Finding process in product: Prewriting and revision in timed essay responses

It is widely assumed that the constraints of timed essay exams will make it virtually impossible for students to engage in the major hallmarks of the writing process, especially revision, in testing situations. This paper presents the results of a study conducted at Washington State University in the Spring of 2008. The study examined the occurrence of prewriting and revision in 890 timed essay responses as well as the impact of writing process on student scores. It was found that both prewriting and revision occur more frequently in timed essays than was previously realized. While prewriting corresponded to higher scores, revision corresponded to lower scores. These results encourage composition scholars to reevaluate their assumptions about both the validity of timed writing exams and the efficacy of current practices in teaching the writing process.     

What should count as worthwhile knowledge in determining a curriculum for supporting out-of-school children and youth？

Due to the increasing number of children and youth dropping out of school, the Malawi government came up with a strategy to address their learning needs through non-formal means in its EFA plan. This resulted in the introduction of a three-year cycle pilot programme known as Complementary Basic Education （CBE）. Funded by GTZ, a German funding agency, the CBE programme has since entered its second year of implementation. This paper reports an evaluation study of the CBE programme so far, with a view of highlighting some of the challenges affecting its implementation. Using a qualitative methodology, the study found that the programme is in many respects, potentially beneficial to various groups of stakeholders including learners, their parents and the community in general. However, the study finds that the major setback in achieving this potential lies in the differences in perception of what should count as curriculum for the CBE programme between providers and beneficiaries. There is a mismatch between ＂needs＂ as perceived by learners and community members on the one hand, and ＂needs＂ as perceived by the providers on the other hand. The paper discusses some of the issues that the providers need to respond to if CBE implementation is going to be beneficial to the livelihood needs of the learners and the immediate community.     

佛名与忏仪——以张荣迁碑和陈海龙碑为中心

6世纪中国佛教忏仪流行甚广,以张荣迁碑和陈海龙碑为代表的造像碑就是最好的例证。考察发现,二碑所刻佛名分别来自《金光明经》、《法华经》和《大通方广忏悔灭罪庄严成佛经》。此文在铭文考释的基础上探讨了佛名与忏仪的关系。     

Alterations in Body Size and Composition Consequent to Astro-Trimmer and Slim-Skins Training Programs

Tennis is an activity requiring both endurance and anaerobic components, which could have immunosuppressive effects postexercise.

Purpose

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of a simulated tennis match on apoptotic and migratory markers on lymphocyte subsets.

Method

Male high school (n = 5) and college (n = 3) tennis players (M _age = 18.9 ± 3.3 years) completed 10 sets of a tennis protocol including serves, forehand strokes, and backhand groundstrokes with 1-min rest periods between sets. Apoptosis antigen 1 receptor (CD95) and chemokine receptor fractalkine (CX₃CR1) expression was analyzed on helper T lymphocytes (CD4+), cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CD8+), and B lymphocytes (CD19+) twice, at resting baseline and immediately after all 10 sets of the tennis protocol.

Results

An increase was observed in each lymphocyte subtype (p < .02, effect size = .41), and comparison of absolute changes revealed increases in CD4+/CD95+, CD8+/CD95+, and CD8+/CX₃CR1 lymphocytes following the tennis protocol (p < .01, effect size = .43), but not in CD19+ cells.

Conclusions

A simulated tennis match has adequate intensity to induce immune modulations in terms of increased cell death and cellular migration in T lymphocyte subsets. Lymphocytopenia following tennis play is influenced by both apoptotic and migratory mechanisms.     

Singing our song: the affordances of singing in an intergenerational,multimodal literacy programme

This exploratory case study examined the affordances of singing as a multimodal literacy practice within ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media produced in an intergenerational programme that served a class of kindergarten children and community elders. The programme that was set up by the study in collaboration with a rural school and elders' organisation saw participants meet one afternoon a week for most of a school year. Study questions concerned the meaning making and relationship‐building opportunities afforded to the participants as they worked through chains of multimodal projects. Data were collected using ethnographic tools in an elders' home where the projects were completed and in the kindergarten where project content and tools were introduced to the children and extended by the classroom teacher. Themes were identified through the juxtaposition of data in relation to the literature and study questions. Results indicate that singing provided opportunities for participants to form relationships and make meaning as a group while combining modes. Study findings foreground the communicative power of singing and suggest how singing, when viewed through a multimodal lens, might be a potent tool for multimodal literacy learning.     

Bridging the gap: the challenges of employing entrepreneurial processes within university settings

In Australia and elsewhere, universities face increasing pressure to improve research output and quality, particularly through partnerships with industry. This raises interesting challenges for academic staff with considerable industry experience who are ‘new’ to academe. Some of these challenges were faced by the authors who have been successful in generating research, consultancy and executive education funds since joining academe and been somewhat surprised at being described as successful researchers and entrepreneurs. Taking a reflexive look to identify and make explicit our practice through the lenses of social capital and the entrepreneurial process, we identified 10 practices. However, we remain troubled by the dissonance between organisational rhetoric and its rewards for entrepreneurial activities. We offer some considerations for universities to help bridge this gap.     

Differential effects on the achievement of males and females of teaching the particulate nature of chemistry

Chemistry concepts in three 2‐week modules were presented to a treatment and control group of high school students from 10 different high schools. The treatment group was taught using three representations of matter (macroscopic, particulate, and symbolic), whereas only two representations (macroscopic and symbolic) were used with the control group. The treatment group scored significantly higher across the combined score of all three modules. When the data were analyzed for gender–group interactions, females who were taught the particulate representation scored as well as males whereas those who were not taught the particulate representation scored significantly lower than males. Teaching males the particulate representation did not significantly affect males' achievement. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 911–927, 2002     

A school wide approach to leading pedagogical enhancement: An Australian perspective

This paper presents how some Australian schools are changing their approaches to leading the teaching and learning in their diverse and multi-characteristic contexts. Experiences of these schools shows that the development of a school wide approach to pedagogy and its implementation needs to be firmly embedded in the leadership of learning. Drawing on recent research conducted in the Sydney Catholic Education Office system in Australia (Crowther et al. in Leading and Managing 18(2):1–33, 2012) there is evidence of relationship between the development and implementation of a school wide approach to pedagogy and student achievement. There is also evidence to support leadership that is based on a mutualistic relationship between teacher leaders and the principal. This paper focuses on the way schools have used their visions and pedagogical frameworks to enhance whole of school quality outcomes. It highlights the power of teacher leaders taking responsibility for pedagogical development and implementation. In addition, it illustrates the power of mutualistic relationships (parallel leadership) when the principal takes responsibility for unleashing and trusting the creative expertise of teacher leaders in line with the role of strategic leadership and management.