The impact factor: Measuring student professional growth in an online doctoral program

This article describes the impact of an online Ed.D. in educational technology based on data collected from students at regular intervals during the program. It documents how students who were working professionals applied learning from the program within their practice, enculturated into the educational technology community, and grew professionally. Our findings indicate that an online professional program embedded in practice can have substantial impact on students’ professional growth and professional practice.     

The Evolution of Critical Thinking Skills in Library Instruction, 1986–2006: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography and Review of Selected Programs

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate students are increasingly being asked to conduct higher-level research in their areas of study. In order to address undergraduate needs, many academic librarians, especially those charged with crafting instruction, take critical thinking as a given in the teaching of information literacy skills. However, this review of the literature has revealed that, though there was some discussion of critical thinking in a library context in the mid 1980s, the concept did not really take hold until the 1990s, when higher education reform began to appear on many campuses. Additionally, the literature regarding critical thinking skills during this period exhibits four themes: (1) a lack of agreement among librarians and others on what critical thinking is and how it can be defined, (2) the importance of subject and course integration in the teaching of critical thinking skills in libraries, (3) the necessity of reaching undergraduate students, and (4) the special challenges of teaching critical thinking skills in an age when technology is changing so rapidly.     

Analyzing Educational Policies: A Learning Design Perspective

In this article we describe and illustrate an analytical perspective in which educational policies are viewed as designs for supporting learning. From the learning design perspective, a policy comprises 3 components that we term the what, how, and why of policy: the goals for the learning of members of the group targeted by the policy, the supports for their learning, and an often implicit rationale for why these supports might be effective. We unpack the how of policy by describing 4 types of support for learning: new positions, learning events, new organizational routines, and new tools. Based on our discussion of the rationale for each type of support we conjecture that policies that are effective in supporting consequential professional learning will involve some combination of new positions that provide expert guidance, ongoing intentional learning events in which tools are used to bridge to practice, carefully designed organizational routines carried out with a more knowledgeable other, and the use of new tools whose incorporation into practice is supported. We present an analysis of a policy that was central to an urban district's efforts to support middle school mathematics teachers' development of ambitious instructional practices. The data that we analyzed included audio-recorded interviews conducted with teachers, mathematics coaches, school leaders, and district leaders. The sample analysis illustrates that the learning design perspective is useful both when designing policies and when revising policies after implementation to make them more effective.     

The Usability of Print and Online Video Instructions

This study investigates the usability of print and online video instructions for computer tasks. Usability tests, comprehension tests, and questionnaires were collected from participants, and 4 areas of usability were analyzed: effectiveness, retention, satisfaction, and preference. Findings show marginal differences between the 2 mediums, except in terms of user satisfaction and instruction length. This research helps technical communicators better understand the affordances, or potentials and limitations, of print and video instructions.     

Social Justice in Teacher Education: A Qualitative Content Analysis of NCATE Conceptual Frameworks

A review of theoretical or conceptual writing on teacher education reveals numerous examples of the term “social justice” in discussions of preservice preparation. Despite this widespread use, little research documents if and how teacher education programs utilize the concept in their programs. This study examines how institutions that included “social justice” within their NCATE accreditation documents used the term in their articulation of program practices, goals, and values. Based on an extensive qualitative content analysis of NCATE conceptual frameworks, the authors assert that the social justice reform agenda is only weakly represented in accreditation artifacts and that there is little consensus on the enactment of social justice in teacher education, even among those programs that invoke the terminology.     

Keeping Both Hands on the Wheel: Integrated Basic Education Skills Training (IBEST) for Commercial Truck Driving

IBEST is an innovative program that integrates English language skills with an intensive vocational training program and culminates in eligibility for a high wage commercial truck-driving career. Participants gain language skills, college credit, and vocational skills. Effective partnerships, scheduling, and instructional approaches are discussed.     

Measuring Sojourner Adjustment among American students studying abroad

The literature on "Sojourner Adjustment," a term expanding on the acculturation concept to apply to groups residing temporarily in foreign environments, suggests that engagement, participation, and temporary integration into the host culture may contribute to less psychological and sociocultural difficulty while abroad. The present study was designed to establish a brief multi-component measure of Sojourner Adjustment (the Sojourner Adjustment Measure; SAM) to be used in work with populations residing temporarily in foreign environments (e.g., international students, foreign aid workers). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on a sample of 248 American study abroad college students, we established a 24-item measure of Sojourner Adjustment composed of four positive factors (social interaction with host nationals, cultural understanding and participation, language development and use, host culture identification) and two negative factors (social interaction with co-nationals, homesickness/feeling out of place). Preliminary convergent validity was examined through correlations with established measures of acculturation. Further research with the SAM is encouraged to explore the relevance of this measure with other groups of sojourners (e.g., foreign aid workers, international businessmen, military personnel) and to determine how SAM factors relate to psychological well-being, health behaviors, and risk behaviors abroad among these diverse groups.