Learning in the third age: drawing wisdom from reflective stories in community art education

Third-age learning is a subset of lifelong learning enjoyed by individuals in the stage of retirement, and often 60 years or older. Community art education (CAE) for learners in the third age commonly occurs in recreational settings, nursing homes, museums, libraries and places of worship. In addition to these informal learning sites, there are CAE programmes developed within postsecondary institutions that provide opportunities for artistic inquiry and instruction. In the following article, we share a case study involving third-age learners conducted in the 2014/2015 academic year. We begin by briefly describing an innovative CAE programme at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and then discuss a specific initiative undertaken in cooperation with the University’s alumnae extended education programme. Our study explored large questions about motivation, curriculum and pedagogy, but also focused on major themes in lifelong learning and the individual stories of the participants. One participant, named Reto, is featured in this article, and with his collaboration we offer a co-constructed narrative alongside an analysis of themes including personal development and social inclusion. The insights gained through our study have potential broad applicability for the general area of university–community partnerships and for CAE for the growing third-age population.     

Foundations of Science Literacy: Efficacy of a Preschool Professional Development Program in Science on Classroom Instruction,Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge,and Children’s Observations and Predictions

Young children are able to benefit from early science teaching but many preschool teachers have not had opportunities to deepen their own understanding of science or to develop their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in relation to specific science topics and concepts. This study presents the results of efficacy research on Foundations of Science Literacy (FSL), a comprehensive professional development program designed to support teachers’ knowledge of early childhood science; their PCK around 2 physical science topics (water, and balls and ramps); and their abilities to plan, facilitate, and assess young children’s learning during inquiry-based science explorations. Research Findings: In a randomized trial with 142 preschool teachers and 1,004 4-year-old children, FSL teachers demonstrated significantly higher quality science teaching in general and greater PCK in the 2 physical science topics than did teachers in comparison classrooms. Furthermore, children in FSL classrooms performed significantly better than children in comparison classrooms on tasks involving floating and sinking, and an instrumental variable analysis suggests that the quality of classroom science instruction mediated the relationship between teacher participation in FSL and student outcomes. Practice or Policy: Findings support the use of comprehensive early science professional development programs designed to bolster teacher knowledge and PCK.     

Problem-Based Learning: What and How Do Students Learn?

Problem-based approaches to learning have a long history of advocating experience-based education. Psychological research and theory suggests that by having students learn through the experience of solving problems, they can learn both content and thinking strategies. Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method in which students learn through facilitated problem solving. In PBL, student learning centers on a complex problem that does not have a single correct answer. Students work in collaborative groups to identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem. They engage in self-directed learning (SDL) and then apply their new knowledge to the problem and reflect on what they learned and the effectiveness of the strategies employed. The teacher acts to facilitate the learning process rather than to provide knowledge. The goals of PBL include helping students develop 1) flexible knowledge, 2) effective problem-solving skills, 3) SDL skills, 4) effective collaboration skills, and 5) intrinsic motivation. This article discusses the nature of learning in PBL and examines the empirical evidence supporting it. There is considerable research on the first 3 goals of PBL but little on the last 2. Moreover, minimal research has been conducted outside medical and gifted education. Understanding how these goals are achieved with less skilled learners is an important part of a research agenda for PBL. The evidence suggests that PBL is an instructional approach that offers the potential to help students develop flexible understanding and lifelong learning skills.     

Using video-based anchored instruction to enhance learning: Taiwan's experience

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of computer-assisted videodisc-based anchored instruction on attitudes toward mathematics and instruction as well as problem-solving skills among Taiwanese elementary students. Results from a t-test indicate a significant main effect on student attitudes toward mathematics. Results from a two-way Repeated Measures ANOVA show that students' problem-solving skills improve significantly with anchored instruction. Results also indicate that all the students benefit from the effects of anchored instruction on their problem-solving performance regardless of their mathematics and science abilities. The findings suggest that video-based anchored instruction provide a more motivating environment that enhanced students' problem-solving skills. This study is significant because it establishes an example of video-based anchored instruction for Taiwanese students and also provides empirical evidence of its effects on affective and cognitive responses among fifth graders in learning mathematics. This study is helpful to educators who want to help students learn to think and learn throughout technology.     

The Rise and Fall of Academic Law Library Collection Standards

This article provides a history of the American Bar Association (ABA) Accreditation Standards for law library collection development from a simple standard, “adequate for the use of the students,” to a more detailed list of requirements, and back again to simpler mandates. ABA standards are currently under review, and the author argues it is time to end the collection requirements in the ABA standards.     

The effect of an instructional intervention on middle school english learners' science and english reading achievement

This study examined the effect of a quasi‐experimental project on fifth grade English learners' achievement in state‐mandated standards‐based science and English reading assessment. A total of 166 treatment students and 80 comparison students from four randomized intermediate schools participated in the current project. The intervention consisted of on‐going professional development and specific instructional science lessons with inquiry‐based learning, direct and explicit vocabulary instruction, integration of reading and writing, and enrichment components including integration of technology, take‐home science activities, and university scientists mentoring. Results suggested a significant and positive intervention effect in favor of the treatment students as reflected in higher performance in district‐wide curriculum‐based tests of science and reading and standardized tests of oral reading fluency. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 987–1011, 2012     

The Gendering of Physical Education in Hong Kong: East,West or Global?

How gender operates is a key factor in the ways in which physical education is organized, taught and experienced by students and teachers. This essay highlights the gendered contours of the history of physical education development in Hong Kong, its Chinese heritage and its colonial foundations – the persistent influence of British approaches to physical education teacher education and the promotion of sport. The paper is a collaborative work between Chinese-born and Western scholars. It examines the relative influences of Chinese attitudes towards gender roles and the active, sporting body and the continued impact of Western approaches to physical education and sport in a post-colonial society.     

Academic Journal Publishing

This paper summarizes the presentations made at the “Academic Journal Publishing” session of the 2007 NASIG conference. The session was conducted by four publishers from a variety of academic publishing companies who made presentations (specifically tailored to a librarian audience) which provided a broad stroke overview of their industry and how they go about the process of publishing and distributing academic journals in the 21st century. Through each of their presentations they spoke to the questions of “what they do, how they do it, and why they do it.” Topics covered included the launch and acquisition of journals, the peer review process, the tools and services supplied to authors and editors, the production processes employed, special legal and copyright issues, marketing and distribution strategies, and usage.