Literature‐informed,one‐turn action research: three cases and a commentary

Although action research is a common feature of courses of initial teacher training, the evidence as to its efficacy, in encouraging reflection among trainees, is mixed. This article discusses cases of action research assignments carried out by three trainees into their own practice in relation to (a) behaviour management, (b) monitoring and assessing, and (c) pupil‐centred education. The assignments are analysed using Bloom et al's. (1964) typology of thinking skills, Handal & Lauvas's (1987) model of reflective practice, and typologies of action research by Noffke (1997) and Rearick and Feldman (1999). They are positioned as cases of ‘literature‐informed, one‐turn’ action research; a concept which is discussed in relation to other concepts of action research.     

The Relationship Between Security of Attachment and the Development of a Personal Premise System of Relationships and Expectations for Peer Interaction

Block (1984) postulated that children develop a personal premise system concerning the nature of relationships from the kind of responsiveness, balance, and control they experience when interacting with the caregiver and the caregiver's degree of accessibility during caregiver-child interactions. Block's theory was used in this review to discuss how children's personal premise systems or models of relationships develop through the process of attachment to the caregiver, and how, as children establish more extensive social relationships, this premise system becomes a more generalized model of self and others which shapes all interactions with others including peer relationships during early and middle childhood. The review also suggests continuity in the organization of behavior, for just as the nature of the early personal premise system is shaped by caregiver responsiveness, control, consistency, and availability, so the quality of ties youngsters form with their peers seems also to be shaped by the tone of children's responsiveness to peers, the degree and kind of control youngsters exert in peer interactions, the consistency of behaviors with peers, and children's emotional and physical availability to peers.     

Team-based Introductory Research Experiences in Mathematics

Abstract

As part of Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU’s) initiative to improve retention of at-risk STEM majors, they recruit first-time, full-time freshman STEM majors with mathematics ACT scores of 19 to 23 to participate in MTSU’s “Mathematics as a FirstSTEP to Success in STEM” project (FirstSTEP). This article overviews MTSU’s FirstSTEP research approach and demonstrates that introductory, early research experiences can be successful for mathematics projects. At the end of their freshman year, mathematics students can develop a foundation to conduct mathematical research, increase depth of content knowledge, and build confidence in their technical abilities.     

Sociology and comparative education: A comparative educationist's perspective

The thesis examined in this paper is that comparative educationists, far from following intellectual trends, have introduced new dimensions to methods of enquiry developed first by historians, then by social scientists and, finally and perhaps marginally, by conceptual philosophers. In so far as comparisons can be made, it is asserted that, in the twentieth century, paradigms in comparative education reflect revolutions in the natural sciences, and that to the extent that these preceded shifts in social science paradigms after about 1900, comparative educationists debated and rejected positivism before sociologists did, in the Anglo-Saxon world at least.A second assumption which is examined is that comparative educationists have anticipated issues which subsequently became important in the growth of national and parochial research in sociology, and for that matter in political science.A disclaimer is necessary: little attempt has been made to examine the causal influences in either field or between comparative educationists and sociologists. The history of such interaction at a personal and institutional level is very recent, the participants in the interchanges are, in many cases, still alive, and a substantive recent history of comparative education has yet to be written, although to some extent E. Shils' analysis of the history of sociological enquiry provides a schema against which the growth of comparative education can be compared.

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Zusammenfassung In dieser Arbeit wird die These überprüft, daß vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaftler, weit davon entfernt, intellektuellen Trends zu folgen, neue Dimensionen für Untersuchungsmethoden eingeführt haben, die zuerst von Historikern, dann von Sozialwissenschaftlern und am Rande auch von konzeptuellen Philosophen entwickelt wurden. Soweit es möglich ist, Vergleiche anzustellen, wird dargelegt, daß im 20. Jahrhundert Paradigmen der vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft tiefgreifene Veränderungen in den Naturwissenschaften widerspiegeln. Softern diese den nach ca. 1900 stattfindenden Wandlungen in sozialwissenschaftlichen Paradigmen vorausgingen, haben vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaftler noch vor den Soziologen den Positivismus erörtert und verworfen, zumindest in der angelsächsischen Welt.Zweitens wird die Annahme überprüft, daß vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaftler Fragen vorweggenommen haben, die später in der Entwicklung nationaler und örtlicher soziologischer Forschung und auch in der Politologie Bedeutung erlangten.Eine Einschränkung muß noch gemacht werden: Der Autor hat weitgehend darauf verzichtet, die kausalen Einflüsse in den beiden Einzelbereichen sowie die gegenseitigen Einwirkungen von vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaftlern und Soziologen zu untersuchen. Die Geschichte solcher Wechselwirkungen auf persönlicher und institutioneller Ebene ist noch sehr jung, die Teilnehmer an ihnen sind in vielen Fällen noch am Leben, und eine substantielle neuere Geschichte der vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft ist noch nicht geschrieben. Dennoch bietet E. Shils Analyse der Geschichte soziologischer Untersuchungen eine gewisse Grundlage für einen Vergleich mit der Entwicklung der vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft.

