Teacher self-report on learner engagement strategies in the early years classroom

Effective engagement of young children in the classroom is a critical step toward achieving positive learning outcomes. The Learning and Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ) was developed by the first two authors to identify ways in which teachers strive to engage learners in the classroom. In this study, the factor structure of the LEQ is examined. Participants were 274 teachers of children in their first 3 years of formal schooling. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and supported a five factor solution: Goal Directed Learning; Task Selection; Teacher Responsiveness; Intensive Teaching; and Planning the Learning Environment.     

Report on the CSEET '99 Workshop: “Establishing a Distance Education Program”

The objectives of the workshop were to examine five particular aspects relevant to software engineering distance education: how to turn existing courses into distance mode, the implications of cultural issues in establishing the program and in the delivery of material, how to ensure the quality of courses, how to ensure comparability of experience for students, and the range of delivery mechanisms which have been tried and assessed. The two-staged operation and results of the workshop are reported. Initial position statements are detailed and the analysis from five separate subgroups that addressed a case study as stage one of the process is presented. The second stage, of different subgroups addressing the four operational scenarios, is described and the feedback obtained from these groups is then presented. Finally a summary of the major work-shop findings is given, along with some overall conclusions.     

Conversation as a key to the understanding of human nature∗

Using the transactionist perspective in our communication with others involves constructing those others with whom we communicate. An exercise called “Reflections” focuses on the inferences, assumptions, and guesses we make as we select from the cues others give off — cues necessary for the process of determining our definition of them. Useful in secondary, community college and college classrooms, “Reflections” can serve as a valuable, interesting, and unique classroom experience. This essay discusses the implementation and the outcome of the exercise as well as some of the reactions students have to it.     

Effects of performance visualization on employment interviews

Two studies were undertaken to assess the value of exposing people to performance visualization in order to help them cope with communication apprehension (CA) in employment interviews. The first study, which took place in a laboratory, employed a pre/post‐test experimental design. Seniors who were preparing to enter the job market took part in mock interviews, completed a state communication apprehension (CA) measure, a trait CA measure, and a scale designed to measure negative thinking. Participants were then assigned to performance visualization, placebo, or control conditions. After exposure to the requisite treatment, they participated in another mock interview and completed the same battery of measures. The second study took place in the field. In this study, participants, who were about to undergo a screening interview for a job, completed state and trait CA measures, were exposed to performance visualization, and completed the state and trait CA measures the second time. These studies indicated that exposure to performance visualization related negatively to CA and negative thoughts, as well as positively to being offered a job. It showed no relationship to being asked back for a second interview. The implications of these findings are discussed in the conclusion of this report.     

O. W. H.—Conversationalist extraordinary

For two decades, Basil Bernstein has been a major contributor to the literature on language and society. A framework is presented/or casting Bernstein's work at a level of abstraction appropriate for assessing communicative competence. The concepts of cultural matrix, primary social experience, and role and situation repertoires are central to this framework, it is argued that analysis of four role constellations and four aspects important to social role formation are a good basis from which to describe and explain any person's range of communicative competencies. Research strategies for investigating communicative competence are suggested.     

Enhancing the Student Experiment Experience: Visible Scientific Inquiry Through a Virtual Chemistry Laboratory

Practical work is often noted as a core reason many students take on science in secondary schools (high schools). However, there are inherent difficulties associated with classroom practical work that militate against scientific inquiry, an approach espoused by many science educators. The use of interactive simulations to facilitate student inquiry has emerged as a complement to practical work. This study presents case studies of four science teachers using a virtual chemistry laboratory (VCL) with their students in an explicitly guided inquiry manner. Research tools included the use of the Inquiry Science Implementation Scale in a ‘talk-aloud’ manner, Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol for video observations, and teacher interviews. The findings suggest key aspects of practical work that hinder teachers in adequately supporting inquiry and highlight where a VCL can overcome many of these difficulties. The findings also indicate considerations in using the VCL in its own right.