Stimulators and barriers towards social innovations in public libraries: Qualitative research study

Public libraries have a huge potential to be creators and facilitators of social innovation in communities and society. Qualitative research based on interviews with 27 librarians showed that social innovation in libraries can take the form of educational and cultural activities, leisure and networking activities and social support services. The main goal of the research was to find out what factors support and make these innovations difficult in public libraries. A four-layer model of barriers and stimulators for social innovation is presented, which includes structural, local, organizational and personnel levels. The model could serve to inform librarians, their stakeholders and governments about all levels of barriers and stimulators connected to innovation of library services and social re-positioning of public libraries in the future.     

Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness Using Classroom Observations: A Rasch Analysis of the Rater Effects of Principals

In most U.S. schools, teachers are evaluated using observation of teaching practice (OTP). This study investigates rater effects on OTP ratings among 421 principals in an authentic teacher evaluation system. Many-facet Rasch analysis (MFR) using a block of shared ratings revealed that principals generally (a) differentiated between more and less effective teachers, (b) rated their teachers with leniency (i.e., overused higher rating categories), and (c) differentiated between teaching practices (e.g., Cognitive Engagement vs. Classroom Management) with minimal halo effect. Individual principals varied significantly in degree of leniency, and approximately 12% of principals exhibited severe rater bias. Implications for use of OTP ratings for evaluating teachers’ effectiveness are discussed. Strengths and limitations of MFR to analyze rater effects in OTP are also discussed.     

Does student-centered instruction engage students differently? The moderation effect of student ethnicity

Student-centered instruction is featured in reforms that aim to improve excellence and equity in mathematics education. Although research on stereotype threat suggests that student-centered instruction may have differential effects on racial minority students, the relationship between student-centered mathematics instruction and student engagement remains understudied. This study examined the relationship between student-centered mathematics instruction and adolescents’ behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and social engagement in mathematics and whether the relationship differed by ethnicity. The authors used a multilevel path analysis with data from 3,883 sixth- to 12th-grade students (52.1% girls, 38.2% eligible for free/reduced lunch, 66.1% Caucasian, 23.8% African American, 7.2% multiracial, and 2.9% Asian American). The results showed that student-centered instruction was positively related to all dimensions of mathematics engagement. However, the positive association between student-centered mathematics instruction and student engagement was weaker for African American students. This study provides empirical evidence for the benefits of student-centered instruction while suggesting differential effects based on students’ ethnicity.     

Facilitating democratic professional development: exploring the double role of being an academic action researcher

Abstract

This article focuses on the double role of the academic action researcher working as facilitator and researcher in democratic professional development projects. The inquiry is based on three partnership projects: ‘research circles’ in Sweden, ‘dialogue conferences’ in Norway and ‘tailored professional development’ in Finland. In a self-study and through the lens of practice architectures, we, as action researchers, explore how our practices are enabled and constrained in, as well as are enabling and constraining, professional development partnerships with teachers and educational leaders. A critical perspective is provided on how and what democratic practices evolve. The inquiry opens up understandings about how the academic action researcher’s practices entails multi-faceted ways of working to be able to accomplish different and somehow contradictory objectives, yet at the same time enacting democratic working methods. Furthermore, the act of recognition as a connecting aspect between prefiguring arrangements and evolving practices will be elaborated on to supplement perspectives offered by the theory of practice architectures.     

Learning How to Believe: Epistemic Development in Cultural Context

Although Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), also called knowledge-based tutors, are becoming more common and proving to be increasingly effective, each one must still be built from scratch at a significant cost. At the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, we have developed domain independent tools for authoring all aspects of a knowledge-based tutor: the domain model, the teaching strategies, the student model, and the learning environment. In this article, I describe these tools, discuss a number of design issues and design tradeoffs that are involved in building ITS authoring tools, and discuss knowledge acquisition and representation issues encountered in my work. I also describe how we plan to use these tools (collectively called Eon), including ontology objects, as a meta-authoring tool for designing special-purpose authoring tools tailored for specific domain types.     

Electronic Media

VIDEO MEDIA COMPETITION: REGULATION, ECONOMICS, AND TECHNOLOGY edited by Eli M. Noam (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985---price not given)

RESEARCH PAPERS SERIES (Research Program in Telecommunications and Information Policy, 726 Uris Hall, Columbia University, New York 10027—$5.00 each)

THE NEW VIDEO MARKETPLACE: A REGULATORY IDENTITY CRISIS by Erwin G. Krasnow and Jill Abeshouse Stern (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Program on Information Resources Policy, 1985---price not given, paper)

CABLE ADVERTISER'S HANDBOOK by Ronald B. Kaatz (Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company, 1985---$19.95)

THE NEW INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL BROADCAST TELEVISION by Kathy Krendl et al (Bloomington, IN: Institute for Communication Research of Indiana University, 1985--- price not given, paper)