Warning: Child care work may be hazardous to your health

As most child care staff are painfully aware, working conditions in the field leave much room for improvement. Low wages, minimal benefits and unpaid overtime contibute to staff burnout and rapid turnover. What's more, as serious as these conditions are, they do not represent the whole story.     

Evaluating the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS): Assessing differences between the first and revised edition

Before 1998, most large-scale studies of center-based child care programs measured quality using the 1980 version of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS). To know whether data from studies conducted after 1998 using the revised ECERS-R can be fairly compared to data from studies using the 1980 ECERS, simultaneous assessments using both measures in a sample of 68 classrooms were conducted. The results suggest that the original ECERS and ECERS-R can be viewed, as their authors intended, as comparable measures of quality. Scores were highly correlated and similarly distributed. Principal components analysis resulted in two factors for both measures. Both measures fall short in addressing staff stability and key components of culturally sensitive practice, such as communicating with families in their home language.     

The Effects of Modeling the Use of Technology with Pre-Service Teachers

Multiple case study was used to explore the impact of a modeling approach on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy and willingness to integrate technology into their elementary lessons. Three primary investigators infused educational technology with a range of objectives into teacher education courses. A survey measured student comfort with and understanding of technology. Student products (lesson plans, websites, reflections) and interview responses were analyzed. The analysis revealed that participants gained knowledge and confidence with technology from instructor modeling, but there was a disparity between what pre-service teachers learned in the college classroom and what they experienced in the elementary classrooms. The implications for teacher education programs are discussed.     

Assessment of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Meeting Report

The Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences Network (CUREnet) was initiated in 2012 with funding from the National Science Foundation program for Research Coordination Networks in Undergraduate Biology Education. CUREnet aims to address topics, problems, and opportunities inherent to integrating research experiences into undergraduate courses. During CUREnet meetings and discussions, it became apparent that there is need for a clear definition of what constitutes a CURE and systematic exploration of what makes CUREs meaningful in terms of student learning. Thus, we assembled a small working group of people with expertise in CURE instruction and assessment to: 1) draft an operational definition of a CURE, with the aim of defining what makes a laboratory course or project a “research experience”; 2) summarize research on CUREs, as well as findings from studies of undergraduate research internships that would be useful for thinking about how students are influenced by participating in CUREs; and 3) identify areas of greatest need with respect to CURE assessment, and directions for future research on and evaluation of CUREs. This report summarizes the outcomes and recommendations of this meeting.

Students can work with the same data at the same time and with the same tools as research scientists.iPlant Education, Outreach & Training Group (2008, personal communication)