Goal orientation towards teaching (GOTT) scale

Goal orientation theory has been widely investigated and found to affect many motivation and behavior variables in relation to student learning and work performance. However, unlike the motivational construct of self-efficacy, researchers have yet to investigate whether this theory can be applied to the field of teaching and contribute to the explanation for trends in instructional behavior and motives. The purpose of the present study was to develop an instrument to begin the exploration of teachers’ goal orientation towards teaching. From a three-phase research design consisting of scale development, score validation, and convergent/discriminant validation, results provided support for the development of, and validity of scores on, a Goal Orientation towards Teaching (GOTT) Scale. Although further validation is needed, future researchers and practitioners can use the GOTT scale to investigate how teachers’ goal orientation towards teaching can impact student learning, teaching effectiveness, pedagogical learning, and even professional morale.     

Efficacy of using non-linear pedagogy to support attacking players’ individual learning objectives in elite-youth football: A randomised cross-over trial

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the efficacy of a coaching curriculum, based on non-linear pedagogy, on improving attacking players’ individual learning objectives (ILOs) in elite-youth football. Participants included 22 attacking players (i.e., centre-forwards, wide-players and attacking midfield players) from a professional football academy in England. The players were randomly appointed to both control (CON) and intervention (INT) periods following baseline measures. The INT (non-linear) and CON (linear) periods were both designed to support the ILOs provided to each player as part of the elite player performance plan. The study adopted a randomised cross-over design and ILOs considered important for attacking players (i.e., strong foot finishing, weak foot finishing, 1-v-1 and decision-making) were evaluated using the Loughborough Shooting Skill Test. The results showed significant differences for INT in 1-v-1 (P< 0.02) and decision-making (P< 0.01). However, there were no significant differences for strong foot finishing, weak foot finishing or time taken. These results support non-linear pedagogy in developing 1-v-1 game play and decision-making but not for technical shooting proficiency.     

Reading Instruction for English Learners in the Middle Grades: a Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes the last two decades of experimental and quasi-experimental research on reading instruction across academic contexts (e.g., social studies, science, mathematics, English language arts) for English learners (ELs) in grades 4 through 8, to determine (a) the overall effectiveness of reading instruction for upper elementary and middle school students who are ELs and (b) how the magnitude of the effect varies based on student, instructional, and study characteristics. The analysis included a total of 11 studies with 46 individual effect sizes and yielded a mean effect size of g?=?0.35 across all (i.e., standardized and unstandardized) reading measures, g?=?0.01 across standardized reading measures, and g?=?0.43 across unstandardized reading measures. For all reading, unstandardized reading, all vocabulary, and unstandardized vocabulary measures, results suggest that higher quality studies tended to have smaller effects, and these effects were even more evident for unstandardized measures (i.e., one unit increase in study quality was associated with decreased effects: g?=?0.21, g?=?0.30, g?=?0.24, g?=?0.30, respectively). For all comprehension measures, effects were larger for instruction that included both vocabulary and comprehension (g?=?0.39) than for instruction that focused on vocabulary alone (g?=?0.08). Results suggest the benefit of developing and refining high-impact approaches to reading instruction for ELs that can be delivered across content areas and grades.     

Teaching,learning and ethical dilemmas: lessons from Albert Camus

Over the past half century, Albert Camus's story ‘The Guest’ has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention. ‘The Guest’ focuses on the ethical dilemmas faced by Daru, a school teacher in Algeria, and the two visitors he receives one day: Balducci, a gendarme, and an unnamed Arab prisoner. This paper addresses Camus's text from an educational point of view. The first section outlines the position taken by Daniel Muhlestein, who analyses ‘The Guest’ in the light of Louis Althusser's distinction between Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs) and Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs). The second section provides an alternative educational reading of the text – one based on the moral complexity of the three principal characters. It is argued that the ethical questions raised by ‘The Guest’ are similar to those faced by many teachers, and that this is a story worthy of continuing educational engagement.     

The Roles of Privacy and Trust in Children's Evaluations and Explanations of Digital Tracking

A “digital revolution” has introduced new privacy violations concerning access to information stored on electronic devices. The present two studies assessed how U.S. children ages 5–17 and adults (N = 416; 55% female; 67% white) evaluated those accessing digital information belonging to someone else, either location data (Study 1) or digital photos (Study 2). The trustworthiness of the tracker (Studies 1 and 2) and the privacy of the information (Study 2) were manipulated. At all ages, evaluations were more negative when the tracker was less trustworthy, and when information was private. However, younger children were substantially more positive overall about digital tracking than older participants. These results, yielding primarily medium-to-large effect sizes, suggest that with age, children increasingly appreciate digital privacy considerations.     

