Elementary teachers' use and perception of rewards in the classroom

In the past four decades much research has gone into the use of rewards in education yet little attention has been given to the use of rewards from the perspective of teachers. This mixed method study examined how elementary school teachers define and use rewards in their classrooms and how various motivational constructs such as goal orientation, self-efficacy, and autonomy relate to teachers' use of rewards. Results revealed that all teachers in our sample use some form of rewards in their classrooms and the majority use some form of tangible rewards. Rewards were most frequently given for behaviour management, but there was a significant relationship between the use of rewards for behaviour and those given for academic achievement. Performance goal orientations for teaching were positively related to the use of tangible rewards and a higher degree of classroom control and negatively related to teacher self-efficacy. When asked to report on the appropriateness of using rewards in the classroom only one-third of the teachers reported that they should be used conditionally.     

Research Information Management: How the Library Can Contribute to the Campus Conversation

This article describes a project undertaken as part of a cross-campus strategic planning effort. The project documented current campus practices and systems in use for collecting, analyzing and reporting key research metrics. The project identified organizational issues around siloed data collection and lack of clarity on data stewards, data stakeholders, and data reporting schedules. The work highlighted to University Administration the need and importance of effective research information management (RIM) and the key role that the University Libraries can play in this area.     

At a Crossroads or Caught in the Crossfire?

This study of crime reporting shows that keeping crime records secret hurts democratic consolidation. While many reporters and journalism experts interviewed claimed to value the presumption of innocence, at the same time, many skirted legal restrictions and ethical codes. Police and prosecutors supplied leaks, and reporters sought further information from witnesses. This porous secrecy leads to publication of rumors and unreliable eye-witness accounts. Four exacerbating factors affect this reporting method: widespread “clientelism,” a partisan news media, an alternative definition of “public interest,” and weak professionalism.     

Predicting Students’ Skills in the Context of Scientific Inquiry with Cognitive,Motivational, and Sociodemographic Variables

Research on predictors of achievement in science is often targeted on more traditional content-based assessments and single student characteristics. At the same time, the development of skills in the field of scientific inquiry constitutes a focal point of interest for science education. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to investigate to which extent multiple student characteristics contribute to skills of scientific inquiry. Based on a theoretical framework describing nine epistemological acts, we constructed and administered a multiple-choice test that assesses these skills in lower and upper secondary school level (n?=?780). The test items contained problem-solving situations that occur during chemical investigations in school and had to be solved by choosing an appropriate inquiry procedure. We collected further data on 12 cognitive, motivational, and sociodemographic variables such as conceptual knowledge, enjoyment of chemistry, or language spoken at home. Plausible values were drawn to quantify students’ inquiry skills. The results show that students’ characteristics predict their inquiry skills to a large extent (55%), whereas 9 out of 12 variables contribute significantly on a multivariate level. The influence of sociodemographic traits such as gender or the social background becomes non-significant after controlling for cognitive and motivational variables. Furthermore, the performance advance of students from upper secondary school level can be explained by controlling for cognitive covariates. We discuss our findings with regard to curricular aspects and raise the question whether the inquiry skills can be considered as an autonomous trait in science education research.     

Conceptions of student talent in the context of talent development

This paper reports from a case study of a ‘talent class’, a special development programme for talented pupils, established in a Danish municipality. It analyses student backgrounds and motives for joining this talent class programme, which is seen in relation to ordinary schooling in Denmark. Drawing on Bourdieu, the paper links social background resources and success in school via the concepts of habitus and capital; it views talent as the product of an investment of time and cultural capital, which is easily accumulated by children of resourceful families. Based on the analysis and its discussion of school talent, the paper proposes a typology of talented students, encompassing the distinguished, the quiet, the versatile and the industrious students. For each type of talent, a student narrative illustrates the link between social backgrounds and student approaches and understandings of their own talents.     

Toward Effective Teaching and Learning: stories of primary schools'environmental science interest and action

This article provides some stories of primary school teachers' and students' experiences of implementing new science teaching and learning strategies through an action research process that have also led to more environmental education occurring in the schools' curriculum. The stories have been constructed from the coordinators' journals, observations and interviews with the teachers and students in the schools. The teachers in the schools are consciously engaged in an action research-based model of curriculum change in science teaching and learning. The stories also acknowledge the critiques of critical theory in environmental education and the possibilities for a socially critical approach in environmental education within a context of the limited opportunities for both science and environmental education in primary schools.     

Look closer: the alertness of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities during multi-sensory storytelling,a time sequential analysis

Introduction: Multi-sensory storytelling (MSST) is a storytelling method designed for individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD). It is essential that listeners be alert during MSST, so that they become familiar with their personalised stories. Repetition and the presentation of stimuli are likely to affect the alertness of listeners during MSST. Previous studies have only examined the overall level of alertness during MSST. This study focuses on changes in alertness over time during storytelling. Method: In this study, 27 direct support people read an MSST book 20 times with a person with PIMD. The 1st, 5th, 10th and 20th storytelling sessions were recorded. The relation between alertness and the active presentation of stimuli is analyzed using a time-window sequential analysis. We examined changes in alertness levels by comparing the four different storytelling sessions. Results: Higher levels of active alertness were observed when stimuli were actively presented. Alertness was not constant within storytelling sessions, and was related to the presentation of stimuli. Actively presented stimuli were associated with larger fluctuations in alertness. Discussion: Storytellers should present stimuli actively and for longer periods, in order to increase the alertness of listeners during storytelling.