Online Short Spatial Ability Battery (OSSAB): Psychometric Norms for Older Students

The need for STEM specialists is growing in current technologically-oriented economy. This calls for new approaches in evaluation and development of relevant abilities and skills. However, the current educational systems might miss some students who have high potential for this field or who can develop such potential. For example, according to the results of one Russian study, gifted children may be missed by existing methods of talent search, partially due to the lack of standardised psychometric tests, especially of abilities beyond verbal and numerical abilities. One important predictor of STEM, often neglected in education, is spatial ability. Recently an online short spatial ability battery (OSSAB) for use in adolescent popula tions was developed. However, no published norms are available. The aim of this study was to develop normalised thresholds for spatial ability testing using OSSAB battery with Russian 13-17 year old schoolchildren. Schoolchildren from the Sirius Educational Centre, demonstrating high achievement in 3 different areas: science (N = 640; 238 females), sports (N = 436; 67 females) and art (N = 260; 204 females), and schoolchildren (N = 752; 350 females) from general education schools of the Russian Federation participated in the study. Age of participants: 13-17 (M = 15.01; SD = 1.18). The study identified thresholds for 8 spatial ability levels: from Very low ability to Extraordinary giftedness. These thresholds can be used by teachers and school psychologists to determine the level of spatial ability in schoolchildren of 13-17 years of age. Based on individual students’ current levels of spatial ability, teachers can provide individual support and recommendations. For high performance recommendations may include additional clas- ses in STEM or natural sciences, for example, electronics, robotics, programming, physics or chemistry. For lower performance recommendations may include computer games containing spatial components; sports; playing musical instruments; origami classes; and studying the Chinese language. More broadly, school curricula in different subjects should include more spatial elements, such as: inclusion of stereometric tasks in learning materials; computer pro- grams for modelling in teaching geometry and other subjects; adding visualizations (graphs and tables) when explaining material. Overall, the results of this study suggest that a significant number of children have very low or very high level of spatial ability in both mainstream schools and in educational centres for high-preforming students. The norms developed in this study can be used for identification and individualized support in all educational settings

Варіативність складу вторинних метаболітів кори однорічних пагонів представників роду Aesculus L.

The analyze of quality of products of secondary metabolism of bark of annual shoots of genus Aesculus L. representatives is made. It is established the specific biochemical profiles of bark of annual shoots for composition of terpenoids, triterpene saponins, flavonoids and coumarins. The interspecies relations of 12 representatives of genus Aesculus is determined. It is showed that North American and European species combined in three main clusters that reflect the appropriate taxonomic sections, which are allocated on base of phylogenetic relationships of plants on morphological and molecular genetic features.Проаналізовано якісний склад продуктів вторинного метаболізму кори однорічних пагонів представників роду Aesculus L. Установлено специфічність біохімічних профілів кори однорічних пагонів рослин за складом терпеноїдів, тритерпенових сапонінів, флавоноїдів і кумаринів. Репрезентовано міжвидові зв’язки 12 представників роду Aesculus. Показано, що північноамериканські та європейські види об’єднуються у три основні кластери, які збігаються з відповідними таксономічними секціями, виділеними на підставі філогенетичних зв’язків рослин за морфологічними та молекулярно-генетичними ознаками

Особливості нагромадження фенольних сполук в експлантатах троянди ефіроолійної в умовах in vitro

