Case study of an innovation requiring teachers to change roles

An exploratory study which focused on teachers responses to the demand for role change brought about by the implementation of a new course is reported. Two procedures used to gather data were participant observation and open-ended interviews. Role theory, symbolic interaction, and schools as organizations were used as the frameworks for data analysis in this discursive qualitative study. The data reported describe the teachers' perceptions of factors influencing their willingness to change behaviors in order to comply with the role demands of the innovation. Hypotheses grounded in the data were generated and tied together into a theory which is illustrated by a structural model. The model shows interrelationships of factors influencing the teachers to change roles at the time of initiation of the new course through the ultimate incorporation of the innovation.     

Using Representations: Comprehension and Production of Actions with Imagined Objects

Previous research suggests that young children have difficulty producing actions with imagined objects (pantomimes): They frequently substitute a body part to represent the object involved in the action. This response has also been observed in neurologically impaired adults. Study 1 examined the comprehension and production of pantomimes in 3- and 5-year-old children and normal adults to explore further this aspect of representational ability. Results indicate that young children not only have difficulty producing imaginary object representations in contrast to normal adults, they also have difficulty comprehending imaginary object representations and are better at comprehending pantomimes with a body part representation. The results from the pantomime comprehension task were replicated in Study 2 with 3- and 4-year-olds. These findings are discussed in the context of the development of representational ability as children demonstrate increasing independence from concrete environmental support in their knowledge about actions.     

Systems thinking: An experimental course for college freshmen

An experimental interdisciplinary freshman course called The Systems Approach to the Universe was taught at North Carolina State University in the Spring of 1986. The goals of the course were to introduce principles of general systems theory; to provide examples through lectures and readings of applications of these principles in a wide variety of fields and disciplines; and to introduce and provide practice in critical questioning and evaluation. This paper outlines what was done, how it worked, and how the instructors and the students assessed the experience afterwards.He received his B.Ch.E. from the City College of New York, and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. Barbara A. Soloman is Coordinator of Advising for the Academic Skills Program and Lecturer in the University Studies Program at North Carolina State University. She received her B.S. in mathematics from the City College of New York and her M.S. in mathematics from North Carolina State University.     

Sociological theory and the analysis of strategies of educational redress

In this paper, three sociological models or theoretical templates for the analysis of social order are outlined: (a) the order-consensus model, (b) the conflict model and (c) interactionist models. The paper then discusses how each model can be applied to what is here called educational redress. Special reference is made to those redress strategies addressed to pre-school-age children-strategies customarily termed Compensatory Education Programmes. The paper goes on to show how proponents of each model would approach the analysis of such programmes, and how proponents of each model would criticize the other models' analyses. It is shown that the three sociological models are located in, and formalizations of, commonsense conceptions of social structure tacitly held by lay members of society, and that even professional educators typically do not make their model of society very explicit. Finally the paper upholds the belief that the above elements constitute what sociologists can add to the understanding of educational redress strategies.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel werden drei soziologische Modelle oder theoretische Schablonen für die Analyse der Sozialstruktur umrissen: (a) das Struktur-Konsens-Modell, (b) das Konfliktmodell und (c) das Wechselwirkungsmodell in seinen verschiedenen Varianten. Dann wird untersucht, wie jedes dieser Modelle auf den Bildungsausgleich angewandt werden kann, insbesondere auf die Ausgleichsstrategien für Kinder im Vorschulalter, die gewöhnlich mit Kompensierende Erziehungsprogramme bezeichnet werden. Anschliessend wird beschrieben, wie Protagonisten jedes dieser Modelle diese Programme analysieren und wie sie mit Hilfe der anderen Modelle vorgenommene Analysen kritisieren würden. Weiterhin wird ausgeführt, dass die drei Modelle Formalisierungen der unter Laiengruppen verbreiteten Vorstellungen von der Gesellschaftsordnung darstellen, und dass selbst Pädagogen ihr Gesellschaftsmodell gewöhnlich nicht klar definieren. Zum Schluss spricht der Verfasser seine Ansicht aus, dass die Soziologie durch die obigen Elemente zum Verständnis der Bildungsausgleich-Strategien beitragen kann.

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Résumé Dans ce rapport sont décrits trois modèles sociologiques ou échantillons theoriques pour l'analyse de l'ordre social: (a) le modèle ordre-consensus, (b) le modèle conflit et (c) les modèles interactionnistes. Le rapport examine ensuite comment pouvoir appliquer chaque modèle à ce qu'on appelle ici redressement éducatif. Sont mentionnés particulièrement les stratégies de redressement que l'on adresse aux stratégies pour enfants d'âge préscolaire, appelées habituellement Programmes d'éducation compensatoire. Le rapport montre ensuite comment les défenseurs de chaque modèle aborderaient l'analyse de ces programmes, et comment ils critiqueraient les analyses des autres modèles. On montre que les trois modèles sociologiques sont situés dans — et sont en fait des formalisations — des conceptions courantes de structure sociale qu'ont tacitement les membres laïques de la société, et que même les éducateurs professionnels ne rendent typiquement pas leur modèle de la société très explicite. Enfin, l'auteur est convaincu que les éléments susmentionnés constituent ce que les sociologues peuvent ajouter à la compréhension des stratégies de redressement éducatif.

     

The Impact of the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) on School Performance in 3rd and 6th Grades

A post hoc matching design was used to compare children who participated in the Home Instructional Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) throughout Arkansas to children from the same classrooms who had no preschool experience and children who had other preschool experiences in the third and sixth grades. The program showed modest positive impact on school suspensions, grades, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores at both grade levels.     

A rubric for comparing dissimilar text materials

Conclusion As you can see, this is a rather holistic view. These categories may have to be expanded depending on the particular needs of your task. However, it seemed to be efficient. This process may also be applicable to other situations such as student papers. This was my attempt to compare texts with a minimal amount of bias. I welcome input of others in an effort to expand and refine this rubric.