Outcomes Assessment and Legal Research Pedagogy

This article explores application of a taxonomic approach in legal research pedagogy to outcomes assessment based on Prof. Paul Callister's adaptation of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives which integrates instructional design and learning activities compatible with formative assessment during the learning process and summative assessment at its conclusion. It reviews the development of outcomes assessment initiatives by legal educators and the development of outcomes assessment standards by the American Bar Association for the accreditation of law schools.     

Perspectives on Sentiment Analysis

One of the consequences of the widespread use of social media is the equally widespread availability of all sorts of once intimate and private stuff: textual, visual, and affective. From this, a new form of labor arises: the mining of social media data. One type of social media data mining is sentiment analysis, the application of a range of technologies to determine sentiments expressed within social media about particular topics. This article maps out a range of emerging perspectives on sentiment analysis and argues that these sometimes-competing views need to be brought together, so that analyses of new socio-technical phenomena like sentiment analysis can be rich and rounded.     

From talking to doing: Digital preservation at the British library

What are the core competencies that a national library needs to address the preservation of digital material? What skills are needed, by whom, when, to do what? Are the skills available externally, or is it better to develop people within the library? How are preservation philosophies and IT philosophies attuned? How is the preservation of digital material managed in a matrical and distributed way within a large organisation?     

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessons

The quality of teachers’ knowledge about how people learn influences students’ learning outcomes. Similarly, the quality of students’ knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement in self-regulated learning and consequently, their learning achievement. There is a gap between research findings that support these two premises and teaching–learning practices in classrooms. In this paper we describe attempts to reduce this gap. In Study 1 we surveyed early adolescent students’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and demonstrated that students’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy knowledge has substantial room for improvement. In Studies 2 and 3 we collaborated with teachers to embed explicit cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction, using learning protocols, into regular class lessons. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the learning protocols slipped readily into teachers’ typical lesson designs, scaffolded teachers’ delivery of strategy instruction, and scaffolded some students’ acquisition of strategy knowledge, although progress was sometimes slow. Recommendations are presented for supporting teachers and students to engage with cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction.     

Regional Queensland parents’ views of science education: some unexpected perceptions

Low post-compulsory science enrolments for secondary students have been a growing concern across the Western world. Research has examined factors relating to science curricula and students’ attitudes about science, but parental views of science education remain largely unexplored in Australia. Because parents have a strong role in shaping their children’s subject selection and career choices, in this pilot study we sought to explore parental attitudes about science education. Results from focus interviews and a survey of 132 Indigenous and non-Indigenous parents demonstrated, for the first time, that regional parents believe the study of society and the environment (SOSE) is a better preparation than science for their children’s understanding of socio-scientific issues. Most parents were unclear as to the nature of scientific literacy, believing science as it is currently taught in primary schools, not to be relevant to their children’s needs. Structural equation modelling using the survey data confirmed prior researchers’ claims and extended ideas about the likely interplay of parental attitudes and beliefs influencing their support of science study for their children. The results highlight an urgent need to explore such parental views across Australia.     

A historical review of the chemistry periodical literature until 1950

The periodical, or journal, is the means by which most scientific information is communicated. This paper examines the origins and evolution of journals covering chemistry.     

Early Child Care and Education at Hull House: Voices from the Past, Challenges for the Future

Poverty, homelessness, lack of health care among families with young children—these problems of today were also faced by Jane Addams in Hull House 100 years ago. Hull House was a mini-community that offered a safe physical environment filled with beauty. It also served as a connection to the larger neighborhood and world while sheltering its early childhood programs. There were day nurseries, kindergartens, services for handicapped children, and kindergarten teacher education. Curricula were implemented that emphasized not only physical and cognitive development but also aesthetics to build the inner spirits of the children. Varieties of learning opportunities (many in the arts and humanities) were offered to the community. Advocacy was carried out based on information provided by residents surrounding Hull House—through neighborly conversations and carefully designed surveys. Paternalism was evident—curriculum and environment were reflective of the dominant society orientation, and advocacy was sometimes done for the community members. The issues raised by Hull House offer challenges for present and from early childhood programs—challenges in organizational structure, in provision of curriculum and learning experiences for young children and their families, and in joint advocacy efforts.