From Curriculum to Activism: a graduate degree program in literacy to develop teachers as leaders for equity through action research

This article presents findings from a 2-year reflexive action research study of a cohort-based Master's degree program in literacy for practicing teachers. Questions revolved around whether and how the program brought about changes in candidates' conceptions about literacy, expertise in literacy, and leadership/activist skills to foster equity in their classrooms and schools. Faculty used data from action research to make cyclical changes to the program each semester. Data sources included candidate interviews, e-mail correspondence, course notes, classroom observations, questionnaires and a survey. The candidates own evolving action research projects within their schools also became data sources. A qualitative analysis suggests that the program was generally successful in meeting its goals. The elements of the program contributing to its success were: the evolving program design based on action research data; the collegiality of the cohort; broadening conceptions of literacy; learning action research; and developing leadership skills. Factors contributing to factors around which candidates failed to meet these goals are also explored.     

Action Learning: Design Features and Outcomes at Georgia State University

This account of action learning as a curriculum offering at Georgia State University provides background and details of program start-up and operation during a first, experimental year. It explains what features were important in the design, what some of the first-year outcomes were, and what designers of the laboratory course will continuously seek to improve. Research findings from the first year of offering the program supported the expectation that students would gain confidence in their set mentoring and organizational problem-solving skills through a blend of hands-on experience and through independent and in-class reflection. Using critical incidents and journals as a way of staying in touch with events and with their own learning process, participants came to view critique as a leading part of action learning. Graduate students who were the first action learners at GSU included both human resource development and instructional technology majors. They have now fanned out in many directions to learn more about action learning and to carry the process into other organizations.     

Action Learning and Research at George Washington University

Action learning has emerged as one of the most effective and powerful teaching and learning approaches used in graduate studies in human resource development at George Washington University (GWU). In this article, both faculty and student perspectives are presented to describe action learning teaching, research, and organizational interventions. First-hand experiences of doctoral students with action learning sets are presented in their own words. Students benefit from action learning experiences by building strong networks of personal and professional support. Improved group processes and greater interaction between executive level students and faculty have resulted in a strong doctoral cohort experience for Executive Leadership Program students at GWU. The initial energy to generate action learning programs in students' organizations requires active faculty involvement and follow-up to ensure that organizations accept and benefit from action learning programs. HRD (human resource development) faculty can profit from additional orientation and understanding of action learning to incorporate this methodology into their courses and problem-solving activities.     

Youth Participatory Action Research as Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

In this article, I present the ways in which youth participatory action research (YPAR) provides opportunities for academically rigorous and culturally sustaining pedagogy for immigrant high school students learning English. In a course sponsored by the City University of New York’s College Now program, I introduced students to the principles of critical ethnographic research and then guided them through the creation of a research proposal catalyzed by their own observations and questions of their immediate surroundings. A subset of this class of 15 was then mentored by me through the implementation of their research proposals, from question refinement to methods to data collection and analysis. Throughout the article, implications for teaching and learning for immigrant youth learning English are discussed.     

Table of Contents

Conceptualizing the Master's Degree The Evolution of the Master's Degree A Century of Reform Federal Aid and Quality Control Professionalizing Graduate Education The European Model of Professionalization The Changing Demographics of Master's Students Curricular Models of Master's Education Degree Diversity and Disciplinary Taxonomies Alternative Delivery Systems Reframing Master's Education Major Professional Programs Business Accounting Education Professionalizing Science and Engineering The Biosciences Degree Diversity: The Professional Science Master's and the Master of Bioscience Degrees The Geosciences The Chemical Sciences Physics Engineering S&E Degrees in Context Mixed Trends in the Humanities and Social Sciences Humanistic Studies Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Fields Redesigning Master's Degrees for the Marketplace Globalization and the Marketplace Convergence of Academic and Professional Fields Accountability Mandates and Quality Control Transformative Technological Advances Conclusions Notes References Name Index Subject Index About the Author     

