Exploring the Use of Cases and Case Methods in Influencing Elementary Preservice Science Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs

In this study, we hypothesize that cases demonstrating exemplary practice in the science classroom can be used as a source for learning content and pedagogical skills that will improve teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Twelve preservice elementary science teachers are followed as they participate in a case and case method activity illustrating the Grade 7 topic of robotics and fluids. While there was little evidence to show improvements in content knowledge, results indicate that the case acted as a boundary object for brokering between individual experiences and those found in the science teaching community by scaffolding for multiple points of entry, bridging the theory practice gap and offering beginning teachers more immediate access to the community of already practicing teachers.

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SIGI PLUS and project LEARN: A retrospective

Lila Norris, Laurence Shatkin, and Martin R. Katz are Senior Research Scientists, Guidance Research, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey 08541.     

Faculty ratings as a measure of departmental and administrator quality

This study examined the usefulness of faculty ratings as a measure of departmental quality. Two hundred and thirty-three faculty members from six departments responded to two questionnaires relating to the department—the Department Evaluation Survey (DES)—and to the department head—the Administrator Evaluation Survey (AES). A factor analysis of the DES revealed three underlying dimensions: Satisfaction with the Department's Academic Environment, Satisfaction with the Department's Governance and Operating Procedures, and Satisfaction with Student Quality. The factor analysis of the AES identified only one underlying dimension. Both the DES and AES were found to be highly reliable and effective in discriminating among departments. Very high positive correlations were also found between selacted DES and AES items suggesting that the performance of the head plays a very important role in faculty perceptions of the departments, and vice versa. Faculty ratings would appear to be a useful initial criterion in evaluating a department or head.     

Leadership across the curriculum

The problem, says one community college president, is not that we need to develop better leaders, but we need to develop more leaders. Here's how to start.     

Hostility, hostile detachment, and conflict engagement in marriages: effects on child and family functioning

This study examined the relations between patterns of marital communication, child adjustment, and family functioning. Couples with a 4- or 5-year-old child were divided into three groups (N = 126) based on observed patterns of emotional communication: Hostile couples showed a cumulative increase in negative speaker behaviors over the course of a high-conflict marital discussion; hostile-withdrawn couples showed a cumulative increase in both negative speaker and negative listener behaviors over the course of the interaction; and engaged couples showed a cumulative increase in both positive speaker and listener behaviors over the course of the interaction. The families of these three types of couples were then compared on child outcomes (i.e., peer relations, behavior problems), parenting quality, co-parenting quality, and family-level functioning. Differences in marital violence and marital satisfaction between marital couples were also examined in relation to family risk. Families in which couples were hostile-detached showed the most negative outcomes. Hostile-detached couples were more likely than hostile or conflict-engaging couples to use more power-assertive methods of discipline; to be ineffective in co-parenting their child; to have family units that were less cohesive, less playful, and more conflictual; and to have children that exhibited behavior problems. Results also indicated that marital typology still accounted for significant variance in child outcome after controlling for marital violence and marital satisfaction. Differences in the absolute degree of negative behaviors also did not account for results. Findings are discussed in terms of the detrimental impact of marital conflict on child and family functioning.