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In this article, we explore the use of two published datasets for teaching a wide range of students about regression models, with a particular focus on interaction terms. The two datasets come from recent psychology studies on beliefs about poverty and welfare, and about the dynamics of groups projects. Both datasets (and their original research papers) are accessible to students, and because of their context, students can learn about data collection, measurement, and the use of statistics when studying complex social topics, while using the data to learn about regression analysis. We have used these data for a range of in-class activities, journal paper discussions, exams, and extended projects, at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.

Abstract Economic inequality and alt-right extremism have reached historic highs in the U.S. We propose that high economic inequality may uphold stereotypes that white people are wealthy which may lead some white Americans to feel in the precarious position of falling behind their racial group’s high status. For white Americans who also feel that they are being passed in status by People of Color, such perceptions may make ideologies that aim to benefit white people particularly appealing. Across two studies (Pilot: N = 465; Study 1: N = 1,449), using representative quota sampling of non-Hispanic, white Americans, we combine a measure of subjective status with latent profile analysis to identify white Americans who feel they are in “Last Place” (i.e., falling behind most white, Black, Asian, and Latinx Americans). Controlling for objective status, white Americans in this “Last Place” profile were most likely to support alt-right ideology, politicians, and events.

AbstractEngaging and motivating students in undergraduate statistics courses can be enhanced by using topical peer-reviewed publications for analyses as part of course assignments. Given the popularity of on-campus therapy dog stress-reduction programs, this topic fosters buy-in from students whilst providing information regarding the importance of mental health and well-being as it impacts learning. This article describes how instructors can use a study on the benefits of human–dog interactions to teach students about study design, data collection and ethics, and hypothesis testing. The data and research questions are accessible to students without requiring detailed subject-area knowledge. Students can think carefully about how to collect and analyze data from a randomized controlled trial with two-sample hypothesis tests. Instructors can use these data for short in-class examples or longer assignments and assessments, and throughout this article, we suggest activities and discussion questions. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.

As future healthcare practitioners, kinesiology students must become expert learners who choose strategies resulting in deep and durable learning. Metacognitive instruction goes beyond the use of study skills as it focuses on student reflection and evaluation of their learning success, and ultimately establishes effective learning skills, a requirement for professional practice. To examine if an intervention in a kinesiology course affected metacognitive awareness and use of metacognitive strategies, a quasi-experimental research design utilized a convenience sample of 89 upper division undergraduate occupational therapy students and master’s level athletic training students enrolled in kinesiology courses. Using an online survey including the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Schraw & Dennison, 1994) and three Likert scale questions about perception of study skills, pre-test and post-test data were collected over three years, and 6-month follow-up data were collected during the final two years of the study. The intervention included information about metacognition and key study tips, five learning activities, and teaching techniques to promote metacognition. Treating the pre-test group as the reference group, the results showed that the post-test and 6-month follow-up test groups were significant predictors of students’ scores on the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, indicating an improved and sustained metacognitive awareness after completing the course. The intervention was found to have a positive association with scores of planning, information management, comprehension monitoring, and evaluation. These results indicate the value of metacognition instruction. Considering that not all students come equipped with metacognitive skills, instruction in this area could be beneficial to students.

Among species, larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones, however, the opposite seems to be true for dogs-smaller dogs tend to live significantly longer than larger dogs across all breeds. We were interested in the mechanism that may allow for small breeds to age more slowly compared with large breeds in the context of cellular metabolism and oxidative stress. Primary dermal fibroblasts from small and large breed dogs were grown in culture. We measured basal oxygen consumption (OCR), proton leak, and glycolysis using a Seahorse XF96 oxygen flux analyzer. Additionally, we measured rates of reactive species (RS) production, reduced glutathione (GSH) content, mitochondrial content, lipid peroxidation (LPO) damage and DNA (8-OHdg) damage. Our data suggests that as dogs of both size classes age, proton leak is significantly higher in older dogs, regardless of size class. We found that all aspects of glycolysis were significantly higher in larger breeds compared with smaller breeds. We found significant differences between age classes in GSH concentration, and a negative correlation between DNA damage in puppies and mean breed lifespan. Interestingly, RS production showed no differences across size and age class. Thus, large breed dogs may have higher glycolytic rates, and DNA damage, suggesting a potential mechanism for their decreased lifespan compared with small breed dogs.