The public schools as a work environment

This study examined the perceptions of elementary and secondary school teachers, and school board members, of the school as a work environment. The Work Environment Preferencess Scale, an instrument based on Weber's components of bureaucratic organizations, was administered to all the teachers and board members of a small Maine school district. Board members, then secondary teachers, preferred bureaucratic organization and principles. Implications for education are discussed.     

Teaching for deeper political learning: a design experiment

Is in-depth political learning possible in college-preparatory courses known for curricular breadth at an accelerated pace plus a high-stakes exam? A multidisciplinary research team conducted design-based implementation research (DBIR) for seven years across three school systems for the purpose of achieving deeper learning in an ‘advanced’ high school government and politics course. This article reports findings from the final year of research and development. The design centres on cyclical learning, projects (simulated political processes) and strategic use of texts as resources for learning the curriculum. Quantitative analysis shows comparable achievement to students in traditional classrooms on the high-stakes summative assessment despite the dramatic departure from test-prep instruction. Qualitative analyses focus on two of the design elements: learning from simulations and learning from text. The first allowed students to ‘experience’ political beliefs, institutions, and conflict, although simulated; the second required students to learn subject matter not only from simulations and teacher lectures but from texts, too. The discussion shows how these two in combination with cyclical learning required skilful attention to content selection. We conclude that when deeper learning is the goal, content selection cannot be elided or presumed, particularly with respect to the articulation of depth and breadth in curriculum and instruction.     

“If We Lose Their Language We Lose Our History”: Knowledge and Disposition in Māori Language Acquisition Policy

Localising knowledge and dispositions helps to predict the likely success of top-down language policies. In so far as language acquisition is a pillar of language revitalisation policy, then community perspectives on learning a minority language deserve attention. This article presents the knowledge, dispositions, and ideas of around 1,300 indigenous and non-indigenous university students in New Zealand about learning te reo Māori as public policy. The article analyses the students’ level of agreement to a series of propositions about language acquisition policy, and the epistemic and dispositional stances they took in their free-text commentary to describe the rationale for learning te reo Māori, how and where acquisition occurs, who should learn the language and to what extent, what policy should deliver, and what policy changes are needed. The article concludes that the knowledge and dispositions of the students are at odds with government policy and traditional tenets of language revitalisation theory.     

Limiting Answer Review and Change on Computerized Adaptive Vocabulary Tests: Psychometric and Attitudinal Results

Previous simulation studies of computerized adaptive tests (CATs) have revealed that the validity and precision of proficiency estimates can be maintained when review opportunities are limited to items within successive blocks. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CATs with such restricted review options in a live testing setting. Vocabulary CATs were compared under four conditions: (a) no item review allowed, (b) review allowed only within successive 5-item blocks, (c) review allowed only within successive lO-item blocks, and (d) review allowed only after answering all 40 items. Results revealed no trust-worthy differences among conditions in vocabulary proficiency estimates, measurement error, or testing time. Within each review condition, ability estimates and number correct scores increased slightly after review, more answers were changed from wrong to right than from right to wrong, most examinees who changed answers improved proficiency estimates by doing so, and nearly all examinees indicated that they had an adequate opportunity to review their previous answers. These results suggest that restricting review opportunities on CATs may provide a viable way to satisfy examinee desires, maintain validity and measurement precision, and keep testing time at acceptable levels.     

A theoretical framework for studying educational media: A pilot study

Are different media equally effective for a given learning task when each presents the same event of instruction? Are given instructional materials equally effective for different types of learning outcomes? This pilot study used three types of stimulus materials—text, film, and live demonstration—to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation to graduate students. Learning outcomes measured were verbal learning and a motor skill task.     

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers in Multinational, Multi-Campus Scientific and Mathematical Inquiry

Pre-service teachers from Texas and Indiana in the United States and from Queensland, Australia, observed the Moon for a semester and compared and contrasted their findings in asynchronous Internet discussion groups. The 188 pre-service teachers were required to conduct inquiry investigations for their methods coursework which included an initial Moon observation assignment, an Internet Moon discussion, and a final project. The Moon context was chosen for its motivating capability, its inherent interdisciplinary makeup, its inclusion in the National Science Education Standards, and its ability to be viewed worldwide. This study was of a mixed method research design and involved pre-service teachers’ journals, summative reflections, Internet discussions, final projects, and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI). Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted through the exploration of patterns and themes that illustrated pre-service teachers’ conceptual development, and the LPCI was administered as a pre/post assessment. We found that our project led to increased knowledge concerning the mathematics and science involved with understanding the Moon and its phases. We also found that it was beneficial to have Internet discussions with pre-service teachers from around the world, but it was not without its problems (e.g., coordinating schedules and lack of participation by some participants). We discovered that pre-service teachers’ exposure to the new uses of technology for teaching and learning did not necessarily translate to their planning to adopt similar techniques in their own classrooms.     

Humor Works in Funny Ways: Examining Satirical Tone as a Key Determinant in Political Humor Message Processing

This multi-experiment study builds upon extant political entertainment theory, testing whether satire type (horatian versus juvenalian) cues varying processing mechanisms (message discounting versus resource allocation), and if consequential differences to argument scrutiny levels or message persuasiveness result. Using novel stimuli (e.g., animated cartoons, study one) and real-world late-night political satire (The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, study two), results suggest that satire type was a key antecedent in political humor message processing. Additionally, the varying mechanisms had differential effects on political argument scrutiny levels and message persuasiveness.