Portfolio analysis in the planning of higher education

It has recently been suggested that “portfolio analysis” has a role to play in the strategic planning of institutions of higher education. This article examines this proposition and finds it to be broadly correct. The article discusses the adaptation of the technique to the current context and then describes its application to data from a university.     

Reference books and computerized information services: partners in librarianship

As a basis for thoughts on the roles of reference books and computerized information services in general, a comparison is made of the value to medical libraries of a comprehensive reference tool (the new dual media publication Biomedical Research in Progress) and a comprehensive information center file (the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, the national resource for information on research in progress). It is concluded that a detailed reference tool which is physically present for library users has several advantages, in particular the provision of both detailed and comprehensive retrieval of all biomedical research information at substantially less annual cost and with faster access time than is possible with comparable questions put to an information center. On the other hand, the information center is able to provide more up-to-date material in more flexible combinations. The recommendation is made that medical libraries avoid treating the comprehensive reference tool and the computerized information file as alternatives and instead view both as necessary and complementary to each other.     

The Heuristic for Thinking About Culturally Responsive Teaching (HiTCRiT)

Michèle was hurrying to class. How, she thought, could she offer the students in her African American English in Society and Schools class a method of understanding, comparing, and abstracting the studies they had been reading in class? The heuristic described in this study evolved from a desire to capture aspects of several seminal studies that illustrated how African American English was deployed in classrooms for productive work with African American students. Michèle recalled that whenever she asked graduate students or practicing teachers what they, other teachers, and schools might do to improve the schooling of students of color, one of the most consistent responses was Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP). However, when pressed and asked what one would detect in classrooms where CRP is being put into practice, few were able to specify what an observer might see. Specifying the dimensions of CRP and its relationship to the heuristic had not been on Michèle’s mind. Even so, it was during the class discussion that the heuristic’s relevance to CRP became clearer. Jonathan, who had been tapped as a teaching assistant in an English language arts methods class, believed HiTCRiT could be modified to use with teacher education candidates, as a substitute for the standardized lesson planning tool used in the department. He piloted its use with the class the following semester. Utilizing HiTCRiT to explain research and existing practices as well as to assist teachers in creating culturally relevant instruction modified and shaped it, creating a more robust tool. Thus, the HiTCRiT came into being and came to inform our thinking and teaching practice.     

Resisting reductionism in mathematics pedagogy

Although breaking down a mathematical problem into smaller parts can often be an effective solution strategy, when the same reductionist approach is applied to mathematics pedagogy the effects are far from beneficial for students. Mathematics pedagogy in UK schools is gaining an increasingly reductionist flavour, as seen in an excessive focus on bite-sized learning objectives and a tendency for mathematics teachers to path-smooth their students’ learning. I argue that a reductionist mathematics pedagogy severely restricts students’ opportunities to engage in authentic mathematical thinking and deprives them of the enjoyment of solving richer, more worthwhile problems, which would forge connections across diverse areas of the subject. I attribute the rise of a reductionist mathematics pedagogy partly to an assessment-dominated curriculum and partly to a systemic de-professionalisation of teachers through a performative accountability culture in which they are constantly required to prove to non-specialist managers that they are effective. I argue that pedagogical reductionism in mathematics must be resisted in favour of a more holistic approach, in which students are able to bring a variety of mathematical knowledge and skills to bear on rich, challenging and non-routine mathematical tasks. Some principles for achieving this are outlined and some examples are given.     

Living arrangements and children's development in low-income White, Black, and Latino families

This article uses longitudinal data from approximately 2,000 low-income families participating in the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program to examine the associations between preschool children's living arrangements and their cognitive achievement and emotional adjustment. The analysis distinguishes families in which children live only with their mothers from children who live in biological father, blended, and multigenerational households. Linkages are examined separately for White, Black, and Latino children. Fixed effects regression techniques reveal few significant associations between living arrangements and child development. These findings suggest that substantial diversity exists in the developmental contexts among children living in the same family structure. Policies seeking to change the living arrangements of low-income children may do little to improve child well-being.     

Characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks

Published research on field hockey equipment is scarce. The aim of this research was to investigate methods for characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks. Three sticks were used with fundamental frequencies in the range 74?C154?Hz. Striking an initially still ball with a stick was identified as the preferred method for characterising performance. Impacts were simulated at mean velocities of 19?m/s at toe and 16?m/s at the shaft. The mean apparent coefficient of restitution and standard deviation were ?0.32?±?0.05 at the toe and ?0.18?±?0.02 at the shaft. The foundation work presented here provides the foundations for developing a methodology for characterising the impact performance of field hockey sticks.     

Teacher effects on student attrition and performance in mass-market tertiary education

Tertiary education is now accessible even to those who appear unlikely ex ante to succeed in jobs requiring post-high school education. Institutions that have broadened access to their programs must rely on two things to protect the quality of the degrees they award: selection mechanisms operating during students’ tenure, and effective teaching. This paper explores the relative strength of these two forces in a broad-spectrum, first-year undergraduate course. Using detailed data from the University of South Australia on student background, tutors, performance, and enrollment across 15 weeks in a first-year core course, I explore the extent to which teachers impact upon the success of their students directly (through effective teaching) and indirectly (through facilitating the dropping out of more poorly-prepared students). Results indicate that teachers vary widely in their influence on attrition and performance, and that none is robustly effective in facilitating both the disproportionate out-selection of students with poor initial preparation, and the disproportionate achievement of this group. Performance at neither of these tasks is predictable based on teachers’ formal university affiliation.