Technology I, II, and III: criteria for understanding and improving the practice of instructional technology

In this paper we describe the criteria of Technology I, II, and III, which some instructional theorists have proposed to describe the differences between a formulaic and a reflective approach to solving educational problems. In a recent study, we applied these criteria to find evidence of a technological gravity that pulls practitioners away from reflective practices into a more reductive approach. We compared published reports of an innovative instructional theory, problem-based learning, to the goals of the theory as it was originally defined. We found three reasons for technological gravity, as well as three approaches some practitioners have used to avoid this gravity. We recommend that instructional technologists adopt our three approaches, as well as the criteria of Technology III, so they may better develop instruction of a quality consistent with the innovative instructional principles they claim, and that best characterizes the goals they have for their practice.

Improving access to the international coverage of reports of controlled trials in electronic databases: a search of the Australasian Medical Index

Introduction: Locating reports of trials from journals not indexed in the major databases presents difficulties to systematic reviewers, and may be a factor in improving the reliability of the reviews. Objectives: To identify and make available reports of controlled trials from the Australasian Medical Index (AMI). To measure the quality of indexing of trials in AMI. Methods: Using a highly sensitive search strategy consisting of methodology indexing and free‐text terms, records from AMI were read for reports of controlled trials. Trials meeting the criteria were submitted for inclusion in The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CCTR) and assessed for the quality of their indexing. Results: 3621 records were downloaded, of which 512 were identified as reports of controlled trials (317 RCTs; 195 CCTs) and submitted to CCTR. The precision of methodology indexing terms was 60%, but sensitivity just 18%. The quality of indexing of trials was generally poor with only 50 tagged with the RCT/CCT publication type term. 453 reports (88%) were not previously available in CCTR. Conclusions: The large proportion of trials found to be unique to the AMI database increases the pool of studies available to systematic reviewers, and helps ensure CCTR remains the most comprehensive source of trials.     

Accountability for Quality: One State’s Experience in Improving Practice

South Carolina recently implemented a new initiative to improve the quality of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in primary schools. This article describes the initiative and examines evidence that such an effort can have a positive effect on early childhood program quality. Data from both classroom observations using the ECERS-R scale, and from teacher surveys, are used to examine the effectiveness of the quality improvement effort. Results indicate that training and support coupled with accountability requirements can facilitate positive changes within classrooms. Examples of positive changes teachers report they made as the result of this process are included, along with changes in ECERS-R quality rating scores.     

Hemispheric division of labour in reading

We argue that the reading of words and text is fundamentally conditioned by the splitting of the fovea and the hemispheric division of the brain, and, furthermore, that the equitable division of labour between the hemispheres is a characteristic of normal visual word recognition. We report analyses of a representative corpus of the eye fixations of normal readers in the realistic reading of text where we compare hemispheric processing, quantified in terms of uncertainty about the orthographic, phonological and semantic representations of the words of the text. The analyses show that normal reading is accurately understood in terms of an equitable division of labour in the construction of the orthographic identity of the word and that, for English, a semantic division patterns closely with the orthographic division. We infer that impaired inter‐hemispheric co‐ordination of orthographic information may be best compensated for by a reliance on the inter‐hemispheric co‐ordination of semantic information, as in phonological dyslexia.     

A Clearer Vision: Creating and Evolving a Model to Support the Development of Science Teacher Leaders

This paper describes a professional development model for developing science teacher leaders that has evolved and been refined through working with 16 high school chemistry and physics teachers in high-needs schools over the past 3 years. The theoretical framework draws upon Goodwin’s notion of professional vision and Dempsey’s four metaphors to inform an understanding of professional identity consistent with innovation and empowerment in (a) the classroom setting with students and (b) with teachers in collegial environments. Thus, leadership practices and purposes are discussed at two distinct levels and contexts, which interact reflexively. Sociolinguistic discourse analysis of multiple data sources enabled us to identify the professional development features that promoted or hindered the teachers’ growth toward a leadership perspective and disposition. Implications for science teacher renewal and retention as well as limitations of the study and proposed leadership model are also shared and discussed.     

The application of a multi-dimensional assessment approach to talent identification in Australian football

ABSTRACT

This study investigated whether a multi-dimensional assessment could assist with talent identification in junior Australian football (AF). Participants were recruited from an elite under 18 (U18) AF competition and classified into two groups; talent identified (State U18 Academy representatives; n = 42; 17.6 ± 0.4 y) and non-talent identified (non-State U18 Academy representatives; n = 42; 17.4 ± 0.5 y). Both groups completed a multi-dimensional assessment, which consisted of physical (standing height, dynamic vertical jump height and 20 m multistage fitness test), technical (kicking and handballing tests) and perceptual-cognitive (video decision-making task) performance outcome tests. A multivariate analysis of variance tested the main effect of status on the test criterions, whilst a receiver operating characteristic curve assessed the discrimination provided from the full assessment. The talent identified players outperformed their non-talent identified peers in each test (P < 0.05). The receiver operating characteristic curve reflected near perfect discrimination (AUC = 95.4%), correctly classifying 95% and 86% of the talent identified and non-talent identified participants, respectively. When compared to single assessment approaches, this multi-dimensional assessment reflects a more comprehensive means of talent identification in AF. This study further highlights the importance of assessing multi-dimensional performance qualities when identifying talented team sports.     

Coaching whiteness: stories of ‘Pacifica exotica’ in Australian high school rugby

The intersection of sport and education is a potentially powerful site for the production of class and gender. This paper examines how the relationship between sport and education can also serve to (re)produce ideas about ‘race’. Drawing on research conducted during my time as a coach of the first XV rugby team at an elite private school in Australia, I consider how whiteness creates the ‘other’. In particular I highlight how, despite their absence, the Pacific Island ‘other’ is (re)produced through stories that coaches share during training. These stories revolve around the themes of the ‘natural’, fear and violence and commodity. As themes they resonate with a larger meta-narrative that informs dominant ‘white’ culture on Pacific Islanders in Australia. Such stories have the power to shape students’ subjectivities, both of themselves and Pacific Islanders. Deconstructing the white-stream narrative identifies sport settings in education as important pedagogical sites where ‘race’, class and gender are learned. As such, there is a need to utilise critical pedagogical approaches in the education of sports coaches.