Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing,Supporting the Learning

Project-based learning is a comprehensive approach to classroom teaching and learning that is designed to engage students in investigation of authentic problems. In this article, we present an argument for why projects have the potential to help people learn; indicate factors in project design that affect motivation and thought; examine difficulties that students and teachers may encounter with projects; and describe how technology can support students and teachers as they work on projects, so that motivation and thought are sustained.     

The Morning Message in Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidelines for Best Practices

The Morning Message is a commonly implemented activity in early childhood settings, appearing as a part of the daily schedule in many classrooms. However, there is limited research on what are the most effective ways to use the Morning Message to promote print awareness. The goal of this paper is to present suggested guidelines for implementing the Morning Message in early childhood classrooms based on print related research. Ten guidelines for supporting effective implementation of the Morning Message are discussed.     

Fandom as symbolic patronage: expanding understanding of fan relationships with industry through the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign

Conversations surrounding relationships between media fans and media industries frequently categorize fans according to their degree of industrial incorporation or resistance, for instance, as either “affirmational” fans who uncritically celebrate media on industrial terms or “transformational” fans who engage in critical and non-sanctioned forms of participation. Drawing on interviews with participants in the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign, this article connects rhetoric used by these fans to longstanding issues around patronage in fine arts, arguing these historical discourses provide a way to deepen our understanding of how fan audiences relate to media industry interests. The complex, asymmetrical relations that exist between patrons and artists they sponsor offer a valuable model for a type of fandom experience that does not fit neatly into the existing typology.     

Smallholder Marketing Cooperatives and Smallholders’ Market Access: Lessons Learned from the Actors Involved

Abstract

Purpose: This article explores the views of Smallholder Marketing Cooperatives’ (SMCs) leaders and staff, to gain insight about the particular roles SMCs play in facilitating smallholders’ market access.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors conceptualized and executed two international workshops in which participants from 42 SMCs from 24 countries deliberated their lessons learned from real-life experiences.

Findings: Participants defined three core issues to be tackled by SMCs to play their role related to facilitating their members’ market access: good FO governance and management; access to capital and networking. They highlighted that smallholders’ market access improves not only as a result of SMCs networking and negotiation with key actors in the public and private sectors, but also due to improved interrelationships among SMCs and other types of Farmers’ Organizations (FOs). Peer-to-peer relationships with other SMCs are critical for mutual learning, collaboration and collective action.

Practical implications: Peer-to-peer relationships among SMCs are crucial for them to overcome the internal and external social dilemmas SMCs are bound to face while improving smallholders’ market access. This goes beyond the three kinds of relationships that scholars have pointed out thus far needed for effective FO development (relationships with members; the public sector and civil society; and with market players). This can be promoted and supported by development programmes.

Originality/value: Most SMC studies concentrate primarily on their efficiency in production and marketing activities. This research proposes looking beyond this perspective, using a qualitative approach to explore the real-life experiences and views of actors involved.     

Understanding the Active Ingredients in an Effective Preschool Vocabulary Intervention: An Exploratory Study of Teacher and Child Talk During Book Reading

Research Findings: In order to identify the active ingredients in an effective professional development intervention focused on enhancing preschool vocabulary instruction, this study examines the frequency with which teachers and children discussed theme-related vocabulary words during shared book reading. Head Start teachers received 1 year of training focused upon early vocabulary development. Children's vocabulary skills were assessed in the fall and spring of the school year. In spring, teachers read a storybook to their classroom, and teachers’ and children's remarks about theme-related vocabulary during the reading—including contextualized and decontextualized statements as well as verbatim repetitions of one another's statements—were coded. Practice or Policy: Results of multilevel models showed that more frequent references to thematic vocabulary by teachers were linked to stronger child vocabulary development. Although children's vocabulary references were not uniquely predictive of vocabulary learning, teachers’ repetition of children's remarks contributed to children's vocabulary gains.