Teacher professional development through curriculum development: teachers' experiences in the field trialling of on-line curriculum materials

ABSTRACT

This paper, which arises out of wider Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research, examines the provision of information technology in ten British secondary schools. The longitudinal nature of the research allows us to test a model proposed by Wellington, which describes the evolution of information technology in secondary schools from a vertical to a horizontal approach, against the data from the ten schools. We explore tensions between vertical and horizontal approaches and show that the evolutionary process is more complex than suggested by the model. We focus on the role of the information technology co‐ordinator in promoting horizontal approaches to information technology and explore the conditions under which the role is carried out.     

Students’ perceptions of instructors’ socio‐communicative style and the influence on instructor credibility and situational motivation

This study investigated whether instructors with different socio‐communicative styles differed in their students’ perceptions of their credibility and their students’ Situationen motivation. Students (N = 260) completed a questionnaire on the class/instructor they had immediately before their current class. The questionnaire consisted of measures of assertiveness, responsiveness, credibility, and situational motivation. Instructors with the socio‐communicative style of competent were perceived highest in all three dimensions of credibility (expertise, character, and caring) and in students’ situational motivation. Instructors classified as noncompetent were perceived as lowest in caring and expertise, while instructors classified as aggressive were perceived as lowest in character. Additionally, situational motivation was positively correlated to all three dimensions of credibility. The results support the importance of instructors being able to display assertive and responsive communication behaviors.     

The Information Commons: A Platform For Innovation

ABSTRACT

Information Commons have successfully served as platforms for innovations in facilities and service programs within libraries over the past 2 decades. In this article, the author makes a series of points concerning the significance and meaning of the Information Commons as a trend, including the strength of the concept as a bridge between the past and future of libraries, limitations in perceptions concerning Information Commons, and the ways that the trend may play out in the future.     

Teaching and learning floating and sinking: A meta-analysis

Floating and sinking (FS) is a key topic in science education, both at primary and secondary levels. The interpretation of FS phenomena, however, is challenging due to the difficulty of the scientific concepts and explanatory models involved (e.g., density, buoyancy), along with students' everyday experiences, which conflict with scientific explanations. Consequently, many studies over the last few decades have investigated how FS could be taught effectively to students of different ages while utilizing multiple teaching approaches. This meta-analysis summarizes findings from 69 intervention studies on teaching FS conducted between 1977 and 2021. Over all studies, we estimated a mean effect size of g = 0.85 (95% CI = 0.71, 0.99). This large effect size demonstrates that, although FS is a challenging concept, teaching FS is effective even in elementary school. Moreover, in a moderator analysis, we investigate the effect of intervention characteristics, students' age, as well as study design, and assessment features on the mean study effect size. To analyze the effect of these moderator variables, we use a three-level hierarchical meta-regression model for dealing with multiple effect sizes from single studies. We found two intervention characteristics that explain variance in study effect sizes: longer lasting interventions result in larger effect sizes and interventions where hands-on experiments are applied are more effective than those utilizing virtual experiments. Furthermore, studies with a treatment-control group comparison have significantly smaller effect sizes than studies with a pre-post design. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the moderator variables for effective teaching of FS and further research on FS.     

Bookstores and Other Book Sources

Ruth Adler's A Day in the Life of the New York Times (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1971—$6.77)

Les Daniels and The Mad Peck, Comix: A History of Comic Books in America (New York: Outerbridge &; Dienstfrey, 1971—$7.95)

75 Years of the Comics (Boston: Boston Book and Art Co., 1971—$9.95)

International Newspapers from University Microfilms (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilms, 1971—free on request, paper)

Chilton R. Bush (ed.) News Research for Better Newspapers (New York: American Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, 750 Third Ave., 1965-date (annual), $2.00 or $3.00 each (set of last five volumes available for $10.00), paper)

Maurice F. Tauber and Hilda Feinberg's Book Catalogs (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1971—$15.00)

