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Existing literature attests to the importance of assessing the learning enjoyment and learning interest of students toward socio-scientific issues (SSI). However, there are few existing studies that examine how ecological stimuli, which are crucial to young learners' perceptual development and the shaping of ethical judgment, predict their learning enjoyment and learning interest in SSI. This investigation addresses this gap in the available literature by investigating and assessing the effects of self-perceived influences of three ecological stimuli constructs--textbooks, family/classmates, and news media--on a learning interest in SSI construct and a learning enjoyment from SSI construct among Taiwanese high school students. A structural equation model consisting of these five constructs was fitted to data collected from 966 students. Results show that influence on students' ethical judgments from textbooks and news media directly predict learning interest in SSI, with effects partially mediated by learning enjoyment from SSI. The influence of family/classmates on students' learning interest was fully mediated by learning enjoyment. The role of enjoyment and learning interest as predictors of these outcomes is discussed within the context of genuine interest in learning SSI content. The value and implications of these results for science education specialists and interest researchers are forwarded and suggested directions of future investigation submitted.

Public education in the United States has been undergoing a shift from an empirical tradition in which practices and policies are derived from research, practice, reflection, and implementation. In this empirical tradition, professionals embrace a culture and commitment to evidence-based practices (EBPs) and expect that practices and policies in the field are supported by rational, data-driven models. In this paper, we present an argument and three cases that illustrate how educators have been undergoing a gradual shift away from empiricism toward a de-evolution of EBP. We propose that this gradual shift is based on a political-social context, in which practices and policies are implemented using the language of an accountability model of reform, in which national and state regulations, and accreditation bodies, establish expectations often devoid of an empirical basis for the practices they mandate.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) increasingly are accessing inclusive college programs to gain academic and employment preparation for future community living. Decision-making and self-determination are two inter-related skills taught in these programs. In this study, we investigated an intervention that combined remote audio coaching (RAC) and a mnemonic strategy to teach employment decision-making skills to three college students with IDD. We evaluated the intervention using the range-bound changing criterion design to assess students' stepwise progress. All students substantially increased their employment decision-making skills, generalized those skills to a novel job coach who was not part of the intervention, and maintained the skills after the intervention was removed. We discuss implications of the procedures and results of this decision-making intervention, as well as the goodness-of-fit of the experimental design for evaluating controlled, gradual skill increases.

College students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face challenges searching for jobs, often lacking communication and social skills needed during formal interviews. The COVID-19 pandemic complicates interviews, forcing students to search online and attend virtual interviews. This study used a multiple probe design across participants to examine the acquisition of literacy-based behavioral interventions (LBBIs) on virtual job interviews. Using a video conference platform, students answered interview questions from researchers acting as employers. LBBIs were customized, incorporating students' input. Results indicated that LBBIs were effective for teaching and maintaining virtual job interview skills, and across novel employers. The findings have implications for using LBBIs to teach virtual job interview skills to students with IDD, and for researchers including these students in remote instruction.

Many differences exist between preschool and kindergarten classrooms, including the type and time spent on fine motor activities. Children at risk for developmental delays and learning challenges as they transition to kindergarten often require direct support during preschool to learn new skills needed for kindergarten. This study expanded the storybook literacy based behavioral intervention (LBBI) research by exploring the effect of small group-delivered, electronic LBBIs on preschool students considered at-risk by their teachers. Using a multiple probe design across skills, we delivered LBBIs in a small group to teach common fine motor classroom skills (cutting with scissors, using liquid glue, and matching using one-to-one correspondence). Children acquired and maintained the new skills, then generalized the motor skills to novel materials.

The critical and persistent impact of violence, abuse, and social injustice on the overall development of young children has necessitated a global discourse on the importance of cultivating compassion during children's formative years. This article links the defining elements of compassion to the discipline of early childhood education and calls upon stakeholders to integrate more concerted and systematic knowledge from compassion science research into contemporary early childhood classroom practices.

Teacher preparation programmes (TPPs) find many ways to shape the development of their teacher candidates while bridging the research to practice gap in university and school partnerships. Recently, accountability models built on high-stakes standardised student assessments (Value-Added Models [VAM]) have been mandated as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of teacher and teacher preparation efforts. Adopting a metric with known validity and reliability flaws has unintended consequences that affect teachers, TPPs, and K-12 students. This article examines the current climate surrounding teacher and TPP evaluation, and presents the unintended consequences of using a flawed metric for VAM efforts. The article provides a rationale for an alternative, curriculum-based VAM for TPPs, and summarises a series of four investigations that explored this model and serve as a rationale for further implementation by other TPPs.

