‘If this was real … ’: researching student meaning making in a digital rolling role drama

ABSTRACT

This article explores the interplay of the ‘live’ experience of drama learning in the classroom and curated digital content on learner meaning making, collaborative creation and subjectivities. It examines a case study conducted in an inner-city secondary school in Sydney, Australia, as part of a larger innovative international collaborative drama exercise entitled ‘The Water Reckoning Project’ (http://www.water-reckoning.net) which focussed on sustainability education. Data collected and analysed included ethnographic observations, video documentation and digital curation of students’ creative work, focus groups, and pre- and post-surveys. Findings of this study reveal the importance of the aesthetically charged, embodied experience of drama as the key driver of learning when integrating drama with digital technologies. This unique project enabled students to critically and creatively engage with significant real and fictional contexts, as well as issues of local and global relevance.     

Pre-Service Elementary Teachers'' Perceptions of Factors in an Holistic Methods Course Influencing their Confidence in Teaching Science

Lack of confidence towards science is a major factor in the avoidance of teaching science at elementary school. This paper reports the results of a survey that asked 28 pre-service elementary teachers what they believed contributed to their confidence towards science and the teaching of science during a second year science unit where an holistic teaching/learning approach was taken. The holistic nature of the unit was based on a model that considered six major factors to be important influences on the confidence of the pre-service teacher. Using median values, and ranking from the most to least important factor influencing their confidence, the pre-service teachers identified practicum, teacher educator, pedagogical content knowledge, learning environment, assessment and reflection. Factors within pedagogical content knowledge, ranked from most to least important, were science pedagogy, science activities, children's views of science, science content knowledge and investigating scientifically. The wide variability in responses highlighted that no single factor was perceived to be a major contributor to the pre-service teachers' confidence, but rather a balanced mix was necessary. Implications for pre-service elementary science education units are discussed.     

Gender,policy and initial teacher education

An examination of gender discourses within New Labour education policy on the preparation of students for a career in teaching in the UK reveals a contradictory yet, at the same time, complementary position. In the guidelines outlining the Standards that a prospective teacher has to achieve, the ways in which gender informs pupils’ educational opportunities is ‘played down’ in that it is not addressed directly. Rather ‘gender’, along with ethnicity, social class, disability and sexuality is embedded within the broader concept of ‘diversity’. At the same time, gender is foregrounded in education policy on the recruitment of teachers with the drive by the Training and Development Agency to encourage men into primary schools. This article explores these tensions and relates these to the published research on the experiences of male primary teachers. It concludes by arguing for a recognition of student/practicing teachers’ real concerns regarding the gender issues which influence and inform their professional choices and careers rather than those set by the Government agenda.     

Developmental,gender, and practical considerations in scoring curriculum‐based measurement writing probes

The present study focused on CBM written language procedures by conducting an investigation of the developmental, gender, and practical considerations surrounding three categories of CBM written language scoring indices: production‐dependent, production‐independent, and accurate‐production. Students in first‐ through eighth‐grade generated a three‐minute writing sample in the fall and spring of the school year using standard CBM procedures. The writing samples were scored using all three types of scoring indices to assess the trends in scoring indices for students of varying ages and gender and of the time required to score writing samples using various scoring indices. With only one exception, older students outperformed younger students on all of the scoring indices. Although at the middle school level students' levels of writing fluency and writing accuracy were not closely associated, at the younger grade levels the CBM indices were significantly related. With regard to gender differences, girls outperformed boys on measures of writing fluency at all grade levels. The average scoring time per writing sample ranged from 1‐1/2 to 2‐1/2 minutes (depending on grade level). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 379–390, 2003.     

Acquisition and transfer of control by an ambiguous cue

In three experiments, the specificity of action of occasion setters was examined, using a discretetrial leverpress procedure. Rats’ acquisition of anXA+, A?, XB?, B+ discrimination, in which a single feature cue (X) signaled the reinforcement of responding in the presence of one target cue (A) and the nonreinforcement of responding during another target (B), was no more difficult than acquisition ofXA+, A?, X?, B+ orX+, A?, XB?, B+ discriminations, in whichX signaled only one target-response-reinforcement contingency. In transfer tests,X did not modulate responding controlled by other cues that were untrained or consistently reinforced, either when the elements of the compounds were presented serially or when they were presented simultaneously in training and testing. However, after serial, but not after simultaneous, compound training ,X facilitated responding controlled by a cue that was trained and then extinguished. Implications for the nature of occasion setting and configurai learning are discussed.     

