The expanded view of individualism and collectivism: One, two, or four dimensions?

Recent research to analyze and discuss cultural differences has employed a combination of five major dimensions of individualism–collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, femininity– masculinity (gender role differentiation), and long-term orientation. Among these dimensions, individualism–collectivism has received the most attention. Chronologically, this cultural attribute has been regarded as one, then two, and more recently, four dimensions of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. However, research on this issue has not been conclusive and some have argued against this expansion. The current study attempts to explain and clarify this discussion by using a shortened version of the scale developed by Singelis et al. ((1995) Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: a theoretical and measurement refinement. CrossCultural Research 29(3): 240–275). Our analysis of aggregate data from 802 respondents from nine countries supports the expanded view. Data aggregation was based on the Mindscape Theory that proposes inter- and intracultural heterogeneity. This finding is reassuring to scholars who have been using the shortened version of the instrument because confirmatory factor analysis indicated its validity. The findings of the present study provides clarification of some apparent ambiguity in recent research in specifying some cultures such as India, Israel, and Spain as individualists or collectivists. By separating the four constructs, more nuanced classification is possible. Also, such a distinction enables us to entertain such concepts as the Mindscape Theory that proposes a unique intracultural and transcultural heterogeneity that do not stereotype the whole culture as either individualist or collectivis

Conceptual Change in Science Teaching and Learning: Introducing the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change

Conceptual change can be a challenging process, particularly in science education where many of the concepts are complex, controversial, or counter-intuitive.  Yet, conceptual change is fundamental to science learning, which suggests science educators and science education researchers need models to effectively address and investigate conceptual change.  Consideration of the current research and extant models of conceptual change reflect a need for a holistic, comprehensive, and dynamic model of conceptual change.  In response, we developed the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change (DMCC), which uses multiple lines of research that explore the variables influencing conceptual change and the dynamic interactions that take place during the conceptual change process in science teaching and learning.  Unique to the DMCC is the potential for iterations, regression, enter and exit points at various stages of the conceptual change process, and the influences of message recognition, message engagement and processing, and the nature of the resulting conceptual change.  The DMCC contains elements from extant models along with previously un-emphasized influential conceptual change variables such as culture, society, attitude, practices, and personal epistemology.  We constructed the DMCC to provide science educators and researchers a more holistic framework for exploring conceptual change in science instruction and learning

Conceptual Change in Science Teaching and Learning: Introducing the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change

Conceptual change can be a challenging process, particularly in science education where many of the concepts are complex, controversial, or counter-intuitive.  Yet, conceptual change is fundamental to science learning, which suggests science educators and science education researchers need models to effectively address and investigate conceptual change.  Consideration of the current research and extant models of conceptual change reflect a need for a holistic, comprehensive, and dynamic model of conceptual change.  In response, we developed the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change (DMCC), which uses multiple lines of research that explore the variables influencing conceptual change and the dynamic interactions that take place during the conceptual change process in science teaching and learning.  Unique to the DMCC is the potential for iterations, regression, enter and exit points at various stages of the conceptual change process, and the influences of message recognition, message engagement and processing, and the nature of the resulting conceptual change.  The DMCC contains elements from extant models along with previously un-emphasized influential conceptual change variables such as culture, society, attitude, practices, and personal epistemology.  We constructed the DMCC to provide science educators and researchers a more holistic framework for exploring conceptual change in science instruction and learning

Morning concurrent track 2: Creation and correction of myths about global warming

