Modifying the Clarity Behaviours of Experienced Teachers Through Structured Feedback

This paper briefly describes the methodology and results of research which aimed to determine whether or not the clarity behaviours of experienced teachers in regular classrooms were stable over time and whether or not they could be significantly altered through a process of self‐analysis based on feedback of students’ perceptions of their teacher's clarity. The research is an extension of a series of studies of teacher clarity which commenced at The Ohio State University in 1975. It utilised instruments which the author developed for the measurement of teacher clarify and which allowed comparisons to be made between student perceptions of teacher clarify and teachers’ self‐ratings of their clarity. The major finding of the research was that experienced teachers were able to make significant improvements in their clarity when provided with structured feedback about their lessons. The implications of this finding for teachers and for teacher education are discussed.     

Story of fission

The discovery of nuclear fission is the culmination of sustained efforts involving many scientists led by Hahn and Meitner to understand the production of artificial radioactivity induced by neutrons bombarding uranium. The large energy release in this process was almost immediately used for both military and civilian purposes. It also started the largescale funding of scientific research by governments across the world. Nuclear energy is one of the clean sources of energy and contributes very little to global warming.     

Bernstein and the explanation of social disparities in education: a realist critique of the socio‐linguistic thesis

Can an explanation of the origins of social disparities in educational achievement be assisted by a critical examination of Bernstein’s sociology? This central question is approached by a consideration of the status of Bernstein’s socio‐linguistic thesis. The focus is on the nature of the explanations provided. The paper asks: What is the explanatory force of Bernstein’s structuralism? What is the relationship between Bernstein’s sociological explanations and Vygotskian psychological explanations? What are the effects for pedagogy of cognitive socialization mediated by language‐use consistent with Bernstein’s theory? The answers to these questions may pose a challenge for sociologists of education engaged with Bernstein’s sociology.     

Sex differences in the missing-letter effect: A question of reading or visual–spatial skills?

When readers must search for a target letter while reading a continuous text, they are more likely to miss targets in frequent function words than in less frequent content words. This missing-letter effect has been found across many languages, methodologies, and types of reading materials. Despite the ubiquity of the missing-letter effect, sex differences have been reported, but their pattern is conflicting and no clear interpretation has been offered so far. In two experiments, sex differences were examined in the letter search task, while also measuring spatial and reading skills. In both experiments, the missing-letter effect was found for both genders and a larger missing-letter effect was found for faster readers. It is concluded that when sex differences are observed in the missing-letter effect, they are likely due to reading speed and not to spatial skills as previously hypothesized. Results are interpreted in light of the Attentional Disengagement model of the missing-letter effect.     

“It’s All Shiny and There’s No Pollution”: Barbapapa’s Ark,Environmental Influences

The environmental picture book Barbapapa’s Ark was published in 1974. I was keeping a parent-observer record of my two children at the time. The book had a strong influence on them from ages three to six, moving them to query pollution and hunting, in book and environment, and as adults, becoming committed activists for the environment. Young children are routinely underestimated. Learning about the environment and conservation can begin well before formal education.     

Projectile motion with quadratic damping in a constant gravitational field

The motion of a projectile in a constant gravitational field is an age-old problem. If there is no resistive force, the problem is simple. However, with the intoduction of resistive forces, the complexity of the problem increases. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the problem of projectile motion under a resistive force proportional to the square of velocity. The problem for resistive force proportional to vv cannot be solved in closed analytical form. A series solution of the equation leads to divergent series for x (t) and y (t) for reasonable values of the initial speed and angle of projection. However, we demonstrate that by inverting the series for x (t), i.e., expressing t in terms of x, and substituting this in y (t) one can express y in terms of x which is a highly convergent series and one can obtain the path of projectile with a few terms of the series. We further demonstrate that one can obtain the path even with a few terms of the divergent series for x (t) and y (t) by using extrapolation methods.     

Studying School Architecture: some reflections

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of an investigation in which 30 secondary schools rated the priority being given to and the likely impact on teaching and learning of a selection of 23 issues currently on the agenda for school improvement. Results are considered for the whole sample, and according to the role of respondents and school context. Schools are giving high priority to the implementation of national policies and school‐generated initiatives directed at improved classroom practice. However, the perceived impact of externally generated change is less than that of change for which school staff feel a sense of ownership. Policies directed at a consideration of resource issues, professional development and salary changes are accorded low priority and are not considered to have a marked impact on teaching and learning. There is a potential for frustration and loss of morale when policies that are thought to be of limited value within schools require time and sometimes extensive consideration. The article's conclusions for policy‐makers are directed at minimising this risk.     

Executive Branch (and Library of Congress)

WALT DISNEY'S FANTASIA by John Culhane (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1983---$35.00)

The Wisconsin/Warner Brothers Screenplay series has produced two new volumes this year (both University of Wisconsin Press, 1983 for $17.50/6.95)

THREE SCREEN COMEDIES by Samson Raphaelson (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983---$19.95)

FILM PLOTS by Leonard J. Leff (Ann Arbor: Pierian Press, 1983---no price given)

NAPOLEON: ABEL GANCE'S CLASSIC FILM by Kevin Brownlow (New York: Knopf, 1983---$14.95)

FIFTY YEARS OF SERIAL THRILLS by Roy Kinnard (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1983---$15.00)

FILM AND RADIO PROPAGANDA IN WORLD WAR II edited by K.R.M. Short (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1983---$23.95)

STRANGERS IN PARADISE: THE HOLLYWOOD EMIGRES, 1933-1950 by John Russell Taylor (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983---$16.95)

THE JAMES BOND FILMS: A BEHIND THE SCE/413S HISTORY by Steven Jay Rubin (New York: Crown Books, 1983---$9.95)

THE UNIVERSAL STORY by Clive Hirschorn (New York: Crown, 1983---$35.00)

STAR MYTHS: SHOW-BUSINESS BIOGRAPHIES ON FILM by Robert Milton Miller (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1983---$27.50)

REDISCOVERING FRENCH FILM edited by Mary Lea Bandy (distributed by New York Graphic Society Books through Little, Brown of Boston, 1983---$15.00 paper)     

Practical Guides

THE DESIGN OF ADVERTISING by Roy Paul Nelson (Dubuque, IA: Wm C. Brown, 1989—price not given, ISBN 0-697-04374-6)

EXPLORING COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY by Robert Hirsch (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1989—$30.00, paper, ISBN 0-697-06132-9)

VIDEO HELD PRODUCTION by Ron Whittaker (Mayfield Publishing Co., 1240 Villa St., Mountain View, CA 94041—$34.95, ISBN 0-87484-836- 9)