Correlation between morningness-eveningness and final school leaving exams

Pupils shift their time of day preferences from morningness to eveningness during the age of puberty. Therefore, early school start times may have a negative influence on school functioning, adolescent health and on grade point average. Here, we show that morningness - eveningness influences school performance as measured by the final school leaving/university entrance certificate. One hundred and thirty-two university students aged between 20 and 22 years participated in our study. We found a highly significant positive correlation between the average grading of the final exam and the morningness score, suggesting that pupils with morning preferences performed better in school achievement. Evening types seem at a serious disadvantage because the final exams are used for university entrance decisions.     

Educational Malpractice: The Impact of Including Creationism in High School Biology Courses

College students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included creationism were significantly more likely to invoke creationism-based answers on questions derived from the Material Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument than were students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included evolution but not creationism. On average, students who were taught neither evolution nor creationism in their high school biology courses exhibited intermediary responses on the MATE instrument. These results suggest that (1) high school teachers’ treatments of evolution and creationism have a lasting impact and (2) the inclusion of creationism in high school biology courses increases the probability that students accept creationism and reject evolution when they arrive at college. These results are discussed relative to the impact of high school biology courses on students’ subsequent acceptance of evolution and creationism.     

Dream work with children: Perceptions and practices of school mental health professionals.

In this study, 49 public school mental health practitioners (school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers) completed a survey about working with students’ dreams. The majority of these practitioners reported having at least one student bring up dreams during counseling, more frequently with troubling dreams and nightmares or when coping with grief. Results showed that practitioners were less likely to talk about dreams with students who had been identified with an adjustment disorder, psychosis, or eating disorder; those who were oppositional or ill; and those who struggled with substance abuse problems. Although most practitioners did not feel competent working with children’s dreams and reported minimal training in dream work, they were interested in learning more about children’s dreams and potential uses of dream work in supportive counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

广东大中学女教师心理健康状况调查研究

目的：调查研究广东大中学女教师心理健康状况并对两者进行比较。方法：利用症状自评量表（SCL-90）对广东330名女教师的心理健康状况进行问卷调查,同时访谈其中10位女教师。结果：大中学女教师的心理健康状况比全国普通人群差,具有轻度心理问题检出率为39．6％,明显心理问题检出率为18．3％;表现突出的是强迫症状、人际关系敏感、抑郁和焦虑。不同群体女教师的心理健康状况存在显著差异：中学女教师比大学女教师差;已婚女教师比未婚女教师差;35～45岁的女教师的心理健康问题较为严重。结论：女教师的心理健康状况不容乐观。建议从制度层面到人文关怀层面,从社会、学校到家庭都给予女教师更多的关心与爱护,客观上为女教师营造良好的生活环境和工作环境;主观上女教师应不断提高自身修养,学会调适自己心理,预防疾病,用正确积极的态度去应对生活和工作。     

对高中生物纸笔测验改革的思考

讨论了高中生物新课程改革背景下,教学评价方式之一的纸笔测验的改革问题。通过对纸笔测验在检测学生知识性目标达成方面的改革、在能力考核方面如何强化、在情感态度与价值观考核方面的尝试进行了深刻的思考,并对纸笔测验的形式变革、结果处理方面提出了一些看法。     

Schooling behaviour of arctic cod,Boreogadus saida,in relation to drifting pack ice

Synopsis Concentrations of arctic cod were detected with a hydroacoustic system in Resolute Bay, NWT during 2 weeks in August of 1986. Fish biomass within the bay was about 30 t. The fish were feeding primarily on amphipods, which were abundant. When the daily location of the schools was examined in relation to the extent and position of drifting pack ice, a pattern emerged suggesting that the distribution of the fish was influenced by the amount and location of ice cover. If the bay was relatively ice-free, the density of schooling cod was high and the size of the schools, as 2-dimensional surface area, was generally small. When ice covered the bay, density within the schools was lower and they occupied more area. Arctic cod were most dispersed after the bay had been filled with pack ice for several days. It is postulated that this behaviour is a response to potential predation by seabirds and marine mammals.     