Abstract: We demonstrate the guiding principles behind simple two dimensional self‐assembly of MOF nanoparticles (NPs) and oleic acid capped iron oxide (Fe3O4) NCs into a uniform two‐dimensional bi‐layered superstructure. This self‐assembly process can be controlled by the energy of ligand–ligand interactions between surface ligands on Fe3O4 NCs and Zr6O4(OH)4(fumarate)6 MOF NPs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM)/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and TEM tomography confirm the hierarchical co‐assembly of Fe3O4 NCs with MOF NPs as ligand energies are manipulated to promote facile diffusion of the smaller NCs. First‐principles calculations and event‐driven molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the observed patterns are dictated by combination of ligand–surface and ligand–ligand interactions. This study opens a new avenue for design and self‐assembly of MOFs and NCs into high surface area assemblies, mimicking the structure of supported catalyst architectures, and provides a thorough fundamental understanding of the self‐assembly process, which could be a guide for designing functional materials with desired structure.

Marketing orders are government-supported cartels designed to help farmers by allowing them to set production quotas and quality standards. Given that, it is surprising that a growing number have been voluntarily terminated in recent decades by their constituent farmers. To better understand why, we construct a novel data set on the timing of initiation and termination of marketing orders active between 1974 and 2019 and estimate duration models to examine the impact of specific factors on marketing orders' probability of survival. We find that the most significant factor affecting marketing order persistence is whether the order had a corresponding marketing agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coaching in the school setting typically follows the traditional format of preconference, observe, and postconference, where feedback on teaching performance is shared but often delayed. Professional development (PD) provides teachers with skills to enhance their teaching practice with little to no follow-up or support. The most effective way to produce change in the school setting is to show the connection between PD and student performance, and iCoaching can help to bridge the gap. In this study, four teachers participated in a focused PD session and subsequent iCoaching sessions where the researcher used iPods and Bluetooth earbuds as a bug-in-ear (BIE) device. A coach served as a live, remote observer providing coaching prompts to increase teacher-delivered opportunities to respond (OTR). The results indicated that iCoaching was effective in increasing teacher-delivered OTR and in increasing student responses and academic performance.

The use of technological devices has proven to be effective and efficient for the delivery of videos aimed at promoting daily living skills (DLS) among individuals with autism spectrum disorder. As technology advances, devices have become more portable and, ultimately, accessible to caregivers. There are relatively few studies that have examined whether parents can be taught to effectively deliver evidence-based practices using portable, mainstream devices. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, we evaluated parent fidelity in the delivery of video prompts on an iPad to their children who were learning DLS. Results indicated that parents were successful in their delivery of the training procedures and their children acquired and maintained the skills.

Many adults with intellectual disability (ID) do not learn the skills needed to maintain safety of people within their communities. In a pair of studies, a total task presentation with a least-to-most error correction procedure was used to teach four college students with ID how to safely remove personal protective equipment (PPE) (gloves), and how to administer hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A multiple probe design was used to evaluate the effects of both studies. Results for the first study showed that students' accuracy with PPE removal increased after the intervention, and maintained after the intervention was removed. During the second study, student accuracy of hands-only CPR increased, and the CPR skills also generalized to a novel setting. Social validity data for both studies indicated that students believed they learned and were able to demonstrate the skills, however staff impressions were more variable. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Adults with intellectual disability may not learn safety skills needed to maintain the safety of those within their communities. Basic life-saving skills are valued by community members and increase independent and integrated living and employment opportunities. This study used an instructional package consisting of modeling, task analysis, and simultaneous prompting to teach college students with intellectual disability a basic life-saving skill, specifically how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). Phase 1 of the study used the instructional package to teach the students to perform CPR. Once mastered, Phase 2 of the study taught students to use an AED, incorporating it into the CPR chain. Results showed that the students' accuracy with the tasks increased after the introduction of the instructional package, generalized to a novel environment, and maintained once the instructional package was removed. Implications and future research are discussed.

Recent efforts in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have been devoted to obtaining low-bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) for high photocurrent generation. However, the low-lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level in narrow bandgap NFAs typically results in a small energy difference (ΔEDA) between the LUMO of the acceptor and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the donor, leading to low open-circuit voltage (VOC). The trade-off between ΔEDA and photocurrent generation significantly limits the simultaneous enhancement of both VOC and short-circuit current density (JSC). Here, we report a new medium-bandgap NFA, IDTT-T, containing a weakly electron-withdrawing N-ethyl thiabarbituric acid terminal group on each end of the indacenodithienothiophene (IDTT) core. When paired with a benchmark low-bandgap PTB7-th polymer donor, simultaneous enhancement of both ΔEDA and absorption spectral coverage was realized. The OPV devices yield a VOC of 1.01 V, corresponding to a low energy loss of 0.57 eV in around 10% efficiency single-junction NFA OPVs. The design demonstrates a working principle to concurrently increase ΔEDA and photocurrent generation for high VOC and PCE in bulk fullerene-free heterojunction OPVs.

