The Unified Learning Model: How Motivational, Cognitive, and Neurobiological Sciences Inform Best Teaching Practices

Information: In this presentation, Dr. Duane Shell and Dr. Doug Kauffman will present a summary of the recently published book, The Unified Learning Model: How Motivational, Cognitive, and Neurobiological Sciences Inform Best Teaching Practices (Shell, Brooks, Trainin, Wilson, Kauffman, and Herr, 2010). They will begin with an overview of the book including a description of three key principles to all learning. The presenters will then relate these general principles to teaching and learning in the sciences. They will facilitate a discussion on how our current understanding of human learning enhances science teaching and learning and ask the questions of whether or not science possesses unique learning challenges as compared to other content areas

Alcohol Expectancies among High School Students in Inner Mongolia, China

Objective — This study examines differences in Chinese high school students’ alcohol expectancies by drinking status (nondrinker, occasional drinker, regular drinker) and gender (male, female). Method — The authors administered the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAEQ) to a convenience sample of 1244 high school students (M = 627; F = 617) from schools in Hohhot City and Tongliao City in Inner Mongolia, China. Results — Differences were found in the 8 CAEQ factors (3 negative and 5 positive factors). Regular drinkers had lower negative consequences and higher positive perception expectancies than nondrinkers or occasional drinkers. Nondrinkers had higher harm to person/reputation expectancies than occasional or regular drinkers. Occasional drinkers had higher beneficial/moderation and lower harm to person/reputation expectancies than nondrinkers. Boys had higher positive perception expectancies than girls. Conclusion — Expectancies are associated with Chinese adolescents’ drinking. Identifying the characteristics of alcohol consuming youth can inform the development of prevention interventions and alcohol policies

Buddhism and Adolescent Alcohol Use in Thailand

A sample of 2019 Thai secondary school students in grades equivalent to U.S. 10 through 12 completed a 43-item alcohol expectancy questionnaire in June 2000. Factor analysis revealed four factors: (a) positive expectancies, (b) negative expectancies, (c) sex and power expectancies, and (d) religious expectancies. Practicing Buddhists were less likely to drink than nonpracticing Buddhists and had fewer positive and more negative expectancies about alcohol. Among students who did drink, Buddhist beliefs did not appear to influence whether or not they were binge drinkers. Buddhist beliefs may influence decisions to drink but not decisions related to drinking patterns

Buddhism and Adolescent Alcohol Use in Thailand

A sample of 2019 Thai secondary school students in grades equivalent to U.S. 10 through 12 completed a 43-item alcohol expectancy questionnaire in June 2000. Factor analysis revealed four factors: (a) positive expectancies, (b) negative expectancies, (c) sex and power expectancies, and (d) religious expectancies. Practicing Buddhists were less likely to drink than nonpracticing Buddhists and had fewer positive and more negative expectancies about alcohol. Among students who did drink, Buddhist beliefs did not appear to influence whether or not they were binge drinkers. Buddhist beliefs may influence decisions to drink but not decisions related to drinking patterns

Reducing Overweight and Obesity among Elementary Students in Wuhan, China

Obesity and overweight among children in China is a growing concern. The curriculum and organization of Chinese schools focuses on academic achievement leaving little time for other programs. This pilot program illustrated that it is possible to involve schools and parents in a program to reduce obesity and overweight. Teachers, school staff, parents and elementary students were involved in an all-school educational initiative based on WHO’s Health Promoting School Model. The program was evaluated with a mixed modal ANOVA using a 3-level within subjects repeated factor (baseline, 1st follow-up, 2nd follow-up) and a 2-level between subjects factor (gender: boys and girls). Results indicated that it was possible to successfully involve a whole school and its parents in an innovative program aimed at reducing child obesity. Knowledge significantly increased between baseline and 1st follow-up but not between 1st and 2nd follow-up. Attitude scores increased across all assessments. Behavior scores increased significantly across all assessment periods. Boys maintained positive decreases in their BMI Z scores, while girls, after initial gains, reverted back to their initial baseline BMI Z scores. It is concluded that it was possible to conduct an effective comprehensive school health education program aimed at reducing obesity in Chinese elementary schools

Use of policy, education, and enforcement to reduce binge drinking among university students: The NU Directions project

This paper describes a program, conducted over a 5-year period, that effectively reduced heavy drinking and alcohol-related harms among university students. The program was organized around strategies to change the environment in which binge drinking occurred and involved input and cooperation from officials and students of the university, representatives from the city and the neighborhood near the university, law enforcement, as well as public health and medical officials. In 1997, 62.5% of the university’s approximately 16,000 undergraduate student population reported binge drinking. This rate had dropped to 47% in 2003. Similar reductions were found in both self-reported primary and secondary harms related to alcohol consumption

University Students’Willingness to Assist Fellow Students Who Experience Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing to Reduce Their Drinking

