Getting Everyone to the Fair: Supporting Teachers in Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering Fairs.

Science and Engineering (S&E) fairs are a valuable educational activity and are believed to increase students' engagement and learning in science and engineering. However, due to differences in resources, many schools do not implement fairs to achieve these benefits for their students. This study reports the findings of a program intended to increase the participation of students from low-achieving and under-resourced schools in a regional fair program that feeds into the international fair competition. We found that the number of schools and projects participating in our regional fair increased dramatically since the start of the program. Teachers had mostly positive expectations for the project and expressed buy-in for the effort the project would take. They recruited a diverse pool of students to participate in the school fairs. Quasi-experimental methods allowed us to explore the impact of completing S&E fairs on student gains on science self-efficacy, interest and value perceptions. Controlling for pre-existing differences in these attitudes, we found that students not completing projects showed declines in their science attitudes during the year. Students who completed projects maintained similar attitudes, while those whose projects advanced to the regional fair had substantial gains on all three variables. It is unknown whether this gain can be attributed to the experience of engaging with a quality project, from being the kind of student who completes a quality project, or some other factor. Future research with greater experimental control could address these questions.

Exploring the Influence of Item Characteristics in a Spatial Reasoning Task.

Well-designed spatial assessments can incorporate multiple sources of complexity that reflect important aspects of spatial reasoning. When these aspects are systematically included in spatial reasoning items, researchers can use psychometric models to examine the impact of each aspect on item difficulty. These methods can then help the researchers to understand the nature and development of spatial reasoning and can also inform the development of new items to better reflect the construct. This study investigated sources of item difficulty for object assembly (OA), a format for the assessment of spatial reasoning, by specifying nine item characteristics that were predicted to contribute to item difficulty. We used data from two focal samples including high-ability students in grades 3 to 7 and undergraduate students who responded to 15 newly developed OA items. Results from the linear logistic test model (LLTM) indicated that eight of the nine identified item characteristics significantly contributed to item difficulty. This suggests that an LLTM approach is useful in examining the contributions of various aspects of spatial reasoning to item difficulty and informing item development for spatial reasoning assessments.

Spatially gifted, academically inconvenienced: Spatially talented students experience less academic engagement and more behavioural issues than other talented students.

BACKGROUND: Spatially talented students have a capacity for success that is too often overlooked by educational services. Because these students may lack appropriate challenge, theorists suggest these students experience greater academic struggles than other gifted students, including behavioural problems and lack of academic engagement. AIMS: The goal of this research was to explore empirical evidence for the claim that spatially talented students would experience more academic struggles than other gifted students. We sought to understand the size of the 'spatially talented' population and their patterns of behavioural and academic struggles in high school. We also looked at long-term outcomes, including degree completion. SAMPLES: This article explores characteristics of spatial talent in three US nationally representative data sets: Project Talent (1960), High School and Beyond (1980), and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1997). Combined, these data provide a 60-year longitudinal study of student outcomes. METHODS: This study utilized factor analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression methods to explore the research questions for each data set. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: From our analyses, we estimate that 4-6% (at least 2 million) of the 56.6 million students in the US K-12 system are spatially talented students that are not identified by common gifted and talented screening processes. These students had greater academic challenges, including reading difficulties, poor study habits, and behavioural troubles. We also found that spatially talented students were less likely to complete college degrees compared to other talented students. Our findings support the need for greater services to these talented students.

Consistencies in sex differences on the Cognitive Abilities Test across countries, grades, test forms, and cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Strand, Deary, and Smith (2006) reported an analysis of sex differences on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) for over 320,000 UK students 11-12 years old. Although mean differences were small, males were overrepresented at the upper and lower extremes of the score distributions on the quantitative and non-verbal batteries and at the lower extreme of the verbal battery. AIMS: We investigate whether these results were unique to the UK or whether they would be seen in other countries, at other grades, cohorts, or forms of the test. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of three nationally representative cohorts of US students in grades 3 through 11 (total N=318,599) for the 1984, 1992, and 2000 standardizations of the US version of the CAT. METHODS: We replicated and extended the Strand et al. (2006) results by comparing the proportions of males and females at each score level across countries (UK vs. US), grades (3-11), and cohorts/test forms (Forms 4, 5, and 6 standardized in 1984, 1992, and 2000, respectively). RESULTS: The results showed an astonishing consistency in sex differences across countries, grades, cohorts, and test forms. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for the current debate about sex differences in quantitative reasoning abilities are discussed.

