The reflective institution: Assuring and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning

Three definitions of ``quality' have entered the qualityassurance (QA) debate: quality as value for money, quality as fitfor the purpose of the institution, quality as transforming. The firstis pivotal for retrospective QA, which sees QA in terms ofaccountability, and conforming to externally imposed standards. The lasttwo are pivotal for prospective QA, which sees QA asmaintaining and enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in theinstitution. In this paper, the reflective practitioner is taken as themodel for prospective QA. Three stages are involved in institutionalreflective practice: articulating an espoused theory of teaching, thequality model (QM); continually improving on current practicethrough quality enhancement (QE), in which staff development should playan important role; and making quality feasible (QF), by removingimpediments to good teaching, which often arise through distortedpriorities in institutional policy and procedures. These three stages,QM, QE, and QF, are essential ingredients in prospective QA.     

Kinds of Keys of student ratings of faculty teaching effectiveness

Three substudies of effects of different formats on student ratings of faculty teaching effectiveness were conducted. One substudy, Kinds of Keys, investigated three main kinds of keys: Agreement, Evaluation, and Needs Improvement. The second, NO TUP, investigated numbers of positive rating categories. The third, Item Wording Direction, investigated the same items worded positively, negatively, and neutrally, respectively. Practically important differences in level of ratings obtained in Kinds of Keys and practically and statistically significant differences obtained in NO TUP and Item Wording Direction. It was concluded that additional research is necessary to determine if apparent differences in teaching effectiveness are actually differences in teaching effectiveness or differences due to the methods of measurement.     

Effect of group size on avoidance learning in zebra fish,Brachydanio rerio (Pisces: Cyprinidae)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of density of fish on the rate of avoidance learning in a schooling fish. Naive adult zebra fish (Brachydanio rerio) were trained in a two-way aquatic shuttlebox, in isolation, in groups of two, or in groups of five. The number of trials to reach progressively more exacting levels of performance (1, 2, 3, … ,9 consecutive correct avoidance responses on 2 successive days), was used to quantify the rate of learning for individuals in the three groups. Using this measure, individuals in groups of five reached any given level of performance in fewer trials than individuals tested alone, which in turn reached the progressive criteria in fewer trials than individuals tested in pairs. In addition, the mean latency of response to the conditioned stimulus for individuals in groups of five was significantly lower than for individuals tested alone or in groups of two by Day 3 of the experiment. The rate of learning in zebra fish schools at these densities may be due to either a balance between imitation learning and conflict-inhibition among the fish or the elicitation of different behavioral responses by shock, depending upon environmental stimuli.     

School self‐evaluation and the role of a critical friend

School self‐evaluation is receiving increasing attention in England, partly as a result of changes in the Ofsted inspection framework giving greater prominence to what schools can do to speak for themselves. The relationship between internal self‐evaluation and external inspection was a theme in a high profile policy speech made by the Schools Standards Minister, David Miliband, at the North of England Conference in January 2004. As part of a ‘new relationship with schools’ heralded in the speech, Miliband articulated critical friendship in terms of a ‘school improvement partner’. This article draws upon a number of research projects to critique these proposals, especially in respect of the role of a critical friend in school self‐evaluation. Issues discussed include different models of self and external evaluation, the importance of context, and the various ways in which a critical friend can support school self‐evaluation.     

Adolescents and Cyber Bullying: The Precaution Adoption Process Model

A survey of adolescents (N?=?1,488) documented Facebook use and experience with cyber bullying. The study found that 84 % of adolescents (middle school through college undergraduates) use Facebook, and that most users log on daily. While 30 % of the sample reported being cyber bullied, only 12.5 % quit using the site, and only 18 % told a parent or school official about the abuse. Up to 75 % of middle school Facebook users have experienced cyber bullying. The current study was the first to apply the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM) to cyber bullying or to test the model with children and adolescents. Results suggest that most adolescents are aware of cyber bullying and acknowledge it as a problem in their school. About half of the adolescents did not progress beyond Stage 2 of the PAPM (aware of the problem, but haven’t really thought about it). Adolescents also exhibited optimistic bias, believing they were less likely than peers to become cyber bullied. Implications for prevention education are discussed.     

Foraging on the radial-arm maze: Effects of altering the reward at a target location

Thirsty rats were trained to collect small water rewards from the end of each arm of an eight-arm radial maze. During these training trials and subsequent testing trials, the subjects were allowed to choose a maximum of eight arms. “Preference” for a target maze location was studied by noting when, in the sequence of eight choices, the target was selected. During testing, when one maze location was consistently devoid of water, rats decreased their preference for this arm over trials (Experiment 1). Similarly, rats that learned a saccharin-lithium association demonstrated lower preferences for a maze location that consistently held the conditioned saccharin solution. This was true for animals that received saccharin-lithium conditioning on the maze (Experiment 3A) and for animals conditioned to saccharin in a separate context (Experiment 3B). An increase in preference for a target maze location consistently containing a sweet chocolate milk solution was observed in animals that were water- and food-deprived (Experiment 2). These studies demonstrate that animals will modify their responses toward (preferences for) maze locations that predictably contain an altered reward.     

Overcoming resistance to formal instructional development processes

The instructional development (id) process sometimes is perceived as being too time-intensive and as delaying instructional materials development. Course writers holding these perceptions may resist following a formalid process or give only cursory attention to early stages in the process. Such a situation can create conflict between course writers and instructional designers responsible for implementing a particularid model. This article describes a way instructional designers can overcome some of the resistance to following theid process.