Peer evaluation: A case study

Peer evaluation is the process whereby students critique the performances of other students. A peer evaluation format emphasizes skills, encourages involvement, focuses on learning, establishes a reference, promotes excellence, provides increased feedback, fosters attendance, and teaches responsibility. The process of peer evaluation is explained, the criteria are specified, the training for use is described, and how standards are maintained is explained. Finally, objections are suggested and addressed. Peer evaluation is a unique, controlled, and precise form of classroom evaluation that involves carefully constructed evaluation instruments, structured classroom situations, and exact evaluative assessments. Peer evaluation is a new and different form of evaluation.     

A Process Approach to Community-Based Education: The People’s Free University of Saskatchewan

On the basis of insights provided by Whitehead and John Cobb, I show how the People’s Free University of Saskatchewan (PFU) is a working model of free, open, community-based education that embodies several characteristics of Whitehead’s philosophy of education. Formed in opposition to the growing commercialization at the original “people’s university,” (the University of Saskatchewan) the PFU has spawned distinctive ideals of its own. The PFU reflects Whitehead’s belief in the importance of shared knowledge fostered by community-based education, the value of abstract and practical knowledge, and the power of the imagination to establish a community of learners capable of acting freely together.     

That’s Not Something We Have to Discuss: Interrupting Silences About Multiracial Students in Teacher Work

The author asserts that the field of teacher education must begin a critical conversation to better prepare and support teachers in attending to the complexities of racialized identities, experiences, and perspectives of multiracial students in K12 schools. The author offers a review of literature relevant to multiracial students, and draws from the emerging theoretical framework of Multicrit (Harris in Int J Qual Stud Educ 29(6):795–813, 2016) to present monoracism, ahistoricism, colorism and intersectionality to analyze excerpts from three respective research studies. Each excerpt demonstrates an imperative to build a critical understanding of multiracial students within teacher work. The author concludes with implications for future research and practice.     

The Status of Career and Technical Education Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate and graduate student enrollments, course delivery modes, and curricular trends and issues of CTE programs. Based on findings from 139 program/department coordinators, results emphasized that although CTE programs within institutions of higher education have declined in number (Fletcher, Gordon, Asunda, &; Zirkle, 2015 Fletcher, E., &; Djajalaksana, Y. (2015). Instructional strategy preferences in the career and technical education classroom. Journal of Research in Business Education, 57(1), 32–56. [Google Scholar]), student enrollments within those programs have remained steady compared to prior studies (Bruening et al., 2001 Bruening, T., Scanlon, D., Hodes, C., Dhital, P., Shao, X., &; Liu, S. (2001). The status of career and technical education teacher preparation programs. (Report No. V051A990004). Minneapolis, MN: The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. [Google Scholar]; Lynch, 1990 Lynch, R. (1990). A national database on vocational teacher education (Report No. V051A80004-89). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education. [Google Scholar]). Even so, CTE program/department administrators have articulated that declining student enrollment is a major challenge within their programs. Additionally, the development of online courses and the impact of state/national educational reform initiatives were identified as major curricular trends for CTE programs. Recommendations include the need for CTE faculty to embrace online instruction, and for programs to use broader nomenclature of CTE/Workforce Education, instead of names of more traditional subdisciplines within the field to remain more accessible and sustainable in the future. The condition of undergraduate and graduate CTE programs will likely impact the viability and sustainability of CTE teacher preparation programs, recruitment of a talented and diverse CTE teaching force, continuity of the U.S. teaching workforce, and ability of K–12 teachers to maintain high-quality CTE programs.     

Cognitive performance and mental ability: Implications for learning in the later years

Both cross sectional and longitudinal studies of change with age in mental ability and cross sectional studies of change with age in cognitive performance indicate that the ability to learn generally does not decline in adulthood but continues at a stable and responsive level well into the later years. This conclusion is not only supported by psychological research but also confirmed by the rapidly growing numbers of older persons who are returning to and succeeding in the pursuit of educational activities. If and when decline does occur, it is usually modest, often reversible, rarely extreme, and rarely if ever great enough to preclude the possibility of learning that may be highly meaningful to the older learner.Howard Y. McClusky is the charter President of the Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is currently active as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education and Faculty Associate in the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.     

Audiogenic seizures in mice: Asymmetries of the preconvulsive running pattern and subsequent seizure

Asymmetries in the progression of unilaterally and bilaterally induced audiogenic seizures were examined in DBA/2J and SJL/J mice. Both strains were found to exhibit consistent asymmetries in direction(s) of running as well as in the side of fall during a convulsion. This correspondence suggests that the bursts of running are an integral part of an audiogenic seizure. The incorporation of information on asymmetries of the locomotor prelude in future studies should prove valuable for understanding the physiological mechanisms of audiogenic seizure.     

Reflective pedagogy: the integration of methodology and subject-matter content in a graduate-level course

This article presents a critical reflection on how we, instructors of a graduate-level course in higher education administration, sought to integrate theoretical and subject-matter content and research methodology. Our reflection, guided by autoethnography and teacher reflection, challenged both our assumptions about curriculum design and our process of designing and teaching the redesigned course. We found that our efforts to integrate course content and methodology differed from students’ prior experiences and resulted in a disconnection between their experience and the intended course learning objectives. Recommendations include understanding the degree program culture and students’ course expectations, using assignments that facilitate learning of both theory and methods, and balancing classroom discussion among theory, methodology, and the integration of the two.     

Mental toughness and transitions to high school and to undergraduate study

Mental toughness can be conceptualised as a set of attributes that allow people to deal effectively with challenges, stressors and pressure. Recent work has suggested that it may be a valuable construct to consider within educational settings. The current studies explored the associations between mental toughness and educational transitions. Study 1 examined the relationships between mental toughness and concerns about moving to a new school in 105 children aged 12–13 years of age. The results revealed significant relationships between several aspects of mental toughness, but particularly confidence in abilities, and children’s concerns. Study 2 examined the relationships between mental toughness and adjustment to university in 200 undergraduate students at various stages of their course. The results revealed a role for several aspects of mental toughness; commitment, control of life, control of emotion, confidence in abilities and interpersonal confidence. The results are discussed in terms of implications for educational practice. It is suggested that measures of mental toughness could be used to identify individuals who may benefit from additional support during transition to a new school or to university, and that future research should explore the potential benefits of mental toughness training.     

Gifted children and visual-motor development: A comparison of Bender-Gestalt and VMI test performance

A sample of 63 gifted elementary-school students was administered the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test and the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for comparative purposes and to test Koppitz hypothesis that gifted students have advanced visual-motor development. Group results revealed no significant differences between the two tests, that they did correlate significantly, and that younger students in particular had advanced visual-motor development when tested using these two tools.     

Attitudes toward mainstreaming: A status report and comparison of regular and special educators in New York and Massachusetts

Four hundred regular and special educators from New York (a categorical labeling state) and Massachusetts (a noncategorical labeling state) were surveyed on their mainstreaming attitudes and perceptions of handicapped exceptional children. Among the topics investigated were educators' attitudes toward the effects on these children of different educational placements, their reactions to integrating these children into regular classrooms, their knowledge of their special education responsibilities, and their inclusions in their building-level special education processes. Results, implications, and future research directions are discussed, so that services to handicapped exceptional children can be improved and implemented.