproducibility of teaching practices and research findings in biology education. Findings showed the majority of the literature concerning active learning never defined the term, but the authors often provided examples of specific active-learning strategies. We categorized the available active-learning definitions and strategies obtained from the articles and survey responses to highlight central themes. Based on data from the BER literature and community, we provide a working definition of active learning and an Active-Learning Strategy Guide that defines 300+ active-learning strategies. These tools can help the community define, elaborate, and provide specificity when using the term active learning to characterize teaching practices.

Cybermentoring refers to virtual peer support in which young people themselves are trained as cybermentors and interact with those needing help and advice (cybermentees) online. This article describes the training in, and implementation of, a cross-national cybermentoring scheme, Beatbullying Europe, developed in the United Kingdom. It involved train-the-trainer workshops for partners and life mentors in six European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic) in 2013-2014, followed by training sessions for pupil cybermentors aged 11-16 years. Although BeatBullying went into liquidation in November 2014, the project was largely completed. We (1) report an evaluation of the training of the life mentors and mentors, via questionnaire survey; and (2) discuss findings about the implementation of the scheme and its potential at a cross-national level, via partner interviews during and at the end of the project. The training was found to be highly rated in all respects, and in all six countries involved. The overall consensus from the data available is that there was a positive impact for the schools and professionals involved; some challenges encountered are discussed. The BeatBullying Europe project, despite being unfinished, was promising, and a similar approach deserves further support and evaluation in the future.

The "Vision and Change" report called for the biology community to mobilize around teaching the core concepts of biology. This essay describes a collection of resources developed by several different groups that can be used to respond to the report's call to transform undergraduate education at both the individual course and departmental levels. First, we present two frameworks that help articulate the "Vision and Change" core concepts, the "BioCore Guide" and the Conceptual Elements (CE) Framework, which can be used in mapping the core concepts onto existing curricula and designing new curricula that teach the biology core concepts. Second, we describe how the "BioCore Guide" and the CE Framework can be used alongside the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education curricular rubric as a way for departments to self-assess their teaching of the core concepts. Finally, we highlight three sets of instruments that can be used to directly assess student learning of the core concepts: the Biology Card Sorting Task, the Biology Core Concept Instruments, and the Biology-Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science instruments. Approaches to using these resources independently and synergistically are discussed.

People make inferences about the trustworthiness of others based on their observed gaze behavior. Faces that consistently look toward a target location are rated as more trustworthy than those that look away from the target. Representations of trust are important for future interactions; yet little is known about how they are consolidated in long-term memory. Sleep facilitates memory consolidation for incidentally learned information and may therefore support the retention of trust representations. We investigated the consolidation of trust inferences across periods of sleep or wakefulness. In addition, we employed a memory cueing procedure (targeted memory reactivation [TMR]) in a bid to strengthen certain trust memories over others. We observed no difference in the retention of trust inferences following delays of sleep or wakefulness, and there was no effect of TMR in either condition. Interestingly, trust inferences remained stable 1 week after learning, irrespective of the initial postlearning delay. A second experiment showed that this implicit learning occurs despite participants' being unable to explicitly recall the gaze behavior of specific faces immediately after encoding. Together, these results suggest that gist-like, social inferences are formed at the time of learning without retaining the original episodic memory and thus do not benefit from offline consolidation through replay. We discuss our findings in the context of a novel framework whereby trust judgments reflect an efficient, powerful, and adaptable storage device for social information.