Child abuse fatalities and cases of extreme concern: lessons from reviews

OBJECTIVE: The study was commissioned by the Welsh Office to pull together lessons from all reports on cases involving either a child abuse fatality or serious child protection concern ("Part 8 Reviews") since the introduction of the Children Act 1989. METHOD: Twenty-one such reports were identified and subjected to a content analysis to extract practice issues. RESULTS: From 19 reports (excluding Reviews concerning adult sexual abusers), the authors identify seven practice themes emerging from that analysis which are related to those identified in previous studies and to six previously undertaken British overviews of child abuse fatalities. The themes are assessment, interagency communications, responsibility, number of professionals involved, role of general practitioners, insufficient training for pediatricians/radiologists, and parental choice. CONCLUSIONS: British child protection agencies are attempting to address apparently conflicting policy objectives. On the one hand they are required to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable children within the child protection system. At the same time they are also being encouraged to adopt a "lighter touch" in child protection work. The authors conclude that the seven themes may provide some indicators as to how these conflicting objectives may be reconciled.     

Cross-cultural comparability of noncognitive constructs in TIMSS and PISA

Abstract

Noncognitive assessments in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study share certain similarities and provide complementary information, yet their comparability is seldom checked and convergence not sought. We made use of student self-report data of Instrumental Motivation, Enjoyment of Science and Sense of Belonging to School targeted in both surveys in 29 overlapping countries to (1) demonstrate levels of measurement comparability, (2) check convergence of different scaling methods within survey and (3) check convergence of these constructs with student achievement across surveys. We found that the three scales in either survey (except Sense of Belonging to School in PISA) reached at least metric invariance. The scale scores from the multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and the item response theory analysis were highly correlated, pointing to robustness of scaling methods. The correlations between each construct and achievement was generally positive within each culture in each survey, and the correlational pattern was similar across surveys (except for Sense of Belonging), indicating certain convergence in the cross-survey validation. We stress the importance of checking measurement invariance before making comparative inferences, and we discuss implications on the quality and relevance of these constructs in understating learning.     

Addressing 21st-century crises through children’s literature: picturebooks as partners for teacher educators

ABSTRACT

Teacher educators might consider using high-quality picturebooks as partners to help teacher candidates understand and navigate today’s painful world realities. From a critical perspective, these books also have the potential to reflect and shape empathy and action in regard to these difficult situations. This piece includes a rationale for using picturebooks to address human crises, findings related to a study of 21st-century representations of crises in picturebooks, and implications for sharing these books as pedagogical partners to engage with teacher candidates. To this end, we conducted a content analysis of recent 21st-century fictional picturebooks depicting human crises. Topics related to refugee status, poverty, homelessness, and hunger were analyzed to reveal common themes across these books related to persistence, courage, caring, and hope. Teacher educators who are eager to address 21st-century disasters, many of which are presented in sensitive and accessible ways in recent touchstone picturebooks, can find a ready and capable partner in these powerful picturebooks to help readers understand and navigate these human crises.     

Central-place foraging by rats on the radial maze: The effects of patch size,food distribution,and travel time

Rats foraged on a four-arm radial maze with one, two, three, and four food items (0.65.g pieces of cheese) placed on different arms (patches) of the maze. In two experiments, the hypothesis was tested that rats should carry food to the center of the maze more often when a patch contains one food item than when it contains multiple food items. Support for this prediction was found when the tendency to carry initial items encountered in patches was compared among the different sized patches. However, a further observation failed to support the hypothesis: Food carrying declined from first to last item encountered in multiple-item patches with clustered food items. Experiment 1 revealed that food carrying was reduced when travel time was increased by barriers placed at arm entrances. Both Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that the tendency for rats to carry food to the center of the radial maze increased as the distance of food encountered on an arm increased from the center. In both experiments, some rats dealt with the problem of multiple items by resorting to multiple-item loading, and some rats carried food items from the end of an arm to a point on the arm nearer the center for consumption.     

What Counts and How: Mathematics Teaching in Culturally, Linguistically, and Socioeconomically Diverse Urban Settings

This article presents findings from an ongoing study of urban teachers' efforts to embrace mathematics reform with student populations that are culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse (CLSD). We investigate the teacher's role in providing accessible and valuable mathematical learning opportunities to diverse students. Through narrative vignettes of practice and analyses of the personal and intellectual resources teachers draw on in CLSD contexts, we examine the challenges and possibilities two third-grade teachers face as they attempt such reform. One teacher's strengths were in making cultural connections with her students; the other's strengths were in pursuing complex and meaningful mathematics with her students. Building on our analysis, we offer a framework for examining the work of attending to mathematical and cultural issues simultaneously. Our findings suggest that such work is complex; however, teachers are seldom supported in their efforts to integrate these two perspectives. Our aim is to examine the dimensions of culturally relevant mathematics teaching and explore where the fields of mathematics and bilingual-bicultural education need to speak to one another.