Service-Learning and Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice Education: An Exploratory Examination of Faculty Perspectives

Scholarship on service-learning and experiential learning consistently demonstrates benefits for students, but little evidence has emerged examining the perspectives of faculty. The current study examines the conflicting perspectives from faculty affiliated with a university undergraduate criminology major that utilizes both experiential learning and service-learning. Focus groups of departmental faculty revealed fears over curriculum rigor, concerns over forming partnerships and investing resources into service-learning and experiential learning activities without university incentives, and recognition of student and department benefits derived from service-learning and experiential learning activities.     

Effect of maternal rubella on hearing and vision: a twenty year post-epidemic study

Three years of research conducted at NTID beginning in 1984 examined the hearing and vision characteristics of two groups of deaf college students. All 242 students studied received complete audiometric assessments and ophthalmological examinations. Of those students examined, 104 were known to be deaf as a result of maternal rubella (congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) group). The remaining 138 (non-CRS group) became deaf for a variety of other reasons. No significant differences were found between groups in puretone thresholds for frequencies measured at octave intervals from 250 thru 8000 Hz. There were, however, significant differences between the two groups relative to their vision characteristics. Seven visual pathologies or resulting conditions were found to be more prevalent with the CRS population. Among them were 38 cases of amblyopia which might have been prevented with early intervention. The various implications of this problem are discussed.     

Responsiveness to mathematical problem-solving instruction: comparing students at risk of mathematics disability with and without risk of reading disability

This study assessed responsiveness to a 16-week mathematical problem-solving treatment as a function of students' risk for disability. Among 301 third graders, TerraNova scores were used to categorize students as at risk for both reading and mathematics disability (MDR/RDR; 20 control and 12 experimental), at risk for mathematics disability only (MDR-only; 5 and 8), at risk for reading disability only (RDR-only; 12 and 15), or not at risk (NDR; 60 and 69). Interactions among at-risk status, treatment, and time showed that as a function of treatment, MDR/RDR, MDR-only, and RDR-only students improved less than NDR students on computation and labeling, and MDR/RDR students improved less than all other groups on conceptual underpinnings. Exploratory regressions suggested that MDR/RDR students' math deficits or their underlying mechanisms explained a greater proportion of variance in responsiveness to problem-solving treatment than reading deficits or their underlying mechanisms.     

Fetal Antecedents of Infant Temperament

This study established the emergence of stable individual differences in neurobehavioral functioning prior to birth and examined their relation to subsequent infant temperament. Fetal heart rate and movement were recorded longitudinally for 31 fetuses at 6 gestational ages beginning at 20 weeks' gestation. Maternally reported temperament data were collected at 3 and 6 months. Moderate stability in all measures except reactivity was apparent at some time before birth. By 36 weeks, fetal neurobehavior accounted for between 22% and 60% of the variance in prediction of temperament scores. In general, more active fetuses were more difficult, unpredictable, unadaptable, and active infants. Higher fetal heart rate was associated with lower emotional tone, activity level, and predictability. We conclude that features of fetal neurobehavior provide the basis for individual differences in reactivity and regulation in infancy.     

Daily Life: A Pre‐Service Art Teacher Educator and Her Work

This paper reports on a case study of the daily life of an art teacher educator. It examines the intellectual, moral, emotional, and physical undercurrents of this work and how these qualities are reflected within the daily context of the pre‐service university — or college‐level classroom environment. To date, few research studies have examined the daily practices of university or college‐level faculty members who prepare art teachers and how these faculty members go about their jobs. The author spent an academic term as a participant observer and researcher in the art teacher educator's secondary art education methods course. Examples and narratives from this study are forwarded, as well as a discussion on the importance of this form of inquiry for art teacher education today.     

Teachers,tasks, and tensions: lessons from a research–practice partnership

How teachers make sense of new academic standards significantly shapes the implementation of those standards. Professional development organized around the analysis of mathematical tasks has potential to prepare teachers for standards implementation by helping them develop common understandings of standards and how to help students meet ambitious new learning goals. In practice, however, designers and participants bring different goals to the professional development context, which becomes evident when teachers engage in task analysis. In this article, we use the design tensions framework (Tatar in Human Comput Interact 22(4):413–451, 2007. doi: 10.1080/07370020701638814) to analyze these tensions within a research–practice partnership comprised of five university researchers, three district curriculum leaders from a large urban school district, 12 high school Algebra 1 teachers from nine schools in the district, and a small team of Web engineers. Primary data for the study consist of participant observation and field notes of meetings in which project stakeholders negotiated the design of the professional development, as well as interview and survey data. An analysis based on the design tensions framework helped our partnership surface, both in the moment and retrospectively, the need for designers of professional development focused on standards implementation to be adaptive and willing to evolve activities to satisfy multiple stakeholders’ goals for participation.     

Nestedness of beliefs: Examining a prospective elementary teacher's belief system about science teaching and learning

This study, conducted from a constructivist perspective, examined the belief system of a prospective elementary teacher (Barbara) about science teaching and learning as she developed professional knowledge within the context of reflective science teacher education. From an analysis of interviews, observation, and written documents, I constructed a profile of Barbara's beliefs that consisted of three foundational and three dualistic beliefs. Her foundational beliefs concerned (a) the value of science and science teaching, (b) the nature of scientific concepts and goals of science instruction, and (c) control in the science classroom. Barbara held dualistic beliefs about (a) how children learn science, (b) the science students' role, and (c) the science teacher's role. Her dualistic beliefs formed two contradictory nests of beliefs. One nest, grounded in lifelong science learner experiences, reflected a didactic teaching orientation and predominantly guided her practice. The second nest, not well grounded in experience, embraced a hands‐on approach and predominantly guided her vision of practice. The findings accentuate the complexity and nestedness of teachers' belief systems and underscore the significance of identifying prospective teachers' beliefs, espoused and enacted, for designing teacher preparation programs. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 835–868, 2003     

Professional capacity and organizational change as measures of educational effectiveness: assessing the impact of postgraduate education in Development Policy and Management

We tend to measure educational performance by students' attainment in coursework or examinations. In the case of professional education, the impact of the educational programme on the students' own capacities to enhance their work practices, and the wider organizational effects of the students' education and training, are also key ‘products’ of the educational process. This is particularly important with education for Development Policy and Management (DPAM), which is directly concerned with capacity‐building. This article adopts a work‐related approach to educational effectiveness and examines four professional programmes in DPAM—three in Southern Africa and one in the UK. Through the analysis of the results of surveys and case studies, the article demonstrates how a positive learning experience is related to the application of learning at work. However the conditions for applying learning also depend strongly on organizational context, as do the wider organizational impacts of learning. The article presents a broad approach to assessing educational effectiveness in professional programmes which incorporate these factors.     

An examination of the research and training needs in the field of deaf education

THE NATIONAL CENTER on Low-Incidence Disabilities conducted a needs assessment of the research and training needs in the field of deaf education. A total of 331 professionals, parents, administrators, and university faculty responded to the survey. Overall, respondents indicated that the number-one priority was to educate administrators about services that are appropriate for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The second most important concern was how to work within the education system to change it. The third priority was teaching reading strategies. Additional priorities are reported for all respondents, as well as comparisons among the different respondent groups. Implications of the results are presented.