Multiple perspectives for the study of teaching: Knowledge,reason, understanding,and being

This study analyzes the participation of secondary school teachers in a U.S. science education curriculum reform effort. All participating teachers agreed to implement the curriculum in their classrooms; however, the level at which it was implemented varied significantly among teachers. This article reviews the available perspectives used to account for the behavior of these teachers—reliance on a knowledge base, practical reasoning and reflective practice, and sociocultural views—and argues they are incomplete. A fourth perspective is developed in which teaching is viewed as a way of being and teachers as meaning makers immersed in educational situations. The remainder of the article is a cross‐case analysis of two teachers' use of the curriculum as seen from each of these perspectives on teaching. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 1032–1055, 2002     

Memory and Speed: Their Role in the Relation of Infant Information Processing to Later IQ

This study examined the extent to which memory and processing speed accounted for relations we had found earlier between infant information processing and childhood IQ. The measures of speed and memory were obtained when the children were 11 years of age using paper-and-pencil tasks and an extensive battery of computer-administered tasks. The relations of 7 month visual recognition memory and 1 years cross-modal transfer to 11 years IQ were both substantially reduced with statistical control of factors dericed from these measures. These results suggest that speed and memory underlie some of the infant-childhood continuities in cognition. Path and stuctural equation modeling indicated that the significant pathways from 7 month visual recognition memory to 11 year IQ were nboth directr and indirect, the indirect paths going through memory and speed.     

Course characteristics and college students' ratings of their teachers: What we know and what we don't

From showing in a general way that there is room for course context to influence class (average) ratings of instruction, this review proceeds to a search for specific course characteristics that are associated with these ratings. Extant research has centered around five such characteristics: class size, course level, the electivity of the course, the particular subject matter of the course, and the time of day that the course is held. Although statistically significant zero-order relationships do not appear in every piece of research located for review, such relationships are more likely to be found than not for the first four of these characteristics. The associations may not be particularly strong, but rather clear-cut patterns do emerge. Of the studies reporting an association between size of class and class ratings, most find it to be inverse, although several studies show a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship. Teacher (and course) ratings tend to be somewhat higher for upper division courses and elective courses. Compared to other instructors, those teaching humanities, fine arts, and languages tend to receive somewhat higher ratings. The possible reasons for these relationships are many and complex. A precise understanding of the contribution of course characteristics to the ratings of teachers (and the courses themselves) is hampered by two circumstances. Studies in which relevant variables are controlled are far fewer in number than are the studies in which only the zero-order relationships between course characteristics and ratings are considered. More importantly, existing multivariate studies tend to underplay or ignore the exact place of course characteristics in a causal network of variables.     

Gender differences in the severity of adult familial dyslexia

Thirty seven adults with a three generation family history of dyslexia and a strong personal history of reading/spelling problems were administered a psychoeducational battery to confirm the diagnosis of dyslexia. Males were not disproportionately represented in the dyslexic sample although they exhibited a more severe profile of reading impairment relative to females. Severity of dyslexia is discussed as a possible mechanism of the reported higher prevalence of dyslexia among males.     

The effects of different modes of verbalization on the recognition of object detail in pictures

The effects of different modes of verbalization on recognition memory of object detail were examined in first- and third-grade children and adults. The results indicated that both age of the subject and the type of verbalization used during initial picture viewing influenced recognition accuracy for object detail. When compared to nonverbal viewing groups, only specific types of verbalization increased recognition accuracy for third-grade and adult subjects. None of the modes of verbalization was effective in increasing first-grade recognition scores. The results indicate that general statements concerning the facilitating or inhibiting influence of verbalization on recognition memory must be qualified. In addition, the results showed that developmental differences in recognition accuracy are contingent upon the type of strategy used during the encoding process.     

Instructional effectiveness of college teachers as judged by teachers themselves,current and former students,colleagues, administrators,and external (neutral) observers

This review synthesizes the research comparing theoverall ratings of college teachers' effectiveness made by current and former students, colleagues, administrators, external (neutral) observers, and the teachers themselves. Of the 15 possible comparison pairs of rating groups, the five with the most data available show that the strongest cases of relative and absolute similarity in ratings are when current students are compared either with the teachers' colleagues or with administrators. Colleague and administrator ratings tend to be similar in relative assessment but dissimilar in absolute assessment. Teachers' self-ratings and current student ratings are, at best, moderately similar. The least similarity was found between teachers' ratings of themselves and colleague ratings. Degree of profile similarity acrossspecific evaluations was determined for studies comparing teachers' self-ratings with current student ratings, as were the relative and absolute similarity (or dissimilarity) for certain of the specific instructional dimensions. Implications of the various analyses and other considerations were explored in terms of individual and subgroup differences, mutual awareness of similarities or dissimilarities, validity issues, and directions for future research.     

Explorations of a Paradox in Curriculum Control: Resistance to Open-ended Science Inquiry in a School for Self-directed Learning

Despite official government srt (in various jurisdictions around the world) for providing students with opportunities to construct their own knowledge within the context of formal schooling, school science systems continue to place greatest priority on teaching and learning of products of science (e.g., laws and theories), while compromising students’ opportunities to develop realistic conceptions about science and expertise for doing science. Based on qualitative data analyzed using constant comparative methods (based on constructivist grounded theory), we found this also to be the case – paradoxically – in a school belonging to the Canadian Coalition for Self-directed Learning (CCSDL). Schools in this coalition espouse, among various goals, enabling students to construct their own knowledge, in ways and directions suiting their individual needs, interests, perspectives, and abilities, in addition to gaining access to knowledge developed by society. The science department within the coalition school in this study experienced considerable difficulty realizing this goal, despite school-level administrative support for a concerted effort to reinvent itself along these lines. Factors that appeared to influence the science department’s efforts included those in each of Schwab’s (1969) educational "commonplaces;” that is, the curriculum, teachers, students, and the milieu surrounding teaching and learning. Further analysis suggests that results can be explained through reference to a Kuhnian (1962/1996) paradigm conflict – in which the school’s administrative and curricular committee and other members of the CCSDL were unsuccessful in convincing members of the science department (who, in turn, appeared to be supported by the provincial government, parents, and students) to make provisions for more student-directed, openended science inquiry. Assuming that student-led scientific inquiry continues to be an important curricular goal, efforts must continue to be made, therefore, to convince members of the mainstream paradigm that it is a worthy goal.