A Framework for Graduated Teacher Autonomy: Linking Teacher Proficiency With Autonomy

Abstract

Teachers’ autonomy contributes to their development and retention decisions. While proficient teachers would benefit from more autonomy, developing teachers often require more structure and guidance. This article reviews the literature surrounding autonomy and proposes an argument for a Graduated Teacher Autonomy framework: a theoretical tool matching teacher proficiency to autonomy. This dynamic framework has the potential to support the needs of all teachers and could improve teacher satisfaction, retention, development, and administrator–teacher relations.     

Short-term retention in rats: The effect of goal-arm confinement on delayed alternation performance

Gordon and his associates (e.g., Gordon & Feldman, 1978,Learning and Motivation,9, 164–178; Feldman & Gordon, 1979,Learning and Motivation,10, 198–210; Gordon, Taylor, & Mower, 1981,American Journal of Psychology,94, 309–322) have reported that a reactivation treatment significantly enhances memory for prior forcings in delayed alternation using rats. The reactivation treatment consisted of placing the rat in the goal arm to which it had been forced previously on that trial. The confinement occurred in the absence of food and was 5 sec in duration. The present experiments explored the possibility that the treatment might influence performance by affording an opportunity for new information to be acquired during the confinement period. Evidence consistent with this view was found in that (1) accuracy was reduced on trials in which the initial event was a 5-sec confinement to the arm opposite that of the target forcing and (2) increasing the duration of the confinement from 5 to 15 to 45 sec increased the magnitude of this effect. It was concluded that the effectiveness of goal-arm confinement as a reactivation treatment does not necessarily implicate processes of retrieval in delayed alternation behavior.     

Demographic Predictors of Students’ Science Participation over the Age of 16: an Australian Case Study

Research in Science Education - Using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data, this paper aimed to examine if, and to what extent, demographic factors predict students’...     

Conceptualizing Magnification and Scale: The Roles of Spatial Visualization and Logical Thinking

This study explored factors that contribute to students’ concepts of magnification and scale. Spatial visualization, logical thinking, and concepts of magnification and scale were measured for 46 middle school students. Scores on the Zoom Assessment (an assessment of knowledge of magnification and scale) were correlated with the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) and a series of four spatial visualization tests. Results showed that the TOLT was significantly correlated with the Zoom Assessment. There was also a significant correlation between the TOLT and spatial visualization assessments MV1 (Shape Memory), MV2 (Building Memory), the Storage Test, and the Surface Development Test. The implications of this study for further research are discussed.     

A Preliminary Examination of Burnout Among Counselor Trainees Treating Clients With Recent Suicidal Ideation and Borderline Traits

Treating suicidal clients with borderline traits can be conducive to burnout. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) may assuage this burnout in counselors. As part of a DBT treatment outcome study, 6 counselors in training collected their own salivary cortisol samples and completed self‐report measures of burnout and well‐being for 1 year. Findings indicate a significant interaction for cortisol levels by treatment condition, such that DBT counselors experienced less physiological stress over time relative to a control group of counselors. There were no group differences in self‐reported burnout or well‐being. DBT may have a salutary effect on trainees' physiological stress levels over time.     

Writing within an international context

For Health Information and Libraries Journal, 2015 has had a distinctly international feel to it, something we have consciously been fostering for the past eight years. This issue is no exception in mirroring the journal’s Regular Feature International Perspectives and Initiatives, edited by Jeannette Murphy, in shining a light on the best international practice the health information and libraries sector has to offer.     

Factors influencing physiological responses to small-sided soccer games

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of exercise type, field dimensions, and coach encouragement on the intensity and reproducibility of small-sided games. Data were collected on 20 amateur soccer players (body mass 73.1 +/- 8.6 kg, stature 1.79 +/- 0.05 m, age 24.5 +/- 4.1 years, VO(2max) 56.3 +/- 4.8 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1)). Aerobic interval training was performed during three-, four-, five- and six-a-side games on three differently sized pitches, with and without coach encouragement. Heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) on the CR10-scale, and blood lactate concentration were measured. Main effects were found for exercise type, field dimensions, and coach encouragement (P < 0.05), but there were no interactions between any of the variables (P > 0.15). During a six-a-side game on a small pitch without coach encouragement, exercise intensity was 84 +/- 5% of maximal heart rate, blood lactate concentration was 3.4 +/- 1.0 mmol x l(-1), and the RPE was 4.8. During a three-a-side game on a larger pitch with coach encouragement, exercise intensity was 91 +/- 2% of maximal heart rate, blood lactate concentration was 6.5 +/- 1.5 mmol x l(-1), and the RPE was 7.2. Typical error expressed as a coefficient of variation ranged from 2.0 to 5.4% for percent maximal heart rate, from 10.4 to 43.7% for blood lactate concentration, and from 5.5 to 31.9% for RPE. The results demonstrate that exercise intensity during small-sided soccer games can be manipulated by varying the exercise type, the field dimensions, and whether there is any coach encouragement. By using different combinations of these factors, coaches can modulate exercise intensity within the high-intensity zone and control the aerobic training stimulus.     

The association of objectively determined physical activity behavior among adolescent female friends

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which physical activity among adolescent female friends is interdependent. The participants were 318 adolescent girls with a mean age of 16.0 years (range: 15-18 years). Pedometry was used to assess physical activity over 4 days. The relationship between an individual girl and her first-nominated reciprocal friend's physical activity level was moderate (r = 0.45, 90% confidence interval = 0.31, 0.56), when the friendship was nonreciprocal it was trivial (r = -.06, 90% confidence interval = -.36 .25). Friends'physical activity levels explained between 27% and 32% of an individual's pedometer-determined physical activity level. Reciprocity of friendship is an important variable to consider when understanding the relationship between adolescent female friends' physical activity. When friendships are reciprocal, there is a stronger relationship between friends' physical activity.