The Impact of Musical Lyrics on the Lives of Graduate Counseling Students

Abstract

This study surveyed 28 graduate students in counseling on the meaning of lyrical music in their lives in a CACREP accredited program at an independent, southeastern university. Results showed that some songs were more popular or better remembered than others. It also showed that while some lyrics are personally meaningful and others convey important messages, a number of lyrics are just relaxing, joyful, and entertaining without a deeper level of significance to them.     

Teacher efficacy: A model for teacher development and inclusion

Students with special needs must have the opportunity to learn in inclusive classrooms. However, this requires that classroom teachers believe that (a) students can learn in spite of any negative environmental influences in their lives, and (b) they personally have the ability to reach any student. Securing this teaching efficacy for teachers in inclusive classroom settings requires paradigm shifts in preservice and inservice teacher development programs with the precept that all students can learn and that we can assist them. The authors, one a regular and the other a special education teacher educator, collaborate to explore the issue of how best to provide and maintain a positive personal teaching efficacy among regular teacher education candidates who are faced with the challenges of having students with varying levels of ability and behavioral responses in their classrooms.     

Improving Epistemological Beliefs and Moral Judgment Through an STS-Based Science Ethics Education Program

This study develops a Science–Technology–Society (STS)-based science ethics education program for high school students majoring in or planning to major in science and engineering. Our education program includes the fields of philosophy, history, sociology and ethics of science and technology, and other STS-related theories. We expected our STS-based science ethics education program to promote students’ epistemological beliefs and moral judgment development. These psychological constructs are needed to properly solve complicated moral and social dilemmas in the fields of science and engineering. We applied this program to a group of Korean high school science students gifted in science and engineering. To measure the effects of this program, we used an essay-based qualitative measurement. The results indicate that there was significant development in both epistemological beliefs and moral judgment. In closing, we briefly discuss the need to develop epistemological beliefs and moral judgment using an STS-based science ethics education program.     

Taking Emotion Seriously: Meeting Students Where They Are

Emotions are often portrayed as subjective judgments that pose a threat to rationality and morality, but there is a growing literature across many disciplines that emphasizes the centrality of emotion to moral reasoning. For engineers, however, being rational usually means sequestering emotions that might bias analyses—good reasoning is tied to quantitative data, math, and science. This paper brings a new pedagogical perspective that strengthens the case for incorporating emotions into engineering ethics. Building on the widely established success of active and collaborative learning environments, in particular the problem-based learning (PBL) philosophy and methodology, the paper articulates new strategies for incorporating emotion into engineering ethics education. An ethics education pilot study is analyzed to explore how PBL can engage students’ emotions. Evidence suggests that PBL empowers students to cultivate value for engineering ethics and social responsibility, and in doing so, redefine the societal role of the engineer. Taking students’ emotions seriously in engineering ethics offers an effective strategy to meaningfully engage students in ethical learning.     

Behavior change after context disruption: Opportunities and pitfalls

Many behaviors are performed automatically in response to contextual cues rather than conscious intentions, which can make behavior change challenging. The combined discontinuity and self-activation hypotheses predict that disruption to a context that cues behaviors can provide opportunity for behavior change guided by intentions rather than contextual cues. In this study, we asked an online sample of participants (N = 452) to report on desired change in the frequency of new, unwanted, or potentially habitual behaviors following a contextual disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We find a distinction between new ‘start’ behaviors and unwanted ‘stop’ behaviors where new behaviors appear more personally meaningful (i.e. higher in autonomous motivation and positive affective attitude) than unwanted or potentially habitual behaviors. Our results suggest that behavior change theory and interventions that acknowledge differential processes between starting new behaviors and stopping old unwanted behaviors would provide greater insights for behavior science.     

The rationality of science,critical thinking,and science education

This paper considers two philosophical problems and their relation to science education. The first involves the rationality of science; it is argued here that the traditional view, according to which science is rational because of its adherence to (a non-standard conception of) scientific method, successfully answers one central question concerning science's rationality. The second involves the aims of education; here it is argued that a fundamental educational aim is the fostering of rationality, or its educational cognate, critical thinking. The ramifications of these two philosophical theses for science education are then considered, and a science education which takes reasons in science as its fundamental feature is sketched.It is notwhat the man of science believes that distinguishes him, buthow andwhy he believes it. His beliefs are tentative, not dogmatic; they are based on evidence, not on authority or intuition (Russell 1945, p. 527).I believe ... that all teaching [in science] on the University level (and if possible below) should be training and encouragement in critical thinking (Popper 1970, pp. 52–53).This paper is mainly drawn from other publications. The first section is taken from my (1985); the second from (1988), Chapter 2; and the third from (1988), Chapter 6. Since what appears here are truncated versions of those discussions, I urge interested readers to look to those other works for fuller treatments of the issues here discussed.     

