New measures of college selectivity

Institutional averages of entering freshman scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) were combined and edited to produce a single institutional measure of selectivity for 2,601 institutions. Older scores were adjusted to reflect decreasing performance over time, and ACT scores were converted to SAT equivalents, resulting in a final measure that reflects 1973 performance levels and is expressed as an SAT Verbal plus Mathematical score (range 400–1,600). Actual scores were available for 1,803 schools; the remaining schools with missing values were given an imputed score based upon means from similar institutions among the 1,803. Correlations between scores from different years and between the final measure and 19 institutional attributes indicated substantial reliability and validity for the selectivity measure.     

The relevance of “recent and relevant” experience

The importance of recent and relevant experience is being asserted for teacher educators though not others responsible for education policy and curriculum. The paper will review the “self evident” value of recent and relevant experience from the perspective of researcher/teacher educator returning to classroom teaching. The potential and implications for research on teaching and learning and the opportunities for more significant school experience in teacher education are outlined. Specializations: teacher education, science education, health education, curriculum evaluation and research.     

University academics’ experience of research and its relationship to their experience of teaching

There has been a growing research debate over the relations between university teaching and research. This paper contributes to that debate by describing the variation in the way university academics’ experience research, then linking that empirical evidence with previous work to explicate the relations between variation in research, teaching, and understanding of the subject matter being taught. Previous investigations have shown that conceptual change/student-focussed approaches to teaching are associated with clear articulation of the important aspects of the subject matter being taught, how those aspects relate to each other, and how the teacher situates their understanding of the subject matter in the field as a whole. However, teachers who were unable to explain their understanding of their subject matter in these ways were more likely to experience their teaching as a process of information transfer from a teacher-focussed perspective. Since the characteristics of the first type of understanding subject matter resemble processes underlying the experience of active researchers, these findings seemed to justify a more intensive search for evidence of the link between effective university teaching and research. Interviews have been conducted with 37 university teachers who had strong publication and grant success records and who were teaching and researching in similar topic areas. They represent a range of disciplines and universities, and from both the UK and Australia. The study methods and results are described and we conclude that qualitative variation in the experience of research is related (a) moderately to experience of teaching and (b) strongly to experience of understanding the subject matter.

A Model for Creating Engaged Land-Grant Universities: Penn State’s Engagement Ladder Model

The original mission of the state and land-grant university was to engage with communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for the citizenry. Today most state and land-grant universities have moved far away from their original mission and are struggling to become engaged with the communities they serve. In this case study, we highlight some of the steady progress toward engagement that has recently occurred at The Pennsylvania State University. We catalogue how strong vision and leadership; infrastructure reorganization; and the active involvement of faculty, students, and community partners have revitalized the land-grant mission at Penn State. Keith R. Aronson is the Assistant Director of the Social Science Research Institute and the Children, Youth, and Families Consortium, The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Aronson received his B.A. from Rutgers University, M.A. from Ball State University, and Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a clinical psychologist with a specialization in biobehavioral health and is interested in understanding how research conducted at universities and colleges can better impact communities. Nicole Webster is Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Extension Education, The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Webster received her B.A. from the University of Florida and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Her special interest is in service-learning research, particularly among minority youth.     

Cross‐Age Peer Tutoring of Reading and Thinking: Influence on thinking skills

Outcomes for methods to accelerate thinking skills involving some peer interaction have been more consistently positive than those for purely teacher‐directed or materials‐led methods. However, methods involving mainly or only peer interaction are rare. This paper describes and evaluates such a method for peer tutoring in thinking skills, which scaffolds interactive discourse based on a differentiated real book the tutorial pair has chosen to read together. This pilot study aimed to partial the impact on quality of thinking of a peer‐tutored thinking intervention from that of a peer‐tutored reading intervention, controlling for time on task and amount of peer interactivity. Experimental peer tutees were a whole class (n=28) of seven‐year‐olds; experimental tutors a whole class (n=31) of 11‐year‐olds. Comparison tutees were a whole class (n=27) of seven‐year‐olds; comparison tutors a whole class (n=30) of 11‐year‐olds. Classes/teachers within the same school were randomly assigned to conditions. In Phase 1, a paired reading intervention was implemented for six weeks for all groups. In Phase 2, the experimental classes of tutors and tutees engaged in the “paired thinking” (PT) method for 10 weeks, while the comparison group continued with paired reading. Both treatments involved one 20‐minute session weekly. Pre‐ and post‐test assessment of thinking skills and attitude to reading for all participants was conducted and post hoc subjective feedback gathered from participants. The experimental (PT) tutees showed significantly better performance in thinking skills than comparison (PR only) tutees, and some evidence of improved attitudes to reading. However, this was not true for the experimental (PT) tutors. Subjective feedback was very positive from the PT tutees and class teachers, but less positive from the PT tutors. Given the brevity and low cost in time and resources of the treatment, the finding of significant differences in measured thinking skills for the PT tutees is considered encouraging. Recommendations for refining organizational aspects of the implementation of PT and for future research are made.     

