The control of food among schoolchildren who have been racially and economically marginalized across the cityscape

This analysis involves an investigation of the corporate control of food in relation to low income and culturally dominated schoolchildren in cities. This includes an exploration of the problem as expressed globally and historically in relation to transnational policy networks. Since corporate growth always necessitates controlling the direction of what people talk about on the ground, I additionally critique the emerging popularity of the policy-linked language of ‘food deserts’ and ‘food security.’ I reveal these terms as postcolonial constructs, forged out of the tradition that those with power control both material and mental production. Given the economic struggles now felt by the middle classes, I contend such language seeks to contain this growing anxiety. Lastly, I review some widespread failed efforts to address the problem of lack of access to healthy and affordable food among marginalized urban communities. All of these attempts are shaped as part of broader and evolving policy networks and in this research include progressive resistance collectives, policies as commodities, and big box failures. I focus here on city initiatives in particular given the ongoing urban implosion taking place in much of the world as people continue to lose their access to land. Although I consider conditions in the USA, these arguments can be applied in various ways to other contexts.     

Celebrating Difference: Best Practices in Culturally Responsive Teaching Online

Culturally responsive teaching and design practices flip the online classroom by creating an environment that acknowledges, celebrates, and builds upon the cultural capital that learners and teachers bring to the online classroom. Challenges exist in all phases of online course design, including the ability to create online courses that reflect the instructor’s commitment to inclusive excellence, diversity, and social justice. Designing an online environment that supports all learners regardless of their backgrounds is important in their future success as professionals; thus, it is important for faculty to design courses with all students in mind. The purpose of this article is to share best practices in the design of culturally and linguistically responsive online courses that support the culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students we serve. Based on Gay’s (2010) culturally responsive teaching practices, this article provides examples of online activities that are validating; comprehensive; multi-dimensional; empowering; transformative, and emancipatory.     

Instructional approaches to foster third graders’ adaptive use of strategies: an experimental study on the effects of two learning environments on multi-digit addition and subtraction

The adaptive use of strategies, that is selecting a strategy which allows an efficient solution for a given problem, can be considered as an important individual ability relevant in various domains. Based on models of subjects’ skills of adaptive use of strategies, two idealized instructional approaches are suggested to foster students in their strategy development. The explicit approach aims at reducing cognitive load by demonstrating and practicing strategies combined with an explicit identification of criteria for strategy efficiency by contrasting problem solutions. The implicit approach capitalizes on the generation effect and stimulates students to generate their own strategies and efficiency criteria based on the analysis of task characteristics and the comparison of problem solutions. In a 1-week experimental study (16 lessons) with 73 third-graders, we examined the effectiveness of these instructional approaches in the domain of multi-digit addition and subtraction. Results from post- and two follow-up tests after 3 and 8?months did not yield different effects of the two approaches on students’ skills in adaptive use of strategies. A comparison of strategies used by the students showed that the students of the explicit approach more frequently applied complex strategies whereas the students from the implicit approach showed a more sustainable use of self-generated strategies. Hence, for the adaptive use of those strategies students are able to generate, the implicit approach turned out to be more effective than the explicit approach. However, this generation effect does not hold for strategies which are too complex to be generated by students.     

Flipped Classroom Implementation: A Case Report of Two Higher Education Institutions in the United States and Australia

Abstract

This case report explored the implementation of flipped classrooms at two higher education institutions. Experiences and publications from the institutions were used to identify and describe common themes, including successes and challenges encountered along with potential solutions to common misalignments, particularly as related to technology-enhanced learning. Strategies for selecting and delivering pre-class content, designing and implementing in-class activities, and identifying and using assessments to inform practice are described. Overall design considerations include instructor skill development, student buy-in, and institutional support for the model. This report highlights several critical approaches to effectively designing and implementing the flipped classroom model, with consideration given to the use of technology to support this innovation.     

Skill School Boys: Masculine Identity Formation Among White Boys in an Urban High School Vocational Autoshop Program

Through interviews and observations, I explore how a group of white working-class boys who have family traditions in auto repair construct notions of masculinity in a public-vocational-school autoshop class in Buffalo, New York. Many of the students in this group say that they plan to open their own garages on graduation. Although there are many facets to the production of a sense of manhood, I focus on the ways in which young white males in a restructuring economy narrate a sense of self grounded in the area of work on a multiethnic shopfloor—a sphere which they ultimately coconstruct around notions of the racially deviant other. At present, there is not a lot of literature on identity formation processes among youth who are trained in school to become trades-people, particularly in relation to jobs that are typically coded male.     

The role of teacher characteristics in an educational standards reform

The policy of performance standards aims for quality improvement in schools by stimulating teachers to plan and organize their teaching according to competence-based performance standards (competence-based teaching) and to use performance data feedback from national standard-based assessments for evidence-based teaching development. The research so far indicates that many teachers seem to make less use of performance standards and data feedback than expected and to use it in partly unintended ways. Cognitive adaption theory suggests that the reaction of individuals to change is strongly influenced by individual characteristics. In particular, self-efficacy, locus of control, and positive affectivity have been found to foster openness to change and therefore enable participation in change. Following this approach, the paper explores to what extent teachers’ use of performance standards and data feedback can be linked to individual dispositions such as self-efficacy, perceived control, and positive affectivity. Using data from Austrian primary teachers, the results suggest that self-efficacy and positive affectivity foster openness to the educational standards reform which in turn increases the likelihood of teachers’ participation in competence-oriented teaching and data use.