Multimedia Cases in Elementary Science Teacher Education: Design and Development of a Prototype

Multimedia cases intend to bring about fundamental changes in teacher education by bridging the gap between theory and practice. The use of information and communication technology in multimedia cases is expected to create a powerful and flexible learning environment. Such a learning environment is in line with a constructivist vision of teaching and learning. This paper focuses on the rationale behind case-based instruction by describing the design and development of a prototype and addressing the justification of underlying design decisions. Moreover, the prototype is briefly outlined and formative evaluation results are presented.     

New Faculty Roles in Learning Outcomes Education: The Experiences of Four Models and Institutions

Innovative models that focus on learning outcomes engage faculty in new ways of facilitating and assessing learning, while their institutions seek to support and reward their participation. Innovators from four different institutions provide an overview of their approaches to implementing principles of outcomes-based education, compare their models, and explore the changes that are precipitated in the roles, rewards, resources, structures, and models. While the four institutions and models differ on several significant variables, the innovators identify common key elements and issues that the academy must address in order to transform the educational experience and culture to a more learning-centered enterprise.     

Prenatal cocaine exposure: a comparison of 2-year-old children in parental and nonparental care

Effects of prenatal cocaine exposure and parental versus nonparental care on outcome at 2 years of age were examined. The sample included 83 cocaine-exposed and 63 nonexposed children and their caregivers; 49 and 34 of the cocaine-exposed children experienced parental and nonparental care, respectively. Prenatal drug exposure was not related directly to children's outcome at 2 years of age. However, compared with cocaine-exposed children in parental care, those in nonparental care experienced a more optimal environment and performed better in several developmental domains at 2 years of age in spite of being at greater neonatal risk. Further analyses suggested that this protective effect of nonparental care was in part due to nonkin rather than kin care.     

“They Even Speak Tsotsitaal with Their Teachers at School”: The Use (and Abuse) of African Urban Youth Languages in Educational Contexts

Abstract

African Urban Youth Languages (AUYLs) are increasingly coming under the spotlight of linguists and sociolinguists across the continent, who are investigating their relationship to standard and/or vernacular varieties. Simultaneously, they are being discussed by educators and education researchers, although little has yet been published in this critical area. The difficulties for educators posed by students speaking “non-standard” varieties has been highlighted by recent studies investigating literacy and language in the classroom. This article presents an overview of some of the challenges posed to education by AUYLs. It considers recent studies of AUYLs in educational contexts from around the continent. It then presents data from South Africa which highlights different orientations towards the South African AUYL “Tsotsitaal” in educational domains. The argument is made that the position of both teachers and pupils is vulnerable, and that the legitimacy of the distinction between standard language and urban vernacular language needs to be reconsidered.     

Shifting Challenges in Teacher-Education Research and Accreditation: Lessons Learned from Limitations on Studying Program Impact

ABSTRACT

A critical issue in educator preparation is how to ascertain if program graduates are sufficiently prepared to be effective through the acquisition of meaningful evidence of graduates’ impact on their students. Challenges to proving specific impact of educator-preparation programs on student learning include identifying and following program completers as they move into diverse teaching environments. Barriers include lack of access to measures such as students’ achievement scores and work samples. This article puts the research on educator-preparation-program accountability into perspective and provides a discussion about whether or not we have the capacity at this moment in time to access meaningful data about and proof of teacher impact.     

Contextualiser la place du français et du malgache dans le système éducatif du Madagascar: une perspective historique

Abstract

Avant la colonisation de Madagascar par la France en 1896, la plupart des enfants malgaches scolarisés avaient fréquenté des écoles dirigées par des missions protestantes. La langue d’enseignement était la langue malgache, une langue écrite, développée avec l’aide de missionnaires britanniques à partir de 1820. Elle était celle du groupe clanico-politique dominant. La colonisation imposa la langue française. Le pouvoir colonial avait considéré la langue comme un instrument important dans la politique d’assimilation et la création d’élites qui pourraient servir son projet. Mais l’administration coloniale dans les pays colonisés influençait fortement l’exécution de la politique éducative. Madagascar est d’ailleurs un cas pertinent dans ce sens à cause de l’existence et le statut de la langue écrite Malgache. La politique assimilatrice dominante n’a pas empêché des désaccords au sein de l’administration coloniale sur la place de la langue malgache dans l’éducation. L’argument majeur était que cette langue renforcera le groupe ethnique Merina et alimentera davantage le nationalisme malgache au détriment de l’assimilation. Depuis l’Indépendance en 1960, la politique linguistique a évolué selon les régimes politiques. Les perspectives théoriques dans le domaine de la “literacy” (des aptitudes à lire et à écrire vu comme une pratique sociale) décrivent celle-ci comme une pratique sociale et un instrument de pouvoir. Sa diffusion générale a été associée avec un développement démocratique, mais aussi avec l’oppression. L’article montre comment la politique des langues d’enseignement à Madagascar s’est basée sur des arguments politique et pédagogique dans des contextes différents.     

Verbal discussions about social problem-solving between friends and non-friends

In the field of developmental social psychology there is a consensus concerning the social nature of intelligence. In spite of the important empirical investigations in this field over the last fifteen years, the influence of the quality of a relationship on joint problem-solving and learning is still poorly understood. This explorary study investigated the influence of socio-affective context on the interactive modalities surrounding social problem-solving discussions conducted with 32 dyads of 8-year-old Swiss francophone children. Sociometric interviews with children and teachers were carried out to identify the following naturally-ocurring socio-affective contexts: reciprocal friendship (RF), asymmetrical friendship (AF) and reciprocal absence of friendship (“reciprocal non-friendship” RNF; excluding enemies). Comparisons of verbal exchanges and dyadic performance across the three groups suggests that reciprocal friendship facilitates collaboration and the organization of collective work. Two rival hypotheses opposing socio-affective proximity (reciprocal friendship) and socio-affective distance (asymmetrical friendship and reciprocal absence of friendship) are discussed with respect to the influence of social interactions on social problem-solving.     

Informing in the Information Age: How to Communicate Measurement Concepts to Education Policy Makers

Current educational policies rely on educational assessments. However, the technical aspects of assessments are often unknown to policy makers, which is dangerous because sound assessment policy requires knowledge of the strengths and limitations of educational tests. In this article, we discuss the importance of informing policy makers of important psychometric issues that should be considered whenever tests are proposed for specific purposes. We discuss the types of information that are important to communicate to policy makers, how to best convey this information in a manner in which it can be understood, and how to be seen as a valuable source of information to education policy makers. We end with some specific steps organizations such as NCME can take to inform policy makers and advocate for valid educational assessment policies.     

Preliminary Investigation of the Sources of Self-Efficacy Among Teachers of Students with Autism

Teacher self-efficacy refers to the beliefs teachers hold regarding their capability to bring about desired instructional outcomes and may be helpful for understanding and addressing critical issues such as teacher attrition and teacher use of research-supported practices. Educating students with autism likely presents teachers with some of the most significant instructional challenges. The self-efficacy of 35 special education teachers of students with autism between the ages of 3 to 9 years was evaluated. Teachers completed rating scales that represented self-efficacy and aspects of the following 3 of Bandura's 4 sources of self-efficacy: (1) sense of mastery, (2) social persuasions, and (3) physiological/affective states. Significant associations were observed between physiological/affective states and self-efficacy, but no associations were observed for the other sources.