Guiding Boys in the Early Years to Lead Healthy Emotional Lives

Research has shown that there are distinct differences in the psychological development of boys and girls. It has also been found that boys have more problems in their teen years and into adulthood because of problems during early childhood, particularly in the area of handling emotions. This article first describes gender differences that are supported by research and how society, parents', and teachers' influences shape gender identity during early development. Second, the article discusses problems boys in particular may face later in life if they are not taught how to handle their emotions during childhood. Third, suggestions are offered for teachers and parents to guide boys in early childhood to mature in more emotionally sound ways.     

Peer teaching among physical therapy students during human gross anatomy: Perceptions of peer teachers and students

Despite nearly 200 accredited entry‐level physical therapist education programs in the United States that culminate in a doctoral degree, only a paucity of reports have been published regarding the efficacy of peer teaching in gross anatomy. No one has described the usefulness of peer teaching from the viewpoint of the peer teacher. An organized peer teaching method provided by four second‐year doctors of physical therapy (DPT) students in a semester course in gross anatomy had a positive impact on the academic performance in gross anatomy of first‐year DPT students. The unique feature of the weekly peer teaching sessions was a packet assembled by the second‐year peer teachers, which contained diagrams, fill‐in‐the blank questions, and helpful mnemonic devices. This study surveyed perceptions of first‐year DPT students in response to a peer teaching method, using a structured 10‐item questionnaire and a five‐point Likert scale. Second‐year DPT peer teachers provided written reflections about the benefits and challenges of serving as a peer teacher. Results revealed that 13 planned peer‐teaching experiences provided by four second‐year DPT students were valuable and promoted a firm understanding of anatomical relationships important for the clinical competence of physical therapist students. Moreover, peer teachers acknowledged acquiring clinically desirable teaching, academic, organizational, and time management skills from the experience. As a result, physical therapist educators may wish to consider this model of peer teaching to augment their teaching strategies for a class in gross human anatomy. Anat Sci Ed 1:199–206, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

Head Start Teachers Across a Decade: Beliefs,Characteristics, and Time Spent on Academics

We examined changes in teachers’ beliefs regarding developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009 using data from the Head Start Family and Child Experience Survey. In addition, we examined how teacher education, credentials, and professional experience relate to beliefs about DAP and explored how these relationships differ by cohort. We also explored teachers’ reports of time spent in math and literacy focused activities. Findings indicate that after 2003, developmentally appropriate beliefs decreased significantly, while developmentally inappropriate beliefs increased. Results also showed significant increases in the frequency of literacy activity across the decade, while the frequency of math activity was more consistent. Despite these changes, teachers with more education consistently held the most appropriate beliefs. These findings indicate that teacher education may buffer against influences of pushed down curricula and increased accountability. This study also illustrates that policies at the national level have the potential to impact children’s day-to-day classroom experiences.     

Exploring the potential for and promise of incorporating distributive and procedural justices into post-secondary assessment of student learning

This paper explores the potential of incorporating constructs of distributive justice and procedural justice into summative assessment of student learning in higher education. I systematically compare the process used by managers to evaluate employee performance in organizations – performance appraisal (PA) – with processes used by professors to assess student learning in academe. These procedures are remarkably similar in terms of objectives to facilitate and measure performance/learning, criteria for defining desired performance/learning, the procedures used by raters to evaluate performance/learning, and the procedure used by employees and students to assess fairness of their PA/grades. I then summarize empirical research regarding distributive justice (DJ) and procedural justice (PJ) in organizations. Finally, I posit how positive attitudes and behaviors associated with DJ and PJ in organizations might transfer to benefit students, professors, administrators, and universities in academe.     

Contributions of Maternal Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms to Parenting

Objective. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms on several dimensions of parenting. Design. One-hundred seven mothers of young adolescents provided ratings of their own attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depressive symptoms, and parenting behavior, as well as their adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Results. Hierarchical regression analyses examined the relative contributions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms to parenting. Greater levels of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology were associated with poorer monitoring, whereas more oppositional defiant disorder symptoms were associated with lower levels of parenting involvement and positive reinforcement and higher levels of overreactivity and use of corporal punishment. Conclusions. Maternal oppositional defiant disorder behaviors were particularly associated with negative, affective dimensions of parenting. Understanding the impact of maternal attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms on parenting may require consideration of concomitant maternal oppositional defiant disorder symptoms.