Still keen and committed: piloting an instrument for identifying positive veteran teachers

ABSTRACT

Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching. This article reports on the creation and piloting of an instrument designed to test whether this positive cohort can be empirically identified within a wider teaching population. Four constructs (experimentation, challenge, comfort and leadership) drawn from Huberman (1993), and Day and Gu (2007) formed the basis for an online pilot survey completed by 145 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported three of the four factors (experimentation, comfort, leadership), with challenge loading strongly with experimentation. Initial findings suggest the potential of the instrument in helping identifying positive veteran teachers within systems, as well as the voracity of the research approach. Examining and articulating how these veteran teachers maintain their positive outlook may prove valuable as many countries confront an ageing teaching workforce, increasing student numbers and difficulties in retaining experienced teachers, meaning those who remain will be expected to sustain their commitment for longer.     

Detecting subtle yet fast skeletal muscle contractions with ultrasoft and durable graphene-based cellular materials

Human bodily movements are primarily controlled by the contractions of skeletal muscles. Unlike joint or skeletal movements that are generally performed in the large displacement range, the contractions of the skeletal muscles that underpin these movements are subtle in intensity yet high in frequency. This subtlety of movement makes it a formidable challenge to develop wearable and durable soft materials to electrically monitor such motions with high fidelity for the purpose of, for example, muscle/neuromuscular disease diagnosis. Here we report that an intrinsically fragile ultralow-density graphene-based cellular monolith sandwiched between silicone rubbers can exhibit a highly effective stress and strain transfer mechanism at its interface with the rubber, with a remarkable improvement in stretchability (>100%). In particular, this hybrid also exhibits a highly sensitive, broadband-frequency electrical response (up to 180 Hz) for a wide range of strains. By correlating the mechanical signal of muscle movements obtained from this hybrid material with electromyography, we demonstrate that the strain sensor based on this hybrid material may provide a new, soft and wearable mechanomyography approach for real-time monitoring of complex neuromuscular–skeletal interactions in a broad range of healthcare and human–machine interface applications. This work also provides a new architecture-enabled functional soft material platform for wearable electronics.     

Adult distance study through computer conferencing

The use of computer conferencing by higher education institutions offering distance education courses has expanded rapidly since 1987. Despite a parallel growth in the academic scholarship, few studies examined students' experience of learning in an on‐line course. Using unstructured interviews and observations at adultstudents' homes or worksites, thestudy investigated adult student perspectives of distance study by computer conferencing. It found theseadults actively engaged in social relationships outside their distance studies which sustain their educational pursuits. The students provided insights into aspects of the on‐line environment: asynchronicity, interactivity, textual communications, and collaboration. Their learning orientation suggested the value they placed on conference activities. They incidentally transferred or invented learning strategies to deal with the different dynamics of this instructional environment. The computer conference brought together widely dissimilar students and encouraged them to ‘talk’ with one another, while unaware of each others' physical attributes. On‐line relationships served meaningful purposes, but rarely continued beyond the course. Based on these findings, the study presents an Adult Distance Study Through Computer Conferencing Model to guide understanding of the student experience with this medium.     

An Assessment of the Relative Importance of Criminal Justice Learning Objectives

This study examines the relative importance of the different learning objectives for criminal justice education as identified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). Three different populations (students, faculty, and professionals) completed a survey exercise in which they were required to rank order hypothetical job applicants who varied in competency on each of the ACJS learning objectives. In addition, students completed the same exercise pre- and post-completion of their required internship to determine if experience in the field affected their responses. Conjoint analysis was used to identify the relative importance of different learning objectives. While results indicate some similarities in responses across all three populations, several interesting differences were observed, and these may have important curricular implications for criminal justice programs.     

We all as a family are graduating tonight: a case for mathematical knowledge for parental involvement

The researchers in this study investigated the impact of mathematics-focused parental involvement on Kindergarten to Grade 8 children and parents as well as factors prompting that impact. Qualitative analysis consisting of parent, child, and teacher interviews and 3-year quantitative testing showed significant improvements in students’ mathematics understanding and achievement. Moreover parents and teachers improved on measures of content knowledge. We hypothesize that improved parent content and pedagogical knowledge and improved parent-child interactions around mathematics stimulate children to learn at school. Furthermore, we found aspects of parent knowledge and dispositions gained to be analogous to teacher MKT; we termed these aspects Mathematical Knowledge for Parental Involvement. Such aspects include content knowledge, valuing students’ own strategies, and listening to students’ explanations and may boost student achievement in mathematics.