Communication on a problem solving task in cooperative learning groups

Summary There is some evidence from this study that reflectivity within cooperative learning groups develops over time. Preliminary observations suggest that Slavin's third and fourth levels of skills, those of reflection and reasoning and reconception and reformulation and Kempa and Ayob's higher levels of explanation and insight appear more advanced in groups strategically managed by teachers for such outcomes. Later analyses will permit more detailed accounts of the relationships between the teacher's management strategies, and reflection within groups of different gender composition. Specializations: science teacher education. Specializations: studies in twentieth century science education in Australia, teacher education.     

Practicalizing piaget at the asep guidelines conference 1970

‘To understand is to invent’ (Piaget, 1968). This paper examines the attempt of Les Dale, the Assistant Director of the Australian Science Education Project, to apply Piagetian theory to describing a theory of instruction for the Project. The historiographical method consists in examining and comparing instances of curriculum invention in science education in Australia starting with contemporary and retrospective accounts of the key figures (Fawns 1988a). This paper is a case record (Stenhouse, 1978) which synthesises public and personal material in the files collected by the author. It has been subjected to review by Dale and others including those to whom it was presented at A.S.E.R.A. It accompanies an earlier paper (Fawns, 1989) which assessed the social context of the Debate at the Guidelines Conference 20 years on. Specializations: studies in twentieth century science education in Australia, teacher education.     

Students' Ideas and Attitudes about Air Quality

The results of a large scale (N=1001) cross-sectional (Years 6, 8 and 10) study of students' ideas about the composition of unpolluted air, the nature of air pollution, the biological consequences of air pollution, and about acid rain and the Greenhouse Effect are reported. A range of persistent alternative conceptions were identified, in some instances with increasing frequency across grades. Students' attitudes towards education, obligation, legislation or taxation as a way of reducing air pollution were determined; the first two were the most favoured. Increased attention to particular gas and air pollution concepts is recommended; other pedagogical implications are discussed.     

The missing voice of culturally relevant teachers in school restructuring

This article addresses the role of exemplary teachers of students of color in educational reform. Using an ethnographic study of two urban junior high schools in the beginning stages of restructuring, I describe threeculturally relevant teachers who create empowering educational experiences for low-achieving African American students. Despite their exemplary practice and their enthusiasm for educational change, thewisdom of practice of these teachers was largely discounted in the restructuring process. They were marginalized by ideological and political contexts which suppressed racial issues and advocacy for African American students and which supported a deficit model of low-achieving African American students. Restructuring fostered little examination of policies, practices, and beliefs which tended to marginalize African American students. This research suggests that professional dialogue and collaboration are mediated by teachers' ideologies and by relations of power in schools and communities. If exemplary teachers of children of color are to influence educational change, reformers need to legitimize their knowledge and sponsor their leadership. Also, reforms that benefit marginalized children of color may require the mobilization and participation of parents and communities of color as well as their teacher-advocates. Even though I'm not doing the Mentoring and Counseling Program any more, I can't reject them. They know I care about them. They know when you're not pretending. You don't turn off realness. Paulette I find them where they are. I say, “You've told stories. When you say, ‘The way I see it,’ that's point of view.” I just do it like that. When kids believe you think they can learn, they will. Samuel We have to challenge these students. When we don't give them an opportunity, we're taking something away from them. Helen