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This cluster randomized control trial examines the effects of the Science Notebook in a Universal Design for Learning Environment (SNUDLE) on elementary school student science academic achievement and motivation outcomes. Multilevel analyses examined the impact of SNUDLE for all students and important student subgroups. Overall, students who received the SNUDLE intervention had similar motivation and academic achievement in science to their peers who did not receive the SNUDLE intervention. However, relative to students with disabilities in the comparison group, students with disabilities who used SNUDLE scored significantly higher on motivation in science and science academic achievement, with effect sizes (ES) ranging from 0.82 to 1.01. Furthermore, SNUDLE appeared to have a small but statistically significant positive impact on science academic performance among students whose home language is other than English or Spanish with an ES of 0.35. Fidelity of implementation analysis shows sufficient teacher training but fidelity of teacher and student usage of SNUDLE needs to be improved. The qualitative analysis of teacher interviews suggests that teachers perceived benefits of SNUDLE in support language acquisition and science writing skills. Both quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that SNUDLE holds promise for improving academic performance in science and confidence and motivation among some of the most vulnerable student populations.

Teachers' thought processes are critical in the adoption of any new teaching practices, including those emphasizing students' autonomous motivation. Teachers' experiences may be particularly important in classes for struggling readers, as these educators must not only support students' development of autonomous learning skills but also deliver significant academic supports. This study uses sensemaking theory to investigate teachers' efforts to create order for themselves in a novel student-directed online literacy platform. Qualitative analysis focused on weekly log data from 20 teachers. Results indicate that approaches fell along a continuum, including instances when teachers reject autonomy, embed the platform in familiar teacher-centered approaches, promote students' future abilities to learn autonomously, or embrace autonomy. Some teachers demonstrate an inclination toward one extreme, but most blend approaches. Findings suggest opportunities to support teachers of struggling readers with data about potential benefits of autonomy versus structured teaching and their own predilections toward student autonomy.

Reproduction is a fundamental process that shapes the demography of every living organism yet is often difficult to assess with high precision in animals that produce large numbers of offspring. Here, we present a novel microfluidic research platform for studying Caenorhabditis elegans' egg-laying. The platform provides higher throughput than traditional solid-media behavioral assays while providing a very high degree of temporal resolution. Additionally, the environmental control enabled by microfluidic animal husbandry allows for experimental perturbations difficult to achieve with solid-media assays. We demonstrate the platform's utility by characterizing C. elegans egg-laying behavior at two commonly used temperatures, 15 and 20 °C. As expected, we observed a delayed onset of egg-laying at 15 °C degrees, consistent with published temperature effects on development rate. Additionally, as seen in solid media studies, egg laying output was higher under the canonical 20 °C conditions. While we validated the Egg-Counter with a study of temperature effects in wild-type animals, the platform is highly adaptable to any nematode egg-laying research where throughput or environmental control needs to be maximized without sacrificing temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in motivational beliefs, such as writing efficacy and attitudes toward writing in different contexts (academic, recreational, print or digital), are hypothesised to account for variability in writing performance. This study tested this proposition with 185 middle school students (58% were male), examining if writing self-efficacy and attitudes toward writing made a statistically significant and unique contribution to predicting performance on a norm-referenced writing measure, after variance related to gender, free/reduced lunch status, student's first language, disability status, reading self-efficacy and attitudes toward reading were first controlled. Collectively, writing attitudes and self-efficacy accounted for statistically significant and unique variance in writing scores after the other variables were controlled, providing support for the theoretical proposition that writing motivational beliefs are important ingredients in middle school students' writing.

We found that the combination of spatially restricted uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) expression with 4-thiouracil delivery can be used to label and purify cell type-specific RNA from intact complex tissues in Drosophila melanogaster. This method is useful for isolating RNA from cell types that are difficult to isolate by dissection or dissociation methods and should work in many organisms, including mammals and other vertebrates.

Conducting focus groups with target audiences to assess user needs is a critical step in the process of designing and developing a web-based writing environment. This descriptive study examined focus group data gathered to address two questions: First, do data from focus groups affirm and expand our understanding of writing and writing development among middle school students? And second, do data from focus groups provide information helpful to the use of digital technology for enhancing writing instruction, production, and engagement? Analysis of students' writing experiences across grade levels revealed that sixth graders placed more emphasis on procedural knowledge such as format, editing, and timelines, whereas seventh and eighth graders placed more emphasis on substantive processes such as plan, draft, and revise. Students' writing experiences also showed a disconnect between writing behaviors they engaged in on their own (texting, social media, and email) and writings they learned in school. Future research and instructional practice implications are discussed, including providing ongoing supports when writing and use of digital technology to enhance instruction and engagement.