Navigating the Long and Winding Path of Post-tenure Review: The Arizona Story

This article by two former faculty leaders describes the development and implementation of the Arizona post tenure review policy, with particular emphasis on the Arizona State University experience. This policy had to balance the somewhat different expectations of the Arizona Board of Regents, the faculty, and university administration. The article outlines the communication strategies used in negotiations with regents and faculty groups and draws lessons for other university systems which may be commencing their own journey down the long and winding path of post tenure review development and implementation.     

The Pre-Professional Skills Test: How it affects teacher aspirants and predicts performance in teacher preparation programs

In Arizona, students must pass the Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) prior to admission to a teacher preparation program. This study first summarized all Arizona PPST data from 1985 to 1989; the second phase then analyzed the effectiveness of PPST scores in predicting students' subsequent performance in teacher preparation programs. The most notable result was that in those five years, 51% of Arizona minority students failed the PPST compared to 21% of whites. The study revealed inconclusive correlations between PPST scores and three criterion measures of educational performance. This may be important because the preliminary phase showed that the PPST has blocked minority students from entering teacher preparation programs.     

Videoconferencing to help build a state network

Conclusion The experience gained by AETC and the staff at Arizona State University in the production of the videoconference and the details of establishing a network of meeting sites has opened the door to future use of this medium to reach a statewide audience for other educational forums. Encouraged by this first success, the staff at University Media Systems produced a statewide videoconference on foreign language instruction in the elementary schools in the Spring of 1990. The videoconference introduced hundreds of education, business, and government professionals to the potential of telecommunications for instruction. Now that they have been excited by the capabilities of these media, the continuing challenge for AETC members and the Arizona educational community will be working together to persuade the Arizona legislature of the need to fund the creation and maintenance of a statewide educational telecommunications system.     

Education projects ease handicaps

From a distance, the Williams Field Accommodation School looks like any other grade school. Located within the gates of Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, the school is composed of several buildings and a fenced-in playground. There is one difference, however, that sets this grade school apart.Michael P. Richmond, Airman 1st Class, is a public affairs specialist serving at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona.     

Forgotten History: Mexican American School Segregation in Arizona from 1900–1951 1

This article documents the efforts by Mexican Americans to challenge school segregation in Arizona in the first half of the twentieth century. As in Texas and California, although state law never formally mandated the segregation of Mexican American students, school districts in Arizona often established separate “Mexican Schools” for Mexican American students. While districts argued that segregation was necessary because of students' poor English skills, the segregation of Mexican American students in Arizona's public schools was not an isolated practice but occurred in tandem with other discriminatory practices that restricted the social rights of Mexican Americans, many of whom were American citizens. However, Mexican Americans challenged segregation in the courts. Notably, in Gonzales v. Sheely, a case heard in the United States District Court of Arizona in 1950, Judge Dave Ling declared segregation unconstitutional over three years before the Supreme Court's historic decision in Brown v. Board (1954).     

Swirling Students: Articulation Between A Major Community College District and a State-Supported Research University

As the country experiences a recession and institutions of higher education increase tuition to compensate for diminishing state support, the transferability of credits among and between institutions is essential to students seeking to earn a baccalaureate degree. Students, parents, and taxpayers cannot afford to pay twice for the same courses or for additional courses. In this environment, articulation becomes a very important issue, particularly when research has shown that a significant number of students enroll in more than one institution on their path to a degree. The focus of this article is the swirling students between the Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University. Swirling students, also a national phenomenon, encounter a number of challenges that institutions need to address. The history of articulation agreements in Arizona was explored to provide insight into the transfer model available to students enrolled at the Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University. The data revealed that the extent of student swirl is greater than initially anticipated and transcends beyond lower division coursework into the senior year. After considering the findings and conclusions based on the data, this article concludes that transparent institutional intentionality is imperative to effective articulation agreements that accommodate student swirl.     

