Transforming Teacher Constructs of Children and Families Who Are Homeless

The focus of this article is on articulating the importance of teacher development of constructs about homeless children and families and examining factors that influence teachers’ perceptions of children and families who are homeless or at high-risk of becoming homeless. The article also explores some strategies to support teachers in transforming their perceptions of homeless children and provides case examples of how this process can work. Three case studies explore how teacher educators and practicing teachers can work together to reflect on their own perceptions of homeless children from high-poverty backgrounds and how educators were able to transform their own perceptions in being able to better serve their students.     

Using failure cases to promote veterinary students’ problem-solving abilities: a qualitative study

Educational technology research and development - Failure is an inevitable human experience, which can offer great learning opportunities. Yet, in current educational contexts, failure has largely...     

Keeping their attention: Classroom practices associated with behavioral engagement in first grade mathematics classes in China and the United States

This study investigated variation in students’ behavioral engagement across mathematics classes in China and the United States. Student behavioral engagement was examined along with two aspects of the classroom (group size and teacher instructions given about classroom behavior). Video observational data were collected and coded over 1051 time intervals in 35-minute mathematics sessions in Chinese classrooms (n = 8) and comparable American classrooms (n = 7). Latent growth analyses revealed that overall, behavioral engagement declined over time, although the drop-off was dramatically sharper in American classrooms relative to Chinese classrooms. In addition, larger group size and the timing of teacher instructions (given before versus after the behavior) were significantly associated with increased engagement. This study revealed compelling cultural differences as well as patterns in student and teacher behaviors associated with students engaging in on-task behaviors in the classroom. Implications for ways to promote effective classroom behavior are discussed.     

A new industry creation and originality: Insight from the funding sources of university patents

Scientific breakthroughs coming from universities can contribute to the emergence of new industries, such as in the case of biotechnology. Obviously, not all research conducted in universities leads to a radical change from existing technological trajectories. Patents and patent dynamics have long been recognized as critical in understanding the emergence of new technologies and industries. Specifically, patent citations provide insight into the originality of a discovery that has received patent protection. Yet while a large body of literature addresses the impact of patent originality on various firm performance measures, we address the question of what conditions drive patent originality in the process of knowledge creation within the university. Using data on patented cancer research, we examine how research context – as reflected by the funding source for each scientist – is associated with patent originality. We find that when university scientists are partly funded by their own university, they have a higher propensity to generate more original patents. By contrast, university scientists funded either by industry or other non-university organizations have a lower propensity to generate more original patents. The significance of our findings in the cancer research setting call for further research on this question in other research fields.