School district triggers for reconstructing professional knowledge

In a recent publication, Senge (All systems go: the change imperative for whole system reform. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2010, x) stated ??at no time in history has there been a more powerful need for a new vision of the purpose of education.?? Increasingly citizens, academics and practitioners are calling for radical changes to educational practices to meet the needs of a knowledge-based society in the twenty-first century (Dede in 21st Century skills: rethinking how students learn. Solution Tree Press, Bloomington, 2010; Hargreaves and Shirley in The fourth way: the inspiring future for educational change. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, 2009). Accomplishing such substantive educational change requires that individual educators collectively reshape their personal professional knowledge (Connelly and Clandinin in Teachers as curriculum planners: narratives of experiences. OISE Press, Toronto, 1988; Elbaz in Curriculum Inq 11(1):43?C71, 1981) and adapt their personal mental models (Duffy in J Staff Dev 24(1):30?C36, 2003). In 2000, we began a longitudinal study on the role of a school district in facilitating significant educational reform which required adaptations to individual and collective mental models of professional practice. Annually we conducted intensive interviews with a large sample of teachers, school and system administrators in this large Ontario, Canada school district. Recently, we conducted a retrospective analysis of these data collected in order to identify the conditions necessary for a large organization to support knowledge-creation and dissemination. In this paper, we identify three school district actions that triggered individual educators to challenge and reconstruct their professional personal practical mental models of the teaching and learning. First, improved student learning became the central focus of the school district. Second, the school district stressed and created opportunities for educators to collectively engage in professional dialogue about their practice. Third, the school district emphasized the importance of educators individually and collectively using evidence to assess whether their actions improved student learning.     

“Happier Than Ever to be Exactly What He Was”: Reflections on Shrek,Fiona and the Magic Mirrors of Commodity Culture

This article compares the models of subjectivity and identity in William Steig’s 1990 picture book Shrek! and in DreamWorks’ Shrek films. Steig presented his ogre hero as a model of the crises of subjectivity all children must face, and then reassured readers by showing how even a hideous figure such as Shrek can find resolution and be “happier than ever to be exactly what he was.” DreamWorks’ Shrek films, on the other hand, offer up models of identity based on consumption and rooted in commodity culture, tales which seek to transform their viewers into consumers and even into commodities themselves. As texts of commodity culture, the films must create, not resolve, anxiety and self-doubt. Has DreamWorks’ adaptation of Steig’s book merely replaced a self-confident ogre with an anxiety-ridden consumer? Or, can the films’ humor and absurdity, their parody of familiar commodities and corporate landscapes, and their introduction of boundary-crossing characters such as Fiona offer an alternative critique of commodity culture? This article demonstrates how the films work to uphold and reinforce commodity culture, but also examines how they might also provide moments of potential subversion and critique.     

Current control of journal literature in economics in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The National Library of Australia and the state libraries of New South Wales and Victoria each maintain separate collections of printed ephemera. The role of these collections and the policies used in the acquisition and selection of items for them are described, analysed and compared. The role of the public library local studies collections in helping to create a cooperative, nationwide approach to the acquisition of this material in Australia is discussed in relation to this national and state activity. The value of an understanding of the Australian situation is related to a research project to develop guidelines for collection policies for printed ephemera at the national and local levels in Wales.     

Reference Sources and Research Methods

Lorna M. Daniells' Business Information Sources (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976---$14.95)

Gene V. Glass, ed. Evaluation Studies: Review Annual Volume I, 1976 (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1976---$29.95)

The Concise and Comprehensive Reference Guide to Black Journalism, Radio and Television, Educational and Cultural Organizations in the USA, Africa, and the Caribbean (Black List, Box 3552, New York, N.Y. 10017---$50.00, two volumes, paper)

Ray B. Browne, ed. Abstracts of Popular Culture: A Quarterly Publication of International Popular Phenomena (Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1976---$50.00 per year/$90.00 for two years/$200 for five years)     

SPACES FOR LEARNERS AND LEARNING: EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY-RICH LEARNING SPACES

This article discusses the utility of evaluating technology-rich learning spaces, exploring approaches and tools from a practitioner perspective. It provides a brief introduction to the concept of ‘technology-rich learning spaces’ and explores approaches to evaluation, suggesting a framework with specific case studies to illustrate the varying approaches to evaluating innovative space design in higher education institutions. The role of learners in the evaluation methodology, and the importance of institutional context, will be explored to highlight whether impact can effectively be assessed. The authors conclude that rigorous evaluation studies must be underpinned by sound theoretical frameworks in order to understand the complexities of the student experience in blended learning environments.     

Testing Expert-Based Versus Student-Based Cognitive Models for a Grade 3 Diagnostic Mathematics Assessment

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of three cognitive models, one developed by content experts and two generated from student verbal reports for explaining examinee performance on a grade 3 diagnostic mathematics test. For this study, the items were developed to directly measure the attributes in the cognitive model. The performance of each cognitive model was evaluated by examining its fit to different data samples: verbal report, total, high-, moderate-, and low ability using the Hierarchy Consistency Index (Cui & Leighton, 2009), a model-data fit index. This study utilized cognitive diagnostic assessments developed under the framework of construct-centered test design and analyzed using the Attribute Hierarchy Method (Gierl, Wang, & Zhou, 2008; Leighton, Gierl, & Hunka, 2004). Both the expert-based and the student-based cognitive models provided excellent fit to the verbal report and high ability samples, but moderate to poor fit to the total, moderate and low ability samples. Implications for cognitive model development for cognitive diagnostic assessment are discussed.     

Education and the Face of the Other: Levinas,Camus and (mis)understanding

Abstract

Among the most neglected of Albert Camus’ literary works is his play The misunderstanding. Composed while Camus was in exile in occupied France, and first performed on stage in 1944, The misunderstanding depicts the events that unfold when a man returns, without declaring his identity, to a home he left 20 years ago. Unrecognized, he is killed by his mother and sister for financial gain. This article draws on ideas from Emmanuel Levinas in identifying and discussing some of the key ethical and educational themes in the text. It is argued that the forms of misunderstanding evident in Camus’ play mirror those exhibited in pedagogical institutions such as schools. The misunderstanding demonstrates that what is often missing in our communicative relations is careful attention to the Other. Camus does not offer us any easy way out when confronting the impossibility of fully knowing ourselves and others; instead, he shows that we must acknowledge the suffering this brings and take responsibility for it.     

Reliability and Validity Issues for Two Common Measures of Medical Students' Attitudes toward Older Adults

Results are reported from 2 common measures of medical student attitudes toward older adults: Maxwell-Sullivan Attitude Survey (MSAS); and UCLA Geriatrics Attitude Survey (GAS), with students entering the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (USCSM) in the period 2000–2005. A reliability analysis incorporating item means, Cronbach's alpha, item correlation matrix, and, Spearman-Brown prediction for positively and negatively worded items was conducted. Internal consistency results were unacceptable, revealing reliability and validity problems in this sample of medical students. Reconsideration of the use of these common measures, and a reframing of attitudes of medical students toward older adults seem appropriate.