What does it mean to be an exemplary science teacher?

In order to provide a refreshing alternative to the majority of research reports, which malign science education and highlight its major problems and shortcomings, a series of case studies of exemplary practice was initiated to provide a focus on the successful and positive facets of schooling. The major data-collection approach was qualitative and involved 13 researchers in hundreds of hours of intensive classroom observation involving 20 exemplary teachers and a comparison group of nonexemplary teachers. A distinctive feature of the methodology was that the qualitative information was complemented by quantitative information obtained from the administration of questionnaires assessing student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment. The major trends were that exemplary science teachers (1) used management strategies that facilitated sustained student engagement, (2) used strategies designed to increase student understanding of science, (3) utilized strategies that encouraged students to participate in learning activities, and (4) maintained a favorable classroom learning environment.     

The process of review: A levels of processing approach

This experiment investigated the effects of reviewing notes at a deeper level of abstraction, by means of reorganization. No differences in immediate recognition performance were found for subjects who reorganized notes into an instructor-generated matrix versus subjects who reviewed in their typical manner. An interaction between method of review and type of delayed test was apparent. Reorganization during review resulted in relatively higher achievement on a free recall test while unstructured review produced higher achievement on a cued recall exam. This interaction was unpredicted by the theory of encoding specificity but was explained in regard to the theory of episode matching. Instructionally, reorganization was advocated as a review technique for most learning situations in which retrieval cues are not imposed.     

Parent-Child Relationships, Family Problem-Solving Behavior, and Sibling Relationship Quality: The Moderating Role of Sibling Temperaments

In this study we sought to determine whether sibling temperaments moderated the associations of parent-child relationship quality and family problem-solving behavior with sibling relationship quality. Observational assessments of mother-child and father-child relationship quality, family problem-solving behavior, and sibling relationship quality were obtained from the families of 49 pairs of brothers and 46 pairs of sisters. Mean ages were 10-2 for older siblings and 7-6 for younger siblings. Parent-reported child temperament assessments were also obtained. The links among mother–older child relationship quality, father–older child relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality were moderated by the older sibling's temperament. The younger and older siblings' temperaments moderated the associations between the quality of the father–younger sibling and sibling relationships. The association between family problem-solving behavior and sibling relationship quality was not moderated by sibling temperaments.     

Laptop versus longhand note taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement

There has been a shift in college classrooms from students recording lecture notes using a longhand pencil-paper medium to using laptops. The present study investigated whether note-taking medium (laptop, longhand) influenced note taking and achievement when notes were recorded but not reviewed (note taking’s process function) and when notes were recorded and reviewed (note taking’s product function). One unique aspect of the study was determining how laptop and longhand note taking influence the recording of lecture images in notes and image-related achievement. Note-taking results showed that laptop note takers recorded more notes (idea units and words) and more verbatim lecture strings than did longhand note takers who, in turn, recorded more visual notes (signals and images) than did laptop note takers. Achievement results showed that when taking laptop notes, the process function of note taking was more beneficial than the product function of note taking (i.e., better image-related learning and similar text-related learning). When taking longhand notes, the product function of note taking was more beneficial than the process function of note taking (i.e., better text-related learning and similar image-related learning). Achievement findings suggest that the optimal note-taking medium depends on the nature of the lecture and whether notes are reviewed.     

The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to early school age

Children at risk for familial dyslexia (n = 107) and their controls (n = 93) have been followed from birth to school entry in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) on developmental factors linked to reading and dyslexia. At the point of school entry, the majority of the at-risk children displayed decoding ability that fell at least 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Measures of speech processing were the earliest indices to show both group differences in infancy and also significant predictive associations with reading acquisition. A number of measures of language, including phonological and morphological skill collected repeatedly from age three, revealed group differences and predictive correlations. Both the group differences and the predictive associations to later language and reading ability strengthened as a function of increasing age. The predictions, however, tend to be stronger and the spectrum of significant correlations wider in the at-risk group. These results are crucial to early identification and intervention of dyslexia in at-risk children.     

Distributed leadership and organizational change: Reviewing the evidence

This article explores the relationship between distributed leadership and organizational change. It draws upon the existing literature to consider whether distributed forms of leadership influence development and change in schools. The article examines the research base relating to distributed leadership and organizational outcomes. It focuses on how different patterns or configurations of distributed leadership contribute to organizational development. The article concludes by highlighting issues that require further study and more empirical confirmation. This article is based on a literature review commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills as part of a research project currently being undertaken by Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D. (2006) ‘Leadership and student outcomes’ and Leithwood, K., Day, C., Sammons, P., Harris, A., and Hopkins, D. (2006) ‘Successful school leadership: What it is and how it influences pupil learning’. London, DFES.     

Uncontrollable Mental Imagery: Graphical Connections Between A Function And Its Derivative

The view that imagery might be a disadvantage on certain tasks might surprise some mathematics educators who contend that a learner's conceptual understanding is increased whenever visual imagery is used. One of the limitations of imagery found in the literature comes to bear on a unique aspect of mathematics teaching and learning. This is the notion of an uncontrollable image, which may persist, thereby preventing the opening up of more fruitful avenues of thought, a difficulty which is particularly acute if the image is vivid. Although one calculus student's images supported high levels of mathematical functioning, occasionally his vivid images became uncontrollable, and the power of these images did more to obscure than to explain. This type of imagery can be a major hindrance in constructing meaning for mathematical concepts — contrary to the panacea view of imagery which is sometimes expressed.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The influence of values on school administrator practices

Reprinted from theJournal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 1989, volume 4, number 2. TheJournal is published by Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada P7B 5E1.     

Incidence and situational factors surrounding sexual assault against delinquent youths

This study reports the results of extensive interviews with an intact sample of moderately delinquent adolescents concerning their sexual assault histories. Findings indicate a surprisingly high incidence of victimization among the females interviewed which, the authors suggest, may characterize the larger population of delinquent females. The behavioral-situational contexts of reported victimization experiences are examined for salient commonalities and the following composite rape scenerio can be cast from the data: An unsupervised, 14-year-old female, who has been consuming alcohol or marijuana, is sexually assaulted, following threat and/or force, to the point of penile-vaginal penetration, by an older male friend or acquaintance (who has also consumed alcohol or marijuana) in his home or vehicle or other place where she is inherently unprotected. Some comments are offered concerning the requirements of an effective technology of child rape prevention.