Current Challenges in Social Work Distance Education: Responses from the Elluminati

One of the first tasks of the Social Work Distance Education Network at the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary was to review the literature and address three research questions to inform policy making and planning relating to distance social work education programming. This paper is intended to disseminate responses to these questions from a small group of dedicated and experienced distance educators who have adopted the moniker Elluminati. (The Elluminati adapted their name from a popular online audio-conferencing program.) These questions include: (1) What is the optimal class size for a distance delivery offering? (2) What supports does an online course require for development and effective delivery? (3) What types of courses are suitable/unsuitable for online learning?     

The Aims of Science Laboratory Courses: a Survey of Students,Graduates and Practising Scientists

Summaries

English

This paper describes the results of a survey of practising scientists, recent graduates and undergraduates about their perceptions of undergraduate laboratory programmes in biology, chemistry and physics. The two groups in employment were requested to rate, in terms of degree of importance, each of 22 aims. The undergraduates were also requested to rate each aim, but in terms of their observed importance in their course as well as their preferred importance. The aims were then arranged in rank order. A high degree of concordance was found between practising scientists (which included staff in academic institutions) and recent graduates, who regard laboratory experiences in pragmatic terms which stress the acquisition of practical skills, equipment familiarity, observational skills, interpretation of data and a critical approach to experimentation. Undergraduate students, however, have some different perceptions of laboratory aims, and rate highly those activities associated with educational processes, for example the links which they observe to exist between theoretical material and laboratory work.

The implications of these results to the course designer are discussed.     

“The Quare in the Square”: Queer Memory,Sensibilities, and Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is perhaps the most well-known historical homosexual in the public imagination. However, for a new generation of queers less connected to “gay” labels, Wilde appears other and forgettable. To reanimate Wilde's memory for twenty-first-century queers and ensure his legacy going forward, I read the 1997 Oscar Wilde monument in Dublin, Ireland. Through discursive, visual, and material analyses, I argue the monument first complicates Wilde's sexuality, casting doubt on his gay label. Second, the monument reframes Wilde as the practitioner of a proto-queer sensibility. In doing so, the monument marks historical anachronisms and renders Wilde a more resonant figure for contemporary queer audiences.     

What teachers think about what they can do with data: Development and validation of the data driven decision-making efficacy and anxiety inventory

Classroom level data driven decision-making (DDDM) involves the use of data to identify patterns of performance that reveal students’ academic strengths and weaknesses relative to established learning goals, and the planning of instructional practices to support academic success for all students. Although DDDM is not a new paradigm in education, little is known about what variables facilitate teacher adoption of DDDM practices. The aim of this work was to introduce two such variables, DDDM efficacy and DDDM anxiety, and a measure of these constructs, the DDDM efficacy and anxiety (3D-MEA) inventory. The 1728 participants in this study were K-12 teachers who had experienced varying levels of DDDM professional development in a Pacific Northwestern state. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 864) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 864) were utilized to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 3D-MEA Inventory. Results supported a five-factor model. A discussion of the results and their implications ensue.     

How Nonfiction Reveals the Nature of Science

In this article, the authors consider whether children’s trade books promote an authentic understanding of the nature of science. They begin by discussing the characteristics of the nature of science and then examine existing research in children’s science books for evidence of the visibility of these features. They describe the problems science educators have with literature that constructs what has been called an “architecture of scientific myths.” Instead, the authors suggest using the literature of inquiry, books that promote scientific understanding by developing an authentic context for science. The authors provide an indepth discussion of three exemplary books, each an example of the literature of inquiry. They end with suggestions for explicitly discussing the nature of science in children’s nonfiction.     

Theory of Mind, Emotion Understanding, Language, and Family Background: Individual Differences and Interrelations

Individual differences in young children's social cognition were examined in 128 urban preschoolers from a wide range of backgrounds. comprehensive assessments were made of children's false-belief understanding, emotion understanding, language abilities, and family background information was collected via parent interview. Individual differences in children's understanding of false-belief and emotion were associated with differences in language ability and with certain aspects of family background, in particular, parental occupational class and mothers' education. The number of siblings that children had did not relate to their social cognition. Individual differences in false-belief and emotion understanding were correlated, but these domains did not contribute to each other independently of age, language ability, and family background. In fact, variance in family background only contributed uniquely to false-belief understanding. The results suggest that family background has a significant impact on the development of theory of mind. The findings also suggest that understanding of false-belief and understanding of emotion may be distinct aspects of social cognition in young children.     

Continuities in Emotion Understanding from Three to Six Years

As part of a longitudinal study, 47 children who were tested on their understanding of basic emotions when they were 3 years old were tested again at 6 on their understanding of conflicting emotions. Significant stability in individual differences was found over this 3-year period. Antecedents to emotion understanding at 3 continued to be significantly related to children's understanding at 6, including participation in discourse about causality, positive interaction with older siblings, and language ability. Girls outperformed boys, and there was a suggestion that the girls' understanding of emotions was more closely associated than the boys' with the quality of their sibling relationships. Children's concurrent reports of negative experiences at home and at school were related to their sensitivity to the experience of ambivalent emotions. The results are discussed with respect to the social origins and implications of this core aspect of children's social-cognitive development.     

Enhancing the Quality of Education: A Case Study and Some Emerging Principles

The aim of this paper is to provide insightsinto the process that has been adopted toenable faculty and support staff (courseadministrators and technicians) to identify andenhance the quality of educational provision ina large UK Business School. The concern toaddress this issue was motivated initially bythe demands of external subject review. Therewas a realisation by senior managers within theSchool that what was required was the embeddingand sharing of good practice and continuousimprovement of the provision: in short, anapplication of the concept of a learningorganisation. The paper may assist othersengaged in the task of enhancing the quality ofstudent learning in their faculties orschools.