Determinants of social organization in a coral reef fish,the blue tang, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acanthurus coeruleus</Emphasis>

Synopsis We examined the abundance of blue tang surgeonfish, Acanthurus coeruleus, in each of three social modes (schooling, territorial, and wandering) in relation to size class, ecological variables, population density and time of day to discern potential determinants of social organization. We found individuals from all three social modes in all four fringing reef habitats (back reef, flat, crest and spur and groove zones) at our main site. Territorial tang density was highest in the flat zone, lowest in the spur and groove zone and negatively related to adult damselfish density. A higher proportion of tangs formed schools in reef zones with the highest densities of territorial damselfishes (spur and groove, crest). In the back reef and flat zones, where damselfish densities were very low, tangs rarely formed schools. Tangs in the wandering mode were most abundant in the back reef. The density of territorial tangs did not change with time of day, but non-territorial tangs tended to wander more in the morning and to form schools more at midday. Small yellow-phase juveniles were always territorial, and the incidence of territoriality decreased in the larger size classes, while schooling and wandering increased. Among similar fringing reefs, the incidence of territoriality increased with increasing population density. These data suggest that life history stage, damselfish density, and conspecific population density are important determinants of blue tang social organization.     

How Animals Play Hide and Seek: A Game of Survival

Many topics in the secondary science classroom can be difficult to introduce to students in a manner that fully engages them, especially when presented using traditional teaching methods. However, with a little innovation and an emphasis on inquiry, even dry subjects can be presented in an appealing way. The authors developed an inquiry-based exercise that teaches students about flower anatomy and dissection. During this exercise, students investigate the morphology of simple and composite flowers using digital microscopes. Dissection of a simple flower results in a count of floral parts that is used to construct a floral formula. Students use appearance of structures to suggest function of sepals, petals, anthers, pistils, and components. Investigation of composite and bilabiate flowers introduces concepts of inflorescence and symmetry and asymmetry. Following self-guided inquiry by the students, the teacher uses a digital microscope, computer, and LCD projector to lead discussion of what was observed and to help assimilate important concepts.     

Positive and negative affect during the school day and its relationship to morningness–eveningness

We carried out a field study in adolescents in a German school to assess their actual affective state during the first and last lesson of a school day. Also, we wanted to assess if chronotype or sleep duration has an influence on affect. One hundred and nine girls and 110 boys participated in the study (mean age: 14.47). The composite scale of morningness (CSM) was used to assess morningness–eveningness and the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) was used for affect measurement. Sleep habits were assessed as both, habitual and actual sleep–wake rhythm. Positive affect (PA) was higher in the sixth lesson compared to the first one, but negative affect (NA) was not. CSM scores were positively correlated with PA during the first and last lesson. The correlation coefficient was higher in the first lesson of the day. NA was unrelated to CSM scores. Pupils with a shorter actual sleep duration had a higher NA. Habitual sleep duration was unrelated to affect measures. The results showed no synchrony effect; thus, evening types have still a lower PA in the last lesson than morning types. We emphasise the importance of mood and its relationship with morningness in school children, and we hypothesise that this may also have an influence on functioning during the school day.     

西安市城区初中生健康危险行为调查

目的:健康相关危险行为是产生常见病、多发病的重要原因,其形成受社会、家庭等多种环境因素和自身因素影响。初中阶段是养成良好健康行为的关键时期,了解初中生健康危险行为现状,可为制定干预措施提供科学依据。方法:对西安市城区1608名初中生进行健康危险行为问卷调查,分析各种健康危险行为检出率的性别差别。结果:34.3%的初中生存在偏食行为,42.6%的初中生在过去30天内采取过减肥措施;62.2%的初中生最多有2天运动超过30分钟;65.3%的初中生骑自行车违规;9.6%的初中生目前吸烟。过去1个月有大量饮酒行为者占8.4%。因上网影响学习者占17.0%;参与过类似赌博的娱乐活动者占9.8%。多数健康危险行为检出率男生高于女生(P值均0.05)。结论:西安市城区初中生健康危险行为发生率较高,男女生间存在差异,应针对男女生不同健康危险行为,采取有针对性的综合干预措施进行干预,以及早纠正健康危险行为,促进青少年健康发展。