Sharing Experiences Together: Within- and Across-Sector Collaboration among Public Preschool Educators

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: The current study explored the patterns of collaboration among early childhood educators in order to understand the extent to which collaborations exist for practitioners, either formally or informally, within and across public preschool, Head Start, and child care sectors in a community and the extent to which work environment factors support or hinder such collaborations. Work environment factors, including paid professional development time, agency in decision-making and educator salaries were examined as contributors to collaboration for lead and assistant teachers. This study used reports from 68 lead teachers, assistant teachers, and other early childhood educators working in public preschool programs. The current study found that collaboration occurs frequently and informally within sites and sectors; however, across-sector collaboration occurs less frequently and more formally. Teachers’ agency in decision-making and ability to cover basic living expenses were related to across-sector collaboration among teachers. Practice or Policy: This study has implications for educator professional development, with a specific focus on administrative strategies and policies facilitative of collaboration within sites and sectors as well as across sectors.     

Is contact with people with disabilities a guarantee for positive implicit and explicit attitudes?

In the past 50 years research on attitudes toward people with disabilities has repeatedly revealed negative attitudes by predominantly using self-report measures. The main aim of the present contribution was to develop an Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit attitudes toward people with disabilities. For this purpose 47 university students majoring in special education (11 male, 36 female) were asked to complete the IAT in addition to self-reported explicit attitudes (affective, cognitive, and behavioural component). Moreover, the students were asked about the amount and perceived quality of their contact experience with people with disabilities. Results showed that participants reported on average most negative explicit attitudes in the affective, followed by the cognitive and the behavioural component. On average, students were more likely to associate the category ‘disabled’ with the attribute ‘unpleasant’ on the IAT. Overall, explicit and implicit attitudes were only weakly correlated. The amount of contact significantly predicted the three components of explicit attitudes, but not implicit attitudes. The results and limitations of this study will be discussed with respect to their implications for the educational context.     

Early Care and Education Matters: A Conceptual Model for Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Integrating the Key Constructs of Knowledge,Reflection, and Practice

There has been a great deal of discourse in the field of early care and education concerning the experiences, skills, competencies, and education level needed by early childhood teachers to ensure that quality teaching and learning take place in the early years. The purpose of this article is to describe an early childhood teacher preparation program developed by a Child and Family Development Department at a large, urban, state-funded university in the hopes that we can further the discourse on how the field can ensure quality teaching and learning in both ECE and university classrooms. We propose a conceptual model that is built around three key constructs: knowledge, reflection, and practice and describe our approach to preparing early childhood educators. Using qualitative data from student reflections and course syllabi and quantitative data on the experiences and perceptions of graduating seniors, we hope to present promising practices in early childhood teacher education and provide support for our contention that the quality of early childhood teacher education matters.     

The Cognitive-Affective-Social Theory of Learning in digital Environments (CASTLE)

Educational Psychology Review - For a long time, research on individuals learning in digital environments was primarily based on cognitive-oriented theories. This paper aims at providing evidence...     

Knowing more about things you care less about: Cross-sectional analysis of the opposing trend and interplay between conceptual understanding and interest in secondary school chemistry

The development of students' interest in school science activities, their understanding of central chemical concepts, and the interplay between both constructs across Grades 5–11 were analyzed in a cross-sectional paper-and-pencil study (N = 2,510, mean age 11–17 years). Previous empirical findings indicate that students' knowledge increases over the time of secondary school while students' interest, especially in natural science subjects, tends to decrease. Concomitantly, there is evidence for an increase in the positive coupling between interest and knowledge across time. However, previous studies mainly rely on rather global measures, for example, school grades or general subject-related interest, and focus on science as an integrated subject instead of specific disciplines, for example, chemistry. For this article, more proximal and differentiated measures for students' understanding of three chemical concepts (Chemical Reaction, Energy, Matter) and interest in seven dimensions of school science activities according to the RIASEC + N model (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional, and Networking; cf. Dierks, Höffler, & Parchmann, 2014) were applied. The results are in line with previous research indicating a general increase in conceptual understanding and a decline in students' interest for all school science activities. However, the interplay between conceptual understanding and interest differs across the seven dimensions. Interest in activities which are likely to promote cognitive activation (investigative, networking) or involving the communication of knowledge (social, enterprising, and networking) are increasingly connected to conceptual understanding, especially in upper secondary grades. Interest in guided hands-on activities (realistic) which are typical in secondary science teaching, however, shows only small positive correlations to students' conceptual understanding across all grades. Hence, in upper-secondary school, investigative, social, enterprising, and networking activities seem to provide opportunities to benefit most from the interrelation between students' interests and their understanding.     

