Influence of improved teaching practices on student satisfaction ratings for two undergraduate units at an Australian university

To track the quality of instruction delivered at the University of Western Australia, the university surveys all units using its Students’ Unit Reflective Feedback (SURF) metrics, and faculties use these metrics to benchmark student satisfaction. Consequently, teaching staff are actively encouraged to adopt teaching practices that will increase the average levels of these metrics. Using a ‘before-after’ approach, we compared these metrics before and after the implementation of improved teaching practices that addressed specific weaknesses identified through student responses for two undergraduate units. Despite the implementation of improved teaching practices, SURF scores did not increase significantly for the two units assessed, due possibly to the components of the academic programme covered by the SURF questions, the field-based nature of the units, and the difficulty in measuring an increase in the SURF scores of units which already score highly. This poor sensitivity of the SURF metrics to the implementation of improved teaching practices could have implications for their use for performance assessment by the university.     

An empirical taxonomy of youths' fears: Cluster analysis of the American fear survey schedule

Fears profiles among children and adolescents were explored using the Fear Survey Schedule for Children‐American version (FSSC‐AM; J.J. Burnham, 1995, 2005). Eight cluster profiles were identified via multistage Euclidean grouping and supported by homogeneity coefficients and replication. Four clusters reflected overall level of fears (i.e., very low, below average, moderate, and multiple), and four others exhibited specific peaks associated with school‐related fears, medical fears, and scary things. Demographic characteristics associated with cluster profile membership revealed variability primarily based on gender and age, with some differences associated with community type. Comparisons with prior results on earlier fear surveys and implications for school refusal behavior provide a useful context for discussion. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 673–683, 2006.     

Understanding and Learning-to-explain by Representing Mathematics: Epistemological Dilemmas Facing Teacher Educators in the Secondary Mathematics ``Methods' Course

Building on the work of Ball and McDiarmid,this study provides an equivalent at thesecondary level to the work of Liping Ma at theelementary level in that it provides a betterunderstanding of the conceptual knowledge ofschool mathematics held by prospectivesecondary teachers, along with examples of thesorts of knowledge needed to teach forunderstanding within the domain of integersubtraction. Part of an eight-yearlongitudinal study of secondary teachercandidates' conceptions of instructionalexplanations, this analysis of interaction inthe author's methods course and its discussionof epistemological obstacles and changescombines subject-matter and interactionistperspectives. The author concludes thatsecondary teacher candidates can deepen theirrelational knowledge of secondary mathematicswithin a methods course by focusing oninstructional explanations.     

Girls in science — An evaluation of one school's approach to the gender bias in science

Conclusions As the pilot project has only been in operation for one semester there are no profound statements that can be made. What we have at present is the base information for comparison of all data over the duration of the project. Cross tabulation of the data to date has begun. However it should be re-iterated here that there appears to be a lack of understanding by the parents' as to the reason for the all-girls classes at the school and that this situation may be due to the fact that in this school community we have the typical sex-stereotyping roles and attitudes existing. The big question is, Will this intervention strategy of single-sex science classes be effective in altering the girls views about what is appropriate for them to study or follow as a career?     

Parent question use during shared reading time: How does training affect question type and frequency?

This study was designed to examine whether participation in a shared reading workshop alters the frequency with which parents ask their children questions during book reading sessions, particularly questions designed to strengthen component reading skills that they may not have known about before training. Participants in the reading workshop series (N = 57) were taught strategies for asking questions about story content and word structure to build children's language and literacy skills. Findings suggest that parents may be somewhat familiar with traditional dialogic reading strategies focused on story content and utilize them without instruction, whereas parents may be less knowledgeable about sound or print‐focused skills and do not employ strategies focused on word structure until instructed to do so. It is also notable that parents do not use all story content prompts equally. This information can be used by school psychologists to refine the messages educators share with parents about how to best support their children's reading development.     

Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding 2 to 4 weeks following discharge from a large, urban, academic medical center striving for baby-friendly designation

Substantial evidence documents the superiority of breastfeeding for mothers and breastmilk for babies. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Healthy People 2010 initiative promote breastfeeding, current breastfeeding rates often fall short of recommendations. This study determined factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding 2 to 4 weeks following discharge from a large, urban, academic medical center striving for Baby-Friendly designation. Results indicated that mothers who breastfed within the first hour of birth (61%) were significantly more likely to be exclusively breastfeeding 2 to 4 weeks after discharge. Incorporating care practices that include a number of the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding," as recommended by the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, may increase the duration of exclusive breastfeeding after discharge.     

The importance of morphemic awareness to reading achievement and the potential of signing morphemes to supporting reading development

The ability to access and understand the meaning of multi-morphemic words is essential for age-appropriate literacy growth as well as for achievement in other participants, such as science and social studies, which are so print-dependent. This paper provides a theoretical basis for focusing on the morphology of English when teaching students who are deaf or hard of hearing to read through a review of the literature on the role of morphology in reading for both hearing students and those with a hearing loss. In addition, the authors review the empirical literature on Signing Exact English (SEE), a system of signing English constructed in which the morphology of words is made visible to children who might not be able to hear them. The authors propose that students' use of SEE can provide a bridge to developing the morphemic awareness so necessary for age-appropriate reading development and achievement.     

Teaching about the importance of trees: a study with young children

This paper reports on a study undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the effect of the storytelling teaching approach on kindergarten children's retention of ideas about the importance of trees. The study also assessed the effect of storytelling on children's intention to participate in a tree planting activity that they had to select from a list of activities. The story that was created included such elements as binary opposites, mental images, mystery, and wonder, according to Kieran Egan's theory. The study utilized a two‐group design, was conducted in three phases (pre‐test, intervention, and post‐test), lasted 11 weeks, and its results provide evidence of the effectiveness of the storytelling approach when compared with the traditional method of expository teaching complemented with visual images (pictures) of trees and their importance to human beings. The pedagogical appropriateness of the story, which was based upon the binary pair of opposites ‘security–insecurity’, is also discussed in the paper.