Scientific collaboratories in higher education: exploring learning style preferences and perceptions of technology

Scientific collaboratories hold the promise of providing students access to specialized scientific instruments, data and experts, enabling learning opportunities perhaps otherwise not available. However, evaluation of scientific collaboratories in higher education has lagged behind their development. We conducted a repeated‐measures study that provided data regarding social interaction learning styles and perceptions of a scientific collaboratory system from 40 university science students working face‐to‐face and remotely. Students with a strong competitive learning style preference or who worked with a student with a strong competitive learning style reported a slightly more positive perception of the relative advantage, compatibility and complexity of the collaboratory system. Students with a strong individualistic learning style preference or who worked with a student with a strong individualistic learning style reported a more negative perception of the observability of the system. No relationships were found between students’ cooperative learning style preference and their perceptions of the system after using it face‐to‐face or remotely.     

Research Circles: Supporting the Scholarship of Junior Faculty

This article describes and assesses “Research Circles” as a mechanism for enhancing faculty collegiality and research. Recently established on our campus, these circles, composed of three to four faculty members, have had a particularly powerful effect on the new faculty members' adjustment to their tenure track positions, especially since they entered a context that might otherwise have been challenging: a new interdisciplinary upper-division campus with high expectations for teaching excellence. Based on the end-of-year evaluations, journals, and focus groups, the co-authors described themes that emerged from their participation in these circles. Circle participation not only facilitated faculty writing throughout their first year, but it also fostered the development of an interdisciplinary community which nurtured creativity and risk taking in writing. All authors are currently teaching in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) at The University of Washington, Bothell (UWB). Except for Diane Gillespie, Professor and Associate Director of IAS, all other authors are Assistant Professors in IAS. Diane Gillespie received her Ph.D. in cultural and psychological studies in education from The University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her interests include critical pedagogy, narrative psychology, and cultural diversity. Nives Dolšak received a joint Ph.D. in public policy and political science from Indiana University. Her interests include public policy, environmental policy, and international relations. Bruce Kochis, received his Ph.D. in Slavic languages & literatures at the University of Michigan. He focuses on global human rights policy, discourse analysis, and political theory. Ron Krabill received his Ph.D. in sociology and historical studies from New School for Social Research. His interests include comparative media, politics and social movements with a special emphasis on South Africa, as well as the study of peace, conflict, social justice, and human rights. Kari Lerum received her Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Washington. Her interests include culture, organizations, sexuality, qualitative methods, and visual studies. Anne Peterson received her Ph.D. from Washington University. Her interests include urban politics and policy and the distribution of natural resources at the local level. Elizabeth Thomas received her Ph.D. in psychology from The University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign. Her interests include community-based resources for adolescent development, cultural psychology, and the social context of learning.     

The Critical Role of Vocabulary Development for English Language Learners

English language learners (ELLs) who experience slow vocabulary development are less able to comprehend text at grade level than their English‐only peers. Such students are likely to perform poorly on assessments in these areas and are at risk of being diagnosed as learning disabled. In this article, we review the research on methods to develop the vocabulary knowledge of ELLs and present lessons learned from the research concerning effective instructional practices for ELLs. The review suggests that several strategies are especially valuable for ELLs, including taking advantage of students' first language if the language shares cognates with English; ensuring that ELLs know the meaning of basic words, and providing sufficient review and reinforcement. Finally, we discuss challenges in designing effective vocabulary instruction for ELLs. Important issues are determining which words to teach, taking into account the large deficits in second‐language vocabulary of ELLs, and working with the limited time that is typically available for direct instruction in vocabulary.     

Measuring teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction

This article describes the development of an instrument to measure teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction, the Teacher Knowledge of Vocabulary Survey (TKVS). This type of knowledge has become increasingly important as all classroom teachers are expected to help students meet language and literacy standards that include vocabulary acquisition. While a few studies have measured teacher knowledge of reading, there are no known instruments for measuring teachers’ knowledge of vocabulary development and instruction. However, vocabulary is a crucial determinant of reading comprehension and content area knowledge, particularly for English learners (Graves, August, & Mancilla-Martinez, 2013). Statements about vocabulary development and instruction were gathered from foundational texts, reviewed by subject matter experts, and researched in cognitive labs for possible inclusion as items in the TKVS. The survey’s 52 statements comprise 6 categories, including one section on vocabulary development, four sections on instruction, and one section on instruction specifically for English learners. Ratings of item difficulty by subject matter experts were then used to distinguish three levels of teacher knowledge of vocabulary: emergent, intermediate, and expert. Fifty teachers completed the TKVS, and their performance was found to correlate with the experts’ predicted difficulties of the items. Initial analyses provide evidence for the content and construct validity of the TKVS as a measure of teacher knowledge of vocabulary development and effective instruction. The discussion considers implications for the use of the instrument, including as a needs assessment or guide for professional development for both preservice and inservice teachers.     