This study explored bystanders’ willingness to help a friend who flushes when drinking to reduce his/her drinking. Alcohol-related facial flushing is an indicator of an inherited variant enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that impairs alcohol metabolism and increases drinkers’ lifetime risk of certain aerodigestive cancers. Individuals who flush should reduce their alcohol exposure, but they may continue to drink if social pressures and rules of etiquette make not drinking socially risky. The analysis used data from 2912 undergraduate students from 13 universities in southwestern, central and northeastern China from a survey asking how they respond to someone’s flushing in various scenarios. Latent class analysis grouped students by similar responses to flushing. A multinomial logistic regression explored how class membership was associated with knowledge, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Five classes were derived from the latent class analysis, ranging from always intervene to mostly hesitate to help; in between were classes of students who were willing to help in some scenarios and hesitant in other scenarios. Only 11.6% students knew the connection between facial flushing and impaired alcohol metabolism, and knowledgeable students were somewhat more likely to assist when they saw someone flushing. In the absence of knowledge, other factors—such as drinking status, the gender of the bystander, the gender of the person who flushed, and degree of friendship with the person who flushed—determined how willing a person was to help someone reduce or stop drinking. Class membership was predicted by knowledge, gender, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Of these 4 factors, knowledge and reactions to one’s own flushing could be influenced through alcohol education programs. It will take some time for alcohol education to catch up to and change social and cultural patterns of drinking. Meanwhile, motivational strategies should be developed to increase the willingness of bystanders to assist friends and to create a social expectation that flushers should stop or reduce their drinking

Influence of Peer Pressure and Self-Efficacy for Alcohol Self-Regulation on Chinese University Physical Education Students’ Drinking Behaviors

This study examined peer group influence on university student drinking in China and the indirect effects of peer pressure and self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation. A total of 951 undergraduate university students (first, second and third year) from a university in central China completed questionnaires asking about perceived peer pressures, self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation, and drinking frequency. Analysis of their answers showed that the drinking frequency among physical education (PE) students was higher than among the comparison group (History students). The PE students perceived greater peer pressure, and had lower self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation, both of which contributed directly to drinking frequency. Path analysis indicated indirect effects of peer pressure and self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation on the association between peer group membership and drinking frequency. This suggested that skills training to increase self-efficacy for alcohol self-regulation in culturally-specific settings have the potential to both directly and indirectly lower drinking rates in peer groups with high peer pressure and higher than normal drinking

University Students\u27 Willingness to Assist Fellow Students Who Experience Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing to Reduce Their Drinking

This study explored bystanders’ willingness to help a friend who flushes when drinking to reduce his/her drinking. Alcohol-related facial flushing is an indicator of an inherited variant enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that impairs alcohol metabolism and increases drinkers’ lifetime risk of certain aerodigestive cancers. Individuals who flush should reduce their alcohol exposure, but they may continue to drink if social pressures and rules of etiquette make not drinking socially risky. The analysis used data from 2912 undergraduate students from 13 universities in southwestern, central and northeastern China from a survey asking how they respond to someone’s flushing in various scenarios. Latent class analysis grouped students by similar responses to flushing. A multinomial logistic regression explored how class membership was associated with knowledge, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Five classes were derived from the latent class analysis, ranging from always intervene to mostly hesitate to help; in between were classes of students who were willing to help in some scenarios and hesitant in other scenarios. Only 11.6% students knew the connection between facial flushing and impaired alcohol metabolism, and knowledgeable students were somewhat more likely to assist when they saw someone flushing. In the absence of knowledge, other factors—such as drinking status, the gender of the bystander, the gender of the person who flushed, and degree of friendship with the person who flushed—determined how willing a person was to help someone reduce or stop drinking. Class membership was predicted by knowledge, gender, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Of these 4 factors, knowledge and reactions to one’s own flushing could be influenced through alcohol education programs. It will take some time for alcohol education to catch up to and change social and cultural patterns of drinking. Meanwhile, motivational strategies should be developed to increase the willingness of bystanders to assist friends and to create a social expectation that flushers should stop or reduce their drinking

University Students’Willingness to Assist Fellow Students Who Experience Alcohol-Related Facial Flushing to Reduce Their Drinking

This study explored bystanders’ willingness to help a friend who flushes when drinking to reduce his/her drinking. Alcohol-related facial flushing is an indicator of an inherited variant enzyme, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), that impairs alcohol metabolism and increases drinkers’ lifetime risk of certain aerodigestive cancers. Individuals who flush should reduce their alcohol exposure, but they may continue to drink if social pressures and rules of etiquette make not drinking socially risky. The analysis used data from 2912 undergraduate students from 13 universities in southwestern, central and northeastern China from a survey asking how they respond to someone’s flushing in various scenarios. Latent class analysis grouped students by similar responses to flushing. A multinomial logistic regression explored how class membership was associated with knowledge, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Five classes were derived from the latent class analysis, ranging from always intervene to mostly hesitate to help; in between were classes of students who were willing to help in some scenarios and hesitant in other scenarios. Only 11.6% students knew the connection between facial flushing and impaired alcohol metabolism, and knowledgeable students were somewhat more likely to assist when they saw someone flushing. In the absence of knowledge, other factors—such as drinking status, the gender of the bystander, the gender of the person who flushed, and degree of friendship with the person who flushed—determined how willing a person was to help someone reduce or stop drinking. Class membership was predicted by knowledge, gender, drinking status, and reactions to one’s own flushing. Of these 4 factors, knowledge and reactions to one’s own flushing could be influenced through alcohol education programs. It will take some time for alcohol education to catch up to and change social and cultural patterns of drinking. Meanwhile, motivational strategies should be developed to increase the willingness of bystanders to assist friends and to create a social expectation that flushers should stop or reduce their drinking