The Negotiated Project Approach: Project-Based Learning without Leaving the Standards Behind

The purpose this study was to explore how a veteran first-grade teacher collaboratively negotiated the implementation of a project with her students while, at the same time, addressed grade-level standards. Researchers investigated the teacher’s strategies for integrating the district’s standards into project topics, investigative activities, and final presentations. They also examined the teacher’s strategies for promoting students’ participation in project planning and independent problem-solving. Data sources included field notes, teacher interviews, videotaped observations, and transcribed teacher, and student interviews. As an extension to teacher-directed approaches to implementing the project approach, the results of this study revealed a collaborative approach to implementing projects that allowed the teacher and the students to work together for project planning and learning. The teacher felt successful with meeting grade level learning needs, and the students were given the opportunity to fuel their learning by expressing their natural interests and curiosities, and become problem solvers.     

Efficient manipulation of microparticles in bubble streaming flows

Oscillating microbubbles of radius 20–100 μm driven by ultrasound initiate a steady streaming flow around the bubbles. In such flows, microparticles of even smaller sizes (radius 1–5 μm) exhibit size-dependent behaviors: particles of different sizes follow different characteristic trajectories despite density-matching. Adjusting the relative strengths of the streaming flow and a superimposed Poiseuille flow allows for a simple tuning of particle behavior, separating the trajectories of particles with a size resolution on the order of 1 μm. Selective trapping, accumulation, and release of particles can be achieved. We show here how to design bubble microfluidic devices that use these concepts to filter, enrich, and preconcentrate particles of selected sizes, either by concentrating them in discrete clusters (localized both stream- and spanwise) or by forcing them into narrow, continuous trajectory bundles of strong spanwise localization.     

The Effect of Three-Dimensional Simulations on the Understanding of Chemical Structures and Their Properties

In a series of three experimental studies, the effectiveness of three-dimensional computer simulations to aid the understanding of chemical structures and their properties was investigated. Arguments for the usefulness of three-dimensional simulations were derived from Mayer’s generative theory of multimedia learning. Simulations might lead to a decrease in cognitive load and thus support active learning. In our studies, the learning effectiveness of three-dimensional simulations was compared to two-dimensional illustrations by use of different versions of a computer programme concerning the modifications of carbon. The first and third study with freshman students of chemistry and biochemistry show that no more knowledge was acquired when participants learnt with three-dimensional simulations than with two-dimensional figures. In the second study with 16-year old secondary school students, use of simulations facilitated the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. It was concluded that three-dimensional simulations are more effective for younger students who lack the experience of learning with different visual representation formats in chemistry. In all three studies, a significant relationship between spatial ability and conceptual knowledge about the modifications of carbon was detected.     

Properties of publications on anatomy in medical education literature

Publications on anatomy in medical education appear to be largely anecdotal. To explore this, we investigated the literature on anatomy in medical education, aiming first to evaluate the contribution of the literature on anatomy in medical education to "best evidence medical education" (BEME) and second to evaluate the development of this literature toward more "best evidence" between 1985 and 2009. Four databases were searched for publications on anatomy in medical education published between 1985 and 2009, resulting in 525 references. Hundred publications were characterized by five variables (journal category, paper subject, paper category, author perspective, and paper perspective). Statements from these publications were characterized by two variables (category and foundation). The publications contained 797 statements that involved the words "anatomy," "anatomical," or "anatomist." Forty-five percent of the publications contained no explicit research question. Forty percent of the statements made were about "teaching methods" and 17% about "teaching content," 8% referred to "practical value," and 10% to "side effects" of anatomy education. Ten percent of the statements were "positional," five percent "traditional," four percent "self-evident," and two percent referred to "quality of care." Fifty-six percent of the statements had no foundation, 17% were founded on empirical data, and 27% by references. These results substantiated the critical comments about the anecdotal nature of the literature. However, it is encouraging to see that between 1985 and 2009 the number of publications is rising that these publications increasingly focus on teaching methods and that an academic writing style is developing. This suggests a growing body of empirical literature about anatomy education.     

How the design and complexity of concept maps influence cognitive learning processes

Educational technology research and development - Concept maps are assumed to enhance learning as their inherent structure makes relations between information more salient. Nevertheless, research...