Factors affecting departmental peer collaboration for faculty development: Two cases in context

This paper extends current research on departmentalpeer collaboration as a means of faculty development. Given the potential advantages of such situateddevelopmental activities, the need for furtherresearch is pressing. The study reported hereexamines two different cases of department-based,practice-centered peer inquiry projects; one set in adepartment of history and one in a department ofmechanical engineering. Both departmental projectswere part of a larger initiative on the peer review ofteaching coordinated by the American Association forHigher Education.The aim of this study is to illuminate factors thatcan influence the nature, development and impact ofsuch collaborative activities. The leadership,structure and outcomes of each department's projectare compared and contrasted. The role of departmentalculture is considered, through an investigation ofpotential influences from the discipline andinstitution, as well as from departmental history. Factors such as the norms of scholarly collaboration,standard work patterns, the presence or absence ofexternal curricular standards, university status,faculty autonomy and morale are discussed.     

Democratic Communities and Business/Education “Partnerships” in Secondary Education

Democratic ideals of equality, freedom, and common problem-solving help ensure that schools are governed as communities, in Dewey's sense of the term, wherein all members share in defining the purposes and processes of the group. In this paper, qualitative case study data of a business–public school partnership is examined in order to describe, analyze, and evaluate this partnership based upon democratic criteria established by Deweyan pragmatism. The analysis of the business/education partnership enables educators to better understand the potential for, and inhibitors of, the kind of genuine social growth among school and corporate partners that can serve public agendas rather than private profits.     

Adapting the Scoring Matrix: A case study of adapting disciplinary tools for learning centred evaluation

The scoring matrix, a method used to facilitate community participation in collaboratively planning and monitoring development projects in natural resource management, was adapted to promote collaboration and reflection in a course in participatory resource management. The scoring matrix is described and its strengths and weaknesses in relation to key objectives are analysed. The matrix represents an innovative approach to evaluation that may be useful in a variety of fields. The authors argue, too, that the case is an example of how discipline (and profession-) specific tools can be adapted in an educational setting to serve the dual purposes of promoting experiential learning of particular key skills, and of monitoring and evaluating student learning. They suggest that academics in other fields may wish to consider participatory tools like the scoring matrix or adapt the tools of their own disciplines as ways of collaboratively evaluating teaching in their own disciplines/professions.     

“If There's a Dance in the Book, I Feel It...Inside”: Lessons in Emergent Literacy

This case study illustrates the impact that an emergent literacy environment (both at home and at school) can have on literacy acquisition. The author's 3-year-old niece and 30 of her nursery school classmates were interviewed about their perceptions of reading. The impressive hypotheses the main character had formed about language learning by the age of 3, without any formal instruction, offers food for thought in view of the increasingly popular lockstep language arts programs currently being advocated by phonics zealots and basal text publishers.     

Pedometer reliability, validity and daily activity targets among 10- to 15-year-old boys

The aims of this study were to: (1) determine whether the number of pedometer counts recorded by adolescents differs according to the adiposity of the participant or location on the body; (2) assess the accuracy and reliability of pedometers during field activity; and (3) set adolescent pedometer-based physical activity targets. Seventy-eight 11- to 15-year-old Boy Scouts completed three types of activity: walking, fast walking and running. Each type was performed twice. Participants wore three pedometers and one activity monitor during all activities. Participants were divided into groups of normal weight (BMI < 85th percentile) and at risk of being overweight (BMI > or = 85th percentile). Intra-class correlations across the three activities indicated reliability (r = 0.51 - 0.92, P < 0.001). This conclusion was supported by narrow limits of agreement that were within a pre-set range that was practically meaningful. Multivariate analysis of covariance indicated adiposity group differences, but this difference was a function of the increased stature among the larger participants (P < 0.001). Ordinary least-squares regression models and multi-level regression models showed positive associations between the number of pedometer and activity monitor counts recorded by the three groups of participants during all activities (all P < 0.001). The mean number of counts recorded for all participants during the fast walk was 127 counts per minute. In conclusion, the pedometers provided an accurate assessment of adolescent physical activity, and a conservative estimate of 8000 pedometer counts in 60 min is equivalent to 60 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity.     

Food attitudes in female athletes: association with menstrual cycle length

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between indicators of risk of disordered eating, body image and varied menstrual cycle lengths. Altogether, 151 female athletes were invited from 16 sports and 70 female non-athletic controls were recruited from a university lecture class. The participants completed several surveys, including demographics, menstrual cycle history, physical activity, Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Selected EDI subscales were summed to reflect eating disorder risk and body image. Menstrual cyclicity was based on self-reported cycle length for the last 6 months (normal cycles = 26-32 days, irregular cycles < or =26 or >32 days). Athletes overall had more irregular cycles (29.1%) than the non-athletes (15.7%) (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in scores for eating disorder risk, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, cognitive restraint (TFEQ) and disinhibition (TFEQ), only when athletes were divided based on menstrual cyclicity (i.e. irregularly cycling athletes had higher scores than athletes with normal menstrual cycle lengths). No differences in these scores were found between non-athletes with normal or irregular menstrual cycle lengths. In conclusion, irregularly short or long menstrual cycle length is associated with subtle indications of higher risk of disordered eating in female athletes.     

The relationship of the WISC-R and WRAT: A study based upon a selected population

So as to compare predicted achievement based upon WISC-R IQs and observed achievement by the WRAT standard scores, both instruments were administered by the same school psychologist to 282 urban students referred for psychological evaluation. The correlations obtained, even on this nonrandom population, were substantial, significant (p < .001), and should be useful to school psychologists in statistically relating intelligence test scores to school achievement.     

Does Schooling Buffer the Effects of Early Risk?

The data presented here come from a 20-year study conducted in a rural area of Guatemala. Data on early biological indicators, graduated parameters of social structure, and preschool cognition were combined into a risk scale and analyzed in relation to primary school grade attainment and adolescent psychoeducational test performance. Similar to empirical relations reported in industrialized countries, performance declined as the number of risk factors to which a subject was exposed increased. More important, primary education was observed to buffer the effects of early risk for a subset of subjects. Subjects at high risk who stayed in school performed significantly better than subjects with similar levels of risk who completed fewer than 4 years of primary school.     

The Effects of Work Intensity on Adolescent Mental Health, Achievement, and Behavioral Adjustment: New Evidence from a Prospective Study

This article examines the effects of work intensity on adolescent mental health, academic achievement, and behavioral adjustment. Questionnaire data were collected yearly from an initial panel of 1,000 randomly selected ninth graders (14-15 years old). Consistent with other studies, students who worked at higher intensity engaged in more alcohol use. The methodological strengths of this research (a representative panel studied prospectively over a 4-year period with minimal attrition and an analysis incorporating key control and lagged variables) provide strong evidence that adolescent work fosters alcohol use. The contention that work of high intensity has deleterious effects on mental health, academic achievement, and 2 other indicators of behavioral adjustment did not withstand our stringent tests. However, high school seniors who worked at moderate intensity (1-20 hours per week) had higher grades than both nonworkers and students who worked more hours per week.