An experimental study of the effect of the presence or absence of living visual aids in high school biology classrooms upon attitudes toward science and biology achievement

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects resulting from the presence or absence of living material in the biology classroom on knowledge of biology and attitudes toward science and sciencing. An experimental design employed random assignment to treatment and control groups. A separate-sample pretest-posttest control group design was used with 111 biology students from a medium-sized suburban high school. The treatment was administered for 16 weeks. The treatment group held class in a room containing live plant and animal displays attractively maintained. The control group students held class in a general purpose classroom containing no living materials. Students in the treatment group performed higher on both dependent measures (knowledge of biology and attitude toward science and sciencing) than those in the control group. The findings are interpreted as suggesting that living displays in the classroom serve to stimulate interest and curiosity which in turn influence attitude and achievement.     

The Effects of Video Feedback on Students’ Evaluations of Self

Self‐viewing is one of the most anxiety provoking features of social skills training (SST), and a facet of training about which comparatively little is known. In general terms, the major purpose of this study was to make a contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the self‐viewing process. In specific terms, the aim was to map out empirically the type and range of self‐evaluative comments made by students following a period of self‐viewing on Closed Circuit Television. A content analysis schemata was devised to classify free‐ranging statements collected from the subjects by means of self‐evaluation reports. Results showed that students significantly increased the number of positive and decreased the number of negative and internal statements following SST. No differences emerged between males and females in self‐statement responses.     

How might we better design support for postdocs?

Abstract

Internationally, career prospects for postdocs, whether salaried on a Principal Investigator’s (PI) grant or a fellowship, are precarious. Yet, many aspire to permanent research-teaching positions, and to achieve this goal they often strive to gain PI funding to demonstrate their research potential. Like many developers in research-intensive universities, we are responsible for supporting postdocs. Yet, it was unclear what actual support they needed. Further, studies show postdocs seldom access formal institutional support. Thus, we undertook a needs assessment. We describe here our substantive learning about supporting aspiring and new PIs, and then reflect more generally on the value of needs assessments in academic development practice.     

The depiction of stuttering in contemporary juvenile fiction: Implications for clinical practice

We reviewed 29 contemporary juvenile fiction books featuring characters who stutter to assess the presentation of stuttering‐related content. Although plots varied widely, most characters displayed attributes or accomplishments that offset their communication impairment. Many characters improved social and/or communicative functioning during the stories, though rarely in conjunction with professionally administered intervention. Most books depicted listener responses to stuttering, including impatience, teasing, ridicule, and bullying. Some books contained incorrect or distorted information, which could convey the mistaken impression that stuttering is simply a symptom of emotional distress. Nonetheless, most portrayals of stuttering seemed sufficient for the books to be considered for use as an instructional tool in certain education and intervention activities. Potential applications of the books in these contexts are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Don't they teach that in high school? Examining the high school to college information literacy gap

College librarians express concern over incoming students' information literacy skills and lack of skills preparing them for college-level research. However, it is unclear whether information literacy skills are not being taught at the high school level, whether they are not being retained or transferred as students move on to college, or whether there is a disconnect between the skills taught in high school and those expected of incoming college students. This study explores these questions through a set of parallel surveys sent to a national sample of high school and college librarians. Findings suggest that high school and college librarians agree on the importance of most skills though they vary in their emphasis on their importance, and that information literacy skills are being taught in high school but do not seem to transfer to college. The paper concludes with suggestions for increased communication and collaboration to bridge the high school to college transition.     

Energy Conversion and Control at Berkeley

The recent developments in this area in terms of curricular changes in the Electrical Engineering program have been described and evaluated. A previous required course, which covered electric machinery in some detail, has been replaced by a more general course which studies the principles of electromechanical energy conversion and the control of the flow of electrical energy by both static and motional devices. In addition, a new experimental two-semester course has been developed which integrates the study of energy conversion and control devices into a study of systems and the role of these devices in meeting system specifications.     

Against ‘teaching excellence’: ideology,commodification, and enabling the neoliberalization of postsecondary education

ABSTRACT

In this article, the notion of excellence in relation to teaching is removed from its privileged place in order to render it, and its implications, for analysis. We argue that teaching excellence needs to be understood in the larger context of the neoliberal university in which competition is taken for granted, and therefore, metrics for comparison are evermore necessary. Following this argument, we explore excellence as an instrument of neoliberal ideology in higher education. We explore different manifestations of teaching excellence enacted in policies that that are illustrative of five different countries. Implications for further analysis, and for resistance to the expansion of neoliberal ideology through teaching excellence, are presented.     

An investigation in evaluation issues for a simulation training programme

Rolfe (1991) and Parasuraman (1981) are critical of previous efforts by researchers to evaluate simulations given that very few authors in the field of simulation are actually considering validity, reliability or utility of simulations as training or educational methods.
The Rank Ordering Exercise is designed as an activity which highlights evaluation issues. It was explained to 26 participants divided into 13 pairs. Each pair were asked to order 26 cards into a preferred chronological sequence—from the early stages of planning to the final stages of the project. Participants were given a scenario outlining a company which is experiencing complaints about the quality and standard of its customer care. A brief set of instructions asked participants to develop a training programme which incorporates a simulation, with the aim of building in evaluation components.
The Rank Ordering Exercise raised awareness of internal and more importantly external validity issues. The authors noted an overall agreement about a preferred sequence of events and the exercise was effective in highlighting the need for the evaluation "checks" to be made during the planning stages of any research or consultancy project.     

Special education trainee teachers’ perceptions of their professional world: motives,roles, and expectations from teacher training

To open a window into perceptions entailed in the professional world view of special education teacher trainees, three research questions were developed: (a) What are their motives for joining the profession? (b) How do they perceive the role of the special education teacher? and (c) What are their expectations from teacher training? The research was carried out using a qualitative approach. Ninety-three students about to begin their professional training in special education in an Israeli teacher-training college completed a questionnaire consisting of five open questions. The data were analyzed according to the grounded theory approach. The research findings showed that the trainees chose special education because they wanted to belong to a group of teachers perceived as the most ethical; one that considers its mission to help ‘vulnerable’ individuals, mold their characters, and ‘have an impact on society.’ The role of special education teachers was perceived mainly as caring for students and their parents; the trainees expected that during their training, they would become completely familiar with the range of disabilities and how to deal with them, as well as learn about themselves and strengthen their teaching skills. The world of special education was perceived as ‘mysterious,’ having a high moral standing; as a closed profession, in that relations are limited to teacher, child, and parents; but with a spiritual aspect. The professional world of special education as perceived by the teacher trainees was different than that actually waiting for them, and for which teacher training institutes must prepare them.