International Students in Australia: Read ten thousand volumes of books and walk ten thousand miles

A number of international students, predominately from Asian countries, are present in universities in the UK, United States, and Australia. There is little research exploring their experiences as they negotiate the disciplinary requirements of their courses. This paper investigates students' agency as they write their first assignment for their Master's of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages course and the academics who teach them. Talk around texts and the positioning theory are used to analyse the data. It is argued that the students demonstrate strategic agency, which allows them to better understand the academic requirements of their disciplines. The analysis reveals the complexities involved in international students' adaptation to disciplinary discourse and the implications for teaching and learning in higher education.     

Perceived effects of action research on teachers' professional efficacy,inquiry mindsets and the support they received while conducting projects to intervene into student learning

Based on information gleaned from questionnaires and interviews with teachers who engaged in action research as a capstone to their Master's program during the years 1992 through 2001, and on data from these teachers' administrators and colleagues, six assertions are reported. (1) Teachers sustained the ‘inquiry mindset’ gained while learning the processes associated with conducting action research and continued using aspects of the process; however, conducting new projects was less likely. (2) Teachers' sense of professional efficacy was enhanced, even after many years had intervened. (3) Action research had immediate benefits for students but long-range benefits were not determined. (4) Though challenging, teachers perceived conducting action research was professionally valuable. (5) Teachers reported that administrators, although supportive, played passive roles, whereas colleagues were more collaborative during planning and implementing their projects. (6) Teachers described school environments conducive to conducting action research as ones that provide structures for teams to work on mutual goals supported by strong administrative leadership.     

The impact of the organizational transfer climate on the use of teacher leadership competences developed in a post-initial Master's program

The transfer of learning outcomes of Master's programs for teachers is not self-evident. In this study, 18 teachers who recently graduated and their supervisors were interviewed on the transfer of leadership competences developed during their Master's program and on how the organizational transfer climate of the school supported or hindered this transfer. In schools with high levels of transfer, strategic partnerships between Master's-level teachers and formal leaders were observed, which facilitated a two-way process in which the application of new competences led to changes in the workplace. Therefore, the Master's program contributed to both professional development and school improvement.     

In and of the City: Theory of Action and the NYU Partnership School Program

This article explores the theory of action underlying New York University's (NYU's) Partnership Schools Program—explaining in the process what a theory of action is, and how it can be constructed for other innovations in other contexts. NYU's Partnership Program involves 23 schools, K-12, spanning several of New York City's most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. It operates on the basis of what the authors call “mutual self-interest” and exploits what they call “complementarity.” The authors illuminate the program's original as well as its evolving intentions, and the environmental conditions necessary to enact them and to sustain the program over a decade. They also describe the program's core design elements, with a view to how these may be replicated elsewhere. Finally, they look closely at the Partnership's theory of action in action, employing action research data to portray a meeting where professors and teachers discuss the teacher education residency experiment they have collaboratively launched.     

Action learning guided by Tao for lifelong learning

Information Technology brings about rapid changes in working environment, quickly rendering skills and knowledge gained in formal learning institutions obsolete. Even as they prepare students for their first career, institutions also need to equip students with skills necessary for lifelong learning. The Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore has accordingly structured its curricula into Academic Studies and General Studies where the former focuses on core subjects (broad based knowledge-specific studies), and the latter on general knowledge (multi-disciplines catering to various interests for lifelong benefits). A 12-week course, ‘Introduction to Tao for Effective Action Learning’ which focuses on learning processes was developed and has been taught by the author, for undergraduates at NTU since July 2001. The course materials were derived from the author's Ph.D. thesis ‘The Tao of Action Learning’ (Sam, 2000). This paper explains the nature of the action learning programme at NTU and includes one account from participant students.     

