Can nightmares become sweet dreams? Peer review in the wake of a systemwide administrative mandate

In 1993, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte enacted a mandate requiring peer evaluation of teaching, including class-room observation, for non-tenured faculty. Participants involved in the AAHE Peer Review Project feared the mandate would taint efforts to introduce faculty to collegial approaches to the peer review of teaching. As reported here, negative fallout from the mandate has been balanced to some degree by the positive effects of having a required evaluation system. Departmental culture shaped peer review activities undertaken in the first year and may have ultimately overshadowed effects of the mandate on the project.Deborah M. Langsam is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. A mycologist specializing in aquatic fungi, Langsam earned her baccalaureate degree from Brooklyn College, M.A. from the City University of New York, and her Ph.D. in botany from Duke University. She is also a winner of the NCNB Award for Teaching Excellence, serves as the UNCC campus project coordinator for the AAHE Peer Review of Teaching project, and has led numerous workshops on teaching portfolios. Philip L. Dubois is Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A political scientist, Dubois earned his baccalaureate degree at the University of California at Davis and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He assumed his current position at UNCC in 1991, after having served fifteen years in faculty and administrative posts at University of California-Davis.     

The quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict: links with attachment and temperament.

The goal of this study was to examine the links among attachment, child temperament, and the quality and frequency of mother-toddler conflict. Sixty-four mothers and children took part in a series of laboratory tasks when the child was 30 months of age and an audiorecorded home observation when the child was 36 months of age. All episodes of conflict were identified from the videotapes/audiotapes, transcribed, and coded for conflict strategies, resolution, and themes. Mothers also completed measures of attachment security and child temperament. Concurrent attachment security was related to the quality of mother-toddler conflict (including resolution, justification, and compromise) at both periods but not to the frequency of conflict. In addition, aspects of child temperament (i.e., negative reactivity and activity level/impulsivity) were related to both the quality and the frequency of mother-toddler conflict.     

Introducing teaching cases with face-to-face and computer-mediated discussion: Two multi-classroom quasi-experiments

Two studies were conducted in multisection introductory child and adolescent development classes to determine effects of introducing abbreviated teaching case studies that were then discussed either in face-to-face or online formats. Students receiving teaching case studies in either format in both classes showed improved ability to critically analyze probe and final cases compared to control participants. Both case study groups in the child development class also showed increased application of psychological concepts in analyzing new cases. No differences in course knowledge were expected as a function of condition and none were found. Hypothesized case-related increases in efficacy for teaching also were not observed. Results were interpreted as supporting a case analysis approach in educational psychology classes and use of online methods for presentation and discussion of abbreviated cases.     

Co-constructors of data,co-constructors of meaning: Teacher professional development in an age of accountability

This research examines how engaging teachers in collaboratively constructing situated assessments enhances teacher professional development, fosters meaningful shifts to practice, and supports productive conceptions of accountability. We conducted case studies of six teachers engaged as partners in investigating new approaches to assessing and fostering literacy. Findings suggested that supporting teachers to generate, interpret, and act upon assessment data within instructional change cycles assisted them in monitoring student performance, grounding instructional decisions in data, and enacting changes to practice. We also document how collaboratively constructing assessments with teachers supported conceptions of accountability considered meaningful by individuals adopting differing socio-political perspectives.     

Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), suffragette,political activist,artist and writer

In this article, a biographical overview is offered of the life of [Estelle] Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), suffragette, political activist, artist and writer, in order to provide a context for her 1959 proposal for an Ethiopian women’s college, which is published for the first time in this journal. Sylvia, one of five children born in Manchester, England, grew up in a radical household where she not only attended political meetings but was exhorted to work for a more equal society. As a young woman, she trained as an artist but was soon drawn into the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) founded by her mother in 1903 to campaign for the parliamentary vote for women. Sylvia, a socialist feminist, often found herself at odds with the radical feminist, women‐centred views of her mother and her elder sister, Christabel, the Chief Organiser of the WSPU and their mother’s acknowledged favourite. The tensions between Sylvia and her relatives intensified during the First World War which they supported and she opposed. During the 1920s she became more revolutionary in her politics and in the 1930s increasingly involved in campaigning against fascism, especially in Ethiopia. After Ethiopia was liberated, she went to live there permanently with her son, Richard, in 1956. A crusader all her life, as well as a prolific writer, the publication of her proposal for an Ethiopian women’s college reveals yet another aspect of her diverse interests.     