Student involvement in assessment: a project designed to assess class participation fairly and reliably

This article describes a project designed to ensure that class participation in a large introductory commercial law course is assessed fairly and reliably. The subjectivity often associated with this type of assessment is minimized by involving students in the specification of clear criteria and the assessment process as they were asked to assess themselves and their peers. Formative feedback is given mid‐way through the semester so that students have the opportunity to take remedial measures where necessary and teachers can reinforce positive behaviour. The data are analyzed to determine the relationships between the assessments given by the students, their peers and tutors. There is evidence of some gender bias in Week 13 that is not consistent with the final marks. Finally, the combining of the individual assessment of the criteria is shown to be a good estimate of the final class participation mark given by the tutors and the students.     

Weaving Together Undergraduate Research, Mentoring of Junior Faculty, and Assessment: The Case of an Interdisciplinary Program

Scholars in teaching and learning value student research and program assessment as strategies to promote excellence in undergraduate education. Yet, in practice, each can be complex and difficult to sustain. This case study demonstrates how undergraduate research, mentoring of junior faculty, and assessment can be integrated in ways that enrich the educational experiences of students and the professional development of faculty and improve research on teaching and learning. The authors describe a lively undergraduate research project that became tied to the mentoring of assistant professors and then to program assessment. We conclude with recommendations for implementing such a project in other academic settings. Elizabeth Thomas is Assistant Professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington Bothell. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and teaches courses on inquiry in the social sciences, community psychology, and psychology and the arts. Her research examines sociocultural contexts for learning and development with a particular focus on the role of the arts and the potential of participatory action research strategies. Diane Gillespie is Professor and Associate Director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) at The University of Washington, Bothell, received her Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln in Cultural and Psychological Studies in Education. She teaches multicultural social science courses and qualitative research. Her recent publications explore the importance of narrative for reflective teaching and learning, learning in small groups, and the role of human rights in nonformal education.     

Women and Nature: Using memory-work to rethink our relationship to the natural world

Memory-work is a feminist research methodology that is used by research collectives to study socialization within the dominant values that make up a particular culture. The power of memory-work lies with its potential to interrupt hegemonic ways of seeing and knowing the world. Consequently, it can open up possibilities for individual and social transformation. Intrigued by memory-work, the authors of this article formed a research collective and studied their socialization in relation to the natural world. We examined our early memories of trees and the natural elements earth, air, fire, and water. Initial analysis of these memories showed predictable and gendered patterns of socialization reflecting dominant values in relation to nature. For example, fathers defined many of our experiences in the natural world and taught us that nature was separate from the human realm and subject to control. Additional analysis of the memories moved us below this layer of socialization. We found sensual connection with the elements and discovered the influence of our mothers.     

Effects of learner control,advisement, and prior knowledge on young students' learning in a hypertext environment

This study was an investigation of the effects of learner control and of advisement in a hypertext learning environment with second-grade students who had different levels of prior knowledge about the content. Four treatment conditions crossing two variables, learner control (free access representing network structuring of hypertext vs. limited access representing hierarchical structuring of hypertext), and advisement (advisement vs. no-advisement), were established. From the quantitative and qualitative data, results indicated that: (a) for low prior knowledge (PK) students, the limited-access condition was more effective than the free-access condition, whereas high-PK students were able to function equally well in both conditions; (b) the free-access group reported a higher positive attitude for advisement than for no advisement, but the limited-access group showed no such difference in preference; (c) the low-PK group completed the lesson more quickly without advisement than with advisement, whereas the high-PK group's completion times did not vary across advisement conditions; and (d) analysis of the path data indicated that advisement was helpful in preventing disorientation in the free-access condition.     

Welcoming Families: A Parent Literacy Project in a Linguistically Rich,High-Poverty School

This article focuses on a parent literacy project that included shared reading and how to support this strategy with families who have a home language other than English and live in poverty circumstances. Literature about the importance of shared reading to children’s literacy development is shared in tandem with the importance of building parent and school collaborations. Details are provided about the literacy project of working with families at Greenbrae Elementary with supporting photographs and parent comments. Strategies to bring such an approach to other schools are described with many pragmatic concerns addressed.     

Parenting Attributions and Attitudes in Cross-Cultural Perspective

OBJECTIVE: This article used the Parenting Across Cultures Project to evaluate similarities and differences in mean levels and relative agreement between mothers' and fathers' attributions and attitudes in parenting in 9 countries. DESIGN: Mothers and fathers reported their perceptions of causes of successes and failures in caregiving and their progressive versus authoritarian childrearing attitudes. Gender and cultural similarities and differences in parents' attributions and attitudes in 9 countries were analyzed: China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, or the United States. RESULTS: Although mothers and fathers did not differ in any attribution, mothers reported more progressive parenting attitudes and modernity of childrearing attitudes than did fathers, and fathers reported more authoritarian attitudes than did mothers. Country differences also emerged in all attributions and attitudes that were examined. Mothers' and fathers' attributions and their attitudes were moderately correlated, but parenting attitudes were more highly correlated in parents than were attributions. CONCLUSIONS: We draw connections among the findings across the 9 countries and outline implications for understanding similarities and differences in mothers' and fathers' parenting attributions and attitudes.