The Importance of Professional Networks

Abstract

In the introductory column by new column coeditors Amy Cooper Cary and Rosemary Pleva Flynn, the authors explain the goals and methodology for the column, and address the significance of professional networking. Authors focus on networking strategies and resources for both new and seasoned archivists.     

broadcasting history

ON THE AIR: PIONEERS OF AMERICAN BROADCASTING by Amy Henderson (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0-87474-499-7)

EDWARD R. MURROW: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL by Joseph E. Persico (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988—$24.95, ISBN 0-07-049480-0)

THE CINEMA OF THE SEA: A CRITICAL SURVEY AND FILMOGRAPHY, by Tony Thomas (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1988—$24.95, ISBN 0-89950-342-X)     

Meeting Evolving Research and Curriculum Needs: A Survey of Interlibrary Loan and OhioLINK Borrowing at an Academic Law Library

The research goal was to study the law faculty's interlibrary loan and OhioLINK borrowing activity to assess current subject gaps in the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library's collection. The authors analyzed and collated faculty research interests. The results indicate that additional purchases are required to support international law and health law, two curriculum areas currently under development at Cleveland-Marshall.     

Effects of learning styles on learners’ collaborative patterns in a mobile-assisted,Chinese character-forming game based on a flexible grouping approach

This paper reports a novel, mobile-assisted, game-based learning design for Chinese character learning. In playing the ‘Chinese-PP’ game in a 1:1 (one-device-per-student) setting, each of the 31 target students in Primary 3 (9 years old) is assigned a Chinese character component. A student may make use of his/her own and peers’ character components to form a legitimate Chinese character, and invite the peers with matching components to join his/her group. The intention is to assist the students in developing general orthographic awareness (understanding the structures of Chinese characters) through social negotiation. In this paper, the students’ collaborative learning processes in three game sessions were analysed. The relationships between students with varied learning styles and their game behaviours and learning gains were unveiled as a result. Through the Chinese-PP learning activities that stimulated active peer coaching and social learning, we found that all the target students became active learning participants and achieved high learning gains in the last game session. Recommendations for the future development of such a novel learning approach will also be given.     

Rediscovering the teacher within Indian child-centred pedagogy: implications for the global Child-Centred Approach

The Child-Centred Approach (CCA) is increasingly promoted within India and internationally as a response to the challenge of delivering quality education. From identifying and examining Indian indigenous and global concepts of CCA within traditional and contemporary child-centred pedagogic discourse, this paper reveals the complexities of underlying agendas within the domestic and international setting and the implications of this for the integration of CCA and the ‘child-centred’ teacher in India. Based on empirical analysis of teachers’ interviews, the findings demonstrate that the role of the teacher continues to be largely overlooked in spite of a willingness from teachers to engage within the child-centred pedagogic discourse. Disempowerment, a lack of autonomy and limited professional status are highlighted. Therefore, this paper calls for the rediscovery of the ‘child-centred’ teacher to advance from within the nation. Without this, it is asserted that the authenticity of the CCA model will continue to be compromised, and with it, any indigenous expressions of a similar epistemology will be fundamentally restricted.     

Within and Across Language Predictors of Word Learning Processes in Dual Language Learners

This study investigated the relation between Dual Language Learners’ (N = 90) vocabulary and grammar comprehension and word learning processes in preschool (aged 3-through-5 years). Of interest was whether: (a) performance in Spanish correlated with performance in English within each domain; and (b) comprehension predicted novel word learning within and across languages. Dual-language experience was evaluated as a potential moderator. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed stronger predictive associations within each language than across languages. Across languages, results varied by experience and domain. Structural sensitivity theory suggests exposure to two languages heightens awareness of parameters along which languages vary and provides a framework for interpreting complex associations within and across languages. Knowledge from one language may influence learning in both.     

Assessing Quality in Toddler Classrooms Using the CLASS-Toddler and the ITERS-R

Many very young children attend early care and education programs, but current information about the quality of center-based care for toddlers is scarce. Using 2 observation instruments, the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ITERS-R) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Toddler Version (CLASS-Toddler), 93 child care classrooms for toddlers across the state of North Carolina, representing a range of quality, were assessed to determine overall quality, and associations between observed quality and teachers' ratings of child behavior problems and competence outcomes using the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment. Research Findings: Findings indicated that overall, toddler classrooms were rated as being of moderate quality. Associations between observed quality and teacher-reported child behavior problems and competence outcomes indicated that CLASS-Toddler ratings were positively associated with fewer behavior problems; specifically, children in classrooms with higher levels on the CLASS-Toddler domains of Emotional and Behavioral Support as well as Engaged Support for Learning were reported to have fewer behavior problems. Similarly, the ITERS-R subscales of Interaction and Listening and Talking were positively related to fewer reported behavior problems. Regression models showed that the CLASS-Toddler Emotional and Behavioral Support domain predicted differences in child behavior problems. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest the need for additional research related to very young children's experiences in center-based child care to examine associations between quality and child experiences and outcomes. Children's experiences over time need to be examined to understand how these early child care experiences are related to children's later school adjustment and performance. On a related note, professional development for teachers in toddler classrooms needs to be addressed in terms of preparing effective teachers for young children during the toddler developmental period.     

Motivation beliefs of secondary school teachers in Canada and Singapore: A mixed methods study

A mixed methods approach was used to explore secondary teachers’ motivation beliefs in Canada and Singapore. Results from Study 1 revealed that socio-economic status (SES) was the strongest predictor of school climate in Canada, and that collective efficacy mediated the effect of SES on school climate in Singapore, but not in Canada. In Study 2, interviews were conducted with 10 teachers in Canada and 14 teachers in Singapore. Teachers in both settings discussed students’ social and behavior problems, but the range of the social problems was greater in Canada than in Singapore, and had a stronger impact on teachers’ motivation beliefs.