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Recent advances in eye-tracking technology afford the possibility to collect rich data on attentional focus in a wide variety of settings outside the lab. However, apart from anecdotal reports, it is not clear how to maximize the validity of these data and prevent data loss from tracking failures. Particularly helpful in developing these techniques would be to describe the prevalence and causes of tracking failures in authentic environments. To meet this goal, we analyzed video records aligned with eye-tracking data collected from screen-mounted eye trackers employed in a middle-school classroom. Our sample includes records from 35 students recorded during multiple eye-tracking sessions. We compared student head position, body posture, attentiveness, and social interactions for time periods associated with successful and unsuccessful eye tracking. Overall, we observed substantial data loss and found that student inattentiveness, movements toward the eye tracker, and head rotations were the most prevalent factors inducing data loss. In addition, we observed a substantial relationship between data loss and apparent low involvement in the learning task. These data suggest that eye-tracking data loss is an important problem and that it can present a threat to validity because it can bias datasets to overrepresent high involvement behaviors. Based on these findings, we present several recommendations for increasing the proportion of usable data and to counter possible biases that data loss may introduce.

Instructional discussion is a teaching method used in many classrooms across grade levels. In fact, the Common Core State Standards promote the use of instructional discussion in secondary classrooms (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2018a). Students, however, are not always taught best practices for engaging in a discussion and may feel unprepared to participate. As a result, discussions may not produce the dynamic learning opportunity they are intended to foster. This essay provides 10 tips for high school teachers to prepare students in the high school classroom to engage in a meaningful classroom discussion effectively in order to ensure students are learning and are engaged in a productive manner while meeting the demands of the Common Core Standards.

The willingness and flexibility of university instructors to comply with and provide accommodations for students with disabilities is critical to academic success. The authors examine how communication between students needing accommodations and university instructors impacts instructor self-efficacy, or instructors' perception that they can meet the accommodation. Specifically, the authors' explored the relationship between student self-disclosure of a disability and instructor empathy, flexibility, and self-efficacy in meeting student accommodation needs. Results revealed that the more a student self-discloses about a needed accommodation, the more self-efficacy an instructor has in making that accommodation. For the low-disclosure condition, empathy and flexibility were both significant predictors of self-efficacy, whereas, for the high-disclosure condition, only flexibility was a significant predictor of self-efficacy. Finally, instructors' levels of empathy and flexibility both decreased after reading both the high and low self-disclosure scenarios.

Although eye tracking has been used extensively to assess cognitions for static stimuli, recent research suggests that the link between gaze and cognition may be more tenuous for dynamic stimuli such as videos. Part of the difficulty in convincingly linking gaze with cognition is that in dynamic stimuli, gaze position is strongly influenced by exogenous cues such as object motion. However, tests of the gaze-cognition link in dynamic stimuli have been done on only a limited range of stimuli often characterized by highly organized motion. Also, analyses of cognitive contrasts between participants have been mostly been limited to categorical contrasts among small numbers of participants that may have limited the power to observe more subtle influences. We, therefore, tested for cognitive influences on gaze for screen-captured instructional videos, the contents of which participants were tested on. Between-participant scanpath similarity predicted between-participant similarity in responses on test questions, but with imperfect consistency across videos. We also observed that basic gaze parameters and measures of attention to centers of interest only inconsistently predicted learning, and that correlations between gaze and centers of interest defined by other-participant gaze and cursor movement did not predict learning. It, therefore, appears that the search for eye movement indices of cognition during dynamic naturalistic stimuli may be fruitful, but we also agree that the tyranny of dynamic stimuli is real, and that links between eye movements and cognition are highly dependent on task and stimulus properties.

Objective: The study addressed whether specific linguistic variables used by adoptive parents were associated with ratings of the adoptee's relationship with their birth mothers. Background: Parents transmit their beliefs and values to children through verbal and nonverbal communication. The ways in which adoptive parents discuss their child's adoption and birth family can influence the child's adoptive identity development and satisfaction with their adoption arrangements. Method: Participants included mothers, fathers, and adolescents (M age = 15.7 years) in 177 adoptive families of children who were adopted domestically as infants by same‐race parents. The Linguistic Analysis and Word Count 2015 (LIWC2015) program was used to code adoptive parents' interviews regarding their thoughts and feelings about adoption and their child's birth family. Adolescents' views of birth mothers were coded from their interviews. Results: There were significant differences in linguistic patterns when adoptive parents discussed adoption generally compared to when they discussed their child's birth family. Specific linguistic variables used by adoptive mothers and fathers were significantly associated with adopted adolescents' perceptions and feelings towards their birth mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cassandra Book called on scholars to examine how communication was taught in K-12 classrooms. For nearly 30 years, scholars have expressed concern regarding the decline of K-12 communication scholarship (Hunt et al., 2014), argued for the importance of communication in K-12 teacher certification (Rudick & Dannels, 2020; Wright, 2020), and most recently, advocated for the National Communication Association's (NCA) involvement in developing a K-12 communication pedagogy research agenda (Yastremski & Morreale, 2021). In their article, Yastremski and Morreale's (2021) proposed four strategies for advancing scholarship and advocacy in this realm. This essay will address their first strategy, which asks scholars to develop a communication pedagogy K-12 research agenda.

