Pre-service teachers’ mathematical reasoning as an imperative for codified conceptual pedagogy in algebra: a case study in teacher education

Through the use of taped interviews, the reasoning level of eleven (11) pre-service teachers relative to selected concepts in Algebra was ascertained. Yumus’ (2001) levels of reasoning were applied as a guide, namely: (a) Level 1: Unable to produce any reasoning, (b) Level 2: Have awareness of the models, known facts, properties and relationships to be used but cannot produce any arguments; (c) Level 3: Able to produce some reasoning although the arguments are weak and (d) Level 4: Able to produce strong arguments to support their reasoning. Using this guide it was found that of the 121 responses given, 47.1% were at level 1, 29.8% at level 2, 16.5% at level 3 and only 6.6% were at level 4. The most difficult problem proved to be converting repeating decimals to fractions, while the easiest was on finding the value of x0. As a whole, the reasoning ability of the respondents, based to their average reasoning ability on the given tasks, indicate that 73% was low, 27% was moderate and that nobody had a high level of reasoning. Assessments followed as to the factors contributing to this situation and possible solutions.     

Children With Dyslexia: Not Necessarily at Risk for Elevated Internalizing Symptoms

The risk for internalizing disorders in children with learning disabilities is frequently debated in the research community and empirical responses are equivocal. For educators and clinicians, the frequent assumption is that children with dyslexia also have at least subtle emotional problems. In this study, school-age children with reading problems and their siblings (N=79) were referred for neuropsychological evaluation. As part of the assessment process, parents, teachers, and the child were asked to rate the child’s level of internalizing symptoms on several behavior rating scales. Results from analyses of the data, using both discrepancy and reading cut scores for diagnosis of dyslexia, suggest that children with dyslexia are not at elevated risk for behaviors related to anxiety, depression, and somatization. Additionally, children at the lowest end of the reading distribution were no more likely to have significant internalizing symptoms than children with less impaired reading.     

Geschlechterrollenorientierungen und ihre Beziehungen zu Maßen der Ich-Stärke bei Jugendlichen aus Ost-und Westberlin

Zusammenfassung In einer Stichprobe von 2630 Jugendlichen achter Klassen aus Gymnasien, Real-, Gesamt-und Hauptschulen in Ost-und Westberlin wurde im Jahr 2001 die Akzeptanz von Geschlechterrollenorientierungen (traditionell vs. partnerschaftlich) erfasst und ihr Zusammenhang mit Ma?en der Ich-St?rke (positives Bild von sich selbst, psychische Stabilit?t, produktiver Umgang mit Erfolg und Misserfolg) untersucht. Dem partnerschaftlichen Konzept wurde in h?herem Ma?e zugestimmt als dem traditionellen. Dabei ergaben sich Geschlechts-, Ost/West-sowie Schulartunterschiede in der partnerschaftlichen sowie traditionellen Orientierung. Weibliche Jugendliche waren weniger traditionell eingestellt als m?nnliche. Ostberliner Schüler/innen waren weniger traditionell orientiert als Westberliner und Gymnasiast/inn/en hatten eine niedrigere traditionelle Orientierung als Gesamt-, Real-und Hauptschüler/innen. Je h?her der Bildungsstand (gemessen an der Schulform und dem Bildungsniveau der Mutter), desto h?her war die Akzeptanz der Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter. Die Jugendlichen wurden nach dem Grad ihrer traditionellen Orientierung in drei Cluster eingeteilt und hinsichtlich der Auspr?gung von Ma?en der Ich-St?rke miteinander verglichen. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Jugendliche mit hoher traditioneller Orientierung ein niedrigeres Selbstwertgefühl, sowie eine h?here Leistungsangst, mehr Furcht vor Misserfolg und in h?herem Ma?e selbstwertmindernde Attributionen ?u?erten als Jugendliche mittlerer und niedriger traditioneller Orientierung. Jugendliche, die in h?herem Ausma? über die pers?nliche Ressource der Ich-St?rke verfügen, traten h?ufiger für die Gleichberechtigung der Geschlechter ein. Summary Sex-role-orientation and its Relationship to Egostrength in Adolescents from East and West Berlin A sample of 2630 adolescents from grade 8 attending different types of secondary school in East and West Berlin was assessed in 2001. The aim was twofold: to ascertain their acceptance of gender-role orientation (i.e. traditional norms vs. equality in gender relations) and to link it to degrees of ego-strength (high self-concept, psychological stability, ability to deal with success or failure in a constructive manner). The concept of equality in gender relations was found to be more prevalent among females, pupils in East Berlin and those pupils attending grammar schools. The higher the education level of the pupils (measured according to the school attended and the education level of their mothers), the greater the acceptance of gender equality. The adolescents were classified in three clusters according to the degree of traditional orientation and then compared. Results showed that adolescents with a high traditional orientation displayed lower self-concept, a higher level of test anxiety, greater fear of failure and higher attribution of failure to lack of ability than those adolescents with moderate and low traditional orientation. Those displaying a greater range of characteristics related to ego-strength supported gender equality more frequently.      

Disruption of latent inhibition by interpolation of task-irrelevant stimulation between preexposure and conditioning

Latent inhibition refers to attenuated responding to a conditioned stimulus (CS) that was repeatedly presented without reinforcement prior to the CS-unconditioned stimulus (US) pairings. Using water-deprived rats as subjects, we observed that interpolating task-irrelevant stimulation between the preexposure and conditioning phases of a latent inhibition procedure attenuated latent inhibition (Experiments 1A, 1B, and 2). Apparently, interpolated stimulation segments the preexposure and conditioning treatments into two separate experiences, much in the same way that a change of context would. Consistent with this view, the interpolated stimulation did not disrupt latent inhibition if it was also presented during both preexposure and conditioning (Experiment 3). We view these results as analogous to those of Escobar, Arcediano, and Miller (2003), who suggested that the difficulty in observing latent inhibition in human adults is related to the segmentation between preexposure and conditioning caused by the usual interpolation of instructions in preparations with humans.     

Challenges in Fostering Ethical Knowledge as Professionalism within Schools as Teaching Communities

Focusing on the assumption that genuine collaboration and open collegial interaction among teachers are necessary conditions for the development of schools as professional communities, this article explores pervasive norms within the teacher culture that threaten and thwart such successful collegial engagement. Using qualitative empirical evidence gathered from interviews with and observations of K-12 teachers, the article illustrates the powerful influence of teachers’ beliefs about collective solidarity, loyalty, and non-interference in a peer’s conduct. It further identifies ethical knowledge as a kind of teacher knowledge that, if shared among communities of practitioners, could replace old norms and fears with a professional foundation for the moral context of schooling.