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Résumé La thèse soutenue dans cet article est que les théoriciens de l'éducation comparée, loin de suivre les courants intellectuels, ont introduit de nouvelles dimensions dans les méthodes d'enquête élaborées d'abord par les historiens, puis développées par les spécialistes des sciences sociales, et enfin — marginalement peut-être — par les philosophes conceptuels. Pour autant que l'on puisse établir des comparaisons, on constate qu'au XXe siècle, les paradigmes de l'éducation comparée reflètent les révolutions qui surviennent dans les sciences naturelles et qu'ils se modifient avant même ceux des sciences sociales, aux alentours de 1900, au point que les théoriciens de l'éducation comparée contestent et rejettent le positivisme avant que les spécialistes des sciences sociales soient parvenus à cette démarche, du moins dans les pays anglosaxons.Une autre assomption de la thèse est que les théoriciens de l'éducation comparée ont anticipé des situations qui devaient se révéler importantes par la suite, avec le développement de la recherche sociologique nationale et locale, et également avec celui des sciences politiques.Il est juste de reconnaître néanmoins qu'une timide tentative a été faite dans l'intention d'étudier les influences causales, que ce soit dans chacun de ces domaines ou entre théoriciens de l'éducation comparée et sociologues. L'histoire d'une telle interaction au niveau individuel et au niveau institutionnel est très récente; les hommes qui ont participé à ces échanges sont encore pour la plupart vivants et une histoire récente autonome de l'éducation comparée reste à écrire. Toutefois, l'analyse que E. Shils a fate de l'histoire de l'enquête sociologique fournit, jusqu'à un certain point, une base permettant d'évaluer le développement de l'éducation comparée.

     

Empty Templates: The Ethical Habits of Empty State Pages

This article examines how empty state pages (ESPs) constrain user-generated communication through the ethical lens of Bourdieu’s habitus. The authors define ESPs as interactive instructional templates that prompt users to input information to participate in an online network. Through a case study analyzing ~450,000 online comments from The New York Times, the authors find a direct connection between ESP elements, such as the character limit for comments, and online writers’ cultivated habitus.     

Beyond citation analysis: a model for assessment of research impact

Question:

Is there a means of assessing research impact beyond citation analysis?

Setting:

The case study took place at the Washington University School of Medicine Becker Medical Library.

Method:

This case study analyzed the research study process to identify indicators beyond citation count that demonstrate research impact.

Main Results:

The authors discovered a number of indicators that can be documented for assessment of research impact, as well as resources to locate evidence of impact. As a result of the project, the authors developed a model for assessment of research impact, the Becker Medical Library Model for Assessment of Research.

Conclusion:

Assessment of research impact using traditional citation analysis alone is not a sufficient tool for assessing the impact of research findings, and it is not predictive of subsequent clinical applications resulting in meaningful health outcomes. The Becker Model can be used by both researchers and librarians to document research impact to supplement citation analysis.     

Visual acuity for single lines as a function of hue and age

176 students in grades 2-12 were tested for visual acuity as a function of minimally resolvable red, yellow, green, and blue lines. A 3-way mixed analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the colors, with better acuity for longer wavelengths. Significant age effects as well as a sex X condition interaction were also found. Post hoc analysis revealed a significant quartic trend for age. It is argued that the differential acuity thresholds for hue and the curvilinear age trend may depend upon the coordination of the accommodation and refractive power of the eye, which are affected by differential growth rates of the lens and the axial length of the eye.