Reframing Service-Learning as Learning and Participation With Urban Youth

This article describes a critical service-learning project that resulted from an educational partnership among a national teachers' union, a local teachers' union, and a major research university. The partnership—funded by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve program—focused on professional development opportunities for K–12 educators across subject areas throughout an urban school district. Teachers enrolled in a university-level graduate course where they learned about critical service-learning, engaged in community-based activities, developed partnerships with local organizations, and facilitated critical service-learning projects in local schools and communities. Here, we highlight one of the many projects that emerged from this partnership as we attempt to connect theory with practice by reframing service-learning as learning and participation. We ask: How can a reframing of service-learning as learning and participation impact how we understand the educative and social engagements of four urban youth?     

If You Build It,They Will Come (or Not): Going the Distance in Teacher Candidate Recruitment

There are persistent concerns in the literature related to recruitment and retention of highly qualified teacher candidates who are capable of achieving contemporary goals and meeting the professional expectations associated with the delivery of quality physical education programs in schools. The purpose of this article is to provide physical education teacher education faculty with recommendations for best practice in the area of teacher candidate recruitment by reviewing literature in the following areas: (a) identification of the characteristics of successful teachers as a basis for recruitment efforts, (b) fundamental principles of effective marketing and recruitment, (c) generational characteristics of college-bound students and the practical implications, and (d) recruitment of underrepresented populations. The recruitment tactics identified include actionable recommendations for faculty, departments/programs, universities, and community partners in teacher education.     

Strategies and effectiveness of teaching universal design in a cross-faculty setting

Universal design of built environments is an area of professional interest for both architects and occupational therapists, yet is not always specifically included in undergraduate curricula. This paper reports on the student experience of introducing universal design education into architecture and occupational therapy curricula. Online and face-to-face teaching methods were employed, including virtual and real-life simulation activities designed to provide students with a personal experience of impairment. Virtual simulation activities used the medium of Second Life?. Results showed improvement in self-reported learning outcomes related to universal design and, overall, students found the learning activities and resources useful. Real-life simulations were reported to be more useful than virtual simulations. Project outcomes support the introduction of universal design education into architecture and occupational therapy curricula, and offer insight into student perceptions and future directions for related teaching and learning resources.     

The place of imagination in inclusive pedagogy: thinking with Maxine Greene and Hannah Arendt

Conceptualising difference is a key task for inclusive pedagogy, and vital to the politics of inclusion. My purpose in this paper is to consider the place that imagination has in helping us to conceptualise difference, and to argue that imagination has a key part to play in inclusive pedagogy. To do this I draw closely on the work of Maxine Greene and Hannah Arendt. Arendt’s work provides a means to conceptualise difference whereby difference is itself at the very heart of what constitutes our humanity. Greene’s work on the arts has outlined the value of the imagination, and has argued for the place of the arts in education and pedagogy. What is needed, however, is a careful account of how the imagination is connected to politics. In this paper I take up Greene’s call to ‘release the imagination’ and, drawing on Arendt, develop an account of the relationship between the imagination, thinking, and politics and how this can be used to argue the place of imagination in inclusive pedagogy.     

Development of the Biology Card Sorting Task to Measure Conceptual Expertise in Biology

There are widespread aspirations to focus undergraduate biology education on teaching students to think conceptually like biologists; however, there is a dearth of assessment tools designed to measure progress from novice to expert biological conceptual thinking. We present the development of a novel assessment tool, the Biology Card Sorting Task, designed to probe how individuals organize their conceptual knowledge of biology. While modeled on tasks from cognitive psychology, this task is unique in its design to test two hypothesized conceptual frameworks for the organization of biological knowledge: 1) a surface feature organization focused on organism type and 2) a deep feature organization focused on fundamental biological concepts. In this initial investigation of the Biology Card Sorting Task, each of six analytical measures showed statistically significant differences when used to compare the card sorting results of putative biological experts (biology faculty) and novices (non–biology major undergraduates). Consistently, biology faculty appeared to sort based on hypothesized deep features, while non–biology majors appeared to sort based on either surface features or nonhypothesized organizational frameworks. Results suggest that this novel task is robust in distinguishing populations of biology experts and biology novices and may be an adaptable tool for tracking emerging biology conceptual expertise.     

From Information Reserve to Media Literacy Learning Commons: Revisiting the 21st Century Library as the Home for Media Literacy Education

Media literacy, while growing considerably during the past three decades, remains on the margins of educational establishments in the United States. Its interdisciplinary nature and broad definition have caused some confusion as to how best it can be utilized in school systems. At the same time, the school library has had to reinvent itself rapidly for a digital media age. Reconceived as a “learning commons,” the school library of the twenty-first century is no longer seen as simply a repository for information, but as a center for knowledge. This article will outline a framework for the media literacy learning commons designed to help students navigate information in a digital age. The school library, repositioned in this way, can excel as a place where students are free to express, explore, and empower themselves to become more active and engaged participants in their daily lives.     

Collaborative Leadership at Ripon College

ABSTRACT

Lane Library's director left in 2002 during a time of financial uncertainty and administrative change at Ripon College. A temporary recommendation to utilize the talents of the remaining librarians to oversee the library until a new administration was in place was accepted by the librarians and the interim administration. After a great deal of research and discussion, the library implemented a permanent rotating chair model based on collaborative leadership to replace the position of Library Director.     

The Divide and Conquer Exercise: Finding the Essence of Difficult Readings

Objective: In this exercise, students collectively summarize a long and perhaps difficult reading into a shorter, more condensed version of itself; in the process, students experience the virtues of teamwork (the divide and conquer approach), gain valuable reading and note-taking skills, and collectively distill the essence of a reading in class.

Courses: This exercise works best in any course with theoretical or complex readings assigned to students as outside reading, e.g., introductory courses in communication, communication theory, special topics in communication; the exercise requires 20–40 students.     

Pupils' Perceptions of the Efficacy of Target Setting and How it can be Made More Effective

This article explores some of the substantive issues that arose from a qualitative research study into individual pupil target setting in a secondary school. A multiple case study approach was employed in order to reveal the experiences and perceptions of some 'middle ability' Key Stage 3 pupils. The benefits of the process of setting highly individualized targets are discussed from the pupils' perspective. Therelationship between target setting and Academic Tutoring is examined and the potential for pastoral staff to use target setting as part of a learning discourse is highlighted.     

Investigating talk in challenging classrooms-boys enjoy the power of talk

This article attempts to develop the discussion on speaking and listening by investigating pupil perceptions of lessons involving small group talk. The sample of pupils came from a GCSE group in an all boys comprehensive school in an area of social disadvantage. The author used the pupil evaluations of oral work and some one‐to‐one interviews to draw together and analyse the pupils' thoughts and to discuss the teacher's role in planning for talk.