Twenty years of productivity in ETR&;D by institutions and authors

This study was conducted to identify the most productive institutions and the most productive ETR&D authors from 1989 to 2008. Productivity scores were calculated using the number of first, second and third authorships in the journal. Arizona State University had both the highest institutional productivity score and the most authorships overall, while Florida State University had the most first authorships. Michael Hannafin of the University of Georgia ranked first in author productivity score and tied for first with Howard Sullivan of Arizona State for total authorships. David Jonassen of the University of Missouri had the most first authorships. Productivity patterns among top-ranked institutions and top-ranked authors are discussed.     

Preparation for teaching roles in nontraditional settings

Individuals often wish to prepare for a diverse number of education-related positions where professional certification is unnecessary. In the past, teacher education has focused on preparing professionals to enter public schools and ignored the need for teachers in non-school areas. The emergence of variable teaching options in our present society suggests the need to design novel programs and experiences to meet this challenge. This paper describes a program in one institution which prepares undergraduates for a vast array of educational opportunities alongside the more traditional programs. Specific implications are listed for developing a similar differentiated teacher education program at other institutions.Dr. Christiansen is Associate Professor of Education, and Director of Student Services, including responsibility for the Selected Studies in Education Program, at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.     

High School Exit Exam Scores and University Performance

Many U.S. students must pass a standards-based exit exam to earn a high school diploma. The degree to which exit exams and state standards properly signal to students their preparedness for postsecondary schooling has been questioned. The alignment of test scores with college grades for students at the University of Arizona (n = 2,667) who took the Arizona high school exams was ascertained in this study. The pass/fail signal accuracy of test scores varied depending on subject: The writing cut score was well aligned with collegiate performance, the reading cut score was below expectations, and the mathematics cut score was set quite rigorously. High school content and performance standards might not be as diluted as prior research has suggested.     

Meeting the Demand for Leadership Development

Due to its unique, flexible structure and low cost, virtually any student can participate in the Applied Tailored Leadership Adventure for Success (ATLAS) Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Arizona.     

美国北亚利桑那大学教学的观察与思考

美国北亚利桑那大学是一所百年老校,重视本科生教育、追求高质量教学.这所大学之所以能够提供高质量的本科生教育,是因为它以规范化的教学运作系统为基础,以强有力的教学支持系统为保障.     

Voices from Arizona's Classrooms: Teaching Dilemmas in Visual Arts Education

This paper reports on a round-table dialogue that took place in 1993 in Tucson, Arizona. The participants - eight educators involved in teaching the visual arts and acting as representatives of voices from Arizona's classrooms - were asked to identify and discuss problematic and practical teaching issues and dilemmas which surfaced in their diverse and multicultural classrooms during the past school year. The specific aims of the paper are two-fold: first, to present the reader with a series of themes, voiced in the form of questions, generated by the teachers themselves as they described their dilemmas and reasons for concern; secondly, to analyse the teachers' comments further, in relation to research with reference to research in the field. This work was supported by a research grant from The Arizona Arts Education Research Institute for 1992–93.     

Teacher Readiness to Work With English Language Learners: Arizona Context

Arizona is one of six states leading the nation in English language learner (ELL) student enrollments and requiring all teachers to complete coursework in methods of teaching ELLs. This policy requirement has impacted teacher preparation programs and the field of teacher education as a whole. As such, there is a growing need to identify and evaluate factors that contribute to ELL teacher readiness. This exploratory survey study examines teacher readiness to work with ELLs in comprehensive public high schools in Arizona. This study was conducted using a survey instrument administered to in-service teachers (n?=?444). Correlation analyses indicate that there is a strong association between preservice preparation, preservice exposure to ELLs, and the feeling of readiness to serve ELLs. The findings make a strong case for further examination of preservice teacher preparation programs, in-service professional development, and their relationship to teacher readiness.     

