Posts

May 14, 2013

+

5:49 AM | Teacher Expectations Have a Stronger Impact On Low-Income Students

In their 1968 book Pygmalion in the Classroom, Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson presented their groundbreaking research that showed teacher expectations are self-fulfilling prophecies. If two students start the school year at the same achievement level, the student the teacher is told is a high achiever will make more gains than the student the teacher believes is [...]

Sorhagen, N. (2013). Early teacher expectations disproportionately affect poor children's high school performance., Journal of Educational Psychology, 105 (2) 465-477. DOI: 10.1037/a0031754

Citation

+

4:45 AM | Abstract Tuesday: A Taxometric Investigation of Developmental Dyslexia Subtypes

O’Brien et al. (2012). A Taxometric Investigation of Developmental Dyslexia Subtypes. Dyslexia, 18, 16-39. Keywords: developmental dyslexia; subtypes; double deficit hypothesis; taxometric analysis Long-standing issues with the conceptualization, identification and subtyping of developmental dyslexia persist. This study takes an alternative approach to examine the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia using taxometric classification techniques. These methods were used with [...]

+

12:02 AM | How teenagers with autism interact with typical teenagers in mainstream schools

Transcript of interview with Professor Neil Humphrey of the School of Education at Manchester University about his latest research on how teenagers with autism interact with typical teenagers in mainstream schools. Presenter: Hello, and welcome to Autism Matters. Current Government policies stress that children with autism should, if possible, be educated in mainstream schools but is [...]

May 13, 2013

+

7:48 PM | Updates on #KieraWilmot, Legal Fund created

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reaching out and speaking up for #KieraWilmot and showing #Solidarity4Wilmot. I teared up as I read all of the offers of support to assist Kiera and other students all over the country. I was amazed, but not at all surprised. I know this community of educators, teachers, scientists, [...]

+

6:50 PM | Student Creates Science Alliance Network to Increase Science Mentoring

Christina Ren, a high school junior and founder of Science Alliance Network believes student-to-student mentorship is key to keeping young kids excited about science. Above: Christina Ren at the 2012 Intel Inernational Science and Engineering Fair where she presented her...

+

3:31 PM | Is the Berlin patient really cured?

The lack of multiple HIV signals after five years without therapy all indicate that the Berlin Patient has been effectively cured.The post Is the Berlin patient really cured? appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

+

3:19 PM | What’s the Ideal Student Reaction to a New Exam?

Imagine you take a test consisting of a reading passage and two multiple choice questions. After a few seconds, you’re 99.9% sure about the correct answer to the first question. Two of the answers are absurd, a third doesn’t quite seem right, and the fourth clearly aligns with what the question is about. But when [...]

+

2:19 PM | Mapping Chemistry

I've long been a fan of Google Maps, and I was pleased indeed to see the combined efforts of Chris Lloyd from SSERC in Scotland and England's adopted son Andrea Sella, in the creation of two new chemistry landmark Google maps. First, north of the border, Chris Lloyd has used the brand-new Google Maps Engine to create an interactive map of locations in Scotland in chemistry history, organised around three headings: Births and Deaths, Educational Work, and Workplaces, Monuments, etc. Use […]

+

12:25 PM | Monday Music Video: Lab Rap Battle

A while ago, I wrote about a science version of the popular Epic Rap Battles of History about a showdown between Einstein and Hawking. It was amusing and a great way to use popular culture to highlight science. Capitalizing on the successful genre of Epic Rap Battles of History, Life Technologies has created a video [...]

+

11:29 AM | What have microbiomes ever done for us?

In treating chronic diseases long lists of organisms associated with certain conditions is going to start paying off over the next few years.The post What have microbiomes ever done for us? appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

+

11:00 AM | Can a museum object be more like a dog?

About a month ago I visited the Adam Lister art gallery. In one art exhibit, an artist had placed a gumball machine filled with what he called “tiny art”. The machine had a sign that encouraged people to play, by …

May 12, 2013

+

11:58 PM | Guest Blog – Inexpensive and Easy Science Fair Projects: Magnets – Experiment #1 – by Bruce

Is your science fair coming up, but you’re still not sure what to present for it? Trying to find a last minute idea without breaking the bank can be really frustrating but one simple tool- magnets can give you a few ideas! This is experiment #1 in a 3 part series of fun, simple, inexpensive … Continue reading »

+

9:22 PM | Top 10 Commander Chris Hadfield Videos from the ISS!

Colonel Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut, Mission Specialist on STS-74 who also performed multiple EVAs on STS-100, and IS, for a few hours longer, the well-loved commander of the International Space Station mission 35. He has been a great inspiration for everything to do with social media (with the assistance of his son, Evan), giving those [...]

May 11, 2013

+

5:06 AM | This is a sketch of the tokamak at ITER. The tokamak is the...

This is a sketch of the tokamak at ITER. The tokamak is the heart of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a project that seeks to create clean renewable fusion energy a reality. The tokamak is know as a magnetic confinement device, which is a torus shaped device that produces huge magnetic fields, used to hold the super hot plasma in place when fusion is going on inside it. Nuclear fusion is the power of stars. It is what drives our sun, and what makes life […]

May 10, 2013

+

11:32 PM | Death Valley Dreamlapse Part 2

Not too long ago, I wrote about an awe-inspiring video that captured the night sky in an intriguing way, using timelapse to create “star trails” and to follow the objects in the night sky over Death Valley. Happily, I present to you a follow up, called Death Valley Dreamlapse 2. You will want to watch [...]

