Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of simSchool as preparation for inclusive education: a pilot study

The shift towards the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular schools has meant that general classroom teachers need to be skilled in educating students with a diverse range of needs and abilities. Together with theoretical study and as a supplement to practical experience, teacher educators have begun to explore virtual and simulated classrooms to help prepare pre-service teachers for the complexity of the teaching profession. In this pilot study, we examined the perspective of pre-service teachers on a classroom simulation program called “simSchool.” Two-hour-long tutorial sessions focusing on catering for student diversity and the educational needs of students with autism spectrum disorder were conducted. The pre-service teachers’ responses to an 11-item questionnaire are discussed, highlighting the potential of simSchool as well as some current limitations of this approach in the context of Australian teacher education courses.     

Using representations,decomposition, and approximations of practices to support prospective elementary mathematics teachers’ practice of organizing discussions

This paper examines a series of instructional activities that provide prospective elementary teachers with an opportunity to engage in one of the more difficult practices to learn within mathematics teaching—organizing a mathematical discussion. Within a mathematics methods course, representations and decomposition of practice built from the Five Practices framework (Smith and Stein in Five practices for orchestrating productive mathematics discussions. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2011) were implemented and studied to examine how prospective elementary teachers set goals, selected and sequenced available student work, and planned questions within a mathematical discussion. We examined prospective elementary teachers’ strengths and weaknesses in these facets through an approximation of practice set in a lesson context familiar to the prospective elementary teachers. Our results demonstrated that although prospective elementary teachers set varying goals for a discussion, their pedagogical choices in planning their discussion tended to be consistent with the goals they have set. These results support the focused development of prospective elementary teachers’ goal setting as an implication for mathematics teacher educators.     

A known group analysis validity study of the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education in US elementary and secondary schools

The Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education (VAL-ED) provides educators with a tool for principal evaluation based on principal, teacher, and supervisor reports of principals’ learning-centered leadership. In this study, we conduct a known group analysis as part of a larger argument for the validity of the VAL-ED in US elementary and secondary schools. We asked superintendents to select the principals in their district who they believe in performance of their duties are in the top 20 % and the bottom 20 %. We ask how accurately VAL-ED scores can identify membership of the two known groups. Using a discriminant analysis, the VAL-ED places principals in the superintendent groups, on average, 70 % of the time for both elementary and secondary schools. Placement accuracy is greater for the top group than the bottom group.     

Design-based research for LIS

Design-based research is a methodology emerging from the field of education that may hold potential for research in library and information science (LIS). Based upon the assumption that learning is situated in a real-world context, design-based research combines research, design, and practice into one process. It results in usable products that are supported by a theoretical framework. While definitional and methodological issues do exist, the method holds some promise for research into “user-centered” information systems and services. In the field of LIS, design-based research might contribute to our understanding of how people find, choose, understand, and use information in context. The method is also of interest to professionals concerned with “evidence-based practice.” This article will first explain and describe the method as it has been used in the allied field of education. Issues related to definition and methodology will be explored, as well as some of the solutions that have been proposed. The method will then be related to LIS, using the bonded design work of Large, Nesset, Beheshti, and Bowler [Large, A., Nesset, V., Beheshti, J., & Bowler, L. (2006a). Bonded design: a methodology for designing with children. In S. Kurniawan & P. Saphiris (Eds.), Advances in Universal Web Design and Evaluation: Research, Trends and Opportunities. London: Idea Group., Large, A., Nesset, V., Beheshti, J., & Bowler, L. (2006b). “Bonded design”: a novel approach to intergenerational information technology design. Library and Information Science Research, 28, 64–82] as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of design-based research to LIS inquiry.     

The value of structured abstracts in information retrieval from MEDLINE

Objective: To determine whether information retrieval might be enhanced by making each component of a structured abstract a separately searchable field. Design: Parallel searches on records arranged so that each abstract could either be searched in its entirety or as a collection of structured fields. Subjects: Records about cardiovascular disease downloaded from MEDLINE and tested against clinical questions derived from a concurrent survey of CD-ROM use in three health science libraries. Intervention: The investigators identified terms used to structure abstracts on MEDLINE and imported the abstracts into an Idealist database prior to searching using keywords from clinical questions. Measurements and main results: recall and precision rates are given for each question in the ‘structured’ and the ‘unstructured’ set of records. Conclusions: Use of structured, rather than unstructured, abstracts improves precision at the ex-pense of recall and places heavier demands upon the searcher’s skill in choosing the correct fields within the abstract to search. Further investigation requires more accurate simulation of MEDLINE software that utilizes features such as MeSH terms, explode, facilities and delimiters.     

Technological capital: an alternative to the digital divide

This paper identifies individuals’ accumulated history with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a replacement for the contested and outdated term ‘digital divide.’ We propose that an individual’s ability to benefit from their technological history consists of four factors: awareness, knowledge, access, and technological capacity of the user’s social collective. Together, these factors make up the individual’s level or amount of Technological Capital. The development of this construct was based on empirical research conducted in Soweto, South Africa, and through an analysis of the literature on assessing individuals’ accumulated histories. The concept of technological capital has the potential for application in fields in which ICTs are used for communication, capacity building, and identifying barriers to adoption of new technologies. The use of the concept may have implications for policy decisions, resource allocation, and future research into differences among individuals’ and communities’ ability to benefit from the introduction of new technologies.     

Investigating the Role of Problem Severity and Channel Publicness on the Sophistication of Support-Seeking Messages on Social Network Sites: A Replication Study

Oh and LaRose (2016) contended that problem severity and channel publicness shape support seekers’ goals, time spent composing messages, and the sophistication of those messages. The current study seeks to replicate and extend Oh and LaRose’s study to produce a more accurate understanding of the factors that influence the sophistication of support-seeking messages online. Support seekers’ goals varied according to the severity of a stressor and the publicness of a channel, and the amount of time people spent composing a message influenced its sophistication. We extend the original study by examining associations that were not initially tested. Time spent composing messages mediated the influence of problem severity on the quality of people’s messages, and this effect was moderated by channel publicness.