Mentoring and being mentored: The story of a novice music teacher's success

This qualitative study examined the growth of Jelani, a failing novice teacher who successfully received tenure following his third year of teaching. His progress seemed related to the quality of his relationships with different mentors. An unanticipated factor in Jelani's success was his participation in a university-based program for children, where he served, under supervision, as a mentor for two preservice teachers. In what became a mutually beneficial relationship, Jelani reinforced his new-found knowledge and skills and learned to better describe and assess his own teaching. Among those who worked with Jelani, additional reciprocal mentoring relationships developed.     

High-Ability Grouping: Benefits for Gifted Students’ Achievement Development Without Costs in Academic Self-Concept

Effects of full-time ability grouping on students’ academic self-concept (ASC) and mathematics achievement were investigated in the first 3 years of secondary school (four waves of measurement; students’ average age at first wave: 10.5 years). Students were primarily from middle and upper class families living in southern Germany. The study sample comprised 148 (60% male) students from 14 gifted classes and 148 (57% male) students from 25 regular classes (matched by propensity score matching). Data analyses involved multilevel and latent growth curve analyses. Findings revealed no evidence for contrast effects of class-average achievement or assimilation effects of class type on students’ ASC. ASC remained stable over time. Students in gifted classes showed higher achievement gains than students in regular classes.     

Certification of medical librarians, 1949--1977 statistical analysis.

The Medical Library Association's Code for Training and Certification of Medical Librarians was in effect from 1949 to August 1977, a period during which 3,216 individuals were certified. Statistics on each type of certificate granted each year are provided. Because 54.5% of those granted certification were awarded it in the last three-year, two-month period of the code's existence, these applications are reviewed in greater detail. Statistics on each type of certificate granted each year are provided. Because 54.5% of those granted certification were awarded it in the last three-year, two-month period of the code's existence, these applications are reviewed in greater detail. Statistics on MLA membership, sex, residence, library school, and method of meeting requirements are detailed. Questions relating to certification under the code now in existence are raised.     

Situational interest and academic achievement in the active-learning classroom

The aim of the present study was to investigate how situational interest develops over time and how it is related to academic achievement in an active-learning classroom. Five measures of situational interest were administered at critical points in time to 69 polytechnic students during a one-day, problem-based learning session. Results revealed that situational interest significantly increased after the problem stimulus was presented. Subsequently, situational interest gradually decreased but at the end of the day increased again. Testing a path model relating the situational interest measures showed strong (directional) interrelations. Moreover, situational interest was highly predictive for observed achievement-related classroom behaviors. The latter, in turn, proved to be a significant predictor of academic achievement. Aggregating situational interest over the day led to less accurate predictions of achievement-related classroom behaviors and academic achievement. Implications of these findings for situational interest research are discussed.     

Encouraging Knowledge Transfer in Food Science and Nutrition Education: Suggestions from Cognitive Research

For several decades, cognitive psychologists have been studying how we learn, and from this work it becomes possible to identify ways to help students learn in the classroom effectively. Importantly, this work does not just inform how to memorize facts, but also how to learn complex material in a way that allows students to apply what they are learning in future situations. The laboratory to classroom model used by many researchers to apply cognitive psychology to real educational situations, such as classroom learning and students’ independent studying, is described first. Then the focus turns to important issues within education, such as students’ ability to transfer knowledge to new situations and understand complex material. Finally, three learning strategies are discussed (concrete examples, elaborative interrogation, and retrieval practice) that instructors can implement to help students to both acquire knowledge and apply it to new situations, integrating examples from food science and nutrition.     

Learning habits of students with special needs in short‐term vocational education programmes

This research examined some characteristics of the learning habits of students with special needs and those without them in programmes of short‐term vocational education in five areas: motivation, learning and learning techniques, emotional, social and the area of self‐evaluation. The research sample consisted of 140 students from different secondary schools. The Questionnaire on the Learning Habits of Adolescents was used for the purpose of the study. The differences between the means from individual learning habit scales, between the students with special needs or without them, were discovered by one‐way analysis of variance. Basic findings of empirical research emphasise that there exist statistically significant differences between the students with special needs and the students without special needs in four areas of learning habits. Among the findings causing concern in connection with learning habits, we would like to underscore the fact that students with special needs are perceived as less efficient at and less competent in coping with learning and work tasks. These students are not familiar with effective methods and strategies for successful learning, which leads to the feelings of frustration and helplessness in case of failure. In order to cultivate an effective and supportive educational environment for students with special needs, short‐term vocational schools should develop learning/teaching models that provide a potentially powerful alternative to traditionally directed teaching approaches.