Teacher dilemmas in challenging students in higher education

Students need to be challenged to stimulate their learning. Applying challenge in practice however is not straightforward. Challenging students may conflict with other teacher responsibilities, creating potential dilemmas for teachers. This study discloses dilemmas teachers encounter when challenging students as well as the considerations accompanying their actual choices for action when coping with these dilemmas. Based on interviews with teachers, first, a dilemma analysis instrument was developed. Seven main categories of dilemmas were found. One of the main dilemmas encompassed maximizing challenge versus keeping all students on board. University students differ in their ability, confronting teachers with the feeling that choosing to serve one group could be detrimental to the learning of others. The diversity of choices and considerations brought forward by the teachers indicates that it matters who the teacher is, and what he or she stands for and is able to do.     

An Empirical Investigation of the Efficacy of Multimedia Instruction in Counseling Skill Development

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of multimedia instruction on students' counseling skill development. The participants were 73 beginning‐level counselor education students (20 men and 53 women, ages ranging from 24 to 47 years). Ratings of students' pre‐ and posttest video counseling tapes were used to assess the effects of the multimedia approach. The results found that there was no statistically significant difference among the levels of students' counseling skill development across the 3 (high‐tech multimedia, low‐tech multimedia, and traditional instruction) treatment groups.     

The testosterone hypothesis: Assessment since Geschwind and Behan, 1982

The Geschwind hypothesis proposes a causal interaction among non-right-handedness, immune disorders, and learning disabilities, including dyslexia, via the intrauterine action of the male hormone testosterone. Some epidemiologic studies have supported at least a statistical association among the three traits; others have not. The associations between learning disorders and immune disease and between learning disorders and non-righthandedness appear to be better supported than that between immune disorders and non-right-handedness. However, none of data thus far accumulated are conclusive because it is not clear that the samples studied have been truly representative. The neuropathologic evidence, both in autopsy studies in human dyslexics and in animal models of developmental cortical abnormalities, are consistent with but not diagnostic of immunological pathology. Mechanisms are discussed by which an abnormal immune system could thus injure the developing brain, with an emphasis placed on abnormal maternal-fetal interactions, including maternal autoimmune disease and maternal-fetal incompatibility. A genetic origin is also possible in which the maternal role is less significant. Some of the research reported here was supported by NIH grants HD 20806, HD 19819, by a grant from the Carl W. Herzog Foundation, and by a grant from The Orton Dyslexia Society. The Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture, delivered at The 40th Annual Conference of The Orton Dyslexia Society, Dallas, Texas, December 2, 1989.     

The work of Ambroise Tardieu: the first definitive description of child abuse

The first important monograph describing the battered child syndrome was written in 1860 by Ambroise Tardieu, a French forensic physician. Here is a translation of his article, published in the Annales d'hygiene publique et de medecine legale, with the title "Etude medico-legale sur les sevices et mauvais traitements exerces sur des enfants." The first part of his article is entirely translated. A brief summary of the 32 cases report described by Tardieu in the second part of his article is presented.     

Do troublesome pupils impact teacher perception of the behaviour of their classmates?

The widely supported wish for more inclusive education places ever greater expectations on teachers’ abilities to teach all children, including those with special needs and challenging behaviours. The present study aimed at the question whether teachers judge pupil behaviour more negatively if there are more children with difficult behaviour in class. The teachers of 184 classes in 31 regular primary schools were asked to complete the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-L) for 3649 pupils. Six linear mixed models were carried out with as independent variable the number of pupils that teachers perceived to have ‘abnormal behaviour’, and the class mean without these pupils as the dependent variable. For all SDQ-L subscales – emotional problems, behavioural problems, problems with hyperactivity, problems with peers, poor prosocial behaviour and total problems – the number of pupils perceived as problematic was associated with less favourable teacher perceptions of the rest of the class. The results of this study are a plea for a contextual perspective on pupil behaviour in class, both where teachers are asked to report on individual pupils, as well as where interventions are done on emotional and behavioural problems in class.     

A study of the validity of four types of student ratings of college teaching assessed on a criterion of student achievement gains

The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships between student ratings of college teaching using four types of student rating instruments and pre- vs. post-student achievement gains in 36 sections of an undergraduate analytic geometry and calculus course. Student rating instruments used varied according to type of items (high vs. low inference) and focus (students rating their own perceived growth vs. rating the instructor). Data were collected on 799 students (66% freshmen; 16% sophomore; and 15% juniors) at the University of Florida, and relationships were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation technique. Significant relationships were not found between student ratings and student achievement.     

Computers on wheels: an alternative to 'each one has one'

Four fifth‐grade classrooms embarked on a modified ubiquitous computing initiative in the fall of 2003. Two 15‐computer wireless laptop carts were shared among the four classrooms in an effort to integrate technology across the curriculum and affect change in student learning and teacher pedagogy. This initiative—in contrast to other one‐to‐one programmemess and stationary labs—offers public schools alternatives to budget constraints and instructional‐space overhead. Results indicate positive teacher technology competence and confidence, as well as instructional strategies that were student‐centred made meaningful uses of technology. Teacher technological knowledge and efficacy, pedagogical knowledge, and a supportive school community seem to be strong indicators for impacting technology integration in this context.     

‘Hardly Neutral Players’: Australia's role in liberalising trade in education services

In this paper we explore the avowedly partisan stance of Australia regarding trade in education services, the government's enthusiastic approach to market liberalisation through GATS, and its response to the concerns of vocal critics including academic and student unions. Education is a major export enterprise for Australia, both onshore and offshore. Education is publicly referred to as an ‘industry’ as often as a ‘sector’, and institutions behave in an aggressively market‐oriented manner unthinkable two decades ago. While other major education exporters, including the EU, US and Canada, have showed flagging commitment to pursuing trade liberalisation in education due to opposition from the academic community and little pressure from the ‘industry’ for such an approach, Australia and New Zealand have come to represent the most ardent supporters of free trade in education. The Australian government's approach has involved making changes to its domestic education regulations to ensure they are consistent with market liberalisation, and facilitating the exploration of concerns through various international forums, including APEC, the WTO and OECD. Issues such as quality assurance, consumer protection, and public subsidies remain high on the list of matters for further debate.     

DEVELOPING PARENT‐PROFESSIONAL PARTNERSHIPS IN A POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Opportunities are increasing for students with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to attend postsecondary education programs located at college campuses around the nation. Students who attend postsecondary education programs experience numerous positive outcomes, including independent living skills and expanded social networks. However, although parent‐professional partnerships could significantly enhance long‐term outcomes such as competitive employment and independent living, there is a paucity of information about the nature of these partnerships in postsecondary settings. The purpose of this expository article is to describe how staff from a midwestern postsecondary education program facilitate parent‐professional partnerships through parent involvement and support.