Curriculum augmentation: An application and evaluation of the process

This study was designed to test the feasibility and appropriateness of curriculum augmentation, the process of further developing and strengthening available curricular materials along specified dimensions. The curriculum selected for augmentation in this study was an elementary school social studies unit entitled A House of Ancient Greece, developed in the MATCH Project of the Boston Children's Museum. Following a preliminary analysis, it was decided to augment A House of Ancient Greece by producing a modified Teacher's Guide (containing affective and cognitive learning objectives stated in terms of pupil performance expectations and suggested pupil assessment procedures), an audio tape to supplement the kit materials, and a teacher education component.In addition to briefly outlining how the augmentation of this curriculum was accomplished, the paper describes a field study which was conducted in order to assess the effectiveness of the augmentation. The data of the field study, conducted in schools in New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, support the following conclusions: (1) contrasting versions of the Guide appeared to produce no significant differences in classroom behavior, (2) the classroom performance of workshop-trained teachers appears to have been superior to those not so trained, (3) a high proportion of teachers preferred the augmented Guide over the commercial version, (4) A House of Ancient Greece showed itself to be an exceptionally fine curriculum, apparently eliciting classroom performance well above the norm, as well as great enthusiasm on the part of teachers, pupils, and parents.The research reported in this paper was conducted while the author was affiliated with the Eastern Regional Institute for Education (ERIE), located in Syracuse, N.Y., and the assistance of former ERIE Staff Associates Richard Andrulis and Charles W. Wallace in conducting the field study described herein is gratefully acknowledged.     

The effectiveness of science supervisors and their membership status within a faculty

…Teachers tend to say they find their supervision of little value. Supervisors say their work has a lot of value. Supervisors seem to be saying that they want to spend more time doing what their clients (the teachers) consider to be relatively useless.     

International Students and Transformative Learning in a Multicultural Formal Educational Context

This article reports the results of a qualitative study of 12 graduate international students’ struggles to adapt to new multicultural and academic environments. The focus is on how they dealt with diversity while struggling to succeed academically and how, although experiencing numerous disorienting dilemmas, students did not critically reflect on their meaning-making processes.     

Instructional Interventions Across the Inquiry Process

ABSTRACT

Information literacy aims to develop in students the necessary skills, knowledge, and dispositions to use information to solve problems, make decisions, and generate new knowledge. The literature is replete with examples of guiding students in accessing and evaluating information sources. Less prevalent is processing information—the heart of the inquiry. Analysis, inference, and synthesis are critical thinking skills that take information literacy beyond a bibliographic task. In this liberal arts college setting, librarians team with consultants in quantitative reasoning, writing, and presentation technologies to deliver an information literacy program that supports not only the search, but also the analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and presentation of findings and insights.     

Health Sciences Patron Preference for Library Spaces: A Multisite Observational Study

Health sciences libraries are often challenged to make decisions regarding physical space allocation without quantitative data to support specific user preferences. This multisite, longitudinal study sought to answer the following questions related to academic health sciences libraries: (1) Which library spaces are popular with health sciences patrons? (2) How does time of day and allocated seating space affect patron choices? (3) What similarities and differences occur in space usage across four different health sciences libraries? Results suggest health sciences libraries must develop a nuanced understanding of their patrons’ preferences to best serve patrons’ needs regarding space allocation. Libraries can benefit from these types of methodological studies that target specific populations, supporting more informed space allocation decision making.     

How Unequal Is the United States? Adolescents’ Images of Social Stratification

This study highlights the use of pictorial images to understand adolescents’ views on social stratification. A continuum of five visual images of social stratification were presented to a diverse sample of five hundred ninety-eight 8th–12th graders (14–18 years old). Adolescents selected which image best represented the United States (today, in 20 years, how it ought to be). Images ranged from inequitable to egalitarian. Results supported reference group and possible selves theories. Adolescents in higher status families chose a more egalitarian image for how the United States is today and how it ought to be. African Americans considered the United States today more unequal. Differences in adolescents’ commitment to an egalitarian ideal depended on their reactions to inequality and their beliefs about government responsiveness, bolstering the measure's validity.     

BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN PRESCHOOL CLASSROOMS: INSIGHTS REVEALED THROUGH SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION AND INTERVIEW

This mixed methods study examined behavior management strategies used by preschool teachers to address student noncompliance in the classroom. Specifically, the study aimed to (1) examine the methods that preschool teachers are currently using to respond to noncompliant behavior in their classrooms, (2) measure the frequency with which each strategy is used or attempted, and (3) examine the reasons that teachers have chosen to use particular strategies. Observations and teacher interviews were conducted in five classrooms across two preschools located in a Midwest state. Results revealed that teachers use a variety of strategies to address noncompliance, many of which were also preventative in nature and designed to increase students’ self‐regulation. In addition, behavior management techniques that are currently recommended by research (e.g., guided compliance and proximity praise) were generally practiced by teachers in the participating schools. However, students were reinforced for appropriate behavior following noncompliance less than one‐third of the time. These results suggest that teachers are using a broad range of recommended strategies, but the results also serve as a reminder of the importance of providing positive reinforcement for appropriate behavior following an episode of noncompliance. Additional implications for school practitioners and future research are provided.