Falling In and Filling In: ESL Teaching Careers in Changing Times

Drawing from a study in four schoolsin Ontario, Canada, this article identifiesissues around the professional training, dailywork, and potential long-term commitment of ESL(English as a Second Language) teachers whoprovide much of the initial educationalprogramming for the growing number ofincreasingly diverse immigrant students in manyNorth American school systems. Because ESLteachers are most directly involved with newimmigrants, they experience most directly thechallenges and consequences of what a number ofresearchers have identified as a fundamentalmismatch between traditional school practicesand the current student population's academicand social needs.     

Expressions of Identifications: The Nature of Talk and Identity Tensions Among Organizational Members in a Struggling Organization

This study investigates how organizational members communicatively enact identification and more specifically how tensions in identification are expressed through members’ talk and behaviors. Using a case-study approach, we explored the experiences of members in an organization in turmoil. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires given at two times, and observations of organizational events were used to understand the identification tensions these individuals negotiated and ways that identification, disidentification, and ambivalent identification were enacted. The study provides empirical evidence of changing identifications and articulates their communicative manifestations. The findings not only support the notion that identification is a complex and dynamic process but also contribute to the identification literature by illustrating specific ways that various forms of identification tensions are enacted and communicated in response to organizational change.     

A process‐outcome analysis of learning in group and individual settings

Models of behavior and achievement in small group and individual settings are presented. These models arc based on intensive analyses of observations of groups and individuals at work. For each setting the varieties of behavior observed, social‐psychological mechanisms hypothesized to influence observed behavior, and factors hypothesized to relate behavior to learning are described. A synthesis of the models suggests that neither the group nor the individual setting is best for all persons; the benefits of a particular setting depend upon the experiences of the learner within that setting.     

THE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FOR A NEW CENTURY: LINCING WOMEN AND MINORITIES INTO TOMORROW'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP ROLES

The Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, the Iowa Association of Community College Presidents, and Iowa State University Higher Education Program created a partnership to develop women and minorities for leadership roles in community colleges. The Leadership Institute for a New Century (LINC) program, which is in its eleventh year, uses a combination of national and state community college leaders, community leaders, trustees, and university faculty members to offer personal and professional development activities for participants. University credit that may be used as part of an academic degree program and for state licensure purposes is granted. Participants are nominated by their college; participate in monthly seminars; and complete projects related to local, state, and national issues. Nearly 70% of participants reported receiving a leadership promotion or advancement during or since their acceptance into the LINC program. The majority indicated that the program was very influential in their advancement. With the predicted impending administrator shortage, more cooperative leadership development programs need to be developed. The future of our community college system depends on the development of leadership opportunities and an infusion of leadership.     

The development and maintenance of mental toughness: Perceptions of elite performers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the addition of a resistance training programme to a caloric restriction weight loss intervention on psychosocial profile. The study sample consisted of 137 overweight and obese post-menopausal women. Participants were randomized to a caloric restriction group and caloric restriction + resistance training group. Psychosocial, anthropometric, and metabolic variables were measured before and after the 6-month weight loss intervention. Both groups presented similar weight loss and there were no significant differences between the caloric restriction group and caloric restriction + resistance training group for changes in psychosocial profile. Thereafter, all participants were classified into quintiles based on the amount of weight loss. In all quintiles, women markedly improved body esteem and self-esteem, and decreased hunger and perceived risk for diabetes mellitus (P < 0.05). However, significant increases in dietary restraint were observed in quintiles 2–5 (≥2.4 % body weight loss), decreases in disinhibition in quintiles 3–5 (≥4.9 %), increases in self-efficacy in quintiles 3–5 (≥4.9 %), and increases in health perceptions in quintile 5 (≥11.1%). The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that the addition of a resistance training programme to a caloric restriction weight loss intervention has additional benefits on psychosocial profile. Overall, the significant improvements in the psychosocial profile observed were mostly accounted for by the degree of weight loss.     

Using Class Climate Scales to Evaluate Gifted Inservice Programs

This study represents a novel approach to evaluating the effectiveness of an inservice program designed to help teachers enrich classroom instruction to make it more appropriate for gifted students. Results indicate that the number of inservice courses taken by teachers over a two and one‐half year period was associated with increased emphasis in their classes on higher‐level thinking skills and illustrates the use of class climate scales as a tool for program evaluation.     

The role of teacher instructional practices in student collaboration

Prior research on collaborative learning identifies student behaviors that significantly predict student achievement, such as giving explanations of one’s thinking. Less often studied is the role of teachers’ instructional practices in collaboration among students. This article investigates the extent to which teachers engage in practices that support students’ explanations of their thinking, and how these teacher practices might be related to the nature of explanations that students give when asked by the teacher to collaborate with each other. The teachers observed here, all of whom received specific instruction in eliciting the details of student thinking, varied significantly in the extent to which they asked students to elaborate on their suggestions. This variation corresponded to variation across classrooms in the nature and extent of student explanations during collaborative conversations and to differences in student achievement.