Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration?

Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place, including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional barriers, specifically related to teachers' pedagogical beliefs, may be at work. Previous researchers have noted the influence of teachers' beliefs on classroom instruction specifically in math, reading, and science, yet little research has been done to establish a similar link to teachers' classroom uses of technology. In this article, I argue for the importance of such research and present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogial beliefs as a vital first step. After defining and describing the nature of teacher beliefs, including how they are likely to impact teachers' classroom practice I describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.     

Beyond the first year: Supporting sophomores through information literacy outreach

The sophomore year is increasingly becoming a target of retention efforts, as universities and colleges realize that nearly as much attrition occurs between the sophomore and junior years as between the first and sophomore years. As a result, there is an opportunity for libraries to reach out to and target second-year students. This article presents a case study of a sophomore outreach program at the University of Puget Sound focused on citation management software. Our results suggest that libraries should pursue outreach targeting the sophomore population.     

Examination of Research Theses

The examination of postgraduate research theses is of vital importance to academic institutions as well as to students. This paper reviews examination procedures at one university, summarising examiners’ comments on 58 theses. A number of questions regarding examiner anonymity, alternatives to the traditional doctoral dissertation, and most importantly, the criteria for the award of degrees are raised. Although great care is taken in choosing examiners, the criteria they are expected to employ are inadequate. Rates of progress of research students in different degree programs suggest that some students may well lack adequate information about the extent of their task as postgraduates.     

First the look and then the sound: Creating conversations at circle time

Becoming a student means learning to interpret and construct the multiple demands for interaction in distinctive classroom events. For an increasing number of children, the preschool provides the setting for the first encounter with these complex and dynamic classroom communicative environments. This article presents an interactional analysis of preschool circle time from an ethnographic perspective. The social participation structure for conducting these events is uncovered using Green's conversational mapping system. Findings suggest that the rules and guidelines, expectations, and roles within the event change over time. The focus of learning within the event, evident in social action rules (Erickson, 1982, Philips, 1972), shifts from the formation of the circle itself to actual collaborative conversation. This shift is interpreted in terms of the children's developing competencies for participating in group conversation. In a final section, a potential peer culture dimension to this event is proposed.     

Faculty perceptions of job rewards and instructional development activities

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of faculty at a large urban university concerning: (a) personal and college rewards for various areas of job responsibilities, and (b) which programs and incentives to enhance teaching effectiveness would be most attractive to them. Faculty generally reported both teaching and scholarly activity to be personally rewarding, but perceived discrepancies between personal and college rewards for teaching, and between college rewards for teaching and scholarly activity. Although a wide range of instructional development programs and incentives was endorsed, the top rated options referred to institutional recognition of teaching excellence.The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the following persons with this project: Nellie Bess, Gilbert Braun, Donald Brewer, Eileen Duffy-Blair, Gary Duncan, Daniel Funk, James West, Cheryl White.     

American college students' perceptions of counsellor approachability: Professional implications

The Repertory Grid technique was used to explore differences in the way in which freshers and postgraduate counselling students perceived the roles of counsellor and friend. Postgraduates viewed counsellors as more approachable than other students, while freshers viewed other students as more approachable than counsellors. The constructs identified by the students were content-analyzed to define approachability for each group. The perceptions held by students were used to address implications for the provision of outreach services, role-induction programmes, and the status of the counsellor as the professional.Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, New Mexico State UniversityFor information contact Peggy Kaczmarek, Ph.D., New Mexico State University, Box 3CEP, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003, United States.     

拥有一切

《山海经》中有个典故,讲的是一条小蛇想要把大象吃掉。"人心不足蛇吞象"就出自这个典故,比喻人贪心不足,就像蛇想要吞食大象一样。人的欲望是无止境的,活在欲望中的人通常都会迷失自己,越想拥有一切,越害怕失去一切,越觉得一切都不属于自己,于是最后连简单的快乐都找不到。想要拥有一切(包括快乐)的方法很简单,那就是从内心里放下想要占有一切的欲望,让内心深处的力量使自己成熟和成功。     

EMPLOYED CAREGIVERS: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ISSUE FOR GERONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION

The importance of the employed caregiver in the maintenance of functional independence has only recently begun to be recognized. The demographic changes that will shape the next few decades will require a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding caregiving than is currently available in the curricula of existing gerontology programs. By incorporating course offerings aimed specifically at the caregiver role, gerontological education could extend its influence into the business community and attract students from a wide variety of other disciplines. Providing future corporate executives with a basic gerontological education could broaden the scope of gerontology and, ultimately, improve the quality of the lives of older care receivers.