Remote Teaching with Digital Video: A Trans-national Experience

This paper analyses the psychological, technical, administrative, organisational, institutional and general pedagogical problems encountered during Phase 1 (the trial phase) of a trans-European distance-learning project. Using basic-rate ISDN videoconferencing for remote interactive tutorials, Phase 1 involved the University of Wales Swansea and HEC Liège (Belgium), and provided practice in business English for Belgian students and business French for UK students of French and Business. The difficulties which have arisen during the phase have been many and varied, and not all could have been easily predicted from a review of the research literature. Solutions to some of them are suggested.     

Preparing the Workforce to Prevent Behavioral Health Problems in Children and Youth

Educating social work students to address behavioral health needs of youth requires new training approaches that prepare students for interprofessional prevention-focused practice. This study examines whether a newly developed graduate certificate in integrated behavioral health effectively prepares students for prevention-focused behavioral health practice. A mixed method approach is used for evaluation, with 34 students completing the program from 2016 to 2017. Quantitative, qualitative, and employment data are analyzed to identify if and how the program prepares graduates for prevention practice. Results highlight key components that support student attainment of program competencies. Implications for curriculum development, field site training, and future research are discussed.     

Effects of Parent Implemented Visual Schedule Routines for African American Children with ASD in Low-Income Home Settings

Low-income, minority families are underrepresented in the literature on parent training for school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although the use of visual supports, such as visual schedules, is considered to be an evidence-based practice for children with ASD in school, it is not known whether this strategy is effective for minority, low-income families when implemented by the parent in the home setting. This study used a multiple-baseline across routines design replicated across two African American child-mother dyads to examine the effects of a parent-implemented visual schedule procedure on child independent schedule use and between-activity transitions. Parent participants were trained to implement a visual schedule intervention during home routines. Although a functional relation was demonstrated across routines for one mother-child dyad, results varied across participants, highlighting the importance of treatment fidelity. Implications for future research, including the challenges involved in parent-implemented interventions in low-income settings for minority children with ASD, are addressed.     

Restructuring a traditional student teacher supervision model: Fostering enhanced professional development and mentoring within a professional development school context

The purpose of this study was to pilot an alternative student teaching supervision model at a college of education in a US context. In the study, the collaborators used multiple paired dyads to supervise student teachers with multiple supports from college faculty. This study examined how teachers and university faculty planned the use of paired dyads and how participants responded to the innovation. The findings suggest teachers and junior faculty can undertake bottom-up reform within larger systemic constraints.     

Relationships between exercise regulations and motivational consequences in university students

The aim of this study was to examine propositions stemming from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) that contend motivational consequences vary as a function of different regulations in the exercise domain. Participants (N = 276; n = 98 men; n = 178 women) completed inventories assessing exercise regulations, current exercise behavior, and behavioral intentions to continue exercising for the next 4 months and the effort and importance associated with exercise participation. Bivariate analyses indicated autonomous exercise regulations (identified and intrinsic) were the strongest correlates of each motivational consequence across both sexes, and introjected regulation was positively associated with exercise consequences in women. Simultaneous multiple regression analyses indicated that exercise regulations accounted for a sizeable portion of the variance across each motivational consequence in both sexes (R2adj values ranged from .20 to .53). Both regression and structure coefficients revealed that introjected regulation was a stronger motivational force in women than men, and identified regulation was the most important predictor of all three motivational consequences in both sexes. Collectively, these findings suggest that exercise regulations differentially predict motivational consequences across sexes, and future research using this theoretical framework for examining motivational issues pertinent to the exercise domain appears warranted.     

Creative graduate pathways within and beyond the creative industries

This special issue explores the nuances of graduate creative work, the kinds of value that creative graduates add through work of various types, graduate employability issues for creative graduates, emerging and developing creative career identities and the implications for educators who are tasked with developing a capable creative workforce. Extant literature tends to characterise creative careers as either ‘precarious’ and insecure, or as the engine room of the creative economy. However, in actuality, the creative workforce is far more heterogeneous than either of these positions suggest, and creative careers are far more complex and diverse than previously thought. The task of creative educators is also much more challenging than previously supposed. In this introductory article, we commence by providing a brief overview of the creative labour debates, and the evidence for each position. We present the latest literature in this area that starts to speak to how diverse and complex the landscape of creative work actually is. We then introduce each of the articles in this special issue and indicate how they contribute to a more multi-faceted picture of creative activity, and the lives and career trajectories of graduates from creative degrees.     

Factors Affecting the Successful Implementation of a Common Assignment for First-Year Composition Information Literacy

This article describes a two-year pilot program in which instruction librarians introduced a common assignment to measure information literacy in freshman composition courses. The resultant artifacts showed discrepancies between course sections and indicated the need to design an assignment collaboratively with instructors from the ground up. The process revealed nuances of collaboration, and it exposed assumptions about sharing learning goals across multiple sections of a course taught by a diverse group of instructors. Although the first year of the pilot did not result in usable data, it revealed key factors for success in programmatic assessment that we were able to implement in the second year, resulting in a much stronger leadership role for the library.     

Getting Students Outside: Using Technology as a Way to Stimulate Engagement

Informal environments provide students with unique experiences that allow them to actively participate in activities while promoting a positive attitude toward and an increased interest in science. One way to enhance informal science experiences is through the integration of mobile technologies. This integration is particularly useful in engaging underrepresented students in learning science. Our informal environmental science program engages underrepresented, fifth-grade students in an informal learning environment supplemented with mobile tablet technology (iPads). The purpose of this study was to explore how fifth-grade students interacted with nature using mobile technology during a nature hike series. Participants included 55 fifth-grade students from two low-income schools. We found that students used the mobile technology to explore nature and stay engaged throughout the hike. The iPads were used as references, data collectors, and engagement tools. Students had an intense desire in returning to the site and responded positively toward interacting with nature. Prior research has indicated that students in this age group are likely to lose interest in science and the incorporation of field-friendly technology that engages students with nature, not technology alone, is a useful tool for keeping students interested in science.