The multimedia case as a tool for professional development: an analysis of online and face-to-face interaction among mathematics pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, mathematicians, and mathematics teacher educators

In this study, we consider the potential of multimedia cases as tools for teacher professional development. Specifically, we examined online and face-to-face discussions that occurred within groups composed of pre-service mathematics teachers, in-service mathematics teachers, mathematicians, and mathematics teacher educators. Discussions within these heterogeneous groups tended to focus on issues of classroom implementation of the tasks shown in the multimedia case. Secondary foci of discussion included task characteristics and appropriateness of tasks for engaging students in thinking about mathematical concepts and processes. Analysis of contributions to discussions across group member type revealed differences that suggest that the variety of backgrounds and experiences of group members can blend in ways that support rich and critical discussions of mathematics, teaching, and learning.     

Perceived family functioning, marital status, and depression in parents of boys with attention deficit disorder

The present study examined the perceptions of parents of children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H) regarding their family environment and depression in comparison with a clinical and a nondisabled control group. Parents of children with ADD/H perceived their family environment as less supportive and more stressful than did either the clinical or the nondisabled controls. Specifically, ADD/H parents viewed their families as having lower levels of interpersonal relationships than did either of the control groups. Ratings of depression for each of the parent groups indicated a greater frequency of depressive symptomatology among the parents of children with ADD/H. In addition, more parents of ADD/H children were separated or divorced. Correlation coefficients computed for the entire sample suggest differences between mothers' and fathers' depression and differences in their perceptions of the family. Recommendations are made for future research as well as the development of treatment programs to incorporate work with the parents of children with ADD/H.     

How democratic is higher education for sustainable development?

We wondered how ‘democracy’ was being used and communicated within the higher education discourse of ‘education for sustainability’, or ‘for sustainable development’ (ES/ESD). We used a philosophical hermeneutic approach to explore the sense or senses in which the concept of democracy is used within this literature and supported our analysis by incorporating text about democracy from other disciplines. We conclude from our analysis that the concept of democracy within ES/ESD texts has evolved to suggest many meanings that in their entirety do not support our shared research mission towards ES/ESD. At the pens of ES/ESD scholars, democracy may have become one of Sartori's intolerably blunted conceptual tools.     

Designing for Quality: Distance Education Rubrics for Online MSW Programs

ABSTRACT

There has been a rapid increase in the number of online MSW programs in the past decade without a commensurate body of literature on their administration. This article acquaints MSW program faculty and administrators with quality assurance rubrics, which are research-informed tools intended for use by distance education providers to develop, support and manage high quality online courses and programs. Graduate programs that are in the process of considering or actually designing an online delivery option, as well as those that are currently implementing online programs, may benefit from the use of such quality assurance rubrics.     

A metasynthesis of the complementarity of culturally responsive and inquiry‐based science education in K‐12 settings: Implications for advancing equitable science teaching and learning

Employing metasynthesis as a method, this study examined 52 empirical articles on culturally relevant and responsive science education in K‐12 settings to determine the nature and scope of complementarity between culturally responsive and inquiry‐based science practices (i.e., science and engineering practices identified in the National Research Council's Framework for K‐12 Science Education). The findings from this study indicate several areas of complementarity. Most often, the inquiry‐based practices Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information, Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, and Developing and Using Models were used to advance culturally responsive instruction and assessment. The use and development of models, in particular, allowed students to explore scientific concepts through families’ funds of knowledge and explain content from Western science and Indigenous Knowledge perspectives. Moreover, students frequently Analyzed and Interpreted Data when interrogating science content in sociopolitical consciousness‐raising experiences, such as identifying pollution and asthma incidences in an urban area according to neighborhood location. Specific inquiry‐based practices were underutilized when advancing culturally responsive science instruction, though. For example, Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking and Engaging in Argument from Evidence were infrequently encountered. However, culturally responsive engineering‐related practices were most often connected with these, and thus, represent potential areas for future complementarity, particularly as the United States embraces the Next Generation Science Standards. In considering innovative directions for advancing equitable science education, several possibilities are discussed in light of the findings of this study.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54:1143–1173, 2017     

Assessing the effects of school‐wide Second Step implementation in a predominately English language learner,low SES,Latino sample

Because school violence is widespread, social and emotional competence must be targeted. Second Step is a social and emotional violence‐prevention curriculum that teaches prosocial skills and reduces aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Second Step implementation on students (N = 403) in preschool through fourth grade who were predominately Latino, English language learners, and from families with low socioeconomic status. The data of 165 out of the 403 students were included in the present study. Analyses consisted of paired‐samples t‐tests to identify changes in social and emotional knowledge and behavioral and emotional risk. Results showed that there was a significant increase in both social and emotional knowledge and behavioral and emotional risk following the implementation of Second Step. These results are discussed with regard to previous and future research, limitations, and implications for school practice.     

The impact of training students how to write introductions for academic essays: an exploratory,longitudinal study

Successful academic writing requires strong command of the rhetorical moves that orient the reader to the theme and substantive material of an academic essay. Effective control of the introduction leads to better overall writing. The goal of this study was to devise and evaluate a pedagogy for teaching the writing of academic essay introductions. The study employed a pre-, post-, and delayed post-test design in a single university student learning site. Student writing was scored on eight aspects related to (1) structure and content and (2) style. Confirmatory factor analysis reduced the eight scores aggregated into the two scales. A single two-hour workshop increased the participants’ (n = 87) performance in the rhetorical structure and content of their introductions, but not the style. A longitudinal model (n = 20) using three sets of parcelled scores showed that the structure and content of the introduction positively predicted the grade awarded by the student’s faculty. Direct instruction in writing introductions, through a relatively short, low-cost, genre-based training programme, appears to achieve significant student learning.     

Young learners: mapping the beliefs and practices of preschool teachers in relation to early literacy development

This paper introduces the Young Learners?? Project, which is a large scale longitudinal study that aims to identify a number of factors associated with positive outcomes in literacy in the first year of school: the role of the preschool teacher, home life and child characteristics. In particular, it presents the design of one sub-study within the larger project that is focusing on the beliefs, theoretical constructs and literacy practices of 25 preschool teachers. The paper deliberates the methodological choices of a group of researchers who set out to represent in diverse ways, and for diverse purposes, the layered meanings inherent in preschool teachers?? beliefs and practices in relation to early literacy development. In particular, through reference to illustrative extracts of a single case analysis, the paper explores the possibilities and complexities of adopting mixed methods and in doing so, responds to a call for researchers to make explicit the purposes and challenges of case study methodologies.