Longitudinal evidence on the predictive validity of the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA)

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Early childhood care and education (ECCE) programs are an important mechanism for supporting foundational skill development and successful...     

Graph Magic: A Visual Graph Package for Students

This paper presents Graph Magic, a package of Java classes that represents graphs. It is specifically designed for undergraduate students to use early in their studies. It combines graph visualization with ease of programming. It allows students to implement graph algorithms using high level, easy to understand methods. Students create graphs for their programs interactively. Their programs manipulate the graphs while the students continue to view them. The emphasis on interactive editing combined with interruptible viewing provides a powerful tool for student exploration of graph concepts and algorithms.     

Internationalizing the Community College Experience

September 11, 2001 heightened the need for America to train a new generation of leaders with the ability to navigate different cultures and to succeed in the international marketplace. This paper seeks to place the community college firmly in the mix of developing such leaders through the internationalization of the community college experience. Specifically, we suggest that a focus on the 3Is— Internet (technology in the classroom); Internationalization of the curriculum (encouraging international activities in the classroom); and Interdependency (understanding of other cultures, languages, and customs)—through the illustration of case studies, will create a more educated global citizenry.     

Infant – Mother Attachment among the Dogon of Mali

This study of mothers and infants from the Dogon ethnic group of Mali, West Africa examined three attachment hypotheses: (1) that infant attachment security is linked to the quality of mother-infant communication, (2) that mothers of secure infants respond more sensitively to their infants than do mothers of insecure infants, and (3) that infant disorganization is linked to maternal frightened or frightening behaviors. Participants were 27 mother-infant pairs from a rural town and 15 mother-infant pairs from two agrarian villages; infants ranged in age from 10 to 12.5 months at the first assessment. The distribution of the Strange Situation classifications was 67% secure, 0% avoidant, 8% resistant, and 25% disorganized. Infant attachment security was significantly related to the quality of mother-infant communication as observed in a well-infant exam. The correlation between infant attachment security ratings and maternal sensitivity (assessed in the home) was modest and approached significance. Mothers of disorganized infants had significantly higher ratings of frightened or frightening behaviors. Maternal sensitivity predicted little of the variance in infant security; however, the addition of the frightened/frightening variable in the regression equation tripled the explained variance. The findings are discussed in light of Dogon childrearing practices and key tenets of attachment theory.     

The RA and TA experience: Impediments and benefits to graduate study

This study examines the growth and professional development of graduate students and compares these outcomes for students who have held assistantships and those who have not. In general, students perceive the assistantship to be a positive experience, but teaching assistants report less of a contribution to their professional development than do research assistants. Students with the without assistantship experience report the same growth in human relation and reflective thinking skills, but teaching assistants report the least growth in research skills, less even than students not having assistantships. Students with assistantships, both teaching and research, are more likely to be active within the external academic community by participating in professional societies and higher levels of scholarly productivity.This paper was prepared for presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Boston, November 1991.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF PART-TIME FACULTY COMMITMENT TO DEVELOPMENTAL ADVISING

Part-time faculty can make substantial contributions to institutions because they represent a flexible resource that allows the institution to respond more effectively to the environment. An area of concern is whether the part-time status imparts a level of commitment to teaching that undermines educational quality. This study examines one component of part-time faculty's teaching commitment by considering their efforts toward the practice of developmental advising.