Teaching in a play-based curriculum: Theory,practice and evidence of developmental education for young children

This article focuses on the possibilities of teaching in a play-based curriculum, which has become an issue of international relevance. As a domain of study, the Developmental Education approach was taken in the early grades of Dutch primary schools (grades 1–4, ages 4–8). The article describes the theoretical basis of the approach and how it is elaborated in a play-based curriculum for early years classrooms. Particularly the teachers’ strategies for the promotion of development will be discussed in more detail. Finally, the article presents a piece of the evidence base of this approach by reporting a research on vocabulary acquisition. Despite methodological limitations of the empirical study, the evidence suggests that teaching in a play-based curriculum is not only theoretically plausible and practically feasible, but also seems to be effectively useful for the attainment of positive outcomes (on vocabulary learning) as compared to a strictly teacher-driven approach.     

The Role of Theory in the Study of Peer Collaboration

This special issue illustrates how research on peer collaboration is influenced by different theoretical perspectives. In the first part of this commentary, the role of theory in each article is discussed. The authors use connections among theory, research questions, and study methods to identify how theory affected the work of each group of researchers. They then make the case that the real need lies in the integration of those theories and in the integration of all findings relevant to applied questions of collaborative processing. Following a brief review of relevant theories, the authors demonstrate how a cohesive, integrated theory of group processes can be adopted.     

Psychometric Properties of Vocabulary Test Items as a Function of Word Characteristics

In a study of Gustafsson, Wedman and Westerlund (in press), the vocabulary test (WORD) in the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test was found to load both on a general factor (G) and a factor reflecting verbal knowledge (Gc'). Word characteristics were gathered in order to investigate if they can account for the variation in items’ loadings on the G and Gc’ factors. The results indicate that items loading highly on the G‐factor tend to involve words which are of Latin origin, relatively frequent, morphologically varied and abstract. Items loading highly on the Gc'‐factor tend to involve words which are of Swedish origin, relatively frequent and particularly so in fiction, and concrete but not nouns. Knowledge about these relations may be used to construct vocabulary tests which to a smaller or larger extent reflect either G or Gc’. The results, although tentative, may also be useful to shed light on the nature of the dimensions of ability.     

Students' Conceptions of Research. 2: An exploration of contrasting patterns of variation

This study explores variation in postgraduate students' and supervisors' conceptions of research. Based on earlier work, a Conceptions of Research Inventory (CoRI) was trialled on a mixed sample of postgraduate students and supervisors (n = 251). Exploratory factor analyses of resultant data yields a five‐dimensional empirical model, the composition of which is consistent with earlier work by the present authors. Four of these five dimensions distinguish between (variation in) conceptions of research such as “truth”, “problem‐solving”, “re‐search”, and “an insightful process”. The fifth dimension captures variation in terms of what are interpreted as “misconceptions”. The discrete conceptual dimensions suggested within the factor model are further explored via k‐means cluster analyses in terms of partitioning of the dataset, as limited by sample sizes, according to postgraduate status and supervisor designation. These analyses provide further insights into variation, across the various clusters in each case, as expressed in the profiles of cluster mean scores. Such differences as are evidenced highlight contrasting patterns of variation between, for example, experienced and novice researchers. There is also evidence of dissonance in some of the cluster solutions and it is further demonstrated via analysis of variance that dissonant cluster membership is associated with a generally lower level of self‐estimated performance. The implications of these findings are finally considered in relation to postgraduate training and supervision.     

Qualifications of the high school play producer

LINCOLN, DOUGLAS, AND SLAVERY: IN THE CRUCIBLE OF PUBLIC DEBATE. By David Zarefsky. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990; pp. xiv + 309. $34.95.

DEEDS DONE IN WORDS: PRESIDENTIAL RHETORIC AND THE GENRES OF GOVERNANCE. By Karlyn Kohrs Campbell and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990; pp. ix + 275. $27.50.

ANNA HOWARD SHAW: SUFFRAGE ORATOR AND SOCIAL REFORMER. By Wil A. Linkugel and Martha Solomon. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991; pp. xv + 238. $45.00.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE RHETORIC OF MILITANT DECENCY. By Robert V. Friedenberg. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990; pp. xviii + 209. $42.95.

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN: ORATOR OF SMALL‐TOWN AMERICA. By Donald K. Springen. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1991; pp. x + 194. $42.95.

ROBERT G. INGERSOLL: A LIFE. By Frank Smith. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1990; pp. 417. $29.95.

ENACTING POLITICAL CULTURE: RHETORICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF LIBERTY WEEKEND 1986. David E. Procter. New York: Praeger, 1990; pp. 144. $37.50.

THE RHETORIC OFTERRORISM AND COUNTERTERRORISM. By Richard W. Leeman. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991; pp. xii + 217. $42.95.

