Young Children's Knowledge Building and Literacy Development Through Knowledge Forum®

This study examined how the use of Knowledge Forum (KF)®, a networked, Internet-based learning environment, was related to the literacy development of 4-year-old children in a laboratory school affiliated with the University of Toronto. Over the course of the year, children participated in a longitudinal photo journal project. With adult support, children posted their photo journals and ideas to KF® in the form of electronic “notes”, which allowed children to view each other's work and to build on ideas by posting their responses and comments. A comparison group employed a paper-only format to write notes about their photos. Results showed that children were motivated to read others' notes and to respond using invented spelling. There were gender differences in the number of notes posted. Implications of the study are discussed regarding the motivation for literacy among boys and girls and the benefits of having electronic archives of literacy development.     

Assessing attitude towards religion: the Astley–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Theistic Faith

This study builds on the research tradition modelled by the Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity, the Katz–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Judaism, the Sahin–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Islam and the Santosh–Francis Scale of Attitude towards Hinduism to propose a generic instrument concerned with attitudes towards theistic faith. The scale properties of this new instrument, established among a sample of 284 (200 female and 84 male) 16–18-year-old students, commend it for use in future research.     

Social Learning Theory and Web-Based Learning Environments: A Review of Research and Discussion of Implications

Abstract

Since the 1970s, cognitive psychological perspectives have dominated pedagogical frameworks and models for designing technology-mediated teaching and learning environments. More recently, social learning perspectives have received attention as viable or even desirable frames for research and practice related to teaching and learning, particularly in Web-based learning environments (WBLEs). In this article, the authors analyze these social learning perspectives and how they can be used in the design and implementation of online learning. This review and analysis of the research related to social learning perspectives on WBLEs provides several implications for future research and practice: (1) examining learners' individual characteristics in WBLEs, (2) identifying strategies for promoting social interaction in WBLEs, and (3) developing effective design principles for WBLEs.     

The role of rhythm in the correction of stammering

PIONEER WOMEN ORATORS. By Lillian O'Connor. New York: Columbia University Press, 1954; pp. xvii+264. $3.75.

A HISTORY OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY. By Clement Eaton. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1954; pp. ix+335. $5.50.

LINCOLN'S IMAGERY: A STUDY IN WORD POWER. By Theodore C. Blegen. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Sumac Press, 1954; pp. 32. $2.00.

THE ANTISLAVERY ORIGINS OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT. By Jacobus ten‐Broek. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1951; pp. 232. $3.00.

ELIHU ROOT AND THE CONSERVATIVE TRADITION. By Richard W. Leopold. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1954; pp. x+222. $3.00.

THE MAN BEHIND ROOSEVELT, THE STORY OF LOUIS McHENRY HOWE. By Lela Stiles. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1954; x+311. $4.75.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: THE ORDEAL. By Frank Freidel. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1954; pp. 320. $6.00.

A SHORT HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT, 1295–1642. By Faith Thompson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1953; pp. vi+280. $4.50.

SAMUEL JOHNSON'S PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING: DEBATES IN THE SENATE OF LILLIPUT. By Benjamin Beard Hoover. (University of California Publications, English Studies: VII). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1953; pp. xi+227. Cloth, $2.50; paper, $1.75.

SAVANNAH'S PIONEER THEATRE FROM ITS ORIGINS TO 1810. By J. Max Patrick. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1953; pp. viii+94. $1.75.

TWINS OF GENIUS. By Guy A. Cardwell. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State College Press, 1953; pp. iii+134. $2.50.

THE THEATRE IN THE FIFTIES. By George Jean Nathan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953; pp. viii+298. $4.50.

THEATRE, ‘53. Edited by John Chapman. New York: Random House, 1953; pp. 564. $5.00.

“MODERNISM”; IN MODERN DRAMA. By Joseph Wood Krutch. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1953; pp. 138. $2.75.

AN INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL AMERICAN PHONETICS. By Charles Van Riper and Dorothy Edna Smith. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1954: pp. vi+152. $2.50.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN ENGLISH. By Stuart Robertson. (Revised by Frederic G. Cassidy). New York: Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1954; pp. viii+469. $7.35.

POWER OF WORDS. By Stuart Chase. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1954; pp. xii+308. $3.95.

SPEECH IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. By Mardel Ogilvie. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, 1954; pp. vi+318. $4.50.

TOWARD BETTER SPEECH: A Manual for Teachers of All Grades. Prepared for the Board of Education of the City of New York Curriculum Bulletin Series by Grace V. Dooley and Leontine A. Murtha, under the supervision of Letitia Raubicheck. Curriculum Bulletin Series Number 5. New York: Board of Education, 1953; pp. 130. $.40.

SPEECH AND THE DEAF CHILD. By Irene R. Ewing and A. W. G. Ewing. Washington, D. C.: The Volta Bureau, 1954; pp. xii+256.

AUDITORY DISORDERS IN CHILDREN: A MANUAL FOR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. By Helmer R. Myklebust. New York: Grune &; Stratton, 1954; pp. 471. $6.00.

PLANNED PREACHING. By George Miles Gibson. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954; pp. 140. $2.50.

PREACHING. By Walter Russell Bowie. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1954; pp. 217. $2.75.

Edmund H. Linn, Andover Newton Theological School

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERSONALITY. By Bernard Notcutt. New York: Philosophical Library, 1953; pp. 255. $4.75.     

Personal Well-Being of Gifted Students Following Participation in an Early College-Entrance Program

In this study, life satisfaction and its correlates were explored through analysis of the experiences and psychological traits of highly gifted students who were accelerated into an early college-entrance program. Happiness, fulfillment in life, assuredness, and good dispositions are constructs that point toward positive character development and thriving. These early college entrants expressed greater global satisfaction with their lives than age peers. They specifically reported elevated levels of satisfaction in their achievements, immediate standard of living, personal safety, and future security than age peers. They expressed powerful feelings of general self-efficacy and high levels of trait seriousness, two constructs related to facilitating success. The findings in this study suggest these early college entrants are on a path toward personal thriving and living a good life.     

基于资源的学习环境设计

本文针对数字化时代基于资源的学习需求,论述了基于资源的学习环境（RBLEs）的定义和特点,描述和分析了RBLEs的基本结构,讨论了RBLEs在未来发展所面临的挑战和机遇,从而为RBLEs提供了一个设计框架。     

Telephone Interviewing Practices within Academic Libraries

This study explores the use of telephone interviews within academic libraries by surveying the 112 academic institutional members of the Association of Research Libraries to identify how telephone interviews are utilized. By comparing the literature to the research results, the authors conclude with best practices for telephone interviews.     

A shifting landscape: using tablets to support learning in students with diverse abilities

As technology becomes a larger part of people’s everyday lives, it is logical to think that it should also become a part of the learning process. The use of tablets in classrooms is becoming an area of interest as researchers are trying to understand what the benefits are – if any – to using these devices. This article gives an overview of some of the recent literature related to the benefits and challenges associated with the use of tablets with students in middle schools. Prevalent themes include the benefits of using tablets with students who have learning disabilities, and the challenges that can arise in the classroom, specifically issues of safety and security, access to apps and disruptive behaviours when using these devices. The authors share qualitative case studies of two teachers who have used tablets extensively with their students and discuss how their experiences resonate with the literature. The authors conclude with a summary of the affordances and constraints of using tablets with students who have special needs and offer workable solutions for some of the challenges educators face when using these devices.