The resegregation of public schools in the United States continues to place African American students at an academic disadvantage with--oftentimes--limited educational resources and fewer qualified teachers. Providing African American students with skills and strategies to succeed has never been more urgent. Metacognition, often defined simply as "thinking about thinking," is a construct and process that may explain how students can improve and control their thinking and learning. Given the educational inequality African American students often face, providing strategies--with which they have control--may help empower students to better navigate and make the best of their daily academic experiences and environment composed of limited physical and human resources. Toward this end, recent research on metacognition looks promising and may be one viable option to enhance academic achievement among students. In this article, we consider three related areas that inform African American youth educational experiences: (a) the history of the educational context which African American youth have long faced, (b) the laws that have historically and currently buttress and inform the educational landscape for African American youth, and (c) one potential solution (i.e., metacognitive knowledge, skills, and awareness) to reduce or ameliorate some of the problems outlined in the history and laws that have been implicated in the low levels of academic achievement among some African American youth. Following the review of these related literature bases, we offer recommendations on how the extant literature bases may inform directions for future research that is focused on metacognition and that is ethically and culturally responsive.

Given that paid internships often lead to higher paying positions postgraduation and that women continue to earn less than men for the same position despite their level of education (Women's Bureau, 2017), the authors were interested to understand whether women and other underserved groups were more or less likely to participate in paid or unpaid internships in college compared with their peers. The current study adds to the literature by taking advantage of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE; 2018) Quality High Impact Practices (HIP) Experiences itemset in which students were asked about their internship experiences to reveal more about the representation of students among paid and unpaid internships. The research question guiding this study was: What aspects of student background, academic major, or institution type are related to students participating in paid internships? To answer the research question, logistic regression analysis was employed to measure whether the dichotomous outcome of receiving pay could be significantly predicted by student background, academic major, or institutional characteristics. The author's analysis indicates that when each of these aspects are accounted for, only gender, race (for Asian students), academic major, institutional control, and internship measures are significant predictors of whether or not students receive payment for their internships.

This study examined differences in the criteria used by college and university instructors in the United States to assign course grades. Two hundred and fifty course syllabi (159 from universities and 91 from four-year colleges) developed by randomly selected instructors from five academic disciplines (education, maths, science, psychology, and English) were examined to determine the extent to which instructors employed different criteria in assigning course grades in introductory-level courses. Sources of variation in grade assignment included the use of product versus process criteria, the prevalence of using performance exams, and the framing criteria for grades. Differences between institution types and among academic disciplines were also investigated. Results revealed significant differences among the five academic disciplines in grading criteria and the use of examinations, with instructors in education and English relying more heavily on process criteria.. A significant interaction between institution type and academic discipline in grading criteria was also identified. Theoretical, practical, and policy implications are discussed along with avenues for further research.

Digital communication technologies play an important role in the social development of young people, but can create vulnerabilities to cyberbullying and other negative online experiences. The "Blurred Lives" project aimed to tackle cyberbullying innovatively using a co-participatory approach, collaborating with 14-16-year olds living in areas of socio-economic disadvantage in five European countries. In phase one, 2,658 teenagers were surveyed on their internet use and any unpleasant online experiences. This data informed the second phase where the participating countries worked together with 237 adolescents across 10 schools with adult facilitators to create original anti-cyberbullying resources for teachers, parents/carers, peers, and social media providers using the Quality Circle approach. This methodology adopts an ethos of working together to solve a problem in small, peer-led groups. Each group was tasked with creating a resource for one of the target audience groups. The final resources comprise a rich variety of different formats including videos, comic strips, a board game, leaflets, posters, and newsletters. The pupil feedback highlights, for most but not all participants, an increased knowledge of cyberbullying and e-safety skills, as well as enhanced problem-solving skills, levels of confidence, and group work skills. Several operational challenges are also discussed, including the importance of school-level support, planning, staffing, and finding an appropriate balance between facilitator support and pupil agency.

The present study examined how school-age children's communicative decisions are influenced by the situation, their social partner, and their own characteristics (gender, shyness levels, and history of peer relationships). Children (8-12 years old, N=246) imagined themselves in social scenarios (depicted through comics) and indicated the likelihood of using particular communicative options (e.g., truth, lie, sarcasm, or prosocial response). They also completed measures of shyness and past social experiences with peers. Findings revealed gender differences: Boys were more likely to tell the truth when their social partner blundered, and boys demonstrated increased willingness to use sarcasm. Girls, particularly shy girls, reported increased likelihood of responding with prosocial communicative strategies. Children with a history of peer victimization endorsed using more critical comments, whereas those with positive social experiences (particularly girls) reported more prosocial responses. Together the findings provide insight as to how interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics and contextual factors affect children's communicative choices.