High boiling-point solvent additives, such as 1,8-diiodooctane, have been widely used to tune nanoscale phase morphology for increased efficiency in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. However, liquid-state solvent additives remain in the active films for extended times and later migrate or evaporate from the films, leading to unstable device performance. Here, a solid-state photoactive molecular mediator, namely N(BAI)3, is reported that could be employed to replace the commonly used solvent additives to tune the morphology of bulk heterojunction films for improved device performance. The N(BAI)3 mediator not only resides in the active films locally to fine tune the phase morphology, but also contributes to the additional absorption of the active films, leading to ∼11% enhancement of power conversion efficiency of P3HT:PC60BM devices. Comparative studies are carried out to probe the nanoscale morphologies using grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and complementary neutron reflectometry. The use of 1 wt% N(BAI)3 is found to effectively tune the packing of P3HT, presumably through balanced π-interactions endowed by its large conjugated π surface, and to promote the formation of a PC60BM-rich top interfacial layer. These findings open up a new way to effectively tailor the phase morphology by photoactive molecular mediators in organic photovoltaics.

We synthesized a two-dimensional (2D) crystalline covalent organic framework (sp2c-COF) that was designed to be fully π-conjugated and constructed from all sp2 carbons by C=C condensation reactions of tetrakis(4-formylphenyl)pyrene and 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile. The C=C linkages topologically connect pyrene knots at regular intervals into a 2D lattice with π conjugations extended along both x and y directions and develop an eclipsed layer framework rather than the more conventionally obtained disordered structures. The sp2c-COF is a semiconductor with a discrete band gap of 1.9 electron volts and can be chemically oxidized to enhance conductivity by 12 orders of magnitude. The generated radicals are confined on the pyrene knots, enabling the formation of a paramagnetic carbon structure with high spin density. The sp2 carbon framework induces ferromagnetic phase transition to develop spin-spin coherence and align spins unidirectionally across the material.

We report controllable anisotropic light emission of photons originating from vertically aligned transition dipole moments in spun-cast films of CsPbBr3 nanocubes. By depositing films of nanocrystals on precoated substrates we can control the packing density and resultant radiation pattern of the emitted photons. We develop a technical framework to calculate the average orientation of light emitters, i.e., the angle between the transition dipole moment vector (TDM) and the substrate. This model is applicable to any emissive material with a known refractive index. Theoretical modeling indicates that oriented emission originates from an anisotropic alignment of the valence band and conduction band edge states on the ionic crystal lattice and demonstrates a general path to model the experimentally less accessible internal electric field of a nanosystem from the photoluminescent anisotropy. The uniquely accessible surface of the perovskite nanoparticles allows for perturbation of the normally isotropic emissive transition. The reported sensitive and tunable TDM orientation and control of emitted light will allow for applications of perovskite nanocrystals in a wide range of photonic technologies inaccessible to traditional light emitters.

Quinoidal structures incorporating expanded para-quinodimethane (p-QM) units have garnered great interest as functional organic electronic, optical, and magnetic materials. The direct use of the compact p-QM unit as an electronic building block, however, has been inhibited by the high reactivity conveyed by its biradical character. Herein, we introduce a stable p-QM variant, namely p-azaquinodimethane (p-AQM), that incorporates nitrogen atoms in the central ring and alkoxy substituents on the periphery to increase the stability of the quinoidal structure. The succinct synthesis from readily available precursors leads to regio- and stereospecific p-AQMs that can be readily integrated into the backbone of conjugated polymers. The quinoidal character of the p-AQM unit endows the resulting polymers with narrow band gaps and high carrier transport mobilities. The study of a series of copolymers employing different numbers of thiophene units revealed an unconventional trend in band gaps, which is distinct from the widely adopted donor-acceptor approach to tuning the band gaps of conjugated polymers. Theoretical calculations have shed light on the nature of this trend, which may provide a unique class of conjugated polymers with promising optical and electronic properties.

Conjugated block copolymers provide a pathway to achieve thermally stable nanostructured thin films for organic solar cells. We characterized the structural evolution of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene) (P3HT-b-DPPT-T) from solution to nanostructured thin films. Aggregation of the DPPT-T block of P3HT-b-DPPT-T was found in solution by small-angle X-ray scattering with the P3HT block remaining well-solvated. The nanostructure in thin films was determined using a combination of wide and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques as a function of processing conditions. The structure in solution controlled the initial nanostructure in spin-cast thin films, allowing subsequent thermal annealing processes to further improve the ordering. In contrast to the results for thin films, nanostructural ordering was not observed in the bulk samples by small-angle X-ray scattering. These results suggest the importance of controlling solvent induced aggregation in forming nanostructured thin films of conjugated block copolymers.

An improved understanding of fundamental chemistry, electronic structure, morphology, and dynamics in polymers and soft materials requires advanced characterization techniques that are amenable to in situ and operando studies. Soft X-ray methods are especially useful in their ability to non-destructively provide information on specific materials or chemical moieties. Analysis of these experiments, which can be very dependent on X-ray energy and polarization, can quickly become complex. Complementary modeling and predictive capabilities are required to properly probe these critical features. Here, we present relevant background on this emerging suite of techniques. We focus on how the combination of theory and experiment has been applied and can be further developed to drive our understanding of how these methods probe relevant chemistry, structure, and dynamics in soft materials.