Practical Guides

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF RADIO, by Linda Busby and Donald Parker (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1984-$20.00).

ELECTRONIC ARTS OF SOUND AND LIGHT, by Ronald Pellegrino (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1983—$28.50).

TELECONFERENCING HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO COST-EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, by Ellen Lazar et al. (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

THE CREATIVE CONNECTION: ADVERTISING COPYWRITING AND IDEA VISUALIZATION, by Arthur A. Winters and Shirley F. Milton (New York: Fairchild Publications, 1982—$16.50).

BROADCAST NEWSWRITING AS PROCESS and BROADCAST COPYWRITING AS PROCESS by J. Clark Weaver (New York: Longman, 1984—price not given, paper).

PUBLIC RELATIONS/PUBLICITY: A KEY LINK IN COMMUNICATIONS, by Lois Ehrenkranz and Gilbert Kahn (New York: Fairchild, 1983—$14.50).

EXPERTS IN ACTION: INSIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS, by Bill Cantor (New York: Longman, 1984—$29.95/ 14.95).     

Are first-circulation patterns for monographs in the humanities different from the sciences?

How many monographs acquired in a particular year circulate in that year? What percentage have their first circulation each successive year? Does the pattern differ for different broad subject areas, i.e., humanities, the sciences, and the social sciences? This article tests the assumption that the first-circulation pattern differs by subject. We conclude that the pattern does not differ. The finding is important for decisions about off-site storage, assessing collection development, maintaining departmental libraries, etc. Regardless of subject, if a book has not circulated at least once within a few years after acquisition, it is unlikely to find its reader.     

Postmodernist perceptions of teacher professionalism: a critique

This is an era of significant government involvement in schools in England, despite consistent rhetoric from the Department of Education to the contrary. In such a period, signs can be detected of the juncture between a postmodern identity and post-professional status, two models of teacher professionalism supposed in Hargreaves’ work on the fourth age of professionalism. This paper focuses on the former as the nature of the contemporary context. Defining features of postmodernity are considered through a focus on the broad issue of teacher professionalism. For this paper, this is embodied by teachers’ involvement with the development of the Primary National Curriculum for England. Evidence will be drawn from just before its 1988 introduction until 2013 in order to critique several of the key tenets of postmodernity as identified by Hargreaves. This is of particular importance in a context where a strong defence is necessary to enable the sustainment, and growth, of teachers’ professional autonomy. This paper aims to propose some strategies teachers could enact in the face of postmodern challenges.     

Benefits and Challenges of the Passport Broadcast Intervention in Long-Term Care

Creative activities are a challenge for long-term care facilities. The Passport intervention uses web-based video technology to provide long-term care residents with a virtual travel experience. Passport broadcasts were conducted and staff and residents were interviewed about the experience. A thematic analysis of interviews was used to discern benefits and challenges. Reported benefits included experience with technology, interaction with student visitors, reminiscing, and active learning. Challenges involved technical quality concerns related to the audio and visual needs of seniors. The pilot found the Passport intervention as a promising tool for creative activities in a long-term care setting.     

Physical Activity and School Engagement in Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Physical activity is associated with numerous health benefits in youth; however, these benefits could extend further than health, into education. Our aim was to systematically review and combine in meta-analyses evidence concerning the association between physical activity and the dimensions of school engagement, including behavior (e.g., time-on-task), emotions (e.g., lesson enjoyment), and cognition (e.g., self-regulated learning). We conducted meta-analyses using structural equation modeling on results from 38 studies. Overall, physical activity had a small, positive association with school engagement (d = .28, I² = .86), 95% confidence interval [.12, .46]. This association was moderated by study design, with significant associations shown in randomized controlled trials but not in studies employing other designs. Risk of bias was also a significant effect moderator, as studies with a low risk of bias showed significant associations but not high risk of bias studies. Altogether, these results suggest that physical activity could improve school engagement.     

Designing Curriculum-Based Mathematics Professional Development for Kindergarten Teachers

This study examines the influence of a year-long mathematics professional development program on Kindergarten teachers’ beliefs, content knowledge, instructional practices, and their students’ achievement. The professional development program is grounded in the theoretical construct of learner-centered professional development and focuses on supporting teachers’ integration of standards-based pedagogies aligned with the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. Data analysis included examining 15 Kindergarten teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, their beliefs about mathematics, their enactment of student-centered pedagogies, and student achievement on curriculum-based assessments. Findings indicated that teachers adopted more student-centered pedagogies and embraced more student-centered beliefs about mathematics teaching during their time in the project. Further, Kindergarten teachers also demonstrated gains in their mathematical content knowledge, and those content knowledge gains were linked to gains in student achievement.