The Structure of Creative Thinking: Visual and Verbal Areas

The main purpose of this study was to study the structure of creative thinking of students in visual and verbal areas. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Figural and Verbal forms were used. The participants were Turkish elementary school 7th grade students (M = 13 years, range = 12–14 years). The findings indicated that the relationship between visual and verbal areas of creative thinking of students were statistically significant and meaningful. Additionally, gender differences were statistically significant and meaningful. The results indicate that the structure of creative thinking of students is holistic in early puberty age, at least in terms of visual and verbal areas of creative thinking. However, the holistic structure of students’ creative thinking has flexible character regarding to low (r = .25) level of relationship between visual and verbal areas. This result suggests that the visual and verbal materials can be used with presentation and narrative techniques in balanced education activities for the development of students’ creative thinking effectively.     

Optimistic Fiction as a Tool for Ethical Reflection in STEM

Greater emphasis on ethical issues is needed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The fiction for specific purposes (FSP) approach, using optimistic science fiction texts, offers a way to focus on ethical reflection that capitalizes on role models rather than negative examples. This article discusses the benefits of using FSP in STEM education more broadly, and then explains how using optimistic fictions in particular encourages students to think in ethically constructive ways. Using examples of science fiction texts with hopeful perspectives, example discussion questions are given to model how to help keep students focused on the ethical issues in a text. Sample writing prompts to elicit ethical reflection are also provided as models of how to guide students to contemplate and analyze ethical issues that are important in their field of study. The article concludes that the use of optimistic fictions, framed through the lens of professional ethics guidelines and reinforced through ethical reflection, can help students to have beneficial ethical models.

     

Relations Between Narrative Coherence,Identity, and Psychological Well‐Being in Emerging Adulthood

The hypothesis that the ability to construct a coherent account of personal experience is reflective, or predictive, of psychological adjustment cuts across numerous domains of psychological science. It has been argued that coherent accounts of identity are especially adaptive. We tested these hypotheses by examining relations between narrative coherence of personally significant autobiographical memories and three psychological well‐being components (i.e., purpose and meaning, positive self‐view, positive relationships). We also examined the potential moderation of the relations between coherence and well‐being by assessing the identity content of each narrative. We collected two autobiographical narratives of personally significant events from 103 undergraduate students and coded them for coherence and identity content. Two additional narratives about generic/recurring events were also collected and coded for coherence. We confirmed the prediction that constructing coherent autobiographical narratives is related to psychological well‐being. Further, we found that this relation was moderated by the narratives' relevance to identity and that this moderation held after controlling for narrative ability more generally (i.e., coherence of generic/recurring events). These data lend strong support to the coherent narrative identity hypothesis and the prediction that unique events are a critical feature of identity construction in emerging adulthood.     

Feeling happy and sad,but only seeing the positive: Poignancy and the positivity effect in attention

Poignancy is a mixed emotional experience that occurs in the face of meaningful endings (Ersner-Hershfield et al. J Pers Soc Psychol 94(1):158–167, 2008). Despite documentation of the phenomenological component of poignancy, no study to date has examined the relationship between such a state and information processing. We therefore examined the link between poignancy and attentional patterns using an eyetracking paradigm. To induce poignancy, experimental condition participants imagined being in a personally chosen meaningful location for a final time; control participants also imagined being in a meaningful location but with no ending. After, both groups were shown emotional images. Experimental condition participants looked more at positive images relative to negative images, whereas participants in the control condition did not display such a preference. Findings suggest that despite being a mixed emotional experience, poignancy may produce a subsequent positivity effect in information processing.     

