Is Social Media Too Social for Class? A Case Study of Twitter Use

This qualitative case study examined Twitter use by undergraduate and graduate students in three classes. Previous studies have shown that while some faculty use Twitter, few are incorporating it into classes despite many recommendations for such use. This study examined how students perceived Twitter as a classroom tool. As an optional activity, many started with Twitter but fewer continued through the semester. The study reports on content and counts of tweets as well as student self-reports on usage and interest. The researchers found students enjoyed being consumers of tweets but seldom retweeted or replied. Incorporating Twitter in courses will require careful consideration of scaffolding, modeling, privacy and course design. Questions remain as to whether the informal social focus of Twitter may overwhelm attempts to use it in more structured educational settings.     

Responding to Poverty and Its Complex Challenges: The Importance of Policy Fluency for Educational Leaders

We present a case example of a school leader whose understanding of both in- and out-of-school policies and issues supported 2 students who experienced severe trauma. We describe some of the principal's key beliefs and practices that led to the development of a justice-oriented school, and then contextualize her work in a “social frontiers” perspective. We conclude by suggesting that, especially in contexts where poverty affects many students, school leaders must go beyond school walls to cultivate appropriately responsive systems of practice that allow all students to thrive.     

The impact of childhood abuse on inpatient substance users: Specific links with risky sex,aggression, and emotion dysregulation

Adults with substance use disorders (SUDs) report a high prevalence of childhood abuse. Research in the general population suggests specific types of abuse lead to particular negative outcomes; it is not known whether this pattern holds for adults with SUDs. We hypothesized that specific types of abuse would be associated with particular behavioral and emotional outcomes among substance users. That is, childhood sexual abuse would be associated with risky sex behaviors, childhood physical abuse with aggression, and childhood emotional abuse with emotion dysregulation. 280 inpatients (M age = 43.3; 69.7% male; 88.4% African American) in substance use treatment completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), HIV Risk-Taking Behavior Scale, Addiction Severity Index, Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS), and Affect Intensity and Dimensions of Affiliation Motivation (AIM). Consistent with our hypotheses, the CTQ sexual abuse subscale uniquely predicted exchanging sex for cocaine and heroin, number of arrests for prostitution, engaging in unprotected sex with a casual partner during the prior year, and experiencing low sexual arousal when sober. The physical abuse subscale uniquely predicted number of arrests for assault and weapons offenses. The emotional abuse subscale uniquely predicted the DERS total score, AIM score, and DTS score. Among substance users, different types of abuse are uniquely associated with specific negative effects. Assessment of specific abuse types among substance users may be informative in treatment planning and relapse prevention.     

The Role of Relational and Instructional Classroom Supports in the Language Development of At-Risk Preschoolers

The present study examined the extent to which preschool classroom supports—relational support (RS) and instructional support (IS)—are associated with children's language development and whether these associations vary as a function of children's language ability. The language skills of 360 children within 95 classrooms were assessed using an expressive narrative task in the fall and spring of the preschool year, teachers rated RS in the fall, and observations of IS were collected across the year. Research Findings: Hierarchical linear models revealed main effects of IS, but not RS, on preschoolers’ development of expressive language skills. In addition, the associations between RS and IS on children's expressive language development were moderated by children's fall language ability. Specifically, the association between IS and language development was stronger for children with stronger expressive language skills, and the association between RS and language development was stronger for children with weaker expressive language skills. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that professional development for preschool teachers might focus on aligning classroom supports with the needs of children with weaker language skills who are at risk for difficulty acquiring literacy.     

Effects of Teaching Experience,Knowledge of Performer Competence,and Knowledge of Performance Outcome on Performance Error Identification

The purpose of this study was to determine if experienced tennis teachers could be differentiated from inexperienced tennis teachers on the basis of their ability to identify common performance errors in films depicting the performance of the tennis forehand. The study also sought to determine if the differences in error detection proficiency between the two groups would be greater when subjects were provided with preresponse information concerning the performer's level of competence in the skill (PCI) and postresponse information concerning the outcome produced by the response (POI). The error detection proficiency of 40 experienced tennis teachers and 40 undergraduate physical education students was assessed under conditions of PCI and POI present, PCI present and POI absent, PCI absent and POI present, and PCI and POI absent. Results indicated that the experienced teachers, although significantly more accurate in detecting errors than the novice teachers, were only marginally so. No positive effects on error detection accuracy were observed for PCI and the facilitative effects for POI tended to be small and generalized to both experienced and inexperienced subjects rather than being specifically helpful to the experienced teachers. The differences between experienced and inexperienced teachers appeared to be due to fewer false alarms committed by the experienced teachers.     

Note-taking in the college classroom as evidence of generative learning

College student notes were analysed with respect to the amount of words copied directly, omitted and added to the teacher’s overheads or PowerPoint slides in order to understand the effect of teacher scaffolds on student generative learning during initial encoding. Scores on quizzes taken at the end of classes from which notes were collected were analysed with respect to the content of student notes and teacher scaffolds. Statistically significant results were found when comparing how much students copied, added and omitted, whether teachers used PowerPoint presentations or overheads, and with respect to the amount of information teachers presented visually. Significant effects also were found on performance quiz items with respect to the amount of information that teachers provided.