Questioning Techniques: A Study of Instructional Practice

To what extent do teachers use questions to encourage deeper thinking and elicit fuller responses? How do teachers use the levels of questions and wait time as a teaching technique? How do teachers make space for students to talk together so that their thoughts are visible to other students? This article seeks to provide answers to these important questions through a review of the literature that begins with a study of the history of questioning, and then turns to the following topics: developing higher level thinking through questioning strategies; the role of wait time within the context of classroom climate and peer interactions; and higher order questioning strategies aligned with student achievement in reading and language arts. Although the author's frame of reference for how these issues play out is within the context of a school where students’ ability to articulate understanding and their own point of view is purposefully promoted and highly valued, the insights will have broad applicability across a full spectrum of schools.     

Factors contributing to mathematical problem-solving performance: An exploratory study

This paper describes differences in mathematical problem-solving performance of third-grade gifted and fifth-grade average students observed during an eight week period. Results indicated that such factors as attitude, motivation, and belief systems were important to performance. In addition there were major differences in problem-solving behavior between the girls and boys in this study. Because these results were incidental to the original questions of the study (Buchanan, 1984), they were deemed especially significant. Four groups, one of third-grade gifted boys, one of third-grade gifted girls, one of average boys and one of fifth-grade average girls met with the experimenter twice a week for eight weeks to solve a variety of mathematical problems. In the global analysis of video tapes of all sessions and post hoc statistical analysis of selected quantifiable variables, differences in problem-solving performance were best described in terms of motivation, beliefs about mathematics, problem-solving strategies, and means of achieving satisfaction. In addition, the girls' groups were more ego-involved and social; they completed fewer problems and had longer solution times than the boys' groups. Further holistic research is needed to describe the complex interaction that occurs during mathematical problem solving in group situations. Then, appropriate intervention might be designed to assure that both boys and girls have an opportunity to perform at optimum levels.     

Faith,Race, and LGB Affirmation: Experiences of African American Counselors‐in‐Training

In this phenomenological study, the authors investigated the experiences of African American counselors‐in‐training, with roots in the Black church, as they navigated their faith and professional responsibilities to provide affirming services to lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients. Findings suggest attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients are intertwined with faith, race, and community allegiance.     

A cross-national survey of cultural expectations and sex-role standards in reading

Cultural expectations and sex-role standards about reading in Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Israel, Japan, and U.S.A. were investigated. A picture test showing various activities and objects including reading and books was administered in each country to six sub-samples that approximated to the levels: students in grades I, IV, VIII, and XII, college students, and adults. Subjects had to ascribe the activity or object as being appropriate for either a boy or a girl. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that cultural expectations and sex-role standards about reading are congruent within one country but that they differ between countries. In particular, boys in Canada and the U.S.A. rapidly learn to perceive reading as a feminine activity, whereas Danish and Japanese males at all ages consistently view reading as acceptable masculine behaviour.     

An Informed Look at Doctoral Vivas (Oral Examinations) in the Preparation of Counselor Educators

Viva voce is the Latin expression traditionally used to refer to doctoral oral examinations. Viva voce, or simply viva, examinations are a standard requirement for doctoral candidacy and degree completion in many counselor education programs. Despite the prevalent use of vivas as an assessment and learning tool, the counselor education literature is scant on information about their rationale, method, and impact. Current trends toward transparency and accountability in higher education now require that counselor educators and researchers take steps to ensure that the use of vivas is justified beyond tradition alone.     

Beyond a Rule‐Following Model of Skillful Practice in Teacher Development

Both contemporary popular and scholarly discourse on teacher development and evaluation assumes the truth of a certain view of normative human behavior, one that holds that skill in a given domain is predicated upon the application of maxims, rules, or principles in a given situation. Such a view would allow one to isolate behaviors associated with expert practice, distill the rules that give rise to them, and both develop new teachers and evaluate practicing teachers on the basis of such maxims. In this essay, Derek Gottlieb argues that the phenomenon of skillful teaching, and studies thereof, expose the inconsistencies and confusion underlying this model, encouraging the field generally to consider alternative holistic accounts of expert teacher practice as we seek to train and appraise great teachers.     

The View from Above

Abstract

In South Africa the education system for black children is fraught with problems. These problems are the direct result of apartheid and have been compounded by poverty and illiteracy. In this article the problem of poorly qualified or unqualified teachers is discussed especially with regard to the teaching of map skills to children in their fifth school year. The project team needed to develop affordable materials which could be used in large classes by teachers after a very short period of training. Books and other materials which are available commercially were examined, but for various reasons were found to be unsuitable for local conditions. After determining the extent of the problem, the project team followed a grassroots process of developing a flip chart which teachers learnt to use with confidence and which enabled pupils to master the concepts and skills necessary for understanding a map.     

Popular Music

Brad Benedict and Linda Barton's Phonographics: Contemporary Album Cover Art and Design (New York: Collier Books/Macmillan Publishing, 1977—$9.95, paper)

George McCue, ed. Music in American Society, 1776-1976: From Puritan Hymn to Synthesizer (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Inc., 1977—$14.95/3.95)

Dean Tudor and Andrew D. Armitage, comps. Popular Music Periodicals Index, 1975 (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1976—$15.00)

Derek Jewell, Duke: A Portrait of Duke Ellington (New York: Norton, 1977—$9.95)

Stanley Dance, The World of Earl Hines (New York: Scribner's, 1977—$14.95/7.95     

Academic Digital Libraries of the Future: An Environment Scan

Libraries are attempting to face a future in which almost every fixed point has disappeared. Users are changing; content is changing; research is taking new forms. Indeed the very need for libraries is being questioned in some quarters. This paper explores the nature of the changes and challenges facing higher education libraries and suggests key areas of strength and core activities which should be exploited to secure their future.