Can ‘pooling teaching tips’ be more than ‘pooling teaching tips’?

Tertiary Education and Management - There is increasing interest in how academic development of various kinds influences university teaching and student learning. To date the focus has been on...     

Social Presence and Identity: Facebook in an English Language Classroom

While social media is widely used by youth around the world, research is only beginning to document how transnational students employ these technologies. This study investigated how English-learning adolescents in the United States use social media to engage in social, academic, and identity work. Data were collected during a four-day social media unit in a high school English as a Second Language class of mostly recently arrived East African youth. Data sources included Facebook posts, video recordings of class interactions, student presentations, and interviews. These data were analyzed through post-structuralist identity frames (e.g., Norton, 2010) and the social semiotic construct of modality (van Leeuwen, 2005). Analyses indicated that through the process of building social presence (SP), learners asserted identities, which were affirmed by classmates, and legitimated their contributions. This legitimation resulted in rich, interactive learning experiences in the group. This finding has implications for using social media in classes with transnational newcomers.     

Within and beyond the classroom door: assessing quality in child care centers

This study reports data from a multisite study of typical center-based child care and children’s development regarding (a) associations among quality of care defined by structural features, process indicators, and compliance with state regulations, (b) variation in quality based on the stringency of state child care regulations and center compliance, and (c) specific quality indicators that show especially strong links to children’s experiences in child care. Findings confirmed prior evidence regarding the importance of ratios, teacher training, and group size for high quality classroom processes, but demonstrated the more significant contribution of teacher wages and parent fees. Both structural and process measures of quality varied with the location of the center in a state with more or less stringent child care regulations. The results indicate the importance of incorporating economic and regulatory considerations into future studies of childcare quality.     

Ideologies of Religion and Diversity in Australian Public Schools

In many multicultural democracies, education has a Christian history. However, teaching religion has ideological variation. Progressives teach about many religions, while conservatives favor (often exclusive) instruction into one tradition. Australian secular education controversially prioritizes faith-forming instruction (mostly Christian). In this exploratory study (N = 123) the author examines pedagogical preference and attitudes toward religious diversity.     

Fostering Intrinsic Motivation in Early Childhood Classrooms

Young children are born with an innate curiosity to learn about their world. This intrinsically instigated learning is often called mastery motivation. Patterns of motivation are established at an early age. The early childhood years are crucial for establishing robust intrinsic motivational orientations which will last a lifetime. By the time many children reach school, much of their motivation has been lost or replaced with extrinsically motivated learning strategies. Preschools and elementary schools have been criticized for contributing to such negative motivational patterns in children. This can be changed. Early child care situations and preschools can instead be instrumental in the strengthening of children's motivation. The goal of this paper is to show that through an understanding of the beginnings of motivation, we can begin to find ways to build strong motivational patterns in children that can carry on to later years of learning.