SHORT‐TERM PROGRAMS ON DEATH AND DYING AND AGING: A REVIEW OF SELECTED LITERATURE

Agencies and institutions dealing with the elderly have only limited time, money, and personnel with which to plan and implement educational programs. Yet a basic knowledge of aging and death and dying seems to be essential for those working with older adults. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on short‐term educational programs on death and dying and aging in order to offer practitioners some guidance for efficiently structuring programs to bring about desired changes in these areas. From 15 selected studies, 3 aspects of such programs are reviewed and analyzed: the length of the intervention, the type of treatment, and the nature of the target group involved.     

The Relationship Between Universities and Black Urban Communities: The Clash of Two Cultures

This article is a theoretical discussion of the cultural dynamics that shape the relationship between universities and black urban communities. It is argued that universities have a responsibility to address inner-city problems. However, the social relationships between academic institutions and urban communities are impeded as a result of cultural differences. Cultural, social, and power theories are employed to construct a framework for exploring the factors that impede positive interactions between universities and black urban communities. The article concludes by linking the renewed American discourse on civility to the public service mission of higher education and its relevance to urban communities.     

Elementary school teachers' beliefs about and perceptions of elementary school science,science reading,science textbooks,and supportive instructional factors

This article is a report of elementary school teachers' beliefs about and uses of text material in science. Survey results from 522 K-8 teachers from 299 schools in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were analyzed along three dimensions: teacher attitudes toward teaching of reading in science; teacher beliefs and understanding about models of reading, factors influencing science reading and reading skills; and teacher use of various teaching strategies. Results suggest that teachers do not see reading science as different from any other narrative material. And though most agreed to the importance of having students do activities to support and enhance the use of text material, responses suggest that covering topics is still a concern for most elementary teachers.     

The role of reinforcement and nonreinforcement in an operant frustration effect

Male albino rats were run in a discrete-trial two-bar operant analog of the double alley. Completion of a FR 4 response chain on the first bar was rewarded 50% of the time for the 12 experimental Ss, but was never rewarded for the 12 control Ss. Both groups received consistent reward at the end of a FR 4 chain on the second bar. Eighty-four trials were given at a rate of four trials per day. A significantly faster rate of responding on the second bar was found following nonrewarded first-bar ratios than following rewarded first-bar ratios. This frustration effect was not attributable to response depression, since the nonrewarded performance of the experimental group exceeded that of the control group.     

Shifting Challenges in Teacher-Education Research and Accreditation: Lessons Learned from Limitations on Studying Program Impact

ABSTRACT

A critical issue in educator preparation is how to ascertain if program graduates are sufficiently prepared to be effective through the acquisition of meaningful evidence of graduates’ impact on their students. Challenges to proving specific impact of educator-preparation programs on student learning include identifying and following program completers as they move into diverse teaching environments. Barriers include lack of access to measures such as students’ achievement scores and work samples. This article puts the research on educator-preparation-program accountability into perspective and provides a discussion about whether or not we have the capacity at this moment in time to access meaningful data about and proof of teacher impact.     

Preparing the Next Generation of Educational Measurement Specialists: A Call for Programs With an Integrated Scope and Sequence

The field of educational measurement has evolved considerably since the first doctoral programs were established. In response, programs have typically tacked on courses that address newly developed theories, methods, tools, and techniques. As our review of current programs evidences, this approach produces artificial distinctions among topics and techniques that are in fact a tightly coupled whole. This position paper advocates a redesign of the scope and sequence for doctoral programs focused on the preparation of the next generations of educational measurement specialists; a redesign that reflects the full life‐cycle of instrument development and use.     

Relationships between students' meaningful learning orientation and their understanding of genetics topics

This study explored factors predicting the extent to which high school students (N = 140) acquired meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett-square method, and the relationships between these topics. This study (a) examined mental modeling as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the topics, (b) measured students' predisposed, generalized tendency to learn meaningfully (meaningful learning orientation), (c) determined the extent to which students' meaningful learning orientation predicted meaningful understanding beyond that predicted by aptitude and achievement motivation, (d) experimentally tested two instructional treatments (relationships presented to students, relationships generated by students), (e) explored the relationships of meaningful learning orientation, prior knowledge, instructional treatment, and all interactions of these variables in predicting meaningful understanding. The results of correlations and multiple regressions indicated that meaningful learning orientation contributed to students' attainment of meaningful understanding independent of aptitude and achievement motivation. Meaningful learning orientation and prior knowledge interacted in unique ways for each topic to predict students' attainment of meaningful understanding. Instructional treatment had relatively little relationship to students' acquisition of meaningful understanding, except for learners midrange between meaningful and rote. These findings imply that a meaningful learning approach among students may be important, perhaps as much or more than aptitude and achievement motivation, for their acquisition of interrelated, meaningful understandings of science.     

Research Agendas and Computer Technology Visions: The Need for Closely Watched Classrooms

There are numerous research methodologies that may be applied to the study of computer technology, and each has the potential to provide insights into its usefulness. The selection of research methodologies should be driven by the nature of the questions under investigation rather than a predetermined idea that some research methods are superior to others. This article focuses on a particular methodology, case studies, and it describes their potential for making a unique contribution to our understanding of computer technology. The special value of case studies lies in helping us understand the complexities found in classrooms, where the multiple variables that influence computer use interact in complex ways. © 1999 IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Commentary on student interviews

Student interviews provide valuable input into peer evaluation of teaching. Both the University of Georgia and Stanford University have explored ways of using student interviews to tap into student perspectives. The approaches taken by the two schools are compared in this paper. Similarities and differences are identified and discussed. In addition, the aspects of teaching that are best reflected upon by peers versus students are enumerated.Sheri D. Sheppard, an associate professor, has been at Stanford University in the Design Division of Mechanical Engineering since 1986. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate design classes, she does experimental and analytical research on weld fatigue and impact failures, fracture mechanics, and applied finite element analysis. She is also a co-principal investigator with Professor Larry Leifer on a multi-university NSF funded project to critically review undergraduate engineering curricula. Before coming to Stanford, Dr. Sheppard completed her graduate studies at the University of Michigan and held several research and consultancy positions in the automotive industry. Larry Leifer received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, his M.S. in Product Design and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. He studied human information processing and biomedical engineering in laboratories in the U.S. and Europe before joining Stanford's mechanical engineering department faculty in 1976. Currently he is a professor in the design division where he teaches courses in engineering design based on industry-funded projects and distributed design teams. He studies and promotes this pedagogy through leadership in an NSF funded coalition of engineering schools which are revising undergraduate engineering curricula. Relatedly, he has developed the Smart Product Design laboratory and taught its curriculum for 10 years. As founding director of the Stanford Center for Design Research, he does design theoretic studies and objective evaluation of structured design methodology. Seeking to disseminate assistive devices for physically limited individuals, he co-founded the Tolfa Corporation (1989) and Independence Works, Inc. (1992), a product development enterprise that uses the Internet World Wide Web to bridge the technology transfer gap between research laboratories and disabled consumer markets. J. Edward Carryer is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Design Division of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in mechatronics, he is active in the organization of workshops on Mechatronics Education and the development of both graduate and undergraduate Mechatronics curricula. Before coming to Stanford in 1992, Dr. Carryer held positions in the automotive industry and as a consultant on mechatronic systems, including Chief Engineer at Creative Applications Engineering Inc. There his work involved projects on medical instruments, electronic engine controls and human environmental control systems. Dr. Carryer's graduate work was done at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Stanford University.     

MISSING PIECES: A REVIEW OF HISTORY CHAPTERS IN INTRODUCTORY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS

The results of a survey of history chapters in thirteen recent introductory early childhood education textbooks are presented in this paper. The chapters were reviewed on four dimensions: The rationale for the study of history, the dominant story of the history, the facts of the history, and the image of the history. Textbooks are described as important sources of knowledge for beginning students. While the facts of the history in textbooks are mostly accurate, the dominant story is derived mainly from the contributions of “giant thinkers” in psychology, education, and philosophy. The article concludes by recommending increased attention to the missing pieces of ECE history. Three examples are given: the role of caring knowledge, international perspectives, and the relation of preschool to school history.