Tracking serial costs with computer technology

After offering a summary of causes of and responses to the crisis in serials costs, this article describes ways of using computer technology to track prices and project costs. Data may be developed through the use of serial check-in systems, local reports, and vendor price reports. Computers can also be used to initiate consumer action and provide access to articles for document delivery. Both publishers and vendors are cooperating with these efforts.     

Teachers' Knowledge of Literacy Concepts,Classroom Practices,and Student Reading Growth

We examined the relations of teacher knowledge (n = 42 first-grade teachers), explicit decoding instruction provided, and students' (n = 437) word-reading gains. Results revealed an interaction between teacher knowledge and observed decoding instruction: For students of more knowledgeable teachers, more time in explicit instruction predicted stronger word-reading gains. For students of less knowledgeable teachers, more time in explicit instruction was associated with weaker skill gains. Findings highlight the importance of teachers' specialized body of knowledge about reading as it informs effective instruction.     

Quintilian: Wisdom and Warning

The implementation of online texts, videos, homework, and tests has changed the process of instruction in introductory college mathematics courses. With this change, more of the students’ learning takes place outside of the traditional college classroom and in places such as tutoring centers and dorm rooms. A combination of chi-square tests—for independence with unordered categorical data—and Mann-Whitney two-sample rank-sum tests—for continuous data and ordered categorical data—were used to analyze student outcomes generated from College Algebra and Applied Calculus courses with class sizes ranging from 37 to 129, with common syllabi, homework, quizzes, and tests. These tests showed that medium classes (30–55 students) had little to no benefit over large classes (110–130 students) in student learning and student achievement, with large classes having small to medium positive-effect sizes over medium classes in the area of student satisfaction. The only area in which the small classes had a small positive effect was in the area of student engagement.     

Creative Teaching

Decoding disciplinary expertise for novices is increasingly part of the undergraduate curriculum. But how might area studies and other interdisciplinary programs, which require integration of courses from multiple disciplines, decode expertise in a similar fashion? Additionally, as a part of decoding area studies and interdisciplines, how might a sequential experience of library-based research practice support that curriculum? Finally, how might a program introduce students to fellowships and career opportunities in the field early in their studies? Area studies and interdisciplinary departments face particular challenges in this regard because of multiple entry points into the major and the lack of a consistent pattern of student movement through the major (due to students studying abroad or because of the array of different disciplinary courses comprising individual programs of study). A tested course designed to address these issues, and adaptable for other area studies or interdisciplinary programs, is part of the required curriculum for Asian Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.