Using Collaborative Assessment to Examine the Relationship between Self-Reported Beliefs and the Documentable Practices of Preschool Teachers

A team of researchers used a collaborative assessment protocol to compare the self-reported teaching beliefs of a convenience sample of preschool teachers (N = 57) to their documentable practices (i.e., practices that could be observed, recorded, and categorized using a deductive strategy). Data were examined from survey instruments, detailed classroom observations and time-sampling, curriculum materials, and program artifacts. Results indicated that when child-directed choice/play time, emergent literacy and language development activities were emphasized, teachers self-reported beliefs were more strongly aligned with developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) as a philosophy of practice. When consistent routines, organized classrooms, preplanned curriculum, and teacher-directed learning were the dominant behaviors, the teachers were found to report more “traditional” or academic-oriented beliefs.     

Identity Constructions and Inter-Organizational Collaboration: Islamic Faith-Based Organizations and the Polio Vaccination Stoppage in Northern Nigeria

Polio eradication has received greater attention in medicine and public health than communication studies. In the context of a Northern Nigerian vaccination stoppage by Islamic faith-based organizations (FBOs), this study—informed by the inter-organizational collaboration literature—focused on the FBOs. Through analyses of 119 statements by 19 FBO spokespersons in Nigerian newspapers, the study found the FBOs claimed an identity of concern for the people’s representation and safety; constructed the identity of federal government organizations (FGOs) as unjust, unethical, and unresponsive; constructed the identity of global north organizations (GNOs) as preoccupied with depopulation, operating above the law, and as bullies; and described FGO/GNO communication practices as authoritarian, closed, and deceptive.     

Long-term habituation is produced by distributed training at long ISIs and not by massed training or short ISIs inCaenorhabditis elegans

To begin an investigation of the cellular processes that underlie long-term memory in the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans, it is first necessary to determine thatC. elegans is capable of retention over 24 h, and to investigate the factors that may influence the expression of long-term memory. In the present study, the effects of stimuli number, interstimulus interval (ISI), and training procedure on long-term retention of habituation were tested inC. elegans. At a long (60-sec) ISI, distributed training sessions produced long-term habituation retained for 24 h, whereas massed training sessions or training with few stimuli did not. When training was performed at a short (10-sec) ISI, long-term habituation was not detectable with testing at either a 10- or a 60-sec ISI. The long-term habituation observed after distributed training sessions at a 60-sec ISI was consistently expressed when the training procedures were varied. Thus it is clear thatC. elegans can reliably express long-term retention for distributed training sessions at a 60-sec ISI, making the system a candidate for further investigations into the cellular processes supporting memory.     

Having a Ball with Confidence Intervals

Confidence intervals are often misinterpreted. This article describes an activity which helps students understand what it means to have confidence in a Process.     

Learning to Learn to Teach: An ``Experiment' Model for Teaching and Teacher Preparation in Mathematics

This paper describes a model for generating andaccumulating knowledge for both teaching andteacher education. The model is applied firstto prepare prospective teachers to learn toteach mathematics when they enter theclassroom. The concept of treating lessons asexperiments is used to explicate theintentional, rigorous, and systematic processof learning to teach through studying one's ownpractice. The concept of planning teachingexperiences so that others can learn fromone's experience is used to put into practicethe notion of contributing to a sharedprofessional knowledge base for teachingmathematics. The same model is then applied tothe work of improving teacher preparationprograms in mathematics. Parallels are drawnbetween the concepts emphasized for prospectiveteachers and those that are employed byinstructors who study and improve teacherpreparation experiences. In this way, parallelsalso are seen in the processes used to generatean accumulating knowledge base for teaching andfor teacher education.     

Designing electronic text: The role of print-based research

This is the 14th ERIC/ECTJ Annual Review Paper, preparation of which was supported by the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) Clearinghouse on Information Resources, Syracuse University. The material in this article was prepared pursuant to a contract with the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Education. Contractors undertaking such projects under govemment sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgement in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions do not necessarily represent the official view or opinion of the NIE.—Ed.     

Complementary Approaches to Evaluation of Technology in Science Education

An interesting and relevant case involving two distinct systematic evaluations, traditional as well as somewhat nontraditional, of a science teacher education project with a heavy technology emphasis is discussed. Comparisons of the two separate evaluations of the same project revealed the complexity of evaluating technology projects and the multifaceted ways in which the evaluation endeavor could be approached, and provided an unusual situation and seldom seen opportunity for thinking about such evaluations. Additionally, what some other authors have said about the evaluations of efforts that take advantage of technology in the training of science teachers will also be explored. Evaluators must become active players in guiding the infusion of technology in preservice science programs. If evaluators, don't function to identify what works and what doesn't and what induces the best supportive environment, then who will?     

A developmental review of response time data that support a cognitive components model of reading

The present article provides a review of numerous studies that measured response times for cognitive tasks related to six components of the reading process. The component processes were single-letter recognition, multi-letter unit identification, word and pseudoword identification, semantic access/concept activation, phrase and sentence comprehension, and text comprehension. The response time data are presented in tables and summarized in the text. The data provide support for a componential view of reading.