Distributed leadership in a Maltese college: the voices of those among whom leadership is ‘distributed’ and who concurrently narrate themselves as leadership ‘distributors’

In the unfolding Maltese education scenario of decentralization and school networking, I explore distributed leadership as it occurs at the college level through the leaders’ narrative and performance in an investigation of the power relations among the different-tiered leaders. This article uses data from the case study of a Maltese college consisting of four primary and three secondary schools. Using these data from an ongoing doctoral study, all subjected to narrative and discourse analysis, I adopt the stance of a ‘story teller’, as I craft a narrative from the data to represent a ‘play of voices’. Foucault’s theories of power, governmentality, discourse and subjectivation are used to explore the unfolding of power relations. Analysis reveals a dichotomy between the leaders’ narrative of distributed leadership and their performance of it. There is the presence of a raging battle among the discourses of collegiality and isolationism, through the discourse of distributed leadership, and within the discourse of educational leadership itself. Distributed leadership is a challenge to perform at the college level; with resistance being demonstrated in overt or more subtle ways along the different hierarchies, although power does circulate. This article contributes to educational leadership literature with regard to the power relations among top educational leaders in a networked school setting.     

Development of a ‘universal’ rubric for assessing undergraduates' scientific reasoning skills using scientific writing

We developed a rubric for measuring students' ability to reason and write scientifically. The Rubric for Science Writing (Rubric) was tested in a variety of undergraduate biology laboratory courses (total n = 142 laboratory reports) using science graduate students (teaching assistants) as raters. Generalisability analysis indicates that the Rubric provides a reliable measure of students' abilities (g = 0.85) in these conditions. Comparison of student performance in various biology classes indicated that some scientific skills are more challenging for students to develop than others and identified a number of previously unappreciated gaps in the curriculum. Our findings suggest that use of the Rubric provides three major benefits in higher education: (1) to increase substance and consistency of grading within a course, particularly those staffed by multiple instructors or graduate teaching assistants; (2) to assess student achievement of scientific reasoning and writing skills; and (3) when used in multiple courses, to highlight gaps in alignment among course assignments and provide a common metric for assessing to what extent the curriculum is achieving programmatic goals. Lastly, biology graduate students reported that use of the Rubric facilitated their teaching and recommended that training on the Rubric be provided to all teaching assistants.     

A Framework for User Agency during Development of Interactive Risk Visualization Tools

ABSTRACT

Participating in user-centered design provides potential users of interactive risk visualization tools agency in influencing tool development. This article identifies and characterizes pathways for agency that users may experience as they participate in design of interactive tools for visualizing environmental risks. We present an empirically based conceptual framework for better understanding user agency during visualization tool development based on findings from interviews with professional visualization tool developers and discuss practical implications and future research recommendations.     

Research and a professional development programme on teaching learning strategies as part of course content

Abstract

There is evidence that many students leave university without effective learning strategies and skills that would facilitate their learning in the future. For example, they can complete their university courses without developing information skills or a love of learning, with only a limited repertoire of learning strategies, and with no intention of engaging in further learning. While these findings indicate a need for universities to review the structure of courses and the way that they are taught and assessed, it is not necessary to wait for this to happen. Within existing course structures, universities can help prepare students for lifelong learning by teaching them learning strategies. This is best done if the strategies are taught by university teachers in the context of their regular coursework. We have confirmed in our research and professional development projects that this can be done. In an experimental study, we investigated the effects of explicidy teaching students learning strategies in the context of their regular coursework. This research indicated that students who were taught learning strategies in the context of their regular coursework used them effectively and achieved better results than students who were taught in the conventional way. In a professional development project, we taught university teachers from a variety of subject areas to teach learning strategies to students in their own courses. These teachers were successful in helping students develop a repertoire of effective learning strategies and display greater commitment to their learning.     

Contributions from sociology of science to mathematics education in Brazil: logic as a system of beliefs

In Brazil, mathematics education was associated with Jean Piaget’s theory. Scholars in the field of education appropriated Piaget’s work in different ways, but usually emphasized logical aspects of thought, which probably lead to an expansion of mathematics education influenced by psychology. This study attempts to extend the range of interlocutions and pose a dialogue between the field of mathematics education in Brazil and the sociology of science proposed by David Bloor. The main point of Bloor’s theory is that logical-mathematical knowledge is far from being true and universal and is socially conditioned. In particular we will be discussing the first principle of the strong program, which deals with conditions that generate beliefs promoted by education policies in Brazil, such as the MEC/USAID treaties. In this case the “naturalization of logic” was stimulated by a widespread diffusion of both Piaget studies and the Modern Mathematics Movement.     

Factors that Predict Married Partners' Disclosures about Infertility to Social Network Members

This study draws upon the revelation risk model and the disclosure decision-making model to deduce hypotheses linking perceived stigma, communication efficacy, and relational closeness to married partners’ tendencies to disclose information about their infertility experiences to members of the couple's social network. Data from 50 couples reporting on disclosures to a total of 250 social network members were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results indicated that aspects of stigma, communication efficacy, and closeness impact infertility-related disclosures. The discussion highlights how the application of these theories sheds light on the multiple factors that influence the extent to which husbands and wives engage their social network when coping with infertility.     

Learning for All: Teaching Students,Faculty, and Staff with Screencasting

Three academic librarians from different departments at the Auraria Library—instruction, systems, and technical services—share a common methodology to teach students, academic faculty, and colleagues. These librarians use screencasting as an essential and creative technique to instruct all users. Patrons receive greater value when the authors sacrifice perfection and respond immediately to on-campus and distance learners' needs with short and rapidly-produced online tutorials. This article presents guidance and rationale for creating, evaluating, and publicizing similar tutorials.