Looking at Literacy in the 21st Century

Literacy instruction has shifted in recent years alongside acts of legislation. Areas of literacy education like adolescent literacy and RTI are now receiving increased attention, whereas phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency receive considerably less attention than 10 years ago. Comparative discussions describe “very hot” and “cold” topics as they relate to philosophy/approach, level, content, materials, and assessment in 2001 versus 2010. Educators can utilize this content information to inform their instruction and direct attention to needed areas within their own schools.     

Getting to New Horizons in the Educational Milieu

Given the prevailing spirit of teacher frustration regarding current educational policy, the authors perused frequently visited teacher blogs and discussion boards in the summer of 2009 to determine whether teachers are effectively using them to express professionally informed political dissent regarding educational policy. While many teachers are frustrated with educational policies, they are not particularly adept at voicing their dissent against such policies. Many downplay their professional knowledge, avoid overtly political postings, and feel isolated from others who share their views.     

The (co-)production of public uncertainty: UK scientific advice on mobile phone health risks

UK scientific advice on the possible health risks of mobile phones has embraced (or seems to be embracing) broader engagement with interested non-experts. This paper explains the context of lost credibility that made such a development necessary, and the implications of greater engagement for the construction (and expert control) of "public concern." I narrate how scientific advice matured from an approach based on compliance with guidelines to a style of "public science" in which issues such as trust and democracy were intertwined with scientific risk assessment. This paper develops existing conceptions of the "public understanding of science" with an explanation based around the co-production of scientific and social order. Using a narrative drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with scientists and policymakers, I explain how expert reformulation of the state of scientific uncertainty within a public controversy reveals constructions of "The Public," and the desired extent of their engagement. Constructions of the public changed at the same time as a construction of uncertainty as solely an expert concern was molded into a state of politically workable public uncertainty. This paper demonstrates how publics can be constructed as instruments of credible policymaking, and suggests the potential for public alienation if nonexperts feel they have not been fairly represented.     

A DIALECTICIAN RESPONDS TO A PHILOSOPHER WHO HOLDS AN ORTHODOX VIEW OF KNOWLEDGE

The purpose of this paper is to examine and reject a number of criticisms which can be made against a dialectical approach to educational knowledge by proponents of an orthodox epistemology.     

Revolutions in print: Jewish Publishing under the Tsars and the Soviets

Jack Kugelmass is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a member of the faculty of the Max Weinreich Center for Advanced Jewish Studies, he has taught courses on the anthropological study of Ashkenazic Jewry at YIVO.     

Unravelling the mysteries of expert mental calculation

Considering that the average adult cannot perform even the most elementary of mental calculations, the calculative feats of expert mental calculators seem unbelievable and mysterious. The processes and procedures which characterize expert mental calculation will be identified through a review of the published literature. In particular, it will be argued that experts can perform complex mental calculations because of their knowledge of a variety of calculative methods, their ability to recall instantly large numerical equivalents, and their ability to remember the numbers involved in the various stages of a calculation.