A Diverse Clinical-Based Practice in Teacher Education

The purpose of the study was to determine if offering a virtual clinical-based practice would affect teacher candidates’ level of confidence in teaching diverse students. During 2012-2014, data were collected using a pre- and post-Likert scale questionnaire. A paired two sample t-test was utilized to determine if there was a significant difference in mean scores from the pre- to the postquestionnaire. Increases were found in all questionnaire items with five of the items showing a significant increase at the α=.01 level. The results suggest that a virtual clinical-based practice may provide an authentic experience for teacher candidates, may lead teacher candidates to be become more aware and take a positive approach to students’ differences, and that the teacher candidates’ comfort level with unfamiliar situations posed by students from diverse backgrounds may increase. A future implication is that colleges of education may want to consider adding a virtual clinical-based practice to existing diversity education classes. However, more research needs to be conducted to determine if virtual clinical-based practices are equal to or better than on-site clinical-based practices in an attempt to increase teacher candidates’ levels of confidence in teaching diverse students

Choosing Sides: Children’s Expectations of Consequences of Loyalty Towards Authority

Previous research has found that children recognize social group membership and status early in development (Aboud, 2003; Gulgoz & Gelman, 2017). However, children increasingly value loyalty towards authority figures with age, although they prefer members of their own social groups (Norris & Noles, 2022). In this study, we are interested in whether children expect there to be positive consequences associated with loyalty towards authority figures over a subordinate, as well as negative consequences associated with loyalty towards subordinates over authority figures. We presented children ages 6-8, as well as adults, with a situation in which a worker was loyal to either the boss (authority figure) or another worker (subordinate). We then asked two questions: whether the boss was nice to the (dis)loyal worker (Positive Consequence) or mean to them (Negative Consequence). Both children and adults significantly chose the worker to receive a negative consequence when the worker was loyal to the subordinate as well as to receive a positive consequence when the worker was loyal to the boss. These results suggest that at a young age, children recognize that risks are associated with loyalty towards authority figures over in-group members. Future studies should further explore how loyalty influences the way children interact in relationships with friends, parents, and teachers

The forgotten kids: Experiences of potential student-athletes at a postsecondary football preparatory school

The first preparatory institution was founded in 1635 to prepare elite men for public service, a role in the church, or admission to Harvard (Boyer, 1983). Nearly 400 years later, the objective of such institutions is no longer Harvard, but often an avenue for potential student-athletes (PSAs) to participate in collegiate sport (Thamel, 2007). The NCAA does not define nor regulate postgraduate preparatory institutions; however, Curran (2014) describes a preparatory institution (commonly referred to as prep schools) as a postgraduate institute that provides PSAs another year at a secondary institution prior to making the transition to college. Framed by Mincer’s (1958) model of Basic Human Capital, the purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of those attending or associated with one specific preparatory institution (X Academy). The first research question which explores prospective student-athletes choices to attend a preparatory institution revealed three final themes: (1) eligibility concerns, (2) athletic exposure and development, and (3) academic improvement. The second research question explores the experiences of those attending a preparatory institution also revealed three final themes: (1) focus and preparation, (2) melting pot, and (3) survival. &nbsp

Aware, But Don't Really Care: Students' Perspective on Privacy and Data Collection in Online Courses

The purpose of this study was to examine student viewpoints about privacy and personal data collection in online courses. Results of data analysis revealed that students were aware that their learning behaviors such as login frequency, pages viewed or clicked, and learning profiles could be monitored and recorded by their instructors. Additionally, they were not concerned about their learning behaviors being monitored, recorded, or collected for academic research, and used for instructional/teaching improvement purposes. No significant difference between gender (female and male) of students in terms of their awareness and concern about their privacy in online learning settings was evident

Aware, But Don't Really Care: Students' Perspective on Privacy and Data Collection in Online Courses

The purpose of this study was to examine student viewpoints about privacy and personal data collection in online courses. Results of data analysis revealed that students were aware that their learning behaviors such as login frequency, pages viewed or clicked, and learning profiles could be monitored and recorded by their instructors. Additionally, they were not concerned about their learning behaviors being monitored, recorded, or collected for academic research, and used for instructional/teaching improvement purposes. No significant difference between gender (female and male) of students in terms of their awareness and concern about their privacy in online learning settings was evident

Preparing adolescents attending progressive and no-excuses urban charter schools to analyze, navigate, and challenge race and class inequality

