The chameleon on a tartan rug: adaptations of three academic developers’ professional identities

This paper builds on discussions of academic developers’ identity experienced as a discomfiting, troubled, and often marginal space. Three experienced academic developers, located in research-intensive institutions in three different countries, using auto-ethnographic writing and a shared narrative inquiry, explore moments of congruence and conflict. While there are elements that sustain them in their job, the categorisation of their role can impact on their ability to do their job, undermining their credibility. This can prevent them from engaging in research that could enrich practice in their institutions and inform institutional strategy or change the culture in teaching and learning. Instead they are forced into discomfit: having to defend their right to be involved in the institutional discussions. The most worrying issue is the pervasive trend in the change of academic developers’ status (from tenure-track academic peers to professionals).     

The role of the self-system in self-regulated learning

Until recently, general assumptions were made about the importance of the self-system in self-regulation (e.g., importance of self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem), but the more specific underlying structures and processes of the self-system that are involved in this self-management process were rarely addressed. This article presents theoretical and empirical support for a preliminary causal model of the role of the self-system in self-regulated learning. The model postulates that for self-regulated learning processes to be engaged, students must view themselves as activators of these processes (i.e., they must possess positive self-views in general as well as have specific perceptions of competency and control in particular learning situations). The model also postulates a recursive and reciprocal relationship between the processes involved, such that continual self-evaluations of competency and control can force changes in perceptions of self, the learning task, goal importance, etc., that, in turn, exert continuing influences on motivation, use of self-regulatory processes, and actual task performance. Educational implications of the model are discussed along with future research directions.     

Energy balance of locomotion with pedal-driven watercraft

In this study, we examined the mechanics and energetics of locomotion with a paddle-wheel boat and a water bike. Power output (Wtot) was measured directly on the water bike by means of an instrumented chain-ring. The simultaneous assessment of oxygen uptake (VO2) allowed the computation of the "overall" efficiency of locomotion (etao = Wtot/VO2). Mean etao was 0.27 (s = 0.02), which was unaffected by the speed, and was assumed to be the same for the two boats as both are semi-recumbent bicycles. For the paddle-wheel boat, Wtot was then obtained from etao and measures of VO2. The power to overcome (passive) drag was calculated as Wd = D x v (where D is the force measured by means of a load cell when towing the boats at given speeds). Propelling efficiency was calculated as etap = Wd/Wtot, which was lower with the paddle-wheel boat (mean 0.35, s = 0.01) than with the water bike (mean 0.57, s = 0.01). The observed differences in etap and Wd explain why at the highest speed tested (approximately 3 m s(-1), the energy required to cover a unit distance with the water bike is similar to that required to move the paddle-wheel boat at 1.3 m s-1).     

Distance education plans: Course planning for online adult learners

TechTrends - There can be an untethered excitement connected with ever-expanding technologies and the vastness of educational opportunities that online learning generates. Yet, these new and...     

Restructuring reforms in Turkish teacher education: Modernisation and development in a dynamic environment

The paper examines the effectiveness of recent reforms in teacher education in Turkey, specifically the restructuring of programmes in university faculties of education. It first, briefly, sets the reforms of the 1990s in an historical context, prior to the 1997 Act which increased the length of compulsory schooling from 5 to 8 years, and the 1998 restructuring of faculties of education. It considers the national need for the restructuring of teacher education and the issues involved. The thrust of the paper is a study of how teacher educators across the country perceive both the changes and their effect on the quality of teacher education, methodology as a discipline, school partnerships, and relationships with the Ministry of National Education.     

Components of reading comprehension and scholastic achievement

The aim of this study was to understand whether the reading comprehension process is better explained by a single or by multiple factors. 184 students (9 to 13 years old) were presented with a recently devised battery of tests, that measure ten aspects of reading comprehension. Structural equation modelling showed that a two factors model better accounts for the data compared to a one or a three factors model. Results confirmed the hypothesis which distinguishes between ‘basic’ and ‘complex’ aspects of reading comprehension. The second goal of the study was to analyze the relationship between the two-components model and scholastic achievement. Our results highlighted that the more ‘complex’ aspects of reading comprehension, reflecting some metacognitive knowledge and control processes, are the better predictors of scholastic achievement.     

Central Coherence Theory and the interpretation of picture materials: toward an assessment of autistic spectrum disorder

Central Coherence Theory ( Frith, 1989 ; Happe, 1994a ) may account for the piecemeal style of information processing characteristic of people with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). This style of processing was observed during language and communication assessments of pupils with ASD. A consistent pattern in the types of these responses emerged, such that it was possible to devise a framework to categorise them.
This article investigates the responses of two groups of eight pupils matched on the basis of gender and verbal ability: i) pupils with a diagnosis of ASD, and ii) pupils without identified difficulties. They were presented with a range of picture materials and their responses were placed within a framework of seven response categories. It was felt that the types of errors made by the two groups differed both quantitatively and qualitatively, and that the type and extent of the errors made by the pupils with ASD were largely attributable to the presence of weak central coherence.
Despite the presence of some limitations in the way the investigation was conducted, it was concluded that these methods might contribute toward the assessment and differential diagnosis of ASD.     

Teacher Testing and Certification: An Historical Perspective from Ontario

Certification tests for elementary teachers in Ontario were introduced in 1871 and in 2002. Although the provincial government’s stated goals for the testing programs were similar, the 2002 program was opposed by the initial teacher education programs and the teachers’ associations, but the 1871 program was not. The authors argue that much of this difference can be attributed to the relationship of the tests to other requirements for certification and the process for determining the content of the tests.     

Individualized Instruction: Extent of Use and Model for Assessing Effectiveness in Community Colleges/Technical Institutes

Abstract

Purposes of the study were to (1) determine the extent to which occupational education instructors in postsecondary institutions in North Carolina used individualized instruction; and to (2) develop a model, evaluative measures, and guidelines for use in assessing individualized instruction approaches. An Individualized Instruction Inventory was designed to determine demographic data, practices, and attitudes of occupational education instructors. The sample consisted of instructors who had rated themselves as moderately to highly individualizing instruction. Inventories were returned by 77% of the 354 instructors in the sample. A discriminant analysis was used to determine demographic variables that differentiated (1) between instructors with high and low attitude scores; and (2) among instructors with high, average, and low practice scores. The four components of the model developed were (1) delineate information, (2) plan for data collection, (3) obtain information, and (4) provide information for decision making. Tasks to be completed within each phase were specified, and guidelines for use of the model were written. Evaluative measures appropriate for collecting the desired data were either selected or developed.