Articulating and Utilizing Communication Student Learning Outcomes in Community Colleges

Academia in the United States stands face-to-face with the constant call for greater levels of assessment and accountability. Academics question whether our students are learning what they’re taught? Are they able to secure employment upon completing their education? Are they prepared to be active, productive citizens in society? Community colleges provide education to those who may typically not have the opportunity to attend an institution of higher education. A foundation of any assessment process is the articulation of the core learning outcomes. It is from this foundation, then, that community college faculty can start assessing the effectiveness of teaching and curricular design. The present investigation details a project that focused on creating discipline-specific student learning outcomes and how these outcomes can be utilized to aligning learning outcomes and mapping to curriculum. Communication studies faculty can utilize the learning outcomes to strengthen and clarify curriculum, demonstrate the acquisition of competencies, and improve departmental offerings.     

Knowledge generation and sharing in UK universities: A tale of two cultures?

As economies become more knowledge intensive it has become evident to most organizations that knowledge is a valuable resource. This is particularly true in academic organizations, which have the generation and dissemination of knowledge as their principal mission. This research assesses whether path-dependency exists in relation to cultural expectations of knowledge generation and sharing in knowledge intensive organizations. This paper adopts a constructivist approach facilitated by focus group discussions which were conducted in two UK universities, one Russell group university and the other a post-1992. Institutional culture and path dependency play a major role in the willingness of institutions to generate and share knowledge. Each institution exemplified a distinct path-dependency that underpinned cultural expectations but in each case internal and external factors were necessitating changes regarding knowledge sharing and generation which affected individual perspectives and organizational structures. The paper concludes by purporting that certain universities display critical junctures and cultural transformation in terms of knowledge generation, dissemination and sharing.     

Developing coaching pedagogy: seeking a better integration of theory and practice

Despite evidence that experience within practical coaching contexts serves as the principal knowledge source for coaches, academic (and professional) coach education programmes continue to be heavily taught along didactic lines. Such courses are often considered as fine in theory but divorced from the gritty realities of practice. The aim of this article was to construct and evaluate a pedagogical framework (delivered through an MSc unit) drawn from tenets of both action research and ‘communities of practice’ as a means through which the practice-theory gap can be somewhat addressed. The unit in question involved students being introduced to a particular theoretical position with the expectation that they would integrate that theory into their practice in the upcoming week. The students then shared their experiences in structured discussion groups during the following class. Data on student learning were gathered both through on-going observations, and focus groups interviews with staff and students at the end of the unit. The data were inductively analysed. Findings revealed that the students were generally stimulated by and, hence, generally positive about the pedagogical approach experienced. This was specifically in terms of better ordering the knowledge they had as well as developing new insights about coaching practice. Although not unproblematically, the staff were also positive about the unit; citing better and more continuous student engagement as a result of it.     

Critical thinking and the danger of intellectual conformity

Critical thinking is becoming an essential ingredient in college and university curricula. Its stated goals are to foster critical ability and broad-mindedness, on both the conceptual and the social level. But an overemphasis of its reductionistic method can lead to results which are antithetical to its aims. Methodologically, it tends to encourage absolutism; psychologically, its exclusive rule orientation promotes passivity; and practically, its imperial rejection of nonanalytical methods breeds intolerance. Together, these three effects lead to a fetish-like regard for intellectual and social conformity, and an accompanying fear of eccentricity. The conclusion is that the present lopsided concentration on critical thinking's reductionism should be balanced with the teaching of alternative approaches to the understanding of knowledge and reality.     

Explaining Hong Kong Students’ International Achievement in Civic Learning

This study identifies predictors of Hong Kong students’ civic learning. It has adopted a cross-sectional quantitative design using secondary data from the 2009 International Civics and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2009; Schulz et al., 2010). Multi-level analysis reveals that most of the variance in student achievement can be accounted for by school level rather than individual level factors. Student background variables are largely insignificant suggesting the resilience of many Hong Kong students. Regarding Hong Kong students’ achievements in civic learning, a possible explanation is made and implications are developed for both theory and practice.     

‘It’s the best thing I’ve done in a long while’: teenage mothers’ experiences of educational alternatives

Pregnant and mothering schoolgirls have been identified as an educationally vulnerable group. Many are not welcomed in their mainstream schools and as a consequence, access a range of educational alternatives. This article presents the views and experiences of 14 young women in the English Midlands, who became pregnant while still of statutory school age, 12 of whom spent time in alternative educational settings. It is based on data gathered from repeat interviews over an 18-month period and shows that all who attended the educational alternatives rated them highly and benefitted from what they had to offer. Using the concept of ‘difference’ as a central analytic theme, the article examines how and why this was the case. The analysis shows that it was through recognising some differences but not others that the educational alternatives were successful in supporting young women’s learning and well-being. Importantly, those that were recognised were done so in non-stigmatising ways. The research also highlights some limitations of the alternatives, alongside the ways in which gender and class continue to impact the educational outcomes and career trajectories of this particular group of students.     

Teaching of Mandarin in an English Comprehensive School: A case study

A group of English children in a rural comprehensive are learning Mandarin, taught by a Chinese teacher. This article describes the background to this development and follows three cohorts of students, giving the pupils' views about learning Chinese and why they chose it. As a psychologist who has interests in education and who is also a part-time student of Chinese, the author welcomed the chance to share the pupils' experience. In the final cohort, sensation-seeking tendencies and intellectual achievement responsibility were investigated as personality traits which may influence a child's choice of foreign language study.     

Hierarchical structures in expert performance

This paper describes the use of learning-hierarchy analysis in studies of expertise. A hierarchical analysis was carried out on expertise in language-arts teacher planning for a short story. The resulting hierarchy depicted a complex pattern of prerequisite intellectual skills integrating knowledge of students, reading difficulty, strategies/activities, and the author (Stephen Crane). Of particular interest was that each branch of the hierarchy included “fuzzy sets,” that is, complex conceptual knowledge that experts were usually unable to explain. All elements in the hierarchy were capabilities learned from experience as opposed to direct instruction. It was recommended that advice-strategies developed from hierarchical analysis could be used to facilitate the development of expertise. These strategies do not teach expertise directly but encourage the learner to glean the most from task-relevant experience.     

Is day care safe? A review of research on accidental injuries

A major concern about the effects of day care has been the safety of the children who participate. Although studies are limited, a body of research literature is beginning to emerge that provides some important information about the magnitude of accidental injuries in day care centers.Charles W. Snow is Professor and Jane King Teleki is Associate Professor, Department of Child Development and Family Relations; David M. Cline is Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; and Kathleen Dunn is Clinical Instructor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.