MORNING CONCURRENT TRACK 2: CREATION AND CORRECTION OF MYTHS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING Moderator Robert Futrell Student Union Room 211 Matthew Lachniet – Global Warming Misconceptions and Myths: Barriers and Opportunities for Communicating Climate Change Science to a Non-scientific Audience Abstract: Opinions on an anthropogenic influence in global warming abound. Within the non-scientific public, the strength of one’s opinion commonly seems to be in inverse proportion to their knowledge of climate science. One reason for this disconnect between reality and opinion is the persistence of many climate change myths in popular knowledge of global warming. These myths are regularly propagated in popular media and internet blogs, some of which appear to be driven more by ideology than a quest for truth about Nature. In the past, the desire to provide balance in media coverage of global warming at the expense of scientific accuracy has handed the soapbox to many with minority viewpoints that are not supported by all of the available scientific evidence. However, many of these myths contain an element of but have been misunderstood (at best) by the general public and misappropriated (at worst) by interest groups on all sides of ideological spectrum. This presentation will outline some of the common myths on global warming and how they can be used as opportunities in a teaching environment to enhance students’ understanding of global warming and climate science. Gale Sinatra, CarolAnne Kardash, Gita Taasoobshirazi, Doug Lombardi – College Students’ Understanding of and Reactions to Global Warming Abstract: The principles underlying global climate change involve a complex interconnection between many scientific concepts that are difficult for students to understand. This study examined whether persuasive texts would impact readers’ willingness to take mitigative action to reduce the impacts of human-induced climate change. College students participating in the study were randomly assigned to read a persuasive text about global warming or the same text accompanied by a persuasive image. Both groups showed statistically significant increases in their knowledge about global warming and their willingness to take action to reduce its effects. This research demonstrates that persuasive text can produce not only change in students’ thinking about a controversial topic like global climate change, but may also promote a willingness to take action. This is significant because in the case of this topic, a change in students’ knowledge may not be a sufficient criterion for successful learning. It may be as important to promote willingness in future generations to take efforts to reduce their individual impact on the environment. E. Michael Nussbaum – Global Warming and Middle School: An Argument-Based Intervention Abstract: As part of a semester-long intervention to teach middle school students to critically evaluate arguments, 60 sixth- and seventh- graders from a Las Vegas charter school in the Clark County School District discussed issues surrounding global climate change. The presentation will first describe the argument-based intervention used with the students and its effect on attitude change. Most students became accepting of the existence of global climate change and the need to develop alternative modes of transportation. The intervention also provided students with some opportunity to learn about science, political, geography, and economics in an integrated way, as well as an opportunity to develop critical and creative thinking. Second, the overall findings of the research study will be presented, concluding that the skill of “weighing values” may be a productive one to teach to middle school students. Third, some misconceptions that students retained will be described so that future instructional efforts may address them. Doug Lombardi – Students’ Perceptions about the Plausibility of Human Induced Climate Change Abstract: Students can develop robust misconceptions when encountering complex phenomena such as global climate change. For example, students cite short0term and local weather events as evidence to support or refute long‐term changes, and thereby display a fundamental misunderstanding about the distinctions between weather and climate. This confusion may impact perceptions of plausibility about scientific statements that implicate humans in worldwide increases in global temperatures and widespread melting of snow and ice. Additionally, the confusion between weather and climate may be related to a fundamental lack of understanding about deep time, a concept that spans several scientific content areas. This presentation will describe an ongoing study involving undergraduate students enrolled in introductory geoscience and geography courses. Currently, students are completing three surveys examining the relationships between student understanding of deep time and their confusion about the distinctions between weather and climate, as well as how these levels of understanding influence perceptions about the plausibility of human‐induced global climate change. This presentation will highlight preliminary results

‘Even though it might take me a while, in the end, I understand it’: a longitudinal case study of interactions between a conceptual change strategy and student motivation, interest and confidence

Although there have been many investigations of the social, motivational, and emotional aspects of conceptual change, there have been few studies investigating the intersection of these factors with cognitive aspects in the regular classroom. Using a conceptual change approach, this case study reports experiences of a student of low to average prior attainment who achieved high levels of conceptual gains in five science topics over a two-year period. Her experience in the cognitive, social and affective domains was probed through analysis of interviews, student artefacts, video recordings of classroom learning, pre/post-tests and questionnaire results. For this student, peripheral or incidental persuasion of belonging to a supportive small group initially led to greater engagement with the construction of understanding through production of multiple student-generated representations, resulting in improved self-confidence and high levels of conceptual change. Evidence of transfer from performance to mastery approach goals, adoption of positive activating emotions and increased interest in science were observed. This study highlights that adoption of a multidimensional conceptual change approach with judicious organisation of small groups to support construction of verbal, pictorial and written representations of understanding may bring about changes in motivational stance, self-confidence and emotions to maximise conceptual change

Is the project ‘mine’ or ‘ours’? A multilevel investigation of the effects of individual and collective psychological ownership

