Metalinguistic awareness and reading strategies

Annals of Dyslexia -     

Thoughts on improvable objects, contradiction and object/tool reciprocity in a study of zoo educator professional development

In this forum we discuss three aspects designed to clarify and extend Kelly and Kassing’s paper. These are the roles of improvable objects, contradiction and object/tool reciprocity. In each case we cite relevant literature and pose questions to the field. Our goal is to seed ideas for future discussions concerning the role of activity theory in our current and future research in informal learning settings.     

Technology in Biomechanics Instruction

When used appropriately, modem technology has the potential for improving the effectiveness of biomechanics instruction. Computer presentation packages can be used to assist individuals in understanding complex concepts in a classroom setting or at a remote site. Video and force plate technology employed in progressive stages, moving from simple hand calculations to computerized data processing, can give students a better appreciation of basic principles and improve their ability to apply them in the analysis of cyclic and discrete motor skills.     

Competent performances of situated identities: Adult learners of English accessing engaged participation

The Communities of Practice (CofP) framework and theories of engaged participation have profoundly shaped how we theorize, investigate, and represent a variety of learning and teaching processes, both in and out of classroom contexts. Within this framework, useful distinctions have been made between a teaching curriculum and a learning curriculum, with the former being interrogated for ascribing limited identities to its learners and the latter valued for the ways it prioritizes learning (and its resources) from a learner's perspective. Analysis of data collected utilizing ethnographic methods (e.g. document collection, participant observation, interviews) demonstrates that, even though the teaching curriculum of one adult ESL program itself provided limited “structuring resources” (and learning opportunities) to its learners, the learners' participation in the program helped them to recognize and value the kinds of engaged participation necessary to access membership in local workplace communities of practice. However, findings also show that while these adult learners of English managed to learn and adopt the practices of one community of practice, they remained excluded from legitimate membership in other communities of practice. The analysis raises questions about the limits and possibilities of a teaching curriculum that values “real world” experiences (and situated learning) in theory but does not prioritize them in practice.     

Die Anliegen der Studierenden an Fachhochschulen: Wer/Wie/Was?

Dieser Beitrag beleuchtet den Umgang mit Studierendenanliegen iwS an Fachhochschul-Studieng?ngen. Besonderes Augenmerk wird dabei auf die Zust?ndigkeiten der beteiligten „Stakeholder“ im Fachhochschulwesen und deren Interaktion gelegt. Im Zentrum stehen die Rollen der Studiengangsleitung, des Fachhochschul-Kollegiums sowie der Studierendenvertretung. Diese Stakeholder sind ma?geblich beteiligt an der Qualit?tssicherung der Lehre an Fachhochschul-Studieng?ngen. Das Fachhochschulstudiengesetz (FHStG) wurde durch das Qualit?tssicherungsrahmengesetz (QSRG)* umfassend novelliert; dadurch ergeben sich auch ?nderungen in bezug auf den Umgang mit Studierendenanliegen. Dieser Beitrag stellt die neue Rechtslage nach dem QSRG dar. Abschlie?end wird thematisiert, inwieweit die im Fachhochschul-Recht grundgelegten Verfahren und die Aufgabenverteilung zwischen den beteiligten Personen und Organen den Erfordernissen einer effizienten und effektiven Behandlung der Studierendenanliegen entsprechen.     

‘We are the professionals’: a study of teachers’ views on parental involvement in school

The study examines teachers’ attitudes and experiences regarding home–school cooperation. Teachers constitute a powerful group in school compared with parents, and this relationship is interpreted through Bourdieu’s concept of social field, as a power relation. The empirical analyses are based on a mixed‐methods approach with survey and qualitative interviews among teachers in Norway. The results show that while teachers experience the interaction in a positive way, they try to limit parents’ influence through emphasising their own professionalism, thus leaving parents with the role as supporters. Teachers who relate to well‐educated parents are especially conscious of maintaining a distance towards the parents in order to keep them in their place.     

Faculty satisfaction in the online environment: An institutional study

A study of online faculty satisfaction was conducted at a public research university in the United States. Overall level of online faculty satisfaction at the institution, major concerns and motivating factors associated with online faculty satisfaction, and the differences between more and less satisfied online instructors were identified. One hundred two online instructors responded to the online faculty satisfaction survey. Results indicate a moderately positive level of faculty satisfaction with online teaching. Major frustrations were associated with technological difficulties, the lack of face-to-face contact, and student involvement. Satisfying elements pertained to flexibility, access, and student diversity. More satisfied online instructors reported a higher degree of student-to-instructor interaction than their less satisfied counterparts. The classification analysis resulted in 88.5% of online instructors being correctly classified.