TEACHING SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN THE TWENTY‐FIRST CENTURY: THE MANY PEDAGOGICAL ROLES OF CHRISTOPHER SOUTHGATE

With the goal of understanding how Christopher Southgate communicates his in‐depth knowledge of both science and theology, we investigated the many roles he assumes as a teacher. We settled upon wide‐ranging topics that all intertwine: (1) his roles as author and coordinating editor of a premier textbook on science and theology, now in its third edition; (2) his oral presentations worldwide, including plenaries, workshops, and short courses; and (3) the team teaching approach itself, which is often needed by others because the knowledge of science and theology do not always reside in the same person. Southgate provides, whenever possible, teaching contexts that involve students in experiential learning, where they actively participate with other students. We conclude that Southgate's ultimate goal is to teach students how to reconcile science and theology in their values and beliefs, so that they can take advantage of both forms of rational thinking in their own personal and professional lives. The co‐authors consider several examples of models that have been successfully used by people in various fields to integrate science and religion.     

“Sport has always been first for me” but “all my free time is spent doing homework”: Dual career styles in late adolescence

ObjectivesIn adolescence, personally meaningful autobiographical memories begin to integrate into cultural narrative structures to form a life story. We examined how and to what extent adolescent Finnish athletes narrate and integrate significant life events in sport and education into their identities and future narratives in order to delineate the different styles of athletes’ career construction.DesignLongitudinal qualitative study.MethodTen female and eight male, elite junior athletes, aged 15–16 at baseline, participated in individual conversational interviews. The resulting interview data were analyzed using narrative analysis.ResultsThirteen of 18 adolescent athletes drew primarily on the performance narrative plot to construct their life story and five of 18 athletes could not project into the future beyond their athletic selves. We identified three styles of athletes’ career construction. Employing musical terminology as a metaphor, the contrapuntal style entwines sport and education as harmonically related life-themes; monophonic style draws on a prominent athletic life-theme; and dissonant style is underpinned by discord of sport and education. We did not detect direct associations between narrative types (performance, discovery and relational) and career construction styles. We show the dominant style development within an exemplary story.ConclusionExploration of the future and possible selves are critical for developing meaningful (dis)continuity of a dual career pathway from adolescence to adulthood. We conclude that dual career discourse is gaining traction in directing young athletes’ future thinking; however, a broader repertoire of exemplary success stories which allow athletes to imagine achieving excellence in diverse ways would enable them to channel action.     

中国当代大学生情感素质的现状及其影响因素

在情感素质理论与实践探索相结合的基础上编制了《中国大学生情感素质问卷》(内含6个分问卷),并对全国3类地区14座城市100所大学的11982名大学生进行首次大规模情感素质调查。结果发现:该问卷具有较好的信效度,是适合研究大学生情感素质的原创性的有效测评工具;大学生情感素质具有2层面6大类33种情感的结构,呈现丰富情感,且总体发展水平尚好,其中道德、生活情感发展水平较高,人际、审美、理智情感和情绪智力等相对较低;男女大学生之间和本专科大学生之间存在情感素质的结构性差异;有获奖经历、学业自评高及无负性生活事件的大学生情感素质水平较高;良好的人际关系、对舆论的关注、对核心价值观的认同、自我高要求、民主的家庭教养方式等因素对大学生情感素质的发展具有促进作用。     

The misrepresentation of science by philosophers and teachers of science

In education there is a concern that science teachers misrepresent the nature of science to students. An assumption that is implicit in this concern is that science teachers should be teaching the philosophy of science as it is understood by philosophers. This paper argues that both philosophers and science teachers misrepresent science when they engage in their respective disciplines, and it is evident the two misrepresentations are of different types. In philosophy, the misrepresentation is of a philosophical-epistemological nature where advocates of particular views maintain that advocates of other views misinterpret the nature of science. In education, the misrepresentation is of a cognitive, teaching nature where teachers' practical interpretations are not congruent with philosophers' interpretations of science. The discrepancy that exists between the two misrepresentations is due to the intentions of the two disciplines, and assuming that science teachers should teach a philosophically coherent interpretation of the nature of science is an over-simplification of the problem. The concepts of espoused theories and theories-in-use are used to link the two interpretations of science and provide suggestions for future research that may help clarify misrepresentations of science in science education.     

A Case Study of Teaching Social Responsibility to Doctoral Students in the Climate Sciences

The need to make young scientists aware of their social responsibilities is widely acknowledged, although the question of how to actually do it has so far gained limited attention. A 2-day workshop entitled “Prepared for social responsibility?” attended by doctoral students from multiple disciplines in climate science, was targeted at the perceived needs of the participants and employed a format that took them through three stages of ethics education: sensitization, information and empowerment. The workshop aimed at preparing doctoral students to manage ethical dilemmas that emerge when climate science meets the public sphere (e.g., to identify and balance legitimate perspectives on particular types of geo-engineering), and is an example of how to include social responsibility in doctoral education. The paper describes the workshop from the three different perspectives of the authors: the course teacher, the head of the graduate school, and a graduate student. The elements that contributed to the success of the workshop, and thus make it an example to follow, are (1) the involvement of participating students, (2) the introduction of external expertise and role models in climate science, and (3) a workshop design that focused on ethical analyses of examples from the climate sciences.     

