When the going gets tough: Direct,buffering and indirect effects of social support on turnover intention

We examined the role of social support in turnover intention among new teachers. First, we tested and found evidence for a direct negative relationship between social support and turnover intention. Second, we tested the social support buffer hypothesis, and found that teachers with higher social support had lower turnover intention in the face of higher workload, compared to teachers with lower support. Third, we examined a mediational hypothesis, and found that social support acts indirectly, through job satisfaction in relation to turnover intention. These findings suggest that social support can be a valuable resource for new teachers.     

“Relocating the Personal” to engender critically reflective practice in pre-service literacy teachers

This case study mapped candidates' responses to a pre-service literacy course designed to relocate teacher candidates' literacy histories and beliefs from a personal to political frame with the intent of promoting critical reflection and complex understandings of literacy, teaching, and learning. As part of a broader qualitative case study including 71 participants over 8 months, this paper focuses on data gathered from 7 candidates. Through a modified constant comparative method, the analysis confirmed the effectiveness of certain conditions created in the course while pointing to a need for further attention to issues of power and the unconscious in learning to teach literacy.     

Using a Planetarium Software Program to Promote Conceptual Change with Young Children

This study explored young children’s understandings of targeted lunar concepts, including when the moon can be observed, observable lunar phase shapes, predictable lunar patterns, and the cause of lunar phases. Twenty-one children (ages 7–9 years) from a multi-aged, self-contained classroom participated in this study. The instructional intervention included lunar data gathering, recording, and sharing, which integrated Starry Night planetarium software and an inquiry-based instruction on moon phases. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, student drawings, and a card sorting activity before and after instruction. Students’ lunar calendars and written responses, participant observer field notes, and videotaped class sessions also provided data throughout the study. Data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Nonparametric statistical analyses were also performed to support the qualitative findings. Results reflected a positive change in children’s conceptual understanding of all targeted concepts including the cause of moon phases, which is remarkable considering the complexity and abstractness of this spatial task. Results provided evidence that computer simulations may reduce the burden on children’s cognitive capacity and facilitate their learning of complex scientific concepts that would not be possible to learn on their own.     

The role of visual discrimination in the learning-to-read process

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the extent to which visual discrimination (VisD) skills play a role in developing letter identification abilities, which are essential in learning to read. Results from a correlational analysis of 73 4- and 5-year-olds revealed a significant association between VisD and letter identification abilities, which was not moderated by estimated nonverbal or verbal abilities or lexical access. Stronger VisD abilities also were positively associated with better phonemic awareness skills, presumably because of the association between letter knowledge and phonemic skills, or letter-sound correspondence. A pilot study explored the benefit of visual discrimination training of letter-like forms to letter learning for a subset of 28 children with below average lowercase letter identification abilities. Only letter-name training significantly impacted lowercase letter identification; visual discrimination training did not further enhance performance. Implications for theory and applications to interventions aimed at children at risk for reading delays are discussed.

Innovation in Publishing: This is not an Oxymoron!

While many pundits claim that publishers are not innovative, this paper cites dozens of recent examples of innovation in the publishing industry. The main models reviewed are: innovative projects/partnerships, investment, accelerators/incubators, public/private partnership, and grass-roots programs. Case studies are presented from HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, and many others, based on research and the author’s own experience. By following the lead of these innovative accomplishments, publishers can foster innovation at their own companies.     

Spanish Language Children’s Books Focusing on Health Literacy: An Annotated Bibliography

An efficient and economical health care system requires that patients and providers understand each other. For Latino patients, the challenges to effective communication include limited Spanish language ability of providers, limited English language ability of patients, lack of knowledge of the health system, and a generally low educational attainment resulting in general low literacy and numeracy abilities. Both literacy and public health research suggests that focusing on family systems and children is a good path to helping the entire Latino community to navigate better healthcare. This poster provides a selection of titles of readily available Spanish and bilingual (Spanish/English) children’s books that focus on health literacy as well as a series that addresses children’s health issues written for low literacy Spanish-speaking parents. The bibliography is organized into the following categories: Exercise, Healthy Habits, The Human Body, Hygiene, Nutrition, Parenting, and Understanding Difference. It is incumbent upon those in public service, including public libraries, the educational system, and literacy experts, as well as those in the medical professions to try and remedy this situation. Ideally, the titles for children should be read with parents or teachers. This bibliography should be useful for public librarians, school librarians, academic librarians collecting for education departments, literacy experts, and medical and health sciences librarians.     

Coach Education and Continuing Professional Development: Experience and Learning to Coach

Research over the last decade has demonstrated that it is experience and the observation of other coaches that remain the primary sources of knowledge for coaches. Despite this, coach education and continuing professional development fail to draw effectively on this experience. Using the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper attempts to understand how the “art of coaching” can be characterized as structured improvisation and how experience is crucial to structuring coaching practice. An examination of current coach education and assessment demonstrates that coaching practice viewed as a composite of knowledge has not specifically addressed the pervasive influence of experience on coaching practice. Drawing on experiences from the educational field, we examine how coach education and continuing professional development can utilize mentoring and critical reflection to situate learning in the practical experience of coaching.     

Fourth‐grade Elementary Students’ Conceptions of Standards‐based Lunar Concepts

Fourth‐grade students’ knowledge of observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as conceptual understanding of the cause of moon phases, was investigated before and after special instruction. Pretest and post‐test data for 48 students were used to address the research question related to observable moon phases and patterns of change. Interviews were conducted with 10 students on a post‐only basis to provide data on understanding the cause of moon phases. The researchers used the constant comparative method to analyse data. Pretest results indicate these students had not met the expectations expressed in the U.S. Science Education Standards for lunar concepts. Post‐test results reveal a very positive performance on observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as the cause of moon phases. Interpretation and implications of these findings are provided.     

Constructing the Good Teacher in Higher Education: The discursive work of standards

Professional development for academics in higher education is increasingly important in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Promoting better teaching practices through professional development is part of the drive for quality and excellence. However, the focus has been on teaching as a "technical" activity, defined as competence in a particular domain of practice. This has obscured the social and discursive practices through which a very particular sort of teacher identity is produced. It is possible, therefore, to examine the ways in which the standards of competence operate to normalise and fashion what it means to be a "good teacher". In this article, we examine extracts from course documentation produced by a UK university through which the professional standards of those working in higher education are being constituted. Our focus is not the quality of these particular materials but the work the documentation performs in building up a particular notion of what characterises a professional teacher in higher education.