Student involvement in learning: Collaboration in science for PreService elementary teachers

Conclusion The present study provided insights regarding the interactions that take place in collaborative science laboratory and regarding the outcome of such interactions. Science laboratory experiences structured by teachers have been criticized for allowing very little, if any, meaningful learning. However, this study showed that even structured laboratory experiments can provide insightful experience for students when conducted in a group setting that demanded interactive participation from all its members. The findings of the present study underscored the synergistic and supportive nature of collaborative groups. Here, students patiently repeated explanations to support the meaning construction on the part of their slower peers and elaborated their own understanding in the process; groups negotiated the meaning of observations and the corresponding theoretical explanations; students developed and practiced a range of social skills necessary in today’s workplace; and off-task behavior was thwarted by the group members motivated to work toward understanding rather than simply generating answers for task completion. The current findings suggest an increased use of collaborative learning environments for the teaching of science to elementary education majors. Some teachers have already made use of such settings in their laboratory teaching. However, collaborative learning should not be limited to the laboratory only, but be extended to more traditionally structured classes. The effects of such a switch in activity structures, increased quality of peer interaction, mastery of subject matter content, and decreased anxiety levels could well lead to better attitudes toward science among preservice elementary school teachers and eventually among their own students.     

Practical Bibliotherapy Strategies for the Inclusive Elementary Classroom

This article was developed to assist the regular education elementary classroom teacher in utilizing practical bibliotherapy strategies for the inclusive classroom. Using quality children’s literature for bibliotherapy helps students to grow socio-emotionally by identifying with the main character in the story with a disability which leads to personal insight and growth. Teachers will learn how to use a checklist which was developed by the authors to select appropriate bibliotherapy literature and lead classroom discussions. A top ten list of books on bibliotherapy for the inclusive elementary classroom is provided.     

When the going gets tough: Direct,buffering and indirect effects of social support on turnover intention

We examined the role of social support in turnover intention among new teachers. First, we tested and found evidence for a direct negative relationship between social support and turnover intention. Second, we tested the social support buffer hypothesis, and found that teachers with higher social support had lower turnover intention in the face of higher workload, compared to teachers with lower support. Third, we examined a mediational hypothesis, and found that social support acts indirectly, through job satisfaction in relation to turnover intention. These findings suggest that social support can be a valuable resource for new teachers.     

Negotiating spaces: the in-betweeness of becoming a teacher

Pre-service teachers move through multiple learning communities during teacher education programs, arguably emerging as authentic insiders in teaching culture. In this case study, a critical perspective is offered by Ann, a First Nations learner who described her experience of teacher education, and how she came to question different aspects of her university program and practicum assignment which challenged her understandings of self. The experiences of pre-service teachers like Ann are often hidden from view, and what they perceive as shortcomings in programming are often unseen within institutional contexts. Ann articulated numerous gaps that still reside within teacher culture despite structures that are in place to address such gaps. The situated knowledge of pre-service teachers can offer alternative perspectives to guide the future of teacher education by drawing attention to shifts underway among students that will change the nature of professional practice.     

Increasing young children's contact with print during shared reading: longitudinal effects on literacy achievement

Longitudinal results for a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) assessing the impact of increasing preschoolers' attention to print during reading are reported. Four-year-old children (N = 550) in 85 classrooms experienced a 30-week shared reading program implemented by their teachers. Children in experimental classrooms experienced shared-book readings 2 or 4 times per week during which their teachers verbally and nonverbally referenced print. Children in comparison classrooms experienced their teachers' typical book reading style. Longitudinal results (n = 356, 366) showed that use of print references had significant impacts on children's early literacy skills (reading, spelling, comprehension) for 2 years following the RCT's conclusion. Results indicate a causal relation between early print knowledge and later literacy skills and have important implications concerning the primary prevention of reading difficulties.     

A possible “orality” for science?

The paper attempts to look at how the present objective and detached discourse of science, a specialized product of the literate tradition, tends to negatively influence learning among children, especially those belonging to a signficantly oral culture. It calls for a fundamental redefinition of scientific discourse and urges school science to review its own communicability, to address the disparate linguistic and conceptual structures brought to the learning situtation by students of diverse cultures, and to allow for a smooth and unoppressive transition to the standardized register.     

Student Difficulties in Socio‐scientific Argumentation and Decision‐making Research Findings: Crossing the borders of two research lines

Students' poor argumentation in the context of socio‐scientific issues has become a concern in science education. Identified problems associated with student argumentation in socio‐scientific issues are misevaluation of evidence, naïve nature of science conceptualizations, and inappropriate use of value‐based reasoning. In this theoretical paper, the authors propose that incorporation of decision‐making research findings to argumentation research may help students overcome these problematic areas. For this aim, decision‐making research findings about value‐focused decision‐making framework and common heuristics have been discussed. Specifically, the authors propose that explicit teaching of argumentation research should provide students a decision‐making framework in which students can consider their values about a socio‐scientific issue and assess different alternatives as well as incorporate teaching about common heuristics. The authors believe that this incorporation is necessary for a quality student argumentation in socio‐scientific issues.     

Evaluation of a collaborative multimedia conflict resolution curriculum

This article describes the development and evaluation of STARstreams, a pilot effort to utilize videos and online discussions in a conflict resolution curriculum that acknowledges the inherent socio-personal aspects of conflict. The STARstreams curricula includes a set of video-based scenarios depicting conflict situations and potential resolutions to those conflicts, a web-based conferencing system for cross-classroom discussion of the scenarios, and a handbook to guide teacher implementation of the curriculum. These materials were evaluated in a 2-week field trial with four geographically diverse 5th and 6th grade classrooms. The experimental STARstreams curriculum was well-received by participating students and teachers, engendered extensive participation in online discussions about the scenarios, and had a statistically significant effect on measures of social problem solving, self-efficacy toward conflict resolution, and perceived value and satisfaction with the materials. The overall program and its development are described; classroom experiences, online discussion, and quantitative outcome measures are presented; and implications for future efforts are discussed.

Specific reading difficulties in Chinese, English, or both: longitudinal markers of phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and RAN in Hong Kong Chinese children

What are the longitudinal cognitive profiles of Hong Kong Chinese children with specific reading difficulties in Chinese only, in English only, or both? A total of 16 poor readers each of Chinese (PC) and English (PE) and 8 poor readers of both orthographies (PB) were compared to a control sample (C) of 16 children; all were drawn from a statistically representative sample of 154 Hong Kong Chinese children tested at ages 5 to 9 years. PE and PB children's mothers had lower education levels than did the other groups. With children's ages and mothers' education levels statistically controlled, the PE, PC, and PB groups were significantly lower than the C group on phonological awareness. The PB and PE groups also scored significantly lower than the others on English vocabulary across years, whereas the PC and PB groups were significantly poorer than the C and PE groups on morphological awareness across years. Finally, the PB group was significantly slower than the other groups on speed naming at every age tested, underscoring the potential importance of automaticity in reading across orthographies. Findings highlight the need to consider the issue of how to identify reading difficulties in a second language.