Teaching sociology of education in Canada: a comparative study of the two solitudes

This study aims to contribute to the fields of sociology of education and Canadian sociological teaching. English and French Canadian sociology of education course outlines were systematically analysed in order to assess how national context, language and internal divisions influence the undergraduate teaching of sociology of education. The findings indicate that: (1) identity and national questions are solely discussed in French Canada, (2) English Canada is experiencing a split between mainstream and critical approaches and (3) required readings parallel the national linguistic divide between English and French. In addition, there is no consensual ‘core’ for Canadian sociology of education curriculum and inequality is the most covered topic in the field. Mutual intellectual exchange between English and French sociologists, a relevant discussion about a core in the field and a better integration of under taught topics are proposed to move forward. The implications and significance of these findings are also discussed.     

Using targeted active-learning exercises and diagnostic question clusters to improve students' understanding of carbon cycling in ecosystems

In this study, we used targeted active-learning activities to help students improve their ways of reasoning about carbon flow in ecosystems. The results of a validated ecology conceptual inventory (diagnostic question clusters [DQCs]) provided us with information about students' understanding of and reasoning about transformation of inorganic and organic carbon-containing compounds in biological systems. These results helped us identify specific active-learning exercises that would be responsive to students' existing knowledge. The effects of the active-learning interventions were then examined through analysis of students' pre- and postinstruction responses on the DQCs. The biology and non-biology majors participating in this study attended a range of institutions and the instructors varied in their use of active learning; one lecture-only comparison class was included. Changes in pre- to postinstruction scores on the DQCs showed that an instructor's teaching method had a highly significant effect on student reasoning following course instruction, especially for questions pertaining to cellular-level, carbon-transforming processes. We conclude that using targeted in-class activities had a beneficial effect on student learning regardless of major or class size, and argue that using diagnostic questions to identify effective learning activities is a valuable strategy for promoting learning, as gains from lecture-only classes were minimal.     

Effects of fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance

Reading disability (RD) typically consists of deficits in word reading accuracy and/or reading comprehension. While it is well known that word reading accuracy deficits lead to comprehension deficits (general reading disability, GRD), less is understood about neuropsychological profiles of children who exhibit adequate word reading accuracy but nevertheless develop specific reading comprehension deficits (S-RCD). Establishing the underlying neuropsychological processes associated with different RD types is essential for ultimately understanding core neurobiological bases of reading comprehension. To this end, the present study investigated isolated and contextual word fluency, oral language, and executive function on reading comprehension performance in 56 9- to 14-year-old children [21 typically developing (TD), 18 GRD, and 17 S-RCD]. Results indicated that TD and S-RCD participants read isolated words at a faster rate than participants with GRD; however, both RD groups had contextual word fluency and oral language weaknesses. Additionally, S-RCD participants showed prominent weaknesses in executive function. Implications for understanding the neuropsychological bases for reading comprehension are discussed.

Widening the Circle: Faculty-Student Support Groups as Innovative Practice in Higher Education

Faculty-student support groups have the potential to promote strategies for co-mentorship in places of learning. They can also function to facilitate alternative forms of pedagogical practice in the context of lifelong learning. The purpose of this paper is to describe ideas and practices in the innovative development of faculty-student support groups in higher education. The authors provide a context for introducing the model of a co-mentoring support group, for considering institutional dynamics in forming co-mentoring support groups, for illustrating a case study analysis of a university-based support group, for providing a collegial response to the mentoring literature, for considering the need to formalize mentoring programs and outcomes, for exploring challenges to and benefits of the support group effort, and finally for envisioning co-mentoring support groups more generally. The authors argue that more attention needs to be given to studying alternative pedagogical practices that enable mutualistic relationships to endure. This article accordingly offers an original holistic guide for viewing mentoring as interconnected cycles and phases of lifelong learning.     

Serving Community Faculty Through a Dedicated Liaison

Community-based medical schools rely heavily on volunteer faculty to provide medical education. Volunteer faculty consist of health care professionals, primarily physicians, who commit to educating medical students and residents. While these volunteer faculty are typically unpaid, many medical schools provide some benefits to them for volunteering their time. One such benefit, although rarely noted in library or medical education literature, is access to academic medical library resources and services. This article highlights a library services liaison model dedicated to the support of volunteer faculty at a community-based medical school.     

A framework for understanding Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) performance

In this paper we present a theoretical model for understanding the performance of Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) search and retrieval application. Many models for understanding LSI have been proposed. Ours is the first to study the values produced by LSI in the term by dimension vectors. The framework presented here is based on term co-occurrence data. We show a strong correlation between second-order term co-occurrence and the values produced by the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) algorithm that forms the foundation for LSI. We also present a mathematical proof that the SVD algorithm encapsulates term co-occurrence information.     

A quality improvement apprenticeship: Gross anatomy in the time of Covid-19

The study of anatomy is a team-driven field in which anatomy instruction occurs in small groups in the laboratory with one faculty member guiding students through each anatomical region. One laboratory experience may include several small group instructors in one simultaneous learning session. In comparison, the education of future gross anatomists often happens in an apprenticeship model, where the optimal learning outcomes are met through training with an experienced mentor. It was the vision of the authors to further their education through initiating an inter-institutional exchange to apprentice with innovative mentors in order to bring new ideas back to their own gross anatomy courses. The Southeastern Conference, a consortium of the Universities in the Southern region of the United States often associated with intercollegiate sports, has a host of academic initiatives in addition to the athletic emphasis. The Southeastern Conference Faculty Travel Program is one mechanism by which the organization promotes scholarly excellence. In this case, the Faculty Travel Program provided a way for authors from the University of Kentucky to visit a nearby institution, Vanderbilt University, and learn from like-minded anatomy educators, with the goal of incorporating changes in their courses geared toward quality improvement. After this implementation, positive themes emerged in the student feedback on course evaluations. However, the collaboration was interrupted by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This article examines the strengths of interinstitutional apprenticeship and the benefits of such practices in a time of accelerated change in anatomical instruction.