Science education reform: What's wrong with the paradigm?

From previous and current efforts at science education reform, the author teases out a certain culture of reform, a set of assumptions about educational change that are no longer (if they ever were) appropriate to another task, namely managing change. With reference to a group of programs in undergraduate science instruction that work, she finds the research model, the preference for innovation, the dependence on short-term outside funding, and above all, the seeking after some universal curriculum or set of pedagogies that will solve the problem for all time, to be naive in terms of the reality and the politics of change. She would substitute what Gerald Holton in A Nation at Risk, Revisited calls cumulative improvement, and ends with some suggestions as to how such a model could be applied to the organization of college-level instruction in science.This is a portion of Chapter 1 of the bookPrograms That Work; The Implementation Challenge. Reprinted with permission by Research Corporation, Copyright 1991, all rights reserved.     

What makes science hard? A Karplus lecture

Many able students are deterred from science because of the way science courses are packaged. To find out what makes science hard for otherwise intelligent students, the author employed nonscience faculty and graduate students as surrogate students in science. Their responses to the sequence of units, demonstrations, homework assignments, examinations, and the pace and structure of the courses constitute an internal criticism of science education that cannot be ignored.Sheila Tobias is the author ofOvercoming Math Anxiety (W. W. Norton, 1978),Succeed with Math (The College Board, 1987),They're Not Dumb, They're Different (Research Corporation, 1990),Revitalizing Undergraduate Science: Why Some Things Work and Most Don't (Research Corporation, 1992) andBreaking the Science Barrier (The College Board, 1992).     

The impact of attaining the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma on academic performance in bioscience higher education

Since the introduction of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Qualification (WBQ) in 2003, an increasing number of students are applying to higher education institutions (HEIs) with this qualification. The advanced-level WBQ is regarded as equivalent to one General Certificate of Education A-Level (GCE A-Level). This study assesses the impact of attaining the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels on overall university degree performance in comparison to attaining four GCE A-Levels, in three cohorts of undergraduate students (Year 1?=?318, Year 2?=?280, Year 3?=?236) studying Biosciences from 2005 to 2011 at a UK HEI. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the academic attainment of students who had achieved four GCE A-Levels to those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. Comparisons were also made between students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels and those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. The results suggest that students who achieved the WBQ qualification in its current form, in addition to three GCE A-Levels, performed less well academically in undergraduate studies than those who achieved four GCE A-Levels. Furthermore, this effect was still present when the balance between coursework and examination was considered, and when students who had achieved the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels were compared to students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels.     

Understanding infants: characteristics of early childhood practitioners' interpretations of infants and their behaviours

This research explored the nature of early childhood practitioners' interpretations of infants in their programs on the basis that such interpretations guide practitioner–infant interactions and curriculum decision‐making processes. Twenty‐four infant practitioners were asked to describe a nominated infant in their program and to interpret video extracts of that infant's behaviour in the contexts of toy play and a nappy‐change routine. Constant comparison techniques were employed to develop a model representing the theoretical properties of the ideas and explanations contained within their interpretive statements, and to identify main areas of individual or contextual variation. The findings extend current understandings of the psychological context of early childhood infant programs and provide a foundation for future investigations of the implications of infant practitioner interpretations for their professional teaching and caregiving practices.     

Transitioning towards inclusion: a triangulated view of the role of educational assistants

The current work employs the use of multiple lenses to illuminate the integral role of the Educational Assistant (EA) in a Canadian school district’s transition from a segregated to inclusive service delivery model for students with special needs. Often compatible, but also distinctive viewpoints and understandings shape the role of EA in this journey towards inclusive practice in the context of a district that deployed Inclusion Coaches to support educators over the course of five years. Through deductive analysis, qualitative data (interviews, focus groups, blog-style reflections) were analysed from EAs (n = 6), elementary and secondary school teachers (n = 31), and Inclusion Coaches (n = 13). Findings indicated that the voices of EAs, teachers, and Inclusion Coaches all align on three main themes: necessity of collaboration among educators, coordinated and dedicated time for programming and redefining relationships within the inclusive model. During the transition from segregated classrooms to full inclusion, it is imperative that the role of the Educational Assistant (EA) is understood by administrators, teachers and the EAs themselves. With a more clearly delineated and mutually understood role, EAs and educators can develop collaborative relationships, working towards incorporating differentiation and supporting all students in a diverse learning and social community.     

Strategically aligning a mandala of competencies to advance a transformative vision

Objective:

This paper offers insight into the processes that have shaped the Eskind Biomedical Library''s (EBL''s) strategic direction and its alignment to the institution''s transformative vision.

Setting:

The academic biomedical library has a notable track record for developing and pioneering roles for information professionals focused on a sophisticated level of information provision that draws from and fuels practice evolutions.

Strategy:

The medical center''s overall transformative vision informs the creation of a fully aligned library strategic plan designed to effectively contribute to the execution of key organizational goals. Annual goals reflect organizational priorities and contain quantifiable and measurable deliverables. Two strategic themes, facilitating genetic literacy and preserving community history, are described in detail to illustrate the concept of goal setting.

Conclusion:

The strategic planning model reflects EBL''s adaptation to the ever-changing needs of its organization. The paper provides a characterization of a workable model that can be replicated by other institutions.     

Female-Teacher Gender and Sexuality in Twentieth-Century Ontario, Canada

[The Romans] created the cult of the Vestal Virgins, high-minded priestesses of the goddess Vesta, Guardian Angel of Mankind and Keeper of the Hearth. These priestesses were educated in special normal training schools, were forbidden to many, were subjected to drastic moral codes, and were accorded social position of preeminence.¹
Spinster teachers were hired so frequently in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that they eventually became an important part of the cultural landscape.²
Single women seem forever to unnerve, anger and unwittingly scare large swaths of the population, both female and male.³