The instructional practices used in introductory college courses often differ dramatically from those used in high school courses, and dissatisfaction with these practices is cited by students as a prominent reason for leaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. To better characterize the transition to college course work, we investigated the extent to which incoming expectations of course activities differ based on student demographic characteristics, as well as how these expectations align with what students will experience. We surveyed more than 1500 undergraduate students in large introductory STEM courses at three research-intensive institutions during the first week of classes about their expectations regarding how class time would be spent in their courses. We found that first-generation and first-semester students predict less lecture than their peers and that class size had the largest effect on student predictions. We also collected classroom observation data from the courses and found that students generally underpredicted the amount of lecture observed in class. This misalignment between student predictions and experiences, especially for first-generation and first-semester college students and students enrolled in large- and medium-size classes, has implications for instructors and universities as they design curricula for introductory STEM courses with explicit retention goals.

College science instructors need continuous professional development (PD) to meet the call to evidence-based practice. New PD efforts need to focus on the nuanced blend of factors that influence instructors' teaching practices. We used persona methodology to describe the diversity among instructors who were participating in a long-term PD initiative. Persona methodology originates from ethnography. It takes data from product users and compiles those data in the form of fictional characters. Personas facilitate user-centered design. We identified four personas among our participants: Emma the Expert views herself as the subject-matter expert in the classroom and values her hard-earned excellence in lecturing. Ray the Relater relates to students and focuses on their points of view about innovative pedagogies. Carmen the Coach coaches her students by setting goals for them and helping them develop skill in scientific practices. Beth the Burdened owns the responsibility for her students' learning and feels overwhelmed that students still struggle despite her use of evidence-based practice. Each persona needs unique PD. We suggest ways that PD facilitators can use our personas as a reflection tool to determine how to approach the learners in their PD. We also suggest further avenues of research on learner-centered PD.

A segmentation study is used to partition college students into groups that are more or less likely to adopt tablet technology as a learning tool. Because the college population chosen for study presently relies upon laptop computers as their primary learning device, tablet technology represents a "next step" in technology. Student lifestyles and personality characteristics measured in a survey serve as segmentation dimensions. The survey was preceded by qualitative research used to identify student perceptions of the potential (dis)advantages in switching. The perceived (dis)advantages of tablet technology for each segment are discussed as implications for "selling" newer technology to this population.

This mixed methods study examined the effectiveness of a virtual world curriculum for teaching elementary students complex science concepts and skills. Data were collected using pre- and post-content tests and a student survey of engaged learning, An additional survey collected teacher observations of 21st century competencies conducive to learning. The study involved a five-day intervention of fifteen 4th grade students in a small Midwestern school using a virtual science computer game from Arizona State University. Thirty elementary teachers from Australia, England, and the United States were surveyed on classroom observations of their elementary students working in the virtual world environment. Research questions guiding the virtual learning study were: (1) do pre- and post-content tests show significant learning in the virtual environment; (2) are students academically engaged during the learning process; and (3) are students actively demonstrating relevant 21st century competencies. The study supports prior research in game-based learning showing measurable learning results, highly engaged, motivated students, and observations of student behaviors conducive to learning science in school, namely collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking/inquiry, global awareness, and technology use.

