Northern Illinois University

About: Northern Illinois University is a education organization based out in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Population. The organization has 8818 authors who have published 20008 publications receiving 632341 citations. The organization is also known as: NIU.

Science education in an urban elementary school: Case studies of teacher beliefs and classroom practices

Abstract: Through a case study approach, the state of science education in an urban elementary school was examined in detail. Observations made from the perspective of a science education specialist, an educational psychologist, and an expert elementary teacher were triangulated to provide a set of perspectives from which elementary science instruction could be examined. Findings revealed that teachers were more poorly prepared than had been anticipated, both in terms of science content knowledge and instructional skills, but also with respect to the quality of classroom pedagogical and management skills. Particularly significant, from a science education perspective, was the inconsistency between how they perceived their teaching practice (a “hands-on,” inquiry-based approach) and the investigator-observed expository nature of the lessons. Lessons were typically expository in nature, with little higher-level interaction of significance. Implications for practice and the associated needs for staff development among urban elementary teachers is discussed within the context of these findings. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed85:89–110, 2001.

For Appearances' Sake Public Self-Consciousness and Makeup Use

Abstract: Are some individuals more apt to alter their physical appearance to seem more attractive? The current research investigated individual differences in the use of makeup. Women who were particularly concerned about their appearance (those high in public self-consciousness) wore more makeup and were more apt to believe that makeup enhances their social interactions. Implications of the current research for Self-Consciousness findings are discussed.

A Process Model of Mathematics Achievement and Attitude.

Abstract: A structural model of mathematics achievement and attitude was tested with a national probability sample of 3,116 young adolescents from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth using structural modeling. A three-wave longitudinal design incorporated data from students, teachers, and parents to construct a prespecified theoretical model of mathematics achievement and mathematics attitude. A revised model provided a better fit than the original specification and than regression models used in 23 previous studies. Supported in cross-validation, the model revealed a complexity of direct and indirect effects not apparent in previous studies. Prior achievement and home environment influenced subsequent achievement most powerfully; motivation, exposure to extramural reading media, peer environment, and instructional exposure also had significant influences on achievement. Previous attitude had the most powerful influence on subsequent attitude, although the direct effects of instructional quality and the indirect effects of motivation and home environment were also notable. Appropriate teacher use of instructional time, thorough textbook coverage, and daily introduction of new material, although educationally alterable, are themselves influenced by previous student achievement. Similarly, instructional practices are significant alterable influences on mathematics attitudes, but such practices are themselves influenced by students' initial attitudes. Considerable research has sought to identify students' in- and out-of-school experiences that influence achievement and related outcomes, especially those that are alterable by policy intervention. Comparative studies continue to show the poor performance of U.S. students in mathematics and science, particularly in junior and senior high school. Large-scale surveys of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (McKnight et al., 1987) and the International Assessment of Educational Progress (Lapointe, Mead, & Phillips, 1989; Dossey, Mullis, Lindquist, & Chambers, 1988; Olson, 1990) confirm poor U.S. standings and also suggest underlying causes. Walberg (1981, 1986) has attempted to specify the chief productive factors in school learning suggested by several research literatures. The nine-factor specification, derived from the Cobb and Douglas (1928) theory of national economic productivity, guided many quantitative syntheses of classroom research and secondary analyses of large national surveys. The present study builds on this work by testing the productivity model with structural equation modeling. It employs national, longitudinal data on middle-school students' growth in mathematics achievement and attitude as related to variations in their exposure to instruction and to educationally stimulating psychological environments within and outside school.

Threat, Authoritarianism, and Voting: An Investigation of Personality and Persuasion

Abstract: The authors examined whether the influence of persuasive messages emphasizing reward versus threat was moderated by authoritarianism. Five days before the 1996 presidential election, participants (N = 86) received either a reward-related message (emphasizing the positive benefits of voting) or a threatrelated message (emphasizing the negative consequences of failing to vote) recommending that they vote in the election. We found that high authoritarians perceived the threat message as stronger in argument quality than the reward message, and low authoritarians perceived the reward message as stronger in argument quality than the threat message. In turn, subjective perceptions of message quality exerted a direct influence on participants’ postmessage attitudes toward voting in the election. Finally, behavioral intentions mediated the influence of voting attitudes on actual voting behavior. Discussion focuses on the implications of the message frame and authoritarianism.

Search for production of vector-like quark pairs and of four top quarks in the lepton-plus-jets final state in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract: A search for pair production of vector-like quarks, both up-type (T) and down-type (B), as well as for four-top-quark production, is presented. The search is based on pp collisions at TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon with high transverse momentum, large missing transverse momentum and multiple jets. Dedicated analyses are performed targeting three cases: a T quark with significant branching ratio to a W boson and a b-quark , and both a T quark and a B quark with significant branching ratio to a Higgs boson and a third-generation quark ( respectively). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL lower limits are derived on the masses of the vector-like T and B quarks under several branching ratio hypotheses assuming contributions from T -> Wb, Zt, Ht and B -> Wt, Zb, Hb decays. The 95% CL observed lower limits on the T quark mass range between 715 GeV and 950 GeV for all possible values of the branching ratios into the three decay modes, and are the most stringent constraints to date. Additionally, the most restrictive upper bounds on four-top-quark production are set in a number of new physics scenarios.