Looking Far And Looking Near: Student Insights On History,Language, And Power

ABSTRACT

Three community college students participated in a collaborative student/professor research project to experiment with new ideas in teaching. Under the direction of the instructor, the students studied the South African riots in Soweto, 1976, and how issues of language and power were connected to this event. This investigative process began with video information to introduce students to the key issues, and was then followed by student research and discussion. The students, who were particularly motivated to understand the conflict by relating it to their own linguistic circumstances, worked individually and together to find articles and video sources to support their personal interests and ideas. By reflecting on their experiences and perceptions about language and communication, students were able to become engaged in an unfamiliar historical topic, discover relevant academic information, evaluate sources, and formulate insightful responses.     

ALUMNI SURVEY OF ENTRY GOALS,SATISFACTION, AND JOB BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ASSOCIATE DEGREE

Organizations can be classified as being either responsive or unresponsive to their constituents’ needs and attitudes. The present study was undertaken at the Community and Technical College at the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio in an attempt to implement a responsive orientation toward its constituents (students). Data were obtained from 401 alumni, from six majors who graduated between the years of 1969 through 1982. Each alumnus completed an Alumni Questionnaire which gathered information concerning enrollment goals, achievement of goals, job‐related benefits derived through the associate degree, and satisfaction with faculty and the curriculum. Results indicated that most alumni had career‐oriented goals at the time of enrollment and nearly 82% reported that these goals had been achieved through the educational experience. Most alumni reported important job‐related benefits which may have been the result of the attainment of an associate degree. Alumni reported high levels of satisfaction with faculty instruction and the curriculum; however, they were only marginally satisfied with faculty guidance. Those alumni who pursued course‐work beyond the associate degree indicated that their prior education was helpful in preparing them for the additional coursework     

A High Impact Practice that Works: Connecting Mentors From the Professional Community to Teacher Education Students

A high impact mentoring program at a community college connected professionals from the special education and early intervention fields with small groups of teacher education students. Two federal grants from U.S. Department of Education funded tuition scholarships and mentoring for 76 Special Education students and 78 Early Childhood Education/Early Intervention students in associate degree programs. The mentor programs consisted of individual monitoring by project staff, consistent contact with a mentor from the professional community and with other students in mentor groups, and structured monthly dinner meetings. Students who participated in the mentoring programs showed increased persistence and higher grade point average when compared with the general population of similar majors. Within each grant-funded population, students who showed low participation in the mentor programming presented lower retention rates and lower GPA than grant-funded students who took full advantage of the mentoring program.     

Framing Quality: Annotated Video-Based Portfolios of Classroom Practice by Pre-service Teachers

In this paper we describe the use of peer learning teams creating annotated video-based portfolios to improve the quality of teacher–child interactions of undergraduate majors in early childhood and family studies. We used the intentional teaching framework (Hamre et al. in Handbook of early education. Guilford Publications, New York, 2012a) to create a course that moved students through the process of “knowing,” “seeing,” “doing,” and “reflecting & improving.” Forty-four undergraduate early childhood students formed eleven peer learning teams of four. We started the course by teaching the teacher–child interaction skills that are considered to be high-quality and linked to positive child outcomes (knowing). After learning to reliably identify (seeing) high quality instruction using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, the students created video portfolios featuring their own adult-child interactions (doing). These portfolios, featuring short salient examples of six different dimensions of quality instruction, were posted to a website and shared with their peer learning team. Each team member then commented on the extent to which she or he believed the students’ example was high quality. The portfolios and the peer coaching learning team (PCLT) process have improved our ability to document change in interactions as well as the students’ abilities to see their own growth (reflecting & improving). Further, it allows us to tighten the connection between course content and practical application as well as providing us with an alternative to on-site supervision of practicum students, which can be challenging due to budget constraints. Finally, we hope that sharing this activity will encourage others to integrate video-based technology into their coursework as a means to demonstrate positive change in students’ learning.     

Homeless Children and Youth at Risk: The Educational Impact of Displacement

We know that homelessness creates conditions of risk for homeless children and youth (e.g., malnutrition, missing parental support, affiliation with deviant peers, disconnect from schooling, and so forth). Researchers also document that these states of risk have devastating physical, emotional, social, and educational impacts on young people. In this article, we explore the final issue—how displacement affects the educational well-being of homeless children and youth. We begin our review with a variable—mobility—that has a good deal of explanatory power for the educational impacts examined. We conclude with the consequences of homelessness that follow displaced children and youth into adulthood. In between we discuss an assortment of outcome factors: placement in special education, attendance, academic success, and graduation.     

Consultation With Professional Peers: A National Survey of the Practices of School Psychologists

There is an increasing need for education professionals to keep abreast of new research and developments in their fields. The peer support group, which is characterized by the sharing of expertise and knowledge, the provision of mutual support, and joint problem solving among professional colleagues, has been advanced as promising means of promoting professional growth and development. This article reports the results of an exploratory national survey of school psychologists' involvement in peer support groups (PSGs) that was undertaken to identify the potential contributions of such activities to improving professional practice. Nearly 64% of the respondents indicated involvement in a PSG at some point in their careers, with almost 50% currently participating in one. Several benefits were attributed to group membership, and it was suggested that further research efforts are needed to clarify the essential components that contribute to group effectiveness.     

Termination Is a Time to Look Back and Move Forward: Farewell From the Editor

We support role changes for educational and psychological consultants who work with children and youth with disabilities as they make important transitions. Principles derived from critical pedagogy and disability studies could provide the theoretical framework for the proposed shift in roles that change the basis on which consulting services are provided. Rather than needs-based services that focus on helping individuals with disabilities cope with deficits, this article supports an empowering person-centered, strength-based orientation tied to perceptions of the individual as competent and complex. We offer recommendations for transition consultants, researchers, and practitioners that could result in more widespread implementation of the principles of critical pedagogy and disability studies.