Reading Perceptions of Intrinsically Motivated High School Juniors

Studies show pleasure reading results in academic benefits but declines between elementary and secondary years. The question addressed is “what are the experiences in the lives of juniors (aged 16-18) that foster intrinsic motivation to read for pleasure?” Juniors from four mid-western U.S. schools with varied ethnic and socio-economic profiles were identified as highly and distinctly intrinsically motivated for pleasure reading. Interviews revealed participants excelled academically and had family members who were readers. They read to escape stress, occupy time, and investigate careers. Rarely reading for rewards, they were “opportunistic readers.” Relationships with librarians were important in finding good books to read. The purpose of this study is to provide educators and librarians with insights into high school students’ needs to facilitate reading for pleasure

Renewing Teaching Practices: Differentiated Instruction in the College Classroom

At a time of high college student attrition rates, faculty who work in higher education settings are being challenged more than ever before with accountability for student learning. The purpose of this article is to share insights relative to a multi-year professional development initiative that provided college faculty with an opportunity to explore changes in their teaching. Over the course of three years, faculty members honed their knowledge, skills, and dispositions relative to a specific instructional strategy for their own classrooms: differentiated instruction. An experiential approach to the initiative was used, and the degree to which participants committed to change their own instructional practices was evaluated. Results indicated an encouraging degree of success, especially in technology integration, providing clear objectives and feedback to students, and enhanced student engagement

Light and Heavy Fractions of Soil Organic Matter in Response to Climate Warming and Increased Precipitation in a Temperate Steppe

Soil is one of the most important carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and plays a crucial role in ecosystem C and N cycling. Climate change profoundly affects soil C and N storage via changing C and N inputs and outputs. However, the influences of climate warming and changing precipitation regime on labile and recalcitrant fractions of soil organic C and N remain unclear. Here, we investigated soil labile and recalcitrant C and N under 6 years' treatments of experimental warming and increased precipitation in a temperate steppe in Northern China. We measured soil light fraction C (LFC) and N (LFN), microbial biomass C (MBC) and N (MBN), dissolved organic C (DOC) and heavy fraction C (HFC) and N (HFN). The results showed that increased precipitation significantly stimulated soil LFC and LFN by 16.1% and 18.5%, respectively, and increased LFC∶HFC ratio and LFN∶HFN ratio, suggesting that increased precipitation transferred more soil organic carbon into the quick-decayed carbon pool. Experimental warming reduced soil labile C (LFC, MBC, and DOC). In contrast, soil heavy fraction C and N, and total C and N were not significantly impacted by increased precipitation or warming. Soil labile C significantly correlated with gross ecosystem productivity, ecosystem respiration and soil respiration, but not with soil moisture and temperature, suggesting that biotic processes rather than abiotic factors determine variations in soil labile C. Our results indicate that certain soil carbon fraction is sensitive to climate change in the temperate steppe, which may in turn impact ecosystem carbon fluxes in response and feedback to climate change

Exploring the experiences of upper elementary school children who are intrinsically motivated to seek information

This dissertation, based on a research study undertaken during the fall of 2008, sought to understand the experiences of children in order to inform school library media specialists' practice in fostering the development of intrinsic motivation for information seeking in young patrons. Research was conducted using an inductive naturalistic approach in order to address the following question, “what are the experiences in the lives of upper elementary school children that foster an intrinsic motivation to seek information?” The conceptual framework for the study was composed of the Taxonomy of Tasks (Bilal, 2002a) and A Theoretical Model of Urban Teen Development (Agosto & Hughes-Hassell, 2006a, 2006b). Self-determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985b) provided the basis for the theoretical framework of the study. Participants were selected from a pool of fifth graders from three diverse schools within a single community. Initially, the children were chosen based on the results of a survey especially developed for the study. Interviews and a drawing activity were used to collect the data that served as the basis for analysis. Analysis of the data indicates that students came from various family situations and socio-economic backgrounds, exhibited different communication styles, and described varied school experiences. They also exhibited an affinity for play, a tendency toward creativity, and the disposition of non-competitiveness. With regard to their information seeking behavior, informants indicated a variety of information seeking styles and interests, engaged in information seeking in order to facilitate maturation into their next developmental stage (adolescence), and recounted diverse and successful information seeking episodes. A point of passion experience occurred in the lives of all of the informants, and the presence of “anchor” relationships helped in fostering their intrinsic motivation for information seeking. Students specified that interest/relevance of topic, working in a group, at least some choice in the task, creating a final product, and fewer time constraints are all components of intrinsically motivating information seeking episodes. Implications and recommendations for practitioners include suggestions for defining the missions, directing the services, and structuring the environments of school library programs toward the goal of supporting and developing intrinsic motivation in school children