Challenging the dominant view that individual psychological ownership (IPO) is only relevant at the individual and collective psychological ownership (CPO) at the group level, we developed a multilevel model of psychological ownership. We distinguished theoretically and empirically between two types of ownerships and test how IPO and CPO effect individual and team behaviours. Data were obtained across three-time points from 186 members and their managers in 39 project teams from multiple countries. Results revealed that, at the individual level, both IPO and CPO were positively related to individual engagement which, in turn, related to individual creativity. However at the group level, group-mean IPO was negatively related to team engagement, while group-mean CPO was positively related to team engagement. Team engagement, in turn, was positively related to team creativity. This study sheds light on IPO and CPO as being independent constructs with distinct positive and negative effects on individual and team processes and outcomes. Practitioner points: In a team project, it is important for every member to feel personal ownership towards the project as it drives individuals to invest more effort and be more creative in the project. At the same time, managers should be aware that individual ownership minimizes collective effort. Teams with high individual ownership are less collectively engaged, which in turn diminishes team creativity. Managers should invest time in making each team member feel like a project owner, but also focusing on teams developing a feeling of collective ownership (‘This is our project’) if they expect higher team dedication and more creative project outcomes

Motivational component profiles in university students learning histology: a comparative study between genders and different health science curricula

Background: The students' motivation to learn basic sciences in health science curricula is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different components of motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy and extrinsic -career and grade-motivation) on learning human histology in health science curricula and their relationship with the final performance of the students in histology. Methods: Glynn Science Motivation Questionnaire II was used to compare students' motivation components to learn histology in 367 first-year male and female undergraduate students enrolled in medical, dentistry and pharmacy degree programs. Results: For intrinsic motivation, career motivation and self-efficacy, the highest values corresponded to medical students, whereas dentistry students showed the highest values for self-determination and grade motivation. Genders differences were found for career motivation in medicine, self-efficacy in dentistry, and intrinsic motivation, self-determination and grade motivation in pharmacy. Career motivation and self-efficacy components correlated with final performance in histology of the students corresponding to the three curricula. Conclusions: Our results show that the overall motivational profile for learning histology differs among medical, dentistry and pharmacy students. This finding is potentially useful to foster their learning process, because if they are metacognitively aware of their motivation they will be better equipped to self-regulate their science-learning behavior in histology. This information could be useful for instructors and education policy makers to enhance curricula not only on the cognitive component of learning but also to integrate students' levels and types of motivation into the processes of planning, delivery and evaluation of medical education.This research was supported by the Unidad de Innovación Docente, University of Granada, Spain through grants UGR11-294 and UGR11-303

A Multivariate Model of Physics Problem Solving

A model of expertise in physics problem solving was tested on undergraduate science, physics, and engineering majors enrolled in an introductory-level physics course. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expertise in physics problem solving including motivation, metacognitive planning, strategy use, categorization skills, and free-body diagrams. Results indicated that student motivation had a significant influence on metacognitive planning, strategy use, and categorization skills. Categorization skills influenced problem-solution scores directly, and indirectly, through strategy use. Categorization skills also had a significant influence on free-body diagrams. Free-body diagrams and metacognitive planning both had a significant influence on strategy use. Finally, strategy use had a significant influence on problem-solution scores. The implications of these findings for future research and developing students\u27\u27 expertise in physics problem solving are discussed

College Students’ Reduced Cognitive Empathy and Increased Anxiety and Depression before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study explored college students’ individual mental health (i.e., anxious and depressive symptoms, intrapersonal identity, and ethnic identity), as well as interpersonal mental health, as assessed by their affective connection to and care for others (i.e., cognitive empathy), exploring the role of culture and identity during the twin COVID-19 and racial justice pandemics of 2020. Comparing a longitudinal cohort of 147 undergraduate students’ experiences prior to the pandemic (Spring 2019) and after the onset of the pandemic (Spring 2021), the study examines students’ mental health changes amidst the multi-layered challenges of this time. A repeated measures Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) revealed heightened anxiety and depression scores from pre-pandemic to during the pandemic and a reduction in cognitive empathy as expressed through perspective taking and empathic concern. The study begins to examine the implications of these findings in the COVID-19 era with a focus on young adult mental health, higher education, empathy, and community-mindedness

Construct Validation of the Physics Metacognition Inventory

The 24-item Physics Metacognition Inventory was developed to measure physics students\u27 metacognition for problem solving. Items were classified into eight subcomponents subsumed under two broader components: knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition. The students\u27 scores on the inventory were found to be reliable and related to students\u27 physics motivation and physics grade. An exploratory factor analysis provided evidence of construct validity, revealing six components of students\u27 metacognition when solving physics problems including: knowledge of cognition, planning, monitoring, evaluation, debugging, and information management. Although women and men differed on the components, they had equivalent overall metacognition for problem solving. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed