Supporting Diverse Young Adolescents: Cooperative Grouping in Inclusive Middle-level Settings

The middle level classroom presents unique challenges to educators who strive to provide opportunities that acknowledge learner diversity in terms of social, cognitive, physical, and emotional development. This is confounded even further within inclusive middle-school classrooms where the responsibility to differentiate instruction is even more critical. One way to meet the needs of all students is through cooperative grouping. Through cooperative grouping, middle-level educators can differentiate instruction and promote active learning by leveraging the naturally social nature of young adolescents. In this article, the authors present research on cooperative grouping as well as several considerations for effectively designing and implementing cooperative grouping for middle-level learners in an inclusive setting. Suggestions and examples with regard to group size, membership, group structure and roles, and classroom management and clear expectations are provided. Additionally, the four-clue group strategy is presented as a specific instructional method to support effective group learning experiences in the inclusive middle-level classroom.     

Trajectories of Academic Performance Across Compulsory Schooling and Thriving in Young Adulthood

Thriving is a developmental process that is shaped by previous and current interactions within developmental contexts. We hypothesized that academic performance in the school context will positively predict thriving in young adulthood. Data of N = 2,043 students from Zurich were assessed with standardized tests in Grades 1, 3, 6, and 9. Results showed that a stronger increase in academic performance significantly predicted thriving at age 20, even after statistically controlling for various covariates. Further analyses showed that school bonding might represent a mediating link between the academic performance and thriving. We argue that although schools can be considered the most widespread and intensive “youth development program” of sorts, their role for thriving has been largely neglected in developmental science.     

Learning trajectories among educational psychologists

In this article, special attention is paid to psychologists’ experiences of learning trajectories in educational counseling. The data consists of two case studies. They were selected from a total of 15 interviews with psychologists conducted as part of a research project on ‘Changing Practices in Educational Psychological Practice (CPEPP) in Denmark’. The article analyses learning trajectories along what we refer to as the clinical versus the educational track in educational psychological practice. Learning trajectories are examples of how individuals combine and connect learning across both time and different places of work, formal education and further education. The clinical and the educational learning trajectories are analysed in relation to the psychologists’ previous educational and present work experience within a context of very substantial organizational change. A general theme of the article is therefore that learning should be analysed over (1) time, past–present–future over the course of a person's life; and (2) place, across contexts of activity and communities of practice with different and overlapping goals, values and rules. In this respect continued learning entails negotiating and coming to terms with a professional identity across time and space.     

Wie schneiden SINUS-Schulen bei PISA ab?

In Reaktion auf die Ergebnisse der TIMS-Studie wurde das BLK-Modellversuchsprogramm SINUS konzipiert und 1998 mit 180 Schulen über fünf Jahre betrieben. Im vorliegenden Beitrag berichten wir über zentrale Ergebnisse der summativen Evaluation des Programms. Ziel des Programms war es, (1) die Professionalisierung der Lehrkr?fte zu unterstützen, (2) die Qualit?t des mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Unterrichts zu verbessern und (3) die Lernprozesse und Lernergebnisse der Schülerinnen und Schüler zu f?rdern. Zur überprüfung der Ausgangslage und der Wirkungen des Programms diente ein Vergleich mit einer repr?sentativen Schulstichprobe. Dazu wurden an den SINUS-Schulen Erhebungen mit nationalen PISA-Instrumenten durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse der Abschlusserhebung im Jahr 2003 zeigen, dass SINUS im Verlauf der Programmzeit auf allen untersuchten Ebenen Wirkungen entfaltet hat. Dies betrifft die erfolgreiche Umsetzung der Projektinhalte auf Seiten der Lehrkr?fte, die positive Wahrnehmung des Unterrichts auf Seiten der Schülerschaft sowie die Interessen, Haltungen und Kompetenzen der Schülerinnen und Schüler an SINUS-Schulen. Die schulartspezifischen Analysen zeigen jedoch, dass SINUS nicht in allen Schularten die gleiche Wirksamkeit erzielt hat. In erster Linie scheinen die Hauptschulen, die Schulen mit mehreren Bildungsg?ngen und die Integrierten Gesamtschulen profitiert zu haben.     

Strategic Management of Educational Technology—The Importance of Leadership and Management

Through case study research critical leadership and management tasks are identified regarding the integration of educational technology in teaching at research universities. The institutions studied, regardless their different characteristics and approaches, face common difficulties in engaging’ second-wave’ faculty. Furthermore, the coordination of different support units such as edtech centres, IT support, teaching and learning labs or the libraries to offer well-rehearsed educational technology services is challenging. Strong leadership is critical to motivate faculty and to assist support units to overcome sub-cultural differences. Similarly, solid management practice is indispensable. Incentive, reward and support structures need to be adjusted to new realities and a well coordinated workflow needs to be designed.

     

Policy on Higher Education and Research: The Rede Lecture 1991

My main theme is the relationship between British universities and Government, how it is likely to change in the next few years, and what effect this will have on what universities do and how they do it. I shall discuss what I expect to happen, which is not always what I would wish to see; the weather forecaster who predicts cold and rain does not thereby declare himself a masochist.