A tool instead of a chore: Measuring student learning gains in order to improve instruction

Assessment is often treated as an unwelcome and time-consuming university or departmental requirement. This project proposes that assessment is actually an opportunity that communication faculty should embrace. Beginning with the end in mind, this study used stated course learning outcomes to construct a pre-/posttest instrument, administering those assessments in order to find out whether students were really learning what they were supposed to be learning. This article explains how the assessment instruments were constructed and administered, demonstrates clear and significant learning gains across three semesters, and identifies learning outcomes in need of instructional improvement. It also finds that by separating assessment from grading, pretests can identify concepts that need not be retaught, and posttests can reveal that an instructor’s perception of a successful instructional day does not necessarily match the reality of student learning for that day.     

An ecological analysis of a preschool mastery climate physical education programme

Background: Previous studies of mastery motivational climates within physical education have reported that providing students with opportunities to become self-directed leads to a number of positive outcomes, including skill attainment and increased perceptions of ability. Nonetheless, within all of these studies, there has been no account of the teaching/learning process or the behaviour of the students and teachers within the various interventions.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide a micro-analysis of life in a mastery climate which was grounded in the classroom ecology paradigm.

Participants and setting: The participants in this study were 13 children (11 boys and 2 girls) all aged 4 years at the commencement of the programme. The children were attendees at a day-care centre that serves mostly African-American children from the local community who are environmentally at risk for developmental delay and poor health. The teacher in this study was a faculty member at the university where the programme took place. For 30 minutes each Tuesday and Thursday, the children participated in a programme of motor skill instruction that was based upon the key principles of a mastery-motivational climate. Selected station activities were designed to promote the acquisition of locomotor and object control skills.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was taken, with data sources including interviews with the teacher, and an analysis of the ecology of the gymnasium using a modified version of the task structure system. Focus was placed upon the task goals, the teacher's accountability strategies, as well as task accomplishment in both the managerial and instructional task systems.

Findings: The key finding from this study was an appreciation of how time is a significant factor in the ways in which children initially responded to and eventually embraced the freedoms afforded to them in a mastery climate. Of particular note, the results show substantial differences in the children's lesson engagement not only across time, but also within lessons themselves. It is hypothesized that as they progressed through the programme, the children not only were more able to identify the demands of the task but were also able to filter out extraneous signals that might promote off-task or inappropriate behaviour.

Conclusions: The design of this study reinforced the value of adopting an ecological analysis of life in a mastery climate. Further, the results of the study showed the value of examining young children's engagement over a lengthy intervention. While such climates are expected to have lower levels of engagement and higher levels of off-task behaviour than more teacher-directed formats, by the end of the study the children were able to achieve levels of appropriate task engagement above 80% of lesson time.     

The effectiveness and retention of teachers with prior career experience

As schools and districts seek to recruit teachers, individuals in non-teaching professions are an appealing possible pool. These potential teachers come with work experience and may have expertise that would serve them well in the classroom. While there has been substantial rhetoric assailing the virtues of teachers with prior professional experience, no research that we know of has assessed the effectiveness of these teachers in terms of student learning. This study uses data from New York City to assess the relative effectiveness and retention of career-switchers. It provides some evidence that these teachers are no more effective than other new teachers, and, in fact, they appear to be less effective at raising math scores of elementary and middle school students. There is little difference in overall transfer or leave rates between teachers with prior experience and other teachers, although career-switchers from college recommended programs do appear more likely to transfer schools.     

The functions of consonance and dissonance in the dialogue of secondary-level literacy coaching

This multiple case study of literacy coaching with two secondary-level teachers of English language learners (ELLs) explored dialogical factors leading to changes in teachers’ thinking and practices. During coaching sessions, the coach and teacher engaged in video self-reflection and planning. Analysis centred on dialogue in one focal session for each teacher that led to changes associated with improved achievement for ELLs. By the end of the study, teachers included increased opportunities for student talk, relied more on evidence of student learning to inform instructional decisions and showed more nuanced self-evaluation. Two responsive conversational moves by the coach, revoicing and reconceptualising, led most directly to changes. Analysis showed that revoicing built consonance while reconceptualising introduced dissonance. These moves, informed by listening and context, capitalised upon the tension between consonance and dissonance and encouraged teachers to listen to themselves and make changes in thinking and practices.     

Basic list of veterinary medical serials,third edition: using a decision matrix to update the core list of veterinary journals

Objective:

This paper presents the methods and results of a study designed to produce the third edition of the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials,” which was established by the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section in 1976 and last updated in 1986.

Methods:

A set of 238 titles were evaluated using a decision matrix in order to systematically assign points for both objective and subjective criteria and determine an overall score for each journal. Criteria included: coverage in four major indexes, scholarly impact rank as tracked in two sources, identification as a recommended journal in preparing for specialty board examinations, and a veterinary librarian survey rating.

Results:

Of the 238 titles considered, a minimum scoring threshold determined the 123 (52%) journals that constituted the final list. The 36 subject categories represented on the list include general and specialty disciplines in veterinary medicine. A ranked list of journals and a list by subject category were produced.

Conclusion:

Serials appearing on the third edition of the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials” met expanded objective measures of quality and impact as well as subjective perceptions of value by both librarians and veterinary practitioners.

Highlights

• The 123 journals on the “Basic List of Veterinary Medical Serials” include 117 journals with a decision matrix score of 15 points or higher, with an additional 6 journals included for more complete subject representation.
• Subject categories with the greatest number of journals are internal medicine, food animal medicine, and research.
• Updates for the third edition of the “Basic List” include 59 new titles and 13 new subject categories.

Implications

• The third edition of the “Basic List” provides a useful collection development and assessment tool for veterinary libraries, as well as general libraries with a need to develop a core collection of veterinary resources.
• The decision matrix approach, using standard quantitative and focused qualitative measures, provides a useful methodology for creating core lists in other disciplines.