High-Tech Classrooms Need Highly Competent Instructors

The 21 st century classroom requires instructors with more advanced skills and competencies to deliver materials in a way that engages students both traditional and non-traditional. Traditional students have come to expect the incorporation of technology into their classrooms because they have grown up with it and can see its usefulness, while non-traditional students may need additional resources online in order to reinforce new concepts. By employing Web 2.0 technologies, like online video and discussion boards, into both the online and traditional on-campus classrooms, instructors can address both isolation and different learning styles, as well as address issues relating to problems with understanding concepts being taught and respond positively to feedback provided by both the students and administrators. In addition, utilizing Web 2.0 technology in the online classroom can reduce the isolation that many students feel in these classrooms by ensuring students can communicate with other students as well as the instructor.     

Learning from the experts: gaining insights into best practice during the acquisition of three novel motor skills

The amount and quality of practice predicts expertise, yet optimal conditions of practice have primarily been explored with novice learners. Ten expert musicians and ten novices practiced disc-throwing skills under self-regulated conditions. A third novice group practiced with the same schedule as the music experts (yoked). The groups did not differ in terms of the amount of contextual interference, only in terms of when in-practice interference was introduced. The music experts progressed from a more blocked to random schedule which was opposite to the novices. This resulted in more accurate performance in retention for the experts in comparison to both novice groups (self-scheduled and yoked). The music expert and yoked groups showed higher form scores than the novice self-scheduled group, which might be related to the greater frequency of augmented information for these groups. There was no evidence that non-task-domain experts choose a more random practice schedule than novices, but in accord with good practice principles, they gradually introduced high amounts of interference into their practice. This strategy was associated with less error in retention for the experts. Because the yoked group showed more error than the music experts, the advantage of this schedule was also performance dependent.     

An assessment of the strength of knots and splices used as eye terminations in a sailing environment

Research into knots, splices and other methods of forming an eye termination has been limited, despite the fact that they are essential and strongly affect the performance of a rope. The aim of this study was to carry out a comprehensive initial assessment of the breaking strength of eye terminations commonly used in a sailing environment, thereby providing direction for further work in the field. Supports for use in a regular tensile testing machine were specially developed to allow individual testing of each sample and a realistic spread of statistical data to be obtained. Over 180 break tests were carried out on four knots (the bowline, double bowline, figure-of-eight loop and perfection loop) and two splices (three-strand eye splice and braid-on-braid splice). The factors affecting their strength were investigated. A statistical approach to the analysis of the results was adopted. The type of knot was found to have a significant effect on the strength. This same effect was seen in both types of rope construction (three-strand and braid-on-braid). Conclusions were also drawn as to the effect of splice length, eye size, manufacturer and rope diameter on the breaking strength of splices. Areas of development and further investigation were identified.     

Designing for metacognition—applying cognitive tutor principles to the tutoring of help seeking

Intelligent Tutoring Systems have been shown to be very effective in supporting learning in domains such as mathematics, physics, computer programming, etc. However, they are yet to achieve similar success in tutoring metacognition. While an increasing number of educational technology systems support productive metacognitive behavior within the scope of the system, few attempt to teach skills students need to become better future learners. To that end, we offer a set of empirically-based design principles for metacognitive tutoring. Our starting point is a set of design principles put forward by Anderson et al. (Journal of the Learning Sciences, 4:167–207, 1995) regarding Cognitive Tutors, a family of Intelligent Tutoring Systems. We evaluate the relevance of these principles to the tutoring of help-seeking skills, based on our ongoing empirical work with the Help Tutor. This auxiliary tutor agent is designed to help students learn to make effective use of the help facilities offered by a Cognitive Tutor. While most of Anderson’s principles are relevant to the tutoring of help seeking, a number of differences emerge as a result of the nature of metacognitive knowledge and of the need to combine metacognitive and domain-level tutoring. We compare our approach to other metacognitive tutoring systems, and, where appropriate, propose new guidelines to promote the discussion regarding the nature and design of metacognitive tutoring within scaffolded problem-solving environments.     

Motivational factors and writing: the role of topic interestingness

The primary objective was to investigate the effect of an important motivational variable — interest ∶ on sixth-grade children’s performance on a writing task. Because our previous research showed that prior knowledge has an inordinate effect on writing, we augmented the children’s knowledge of the topics they were to write about. Students studied one of four texts (two high-interest/moderate-knowledge and two low-interest/high-knowledge) and then were assigned to either a tutorial condition, in which they studied and wrote about the same topic, or a control condition, in which they studied one topic and wrote about a companion topic at the same interest and knowledge level. Our general expectation, that children writing with tutorial support on high-interest topics would do better than all other groups because of the motivational effect, was not supported. The results unexpectedly showed that low-interest topics supported by tutorials resulted in longer productions. In addition high interest topics facilitated only better quality ideas, but not qualitatively better writing. These results indicate that the motivational power of generally interesting topics in writing is confounded with the role of prior knowledge. It is further suggested that attentional factors may explain why topic interest has a limited effect on children’s writing performance.     

Included? The Status of African American Scholars in the Discipline of Criminology and Criminal Justice Since 2004

This article provides a re-examination of the progress of African Americans in criminology/criminal justice doctoral programs since 2004. It focuses on African-American faculty, their scholarly research, and involvement in professional associations. Recent trends in African Americans enrolled in doctoral programs also are analyzed. Findings indicate that the representation of African-American faculty and doctoral students in criminology and criminal justice programs has increased although both continue to be under-represented in programs at predominantly white institutions. Evidence of increases in their contributions to the body of knowledge and service to professional associations was notable. The article concludes with strategies and recommendations for ensuring that inclusion continues to matter in the next decade.     

Beyond bad behaving brothers: productive performances of masculinities among college fraternity men

Research on fraternity men focuses almost exclusively on problematic behaviors such as homophobia and sexism, alcohol abuse, violence against women, sexual promiscuity, and the overrepresentation of members among campus judicial offenders. Consequently, little is known about those who perform masculinities in healthy and productive ways. Presented in this article are findings from a qualitative study of productive masculinities and behaviors among 50 undergraduate fraternity men from 44 chapters across the US and Canada. Findings offer insights into participants’ steadfast commitments to the fraternity’s espoused values; their acceptance and appreciation of members from a range of diverse backgrounds; strategies they employed to address bad behaviors (including sexism, racism, and homophobia) among chapter brothers; and the conditions that enabled them to behave in ways that contradict stereotypes concerning men in collegiate fraternities.     

Playing with Moon Sand: a narrative inquiry into a teacher’s experiences teaching alongside a student with a chronic illness

This paper inquires into the experiences of an early childhood educator named Claire who taught a young girl with a chronic illness at East Willows Elementary School, a western Canadian elementary school. Using narrative inquiry as the methodology, Claire’s experiences in her curriculum making alongside Madeline a young girl with Turner syndrome were explored and analyzed. In navigating through this curriculum around chronic illness, Claire negotiated liminal spaces between health and unhealth, sickness and wellness, capability and desire using stories of playful curriculum making. Through these liminal spaces, Claire created forward-looking stories of a new curriculum; a curriculum defined by playfulness, counterstories of play, the lived and planned curriculum, and the sharing of authority. This playful curriculum, this curriculum of play, became the negotiated story to live by for Claire and Madeline at East Willows Elementary School.