Although widely touted as important, there is little evidence regarding the influence of teaching experience on elementary teachers' science subject matter knowledge (SMK). To better understand this phenomenon, we administered an assessment of science topics taught in the fifth and sixth grades to 169 preservice teachers, 231 fifth-grade teachers, and 208 sixth-grade teachers. We then compared the mean scores of teachers at different stages in the career cycle using one-way and two-way ANOVA and explored the relationship between SMK scores and years of teaching experience using regression analysis. Findings indicate that (i) being assigned to a specific grade level had an impact on teachers' SMK for topics included in the grade level, (ii) teachers' SMK scores were lower later in their careers for both science topics they had never taught and for science topics they were responsible for teaching, and (iii) results differed for fifth and sixth grades. This study adds to the existing literature through the examination of a large sample of elementary teachers, with teachers of varying years of experience, while focusing on the science topics these teachers are responsible for teaching. The results of this study provide strong evidence that (i) years of experience teaching specific science topics is associated with the development of teachers' knowledge of these topics, and (ii) teaching experience, what teachers do in the context of their everyday practice, can be an effective means of self-directed learning for teachers. There is also evidence that this influence is not uniform across years of teaching experience or science topics taught. These findings raise important implications about future research into the mechanism of SMK development through teaching experience and teacher grade-level assignments.

Young children often deny that improbable events are possible. We examined whether children aged 5-7 (N = 300) might have more success in recognizing that these events are possible if they considered whether the events could happen in a distant country. Children heard about improbable and impossible events (Experiments 1A, 1B, and 2) and about ordinary events (Experiment 2) and either judged whether the events could happen in a distant country or locally (Experiments 1A and 2) or with their location unspecified (Experiment 1B). Children were more likely to judge that extraordinary events could happen in a distant country than when the same events were described locally or with location unspecified; also, older children were more likely to deny these events could happen when they were local compared with when their location was unspecified. We also found some evidence that manipulating distance affects judgments more strongly for improbable events than for impossible one. Together, the findings show that children's assessments of whether hypothetical events are possible are affected by the geographic context of the events. The findings are consistent with accounts holding that children normally assess whether hypothetical events are possible by drawing on their knowledge of the ordinary world but further suggest that children modify this approach when considering events in distant lands.

We describe the development of a new, freely available, online, programmatic-level assessment tool, Measuring Achievement and Progress in Science in Physiology, or Phys-MAPS (http://cperl.lassp.cornell.edu/bio-maps). Aligned with the conceptual frameworks of Core Principles of Physiology, and Vision and Change Core Concepts, Phys-MAPS can be used to evaluate student learning of core physiology concepts at multiple time points in an undergraduate physiology program, providing a valuable longitudinal tool to gain insight into student thinking and aid in the data-driven reform of physiology curricula. Phys-MAPS questions have a modified multiple true/false design and were developed using an iterative process, including student interviews and physiology expert review to verify scientific accuracy, appropriateness for physiology majors, and clarity. The final version of Phys-MAPS was tested with 2,600 students across 13 universities, has evidence of reliability, and has no significant statement biases. Over 90% of the physiology experts surveyed agreed that each Phys-MAPS statement was scientifically accurate and relevant to a physiology major. When testing each statement for bias, differential item functioning analysis demonstrated only a small effect size (<0.008) of any tested demographic variable. Regarding student performance, Phys-MAPS can also distinguish between lower and upper division students, both across different institutions (average overall scores increase with each level of class standing; two-way ANOVA, P < 0.001) and within each of three sample institutions (each ANOVA, P = 0.001). Furthermore, at the level of individual concepts, only evolution and homeostasis do not demonstrate the typical increase across class standing, suggesting these concepts likely present consistent conceptual challenges for physiology students.

The "Vision and Change" report provides a nationally agreed upon framework of core concepts that undergraduate biology students should master by graduation. While identifying these concepts was an important first step, departments also need ways to measure the extent to which students understand these concepts. Here, we present the General Biology--Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science (GenBio-MAPS) assessment as a tool to measure student understanding of the core concepts at key time points in a biology degree program. Data from more than 5000 students at 20 institutions reveal that this instrument distinguishes students at different stages of the curriculum, with an upward trend of increased performance at later time points. Despite this trend, we identify several concepts that advanced students find challenging. Linear mixed-effects models reveal that gender, race/ethnicity, English-language status, and first-generation status predict overall performance and that different institutions show distinct performance profiles across time points. GenBio-MAPS represents the first programmatic assessment for general biology programs that spans the breadth of biology and aligns with the "Vision and Change" core concepts. This instrument provides a needed tool to help departments monitor student learning and guide curricular transformation centered on the teaching of core concepts.