Mokytojų įtaka įvairių pradinių mokyklų mokinių gyvenimui Vidurio Vakarų (JAV) kaimo bendruomenėje

Background. Student achievement and adequate yearly progress (AYP) have practitioners and researchers alike searching for strategies that will sustainable student academic growth. One area of study that may inform practitioners is furthering an understanding of student-teacher relationships for students of differing abilities and in different types of schools and situations. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the level of teacher influence perceived by fifth grade students from poverty and affluent schools in a rural Midwestern community. Method. Research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, with data collected from 24 semi-structured student interviews. Results. Results indicated similarities between the perceptions of teacher influence for students in poverty and affluent schools on school-related issues, as well as differences in perceptions of overall teacher influence on their lives, especially on non-school related issues. Conclusions. An implication of the study is that students in poverty tend to have weaker foundational relationships with parents and lack trust of adults in general, and therefore may not have the emotional and psychological building blocks to naturally form strong relationships with teachers. Recommendations include concentrated efforts in mentoring students of poverty, as well as promoting experiences with influential adults in order to build stronger positive relationships both in and out of school

Ar mąstai kaip penktokas? Mokytojų charakteristikų, svarbių dviejų skirtingų pradinių mokyklų mokiniams Vidurio Vakarų kaimiškoje bendruomenėje, tyrimas

Background. Since 2002, No Child Left Behind has caused administrators to place great emphasis on academic learning. This has practitioners seeking strategies that will produce student academic growth, yet few are looking to bolster student-teacher relationships (S-T relationships), a strategy that has shown promise in the area of student achievement for students of differing abilities and in different types of schools and situations. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore S-T relationships and answer the central question: “What teacher behaviors influence fifth-grade students’ perceptions of desirable teacher characteristics?” Method. Research was conducted with the primary qualitative data collected from 24 semi-structured student interviews. Results and discussion. Results revealed teacher behaviors that were valued by students. The behaviors included consistent help (with high expectations); a sense of humor; active listening, providing for a sense of community, and several others. The identification of these behaviors could provide goals for personal development by teachers, as well as assist administrators and other hiring officials searching for potentially successful hires. These themes could also provide a foundation around which a perceiver survey could be developed. Conclusions. Regardless of circumstances and developments, educators and districts must never overlook the importance of cultivating student-teacher relationships in their classrooms.Darbo problema. Nuo 2002 metų įsigalėjusi nuostata neturėti nei vieno nepažangaus mokinio privertė mokyklos administratorius susitelkti į akademinius mokinių pasiekimus. Tai paskatino mokytojus ieškoti būdų, kurie pagerintų akademinius pasiekimus, tačiau mažai iš jų kreipė dėmesį į santykio tarp mokytojo ir mokinio gerinimą. Tokio ryšio puoselėjimas skatina įvairų gebėjimų lygį turinčius ir skirtingo tipo mokyklose besimokančius mokinius siekti akademinių žinių. Tikslas. Šio tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti mokinio ir mokytojo tarpusavio santykius ir atsakyti į klausimą, kokias mokytojų savybes penktokai suvokia kaip pageidautinas. Metodas. Tyrimas atliktas naudojant kokybinį metodą ir išanalizavus 24 pusiau struktūruotų mokinių interviu duomenis. Rezultatai. Atskleistos mokinių vertinamos mokytojų charakteristikos, tokios kaip nuolatinės pagalbos teikimas, humoro jausmas, aktyvus klausymasis ir keletas kitų. Šių charakteristikų išskyrimas padėtų mokytojams užsibrėžti asmeninio tobulėjimo tikslus, o mokyklų administratoriams praverstų atrenkant pedagoginį personalą. Tyrimo rezultatai naudingi ir siekiant toliau plėtoti šios srities tyrimus (atliekant suvokimo analizę). Išvados. Kokia situacija ir išsivystymo lygmuo regionuose bebūtų, ugdymo personalas turėtų atkreipti dėmesį į mokytojo ir mokinio tarpusavio santykių plėtojimo svarbą

