The necessity of each phase of the learning cycle in teaching high school physics

The learning cycle is a method of teaching—it is also a curriculum organization principle and is derived directly from the mental functioning model invented by Piaget. Although Jean Piaget contributed to the formation of the learning cycle (Piaget, 1973), its present structure has to be attributed to Dr. Robert Karplus and the persons who developed the materials of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS). It was through the SCIS activities that many of us learned how to develop curricula and teach with the learning cycle. The learning cycle is built upon the premise that three distinct phases are necessary in developing understanding of a concept, that those phases have a definite sequence, and each phase has a definite structure or form. The research done in testing the form variable has already been reported in this journal (Renner, Abraham, & Birnie, 1985). This report explores whether or not each learning-cycle phase is necessary in learning a concept.     

Peer evaluation: A case study

Peer evaluation is the process whereby students critique the performances of other students. A peer evaluation format emphasizes skills, encourages involvement, focuses on learning, establishes a reference, promotes excellence, provides increased feedback, fosters attendance, and teaches responsibility. The process of peer evaluation is explained, the criteria are specified, the training for use is described, and how standards are maintained is explained. Finally, objections are suggested and addressed. Peer evaluation is a unique, controlled, and precise form of classroom evaluation that involves carefully constructed evaluation instruments, structured classroom situations, and exact evaluative assessments. Peer evaluation is a new and different form of evaluation.     

A Process Approach to Community-Based Education: The People’s Free University of Saskatchewan

On the basis of insights provided by Whitehead and John Cobb, I show how the People’s Free University of Saskatchewan (PFU) is a working model of free, open, community-based education that embodies several characteristics of Whitehead’s philosophy of education. Formed in opposition to the growing commercialization at the original “people’s university,” (the University of Saskatchewan) the PFU has spawned distinctive ideals of its own. The PFU reflects Whitehead’s belief in the importance of shared knowledge fostered by community-based education, the value of abstract and practical knowledge, and the power of the imagination to establish a community of learners capable of acting freely together.     

Determinants of placement for sexually abused children

While conducting a prospective study of 100 sexually abused children, we found a much higher rate of out-of-home placement than has been previously described for child maltreatment. This study was designed to determine which factors were most influential in predicting the placement experiences of this cohort. The children, ages 6-17 years, were recently substantiated victims of intrafamilial sexual abuse whose parents or guardians permitted study involvement. We examined child and family demographics, abuse characteristics, and family response as possible determinants of immediate and later placement. At the initial assessment, within a few weeks of the disclosure, 50% of the children had already been removed. A follow-up assessment of 83 children two years later revealed that 73% had been removed from the abusing home. In a multivariate regression model, only maternal support of the child emerged as a significant predictor of immediate placement and placement over time. The offender's status as a resident in the child's home was an important predictor of immediate placement but was not significant as a predictor of all placements at any time. As maternal support is an important predictor of the need for placement, workers are encouraged to seek ways of enhancing maternal support as a means of reducing placement.     

That’s Not Something We Have to Discuss: Interrupting Silences About Multiracial Students in Teacher Work

The author asserts that the field of teacher education must begin a critical conversation to better prepare and support teachers in attending to the complexities of racialized identities, experiences, and perspectives of multiracial students in K12 schools. The author offers a review of literature relevant to multiracial students, and draws from the emerging theoretical framework of Multicrit (Harris in Int J Qual Stud Educ 29(6):795–813, 2016) to present monoracism, ahistoricism, colorism and intersectionality to analyze excerpts from three respective research studies. Each excerpt demonstrates an imperative to build a critical understanding of multiracial students within teacher work. The author concludes with implications for future research and practice.     