Students as Scholars: Integrating Independent Research into Undergraduate Education

Undergraduate programs across the country are working to develop students as scholars, integrating independent scholarly experiences into traditional undergraduate classroom environments (see, e.g. George Mason University's Students as Scholars Quality Enhancement Plan; Boston University’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program; University of Houston’s Learning through Discovery; University of Michigan’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program; etc.). Scholars and universities have touted the benefits of engaging students in research experiences for students as well as faculty. However, there is little empirical work exploring how undergraduate students adapt to their new role as scholars. In this paper, we explore the process of students integrating research into their undergraduate classroom experience. Based on participant observation and pre and postsemester survey data, we discuss the process of students learning as scholars in a capstone Criminology, Law & Society course. We focus on how students gathered and analyzed data and integrated their research experience into their overall learning for the course. We find the process of research reinforces the learning objectives of the course.     

Adult learners in the workplace: online learning and communities of practice

Seven in‐employment postgraduate Master's level students in an e‐learning unit participated in this research, designed to identify tensions between participation in a community of learning that was part of their studies, and participation in the communities of practice that they were engaged in at their workplaces. It was hypothesised that participation in both these forms of community in their different contexts may enhance each other, or could potentially have a disrupting effect on each. The research employed an interviewing technique. The students' perceptions of the impact of participation in the one form of community on their participation in the other was mixed, with some suggesting that it was enhancing, and others suggesting the contrary, or that there was no impact. The findings indicate that the enhancing effect of participation in communities of learning relevant to a learner's workplace community of practice occur when the learning tasks are designed to enable negotiation of tasks and collaboration with learners who have similar workplace issues.     

Schools as Clinics: Learning About Practice in Practice

The Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut is committed to the intentionality of interweaving course work and practice in its 5-year teacher preparation program, the Integrated Bachelor's and Master's program. It offers a wide range of field experiences to teacher candidates. Teacher candidates enter the program at the beginning of their junior year and complete the program after they finish their 5th-year postgraduate master's degree studies. This article describes the program requirements and experiences. In essence, it intends to provide an illustration of the interwoven teacher education curriculum as promoted by Darling-Hammond and other scholars.     

The new challenge: An ethnically integrated enrichment program for gifted students

The New Challenge Program was established at the University of Texas‐Pan American's School of Education to provide enrichment experience for gifted children in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Over 125 students in grades K‐12 participate each spring in a course of their choosing designed to explore creativity or foster specialized interests, such as Videography, Engineering in the Real World, Discovering the Art in You, Blood and Guts, and Rocketry and Aviation. The majority of the gifted students in this program are Mexican Americans and are classified as economically disadvantaged. The New Challenge Program staff developed an informal system for selecting and preparing the experts who teach these courses to provide a learning environment that works for all gifted children and a curriculum that is thematic and expands upon the academic content that they learn in school.     

Using Q-methodology to determine students' perceptions of interprofessional anatomy education

Interprofessional education (IPE) prepares healthcare students for collaboration in their future careers. The purpose of this study was to determine which aspects of the IPE Program in Anatomy at McMaster University contributed to the development of healthcare student's interprofessional skills. Q-methodology was used to identify the students' common viewpoints of the IPE experience. A total of 26/28 (93%) of students in the course from the medical, nursing, midwifery, physician assistant, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy programs participated in this study. Students were asked to sort a Q-sample of 43 statements about the IPE dissection course derived from previous qualitative studies of the program. Using the centroid factor extraction and varimax rotation, three salient factors (groups) emerged, namely: (1) Anatomy IPE Enthusiasts, (2) Practical IPE Advocates, and (3) Skeptical IPE Anatomists. The Anatomy IPE Enthusiasts believed that students from different disciplines brought unique anatomical knowledge and each group member guided others through difficult material. The Practical IPE Advocates expressed that they would be stronger advocates for interprofessional teams in the future because of the course. The Skeptical IPE Anatomists strongly disagreed that learning with students from different disciplines helped them gain an understanding of their roles in the context of other healthcare professionals and felt that there was little benefit from the IPE program compared to other non-interprofessional programs. These findings about student attitudes are critical to drive an evidence-based evolution of the IPE dissection course, since students' perceptions can have a profound influence on interprofessional collaboration in the workplace.     

