Discourse of derision: the role of the mass media within the education policy process

It is asserted that the mass media play a significant part in the education policy process, yet this contribution has received little attention in empirical and theoretical analyses. Convergence between theoretical work on education policy and media studies in linking social institutions with the economy in the perpetuation of social inequalities, while accepting their relative autonomy, provides a starting point for incorporation of the media role in conceptualization of the education policy process. Concepts which may assist the exploration of the media role within education policy are denned, including the anthropological notion of myths. These concepts are employed in analysing a policy issue wherein the British government and the mass media framed the relevant debate as a polarization between progressive and traditional education. The analysis draws on the experience of a primary school which was portrayed in a current affairs television programme as exemplifying progressive educational practices. Topics that would benefit from further study are suggested.     

Computer-managed instruction in Naval technical training

Based on the success reported by the behaviorally oriented programmed instruction movement in the 1960s, the Navy in the late 1960s and early 1970s began to individualize and self-pace a number of their high student throughput apprentice training courses. To facilitate self-pacing the Navy set up a centralized computer-managed instruction (CMI) system to manage self-paced courses. This paper describes the evolution of that CMI system, reviews a number of studies done on the system over 10 years (many of which were published as internal technical reports with restricted distribution), describes the demise of the system, and discusses future directions of self-paced and individualized instruction.     

Books and Good Stuff: A Strategy for Building School to Home Literacy Connections

Engaging young children in literacy activities at home is one way for families to augment and enrich the home literacy setting and to participate in their child’s education at an early age (St. Pierre et al. in Dev Psychol 41(6): 953–970, 2005). Burgess et al. (Read Res Quart 4(4): 408–426, 2002) suggested that the resources families have at their disposal, the quality of literacy role models provided by parents, and the types of literacy and language activities in which parents and children engage, are all related to young children’s developing literacy and language abilities. Other studies demonstrated that even modest literacy-promoting interventions can significantly enhance a young child’s early literacy environment by increasing the frequency of parent–child book-sharing activities (Weitzman et al. in Pediatrics 113(5):1248–1253, 2004). Dever (J Early Educ Fam Rev 8(4):17–28, 2001) and Dever and Burtis (Early Child Dev Care 172(4):359–370, 2002) emphasize the use of family literacy bags for early childhood development. Developing and sharing take-home literacy bags is an exciting literacy-promoting activity that may be shared with children and families to provide support for emergent literacy. This article explores the development of the BAGS (Books and Good Stuff) take-home literacy kits and provides suggestions for content, construction, implementation, and evaluation. Sixteen current books are reviewed and recommended by theme.     

Exploring How Different Features of Animations of Sodium Chloride Dissolution Affect Students’ Explanations

Animations of molecular structure and dynamics are often used to help students understand the abstract ideas of chemistry. This qualitative study investigated how the features of two different styles of molecular-level animation affected students’ explanations of how sodium chloride dissolves in water. In small group sessions 18 college-level general chemistry students dissolved table salt in water, after which they individually viewed two animations of salt dissolution. Before and after viewing each animation the participants provided pictorial, written, and oral explanations of the process at the macroscopic and molecular levels. The students then discussed the animations as a group. An analysis of the data showed that students incorporated some of the microscopic structural and functional features from the animations into their explanations. However, oral explanations revealed that in many cases, participants who drew or wrote correct explanations did not comprehend their meanings. Students’ drawings may have reflected only what they had seen, rather than a cohesive understanding. Students’ explanations given after viewing the animations improved, but some prior misconceptions were retained and in some cases, new misconceptions appeared. Students reported that they found the animations useful in learning; however, they sometimes missed essential features when they watched the animation alone.     

The ideal speech department in the second half of the twentieth century

A nonpartisan pressure group, Common Cause seeks to play an important role in political campaigns by forcing issues upon candidates which they would otherwise avoid, by providing information to shape public opinion on special issues, and by scrutinizing compliance with laws applying to campaign activities.     

Six Leadership Models for Professional Development in Science and Mathematics

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Knowing and teaching science: the constructivist paradox

This paper addresses the parallel between the changes in students' and teachers' learning advocated by constructivist science educators. It begins with a summary of the epistemology of constructivism and uses a vignette drawn from a set of case studies to explore the impact of a constructivist science in‐service programme on an experienced and formal elementary science teacher. Judged by constructivist standards, the teacher described in the vignette makes very little progress. The irony of applying a constructivist critique to his work, however, is that it fails to treat the teachers' imperfect knowledge of teaching with the same respect as constructivists treat students' imperfect learning of science. The remainder of the paper explores this constructivist paradox, and suggests that‐like students' knowledge of science‐teachers' knowledge of constructivist science teaching is likely to grow through slow and gradual re‐formation of their established understanding of classroom theory and practice.     

The Use of Reflective Journals to Stimulate Critical Thinking in the Academic Internship

Reflective journals have been widely accepted throughout various educational disciplines for many years as a means of enhancing experiential learning practices. Reflective journals allow for students to gain a better understanding of a given experience and explore the levels of critical thinking as they work through the understanding and learning processes. Critical thinking involves the logical progression from mere knowledge and understanding to the highest levels of synthesis and evaluation. The immediate study presents findings of the analyses of a series of sequential reflective journals presented over the course of a semester-long internship experience. Findings indicate that reflective journals are shown to facilitate progression through the levels of critical thinking as identified in Bloom’s taxonomy and promote a higher level of understanding and application of theoretical concepts to practical experiential learning.