The Status of Career and Technical Education Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate and graduate student enrollments, course delivery modes, and curricular trends and issues of CTE programs. Based on findings from 139 program/department coordinators, results emphasized that although CTE programs within institutions of higher education have declined in number (Fletcher, Gordon, Asunda, &; Zirkle, 2015 Fletcher, E., &; Djajalaksana, Y. (2015). Instructional strategy preferences in the career and technical education classroom. Journal of Research in Business Education, 57(1), 32–56. [Google Scholar]), student enrollments within those programs have remained steady compared to prior studies (Bruening et al., 2001 Bruening, T., Scanlon, D., Hodes, C., Dhital, P., Shao, X., &; Liu, S. (2001). The status of career and technical education teacher preparation programs. (Report No. V051A990004). Minneapolis, MN: The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. [Google Scholar]; Lynch, 1990 Lynch, R. (1990). A national database on vocational teacher education (Report No. V051A80004-89). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education. [Google Scholar]). Even so, CTE program/department administrators have articulated that declining student enrollment is a major challenge within their programs. Additionally, the development of online courses and the impact of state/national educational reform initiatives were identified as major curricular trends for CTE programs. Recommendations include the need for CTE faculty to embrace online instruction, and for programs to use broader nomenclature of CTE/Workforce Education, instead of names of more traditional subdisciplines within the field to remain more accessible and sustainable in the future. The condition of undergraduate and graduate CTE programs will likely impact the viability and sustainability of CTE teacher preparation programs, recruitment of a talented and diverse CTE teaching force, continuity of the U.S. teaching workforce, and ability of K–12 teachers to maintain high-quality CTE programs.     

Cognitive performance and mental ability: Implications for learning in the later years

Both cross sectional and longitudinal studies of change with age in mental ability and cross sectional studies of change with age in cognitive performance indicate that the ability to learn generally does not decline in adulthood but continues at a stable and responsive level well into the later years. This conclusion is not only supported by psychological research but also confirmed by the rapidly growing numbers of older persons who are returning to and succeeding in the pursuit of educational activities. If and when decline does occur, it is usually modest, often reversible, rarely extreme, and rarely if ever great enough to preclude the possibility of learning that may be highly meaningful to the older learner.Howard Y. McClusky is the charter President of the Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is currently active as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education and Faculty Associate in the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.     

Audiogenic seizures in mice: Asymmetries of the preconvulsive running pattern and subsequent seizure

Asymmetries in the progression of unilaterally and bilaterally induced audiogenic seizures were examined in DBA/2J and SJL/J mice. Both strains were found to exhibit consistent asymmetries in direction(s) of running as well as in the side of fall during a convulsion. This correspondence suggests that the bursts of running are an integral part of an audiogenic seizure. The incorporation of information on asymmetries of the locomotor prelude in future studies should prove valuable for understanding the physiological mechanisms of audiogenic seizure.     

Reflective pedagogy: the integration of methodology and subject-matter content in a graduate-level course

This article presents a critical reflection on how we, instructors of a graduate-level course in higher education administration, sought to integrate theoretical and subject-matter content and research methodology. Our reflection, guided by autoethnography and teacher reflection, challenged both our assumptions about curriculum design and our process of designing and teaching the redesigned course. We found that our efforts to integrate course content and methodology differed from students’ prior experiences and resulted in a disconnection between their experience and the intended course learning objectives. Recommendations include understanding the degree program culture and students’ course expectations, using assignments that facilitate learning of both theory and methods, and balancing classroom discussion among theory, methodology, and the integration of the two.     

Children with autism illuminate the role of social intention in word learning

To what extent do children with autism (AD) versus typically developing children (TD) rely on attentional and intentional cues to learn words? Four experiments compared 17 AD children (M age=5.08 years) with 17 language- and 17 mental-age-matched TD children (M ages=2.57 and 3.12 years, respectively) on nonverbal enactment and word-learning tasks. Results revealed variability in all groups, but particularly within the AD group. Performance on intention tasks was the most powerful predictor of vocabulary in the AD group but not in the TD groups. These findings suggest that word learning cannot be explained exclusively by either attentional or intentional processes, and they provide evidence of a special role for intentional understanding in the vocabulary development of AD children.