The commingling of teacher researcher identities: a mediated approach to teaching action research

This article chronicles and discusses a two-semester graduate level action research course in which the co-authors were instructors. Evidence of prospective teachers' appropriation of a ‘teacher researcher’ identity prompted a closer look at the dynamics of the course experience. Using a theoretical foundation based on the work of Vygotsky, Wertsch, Kozulin and Bakhtin, the notions of experiential learning, shared pedagogical mediation, collaborative problem posing and problem solving, and a resultant commingling of teacher and researcher identities are explored     

Candidate-Issue Positioning in the Context of Presidential Debates

This paper presents an analysis of three presidential candidates, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot, who participated in the 1992 presidential debates. The relationships among the three candidates and between each candidate and the issues were examined using semantic network analysis. The results indicate a two-against-one strategy that was issue specific. The candidates teamed up in different pairs, depending on the topic at hand. The results also show the issues that the candidates emphasized most. Specifically, Clinton and Perot had more focused communication consistent with their respective campaign themes of domestic and financial concerns, while Bush did not emphasize any one particular theme. The implications of these differences are discussed, as are the theoretical and practical implications for debater tactics and the strategic use of language for emphasizing political platforms.     

The role of video in teacher professional development

This literature review focuses on the e-use of video in teacher initial and continuing professional development. There is evidence that video technology used synchronously, and particularly asynchronously, can extend the quantity and quality of classroom observation experience, which in turn supports the development of observation, analysis and reflection in viewers. Theorising on these gains, the authors describe how the linking of theory to practice, the development of pedagogical language and collaborative learning through communities of practice might all be related to video-enhanced teacher education. Claims for gains in codified subject knowledge are less convincing.     

Creating an Institutional Repository: Elements for Success!

ABSTRACT

The institutional repository (IR) can be a dynamic, online collection of research, writing, and projects conducted by a university’s faculty and students. IRs are also important tools that allow a library to create a connection with faculty and students. This report will identify the services and content essential to a successful institutional repository, discuss how to build a team of talented experts to build and market the repository, address the creation of a business plan and strategies for marketing and building social media presence, and conclude with thoughts on how to develop, process, and publish journals locally and sustainably.     

Batman and Batwoman go to School: popular culture in the literacy curriculum

This case study is an investigation into the effects of the introduction of a theme from popular culture into a socio‐dramatic role play area, focusing on the effects on children's literacy activities. A Batman and Batwoman HQ was set up in a base containing two classes of 6‐ and 7‐year‐olds and a range of literacy materials was placed within it. Methods included participant observation, interviews, use of video camera and collection of statistics. The findings indicate that the incorporation of themes from popular culture into the curriculum can motivate children whose interests are usually excluded from the classroom.     

Individual Differences and Similarities in the Stability,Timing Consistency,and Natural Frequency of Rhythmic Coordinated Actions

Abstract

Silhouette ratings of actual and ideal body fat (N = 258 high school students) were related to 4 self-concept scales (Body Fat, Physical Appearance, General Physical, Esteem) and objective body composition measures in order to test predictions from actual-ideal discrepancy models. Actual-ideal discrepancy scores were more strongly related to self-concept than actual scores alone, thus supporting the traditional discrepancy model. However, multiple regression analyses demonstrated that more sophisticated actual- ideal discrepancy models that considered discrepancies in either direction (feeling too fat or too thin) did significantly better. Because the traditional discrepancy model is a special case of this more general discrepancy model, the more general model should have broad applicability. Important aspects of this task were (a) that discrepancies were evaluated along a continuum in which the ideal was not one of the endpoints of the continuum, (b) that there was reasonable variation in ideal ratings, and (c) that positive and negative discrepancies were reported.     

Contents of Volume 11

Science &; Education -     

We're playing Jeremy Kyle'! Television talk shows in the playground

This paper focuses on an episode of play in a primary school playground in England, which featured a group of children re-enacting elements of the television talk show The Jeremy Kyle Show. The episode is analysed in the light of work that has identified the key elements of the talk show genre and the children's play is examined in relation to conceptualisations of talk shows as cruelty-verité, carnivalesque spectacle and vehicles of social class anxiety. The paper explores the children's playful re-enactment not only as a parody of adult worlds, but also as a confirmation of the ‘ordinariness’ of everyday life. It is argued that in episodes such as these, the functions of play are multiple and complex, but include a desire to construct collective moral sensibilities and reinforce normative discourses relating to sexuality and what it means to be a ‘good citizen’. The paper identifies spaces of continuity and discontinuity in such traditions and suggests that in play which draws from contemporary media we see the reconstruction of traditional play themes, but can also trace newer elements that are closely related to the generic conventions of reality television.