Aging,personality, and teaching effectiveness in academic psychologists

Previous research suggests that university teaching effectiveness varies with the age and personality traits of the instructor. The present study examined the extent to which personality traits associated with teaching effectiveness change concomitantly with age, and thus mediate the relationship between age and teaching. Using a cross-sectional design, peer ratings of 29 personality traits and archival student evaluations of teaching were obtained for 33 full-time psychology professors varying in age from 33 to 64. Teaching effectiveness was found to be inversely related to age and to correlate significantly with several personality traits. Consistent with the mediation hypothesis, personality traits were identified that correlated positively with teaching and declined significantly with age (e.g., approval-seeking); or correlated negatively with teaching and increased with age (e.g., independent).This paper is based on a senior honors thesis completed by the first author and supervised by the second author in the Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario.     

Impact of the social construction of LD on culturally diverse families: a response to Reid and Valle

This response focuses on the effects of the current construction of learning disabilities (LD) on families of children from devalued racial/ethnic groups. Agreeing with the arguments of Reid and Valle, we add that parents from such groups are further disenfranchised because they are not participants in the critical discourse surrounding LD and because of the persistent belief that their parenting skills are deficient. We also suggest that the expectation of parental advocacy may be alien to parents whose cultures do not embrace an individualist perspective. Professionals can improve their responses to such parents by an understanding of the principle of cultural reciprocity.     

Hidden Expectations Behind the Promise of the Flipped Classroom

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the student experience of pre-service teachers in a compulsory primary science education course that adopted a flipped classroom approach. Participants (n = 79) were surveyed at the conclusion of the course exploring their perceptions of engagement, enjoyment, and degree of learning as a result of participating in this course. At the end of this course, the majority of participants indicated they were happy with learning outcomes and enjoyed some aspect of the online videos; however, they also indicated they did not watch all of the eight mandatory weekly videos. In fact, the majority only watched about four out of the eight videos. This paper explores why students were reluctant to engage with the online videos and asks if there is an underlying aspect to flipped classrooms that disengages students.     

An Exploratory Study of Stress in a British University

This paper reports an exploratory study of stress and psychological well-being in British University staff. Unlike previous studies of stress in University staff, this study examines stress not only in relation to lecturing staff, but also research and support staff. Principal components analysis of a fifteen item stressor scale revealed two orthogonal dimensions, relating to quantitative overload stressors and role stressors respectively. Both were found to be related to a measure of psychological well-being. Differences in these stressor factors were found between the various types of university employee; academic staff were found to report more work load and managerial stressors, but reported fewer role stressors.     

The Relationship of Socio‐cognitive Oversimplification and the Social Behaviour of Adolescents

When processing information about their world, people systematically reduce objective complexity. This is true not only of cognitive problem‐solving, but also other everyday situations, for example where decisions are required in situations relevant to morality. The developmental psychological perspective suggests that the adequate handling of situations like these requires, on the one hand, an age‐related, increasing differentiation in social cognition and, on the other hand, an ever more effective structuring and integration of information. However, the operation of the latter developmental process might carry the risk that complexity reduction (in the sense of oversimplification) substitutes for adequate psychosocial development. Undue emphasis on complexity reduction may suggest situation‐specific action alternatives, which though inappropriate, are ‘easier to handle’. In an empirical study using 176 pupils from Polytechnic High Schools in (East) Berlin, we test the hypothesis that a tendency towards oversimplification in (fictitious) situations of moral relevance is systematically related to deviant behaviour at school. Results show that students exhibiting deviant behaviour do indeed have a stronger tendency to oversimplify social cognition. It can also be shown that the frequency of complex social cognitions generally increases with age. This trend, however, is found for non‐deviant students only. For deviant students a decrease in complex social cognitions with increasing age was found. Furthermore, it can be shown that these results are not confounded with the effects of gender or academic grade.     

Using narrative fiction as a means of assessing and learning in a history of social welfare module

This article describes a narrative development project undertaken by students on a History of Social Welfare module at a British university. Students were asked to choose a character, setting and story from a range of scenarios and time periods that reflected many of the key areas covered in lecture and seminar classes. The narrative was not formally assessed but aligned closely with the summative assessment for the module. Students were expected, in their narratives, to identify and make explicit reference to legislation, social policy information and sociological/anthropological concepts pertinent to the period and chosen character. Most students played an active part in the construction of the narratives and were encouraged to consider aspects of meta-learning, including how they can work with others and cooperate as a member of a team. As a result of the success of this form of assessment, the project has been developed into the core mode of assessment for this module in future years of delivery.     

The documentation of distance education: a personal view

Following a brief account of the work of the Open University International Documentation Centre on Distance Learning, different forms of documentation in distance education: books, materials produced in connection with distance teaching programmes, journals and journal articles, and report literature, are identified and described. The central focus of the article is a critique of the treatment of the literature of distance education by two ERIC international bibliographical services. Proposals are made to survey existing bibliographical provision worldwide.     

The successful resolution of armed hostage/barricade events in schools: A qualitative analysis

This article explores the perceptions and reactions of school and law enforcement personnel in the successful resolution of armed hostage and barricade events in schools. A total of 12 individuals from three schools were interviewed to determine (1) their salient roles related to the situations, (2) facilitative systemic conditions, (3) to what they attributed the successful resolution, and (4) their advice to other school professionals. Results suggest that establishment of trusting relationships between school personnel and all students is essential in successfully resolving school hostage and barricade events. In addition, respondents discussed the importance of awareness, training, and communications in resolving such events. Implications for school staff are included, along with limitations and future research directions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.