The power of learning in action learning: a conceptual analysis of how the five schools of adult learning theories are incorporated within the practice of action learning

Action learning has the ability to solve complex problems and to significantly increase the speed and quality of individual, team and organizational learning. Its theoretical base and relationship to adult learning orientations and the source of this power remain relatively unexplored. The authors conducted an extensive review of the literature in order to examine how each of the six critical components of an action learning program (namely; a problem or task, a group, the reflective inquiry process, action, learning, and an action learning coach) incorporates and applies five major adult learning schools (behaviorist, cognitivist, humanist, social and constructivist). An empirical example from the authors’ experience is presented to illustrate the extent and range in which action learning incorporates each of the five schools of adult learning.     

Writing in Mathematics: An Alternative Form of Communication for Academically Low‐Achieving Students

Abstract. Classroom communication figures prominently in current math reform efforts. In this study, we analyze how one teacher used writing to support communication in a seventh‐grade, low‐track mathematics class. For one school year, we studied four low‐achieving students in the class. Students wrote in journals on a weekly basis. Using classroom observations and interviews with the teacher, we developed profiles of the four students, capturing their participation in class discussions. The profiles highlighted an important similarity among the four students: marginal participation in both small‐group and whole‐class discussions. However, our analysis of the students' journals identified multiple instances where the students were able to explain their mathematical reasoning, revealing their conceptual understanding, ability to explain, and skill at representing a problem. In this respect, journals potentially facilitate another important form of classroom communication. The promise of writing is that it offers an alternative to the visions of classroom communication that are strictly oral in nature.     

Practical Applications of Student Response Analysis

What standard reports are included in TAP and SPP? What information is provided in item analysis output? How may teachers use the information in their instruction?     

The National Standards Scene: NISO and related U.S. standards organizations

Those entering the world of publishing standards for the first time may find it a baffling alphabet soup—with NISO, ANSI, BISG, IEEE, NIST, and ANSC floating on a broth bubbling with activity. Jacob and Rings sort out the acronyms, explaining what each of these groups does and how they interact. Mary Ellen L. Jacob, vice president for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for strategic planning activities regarding libraries and library services. Mrs. Jacob is also the board chair of the National Information Standards Committee. Deborah L. Rings, information analyst for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for identifying trends and factors relative to the library and information science areas, and for assessing their impact and potential impact on OCLC and its strategic planning processes.     

Response time variations in an online search system.

The response time characteristics of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) ELHILL bibliographic search system are examined in this article. Transactions for a five-week period are analyzed and average response times are calculated for typical search commands, by time of day, and by file being searched. Overall, the response time of the system was found to be 2.1 seconds, a very low value. Based on statistical tests of significance applied to the data, it was concluded that response time differences can be explained in terms of the number of users on the system and not the command issued by the user nor the file the user searched.