The character of the diffusion of secondary metabolites of Rosa damascena Mill. into the culture medium was studied. The histochemical analysis of intact plants shoots and primary explants on contents of catechins and condensed tannins was carried out. According to the results, it was found that the synthesis of phenolic compounds actively occurs in the living tissues of the primary cortex and the medullary rays of annual shoots, where their concentration is 15–18 times higher than in the cells of sclerenchyma and phloem. The phenolic compounds were segregated actively – by primary explants of Lada variety, less actively by explants of Lan variety. It was shown that the intensity of the excretions of phenols from the stem into the culture medium had a spatial in homogeneity of the tissue that is topologically related to the arrangement of vegetative buds. It was found that the most active in this regard were the primary cortical zones directly located below buds. It was determined that the intensity of secondary metabolites excretions depended on the type of Rosa damascena, the radial dimension and the degree of explants woodiness.Досліджено характер дифузії вторинних метаболітів троянди ефіроолійної у живильне середовище. Проведено гістохімічний аналіз пагонів інтактних рослин та первинних експлантатів на вміст катехінів і конденсованих танінів. Установлено, що синтез фенольних сполук найактивніше відбувається у живих тканинах первинної кори і серцевинних променях однорічних пагонів, де їх концентрація у 15–18 разів перевищує таку в клітинах склеренхіми та флоеми. Найактивніше фенольні сполуки виділялися первинними експлантатами сорту Лада, менш активно – сорту Лань. Показано, що інтенсивність виділень фенолів зі стебла у живильне середовище має просторову тканинну неоднорідність, топологічно пов’язану з розташуванням вегетативних бруньок. З’ясовано, що найактивнішими у цьому відношенні є зони первинної кори, які розташовані безпосередньо під брунькою. Встановлено, що інтенсивність ви ділення вторинних метаболітів залежить від сорту троянди ефіроолійної, радіального розміру експлантата і ступеня його здерев’яніння

Lessons from the Pandemic: Analyzing the Experience of Distant Learning in Secondary Schools

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions switched to distance learning in March 2020. The study focuses on how the sudden transition affected the level of teachers’ anxiety and professional burnout. A total of 282 teachers from general education schools participated in the study. The results showed that the teachers successfully coped with the transition: the level of anxiety and burnout was similar to the results of previous studies of teachers before the pandemic. A significant role in the adaptation of teachers to the urgent transition to online education was played by their attitudes. In particular, those who adapted to the change and were able to get used to the distance format of work showed the lowest levels of anxiety compared with other groups who resisted the change and experienced difficulties. An important condition for successful distance learning, according to teachers, is the detailed regulation of infrastructural aspects of the educational process by the administration. The article discusses the next steps to improve the quality of distance learning based on experience

No evidence of a positive effect of learning Chinese language as an L2 on spatial ability

Spatial ability (SA) was shown to be a robust predictor of success in various educational contexts, including STEM. Thus, ways to improve SA are of interest to educational psychology. There is some evidence that SA might be improved via learning character-based language, e.g. Chinese as a second language (CSL), however, the existing research is quite limited. The study aims to investigate an effect of CSL learning on SA in schoolchildren from Year 2 to Year 7. Current study employs a sample of Russian schoolchildren (N = 283), who learnt: English only, English and Spanish; or English and Chinese. Participants completed Raven’s progressive matrices and Mental rotation task at the age of 8 and again at the age of 14. Our data showed negligible group differences in the initial SA level at Year 2 (before learning second language). Similar negligible differences were found at Year 7. Regression analysis showed that SA was predicted by intelligence (Raven’s) and gender but not language learnt at both ages. This pattern of results indicates that learning a Chinese as a second language is unlikely to affect SA. Further research is needed to investigate whether other factors, such as length, intensity and context of learning, moderate this link

Consensus too soon: judges’ and lawyers’ views on genetic information use

Timely effective regulation of genetic advances presents a challenge for justice systems. We used a 51-item battery to examine views on major genetics-related issues of those at the forefront of regulating this area – Supreme Court judges (N = 73). We also compared their views with those of other justice stakeholders (N = 210) from the same country (Romania). Judges showed greater endorsement and less variability in views on the use of genetic data and technologies than the other groups. The agreement among the judges was strikingly strong for some controversial issues, including gene editing; patenting of genetic findings; and the State using genetic information for crime prevention. Judges and other lawyers recognized the need for amending the relevant laws. Without appropriate regulation, genetic science has a risk of propelling inequality rather than fulfilling its promise to improve people’s lives