MRSQ Informatics Education columns: past, present and future

This is the last Informatics Education column under the current editors. The outgoing editors identify six key themes that reflect the changes in informatics education over their seven-year tenure. The themes are picked from the 29 previous columns published under their editorship. The first and key theme is technology, and this one theme is the basis for the other five. The incoming editors project what they expect to see as key themes for future columns. Together, this column looks at the past, present, and future state of informatics education in the United States.     

Teachers’ Coping Strategies for Teaching Science in a “Low-Performing” School District

This study describes how teachers use their personal knowledge of a school district and their students to cope with teaching under stressful situations associated with economic, social, and institutional factors. The 3 teachers dealt with these issues in unique ways, focusing on helping students to overcome negative perceptions, value the importance of an education, and build strong relationships. A model of multicultural science professional development is proposed that complements the strengths that these teachers have. A task for science educators working with teachers and administration in schools and districts that are “critically low performing” is to support everyone in implementing pedagogical methods aimed at empowerment, social justice, and high achievement for all students.

Do Journal Administrators solve the reviewer assignment problem as well as editors? Consideration of reviewer rigour and timeliness

The study aimed to find whether journal editorial office administrators were as effective as editors at assigning rigorous reviewers. We analysed four journals using blended systems of editor‐selected reviewers (ESR) and Journal Administrator‐selected reviewers (JASR) from four disciplines: medicine, sociology, education, and business/applied psychology. In blended journals, both editors and Journal Administrators select authors to review using web‐based expert‐finding tools. All reviewers selected were both authors and reviewers. We primarily wanted to assess the quality of reviews from both ESR and JASR reviewer selection methodologies. Reviewer rigour was defined as differences between editor decisions and reviewer recommendations. Timeliness data were also recorded and analysed separately as an indicator of efficiency. Reviewer rigour, the quality of reviewers’ evaluations, was estimated from the level of agreement between editors and reviewers. Timeliness was not considered a direct measure of rigour. For two journals, no statistically significant differences were observed; for two, in a small proportion of cases, ESR reviews were more negative. One journal showed some statistically significant major differences but only in 2% of reviews. Timeliness data indicated some statistically significant trends that JASR return reviews more promptly. Therefore, where editors rely on at least two reviewers’ recommendations, JASR is equally rigorous as ESR.     

Integrating evidence-based reading practices into middle-school content instruction: exploring a facet of sustainability

Reading comprehension models are being implemented in content-area settings to boost reading achievement. Yet, little research explores how such models are incorporated into teachers’ daily instructional practice. The authors used extended observations and interviews to examine the integration of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), an evidence-based reading comprehension model, into the instructional practices of 15 middle school science, social studies, and language arts teachers. Findings indicated that high-integration teachers embedded CSR lessons into their curriculum and reinforced CSR strategy use throughout the week. These teachers also felt supported in their efforts by colleagues and school administrators. There is much to be learned from the ways in which teachers engage in the art of integrating new methods into their teaching.     

Professional development through attending conferences: reflections of a health librarian

In this article, guest writer Ruth Jenkins from Berkshire Heathcare Foundation Trust reflects on two conferences she attended in 2014, LILAC and SLA. Through the process of reflection, she considers the benefits that attending conferences can have to library and information professionals in the health sector. In particular, she discusses the opportunities and areas for learning and professional development that conferences can offer including evidence‐based practice and current awareness, gaining new knowledge and objectivity, and networking and the unexpected benefits of conferences. Ruth also offers some practical hints and tips on ways to facilitate your attendance at conferences, including through awards and funding. H.S.     

Modes of organizing biomedical innovation in the UK and US and the role of integrative and relational capabilities

Given that biomedical innovation involves intense collaboration across disciplines, occupations and organizations, a nation's integrative capabilities (the ability to move between basic science and clinical development) and relational capabilities (the ability to collaborate with diverse organizations) have been identified as crucial. This paper deploys qualitative analysis of biomedical innovation in the UK and US to identify mechanisms influencing innovation at the project level through which these macro level capabilities may have effects. From this a propositional framework is developed that helps explain the likely impact of such capabilities for characteristically different kinds of innovation projects at the micro level.     

Learning practice and technology: extending the structurational Practice Lens to educational technology research

Scholars in the field of educational technology have been calling for robust use of social theory within learning technology research. In view of that, interest has been noted in applying Giddens’ structuration theory to the understanding of human interaction with technology in learning settings. However, only few such attempts have been published to date with recent reviews indicating the scarcity of structurational accounts from the educational technology field. Addressing this gap and advancing a critical use of the theory in the field, an attempt is made in this paper to lend coherency to structuration-based research into learning technology. Specifically, a critical consideration of the structurational Practice Lens is offered drawing from its application in a case study that explored technology-mediated learning practices in the institutional context of higher education. Conceptual and analytical aspects are addressed with a view to augment the framework, and to extend its relevance and applicability in educational technology research.     

On the road to reform: a sociocultural interpretation of reform

In this paper I discuss how reform in science education is interpreted by Barma as she recounts the story of Catherine, a grade 9 biology teacher, who reforms her teaching practices in response to a national curriculum reform in Quebec, Canada. Unlike some cases in response to reform, this case is hopeful and positive. Also in this paper, I address some familiar areas that must be considered when teachers undertake curriculum reform and how science educators may fulfill the role of facilitator and advocate in the support of teachers on the road to reform. The commentary focuses on how Barma retells the story through the lens of activity theory.