Students Abroad Studying Their Own Thing

Abstract

This paper defines teacher empathy, argues that teacher empathy enhances student learning, and offers suggestions for increasing teacher empathy. Teacher empathy is the degree to which an instructor works to deeply understand students’ personal and social situations, to feel care and concern in response to students’ positive and negative emotions, and to respond compassionately without losing the focus on student learning. Teacher empathy is communicated to students through course policies as well as the instructor’s behavior toward students. To increase teacher empathy, we review non-pejorative explanations for undesirable student behavior (e.g., fear of failure), and we suggest ways in which faculty can learn about their students and can structure course policies to increase teacher empathy. Ultimately, we call for research on teacher empathy and student learning.     

Discovering User Behavior: Applying Usage Statistics to Shape Frontline Services

This investigation sought to develop a broad view of discovery service user behavior by analyzing vendor-provided and Google Analytics usage data from discovery service implementations at two Indiana University campuses. The results of this analysis demonstrate how usage data can communicate both intermediary and end results of user interactions within discovery services. The findings reveal user behavior trends, which may be used to develop strategies to improve information literacy instruction techniques, as well as discovery service interface enhancements.     

Professional ideology and physicians’ perceived disclosure patterns toward cancer patients

This study examined differences in physicians’ perceptions of their disclosure patterns toward cancer patients based on their professional ideological orientation. Adapting Strauss et al.’s (1964) sociotherapeutic (SCT) and somatotherapeutic (SMT) ideologies, it was hypothesized that physicians who strongly identified with the SCT ideology would perceive themselves as more willing to disclose the diagnosis to cancer patients and that there would be differences in the way and types of information presented depending on physicians’ ideological orientation. The findings suggest that physicians perceive choosing particular disclosure patterns based, in part, on their professional ideological orientations. Those who identify with a strong SCT orientation perceive themselves as more willing to disclose the diagnosis and provide some additional information to cancer patients and their families. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

“People Killing People on the News”: Young Children's Descriptions of Frightening Television News Content

This article investigated children's fear responses to everyday exposure to the news in the absence of a recent crisis or major event. From March to May 2006, a survey was conducted of 218 kindergarten through 6th-grade children regarding their fright reactions to the news. Results showed that 35.3% of children reported being frightened by the news. Reporting on what frightened them in their own words, children most frequently mentioned natural disasters (24.7% of children frightened), followed by kidnappings (10.4% of children frightened), the Iraq War (7.8%), and burglaries (7.8%). A qualitative analysis suggests that some children have vivid memories of disturbing news content. The accessibility of television in children's households was not related to news exposure or fear. Implications for parental guidance and research methods are discussed.     

A case study of academic programme integration in the USA: andragogical,philosophical, theoretical and practical perspectives

The landscape of higher education is being transformed as challenges for greater efficiency, accountability, and economic viability challenge administrative and programmatic structures. Programmatic, administrative, and organizational realignment has emerged as one response to the challenge. This paper presents a case study which describes andragogical, philosophical, theoretical, and practical perspectives surrounding the restructuring and integration between Adult Education and Human Resource Development faculty of a large mid-western doctoral granting research institution, and the curricular development that resulted. Programmatic integration between compatible faculty units can result in efficient and effective design and delivery of curriculum that addresses the concerns of faculty, meets the changing needs of students, and responds to the demands of the changing landscape of higher education. In this case, realignment created an opportunity for the revitalization of faculty, programmes, and students.     

Effects of increasing and decreasing physiological arousal on anticipation timing performance during competition and practice

The aim of this study was to investigate if the effects of changes in physiological arousal on timing performance can be accurately predicted by the catastrophe model. Eighteen young adults (8 males, 10 females) volunteered to participate in the study following ethical approval. After familiarisation, coincidence anticipation was measured using the Bassin Anticipation Timer under four incremental exercise conditions: Increasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety, increasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety, decreasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety and decreasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety. Incremental exercise was performed on a treadmill at intensities of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% heart rate reserve (HRR) respectively. Ratings of cognitive anxiety were taken at each intensity using the Mental Readiness Form 3 (MRF3) followed by performance of coincidence anticipation trials at speeds of 3 and 8 mph. Results indicated significant condition × intensity interactions for absolute error (AE; p = .0001) and MRF cognitive anxiety intensity scores (p = .05). Post hoc analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in AE across exercise intensities in low–cognitive anxiety conditions. In high–cognitive anxiety conditions, timing performance AE was significantly poorer and cognitive anxiety higher at 90% HRR, compared to the other exercise intensities. There was no difference in timing responses at 90% HRR during competitive trials, irrespective of whether exercise intensity was increasing or decreasing. This study suggests that anticipation timing performance is negatively affected when physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety are high.     

Computer‐based Learning in a Primary School: Differences between the early and later years of primary schooling

There have been increasing expectations that all primary school students and teachers actively use information and communications technologies (ICT) in their learning. In order to achieve this it is important that appropriate environments are set up to support the varying needs and potential of the different groups within the school context. However, in case studies of primary schools undertaken as part of the study Enhancing Learning Using New Technologies, also known as the E.ffects Project, our research indicated that the ICT learning environments established within schools often favoured the later primary year levels over the early primary school years. This paper will present illustrative evidence of this inequity using data extracted from the E.ffects Project case studies. It also discusses observed differences in approaches between early primary school years and later primary programs from the perspective of early childhood philosophies that underpin the first years of school.