Speaking of books

Changing Aims in Religious Education. Edwin Cox. New York: Humanities Press, 1967. 102 pp. $3.50.

Contemporary Mathematics for Elementary Teachers. Howard F. Fehr and Thomas J. Hill. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1966. 394 pp. $7.95.

Creative Encounters in the Classroom: Teaching and Learning Through Discovery. Bryon G. Massialas and Jack Zevin. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, Inc., 1967. 274 pp. $3.50.

Gods and Rituals: Readings in Religious Beliefs and Practices. John Middleton, New York: The Natural History Press, 1967. 468 pp. $6.95.

Language and Learning. Janet A. Emig, James T. Fleming, and Helen M. Popp, editors. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1966. 301 pp. $3.50.

Schools of Europe. Richard Emerson Werstler. Adrian, Michigan: Swenk‐Tuttle Press, 1967. 203 pp. $10.00.

Teaching Adults to Read. Wayne Otto and David Ford. Boston: Houghton‐Mifflin Company, 1967. 176 pp. $3.95.

What Is a Teacher? Henry W. Simon. New York: Collier Books, 1966. 96 pp. $.95.

Paul A. Witty, editor. The Educationally Retarded and Disadvan‐taged The Sixty‐Sixth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 1. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1967. 384 pp.

Report of the Harvard Committee. The Graduate Study of Education. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966. 125 pp. $2.75.     

Are We All Managers Now?

In comparison with traditional education, distance education requires greater involvement on the part of all staff in the management and administration of constituent systems. Using a case study of the University of Leicester's Centre for Labour Market Studies, it is demonstrated that the team approach adopted by the Centre means that academic, clerical and administrative staff are all in some way involved in the management of the distance learning courses run by the Centre. This has implications for the training and development of staff at all levels.     

Rethinking e-learning support strategies

This paper discusses an e-learning support team model developed as part of a new e-learning strategy within a tertiary education polytechnic. Based upon a community of practice model, the e-Team supports the establishment of e-learning and m-learning (mobile learning) throughout the institution as a catalyst for the adoption of social constructivist pedagogy. The paper reviews and reflects upon the impact of strategies for creating and supporting communities of practice across the institution along with the ways this model is achieving the breaking down of the barriers to ‘e’ and ‘m’ learning adoption among lecturers. This model helped to move lecturers from non-engagement to legitimate peripheral participation and onto full participation within the institution’s e-learning community, and ultimately enabling social constructivist learning environments for students. This model based on a community of practice framework for e-learning support is potentially transferable to other educational contexts.     

The Different Benefits from Different Gestures in Understanding a Concept

Explanations are typically accompanied by hand gestures. While research has shown that gestures can help learners understand a particular concept, different learning effects in different types of gesture have been less understood. To address the issues above, the current study focused on whether different types of gestures lead to different levels of improvement in understanding. Two types of gestures were investigated, and thus, three instructional videos (two gesture videos plus a no gesture control) of the subject of mitosis—all identical except for the types of gesture used—were created. After watching one of the three videos, participants were tested on their level of understanding of mitosis. The results showed that (1) differences in comprehension were obtained across the three groups, and (2) representational (semantic) gestures led to a deeper level of comprehension than both beat gestures and the no gesture control. Finally, a language proficiency effect is discussed as a moderator that may affect understanding of a concept. Our findings suggest that a teacher is encouraged to use representational gestures even to adult learners, but more work is needed to prove the benefit of using gestures for adult learners in many subject areas.     

PART‐TIME COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY: THEIR NEEDS FOR INSTRUCTION‐RELATED ASSISTANCE

An aura of controversy surrounds the proliferation of part‐time faculty members on community college campuses. The related literature provides evidence that part‐timers have fewer advanced degrees and years of teaching experience than their full‐time counterparts. Nevertheless, the increasing trend toward their employment shows no sign of slowing. As part‐timers comprise a growing proportion of community college faculties, and as they are recruited from nonacademic sources, opportunities should be provided for them to hone their pedagogical skills. The findings of a study undertaken at Arizona State University's Department of Higher and Adult Education reveal part‐timers’ needs for assistance and information in instruction‐related areas such as evaluation, handling paperwork, teaching community college students and community college philosophy. An instructional resource manual developed for part‐time faculty was perceived to be a viable method of providing assistance to part‐timers.     

General Mass Communication

THE KNOWLEDGE INDUSTRY 200: 1983 EDITION—AMERICA'S TWO HUNDRED LARGEST MEDIA AND INFORMATION COMPANIES (White Plains, N.Y.: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983---price not given, paper; with hardback edition available from Gale Research Co., Detroit---$98.00)

MASS COMMUNICATION THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION by Denis McQuail (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983---$25.00/$12.50)

CREATING MEDIA CULTURE by Robert P. Snow (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983---$25.00/ $12.50)

THE CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS REVIEW, VOLUME I: LABOR, THE WORKING CLASS, AND THE MEDIA edited by Vincent Mosco and Janet Wasko (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1983---$37.50/$21.95)

MARCONI TO McLUHAN: A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY OF N.Y. TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE ARTICLES ON COMMUNICATION, 1900-1980 by Gerald V. Flannery (Department of Communication, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette, LA 70504---$12.00, paper)

INTRODUCTION TO MASS COMMUNICATION by Jay Black and Frederick C. Whitney (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1983---price not given, paper)     

LEARNING THE SOCIAL WAY: ENHANCING LEARNING IN A TRADITIONAL SETTING

This article explores the link between pedagogical approaches to learning and the redevelopment of existing spaces. It focuses upon trends in social learning and the need for libraries to respond to these in positive and proactive ways, placing the learner at the centre of developments. Not all universities and their libraries are in a position to extensively renovate or rebuild; the case study here provides an in-depth exploration of a ‘minor’ redevelopment that has had a major impact on learners. It concludes with considerations for the library and information profession in terms of their role in the development and management of learning spaces.