Novice teacher growth and personal models of mentoring: choosing compassion over inquiry

This article presents a model of mentoring which may be used as an analytic tool for reflecting on practices commonly employed in supporting beginning teachers. Eighteen mentors and 36 intern teachers whom they mentored were participants in the study. Analysis of data revealed three general patterns of mentoring—responsive, interactive, and directive—and eight dimensions of mentoring related to: (a) emotional availability; (b) levels of engagement; (c) degree of investment in mentoring relationships; and (d) the capacity for criticalness in their mentoring. Variability among mentors in their ways of enacting the three general mentoring patterns was accounted for by their individual preferences in the eight dimensions of mentoring. Cases representing each general pattern of mentoring are presented, and instances reflecting shifts in general mentoring patterns are explored. Implications for teacher educators who select, prepare, support, or serve as mentors are discussed.     

Investigating how college students’ task definitions and plans relate to self-regulated learning processing and understanding of a complex science topic

Winne and Hadwin (2008) identified four phases of self-regulated learning (SRL) including defining the task, setting goals and making plans, studying (i.e., learning), and adaptation. The vast majority of SRL research has focused on processing during the third phase, studying. In this study, we developed coding rubrics that allowed us to examine how the results of college students’ processing during phases one and two of Winne and Hadwin’s model, task definitions and plans, affected their SRL processing while learning with a hypermedia learning environment (HLE), and their subsequent academic performance. Our findings showed that, on average, participants gained both factual knowledge and integrated conceptual understanding over the course of learning with the HLE. The quality of participants’ task definitions and plans at pretest, as well as their SRL processing during learning, were related to learning outcomes. On average, participants’ task definitions improved from pretest to posttest. The findings from this study and the associated coding methodologies have implications for educational research and practice.     

Frequency and Efficacy of Talk-Related Tasks in Primary Science

Pupil talk and discussion are seen as having important social and cognitive outcomes. In science classes, pupils’ collaborative talk supports the construction of meaning and helps examine the status of evidence, theory and knowledge. However, pupil interactive talk in groups is rare in science lessons. The research reported is part of a project to increase the amount of pupil-pupil talk in primary schools through a programme of teaching and professional development. Pupils’ self-reports of the frequency and learning efficacies of talk related activities in science lessons were collected before and after a programme of teaching in 24 schools in one of the most socially and educationally deprived areas of England. Findings showed pupils valued talking about their ideas over listening to those of other pupils. Science talk frequency (STF) was closely correlated with science talk efficacy (STE) and both were positively correlated with pupils’ attitudes to school science. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) of the correlation of STF with STE showed values were independent of gender and ability but that school experience was a significant factor. After the teaching programme and, contrary to expectations, the frequency of talk activities in science lessons appeared to have decreased but varied according to class grades. The degree of correlation between STF and STE was stronger after the teaching in over half of the schools. Schools where STF/STE strengthened most as a result of teaching were those involved in an additional initiative to use modelled talk related to industrial contexts.     

Learning by doing? Prospective elementary teachers' developing understandings of scientific inquiry and science teaching and learning

This study examined prospective elementary teachers' learning about scientific inquiry in the context of an innovative life science course. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective elementary teachers learn about scientific inquiry within the context of the course? and (2) In what ways do their experiences engaging in science investigations and teaching inquiry‐oriented science influence prospective elementary teachers' understanding of science and science learning and teaching? Eleven prospective elementary teachers participated in this qualitative, multi‐participant case study. Constant comparative analysis strategies attempted to build abstractions and explanations across participants around the constructs of the study. Findings suggest that engaging in scientific inquiry supported the development more appropriate understandings of science and scientific inquiry, and that prospective teachers became more accepting of approaches to teaching science that encourage children's questions about science phenomena. Implications include careful consideration of learning experiences crafted for prospective elementary teachers to support the development of robust subject matter knowledge.     

The relationship between discus throwing performance and combinations of selected technical parameters

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between discus throwing performance and the following technical parameters: hip–shoulder and shoulder–arm separation, trunk forward–backward tilt, throwing-arm elevation angles, and the absolute and relative throwing procedure phase times. Videographic data of 51 male and 53 female discus throwers' competitive performances were captured during major meets. The three-dimensional coordinates of 21 body landmarks and the discus were obtained for each thrower's best trial using direct linear transformation. The technical parameters were reduced from the three-dimensional data at six critical instants during the throwing procedure. Hierarchical stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the relative influence of linear combinations of the technical parameters on discus throwing performance. Specific techniques associated with linear combinations of certain technical parameters were identified using canonical correlations. Males and females were analysed separately. Suggestions for controlling the height of release and the vertical component of the speed of release using an effective technique are made.     

