Technology Disruptions and Elementary Teachers' Problem Solving in an Urban Canadian District: A Case Study

Abstract

This case study of one urban school district in British Columbia, Canada, examines technology-related disruptions to the teaching plans of seven midcareer elementary school teachers over a 1-year period. Despite having relatively good access to current digital technologies and relatively strong experience in using them, teachers commonly experienced disruptions to their plans that necessitated the use of diverse problem-solving strategies and supports. We examine the types of disruptions teachers recalled experiencing, the strategies they chose to address them, and the perceived success of those strategies in allowing teachers to carry through with their plans for classroom technology use in ways that preserved their pedagogical intent. Implications are discussed with regard to ways that districts might more effectively support elementary teachers’ technology use. (Keywords: technology, lesson planning, disruptions, barriers, professional development)     

Reviewing and developing a psychological service’s response to managing behavioural difficulties through action research

Educational or school psychologists (EPs/SPs) can offer support with behaviour concerns at the levels of individual, group or organisation. Their practices, whilst being psychologically based, must be responsive to local contexts and needs. To explore behaviour practice in a real-world context, and to consider how development in this domain might occur during the adoption of a “part-traded” service delivery model, an empirical investigation was conducted within one English local authority (LA) educational psychology service (EPS). Using an action research model, data were gathered through a focus group with six EPs and an interview with the Principal EP (PEP). Current behaviour practices, psychological approaches and future development priorities were identified, as well as perceived facilitators and barriers to change and the EPs’ reflections on professional development through research participation. Implications for EP practice and future research are considered.     

Ecological correlates of children's subjective school outcomes

The study used path analytic techniques to examine relations between children's subjective school outcomes and measures of their family and school learning environments. Included in the sample were 250 twelve-year-old Australian children, 120 girls and 130 boys, and their parents. A home interview schedule was used to assess parents' aspirational, instrumental, and expressive orientations in relation to education while children's perceptions of the regulative, instructional, innovative, and interpersonal contexts of their schools were obtained. The findings indicated that when a refined measure is used, children's perceptions of their school environment have moderate to strong links with school-related outcomes even when family influences are assessed by detailed social—psychological process variables. For future research, however, the study suggests that parallel measures of children's perceptions of their family and school environments should be developed for a more complete understanding of the ecological correlates of children's characteristics.     

The Importance of Marking Criteria in the Use of Peer Assessment

This paper reports a study which implemented and evaluated a method of peer assessment, as a formative and summative assessment procedure. Pairs of first‐year undergraduate biology students were asked to complete a poster assignment on a specific aspect of nerve physiology. This paper contains details of a method which allows student peer and tutor marking of work against the individual marking criteria to be evaluated. The results show that a comparison between the tutor and the student peer mark may be misleading as a guide to the validity of peer assessment. The importance of considering the individual sections of the marking criteria is illustrated. It was found that when the individual criteria were analysed the number of students marking the same as the tutor ranged from 31% to 62%. It also became clear that specific areas of the marking criteria were prone to over and under‐marking. Analysis of student feedback forms showed that students not only liked carrying out peer assessment, but felt the benefits in terms of developing facets of their learning process and heightening their awareness of their work. These results are discussed in the light of other studies.     

Career Narratives of African American Female College Students: Insights for College Counselors

The authors collected narrative data from 11 African American female college students at a predominantly White institution using the Career Construction Interview (Savickas & Hartung, 2012 ), the Future Career Autobiography (Rehfuss, 2009 ), and a qualitative career experiences questionnaire. Using the constant comparison method (Strauss & Corbin, 1990 ), the authors uncovered 4 overarching themes based on the unique experiences of participants. The authors present insights for college counselors providing career development services.     

Dealing with non‐normality: an introduction and step‐by‐step guide using R

The article presents some notes on normalization and illustrates these procedures using graphing functions in R. Using real data, the paper also presents an R package and online Shiny app that efficiently transforms variables in large datasets.     

Modeling Resilience in an Alternative Education Context

Black and Latino students and the educators who serve as their advocates must be resilient in a highly contentious and racialized public education system. Modeling resilience in the public education system relies on individual assets and the extent to which one’s school possesses the resources and support needed to cultivate such assets. This study used interviews and site observations to explore the degree to which educators and students model resilience in an alternative education program. Findings suggest educators engage a sense of agency when they advocate for inclusion of Black and Latino students. In addition, an alternative education context can provide resources and cultivate strong relationships, a sense of self-efficacy and future orientation among educators and students. These findings highlight the assets educators and advocates need and the programs required to promote resilience in the public education system.