Motivating African-American Students Through Information Literacy Instruction: Exploring the Link Between Encouragement and Academic Self-Concept

This article argues that information literacy instruction has a unique role to play in increasing academic motivation among African-American college students. Drawing on recent work in student motivation, this article argues that perception of faculty encouragement is the single most important predictor of African-American college students' academic self-concept, trumping both academic performance (e.g., grades) and school environment (i.e., historically Black colleges or universities vs. predominantly White colleges or universities). Given this link between encouragement and academic self-concept, information literacy instruction becomes an arena in which librarians may support the development of students' self-concept, thus increasing motivation. This article discusses the role of encouragement in information literacy instruction and suggests how to achieve greater perception of encouragement both during and after instruction. Lastly, this article considers ramifications for instructional services programs at historically Black colleges or universities by reviewing recent experiences at Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.     

理解SOA中的服务生命周期:设计时

<正>面向服务架构(SOA)描述了一种架构方法.它依赖于将业务流程和底层活动分解为基于标准的服务。这些服务可能为细粒度、粗粒度、以表示为中心、以数据为中心或许多其他变换方式。有效管理服务的生命周期是SOA计划中获取成功的基石。这些内容将在两篇文章中分别针对生命周期设计时和运行时进行讨论。第一篇文章涵盖服务生命周期中的设计时阶段。     

'The visual helps me understand the complicated things': pupil views of teaching and learning with interactive whiteboards

This study is one element of a government‐sponsored evaluation into the introduction of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to Years 5 and 6 in English primary schools. This element of the research aimed to gather information regarding pupil views of IWBs and the impact these tools can have on teaching and learning. To extend current literature, the method targeted pupils’ views of how IWBs can impact on metacognition: thinking about learning. Using a template that has been developed by the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University, pupils were encouraged to talk about learning in different contexts: this methodology and its rationale are described. The results show that overall comments from the pupils are positive, with the resulting themes encompassing how the IWB can facilitate and initiate learning and impact on preferred approaches to learning. The pupils describe how different elements of software and hardware can motivate, aid concentration, and keep their attention. On the negative side, pupils candidly describe their frustration when there are technical difficulties, their desire to use the board themselves and their perceptions of teacher and pupil effects. As IWBs are becoming more and more prevalent in schools, we discuss implications and make re‐commendations for teachers and manufacturers.     

Psychology of education

The convergence of Educational Psychology with the mainstream of Psychology is a main event of the past quarter century, and Psychology itself has become a discipline distinct from Philosophy. Psychology has expanded to include not only experimental but also developmental and social psychology and the application of statistical methodologies to complex problems. There has been a change of model from “clinical-medical” to “constructive-educational” concerned with environmental change, most clearly seen in the field of special education. Post-war Europe attempted wide-ranging “reforms” emphasising age, ability and aptitude, irrespective of social or economic background, while the American high school pattern stimulated concern about elitism. Elaborate procedures were set up to select for secondary academic education and examination procedures were themselves examined leading to a widespread movement to devise more responsive forms of assessment. Curricula, modified in the light of examination “backwash”, were questioned for cost-effectiveness. This led to classification of objectives for which taxonomies were developed, and a move towards criterion-referenced testing began. Since 1950 worldwide momentum has been gathering to develop educational research. This has led to new roles for the educational psychologist — as adviser and counsellor, in operational and action research, and in innovation and its evaluation. Research within real families and classrooms continually confronts the worker with questions of value and choice and so leads him back to philosophy.     

Teachers as metacognitive role models

This paper draws on data collected during a longitudinal collaborative project with teachers in England from schools and further education colleges. The project investigated ‘Learning to Learn’ in partnership with teacher–researchers with a focus on how metacognitive awareness can be improved by enquiring into creative combinations of pedagogy, environment and learners’ dispositions. The paper is an attempt to make clear the theoretical underpinnings of our belief that the project teachers were enacting something different, something metacognitive. We present a pragmatic model of metacognition development based on ideas collaboratively produced across the project. The five cycles of development are exemplified from the pedagogic and the professional learning perspective with quotes, vignettes and case study excerpts. We show a catalytic relationship between the pedagogies used by the teachers to develop their students’ metacognition and the teachers’ own learning and metacognitive knowledge and skilfulness.     

A Dynamic Model for Education of Doctoral Students and Guidance of Supervisors in Research Groups

In the department of mathematics of the Luleå University of Technology in Sweden, a dynamic model for the education of doctoral students and guidance of supervisors in research groups has been developed and applied for several years now. Presently groups in mathematics as well as a group in mathematics education are working according to this model and treated in the same way. Moreover, both the students and the supervisors get some education and experience also in elements, which usually are not included in more traditional models for supervision in the mathematical sciences in Sweden. In this paper, we describe our model as well as some experiences of it. Moreover, the results of a questionnaire addressed to and answered by all doctoral students (both finished and still in the program) are presented, evaluated and compared with some related investigations in Sweden. We claim that the students in general are very satisfied to be supervised and guided in this way. In principle, there have been no cases of dropping out of the Ph.D. programs, students obtained their degrees within the stipulated time and the careers after the studies have been successful. We hope that this positive experience will stimulate other universities to test and evaluate our model (or relevant parts of it) under different conditions.     

The National Literacy Strategy and setting: an investigation in one school

This article investigates the policy of setting that is commonly being seen as an organizational tool for effective delivery of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). It is suggested that teachers are finding the increased amount of whole-class teaching to a diverse range of abilities, as prescribed by the NLS, problematic. This case-study researches both teachers' and children's perspectives on the Literacy Hour as taught in mixed-ability classes and in sets. Reflective commentaries and pupil questionnaires were used to collect data over two years. The results indicate a complex range of issues, both pedagogical and organizational, which need be considered before setting can be promoted as a strategy for literacy delivery. I conclude that there is a need for urgent research into the effectiveness of setting as a means of teaching the Literacy Hour.     

The art of selling-without-selling: Understanding the genre ecologies of content marketing

Content marketing involves creating content in genres that readers find useful. These genres individually do not persuade their readers to buy a given product and may not even mention the product or service being marketed. But collectively, they are designed to lead their readers to a purchase decision, that is, they sell without selling. The authors examine how content marketers strategically deploy these ecologies of genres.