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Research in science education confirms the importance of self-efficacy in students' persistence and success in the sciences. The current study examined the role of science self-efficacy in nonspecialist, arts and communication-oriented students encountering science in a general education context. Participants (N = 275) completed a beginning- and end-of-semester survey including a Science Self-Efficacy Scale, a "connection to science" measure--the Inclusion of Science in Self Scale--and a Science Anxiety Scale. Participants also responded to two open-ended "sources of science efficacy" questions, and provided background/demographic information and access to their academic records. Results showed a significant increase in science self-efficacy and connection to science--although no change in science anxiety--over the course of the semester. The observed shift in self-efficacy for minority and international students was of particular note. These students started the course with lower confidence but, by the end of the semester, reported comparable science self-efficacy, and achieved similar grades to their White/Non-Hispanic and US resident classmates. Contrary to expectations, science self-efficacy did not predict performance in the class. However, students' self-reported sources of efficacy indicated increased confidence in using science in daily life, and confirmed the value of mastery experiences and of personally meaningful, student-centered course design in scaffolding student confidence. Results are discussed in terms of the individual and instructional factors that support science self-efficacy and student success in this unique, general education science environment.

Historic harvesting and mortality from air pollution drastically reduced the abundance of red spruce (Picea rubens), a late-successional dominant of cool-temperate forests of the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada, leaving few opportunities to understand the natural growth and disturbance responses of this species. Timbers salvaged from the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, a structure built from trees harvested in the late 1930s, provided an opportunity to reconstruct radial growth patterns and dynamics of a former old-growth red spruce stand located in Jobildunc Ravine on Mount Moosilauke in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Ravine Lodge tree-ring series were compared with data from a 255-year-old red spruce found living in Jobildunc Ravine, from the Nancy Brook site in the White Mountains, and from other dendroecological studies across the region. Ring counts provide minimum tree ages of 187-286 years for timbers from Jobildunc Ravine, suggesting they established between the mid-Seventeenth and mid-Eighteenth Centuries. Dendroecological analyses identified early decades of suppression in the understory followed by 2-5 growth releases and 2-4 growth declines for each sample, indicating occasional, small-scale disturbances of the canopy before the 1930s. A growth decline in 1834-1835 coincides with an outbreak of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) in eastern Canada, perhaps reflecting a regional defoliation event that occurred as far south as Mount Moosilauke. This study illustrates the insights that can be gained from wood from historic structures on the dynamics of now-scarce old-growth red spruce forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 13.0 cal ka BP pollen record from Twin Ponds, Vermont, provides new insights into the climate history of the northeastern United States. Modern analogs were used to produce qualitative and quantitative climate reconstructions for Twin Ponds. The Twin Ponds record was compared with nearby Knob Hill Pond to develop a Vermont reconstruction that was compared with reconstructions from two sites at a similar latitude. Postglacial warming at 11.5 cal ka BP followed a cool, wet Younger Dryas and was the largest temperature change of the record. The warmest, driest conditions occurred at ca. 9.0 cal ka BP, followed by an increase in moisture. Latitudinal and elevational shifts in the location of modern analogs from 5.7 to 4.0 cal ka BP were used to infer cooling and increased moisture during the Tsuga canadensis decline. Analysis of the timing of pollen events between the two Vermont sites suggests a more rapid decline in T. canadensis at the more northern Knob Hill Pond and further supports the possibility that colder temperatures contributed to this event. The other northern sites show similar trends until 2.5 cal ka BP, when precipitation in the easternmost site diverges, indicating the establishment of modern climatic gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in vegetation in North America indicate Holocene shifts in the latitudinal temperature gradient along the western margin of the North Atlantic. Tree taxa such as oak (Quercus) and birch (Betula) experienced opposing directions of change across different latitudes consistent with changes in temperature gradient steepness. Pollen‐inferred temperatures from 34 sites quantify the gradient changes and reconstruct a long‐term northward steepening in summer and southward steepening in winter. From 4.8 to 3.8 ka, an oscillation in tree distributions interrupted the long‐term trends as a steep temperature gradient developed north of 43.5°N. The shift likely limited cold outbreaks to the south, producing anomalously high summer temperatures at 42–43.5°N, and enabling a northward expansion of oak forests. The forest and temperature gradient changes appear consistent with orbital and ice sheet forcing as well as millennial variability in the North Atlantic pressure field analogous to the North Atlantic Oscillation on interannual time scales. Plain Language Summary: In the Northern Hemisphere, average temperatures decline with latitude as climates cool toward the pole. Changes in this temperature pattern have significant consequences for weather systems and ecosystems. Past changes likely impacted the geographic extent of summer warmth and winter freezing that can determine where tree species can grow. In this study, fossil evidence of ancient tree distributions revealed how the poleward temperature gradient near the Atlantic coast of North America fluctuated over the past 11,700 years. Long‐term forest and temperature changes developed in response to the deglaciation of Canada and Earth's slow orbital changes. However, a particularly striking change 4,800–3,800 years ago briefly expanded oak‐hickory forests into mid‐latitude highlands otherwise dominated by cold‐tolerant northern tree species. The forest histories demonstrate the potential for ecosystems to change rapidly in the future, but also how fossil records can reveal poorly understood patterns and processes of millennial‐scale climate variability. Temperature patterns detected here may be analogous to patterns of climate variability in the North Atlantic region at monthly‐to‐annual scales. Key Points: A major ecotone in eastern North America, which is linked to the latitudinal temperature gradient, shifted repeatedly during the HolocenePollen‐inferred temperatures from different latitudes across the ecotone reveal gradient responses to deglaciation and orbital changeChanges at 4.8–3.8 ka also indicate millennial‐scale variability with patterns analogous to the North Atlantic Oscillation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many arts-focused colleges and universities in the United States offer their undergraduate students coursework in science. To better understand the delivery of science education at this type of institution, this article surveys the science programs of forty-one arts-oriented schools. The findings suggest that most science programs are located in general education departments alongside other liberal arts disciplines, and at most of the schools students are required to complete at least one science course. The findings also suggest that the context of science education at arts-focused colleges may encourage innovation in pedagogy and curriculum development. This article highlights courses and assignments from Emerson College and other schools in which scientific topics are aligned with arts fields or framed to emphasize the societal relevance of science and its place in our daily lives.