Martin E. Dann (ed.) The Black Press: 1827-1890 (New York: Putnam, 1971—$7.95)     

Telecommunications (non-broadcasting)

Martin C.J. Elton, William A. Lucas, and David W. Conrath, eds. Evaluating New Telecommunications Services (New York: Plenum Press, 1978—$59.50)

Harold Issadore Sharlin, Lord Kelvin: The Dynamic Victorian (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1979 —$16.00)     

Reference

TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS AND SERVICES DIRECTORY —ISSUE TWO, edited by John Schmittroth Jr. and Martin Connors (Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research, 1984--$170.00 for the first edition, being issued in three parts, paper)

THE BOOK PUBLISHING ANNUAL: HIGHLIGHTS, ANALYSES & TRENDS (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1984---$49.95)

THE COMPUTER AND BUSINESS EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY MARKETING DATA BOOK (Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association, 311 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001--price not given, paper)

THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF VIDEOTEX, TELETEXT AND COMPUTERS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, by Roberto Valdez, et al., and THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TELEPHONES by Elena Pernia, et al. (Honolulu, Hi.: East-West Center, 1984--price not given, but cost covers reproduction and postage, paper)

WHAT'S IN PRINT: THE SUBJECT GUIDE TO MICROCOMPUTER MAGAZINES, by W.H. Wallace (Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: TAB Books, 1984--price not given, paper)

DICTIONARY OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACRONYMS, by M. Gordon, et al. (London: Kogan Page/Detroit: Gale Research, 1984--$56.00)

THE VIDEOTEX MARKETPLACE (Bethesda, Md.: Phillips Publishing, 1984--$97.00, paper)

A VIDEOTEX/TELETEXT BIBLIOGRAPHY (Videotex Industry Association, 1901 Ft. Myer Drive, Suite 200, Rosslyn, VA 22209--$25.00, paper)

AUDIO VIDEO MARKET PLACE: A MULTIMEDIA GUIDE 1984 (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1984--$45.00 paper)

THE INTERACTIVE CABLE TV HANDBOOK (Bethesda, Md.: Phillips Publishing, 1984--$97.00, paper)

COMPUTERIZED LITERATURE SEARCHING: RESEARCH STRATEGIES AND DATABASES, by Charles L. Gilreath (Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1984--$25.00)     

International Communication

COMMUNICATIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983---two volumes, paper, price not given)

THE ABC OF COPYRIGHT (Paris: Unesco/New York: Unipub, 1981---paper, price not given)

MILITARY PROPAGANDA: PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE AND OPERATIONS by Ron D. McLaurin (New York: Praeger, 1982---price not given)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE YEAR 2000: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES edited by Indu B. Singh (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex, 1983---$24.95)

THE EDUCATIONAL USE OF MASS MEDIA by Gloria Feliciano, et al. (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 1981---$5.00, paper)

POWERS OF THE PRESS: TWELVE OF THE WORLD'S INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS by Martin Walker (New York: Pilgrim Press, 1983---price not given)

THE PHONOGRAM IN CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: REPORT ON A RESEARCH PROJECT UNDERTAKEN BY MEDICAULT, edited by K. Blaukopf (New York and Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 1982---$23.60, paper)     

Print Media

READING IN THE 1980s edited by Stephen Graubard (New York: R.R. Bowker, 1983---$14.95)

POWERS OF THE PRESS: TWELVE OF THE WORLD'S INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPERS by Martin Walker (Pilgrim Press, 132 West 31st St., New York, NY 10001---$20.00)     

IC and e-SCI: Postcards from the Egg

This article examines two current issues from the perspective of a librarian in a Russell Group university: the increasing importance attached to the development of teaching and learning in a research-led university, particularly the “integrated learning environment” and developments in e-research and management of the resulting “data deluge.” The role of the librarian and the need for collaboration and coordination are stressed.