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Comparison of Two IRTree Models to Investigate the Impact of Full Versus Endpoint-Only Response Option Labeling

In this study, we examined the results and interpretations produced from two different IRTree models—one using paths consisting of only dichotomous decisions, and one using paths consisting of both dichotomous and polytomous decisions. We used data from two versions of an impulsivity measure. In the first version, all the response options had labels; in the second version, only the endpoints were labeled. Based on past research, we hypothesized that the endpoints would be selected more frequently in the endpoint-only labeled condition, and the midpoint response option would be selected more frequently in the fully labeled condition. Results from the two models (dichotomous and polytomous) were similar and indicated that our hypotheses were partially supported—specifically, there was no consistent pattern in terms of which condition saw a higher frequency of midpoint response selection. However, our hypotheses regarding extreme responding in the endpoint-only labeling condition were supported.     

Effect of acquisition rates on off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while learning sight words

Assessing a student's acquisition rates (ARs) is a reliable way to determine how many new words should be taught in one lesson without reducing retention. Exceeding a student's AR can result in frustration and problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of AR on the off‐task behavior of kindergarten students while participating in a commonly used sight‐word instruction video. Participants included 39 kindergarten students whose ARs were assessed before showing the sight‐word video. Behavior was measured as on‐ and off‐task using momentary time‐sampling with 10‐s intervals. Results indicated that students' time off task increased after exceeding their ARs, with a noticeable immediate increase. The implications and limitations of these results are discussed.     

Scientists as consultants to industry in a developing country: An analysis of their roles and economic effectiveness

Twenty-six consultant-assisted development projects were studied within the pharmaceutical industry in Israel. They were selected at random; some were successful and some were not. The work of the academic scientific consultants has been closely followed. It was found that their task is more to respond to the problems of management than to introduce new ideas. The academic consultant's main contribution was the transfer of existing published knowledge in a format applicable to practice. In addition, however, the consultant had to supply know-how on and supervision of work carried out within the academic institutions, utilizing the resources of the latter which are much more sophisticated than those of the industry of a developing country. The economic value of consultancy in coupling university and industry is also estimated. It was shown that in a developing country - where the size of the pharmaceutical industry is relatively small - the task of the consultant is more than that of an expert specialist: he is a valuable instrument of communication, information and implementation as well.     

Gender sensitivity and the drive for IT: Lessons from the NetCorps Jordan Project

This article uses the NetCorps Jordan project as a case study of the ways in which Information Technology transforms social and economic life at the grass roots. Particular attention is paid to the role of gender in shaping such processes. In the end, this essay explores the motivations, the hopes and the results of one Arab country’s IT4 D experiment using the narratives of the participants as a guide. It is clear from the analysis below that culture, context and gender play a significant role in who gets to do what with IT.     

Engaging with ‘English in a Historical Perspective’ Through Analysing Texts

Though there is little in the literature on the teaching of the history of English, criticism of textbooks which over-simplify the story as the rise of the standard variety has been more vocal of late. Meanwhile, some academics have argued for focusing teaching on the analysis of texts. This article reports on a unit/module taught at a British university that makes the analysis of texts central to teaching and assessment. It sets out to demonstrate what can be learned from approaching the subject in this way by presenting composite textual analyses created by the first-named author drawing on the work of his co-authors (five of his final-year undergraduate students). This was for two assignments, one focusing on an Early Modern English text and the other a more contemporary piece. A discussion highlights the benefits of making the analysis of texts central to the unit, and considers practical applications for teachers of the subject in other parts of the world.