Changing resistant audience attitudes using social judgment theory’s “anchor” point perspectives

Courses: Public Speaking, Business and Professional Communication, Persuasion, or any other skill-based oral communication course.

Objectives: Students will practice the development and demonstration of persuasive arguments in this single-class social judgment theory activity to improve their ability to change resistant audience attitudes.     

The social ecology and early parenting of Caucasian adolescent mothers

Social characteristics, maternal behaviors, and the home environments of Caucasian adolescent and nonadolescent mothers were investigated in a sample of 50 primiparous low- and middle-class women and their 4-month-old infants. The mothers were interviewed about their child-care network and about stressful life events that may have occurred since the infant's birth. The HOME inventory was completed and videotapes of 2 hours of home observations were coded to assess maternal proximity, verbalizations, activity, and physical contact with the infant. Interview data indicated that adolescent mothers relied more frequently on other teenagers and other network members for help in child care than nonadolescent mothers. In addition, they also received more frequent support from their mothers and less frequent help from their partner's and partner's mother and siblings than nonadolescent mothers. During the home visit, they were less verbal with their infants and scored significantly lower on the Responsiveness and Maternal Involvement subscales as well as on the total HOME inventory; these results were replicated on subgroups matched for socioeconomic status, emphasizing the unique social context and parenting practices of teenage mothers.     

A teaching accompaniment and development model: possibilities and challenges for teaching and learning centers

ABSTRACT

We propose a ‘1-to-1’ accompaniment and teaching development model emerging from the analysis and reflection of professional experience at a Teaching and Learning Center in a Chilean university. We highlight the relevance of the bond between professor and adviser and the establishment of a horizontal relationship, where both work collaboratively on the achievement of common objectives. This means breaking away from the classic view of the counseling process, where aspects of discipline and context are not necessarily considered. Despite size scalability issues, this model is flexible in its applicability and is adaptable to different university contexts. The implementation of this model is still under development, particularly in its evaluation phase.     

Using Online Studio Groups to Improve Writing Competency: A Pilot Study in a Quality Improvement Methods Course

Communication skills are a significant contributor to an individual's success in the workplace. Unfortunately, students often have trouble expressing their ideas in written form and the poor quality of students’ written work often impedes the learning process. This pilot study investigates the use of online writing studios within a quality improvement methods course and the impact of this intervention on students’ writing competency and perceptions about the writing process. The impact of this approach on student performance is evaluated within and across semesters using comparative statistical analyses. Results show that students who participated in online writing studios performed better (i.e., at least one rubric level higher) on their final written assignments for the course compared to students who did not, and that this approach is associated with improved students’ perceptions about the writing process. This research suggests that the use of online writing studios within a content‐specific course can incrementally improve students’ writing competency over the course of one semester, and can positively affect the learning of written communication skills and change students’ perceptions about various aspects of the writing process.     

What Preservice Teachers and Knowledgeable Others Professionally Notice During Lesson Study

The purpose of this study was to understand what preservice teachers and knowledgeable others professionally notice as they engaged in repeated cycles of a modified version of lesson study, as a component of a field experience in a teacher education program. The study also centered on comparing the professional noticing practices of preservice teachers with other lesson study participants, including classroom teachers and university facilitators. Data analyzed included videos of weekly lesson study analysis meetings for seven weeks for each of four teams. Each team included six preservice teachers, a classroom teacher, and a university facilitator. Findings indicate that preservice teachers primarily noticed elements about the classroom environment and teacher pedagogy, but included instances of noticing centered on students' mathematical thinking. In contrast, classroom teachers and university facilitators, as knowledgeable others, typically noticed general events and were less focused on students' mathematical thinking. Analysis of noticing trends over the seven weeks indicated that noticing levels remained steady initially, dropped in the fourth and fifth week, and resumed original status in the final weeks. Results that the preservice teachers' noticing comments were at higher levels than the knowledgeable others are contrary to other research studies and indicate that incorporating lesson study with appropriate scaffolds into a field experience for preservice teachers may be a viable option for encouraging noticing of students' mathematical thinking.