Evaluation of MEDLINE service by user survey

The use of MEDLINE at the Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami School of Medicine has grown so substantially over the past one and one-half years that we felt an evaluation of the service was appropriate. A one-page questionnaire was sent to 350 patrons who had requested MEDLINE searches in 1973. The response validated many of our assumptions about the user group and their reasons for using MEDLINE. Most surprising were the degree of enthusiasm, the willingness to pay out of personal funds, the apparent lack of knowledge about SDILINE, and the small number of critical comments. We expect that the experience gained from this assessment will enable us to make improvements in some aspects of our service, as well as to undertake more subject-specific evaluations at shorter intervals in the future.     

Approaches to Studying of Australian and Overseas Chinese University Students

This article takes up the question of whether the approaches to study adopted by Australian students and overseas Chinese students differ. Participants in the study consisted of 202 first‐year Australian students and 248 first‐year overseas Chinese students drawn from two Australian universities. The students were tested using the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI). The data obtained from the two groups were subjected to factor analysis (with orthogonal rotation). For Australian students, a four‐factor structure in studying approaches, which accounted for 55.6% of the total variance, was obtained. The factors were: Meaning Orientation; Non‐Academic Orientation; Anxious‐Rigid Orientation; and Goal Orientation. For the overseas Chinese students, a four‐factor structure in studying approaches which accounted for 52.8% of the total variance was obtained. The factors were: Anxious‐Surface Orientation; Self‐Motivated Reflective Orientation; Efficiency Orientation; and Comprehension Orientation. Although Cattell's (British Journal of Psychology, II, 1949, pp. 134–138) salient similarity sindex indicated some resemblance between the factors obtained for Australian and overseas Chinese students, confirmatory factor analyses failed to confirm a common factor structure in approaches to studying for both groups. It is concluded that the studying approaches of first‐year Australian and overseas Chinese university students are summarized by somewhat different factor structures. Several implications of the research findings are discussed.     

Until somebody hears me: parent voice and advocacy in special educational decision making

When a family finds out their child has a disability, they enter the world of special education which has its own terminology, rules, settings and personnel. In addition to grappling with the meaning of their child's special needs, families are also thrown into the role of principle advocate for their child. The research study reported here presents the findings from focus groups conducted in the United States of America with 27 diverse families on their efforts to obtain the best educational outcomes for their children. In this article, Robyn Hess, Amy Molina and Elizabeth Kozleski bring their collective past experiences, as a school psychologist, bilingual counsellor and special education teacher respectively, to bear on this topic and frame the issue from a systemic perspective. They argue that engaging in conversation with families around their needs, as well as assisting them in their efforts to advocate for their child, is the first step in creating more equal partnerships between parents of children with special needs and educational professionals.     

Critically Teaching Criticality?: Modeling Social and Pedagogical Inquiry with Literary Texts

Within US teacher preparation programs, critical pedagogy and a desire for social change can lead teacher educators to prioritize transformation of prospective teachers’ beliefs through self-reflection. In pursuit of effective critical pedagogies, teacher educators also need to examine their own practices and beliefs. This self-study, a manifestation of teaching as inquiry, reframes evaluations of teaching away from what students do toward what teachers do. Here I undertake a reflexive examination of my own recursive practice as a teacher educator in children’s literature. Drawing upon a complex notion of teaching and learning, I argue that student learning outcomes are unpredictable, and as a result, successful teacher education should model self-inquiry as a vital part of teaching. Findings show that teaching choices (and omissions) in response to students’ responses led to unintended outcomes that undermined my motivations. I conclude that teacher educators’ self-inquiry and reflection in broader social contexts offers access to critical ways of thinking that underlie their work toward developing similar capacities among their prospective teacher students.