‘It is certainly strange…’: attacks on ethnic studies and whiteness as property

In 2010, Arizona passed legislation that attacked ethnic studies in k-12 (kindergarten to 12th grade). Specifically, Mexican American/Raza Studies (MARS) was targeted by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), and, in effect, would be eliminated by the Prohibited Courses; Discipline; Schools Law (Prohibited Courses Law). This study utilizes document and content analysis to examine both a letter written by the SPI calling for the elimination of MARS, and the text of the Prohibited Courses Law. Framing the work within critical race theory, these two documents work together to normalize and make property of whiteness in Arizona’s public schools, and re-create a hegemonic status quo. In addition, this study analyzes how MARS acts as a site of counter-hegemonic activity by scrutinizing customary discourses as presented in schools and curricula.     

Innovation in a non-traditional academic unit: The intensive english program

Studies of innovation suggest that understanding the complex set of variables associated with innovation can help higher education professionals plan and achieve organizational reforms more effectively. The purpose of the research reported here was to explore innovation in a non-traditional academic unit, the intensive English program (IEP), on several university campuses. The focus of the study was IEP administrators and their perceptions of factors that facilitate innovation in their units.Fredricka L. Stoller, Ed.D. (Northern Arizona University) is an Assistant Professor in the Teaching English as a Second Language and Applied Linguistics programs at Northern Arizona University. She is also Director of the Program in Intensive English at the same university. Her areas of professional interest include innovation in English language teaching settings; second language methodology, curriculum, and materials development; second language reading; and second language teacher education.     

Measuring approaches to learning in preschoolers: validating the structure of an instrument for teachers and parents

This study examined a 13-item instrument measuring approaches to learning (AtL) as a component of school readiness in the context of early childhood socio-emotional development. Few instruments, limited to preschool teacher ratings, measure AtL among kindergarteners with short easy-to-use questionnaires. We investigated psychometric properties of the instrument designed to provide practical measures of AtL behaviours identified in the Arizona Early Learning Standards with teacher (n?=?205) and guardian (n?=?1025) samples. We found a one-factor structure via exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The multi-group CFA for combined teacher and guardian models indicated a good fit, which demonstrated the structure validity of the AtL instrument. This finding, combined with evidence of reliability of the instrument, supported the educational utility of the AtL as a new tool for measuring school readiness among kindergarteners in Arizona.     

严惩校园作弊——校园作弊“门”

詹姆斯·卡基·泰勒对亚利桑那大学的爵士音乐史课上发生的猖獗作弊行为很是震惊。学生们左顾右盼,想用咳嗽进行暗号交流,趁假装伸懒腰的时候,手在后面比划答案。     

Arpaio Doesn’t Control Anything: A Summer with El Hormiguero in Phoenix, Arizona

Drawing from observations and interview data, this essay examines the role of “hormiguero agency” in nurturing empowered identities amongst Latin@s in Phoenix, Arizona. Specific links are made to how dehumanizing state level policies are resisted in multiple spaces, including schools, activist organizations, and within underground business networks.     

Student self-evaluation,teacher evaluation,and learner performance

A total of 341 Latvian students and eight teachers participated in this study of student self-evaluation and teacher evaluation. Students completed a 12-lesson teacher-directed instructional program on conducting and writing a report of their own experimental research. Sixteen classes were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: (1) no in-program evaluation, (2) self-evaluation and revision at the research design and draft final report stages, (3) teacher evaluation and student revision at both stages, (4) self-plus-teacher evaluation and student revision at both stages. Students in the teacher-evaluation and self-plus-teacher evaluation conditions received significantly higher ratings from an independent rater on their final research reports. However, students under the self-evaluation conditions had greater confidence in their ability to conduct future experiments. This research is based on Dr. Olina's dissertation at Arizona State University, and was supported by grants from the Arizona State University Graduate Research Support Program and the Assessment Training Institute Foundaton in Portland, Oregon. We gratefully acknowledge their support.