Confidence Intervals for a Semiparametric Approach to Modeling Nonlinear Relations among Latent Variables

Compared to parametric models, nonparametric and semiparametric approaches to modeling nonlinearity between latent variables have the advantage of recovering global relationships of unknown functional form. Bauer (2005) Bauer, D. J. 2005. A semiparametric approach to modeling nonlinear relations among latent variables. Structural Equation Modeling, 12: 513–535. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] proposed an indirect application of finite mixtures of structural equation models where latent components are estimated in the service of more flexibly recovering characteristics of the latent aggregate regression function. This article develops and evaluates delta method and parametric bootstrap approaches for obtaining approximate confidence intervals for Bauer's semiparametric approach to modeling latent nonlinear functions. Coverage rates of these approximate point-wise confidence intervals or nonsimultaneous confidence bands are evaluated by Monte Carlo and recommendations for their use are suggested.     

NURTURING EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALISM: THE RHODE ISLAND EARLY CHILDHOOD SUMMER INSTITUTE

This article describes the independent study project of a student who was a graduate assistant in a child development laboratory preschool when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast area. Through her experiences with “Project Katrina” she deepens her understanding of developmentally appropriate practices as she learns firsthand about the project approach and writing an article for publication in a professional journal.     

Context in Methods Course Learning: Lessons for partnership work

Teacher education programs are being encouraged to collaborate with K‐12 partners to develop and implement contextually rich field experiences that integrate methods course instruction with public school practices. As a result, we outline four models of integrating methods instruction and field experiences and raise the question “How does the classroom and school context of the field experience influence what prospective teachers learned in the methods courses?” This study examines the way two different cohorts of prospective elementary teachers who learned to teach in two different contexts define their own social studies pedagogical content knowledge. The students' espoused philosophies of education offer insight into how different models of integrated field experiences may impact on their beliefs about social studies teaching. Through this study we raise questions that should be considered in constructing methods courses linked to field experiences and suggest Bronfenbrenner's model as a tool for looking at these contextual influences.     

Reflection on their first five years of teaching: understanding staying and impact power

Teacher turnover in urban schools is occurring at a breakneck pace; thus, it is important for us to understand the characteristics of teachers who stay and succeed in these settings. In order to address this need, this study examines the preparation and induction experiences of teachers who completed a Transition to Teaching – a funded urban apprenticeship program. Three research questions guided the study: (1) How do participants describe the characteristics that influence their five-year retention? (2) How do participants describe their success as teachers? and (3) How do participants describe the professional support they received in their preparation program and during the subsequent four years after completing the program? Quantitative and qualitative data via interviews, focus group, and an examination of teachers’ district performance scores were utilized, as a means of understanding teachers’ staying and impact power. Staying power refers to the ability to endure or last within challenging contexts by possessing strength enough to persevere. Impact power refers to their ability to influence student learning. Four assertions describe the factors influencing developing teachers who stay and have impact as they teach in challenging urban schools, suggesting that these teachers possess a strong work ethic, seek specific resources to improve pedagogy, have the knowledge and skills necessary to differentiate instruction, and seek teacher leadership opportunities in their schools. This study suggests several implications for teacher educators, educational leaders, administrators, and researchers working with new teachers in urban schools or with populations that are predominantly children of color.     

An Integrated Human Information Behavior Research Framework for Information Studies

Human information behavior is emerging as an important component of information studies. As in many emerging research areas, one challenge is to identify important facets of human information behavior and understand how different methods can be best used to research these facets. This paper presents the framework of an approach to designing and synthesizing research studies in human information behavior. The framework emerges from previous research in human information behavior and incorporates Ranganathan's framework for knowledge organization. It proposes that research studies that investigate human information behavior should consider the following facets: personality, matter, energy, space, and time. Personality refers to actors, and in this framework includes participants and their social networks. Matter refers to the target of the action. It includes information and information resources, including services and technology that may provide access to information. Energy is the action itself, including the participants' tasks, processes, and goals. Space is the environment of the action, and includes physical space as well as organizational and sociopolitical contexts. Time is the nonspatial continuum in which actions and events occur; in the framework, time is considered an episode, interval, or eon. Facets that should be investigated and taken into account in a study help guide the selection of the research methods for the study. Furthermore, research results from multiple studies can be synthesized by understanding the relationships among the facets investigated in the different studies.