Do all roads really lead to Rome? The case of spelling acquisition

The French orthographic code is complex, and its acquisition is laborious (Catach, 2008; Fayol & Jaffré, 2008). Three hypotheses attempt to explain orthographic knowledge acquisition (OKA). For some, exposure to the code leads to OKA through a self-learning process (Share, 2004). For others, OKA benefits from graphophonological processes (Coltheart, Rastle, Perry, Langdon, & Ziegler, 2001). Finally, some authors suggest that OKA is possible thanks to visual specific processes (Ans, Carbonnel, & Valdois, 1998). The main goal of this study was to test these hypotheses in a classroom context with comparable samples. In total, 143 2nd-grade children participated in this quasi-experimental study with a pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest design. We assigned participants to one of four conditions. For three conditions, we created three teaching procedures based on each of the hypotheses: frequency of contacts with target words; explicit teaching of graphophonological properties of words; explicit teaching of visual properties of words. The fourth served as a control group. ANOVA analyses indicated that all three experimental conditions favored OKA, showing that the different teaching procedures led to spelling development. However, the visual condition was the most favorable. Three main conclusions can be drawn from this study: (a) models of OKA should account for the different paths that can lead to spelling acquisition; (b) visual properties of words and their acquisition need additional research, and (c) applied research in real classroom contexts is not only relevant for informing teaching practices but also for better understanding how learning takes place.

     

Steps to abstract reasoning: An interdisciplinary program for cognitive development

A learning cycle approach to undergraduate instruction was implemented in a variety of subjects in the liberal arts and sciences. The students in the experimental program were typical representatives of an institution with liberal admissions policies. Significant gains were made in critical thinking and cognitive skill development by the experimental group. Additionally, retention of the experimental group was improved. Gains of this sort have the potential to rekindle hope in college faculties that some of the traditional goals of higher education that center on critical thinking and cognitive skill development need not be abandoned in institutions with liberal admissions policies.     

Combining issues of “girl-suited” science teaching,STS and constructivism in a physics textbook

This paper outlines the design of a physics textbook that addresses issues of gender-inclusive physics teaching, STS and constructivism. Difficulties of addressing these issues in a textbook for normal classes, which has to compete with other textbooks on the market will be discussed. Specializations: constructivist approaches in science education research and practice. Specializations: gender issues in science instruction. Specializations: primary education, integrated science. Specializations: STS, phenomenological oriented physics instruction. Specializations: peace education within science education.     

Knowing and learning about science in a preservice setting: A narrative study

This study employs narrative methods to give a holistic view of the experiences of five mature age preservice teachers in a semester unit of science education. The unit was designed to help teachers examine and make explicit their ideas about science and science teaching and consider ways in which they might put those ideas into practice. The pivotal theme, around which the teachers' experiences could be organised, was found to be learning science. The preservice teachers expressed a need for a supportive learning environment in which concepts were built gradually and introduced using concrete examples. Previous science experience was found to be a major influence on the attitudes the participants brought to the present course. A lack of previous experience or negative past experiences were a major cause of anxiety. Gender was also important as it had limited the science experiences available to some participants in the past and continued to influence the way they participated in classes during the semester. Specializations: primary science, science teacher education, primary school field experience. Specializations: formation of teachers' knowledge, leadership, teacher change, school reform.     

Emergent Supervisors: Comparing Counseling Center and Non‐Counseling‐Center Interns' Supervisory Training Experiences

Predoctoral interns' responses to an internship supervision training questionnaire indicated that counseling center interns supervised more trainees, received more supervision in their supervisory roles, reported more supervision training activities, and yielded higher supervisor development scores than did non‐counseling‐center interns. A qualitative analysis of participants' responses showed that non‐counseling‐center interns desired more supervision training and opportunities to provide supervision during their internship year than did counseling center interns.     

Why does language matter to education?

Discussions concerning ??literacy?? make it clear that the domain of language has become a focal point for educational policy. In such discussions, language is primarily treated as a basic communication tool. This paper examines, from a philosophical perspective, how appropriate this approach to language is. The philosophical validity of this dominant tendency is analyzed with reference to the work of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. Once the stable relationship conceived by Humboldt among the individual, language, and the world is lost, education displays its more distinctive features, which we see clearly in Nietzsche and Wittgenstein. Both of these philosophers focused their investigation on the rhetorical or performative aspects of language. In contrast to Nietzsche, however, Wittgenstein did not abandon the hope of finding in language the function of showing reality, even if what is said and what is shown remain incongruent. This perspective in Wittgenstein is salient against the dominant tendency, in which the mediating function of language is sought in the dimension of conformity and usefulness.     

Die ?sterreichische Studierendenanwaltschaft: ein effizientes Beschwerdeinstrument oder Multifunktions-Hybrid?

Bereits 1997 ist im damaligen Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Verkehr die Studierendenanwaltschaft, ?hnlich wie andere Sonderanwaltschaften des Bundes, eingerichtet worden. Mit der Einführung von Studiengebühren an Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen 2001 wurden ihre Agenden von einer reinen Informations- auf eine ministerielle Beschwerdestelle zur Meldung und Behebung von Missst?nden und Unzul?nglichkeiten ausgeweitet. Nach zehn Jahren T?tigkeit zeigen die Erfahrungen aus dem Alltag, dass überwiegend informelle Individualhilfe im Vordergrund der T?tigkeit dieser Einrichtung steht. Systemm?ngel sind schwerer zu beheben, da solche meist ressourcenbedingt oder mit einander konkurrierenden gesetzlichen Regelungen verbunden sind und es keine festgelegten Normen des Einschreitens innerhalb der offiziellen Rechtsaufsicht des Ministeriums gibt. L?sungen sind von der Kooperationsbereitschaft der Verantwortlichen vor Ort abh?ngig.     

Orienting Schools Toward Equity: Subgroup Accountability Pressure and School-Level Responses

Abstract

This article examines school-level responses to subgroup accountability pressure through an ethnographic case study of a school cited for failing to make adequate yearly progress for student subgroups. Concerns about the calculations and measures used to derive the citation and reservations about acting on accountability data delegitimized the citation and rendered the identified subgroups irrelevant to daily practice. Under district guidance, compliance with subgroup accountability was independent of the school's internal efforts to promote equity.