This study examines the basic communication course (BCC) as it relates to students' first academic year at a university. Specifically, we compared students completing both a first-year experience (FYE) course and BCC against students completing only an FYE course. Data was collected over two cohorts of students and after analytical procedures, we found that there is an association between courses taken (both a FYE course and BCC or just a FYE course) and retention at the university. Additionally, the results revealed that the combination of both a FYE course and BCC during the first-year fostered emotional support and classroom connectedness, which previous research suggests improves students' integration into the larger academic community (see Dwyer, Bingham, Carlson, Prisbell, Cruz, & Fus, 2004; Titsworth, McKenna, Mazer, & Quinlan, 2013). Ultimately, this research provides implications for the integral role the BCC plays in the first-year.

Teachers and their unions are often vilified for the perception that they are working against the best interest of students (Berliner & Glass, 2014). The narrative, it seems, is that teachers' unions only seek to protect bad teachers, and they fight for an unearned increase in pay for teachers. The National Education Association launched the Go Red for Ed campaign, which is an awareness campaign designed to promote the need to provide students with school environments that enable learning, give teachers a voice in educational policy, and provide equitable opportunities for students of all backgrounds (National Education Association, 2019). In doing so, educators and allies in several states have successfully engaged in protests and strikes to advocate for education. In this essay, the author examines the history and politics of teacher labor, which they define as the broad working conditions of and work done by teachers, especially as they navigate the standardized system of government accountability present in K-12 education today. The author describes teacher labor as it is impacted by government accountability movements in education. Specifically, they discuss teacher working conditions, the de-skilling of teachers, teacher dissatisfaction, and teacher shortages. Further, the author explores the implications of the accountability movement including harms to student learning and teacher autonomy while suggesting pathways for communication education researchers to address these concerns.

This study begins with the assumption that visual and related literacies are essential frameworks to foster not only students' learning of visual communication principles, but also 21st century skills such as creative problem solving and self-directed learning. We focus on assignment directions as a particular instructional component. In contrast to step-by-step directions, strategically ambiguous assignments prompt students to determine the best solutions and course of actions that meet project criteria and suit their abilities. Using a thematic analysis, we analysed student reflections to inquire how students felt about these differences and how students articulated their creative process. In both cases, students learned essential components of visual communication. Notably, the strategically ambiguous assignment prompted students to be more aware of how messages are constructed and take greater pride in their work whereas the clear directions prompted more reflection about the technicalities of working with software.

