The importance of computer experience,learning processes,and communication patterns in multicultural networking

This paper reports on a case study which was undertaken to study issues fundamental to a computer-assisted, multicultural education. During the study, a group of Asian American middle-school students corresponded with culturally dissimilar students using telecommunications. The data reported reflect the Asian American students' experience. Results concerning three themes of the research are discussed: computer knowledge, learning processes, and communication patterns. Findings indicate that students of different ethnic backgrounds may have different attitudes about and knowledge of computers, cross-cultural communication patterns, and learning processes when working with computers. These differences should be taken into account when planning a computer-assisted, multicultural curriculum. The authors wish to thank Andy Xiong for his invaluable assistance on this project. We would also like to thank the three teachers for their contributions to the research. This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, College of Education, University of Minnesota.     

COLLABORATION BY DESIGN: INTEGRATING CORE PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT AND SPECIAL EDUCATION METHODS COURSES IN A PRESERVICE SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAM

In this article the authors describe a collaboratively designed secondary teacher education program focused on the preparation of preservice general education teachers to work effectively with children who have diverse learning needs in inclusive classrooms. The focus of the article is on the collaborative development and initial evaluation of the program by secondary teacher education faculty and special education faculty. The instructional design emphasized a co-teaching model where principles of Universal Design for Learning and instructional adaptation were integrated and assessed in multiple courses by collaborating university faculty. Data from the initial evaluation included student teaching portfolios, formal teacher observations, and 6th- through 12th-grade student assessments. The data suggest that preservice teachers appropriately used strategies for adapting their instruction to meet the needs of students with exceptionalities.     

Due process in gifted education

Twenty‐eight states and the District of Columbia currently provide due process for gifted students. When parents or administrators cannot settle a dispute at the local school board level, some states by law and/or regulation offer aggrieved parties the right to mediation or due process. Seven states reported holding 26 due process hearings during the years 1992–1995. This article examines these due process hearings describing the types of issues involved and the outcomes of the hearings. The authors report that disparate issues are handled in due process hearings, and they conclude that due process hearings are an inexpensive and relatively expeditious way to resolve disputes in gifted education in comparison to going to court.     

Return of the Hacker as Hero: Fictions and Realities of Teenage Technological Experts

When critics consider young people’s practices within cyberspace, the focus is often on negative aspects, namely cyber-bullying, obsessive behaviour, and the lack of a balanced life. Such analyses, however, may miss the agency and empowerment young people experience not only to make decisions but to have some degree of control over their lives through their engagement with and use of technology, which often includes sharing it with others in cyberspace. This was a finding of research conducted by Nicola Johnson, which also informs the two novels considered in this article, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother and Brian Falkner’s Brainjack. The article draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of acts of resistance (Acts of Resistance: Against the New Myths of our Time, 1998) to demonstrate how these fictional representations of hacker heroes make a direct address to their readers to use their technological expertise to achieve social justice. Rather than hacking primarily to “see if they can do it,” the protagonists of these novels acknowledge the moral ambiguity of hacking and encourage its responsible use.     

The Effect of Fine Motor Skill Activities on Kindergarten Student Attention

This study explored the effect of fine motor skill activities on the development of attention in kindergarteners (n = 68) in five classes at a suburban public school in the Intermountain West through a pretest/posttest experimental group (n = 36) control group (n = 32) design. All children received the regular curriculum which included typical fine motor activities such as painting, coloring, writing, and play activities with small items. The treatment was a series of supplemental fine motor activities in which children used tongs, tweezers, and spoons to move small items. The assessment was the attention subtest of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) (Naglieri, J. A., & Das, J. P. (1997a). Cognitive assessment system. Itasca, IL: Riverside). A significant group × sex interaction with females positively responding to the treatment was found, suggesting that fine motor skill activities are effective in increasing female kindergartners’ attention. Further studies exploring effective materials for males and factors such as student choice and interest are needed.     