Ar mąstai kaip penktokas? Mokytojų charakteristikų, svarbių dviejų skirtingų pradinių mokyklų mokiniams Vidurio Vakarų kaimiškoje bendruomenėje, tyrimas

Background. Since 2002, No Child Left Behind has caused administrators to place great emphasis on academic learning. This has practitioners seeking strategies that will produce student academic growth, yet few are looking to bolster student-teacher relationships (S-T relationships), a strategy that has shown promise in the area of student achievement for students of differing abilities and in different types of schools and situations. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore S-T relationships and answer the central question: “What teacher behaviors influence fifth-grade students’ perceptions of desirable teacher characteristics?” Method. Research was conducted with the primary qualitative data collected from 24 semi-structured student interviews. Results and discussion. Results revealed teacher behaviors that were valued by students. The behaviors included consistent help (with high expectations); a sense of humor; active listening, providing for a sense of community, and several others. The identification of these behaviors could provide goals for personal development by teachers, as well as assist administrators and other hiring officials searching for potentially successful hires. These themes could also provide a foundation around which a perceiver survey could be developed. Conclusions. Regardless of circumstances and developments, educators and districts must never overlook the importance of cultivating student-teacher relationships in their classrooms.Darbo problema. Nuo 2002 metų įsigalėjusi nuostata neturėti nei vieno nepažangaus mokinio privertė mokyklos administratorius susitelkti į akademinius mokinių pasiekimus. Tai paskatino mokytojus ieškoti būdų, kurie pagerintų akademinius pasiekimus, tačiau mažai iš jų kreipė dėmesį į santykio tarp mokytojo ir mokinio gerinimą. Tokio ryšio puoselėjimas skatina įvairų gebėjimų lygį turinčius ir skirtingo tipo mokyklose besimokančius mokinius siekti akademinių žinių. Tikslas. Šio tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti mokinio ir mokytojo tarpusavio santykius ir atsakyti į klausimą, kokias mokytojų savybes penktokai suvokia kaip pageidautinas. Metodas. Tyrimas atliktas naudojant kokybinį metodą ir išanalizavus 24 pusiau struktūruotų mokinių interviu duomenis. Rezultatai. Atskleistos mokinių vertinamos mokytojų charakteristikos, tokios kaip nuolatinės pagalbos teikimas, humoro jausmas, aktyvus klausymasis ir keletas kitų. Šių charakteristikų išskyrimas padėtų mokytojams užsibrėžti asmeninio tobulėjimo tikslus, o mokyklų administratoriams praverstų atrenkant pedagoginį personalą. Tyrimo rezultatai naudingi ir siekiant toliau plėtoti šios srities tyrimus (atliekant suvokimo analizę). Išvados. Kokia situacija ir išsivystymo lygmuo regionuose bebūtų, ugdymo personalas turėtų atkreipti dėmesį į mokytojo ir mokinio tarpusavio santykių plėtojimo svarbą

Shifting Paradigm of Association Studies: Value of Rare Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms

Currently, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with minor allele frequency (MAF) of >5% are preferentially used in case-control association studies of common human diseases. Recent technological developments enable inexpensive and accurate genotyping of a large number of SNPs in thousands of cases and controls, which can provide adequate statistical power to analyze SNPs with MAF <5%. Our purpose was to determine whether evaluating rare SNPs in case-control association studies could help identify causal SNPs for common diseases. We suggest that slightly deleterious SNPs (sdSNPs) subjected to weak purifying selection are major players in genetic control of susceptibility to common diseases. We compared the distribution of MAFs of synonymous SNPs with that of nonsynonymous SNPs (1) predicted to be benign, (2) predicted to be possibly damaging, and (3) predicted to be probably damaging by PolyPhen. Our sources of data were the International HapMap Project, ENCODE, and the SeattleSNPs project. We found that the MAF distribution of possibly and probably damaging SNPs was shifted toward rare SNPs compared with the MAF distribution of benign and synonymous SNPs that are not likely to be functional. We also found an inverse relationship between MAF and the proportion of nsSNPs predicted to be protein disturbing. On the basis of this relationship, we estimated the joint probability that a SNP is functional and would be detected as significant in a case-control study. Our analysis suggests that including rare SNPs in genotyping platforms will advance identification of causal SNPs in case-control association studies, particularly as sample sizes increase