Change Within a Teacher Education Program and Laboratory: A Reflective Commentary

Intentional, systemic philosophical change on an educational program level and on an individual level is often a slow and cyclic process. In this article, we reflect on the journey of philosophical change and growth from a traditional philosophy to an inquiry-based, Reggio-inspired one that occurred on both levels in an early childhood teacher education program and laboratory school over a period of 7 years. As an inquiry group, we reflected on the change we experienced in our own teaching methods, our interactions with staff members and each other, and our perceptions of change in interaction with our students. After carefully and systematically reviewing our reflections, five trends in change were identified. They were (a) recasting the image of the teacher and reevaluating the process of teaching and learning, (b) valuing dialogue, (c) cultivating a reflective mindset, (d) valuing outside perspectives, and (e) building meaningful relationships. The process of reflecting on and documenting our journey has improved our ability to articulate the change we made and to see our growth. Further it has illuminated future teaching and learning directions and aims that we intend to pursue. Finally, we hope that sharing this process will encourage others to examine what, how, and why of their teaching and learning in order to enhance their own professional development journey.     

Rhetorical strategies of continuity and change in the music of popular artists over time

This essay analyzes certain aspects of the music of Bruce Springsteen to determine the impact of rhetorical strategies of continuity and change on musical artists’ appeal over time. Three general observations emerged from this analysis. First, Bruce Springsteen's musical stories and styles have undergone several disjunctive shifts during the course of his career. In making these shifts, Springsteen has remained true to himself as a maturing adult without sacrificing listener appeal. Second, musical score strongly impacts the ultimate message conveyed depending on whether it emotionally reinforces or contradicts the lyrical message. Finally, other musical performers should be mindful of the effect of their rhetorical choices regarding (a) the intensity and release patterns they use within a musical score and (b) why, when, and where they might allow their stories or styles to shift, and what effect those shifts are likely to have on the integrated messages they are attempting to communicate.     

Executing an Offender Reentry Simulation Event: Teaching the Reality of Reentry to University Students

This study discusses the implementation of an offender reentry simulation event hosted at a medium-sized university in the southeast for criminal justice students in Fall 2016. As the faculty member responsible for the event, it was my hope to provide students with a realistic experience of reentry that would help them to better understand the challenges associated with reentry. In other words, my desire was to challenge their preset notions that all offenders have the tools they need to successfully reenter society after incarceration and recidivism is simply a function of a rational choice to commit crime. The purpose was not to advocate for the removal of sanctions for criminal behavior, but to allow students to better understand the variety of experiences encountered by offenders so when they become practitioners, they can advocate for better resources to help reentering offenders with the long-term goal of recidivism reduction.     

Future Perfect?: Teachers’ Expectations and Explanations of their Latino Immigrant Students’ Postsecondary Futures

Teacher expectancy research has demonstrated the greatest effects for members of racialized groups. Most research has focused on students’ near-term abilities; missing are understandings of how teachers perceive their students’ future trajectories. Drawing on social mirroring and attribution theories, this study investigates how 14 elementary, middle, and high school teachers of Latino immigrant students described and explained their students’ post-high school futures. Most teachers described their students as non-college-bound, with employment likely in the service sector. They attributed their students’ futures to family related explanations more often than to structural factors. The study’s implications emphasize the need to develop deeper understanding of structural inequalities that mediate students’ trajectories including schooling factors.     

Shyness and Trajectories of Functional Network Connectivity Over Early Adolescence

High shyness during early adolescence is associated with impaired peer relationships and risk for psychiatric disorders. Little is known, however, about the relation between shyness and trajectories of brain development over early adolescence. The current study longitudinally examined trajectories of resting‐state functional connectivity (rs‐fc) within four brain networks in 147 adolescents. Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging at three different time points, at average ages 10.5 (range = 7.8–13.0), 11.7 (range = 9.3–14.1), and 12.9 years (range = 10.1–15.2). Multilevel linear modeling indicated that high shyness was associated with a less steep negative slope of default mode network (DMN) rs‐fc over early adolescence relative to low shyness. Less steep decreases in DMN rs‐fc may relate to increased self‐focus in adolescents with high shyness.     

The Development and Implementation of a Faculty–Student Collaborative Research Project

Criminal Justice faculty collaborated with undergraduate and graduate students to evaluate federal probation officers’ use of evidence-based skills following the implementation of a new training program designed to improve officer supervision skills and offender outcomes. The project resulted in the coding of over 100 audio recordings of actual officer–offender interactions based upon a developed assessment instrument. Overall, officers demonstrated high levels of adherence to training program skills. This article describes the process used to form a faculty–student collaborative research project and the benefits, challenges, and recommendations for similar projects at other institutions.     

A Moral and Legal Obligation: Preservation in the Digital Age

The Commission on Preservation and Access and the Research Libraries Group (both US organizations) created a task force to study the requirements for preserving digital information. The report, published in May 1996, recommends a certification process for digital archives and calls for a legal authority to rescue digital files in danger of being lost. The paper reviews the reactions of the library, archival, and educational communities and describes the current actions being taken.