The failure of a virtual social space (VSS) designed to create a learning community: lessons learned

The disappearance of physical social spaces from today's society is seen by some to be a modern phenomenon, resulting in isolation and lack of socialisation. In fact, this is always the case in distance education, due to geographical dispersion and disparate time schedules of learners. Very often, peer‐to‐peer socialisation in distance education only occurs as part of formal learning activities, or is just left to the student's own initiative. This situation is compounded by the modularity of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), forcing students to jump from one module space to another as they progress through a course. All discussion threads, conversations or record of previous dialogues are then lost. This paper reports on the design, development and extensive evaluation of a Virtual Social Space (VSS) conceived to address these problems and to support the creation of a learning community for a Continuing Professional Distance Education (CPDE) Masters in IT Management. An action research approach was adopted to establish student needs, design and develop the site and to explore it with students. Initially received with enthusiasm and perceived as a good idea by the students, the VSS was not entirely successful. This paper discusses how characteristics of this cohort had an impact on students’ perception and usage of this social space to create a learning community.     

PROGRAM EVALUATION: MEETING THE APPLIED RESEARCH EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF MASTER'S LEVEL STUDENTS IN GERONTOLOGY

The research education offered by a master's gerontology program should focus on the career and academic goals of the student population as determined by the nature of the particular program. The purpose of this article is to describe how the Master's of Arts (M.A.) gerontology program at UNCC addresses the research methods needs of its students through a two-course series. The basic research educational needs of the students are addressed in a brief discussion of the first course. The primary focus, however, is on this program's inclusion of a second course on evaluation research. Evaluation research is described as an effective way to address the applied research needs of the students of UNCC M.A. gerontology program, through heightening awareness of accountability to investors of services for older adults, linking both the generator and consumer roles of research, and inculcating a philosophy of professionalization essential to the professional development of the students.     

REFLECTIONS OF COMMUNITY-COLLEGE STUDENTS REGARDING MENTEE/INSTRUCTOR TEACHING AND LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS

This investigation used data collected from students who assessed their instructors' teaching and learning effectiveness. Instructors were community-college career and technical-education faculty enrolled in the Community College Induction Mentoring Program (CCIM), a jointly sponsored program between Iowa State University and the instructors' respective community colleges. These new faculty were involved in a structured mentor/mentee program in which the mentor was involved in a 1-day mentor training program. The mentor/mentee relationship was designed around annual goals with an action plan developed, executed, and assessed for each goal. One component of the mentor/mentee program involved documentation of an effectiveness plan, including students' perception of their mentored-instructors' teaching and, as a consequence, their own learning effectiveness. Students were asked to complete an evaluation instrument comparing their “reactions” and “learning” in classes taught by mentored instructors enrolled in the CCIM program relative to other nonmentored instructors. A total of 9 hypotheses provided the direction of the research. Student ratings were typically higher for new instructors who received peer mentoring. Mentees and mentors consistently reported a high level of satisfaction about their partnership. Supervisors voiced strong support for the program. This paper shares student survey results of mentee/instructor teaching and student learning effectiveness.     

Learner Assessment through Subjective Theories and Action Research

This paper deals with students’ and university teachers’ self‐concepts on the basis of subjective theories: It is proposed to show how students and teachers are guided in university classes by their self‐images and how these determine their behaviour in such sessions. In a project carried out with students in the summer of 1997 in a literature course, subjective theories were connected with action research. Students and teachers collected data that helped them reflect on their behaviour, especially their own participation during sessions (from the students’ side) and on teacher control and dominance (from the teacher's side). Student diaries, video documentation of some of the sessions and interviews with students at the end of the semester were analysed with regard to learning processes and respective insights into students’ and the teacher's subjective theories.