What Institutional Websites Reveal About Diversity-Related Partnerships Between Academic and Student Affairs

Little is understood about how campus educators within Academic Affairs and Student Affairs use institutional websites to articulate what their institutional commitments to diversity, inclusion, and social justice are and how they are enacted. Through an exploratory content analysis using LePeau’s (2015) framework on pathways to partnership (i.e., complementary, coordinated, and pervasive) to address diversity, inclusion, and social justice aims, we examined 23 institutional websites to determine what types of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs partnerships institutions employed. Findings revealed predominantly complementary partnerships, which means maintaining the distinct cultures of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs in diversity, inclusion, and social justice efforts.     

Giving priority to evidence in science teaching: A first‐year elementary teacher's specialized practices and knowledge

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the nature of a first‐year elementary teacher's specialized practices and knowledge for giving priority to evidence in science teaching and to explore the possible sources from which this knowledge was generated. Data included three audiotaped interviews, six videotaped classroom observations, lesson plans, and samples of students' work. The findings of this study reveal that the teacher gave priority to evidence by frequently engaging students in collecting evidence through observations and investigations, recording and representing evidence, and using that evidence to construct explanations. The findings of this study also illustrate that critical experiences during preparation to teach and specific university coursework acted as sources through which the teacher's specialized knowledge for giving priority to evidence was generated. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 965–986, 2005     

‘Getting it Write’ in social work: exploring the value of writing in academia to writing for professional practice

Writing plays a central role in social work practice and in the qualifying programmes studied by student social workers. The research on which this paper is based explores the value of writing undertaken in higher education to writing for professional practice in social work. Drawing on data sources from a ‘text oriented ethnography’, this paper explores the reflections of five recently qualified social workers making the transition from academic to professional practice. The significance of this study is heightened as social work practice and education are undergoing significant review at the time of writing. This review has identified the role of writing as important in both academic and practice domains. The paper suggests that there is currently no clear progressive link between academic writing in social work and the writing in practice required of graduate social workers. This paper offers some reflections on the implicit and explicit value of writing in an academic context to writing in professional practice.     

Evaluating knowledge,attitudinal, and behavioral change effects from a multinational HIV/AIDS education program for youth

This project tracked the mid-term evaluation processes, practices, and products of a multinational program to reduce at-risk behaviors for HIV/AIDS among children in Kenya, Tanzania, and Haiti. It focused on participant and community perceptions; program effectiveness in promoting abstinence and monogamy decisions; and factors supporting ongoing resistance, decision persistence, and program sustainability. Instrumentation included focus groups and interviews with 731 participant youth, parents, community stakeholders, and staff; program documents; and expert on-site observations. Program efforts are effective in influencing informational, attitudinal, and behavioral changes across stakeholder groups. Data underscore process effects of specific program tools and features, through participant attributions. Critical relationships between internal and external factors, and collective local practices grown from program knowledge and skills, support risk reduction awareness and behaviors. Systematic evaluation, including design features, can inform similar efforts across national and cultural boundaries. Effective strategies are highlighted and linked to community perceptions and program outcomes.     

Assessment in a Tight Time Frame: Using Readily Available Data to Evaluate Your Collection

The William S. Carlson Library of The University of Toledo is experiencing a major renovation project. Its first floor is being transformed into a state-of-the-art information commons. In order to provide the space necessary for this transformation, several collections, specifically the reference and circulating, needed to be moved and shifted in a timely manner. This paper highlights how readily available data were used to evaluate the volumes in the reference collection and the circulating collection in order to maximize the space for the renovation projects.     

The use of augmented reality games in education: a review of the literature

This paper provides a review of the literature about the use of augmented reality in education and specifically in the context of formal and informal environments. It examines the research that has been conducted up to date on the use of those games through mobile technology devices such as mobile phones and tablets, both in primary and secondary education. The review of the relative literature was carried out in the period 2000 to early 2014 in ScienceDirect and ERIC. The outcomes of this review illustrated a set of studies that provide evidence of positive outcomes regarding student learning. These studies, which focused mainly on the natural sciences and took place within informal learning environments, used both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The earliest study that was conducted about this topic used personal digital assistants, while the more recent one used smart (mobile) phones and tablets. The services of augmented reality focused on markers/quick response codes, virtual items, global positioning system services as well as on platforms for game creation. The findings of the literature review are discussed in relation to research approaches that are needed for augmented reality games to be played either in formal or informal learning environments.     

Understanding How Families Use Magnifiers During Nature Center Walks

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent–child interaction framework to understand families’ interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the outdoors. Findings include that families used magnifiers for scientific inquiry as well as for playful exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation where families develop roles to support their joint endeavor, three roles to support family thinking were found to be: (a) tool suggester, (b) teacher, and (c) exploration ender. Some families struggled to use magnifiers and often, parents and older siblings provided support for younger children in using magnifying lenses. Implications to informal science learning theory are drawn and suggestions for future family learning research are offered: (a) inclusion of sociocultural and situated perspectives as theories to study informal learning in outdoor spaces, (b) further study on the role of siblings in family interactions, (c) design-based research is needed to encourage family role-taking when engaging in science practices, and (d) new conceptualizations on how to design informal programs that support science learning while leaving space for visitors’ personal agendas and interests that can guide the families’ activities.     

The Role of Executive Functions in Socioeconomic Attainment Gaps: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

The socioeconomic attainment gap in mathematics starts early and increases over time. This study aimed to examine why this gap exists. Four-year-olds from diverse backgrounds were randomly allocated to a brief intervention designed to improve executive functions (N = 87) or to an active control group (N = 88). The study was preregistered and followed CONSORT guidelines. Executive functions and mathematical skills were measured at baseline, 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year posttraining. Executive functions mediated the relation between socioeconomic status and mathematical skills. Children improved over training, but this did not transfer to untrained executive functions or mathematics. Executive functions may explain socioeconomic attainment gaps, but cognitive training directly targeting executive functions is not an effective way to narrow this gap.