Deep teaching in a college STEM classroom

Cultural Studies of Science Education - The retention of underrepresented students remains a significant challenge in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) disciplines. A broad range...     

Effects of Mass and Interpersonal Communication on Breast Cancer Screening: Advancing Agenda-Setting Theory in Health Contexts

Drawing on components of agenda-setting theory and the two-step flow of information from mass media to news audiences, this study examines the effects of mass and interpersonal communication on breast cancer screening practices among college- and middle-aged women (n = 284). We theorized that screening behaviors among younger women would be influenced more by interpersonal sources of information while screening among middle-aged women would be more influenced by exposure to mass-mediated information. Findings supported anticipated patterns, revealing important and varying roles for both mass and interpersonal communication in the health behaviors of women. Implications for health practitioners and campaign planners, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed.     

Assessment in special schools: national early assessment procedures and pupils attending special schools in England

An implicit assumption that fostering inclusion means having shared systems encompassing the needs of all children is evident in many aspects of policy development over the past decade. Reflecting this, the implementation of ‘baseline assessment’ schemes (i.e. testing at around age 5 years) is a statutory requirement on all state-maintained special and mainstream schools in England since 1998. Our argument is that the enthusiasm for commonality has obscured the need to question the value and validity of baseline assessment schemes for children with special educational needs (and possibly some others such as children having English as an additional language). We illustrate this position with reference to data from our recent study on baseline assessment in England. The study encompassed survey data from a national sample of 982 schools, of which 107 were special schools. Between them, these special schools used 42 different baseline assessment schemes. Comparisons between our mainstream and special school respondents indicated that there were similarities in the nature and perceived value of the schemes used. However, special schools were less satisfied with their schemes. We suggest that a reappraisal of the nature and purpose of baseline assessment for pupils with special educational needs warrants greater critical debate. Without this, there is a danger that a stress on commonality, veiling an inclusion orthodoxy, will ultimately be counterproductive.     

Teachers' and At‐Risk Students' Stimulated Recall of Instruction

Abstract

Using the stimulated recall of instruction methodology, we interviewed teachers and students at risk for referral to special education about their perceptions, judgments, and decision making during the course of instruction. The results of the teacher interviews suggest that teachers respond to complex collections of student cues in their decision making about students. Teachers described themselves as more frequently monitoring the at‐risk students, although their attempts to modify instruction consisted primarily of attempts to motivate these students. The at‐risk students indicated awareness that they are experiencing difficulty in class, had somewhat less understanding of how teachers attempt to help them, and responded with anger and frustration to their learning problems.     

Technical Skills Required: How Technological Efficacy Influences Online Political Behavior

Rapid advances in technology have provided the potential to connect citizens to their surroundings in unprecedented ways. While many scholars examine different types of efficacy as a predictor of behavior (e.g., internal, external, and political), it is essential to examine how confident citizens feel in their ability to use the technology before understanding how they will use it politically. Research shows that perceived competence increases motivation, which is correlated with behavior. This study examined how traditional measures of efficacy and a new measure affect online political behaviors, concluding that technological efficacy is a reliable construct predicting online news use and expression.     

Using Google Forms to track library space usage

This article is a response to the excellent “Using Mobile Technology to Observe Student Study Behaviors and Track Library Space Usage” by Susan Thompson. Thompson reviews the literature regarding user counts on mobile devices and describes the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Library's evaluation of SUMA, Counter+, and CloudOn. After trialing these mobile technologies, CSUSM selected CloudOn. At New York University Abu Dhabi, we use Google Forms to conduct user counts on an iPad and Google Sheets to evaluate these data. We find that Google Forms are easy to set up, modify as necessary, and present the data in easy-to-manipulate spreadsheets.     

Different Disciplines Require Different Motivations for Student Success

This article reports an investigation of undergraduate motivation to learn. A Likert-type rating scale measure of motivation incorporated the general motivational dimensions identified by previous investigators, as well as a systematic theoretical framework that is more novel, and attempts to acknowledge the role of discipline-specific factors in motivation to learn. The motivation questionnaire was evaluated by measuring its success in explaining the academic achievement of biology, history, computing, planning, anthropology, geology, food science and nutrition, and education students (n = 380) in standard university assessments. The findings reveal that student performance is better explained by within- than across-discipline indexes of motivation, probably because some types of motivation lead to success in some disciplines but failure in others. Furthermore, items based on the theoretical framework developed to underpin the questionnaire (which distinguishes outcome from process incentives) were also found to explain more variation in student performance than general motivation items. Some practical implications of the findings are considered.     

Text-based writing in elementary classrooms: teachers’ conceptions and practice

Reading and Writing - Writing analytically about text is a valued skill reflected in current academic standards. The quality of text-based writing opportunities in U.S. elementary schools, however,...