The Relationship between Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching and Learning Process and Academic Performance in Science of Seventh and Eighth Graders Enrolled in Seventh-day Adventist Schools

Editor’s note: This article was submitted for publication before Burton was named editor of JRCE. It was shepherded through the regular referee process by Lyndon G. Furst, the previous JRCE editor. This study investigated student perceptions of the 7th and 8th grade Adventist science education program and their relationship to achievement in science as defined by performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Findings revealed that students held generally poor perceptions of science education. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed 8 significant predictors of science achievement for multigrade and 2-grade classrooms and 5 significant predictors for single-grade classrooms. The 5 predictors shared across all classroom types included complete assignments, environment conducive to study at home, read textbook ahead, teacher grades fairly, and subject made interesting. . © 2005, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

Higher Education in Sint Maarten: Fostering Growth of Teacher Knowledge in Mathematics and Science

A needs analysis conducted as part of the foundation-based education (FBE) innovation on the island territory of Sint Maarten indicated the need for additional training of early primary teachers (PK-2) in mathematics and science education. Seven in-service workshops, designed around the Joyce-Showers\u27 Training Model, were implemented over the course of an academic year. Participants included teachers from all five school types: Adventist, Catholic, Methodist, Christian non-denominational, and public schools. Pre- and post-measures were collected via tests given the teachers. Results showed that teachers demonstrated real gains in all domains that were tested: mathematics content, science content, mathematics and science methods, and FBE methods. Additionally, the number of teachers reaching the minimum competency score increased dramatically. While differences in scores existed by school type on the diagnostic assessment, these differences were smaller on the post-treatment assessment measure. The study results show the use of the Joyce-Showers\u27 Training Model for teacher development can work in a specific Caribbean context. Results also support the idea that systemic innovation is possible in Sint Maarten with careful planning and appropriately designed support. © Taylor & Francis Group

Charitable Giving, Emotions, and the Default Effect

We report an experiment to study the effect of defaults on charitable giving. In three different treatments, participants face varying default levels of donation. In three other treatments that are paired with the first three, they receive the same defaults, but are informed that defaults are thought to have an effect on their donation decisions. The emotional state of all individuals is monitored throughout the sessions using Facereading software, and some participants are required to report their emotional state after the donation decision. We find that the default level has no effect on donations, and informing individuals of the possible impact of defaults also has no effect. The decision to donate is independent of prior emotional state, unless specific subgroups of participants are considered. Donors experience a negative change in the valence of their emotional state subsequent to donating, when valence is measured with Facereading software. This contrasts with the selfreport data, in which donating correlates with a more positive reported subsequent emotional state

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field