A distributed collaborative science learning laboratory on the internet

Abstract

A Distributed Collaborative Science Learning Laboratory (DCSLL) was designed, prototyped, and pilot‐tested as the “Electrical Circuit Simulator.” This laboratory was part of a module on electricity within an introductory distance course for postsecondary students on the scientific method. The concept of DCSLL emerged from work in distance education and new technologies, cooperative/collaborative learning, and science education. Instructional design principles derived from these areas are presented, and their implementation in the DCSLL is described, followed by results from the pilot test. Analysis of the results led to the articulation of six instructional design guidelines, identified as being key to the development of such learning environments.     

The Reference Interview Today by Susan Knoer

No abstract available for this article.     

Mentoring empowers gifted/Learning disabled students to soar!

The Wings Mentor Program, established by the Division of Accelerated and Enriched Instruction of Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools, was developed to provide additional support to students with gifts who also have learning disabilities (GAD) and highly able students who were not succeeding in the classroom. Students realize their creative and intellectual potential when paired with mentors who nurture them by increasing their knowledge and skills in an area of interest. The mentors, who have a background in education and/or experience working with children, are carefully screened and selected based on their knowledge in a specific field, and their ability to share their skills with young people. Mentors communicate with the classroom teachers so that the successful strategies can be transferred and applied to the classroom setting. The article includes an analysis of the program's components, the mentor/student/teacher partnership, and training practices.     

CONTINUING THE CONNECTION: EMERITI/RETIREE CENTERS ON CAMPUS

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to describe emeriti/retiree centers at two major research institutions that serve retired faculty, retired staff, and their spouse beneficiaries. These on-campus centers provide opportunities to cultivate retirees' connections to the campus community. Highlighted as possible models are 2 programs in different phases of development, 1 in a public and the other at a private university. Examples demonstrate how retired staff and faculty continue to bring value to the university, academe, and society. The article shows that a successful center is aided by many factors, primary among them: (a) senior-level administration fostering an appreciation of retirees as valued members of the campus community, (b) a dedicated departmental budget and mission focused solely on retirees, and (c) retiree involvement in governance and programming.     

Immersion Learning in Social Work Education: A Pedagogical Tool for Enriching Knowledge and Practice Skills among BSW Students

Immersion learning is one form of experiential education and has great utility in social work education. However, there is limited research on student learning outcomes from immersion learning courses in social work education. This ethnographic research describes an immersion learning course offered to BSW students (N = 9) and the learning outcomes gained. This semester-long course focused on macrolevel practice with people experiencing poverty, homelessness, and the sexual exploitation of women. As part of this course, students went on a weeklong immersion trip, where they visited a dozen human service organizations and interacted with people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Qualitative analysis produced three findings. First, students reported that these interactions helped them realize their biases and impacted their understanding of poverty. Second, students reported enhanced social work practice skills, such as cultural competency, self-awareness, and interpersonal expertise. They also gained a better appreciation for macrolevel practice. Third, students reported a better understanding of how to deploy classroom knowledge in practice and how to apply what they learned back in the classroom. These findings have implications for undergraduate social work education and how immersion learning programs can be a tool for enriching both knowledge and practice skills.     

Can we meet their expectations? Experiences and perceptions of feedback in first year undergraduate students

Student ratings of satisfaction with feedback are consistently lower than other teaching and learning elements within the UK higher education sector. However, reasons for this dissatisfaction are often unclear to teaching staff, who believe their students are receiving timely, extensive and informative feedback. This study explores possible explanations for this mismatch between staff and students’ perceptions of feedback quality. One hundred and sixty-six first year undergraduate students completed a questionnaire detailing their experiences of feedback on coursework before and throughout their first year at university. Results indicate that whilst procedural elements of feedback (timeliness and legibility) are considered satisfactory, past experiences (pre-university) may influence student expectations of feedback. Some students had a severe, negative emotional response to the feedback provided and few students engaged in self-help (independent learning) behaviours to improve their performance following feedback. We consider how changes in feedback practices could improve students’ use of, and satisfaction with, their feedback.     

Making a modernist pedagogy: changes in elementary and pre-elementary schooling

Present primary public education in France originated in the école républicaine of the nineteenth century. Starting in the 1960s, the primary school has become integrated into a system of education, with virtually all children now attending pre-elementary and secondary education. These structural changes have led to important alterations in the curriculum of pre-elementary and elementary schools: their traditional pedagogical specificity has diminished in response to a relatively new requirement of curriculum continuity and the overall aim of preparing for future schooling. On the whole, however, this level of schooling is characterized by modernistic pedagogy, the importance it gives to children's harmonious growth and the psycho-affective nature of the teacher-pupil relationship. Although inequalities in socio-economic status between children have not disappeared, new directives aim to limit the inegalitarian mechanisms at work through decentralized compensatory measures and teamwork inside schools.