Assessment at the Intersection of Science and Literacy

The authors of this article, all of whom have been a part of this effort to assess argumentation in literacy-rich science curriculum, have struggled with our attempts to build 3 argument-related assessments—understanding, critiquing, and constructing arguments about scientific phenomena in both oral and written modes. Loosely affiliated with the Seeds of Science/Roots of Reading Project at Lawrence Hall of Science, this effort focused on creating a suite of assessments as models for how middle school science teachers might create their own school-based, curriculum-embedded assessments of science. After reviewing the broad scope and insights derived from a 10-year history of assessments that operate at the intersection of science and literacy, we zoom in on 3 vexing but informative challenges they encountered—and addressed (if not resolved)—as they tried to assess the comprehension, critique, and construction of oral and written arguments.     

Family day care: Where it's at-updated New York City

Almost five years ago, (November 1974)Day Care and Early Education surveyed the state of family day care in a series of four articles entitled “Family Day Care: Where It's At.” In one of these articles, Betti Whaley, then Commissioner of the New York City Agency for Child Development, reported on that city's system for serving working mothers and providing children with the best possible home care. The following article on the present situation in New York City, and several others to appear in future issues, will provide an update on what has happened in family day care around the country since 1974, review the pros and cons of this type of day care, and consider prospects for the future. Stephen Ruffins is Director of Family Day Care (FDC) for the New York City Agency for Child Development (ACD). Carabelle McNeill is Director of Social Service/Parent Involvement at ACD From 1972 to 1975, Ms. McNeill, as ACDFDC Liason, coordinated the transfer and integration of each of the three FDC programs into the administrative aegis of ACD.     

Student Perceptions of the Way that they are Supervised during Work Experience: an instrument and some findings

This paper is intended as a contribution to the debate and evaluation activity which in the UK is following Dearing's recommendation that more work experience should be provided for more higher education students. The paper gives an instrument for researching students’ perceptions of the roles their workplace supervisors play. Two surveys using the instrument and involving a total of 669 students on different courses in the field of teacher education are reported. In the surveys, the responses of many students suggested that they had received ‘good’ (i.e. theoretically desirable) supervision in the workplace but this was not the case for all students. There were for example clear differences across courses and, in addition, the course whose students appeared to have experienced the least desirable kind of supervision subsequently suffered the highest rate of student drop‐out. In contrast, students who had apparently received the ‘best’ kind of workplace supervision tended to be happier with their workplace experience as a whole. In discussing the findings, the paper draws attention to their limitations, pointing out that much more needs to be known about the work experience which is offered to HE students across the disciplines and across the country. The paper suggests that specific as well as general instruments will probably need to be developed for researching this and suggests that, since it is general, the instrument described in the paper might be useful to other HE researchers who wish to evaluate their students’ work experience. The paper concludes by situating the increasing interest in work experience for higher education students in the wider context in which links between ‘work’ and ‘education’ are becoming increasingly blurred.     

Primo on the Go: A Usability Study of the Primo Mobile Interface

Abstract

Primo Analytics from two campuses of the California State University system has revealed that a dramatically low proportion of Primo searches originate from mobile devices. The current study focuses on usability concerns as one area that may be preventing students from searching the Primo mobile interface. The sample for this study includes students from two campuses with a variety of experience with library instruction and searching the library’s discovery system. Participants were given the same set of six common academic tasks to complete. Both mobile and desktop participants found three tasks relatively easy to complete. When there were differences in completion rates between the mobile and desktop users, the desktop users were overall more successful. No task was consistently difficult for desktop users to complete, while mobile users found two of the tasks very challenging to complete. Based on the findings, the authors make recommendations for improving the experience of mobile users.     

Teachers' framing of argumentation goals: Working together to develop individual versus communal understanding

For students to meaningfully engage in science practices, substantive changes need to occur to deeply entrenched instructional approaches, particularly those related to classroom discourse. Because teachers are critical in establishing how students are permitted to interact in the classroom, it is imperative to examine their role in fostering learning environments in which students carry out science practices. This study explores how teachers describe, or frame, expectations for classroom discussions pertaining to the science practice of argumentation. Specifically, we use the theoretical lens of a participation framework to examine how teachers emphasize particular actions and goals for their students' argumentation. Multiple-case study methodology was used to explore the relationship between two middle school teachers' framing for argumentation, and their students' engagement in an argumentation discussion. Findings revealed that, through talk moves and physical actions, both teachers emphasized the importance of students driving the argumentation and interacting with peers, resulting in students engaging in various types of dialogic interactions. However, variation in the two teachers' language highlighted different purposes for students to do so. One teacher explained that through these interactions, students could learn from peers, which could result in each individual student revising their original argument. The other teacher articulated that by working with peers and sharing ideas, classroom members would develop a communal understanding. These distinct goals aligned with different patterns in students' argumentation discussion, particularly in relation to students building on each other's ideas, which occurred more frequently in the classroom focused on communal understanding. The findings suggest the need to continue supporting teachers in developing and using rich instructional strategies to help students with dialogic interactions related to argumentation. This work also sheds light on the importance of how teachers frame the goals for student engagement in this science practice.     

Theoretical beliefs and instructional practices used for teaching spelling in elementary classrooms

The current study aimed to examine teachers’ reported spelling assessment and instruction practices. Analysis of the match between teachers’ theoretical beliefs about spelling and their reported pedagogy was conducted to elucidate factors that may support or impede the use of evidence-based teaching strategies in the classroom. An electronic survey was completed by 405 randomly selected (stratified by region and socioeconomic status) elementary school teachers in New Zealand. The survey examined the following areas: spelling assessment, spelling instruction, beliefs about spelling, preparing teachers to teach spelling, and teachers’ perceived strengths and weaknesses of their spelling program. There was large variability in spelling assessment and instructional practices across teachers. Most respondents reported implementing some aspects of a developmental approach to spelling instruction through analysis of children’s spelling errors (64 %) and/or individualization of the spelling program (60 %). There was a large dissociation between teachers’ beliefs about spelling and their frequency of use of specific instructional practices associated with those beliefs (e.g., phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge). The mismatch between beliefs and reported practice appeared to be due to lack of professional knowledge regarding implementing explicit spelling instruction and finding time to teach spelling within the curriculum. Increasing teachers’ knowledge about language structure, practical implementation of key assessment and instruction activities, and the links between spelling and other areas of the curriculum are important factors in improving spelling pedagogical practices.     

Age Differences in Media Multitasking: A Diary Study

This study provides insight in age differences in the amount of media multitasking and in the media that people combine. Results of a diary study (N = 3,048) among 13- to 65-year-olds reject the popular notion that media multitasking is particularly prevalent among young people. The youngest (13–16 years) and the oldest (50–65 years) age groups did distinguish themselves in terms of media combinations. The youngest group particularly combined music with online activities, whereas the oldest group was unique in combining radio with e-mail or newspapers. A plausible explanation for these age differences in media multitasking are lifespan related and generational differences in media use in general.