Effects of suppression and appraisals on thought frequency and distress

Cognitive theories of obsessions highlight appraisals of personal significance and thought suppression in the development and maintenance of intrusive thoughts. The current study examined the role of personal significance within the context of a thought suppression paradigm. The primary aim was to examine whether suppression would have differential effects for target thoughts appraised as personally meaningful versus relatively unimportant. A blasphemous thought served as the target thought, and highly religious and nonreligious participants were recruited. Participants completed a two-interval thought suppression task; during interval 1 they were randomly assigned to suppress or not suppress the target thought and during interval 2, all participants were given “do not suppress” instructions. Suppression resulted in sustained frequency of thoughts in contrast to the decline in thought frequency observed for non-suppression. Differential effects of suppression were found across the two groups. Moreover, suppression was associated with increased negative mood and anxiety. Results suggest that suppression of personally meaningful thoughts is a counterproductive strategy.     

Metamodeling Knowledge: Developing Students' Understanding of Scientific Modeling

We argue that learning about the nature and utility of scientific models and engaging in the process of creating and testing models should be a central focus of science education. To realize this vision, we created and evaluated the Model-Enhanced ThinkerTools (METT) Curriculum, which is an inquiry-oriented physics curriculum for middle school students in which they learn about the nature of scientific models and engage in the process of modeling. Key components of our approach include enabling students to create computer models that express their own theories of force and motion, evaluate their models using criteria such as accuracy and plausibility, and engage in discussions about models and the process of modeling. Curricular trials in four science classes of an urban middle school indicate that this approach can facilitate a significant improvement in students' understanding of modeling. Further analyses revealed that the approach was particularly successful in clarifying and broadening students' understanding of the nature and purpose of models. The METT Curriculum also led to significant improvements in inquiry skills and physics knowledge. Comparisons of METT students' performance with that of prior ThinkerTools students suggest that the acquisition of metamodeling knowledge contributed to these gains. In particular, METT students wrote significantly better conclusions on the inquiry test and performed better on some of the far-transfer problems on the physics test. Finally, correlational results, including significant correlations of pretest modeling and inquiry scores with posttest physics scores, suggests that developing knowledge of modeling and inquiry transfers to the learning of science content within such a curriculum. Taken together, the findings suggest that an emphasis on model-based inquiry, accompanied by the development of metamodeling knowledge, can facilitate learning science content while also developing students' understanding of the scientific enterprise.     

Principles for quality undergraduate education in psychology

The principles for undergraduate education in psychology presented here are designed for creating a world-class educational system that provides students with the workplace skills needed in this information age; a solid academic background that prepares them for advanced study in a wide range of fields; and the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will enhance their personal lives. A quality undergraduate education is designed to produce psychologically literate citizens who apply the principles of psychological science at work and at home. The American Psychological Association (APA) urges all stakeholders in undergraduate education in psychology to incorporate these principles in establishing goals and objectives that fit their specific institutional needs and missions.     

What Does it Mean to Notice my Students’ Ideas in Science Today?: An Investigation of Elementary Teachers’ Practice of Noticing their Students’ Thinking in Science

Abstract

Efforts toward improving K-12 science education emphasize teachers noticing students’ thinking as they engage in disciplinary practices and reasoning. This noticing requires specialized teacher knowledge and skills as it involves attending to students’ ideas, as well as making sense of and responding to those ideas so that the disciplinary substance in them is recognized, made explicit, and supported. This study investigates three elementary teachers’ in-the-moment noticing of students’ ideas while teaching science and their thinking about what it means to engage in this teaching practice. Results indicate that teachers notice many different kinds of student science ideas, and also that teachers have different ways of thinking about which student ideas are substantive during a science lesson. This research contributes to our theoretical understanding of the nature of teacher noticing in science. Noticing students’ science ideas involves not only the presence of ideas and the ability to notice them, but also a teacher’s understanding of this teaching practice in the moment.