Local Pressure Application Effects on Neurological and Circulatory Function.

BACKGROUND: Pain and discomfort reported during sitting is a significant problem for aviators during prolonged missions. Previous work has determined that areas of local pressure exist during prolonged sitting in UH-60 seat systems; however, no work has examined the effects of this local pressure on measures of neurological and circulatory function. METHODS: A total of 30 healthy subjects completed the study in which focal pressure was applied in three conditions (no pressure, pressure to the ischial tuberosity, and pressure to the posterior thigh). We applied pressure using a purpose-built pressure application system allowing subjects to sit in a position mimicking the sitting position in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and measurements were taken before, during, and after pressure application. We measured neurological function with the soleus Hoffmann reflex and sural nerve conduction velocity, and circulatory function with dynamic infrared thermography. RESULTS: We found a decrease in soleus Hoffmann reflex by 0.87 V and 0.52 V during pressure application at the posterior thigh and ischial tuberosity, respectively. No changes in nerve conduction velocity were found among the conditions during or after pressure application. Limb temperature increased 0.42-0.44°C during pressure application, but began to return to baseline once pressure was removed. DISCUSSION: This study examined the development of neurological and circulatory alterations due to local pressure application in an aviation specific functional position. These results may be used in the development of future interventions to mitigate the negative effects of localized pressure in military aviators.Games KE, Lakin JM, Quindry JC, Weimar WH, Sefton JM. Local pressure application effects on neurological and circulatory function. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(8):693-699.

Local Pressure Application Effects on Discomfort, Temperature, and Limb Oxygenation.

INTRODUCTION: Despite significant investment into the development and improvement of military helicopter seat systems, military aviators continue to report seat system related pain and discomfort during prolonged missions. METHODS: Using a factorial repeated measures design, 15 healthy subjects completed the study, in which focal pressure was applied to two locations on the sitting surfaces of the body (ischial tuberosity and middle of the posterior thigh). Pressure was applied using a purpose-built pressure application system allowing subjects to sit in a position mimicking the sitting position in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. The researchers measured pain using the Category Partitioning Scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire and vascular function using dynamic infrared thermography in the lower leg and pulse oximetry at the great toe. Data were collected before and during a 10-min application of focal pressure applied to either the ischial tuberosity or middle of the posterior thigh and at two different pressure magnitudes (36 or 44 kPa). RESULTS: We found that during a 10-min pressure application, superficial skin temperature increased by 0.61°C, suggesting a decreased venous return during pressure application. We found that lower extremity blood oxygenation remained unchanged during pressure application. Subjects' reported pain increased during pressure application and was greater with 44 kPa of application compared to 36 kPa. DISCUSSION: These results support the hypothesis that locally high pressure creates symptoms of discomfort and paresthesia. Research examining the effects of local pressure application on physiological and neurological function is needed. Games KE, Lakin JM, Quindry JC, Weimar WH, Sefton JM. Local pressure application effects on discomfort, temperature, and limb oxygenation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(8):697-703.

Prolonged restricted sitting effects in UH-60 helicopters.

INTRODUCTION: Advances in flight technologies and the demand for long-range flight have increased mission lengths for U.S. Army Black Hawk UH-60 crewmembers. Prolonged mission times have increased reports of pilot discomfort and symptoms of paresthesia thought to be due to UH-60 seat design and areas of locally high pressure. Discomfort created by the seat-system decreases situational awareness, putting aviators and support crew at risk of injury. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of prolonged restricted sitting in a UH-60 on discomfort, sensory function, and vascular measures in the lower extremities. METHODS: There were 15 healthy men (age = 23.4 ± 3.1 yr) meeting physical flight status requirements who sat in an unpadded, UH-60 pilot's seat for 4 h while completing a common cognitive task. During the session, subjective discomfort, sensory function, and vascular function were measured. RESULTS: Across 4 h of restricted sitting, subjective discomfort increased using the Category Partitioning Scale (30.27 point increase) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (8.53 point increase); lower extremity sensory function was diminished along the S1 dermatome; and skin temperature decreased on both the lateral (2.85°C decrease) and anterior (2.78°C decrease) aspects of the ankle. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that prolonged sitting in a UH-60 seat increases discomfort, potentially through a peripheral nervous or vascular system mechanism. Further research is needed to understand the etiology and onset of pain and paresthesia during prolonged sitting in UH-60 pilot seats. Games KE, Lakin JM, Quindry JC, Weimar WH, Sefton JM. Prolonged restricted sitting effects in UH-60 helicopters.