Practical Considerations When Using Pedometers to Assess Physical Activity in Population Studies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to summarize both practical and methodological issues in using pedometers to assess physical activity in a large epidemiologic study. As part of a population-based survey of cardiovascular disease risk factors, physical activity was assessed using pedometers and activity diaries in 775 men and women ages 25–64 years who were residents of Burnie, Tasmania, 1998–99. Common data problems were classified by type. The frequency of each problem and the methods used to identify it are reported along with strategies to correct or prevent each problem type. Pedometer data from 15 (1.9%) participants could not be used due to errors in completing the pedometer protocol. Among 760 participants with usable data, the median number of steps was 9,729 for men and 10,388 for women. Pedometer steps per day were modestly correlated (r = .20, p < .0001) with the duration of pedometer wear, which ranged from 4.50 to 21.75 hr. Adjustment for wear time, however, did not alter observed correlations between pedometer steps and cardiovascular risk factors. The authors conclude that pedometers can be used in large population studies with a relatively low frequency of data errors. However, guidelines for consistent data collection and interpretation are needed.     

The Relationships Among Generativity,Values, Individual Differences,and Commitment to an Ideal Vision

Kaufman ( 2006a , 2011 ) defines Ideal Visions as measurable statements of the kind of world an organization, as well as its associates and external stakeholders, commits to help create for the future. This study investigated the relationships among several research‐supported variables regarding personality aspects and individual characteristics with indicators of individuals’ motivation to achieve goals aimed at adding value to external clients and society. Indicators of generative beliefs, values, individual differences, and commitment to an Ideal Vision were examined in this study. Generativity (the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation), membership and activity in a formal civic organization, and gender, each demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with commitment to an Ideal Vision. In addition, various values were ranked differentially by those with relatively high versus low commitment to an Ideal Vision. A discussion of how these variables warrant the ongoing investigation into these variables is provided.     

Mind the gap! Students’ use of exemplars and detailed rubrics as formative assessment

The current study examined efficient modes for providing standardized feedback to improve performance on an assignment for a second year college class involving writing a brief research proposal. Two forms of standardized feedback (detailed rubric and proposal exemplars) were utilized is an experimental design with undergraduate students (N = 100) at three urban college campuses. Students completed a draft of a proposal as part of their course requirements and were then randomly assigned to receive a detailed rubric, proposal exemplars, or a rubric and proposal exemplars for use in revising their work. Analyses of students’ writing from first draft to second draft indicated that all three conditions led to improvements in writing that were significant and strong in terms of effect size, with the stand-alone detailed rubric leading to the greatest improvement. Follow-up focus groups with students indicated that a stand-alone rubric potentially engages greater mindfulness on the part of the student. Practical implications are discussed.     

Exploring the relationship between K-8 prospective teachers’ algebraic thinking proficiency and the questions they pose during diagnostic algebraic thinking interviews

In this study, we explored the relationship between prospective teachers’ algebraic thinking and the questions they posed during one-on-one diagnostic interviews that focused on investigating the algebraic thinking of middle school students. To do so, we evaluated prospective teachers’ algebraic thinking proficiency across 125 algebra-based tasks and we analyzed the characteristics of questions they posed during the interviews. We found that prospective teachers with lower algebraic thinking proficiency did not ask any probing questions. Instead, they either posed questions that simply accepted and affirmed student responses or posed questions that guided the students toward an answer without probing student thinking. In contrast, prospective teachers with higher algebraic thinking proficiency were able to pose probing questions to investigate student thinking or help students clarify their thinking. However, less than half of their questions were of this probing type. These results suggest that prospective teachers’ algebraic thinking proficiency is related to the types of questions they ask to explore the algebraic thinking of students. Implications for mathematics teacher education are discussed.     

The Habits of Mind Necessary to Generate New Ways of Teaching in a Career of Constant Change

In this paper we explore the philosophy, pedagogy and implementation of the third year course sequence in the M.A. in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University. We discuss how “little-r” revolutions in teaching and learning, i.e., technology facilitated revolutions specific to individual classrooms and contexts, are used to introduce our students to the thinking patterns of designers and innovators. This is accomplished by an overlapping emphasis on learning by design, trans-disciplinary creative cognitive tools, innovative technology, and reflective practice. In this environment, we also transition our students from acting as consumers of educational media to being producers of educational experiences. That is, not only do the students construct new educational media, they consider the aesthetic and affective implications of technology use for teaching and learning. Finally, given the rapid evolution of educational technologies, we support students as they establish a foundational vision for the interplay of education and technology that will serve them into the future, as they, and their learners, adapt tonew and emerging digital environments.