More than just intelligence is needed to learn accounting. We see from prior work that the non-cognitive aspects of learning can influence the experience for accounting students. We investigate by survey both self-efficacy beliefs [Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215] and mindset [Dweck, C. (2006). "Mindset: The new psychology of success." Random House] relative to academic performance of accounting students in a first year university course. Analysis of the data shows that mindset is not a predictor of academic success, whereas self-efficacy beliefs have explanatory power. Dweck [2000. "Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development." Psychology Press; 2006. "Mindset: The new psychology of success." Random House] claims that students with a fixed mindset also will have fragile confidence. By measuring both self-efficacy beliefs and mindset together, we provide evidence that this may in fact not be the case. Students can have a fixed mindset and high confidence towards learning accounting.

Deaf epistemology made a crucial contribution to an understanding of a Deaf worldview, yet did not quite encompass the "D/deaf experience." It started the conversation but seemingly stalled. In an expansion on earlier studies of Deaf epistemology, the researchers considered the question "What does it mean to be D/deaf?" D/deaf participants submitted narratives that were analyzed for common themes via grounded theory research methodology. Six open codes were identified: "school, cultural capital, deficit/The Struggle, difference/empowerment, accessibility/technology, hearing technology." These themes were captured by two axial codes: "journey" and "sense of belonging." The core category was determined to be "situated homecoming," reflecting the apex of a long, frustrating journey. In a transition from a largely etic to an emic exploration of Deaf epistemology, new insights were developed about what it means to be D/deaf, as well as a new way of theorizing about Deaf epistemology.

The aim of this self-study was to critically consider the authors' individual thinking and practices as they worked toward a shared understanding of connecting science and literacy during instruction. As teacher educators from different disciplines, this work required them to carefully and recurrently examine their individual understandings of the purposes and processes underlying curriculum integration. It also asked the authors to consider and reconsider integrated instruction through the lens of a colleague whose disciplinary focus is different from their own. Through this process, the authors refined their individual understandings of curriculum integration and negotiated enough of a shared perspective to develop and operationalized definition of what it means to make meaningful connections across disciplines during instruction.

This study investigated how children designed computer games as artifacts that reflected their understanding of nutrition. Ten 5th grade students were asked to design computer games with the software "Game Maker" for the purpose of teaching 1st graders about nutrition. The results from the case study show that students were able to express their personal thoughts and intentions by designing and developing realistic computer games in a complex programming environment. Our findings point to gender implications and other contextual factors that motivated social interaction around game design and programming strategies. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) (www.wbdg.org) is the only Web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria, and technology from a "whole buildings" perspective. The resource is a product of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), a non-government, nonprofit organization that was established by Congress in 1974 but now operates on its own. The Institute was established to build a bridge between the private and public sector. The Whole Building Design Guide is a great example of the role the Institute was meant to play. Also unique is that the Institute is required by its legislation to represent practitioners in all these building industry segments: architects, engineers, contractors, insurers, unions, manufacturers, legal, housing, vendors, owners, consumers, state & federal government, codes & standards, and testing. This makes www.wbdg.org the perfect place for a whole buildings resource tool. The WBDG is organized into three major categories: (1) Design Guidance; (2) Project Management; and (3) Operations & Maintenance (O&M). The WBDG now offers several continuing education courses built upon the content of the WBDG.

This article will assume that one has heard of Building Information Modeling or BIM but has not developed a strategy as to how to get the most out of it. The National BIM Standard (NBIMS) has defined BIM as a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. As such, it serves as a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility, forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life cycle from inception onward. A basic premise of BIM is collaboration by different stakeholders at different phases of the life cycle of a facility to insert, extract, update, or modify information to support and reflect the roles of that stakeholder. The BIM is a shared digital representation founded on open standards for interoperability.