Wayfinding as a concept for understanding success among Native Americans in STEM: “learning how to map through life”

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This paper discusses findings from 40 ethnographically inspired interviews with 21 Native science professionals conducted in two iterative phases (21 in...     

New Images in Education ‐ the Use and Production of Videodiscs Operated by Computer

Abstract

This article looks at the development of the Prestel and TTNS systems of videotext and how they have come together to produce the Campus 2000 System which is becoming increasingly important in UK educational systems.

     

SEX‐INSTRUCTION AS A PHASE OF SOCIAL EDUCATION

Do teachers of religion use history in such a way as to challenge the imagination, stir the emotions, and encourage reflection? The author thinks not, but points to ways in which this may be done.     

Representing Nature of Science in a Science Textbook: Exploring author–editor–publisher interactions

Current reforms in elementary and secondary science education call for students and teachers to develop more informed views of the nature of science (NOS)—a process in which science textbooks play a significant role. This paper reports on a case study of the development of representations of the NOS in a senior high school chemistry textbook by the book's author, editor, and publisher. The study examines the multiple discourses that arose as the developers reflected on their personal and shared understandings of NOS; squared these with mandated curricula, the educational needs of chemistry students and teachers, and the exigencies of large-scale commercial textbook publishing. As a result, the team developed and incorporated, in the textbook, representations of NOS they believed were the most pedagogically suitable. Analysis of the data in this study indicates that a number of factors significantly influenced the development of representations of NOS, including representational accuracy (the degree to which representations of NOS conformed to informed views of the NOS), representational consistency (the degree to which representations of NOS in different parts of the book conveyed the same meaning), representational appropriateness (the age-, grade-, and reading-level appropriateness of the NOS representations), representational alignment (the degree to which NOS representations aligned with mandated curriculum), representational marketability (the degree to which NOS representations would affect sales of the textbook), and ‘Workplace Resources’ factors including availability of time, relevant expertise, and opportunities for professional development.     

Strategy Precedes Operational Effectiveness: Aligning High Graduation Rankings With Competitive Graduation Grade Point Averages

Two pivotal and interconnected claims are addressed in this article. First, strategy precedes program effectiveness. Second, graduation rates and rankings are insufficient in any account of academic progress for African American students. In this article, graduation is regarded as the floor and not the ceiling, as it were. The ideal situation in the promotion of strategy is the alignment of high graduation rates or rankings with high graduation cumulative grade point averages. This strategic alignment is precisely what needs to be formulated in the first instance before making judgments about program development and/or operational effectiveness. The work of the Office of African American Affairs of the University of Virginia provides the context for observing trends in academic performance that illustrate the optimal alignment between high graduation rankings and correspondingly high grade point averages.