#Resilience is not enough for Black women in STEM: Counterstories of two young Black women becoming a STEM person

Both K-12 schools and STEM disciplines are embedded in White supremacy and exclusion, making it that much harder for Black women to maintain an interest and sense of belonging in STEM. Through a Critical Race Feminism methodology, we tell the counterstories of our two co-authors, two Black women, over the course of their lives. Through these counterstories (stories that run counter to normative stories of STEM as male and White), Kelli and Samantha show us how they negotiated and maintained a sense of belonging in STEM even through moments of self-doubt in their STEM trajectory. These negotiations allowed them to carve a space for themselves within STEM. A key finding from these counterstories was the resilience both women developed through their participation in counterspaces and support from family and teachers that helped them develop pride in their STEM identity trajectories. Our study adds to the research on Black women's journeys in STEM by describing resilience strategies that our authors were forced to develop in response to White supremacy and how they were able to maintain their STEM identity by creating a counterstory that allowed them to maintain their sense of belonging within STEM. And yet, we conclude by asking if resilience is enough since both women questioned their authentic and valued place in their respective STEM disciplines because of the dominant storyline of STEM as White and male. Their stories reveal the deeper truth that change is needed in STEM to empower students of color to see themselves as not just tolerated but valued members of the discipline.     

Expanding the instructional triangle: conceptualizing mathematics teacher development

As mathematics educators think about teaching that promotes students’ opportunities to learn, attention must be given to the conceptualization of the professional development of teachers and those who teach teachers. In this article, we generalize and expand the instructional triangle to consider different interactions in a variety of teacher development contexts. We have done so by addressing issues of language for models of teachers’ professional development at different levels and by providing examples of situations in which these models can be applied. Through the expansion of our understanding and use of the instructional triangle we can further develop the concept of mathematics teacher development.     

Comparing Administrative Satisfaction in Public and Private Universities

Research in Higher Education - Do administrators in public higher education experience different levels of job satisfaction than their counterparts in the private sector? Drawing upon the...     

How Much is Enough? The Assessment of Student Work in Technical Communication Courses

This article reports the findings of a national survey of members of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW). The survey focuses on practices of assessing student classroom work and specifically asked technical writing instructors what they assess, how they assess, and what they would like to do to assess their students optimally. In addition to reporting responses to these questions, the article concludes with recommendations for improving student assessment practices at the departmental, programmatic, and course levels.     

Teacher tensions: expectations in a professional development institute

The purpose of this study was to better understand teacher tensions in professional development. The population under study was practicing mathematics teachers engaged in a week-long professional development institute. Data sources included observations, interviews, and teacher products (such as registration forms, surveys, journals, and notebooks). The data were analyzed to determine what tensions were evident in the institute and how those tensions arose. In this paper, we examine participants’ tensions in a professional development situation when their expectations did not match reality. We have done so by presenting a theoretical model of professional development based on an instructional rhombus that illuminates the actual and applicatory aspects of teachers’ professional development experiences. The main tensions expressed by the teachers were related to the content and pedagogy of the institute. This study points toward the importance of teachers’ expectations in professional development.     

Is Earlier Better? Mastery of Reading Fluency in Early Schooling

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to provide empirical evidence for the importance of mastering reading fluency in early schooling. Study participants were 1,322 students in 3rd grade in 42 schools in a northwestern state. These students were assessed using a battery of reading skill tests as well as comprehensive tests of more general reading outcomes from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Practice or Policy: The results of the study show that mastery of reading fluency prior to currently established benchmarks is a significant positive predictor of later reading skills in primary grades even after student demographic information and initial reading levels are controlled. The results provide additional evidence for the importance of early reading development, early intervention, and preventing reading difficulties as early as possible in schooling.     

The Academic Job Market in Technical Communication, 2002-2003

Analysis of the academic job market in 2002-2003 reveals that 118 nationally advertised academic jobs named technical or professional communication as a primary or secondary specialization. Of the 56 in the “primary” category that we were able to contact, we identified 42 jobs filled, 10 unfilled, and 4 pending. However, only 29% of the jobs for which technical or professional communication was the primary specialization were filled by people with degrees in the field, and an even lower percent (25%) of all jobs, whether advertised for a primary or secondary specialization, were filled by people with degrees in the field. Search chairs report a higher priority on teaching and research potential than on a particular research specialization, and 62% of all filled positions involve teaching in related areas (composition, literature, or other writing courses).     

Double-edged sword: social media use in the classroom

The purpose of this research is to identify the students’ perceptions of social media use in a classroom setting. Knowing students’ perceptions of social media can help the instructor build a course that both student and teacher can find effective. Using focus groups this study found a model to determine if social media is an appropriate or inappropriate tool to incorporate into the classroom. The findings showed that social media can be a double-edged sword. Students are willing to accept social media use for class purposes under circumstances they perceive as appropriate. Students deem social media use as appropriate if it can be used without providing personal information, is the most effective tool available, can be engaged in voluntarily, is used for the purpose of announcements, and is perceived by the students as a convenience.     

Designing out barriers to student access and participation in secondary school assessment

In an effort to support student agency in assessment, teachers seek to provide detailed instructions and advice in associated assessment task sheets. In this paper, we analyse a sample English assessment task to consider how such assessment design practices might inadvertently create barriers to access and participation. To make our case, we highlight the learning characteristics of students in two of the most prevalent disability groups: students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). The paper links student agency to the problem of equity by analysing the conditions and criteria of access that are built into assessment design. The article concludes with design recommendations to help improve access for all students, including students in these two highly prevalent disability groups.