Forensic Significance of Teal Colored Cashmere and Black Acrylic Fibers

Textile fibers are a valuable type of trace evidence within forensic cases. They have the ability to connect a perpetrator to a victim and or a crime scene. Some types of fibers are more prevalent than others. The purpose of this research was to conduct a target fiber study in order to determine the significance of the selected fibers in a forensic case. Two fibers were selected from two different garments, black acrylic fiber and a teal colored cashmere fiber. Unknown fibers were collected from three local clothing stores and counted. Using light microscopy, all 20,164 fibers were eliminated as a potential match to the black acrylic target fiber. Microscopic comparison of the unknown fibers to the teal colored cashmere target fiber, produced two potential matches, which were further eliminated by microspectrophotometric analysis. Therefore, of the 20,164 unknown fibers, comparison to both target fibers resulted in no potential matches. It can be concluded that these target fibers may have potential forensic evidential value within a criminal case in the Erie County area

Supporting Informational Text Comprehension: One Educator’s Scaffolding During Instruction in Kindergarten

Educators’ support when using informational text in kindergarten is foundational to children’s comprehension and future learning. Prior research has not offered clear insight into their help when children experience difficulties during informational text comprehension instruction. The current study examined one kindergarten educator’s support. Mrs. Swanson’s teaching was observed two to three times per week for 15 weeks, and lesson artifacts were collected. Discourse analytic coding procedures, constant comparison, and thematic analysis revealed that the educator consistently provided verbal scaffolding but inconsistently supported the individual children who were experiencing comprehension difficulty. An expanded focus on educators’ scaffolding at children’s points of difficulty when using informational text in kindergarten is required in future research and teacher education

Addressing Disciplinary Literacy: An Examination of Teachers’ Instruction in First Grade

Disciplinary literacy instruction during kindergarten through second grade enables students to begin developing facility with consuming, producing, and learning from texts in academic disciplines across their school careers and for full civic participation. Extant intervention studies and descriptions of practice in the primary grades offer understanding of disciplinary literacy instruction when it is enacted with researchers’ help and/or by teachers with expertise in disciplinary literacy. To address disciplinary literacy in the primary grades, insight into what primary teachers focus on and how they support students’ disciplinary literacy learning during their naturally-occurring instruction is needed. This exploratory collective case study examined the disciplinary literacy learning opportunities available in first-grade teachers’ instruction. Participants included four teachers in four elementary schools situated in a large city in the Midwest. Audio records and field notes were collected over a period of five months during teachers’ literacy instruction. Open coding, progressive refinement of codes, and categorical analyses revealed limited instructional emphasis on disciplinary literacy. When learning opportunities were observed, teachers’ foci and support centered on the social foundations of disciplinary literacy and included sharing of information and student practice. Also, problematic disciplinary literacy learning opportunities were noted. This study underscores the urgent need for additional attention to disciplinary literacy as it is situated within the primary grades, with particular import for how first-grade teachers enact disciplinary literacy instruction

Preparing Elementary Writing Teachers: An Inquiry-Driven, Field-Based Approach to Instruction

Pre-service teachers’ [PSTs] preparation for teaching writing is foundational to writing instruction in elementary schools and children’s writing. Prior research has identified elements in writing-focused methods coursework that support their preparation. In this article, an innovative component in a stand-alone writing teacher preparation course that incorporated the research-based elements is showcased: a process for deconstructing and modeling inquiry-driven writing pedagogy. This process includes five phases: (1) using mentor texts during initial immersion, (2) using mentor texts to study structure, (3) using mentor texts to study writer’s craft, (4) using mentor texts to study sentence structure, sentence fluency, and language, and (5) final editing and “going public.” PSTs were engaged as writers of Slice-of-Life stories using this process before being asked to use the same approach in their field work. Research related to using such experiences with PSTs is also shared

Science-Literacy Integration: Equity and Learning in First-Grade, Urban Instructional Contexts

Previous research demonstrates that integration of science and literacy instruction in primary grades has positive outcomes for students’ science and literacy development. However, variations in how science and literacy are enacted suggest integration may not be sufficient to meet the literacy and science needs of all students in an equitable manner. The purpose of this study was to examine two first-grade teachers’ science integration during literacy instruction in one high- and one low-income school context within one urban district. Analysis of field notes, transcripts of lessons, and interviews revealed that expectations to integrate science during time set aside for literacy instruction without consideration of contextual factors perpetuated and concealed ongoing inequities in science education for students from the lowest income school. Further, this study adds to evidence from prior studies demonstrating that reading of science-related texts alone, as a substitute for instruction in science as a discipline, does not provide students with the resources needed to learn to think, talk, and act as scientists. Findings from this study require researchers and policy-makers to address the context-specific factors that shape instructional contexts in ways that limit or expand the potential of integrated science–literacy instruction in urban schools

Sex classification using the human sacrum: Geometric morphometrics versus conventional approaches

The human pelvis shows marked sexual dimorphism that stems from the conflicting selective pressures of bipedal locomotion and parturition. The sacrum is thought to reflect this dimorphism as it makes up a significant portion of the pelvic girdle. However, reported sexual classification accuracies vary considerably depending on the method and reference sample (54%-98%). We aim to explore this inconsistency by quantifying sexual dimorphism and sex classification accuracies in a geographically heterogeneous sample by comparing 3D geometric morphometrics with the more commonly employed linear metric and qualitative assessments. Our sample included 164 modern humans from Africa, Europe, Asia, and America. The geometric morphometric analysis was based on 44 landmarks and 56 semilandmarks. Linear dimensions included sacral width, corpus depth and width, and the corresponding indices. The qualitative inspection relied on traditional macroscopic features such as proportions between the corpus of the first sacral vertebrae and the alae, and sagittal and coronal curvature of the sacrum. Classification accuracy was determined using linear discriminant function analysis for the entire sample and for the largest subsamples (i.e., Europeans and Africans). Male and female sacral shapes extensively overlapped in the geometric morphometric investigation, leading to a classification accuracy of 72%. Anteroposterior corpus depth was the most powerful discriminating linear parameter (83%), followed by the corpus-area index (78%). Qualitative inspection yielded lower accuracies (64–76%). Classification accuracy was higher for the Central European subsample and diminished with increasing geographical heterogeneity of the subgroups. Although the sacrum forms an integral part of the birth canal, our results suggest that its sex-related variation is surprisingly low. Morphological variation thus seems to be driven also by other factors, including body size, and sacrum shape is therefore likely under stronger biomechanical rather than obstetric selection