A framework for implementing and teaching the social and ethical impact of computing

This article describes the work of Project ImpactCS, which was initiated to define the core content and pedagogical objectives for integrating social impact and ethics into the computer science (CS) curriculum. Over a three year period the project will address three major problems that hamper the implementation of across-the-board curriculum change: the lack of a well-specified definition of what the core content and learning objectives should include, the lack of a strategy for adapting and adopting existing materials that address the core topics into the existing CS curriculum, and the lack of awareness and expertise on the part of most CS faculties regarding the need and methodology for presenting such material in their courses. This report provides the conceptual frame-work and describes the learning objectives, called knowledge units, for defining a new content area in the computer science curriculum. It also discusses strategies and innovative pedagogical techniques for implementing the knowledge units into the curriculum.     

Development and evaluation of the conceptual inventory of natural selection

Natural selection as a mechanism of evolution is a central concept in biology; yet, most nonbiology‐majors do not thoroughly understand the theory even after instruction. Many alternative conceptions on this topic have been identified, indicating that the job of the instructor is a difficult one. This article presents a new diagnostic test to assess students' understanding of natural selection. The test items are based on actual scientific studies of natural selection, whereas previous tests have employed hypothetical situations that were often misleading or oversimplified. The Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS) is a 20‐item multiple choice test that employs common alternative conceptions as distractors. An original 12‐item version of the test was field‐tested with 170 nonmajors in 6 classes and 43 biology majors in 1 class at 3 community colleges. The test scores of one subset of nonmajors (n = 7) were compared with the students' performances in semistructured interviews. There was a positive correlation between the test scores and the interview scores. The current 20‐item version of the CINS was field‐tested with 206 students in a nonmajors' general biology course. The face validity, internal validity, reliability, and readability of the CINS are discussed. Results indicate that the CINS will be a valuable tool for instructors. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 952–978, 2002     

Continuing Education Module The Courage to Birth

Childbirth educator Kathryn McGrath reflects on fear and courage and comes to see some levels of fear as a normal part of the process of pregnancy and birth and not something to be brushed aside. In this article, originally presented as a keynote address in 2005 at the Lamaze International Annual Conference, McGrath discusses fear during pregnancy and birth and presents ways in which the childbirth educator can acknowledge and accept women’s fears, and help find the courage they need to give birth.     

Effects of Nature (Greenspace) on Cognitive Functioning in School Children and Adolescents: a Systematic Review

Educational Psychology Review - There is growing interest in understanding the extent to which natural environments can influence learning particularly in school contexts. Nature has the potential...     

Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates' transition to work

In 2008 the Asia New Zealand Foundation commissioned a three-year project examining Asia-born New Zealand-educated business graduates' study to work transitions. Data were collected through annual online surveys and in-depth interviews. Graduates were asked to discuss their post-study experiences, reflections on studying in New Zealand, and perceptions of their New Zealand business education. Participants included 171 (phase one), 76 (phase two) and 41 (phase three) students and recent graduates. All except one were based in New Zealand or the Asia region. In this paper we draw on “engaged pedagogy” and “functional capabilities” perspectives to consider phase two and three participants' accounts of their study to work transition pathways. Specifically, we examine two “functional capabilities” that participants discussed in relation to their post-study experiences: having economic opportunities and developing a sense of affiliation. We highlight some barriers to each “capability” that emerged in participants' accounts and consider how participants envisaged their role in fostering ongoing Asia-New Zealand connections. We conclude with some suggested implications for policy and practice in New Zealand and in internationalized HE more generally.     

Hong Kong parents and their children’s music training: measurement properties of the Parental Involvement in Music Training Questionnaire

Many Hong Kong-Chinese parents are active in their support for their children’s music training. To better understand this support, the Parental Involvement in Music Training Questionnaire (PIMTQ) is designed to measure the variability in parental involvement in their children’s music training. This study begins by exploring the factor structure of the PIMTQ and then establishes its measurement properties using Rasch modelling. Two hundred and ninety-five Hong Kong-Chinese parents completed a Chinese version of the 42-item instrument with principal components analysis of the responses showing seven factors. However, Rasch modelling showed that two of the five factors (Family Music Background and Family Music Interest) are unable to reliably predict variability in parent responses. We conclude, however, that the remaining five factors (Parental Support Toward Music Training, Parental Expectations, Home Music Environment, Music Programme Support and Attitude Toward Music) of the PIMTQ can be used as subscales to measure the involvement of Hong Kong-Chinese parents in their children’s music training.     

The politics of student voice: unravelling the multiple discourses articulated in schools

For almost two decades student voice has been used and enacted in educational settings for a range of purposes. Student voice theorists have framed it in sociocultural, social constructionist and poststructural terms. It has been located in a range of schooling discourses and there have been powerful critiques of instrumentalist uses of student voice. It has been reified for its potential to leverage schooling reform, associated with accountability, governmentality and technologies of control, and also heralded as a process to activate radical collegiality in educational settings. This article investigates how school leaders from Aotearoa/New Zealand discursively locate the complex and contested construct of student voice in their schooling settings. Drawing data from principal interviews, discourses inherent in school leader comments are analysed to consider the contribution of student voice. A consideration is provided of how young people are ascribed positions as agents in contemporary Aotearoa schools.     

Change in a culture of collegiality and consensus-seeking: a double-edged sword

ABSTRACT

The study aims to move beyond idealised and predominantly trait-based typologies of leadership and leadership roles and addresses collegial leaders’ practice of change in higher education. Collegial leaders at two research-intensive higher education institutions, who had received educational leadership training, were studied. In the study, we explored ordinary actions and change practices as a way of understanding emerging practices among collegial leaders. Five categories were identified that show how collegial leaders experience change, process change and organise the practice of change. The article also contributes a critical discussion on the notions of collegiality in a consensus-seeking context, which may be relevant for academic developers, policy makers, and researchers alike.     

The Mentoring Profile Inventory: an online professional development resource for cooperating teachers

We report on the origins, development and refinement of an online inventory to help cooperating teachers focus on selected dimensions of their practice. The Mentoring Profile Inventory (MPI) helps quantify important features of both the motivating and challenging aspects of mentoring student teachers and provides results to respondents in a graphic, easy-to-understand and immediate feedback report (14 sub-scales and 3 summary charts). Psychometric properties of the MPI are shown to be robust. Results can be used individually or collectively to facilitate cooperating teacher professional development by providing the opportunity for dialog around a set of common issues.