A Comparison of Two Response Scale Formats Used in Teaching Evaluation Questionnaires

Three studies compared the common Likert agree/disagree question form to a behavioural observation form in which students report recalled frequencies of described teaching or learning events. The agree/disagree form seemed to prompt global, impressionistic approaches to responding, while the behavioural observation form seemed to prompt more objective approaches. Between‐student response consistency was greater for the behavioural observation form than for the agree/disagree form. Across separate samples of teaching, mean overall ratings derived from behavioural observation form questionnaires spread more broadly than did those from agree/ disagree forms. Across separate elements within an individual's teaching, the ratings from the behavioural observation form spread more than those from the agree/disagree form. The conclusions drawn were that using behavioural observation form questions rather than agree/disagree questions in teaching evaluation questionnaires can yield measurable improvements in inter‐rater reliability and in the capability to distinguish amongst levels of teaching quality.     

Building trust and shared knowledge in communities of e-learning practice: collaborative leadership in the JISC eLISA and CAMEL lifelong learning projects

Trust and collective learning are useful features that are enabled by effective collaborative leadership of e‐learning projects across higher and further education (HE/FE) institutions promoting lifelong learning. These features contribute effectively to the development of design for learning in communities of e‐learning practice. For this, reflexivity, good leadership and the capacity to engage in innovation is crucial to team performance. This paper outlines a serendipitously useful combination of innovative models of collaboration emerging from two 2005–06 UK e‐learning pilots: the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) e‐Learning Independent Study Award (eLISA) and JISC infoNet Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e‐Learning (CAMEL) projects. The JISC‐funded eLISA Distributed e‐Learning (DeL) project set up a collaborative partnership among teachers to try out LAMS and Moodle using study skills in e‐learning. Simultaneously, the JISC infoNet CAMEL project developed a model of collaborative approaches to e‐learning leadership and management across four UK HE/FE institutions. This paper proposes two new theoretical collaborative team leadership and operational models for e‐learning projects, including indices of trust, reflexivity and shared procedural knowledge, recommending that these models are further developed in future communities of e‐learning practice in institutions promoting lifelong learning.     

Turning points in a qualitatively different social space: young adults’ reflections of alternative provision

There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that after being marginalised and excluded from school young people who attend Alternative Provision settings report positive relationships and experiences of learning. There is however very little research which explores the longer term outcomes of attending this sort of provision. Retrospective life history interviews were undertaken with 18 young adults in their early to mid-20s who had attended Alternative Provision in England. Interviews focused on schooling, exclusion, attending Alternative Provision and the impact of this on what they had done since leaving school up to their present situation. Analysis showed that the experience of attending Alternative Provision frequently constituted a turning point in a young person’s life story. This was due to the qualitatively different kind of social space experienced there.     

Program-Level Curriculum Planning: An Exploration of Faculty Perspectives on Two Different Campuses

This study explored faculty views about curriculum planning in academic programs. Using a semistructured format, researchers interviewed 59 faculty members at two very different campuses about their assumptions and the influences upon them as they work with colleagues in planning program curriculum. Although many of the same factors influence course and program planning, we observed that, compared to course planning, program planning is irregular (even infrequent), typically responds to a specific catalyst, and is more dependent upon a supportive institutional climate and leadership. We consider ways that institutional researchers can help provide a supportive climate for responsive and regular planning that will link planning and assessment more closely.     

Spiritual Capital in Communities of Color: Religion and Spirituality as Sources of Community Cultural Wealth

The Urban Review - In this paper, we seek to advance theoretical understanding of how religion, spirituality, and spiritual capital serve as key sources for community cultural wealth (Yosso in Race...