COLD WAR RHETORIC: STRATEGY, METAPHOR, AND IDEOLOGY. By Martin J. Medhurst, Robert L. Ivie, Philip Wander, and Robert L. Scott. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990; pp. xv + 224. $39.95.

RHETORICAL DIMENSIONS OF POPULAR CULTURE. By Barry Brummett. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1991; pp. xxiv + 248. $29.95.

TELEVISION AND WOMEN'S CULTURE: THE POLITICS OF THE POPULAR. Edited by Mary Ellen Brown. London: Sage, 1990; pp. 244. $45.00; paper $18.95.

COMMUNICATION AND THE CULTURE OF TECHNOLOGY. Edited by Martin J. Medhurst, Alberto Gonzalez, and Tarla Rai Peterson. Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1990; pp. xvi + 285. $30.00 paper, $45.00 cloth.

DEMOCRACY IN AN AGE OF CORPORATE COLONIZATION: DEVELOPMENTS IN COMMUNICATION AND THE POLITICS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. By Stanley A. Deetz. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1992; pp. xi + 399. $54.50; paper $17.95.

MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND COMMUNICATIVE ACTION. By Jürgen Habermas. Translated by Christian Lenhardt and Shierry Weber Nicholsen. Introduction by Thomas McCarthy. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1990; xiii + 211. $19.95.

PREFACES TO THE DIAPHORA: RHETORICS, ALLEGORY, AND THE INTERPRETATION OF POSTMODERNITY. By Peter Carravetta. W. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 1991; pp. xx + 345. $29.50.

CONVERSATIONS ON COMMUNICATION ETHICS. Edited by Karen Joy Greenberg. Foreword by J. Vernon Jensen. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1991; pp. xii + 188. $32.50.     

Learning during tourism: the experience of learning from the tourist's perspective

The purpose of the research described in the paper was to explore the learning experience that occurs during leisure tourism from the tourist's perspective. Learning throughout the lifespan occurs in diverse contexts and travel presents a unique learning environment enabling both unplanned and planned opportunities. The Husserlian phenomenology presented here involved in-depth interviews with 10 recent tourists and revealed the following 6 qualities of the tourism learning experience: contrast, freedom and flexibility, fun and engagement, authentication, reflection and exploration. The results of the study are discussed in relation to learning, leisure and tourism concepts. Future directions for research are presented.     

Analysing change in learning strategies over time: A comparison of three statistical techniques

Change in learning strategies during higher education is an important topic of research when considering students’ approaches to learning. Regarding the statistical techniques used to analyse this change, repeated measures ANOVA is mostly relied upon. Recently, multilevel and multi-indicator latent growth (MILG) analyses have been used as well. The present study provides details concerning the differences between these three techniques. By applying them to the same dataset, we aim to answer two research questions. Firstly, how are findings on the average trend complementary, convergent or divergent? Secondly, how are results on the differential growth over time complementary, convergent or divergent? Data originates from a longitudinal study on the change in learning strategies during the transition from secondary to higher education in Flanders (Belgium). 425 students provided complete data at each of the three waves of data collection. Results on the significance of average trends are convergent while the strength of the growth over time diverges across analysis techniques. Regarding the differential change, the MILG seems more able to detect variance in growth over time. Recommendations for future research on the changeability of learning strategies over time are provided.     

The impact of cooperative learning on self-directed learning abilities in the computer applications technology class

ABSTRACT

This article reports on an explorative study into the relationship between the implementation of cooperative learning strategies and students’ self-directedness in learning. Participants in this study were first-year Computer Applications Technology student teachers. Students completed a self-directed learning questionnaire at the beginning of the module and again after completion of the module. We used cooperative learning strategies during contact sessions over 12 weeks. After completion of the module, interviews were also conducted with randomly selected students. We concluded that the cooperative learning experiences in the Computer Applications Technology class appear to have an effect on students’ perceived readiness for self-directed learning only in cases where students do not have perceived high self-directed learning skills.     

Weiterentwicklung der Rankingsysteme im Reitsport

A critical analysis of the existing ranking systems of German and international horse sports could identify weak points with regard to their implicit evaluations of the horses’ performances. This study is aimed at developing a feasible and more performance-related valuation method and comparing it with the existing cumulative ranking systems of the German and international equestrian umbrella organizations. On the one hand, the modeling is based on a method using average points per competition; on the other hand, by considering additional points and drawbacks. We investigated a sample of 50 top-ranked jumping horses and monitored the differences towards the existing ranking systems. The modification proposed results in significant implications on the rankings. The validity in relation to the horses’ performance evaluation could be improved. As a consequence, the interests of different stakeholder groups are better served than before. It is recommended to further develop the existing ranking system accordingly and to analyze a more differentiated placing of points.