‘From where I’m looking it just seems like two people have missed the boat …’: understanding set behaviour from a socioanalytic perspective

Accounts of practice within the action learning literature tend to omit the more mundane session-to-session details of the inner-workings of the action learning set. As well as concentrating on the problem, individuals in all sets spend some of their time in unproductive interpersonal exchanges. These exchanges may be considered trivialities and not worthy of mentioning within an account of practice. The behaviour could, however, hold the key to understanding how the action learning group manages its unconscious anxieties associated with problem solving. In this article, using empirical research from his Ph.D. dissertation, the author explores how the insights developed by Wilfred Bion on groups, their unconscious behaviour and the anxiety of problem solving can help both action researchers and set participants better understand the working of their sets.     

Moving beyond GK-12

The National Science Foundation GK-12 program has made more than 300 awards to universities, supported thousands of graduate student trainees, and impacted thousands of K-12 students and teachers. The goals of the current study were to determine the number of sustained GK-12 programs that follow the original GK-12 structure of placing graduate students into classrooms and to propose models for universities with current funding or universities interested in starting a program. Results from surveys, literature reviews, and Internet searches of programs funded between 1999 and 2008 indicated that 19 of 188 funded sites had sustained in-classroom programs. Three distinct models emerged from an analysis of these programs: a full-stipend model, in which graduate fellows worked with partner teachers in a K-12 classroom for 2 d/wk; a supplemental stipend model in which fellows worked with teachers for 1 d/wk; and a service-learning model, in which in-classroom activity was integrated into university academic coursework. Based on these results, potential models for sustainability and replication are suggested, including establishment of formal collaborations between sustained GK-12 programs and universities interested in starting in-classroom programs; development of a new Teaching Experience for Fellows program; and integration of supplemental fellow stipends into grant broader-impact sections.     

Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses

This study explored students’ perceptions regarding the integration of electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) in two online graduate‐level courses at a small research university in the western United States. Researchers investigated student perceptions of communication, connectedness, value, and perceived student learning through ePortfolio integration and formative peer review to support a sustained community of learning. Data was collected from 40 students with a Web‐based questionnaire and a threaded discussion forum. Results indicate ePortfolios positively impacted some students’ perception of communication, connectedness, and learning. Most participants also valued ePortfolios. Prior ePortfolio experience and gender were responsible for minor differences in student perceptions, whereas lack of prior reflective experience impacted student perceptions significantly. Researchers conclude that ePortfolios can foster learning communities in online graduate programs.     

Pragmatism: Making the Most Out of Training

Nothing comes close to the method of pragmatic, experiential education where we train individuals by making them actually do what they need to learn. A pragmatic approach to an instructor‐led training session may include role plays and case studies, which can provide many significant benefits to the learning process, especially when the situations reflect real‐life examples.     

Second Life to support Multicultural Literacy: Pre- and In-service Teachers' Perceptions and Expectations

The purpose of the study was to examine preservice teachers’ attitudes using Second Life for multicultural literacy and to explore effective strategies to implement this technology in teacher preparation programs. Participants included thirty-six preserve teachers from early childhood, elementary, and secondary education programs. Participants indicated that interacting with cultural artifacts and diverse populations promoted multiculturalism, 47.5% reported that Second Life supported the development of multicultural attitudes and 50% indicated that Second Life can support multicultural respect. Additionally, 33.4% considered Second Life an effective learning tool for K-12 education while 40% remained undecided. Participants questioned the veracity of certain objects, often failed to communicate with individuals from other cultures, and worried about inappropriate content. Despite these limitations, Second Life could serve as a rich environment to build multicultural knowledge through culturally representative locations, artifacts, and communication. Suggestions for incorporating multicultural experiences via Second Life are presented.     

Children's shyness,popularity, school liking,cooperative participation,and internalizing problems in the early school years

Aims of the present study included understanding the manner in which shyness during the first year of formal schooling predicts early popularity in the peer group, as well as the manner in which children's shyness and popularity uniquely contribute to later school liking, cooperative participation, and internalizing problems. Structural equation modeling using parents’, teachers’, and children's reports suggested that children's (N = 291; 46% girls) kindergarten shyness predicted lower school liking and lower cooperative participation during second grade through its negative association with first grade popularity. Shyness during the first year of formal schooling may relate to difficulties in the classroom during later years due to problematic peer relations. The indirect relation of kindergarten shyness to second-grade internalizing problems through first-grade popularity was not statistically significant. Kindergarten shyness was also directly related to higher cooperative participation, which suggests that relations between early shyness and classroom engagement may be more complex than previously assumed.     

Coming to know within ‘healthy uncertainty’: an autoethnography of engagement and transformation in undergraduate education

This article is an autoenthnographic account of the yearlong journey of two undergraduates and their instructor when the traditional classroom structures associated with the banking concept of education were altered in an upper division class and follow-on research experiences. These changes focused on foregrounding students' experiences of the uncertainties inherent in the process of coming to know. Scaffolding this process within a context of ‘healthy uncertainty’ is described. Within this context, student engagement deepened allowing for generalization of knowledge and transformative personal experiences as the links between school and everyday life became more transparent.