Background/Context: Sociopolitical development (SPD) refers to the processes by which an individual acquires the knowledge, skills, emotional faculties, and commitment to recognize and resist oppressive social forces. A growing body of scholarship has found that such sociopolitical capabilities are predictive in marginalized adolescents of a number of key outcomes, including resilience, academic achievement, and civic engagement. Many scholars have long argued that schools and educators have a central role to play in fostering the sociopolitical development of marginalized adolescents around issues of race and class inequality. Other scholars have investigated school-based practices for highlighting race and class inequality that include youth participatory-action research, critical literacy, and critical service-learning. Objective of Study: The present study sought to add to the existing scholarship on schools as opportunity structures for sociopolitical development. Specifically, this study considered the role of two different schooling models in fostering adolescents' ability to analyze, navigate, and challenge the social forces and institutions contributing to race and class inequality. Setting: The six high schools participating in the present study were all urban charter public high schools located in five northeastern cities. All six schools served primarily low-income youth of color and articulated explicit goals around fostering students' sociopolitical development. Three of these high schools were guided by progressive pedagogy and principles, and three were guided by no-excuses pedagogy and principles. Research Design: The present study compared the sociopolitical development of adolescents attending progressive and no-excuses charter high schools through a mixed methods research design involving pre-post surveys, qualitative interviews with participating adolescents and teachers, and ethnographic field notes collected during observations at participating schools. Results: On average, adolescents attending progressive high schools demonstrated more significant shifts in their ability to analyze the causes of racial inequality, but adolescents attending no-excuses high schools demonstrated more significant shifts in their sense of efficacy around navigating settings in which race and class inequality are prominent. Neither set of adolescents demonstrated significant shifts in their commitment to challenging the social forces or institutions contributing to race and class inequality. Conclusions: Both progressive and no-excuses schools sought to foster adolescents' commitment to challenging race and class inequality, but focused on different building blocks to do so. Further research is necessary to understand the pedagogy and practices that show promise in catalyzing adolescents' analytic and navigational abilities into a powerful commitment to collective social action-the ultimate goal of sociopolitical development

Method Development for Structural Assessment of Nanolipoprotein Particles with and without Cross-linked Lipids

Membrane proteins make up approximately 30% of the cellular proteome and account for over 60% of pharmaceutical targets.1 Determining the structures of this class of proteins is critical to our understanding of disease states and will advance rational drug design. But membrane proteins have limited solubility, rarely form large crystals that diffract well, and often misfold outside of a bilayer, hindering crystallographic studies.1 Nanolipoprotein particles (NLPs) have arisen as a platform to readily solubilize membrane proteins while mimicking a native lipid environment. NLPs consist of a discoidal phospholipid bilayer encircled by an apolipoprotein belt. In an effort to optimize and improve crystallization of empty NLPs, we altered the fluidity of the lipid bilayer by incorporating photoactive DiynePC phospholipids in the lipid bilayer, forming cross-linked nanoparticles (X-NLPs). Here, we used a cell-free expression system with apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) plasmid and micellar lipids to assemble NLPs. Based on high throughput crystallization screening data, we reproduced and validated crystallization conditions for X-NLPs and optimized conditions for non-crosslinked NLPs (DMPC NLPs)

Art+Politics

For the exhibition Art + Politics, students worked closely with the holdings of Gettysburg College\u27s Special Collections and College Archives to curate an exhibition in Schmucker Art Gallery that engages with issues of public policy, activism, war, propaganda, and other critical socio-political themes. Each of the students worked diligently to contextualize the objects historically, politically, and art-historically. The art and artifacts presented in this exhibition reveal how various political events and social issues have been interpreted through various visual and printed materials, including posters, pins, illustrations, song sheets, as well as a Chinese shoe for bound feet. The students\u27 essays that follow demonstrate careful research and thoughtful reflection on the American Civil War, nineteenth-century politics, the First and Second World Wars, World\u27s Fairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower\u27s campaign, Vietnam-War era protests, and the Cultural Revolution in China. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1009/thumbnail.jp

The Nature of the Long-Lived Excited State in a Ni^(II) Phthalocyanine Complex Investigated by X-Ray Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

The nature of the photoexcited state of octabutoxy nickel(II) phthalocyanine (NiPcOBu₈) with a 500 ps lifetime was investigated by X‐ray transient absorption (XTA) spectroscopy. Previous optical, vibrational, and computational studies have suggested that this photoexcited state has a ligand‐to‐metal charge transfer (LMCT) nature. By using XTA, which provides unambiguous information on the local electronic and nuclear configuration around the Ni center, the nature of the excited state of NiPcOBu₈ was reassessed. Using X‐ray probe pulses from a synchrotron source, the ground‐ and excited‐state X‐ray absorption spectra of NiPcOBu8 were measured. Based on the results, we identified that the excited state exhibits spectral features that are characteristic of a Ni^(1, 3)(3d_(z²), 3d_(x²-y²)) state rather than a LMCT state with a transiently reduced Ni center. This state resembles the (d,d) state of nickel(II) tetramesitylphorphyrin. The XTA features are rationalized based on the inherent cavity sizes of the macrocycles. These results may provide useful guidance for the design of photocatalysts in the future