Grammar for writing? An investigation of the effects of contextualised grammar teaching on students’ writing

The role of grammar instruction in the teaching of writing is contested in most Anglophone countries, with several robust meta-analyses finding no evidence of any beneficial effect. However, existing research is limited in that it only considers isolated grammar instruction and offers no theorisation of an instructional relationship between grammar and writing. This study, drawing on a theorised understanding of grammar as a meaning-making resource for writing development, set out to investigate the impact of contextualised grammar instruction on students’ writing performance. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach, with a randomised controlled trial and a complementary qualitative study. The statistical analyses indicate a positive effect on writing performance for the intervention group (e = 0.21; p < 0.001); but the study also indicates that the intervention impact differentially on different sub-groups, benefiting able writers more than weaker writers. The study is significant in being the first to supply rigorous, theorised evidence for the potential benefits of teaching grammar to support development in writing.     

Teachers as researchers: Classroom inquiry initiatives at undergraduate and graduate levels in early childhood education

Abstract

This article discusses the importance of including a teacher‐as‐researcher strand in college courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It describes four competency areas that contribute to the ability to engage in classroom inquiry including frequent and quality clinical experiences, practicing data collection methods of authentic assessment, opportunities to learn reflective practices, and experience using the inquiry cycle. Two undergraduate courses in early childhood education and a masters degree program in teaching & learning provide illustrations for embedding the teacher‐as‐researcher strand into the teacher education program. The article discusses the potential for classroom inquiry to stimulate renewal in university and public school settings. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.     

Real-World Applications and Instructional Representations Among Prospective Elementary Science Teachers

This paper explores new elementary teachers' instructional representations and how these are related to their science subject matter knowledge. One pair of prospective elementary teachers studied here exhibited a well-integrated, principled, and scientifically accurate understanding of the science they were teaching. The other pair exhibited less scientifically accurate and integrated knowledge. The pair with stronger subject matter knowledge developed instructional representations that were more scientifically and pedagogically appropriate. A perspective on one aspect of pedagogical content knowledge—knowledge of instructional representations—is presented. Real-world applications are hypothesized to play a crucial mediating role for elementary teachers. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for elementary science teacher educators and researchers, including the importance of attending to how prospective teachers apply science knowledge to real-world situations. Parts of this work were presented at the 2000 AERA and NARST meetings.     

Facilitating Learning in an Interactive Science Simulation: The Effects of Task Segmentation Guidance on Adults’ Inquiry-Based Learning and Cognitive Load

The current study investigated how a guidance method that segments a complex task into simpler subtasks affects adults’ inquiry-based learning in a science simulation environment. In a multivariate inquiry task, participants were asked to investigate the effects of all variables in one round of inquiry. In another group, participants were guided to investigate the effect of one variable at a time. The results indicate that the guided participants conducted more systematic and comprehensive investigations and reported a lower level of cognitive load compared with the unguided participants. The current findings provide implications for designing simulation-based learning environments to facilitate learning. (Keywords: scientific reasoning, inquiry learning, guidance, science education, cognitive load)     

Impact of a discrete First Peoples health course on students’ experience and development of cultural capabilities

ABSTRACT

As Australian universities move towards the mandatory inclusion of First Peoples content into undergraduate health professional programs, it is imperative to evaluate course impact and quality of teaching. A discrete First Peoples Health course underpinned by The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Curriculum Framework was evaluated using the Cultural Capability Measurement Tool (CCMT). Tool items reflect the five core cultural capabilities outlined in The Framework (Respect, Communication, Safety and Quality, Reflection, and Advocacy). All enrolled students (n?=?297) were invited to complete an online survey before and after the course. Students’ experience of course quality was assessed using a university-generated online survey. Completed surveys could be matched for 87 students (29.3% response rate). Mean increase in CCMT scores from baseline to post-course was 10.85 (95% CI 8.84, 12.86). The eta squared statistic (η^2?=?0.57) indicated a large effect. Students’ satisfaction with course quality was high (M?=?4.1 SD?=?0.96). Free text comments indicated that students valued small group teaching and reflective processes. Improved CCMT scores suggest development in students’ cultural capability. Further research needs to examine the extent to which students can sustain development of their cultural capabilities in practice.