The letter to the editor responds to a recent paper by Armstrong et al. that discussed pre-colonial land use by Indigenous peoples in northwestern British Columbia. The authors of the letter reject the characterization of their own scholarship as racist and argue that Armstrong et al. misrepresented their findings. They emphasize that Indigenous peoples in southern New England did have ecological impacts on the landscape, but these impacts were primarily local in scale. The authors also highlight the importance of understanding the scale and variability of Indigenous peoples' ecological impacts for conservation and land management strategies. [Extracted from the article]

Research in science education confirms the importance of self‐efficacy in students' persistence and success in the sciences. The current study examined the role of science self‐efficacy in nonspecialist, arts and communication‐oriented students encountering science in a general education context. Participants (N = 275) completed a beginning‐ and end‐of‐semester survey including a Science Self‐Efficacy Scale, a "connection to science" measure—the Inclusion of Science in Self Scale—and a Science Anxiety Scale. Participants also responded to two open‐ended "sources of science efficacy" questions, and provided background/demographic information and access to their academic records. Results showed a significant increase in science self‐efficacy and connection to science—although no change in science anxiety—over the course of the semester. The observed shift in self‐efficacy for minority and international students was of particular note. These students started the course with lower confidence but, by the end of the semester, reported comparable science self‐efficacy, and achieved similar grades to their White/Non‐Hispanic and US resident classmates. Contrary to expectations, science self‐efficacy did not predict performance in the class. However, students' self‐reported sources of efficacy indicated increased confidence in using science in daily life, and confirmed the value of mastery experiences and of personally meaningful, student‐centered course design in scaffolding student confidence. Results are discussed in terms of the individual and instructional factors that support science self‐efficacy and student success in this unique, general education science environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]