Record high temperatures were documented in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, on 18 March 2022, exceeding average temperatures for that day by nearly 30°C. Satellite imagery and stream gage measurements indicate that surface wetting coincided with this warming more than 2 months after peak summer thaw and likely exceeded thresholds for rehydration and activation of resident organisms that typically survive the cold and dry conditions of the polar fall in a freeze‐dried state. This weather event is notable in both the timing and magnitude of the warming and wetting when temperatures exceeded 0°C at a time when biological communities and streams have typically entered a persistent frozen state. Such events may be a harbinger of future climate conditions characterized by warmer temperatures and greater thaw in this region of Antarctica, which could influence the distribution, activity, and abundance of sentinel taxa. Here we describe the ecosystem responses to this weather anomaly reporting on meteorological and hydrological measurements across the region and on later biological observations from Canada Stream, one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems within the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Plain Language Summary: An atmospheric river event in March 2022 led to record warm temperatures over much of Antarctica. Here we report the ecological and hydrological responses to these extraordinary temperatures. The McMurdo Dry Valleys are unique among other regions of Antarctica that experienced this extreme weather event because contemporary observations of ecosystem responses to unseasonable weather can be anchored to a 30‐year record of meteorology, stream flow, and soil community data supported by the National Science Foundation Long Term Ecological Research program. As such weather anomalies are expected to be more common in future Antarctic climate regimes our insights are broadly relevant to the scientific community seeking to predict future ecosystem and organismal responses to ongoing climate change. Key Points: An atmospheric river caused extreme weather in the Antarctic Dry Valleys in March 2022 with temperatures 25°C above average conditionsRecord fall temperatures drove mobilization of liquid water and reactivation of biota at a time when organisms are entering winter dormancyBiotic responses to unseasonable warm and wet conditions may influence diversity and life‐history characteristics of biotic communities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundRacial/ethnic minorities have a higher burden of stroke, but lower awareness and understanding of stroke and its risk factors. Our community-academic collaborative hosted a symposium in South Los Angeles to increase awareness about stroke, provide information on the Los Angeles Stroke Intervention and Research Program (SPIRP), and facilitate bidirectional communication between researchers and community stakeholders.ObjectivesWe discuss our partnered approach to increase stroke awareness, elicit community perspectives and perceptions about stroke prevention and research participation, and increase community involvement in research using a community engagement symposium (CES).MethodsWe used a community-partnered participatory research (CPPR) conference framework to guide symposium planning, implementation and analysis. The morning session included clinical lectures, a panel of researchers describing LA SPIRP, and a panel presentation by stroke caregivers and survivors. In afternoon breakout sessions, attendees identified 1) community-based strategies to prevent stroke and 2) methods to increase recruitment of diverse populations in stroke research studies. Attendees were surveyed about stroke knowledge before and after the morning session. Data from breakout sessions were analyzed using content analysis and pile sorting to identify themes.ConclusionsWe found that the CES based on CPPR principles was effective method to increase short-term stroke awareness and stimulate discussion about stroke research among community members and community stakeholders who serve racial/ethnic minorities.

The problemCharles R. Drew University (CDU) and community partners wanted to create a structure to transcend traditional community-academic partnerships. They wanted community leaders integrated into CDU's research goals and education of medical professionals.Purpose of articleTo explain the establishment of the Community Faculty Program, a new model of community-academic partnership that integrates community and academic knowledge.Key pointsUsing CBPR principles, CDU and community partners re-conceptualized the faculty appointment process and established the Division of Community Engagement (DCE). CDU initially offered academic appointments to nine community leaders. Community Faculty contributes to CDU's governance, education, research, and publication goals. This model engaged communities in translational research and transformed the education of future healthcare professionals.ConclusionThe Community Faculty Program is a new vision of partnership. Using a CBPR approach with committed partners, a Community Faculty Program can be created that embodies the values of both the community and the academy.

BackgroundAfrican American women have lower 5-year cancer survival rates than non-Latino White women. Differences in perceived benefits of early cancer detection among racial/ethnic groups may affect cancer-screening behaviors. This study assessed correlates of perceived benefits of early breast, cervical and colorectal cancer detection among 513 African American women.MethodsUsing a community-partnered participatory research approach, we conducted a survey on cancer screening, risk behaviors, and related knowledge and attitudes among African American parishioners at 11 churches in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood that experiences one of the highest cancer mortality rates in California.ResultsAfrican American women who participated in this study were more likely to believe that chances for survival are very good or good after early detection of breast cancer (74%) than after early detection of colorectal (51%) and cervical cancer (52%). Multivariate analyses show that perceived benefit of early cancer detection is associated with higher cancer knowledge and having discussed one's cancer risk with a doctor.ConclusionsGiven that 5-year survival rates for early stage breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer range from 84% to 93%, our data suggest that a substantial proportion of African American women in South Los Angeles are not aware of the benefits of early detection, particularly of colorectal and cervical cancers. Programs that increase cancer knowledge and encourage a discussion of individual's cancer risk with a doctor may be able to increase perceived benefit of early detection, a construct that has been shown to be associated with cancer screening in some studies.

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards has brought about a renewed inspiration for exploring the role of communication in K-12 schools as they include a speaking and listening strand. Communication education in K-12 schools had been sparsely researched; however, a handful of scholars have made calls to increase the research and advocacy done in this arena. There is a need to understand the K-12 context as a means to inform practices at the college level. This study breaks down the speaking and listening strand of the standards to create a better understanding of the content addressed and applies them to two contexts: a required high school communication course and a college-level basic communication course. Results suggest that the volume of standards addressed is problematic, especially given a lack of teacher training in this area.