+

6:28 PM | Our partner, Pop Warner, is seeking All-American scholar presenters

2013 All-American Scholar Presenters Pop Warner is once again looking for outstanding kids from around the country to act as Youth Presenters at the 2013 Pop Warner Scholastic Banquet, taking place this year on May 25th at the Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston’s Back Bay District. MORE INFO: All-American Scholar Presenters Information+

+

3:31 PM | This is a sketch of the tokamak at ITER. The tokamak is the...

This is a sketch of the tokamak at ITER. The tokamak is the heart of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a project that seeks to create clean renewable fusion energy a reality. The tokamak is know as a magnetic confinement device, which is a torus shaped device that produces huge magnetic fields, used to hold the super hot plasma in place when fusion is going on inside it. Nuclear fusion is the power of stars. It is what drives our sun, and what makes life […]

May 09, 2013

+

6:00 PM | Weekly Science Project Idea/Home Science Activity Spotlight: Flower Pigments

School and family science weekly spotlight: use paper chromatography to see what makes up the colors of flowers.

+

4:48 PM | Your Connection to Your Ancestors

+

3:40 PM | Polyphosphate in Host Cells and Pathogens

Polyphosphate is found in bacteria, protists, and mammalian cells, and probably predates living cells.The post Polyphosphate in Host Cells and Pathogens appeared first on MicrobiologyBytes.

+

3:16 PM | The Kaye Effect

Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to get ketchup flowing out of a bottle, or why no-drip paint doesn’t drip? Ketchup, no drip paint, liquid soaps and shampoos are all part of a really amazing category of fluids known as “shearing liquids.” These fluids are pretty thick when they’re sitting still, but they [...] Related posts:Physics Fountain We played around with dish soap this weekend to watch... Shocking Science and Magic Potion Doctor Frankenstein would […]

+

11:15 AM | Herschel telescope: An education in infrared

It is now a couple of weeks since the Herschel telescope reached the end of its operational life after exhausting its supply of liquid helium (needed to keep the instruments and detectors cold enough). Much has already been said about the scientific importance of Herschel, which gave us an unprecedented view of the infrared universe, [...]The post Herschel telescope: An education in infrared appeared first on physicsfocus.org.

+

10:59 AM | The Holy See vs Vatican

Many people use the words ‘Vatican’ and ‘Holy See’ almost interchangeably. But, in reality they are...

+

3:48 AM | New rules for screencast assignments

I tend to really hate rules in the classes I teach. I like the formats to be free flowing so that students are empowered to learn in their own way and in their own style.I like screencasts as assessments, especially when I'm able to get them watched and responded to rapidly as intended. But anyone who makes blanket statements about students today being "digital natives" who grew up online creating and sharing content have not been in the same classrooms I've been in.For next year I have some […]

May 08, 2013

+

12:00 PM | Is the modified Moore method an instance of the flipped classroom?

Dana Ernst, Brandon Price, and I exchanged some tweets about the Moore method and the flipped classroom recently, and I think generally we're on the same page, but here's my reasoning about this issue and, more generally, what does or does not fall under the heading of "flipped classroom".

+

11:45 AM | What matters about antimatter

Just like the dog that didn’t bark in the night time, the absence of antimatter in the universe worries us. Why there isn’t more of it is one of the biggest mysteries in particle physics, and one which my experiment (LHCb, at Cern’s Large Hadron Collider) was built to explore. On April 24 this year the [...]The post What matters about antimatter appeared first on physicsfocus.org.

+

11:15 AM | Tony: Baltimore Ravens Stuntman and Science Communicator

The 2013 Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens have a brainy squad packed with Science Cheerleaders. They also have the only stunt team in the NFL so they have male cheerleaders! Here’s one: Tony is also a Science Communicator. OK, Tony, why did you try out to be a professional cheerleader? I loved cheerleading in college. The Baltimore Ravens are the only team with a coed squad and I wanted to make sure I was a part of that! How do...[ Read Full Story ]

+

10:32 AM | Wordless Wednesday: Small Wonders of Morogoro

+

5:02 AM | When Is a Country Likely to Break Out Into Civil War?

When there’s not unity among opposition movements: Wars within states have become much more common than wars between them. A dominant approach to understanding civil war assumes that opposition movements are unitary, when empirically, most of them are not. I develop a theory for how internal divisions within opposition movements affect their ability to bargain [...]

May 07, 2013

+

11:33 PM | Guest post at DeltaScape: Does this make sense?

I lost a bet with my friend and colleague Dave Coffey (remember him?) over the NCAA mens’ basketball tournament, and as a result, I owed Dave a guest post on his blog DeltaScape. Risky move on his part, in my opinion, since his blog is a consistently excellent source of wisdom about math education and teacher training. I hope I didn’t mess it up too much — my guest post, entitled “Does this make sense?” is about so-called sense-making activities and what they mean […]