Effects of a training intervention to foster argumentation skills while processing conflicting scientific positions

Argumentation skills play a crucial role in science education and in preparing school students to act as informed citizens. While processing conflicting scientific positions regarding topics such as sustainable development in the domain of ecology, argumentation skills such as evaluating arguments or supporting theories with evidence are beneficial for developing deep understanding and well-grounded conclusions. We developed a 50-min training intervention to foster argumentation skills in the domain of ecology on topics related to sustainable development and analyzed its effects in a control-group design: (a) training intervention to foster argumentation skills (n = 41), (b) no such training intervention (n = 42). Results showed that this short-term training intervention successfully fostered three components of argumentation skills (i.e., evaluative knowledge, generative knowledge, and argument quality) and declarative knowledge about argumentation. The positive effect on declarative knowledge was stable 1 week after the training and it was mediated by learning processes during the training intervention: self-explaining the principles of argumentation underlying the video-based examples mediated the effect on declarative knowledge 1 week after the training. In short, the training intervention is an effective instructional method to enhance argumentation skills as well as declarative knowledge about argumentation.     

Accessibility from Scratch: One Library’s Journey to Prioritize the Accessibility of Electronic Information Resources

The increased development and use of electronic and information technology in higher education raises questions about accessibility for individuals with disabilities. In academic libraries, providing accessible electronic information resources ensures equal access and opportunity to information. This article provides a contextual understanding of accessibility in higher education as well as strategies for evaluating, negotiating, and procuring accessible electronic resources licensed through third party vendors.     

By the Water’s Edge: a Hermeneutic Look at Suffering and Self-Compassion in Counselling Psychology

What is to be done in response to client suffering? Our aim in this paper is to explore the generative potential in viewing the topic of suffering and self-compassion through an interpretive lens. To accomplish this goal, we review Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics as a way of understanding these topics while looking to the central tenets of counselling psychology as a guide in elucidating the therapeutic experience. In so doing, we stress the significance in recognizing the interpretive and unique experience of suffering and self-compassion, in turn privileging the client’s conceptualizations and experiences.     

A Diagnostic Teaching Intervention for Classroom Teachers: Helping Struggling Readers in Early Elementary School

With the advent of “Response to Intervention” there has been emphasis on preventing reading disabilities. This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher Tier II intervention for struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade called the Targeted Reading Intervention. Three rural schools were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions, with 8 experimental and 12 control classrooms. Five struggling and five non‐struggling readers were randomly selected from each classroom. With the support of biweekly coaching, experimental teachers instructed struggling readers in one‐on‐one sessions in the classroom. Intent‐to‐treat analyses revealed significant kindergarten gains for initial word identification but no significant gains in first grade. Discussion focuses on the use of classroom teachers to prevent reading disabilities.     

Teaching is … opening up spaces to explore academic work in fluid and volatile times

Universities are built upon the collaborative work of academic staff and students, yet the nature of this work has been undergoing profound and rapid change. Pressures within Australia’s higher education sector have led to a fracturing of traditional academic roles and growing feelings of disconnection. While there have been many narrative, ethnographic and autoethnographic explorations of academic work, few studies have employed visual arts-informed methodologies to interrogate the ways in which academics represent their teaching, research and community engagement work. In this article we outline findings about academics’ views of their teaching work. These findings surfaced from an arts-informed participatory research project, that sought to open up a space for (re)presentations of academic work. With a focus on teaching, three through lines emerged during the analysis: voicing absences and resistances; initiating layers of reflexive moments and expressing complexity through collage. We argue that the academics’ responses allow us to trace the emotional terrain of contemporary academic work. They also open up ways to unpack, express and make visible academics’ complex thoughts, feelings and ideas about teaching practices.     

“Everyone Needs a Class Like This”: High School Students' Perspectives on a Gay and Lesbian Literature Course

Abstract

This article offers insights on how students experienced and made sense of their learning in a trimester-long high school Gay and Lesbian Literature course. Drawing on questionnaires and interviews that the students completed as part of a larger ethnographic study of this class, the author shows how a queer-themed literature curriculum is relevant for both LGBTQ-identifying and straight–identifying students and contributes to a better school climate.