Abstract: Why do science education programs target particular preservice teacher year levels? Using a 35-item survey, responses from 127 second-year preservice teachers were compared with 164 third-year preservice teachers from the same university within the same year entering the same science education course. The survey, which was linked to the course outcomes and multiple indicators, measured the preservice teachers? perceptions of their prior knowledge before involvement in a primary science education course. Examining the differences between the two cohorts (i.e., n=127 and n=164), results indicated statistically significant t-test scores for each of the four constructs (i.e., Theory [t=6.07], Children?s Development [t=7.85], Planning [t=10.31], Implementation [t=11.10]; p<.001) in favor of the third-year cohort. It is argued that each and every cohort of preservice teachers will have different levels of prior knowledge for learning how to teach primary science, hence, a needs analysis can provide evidence for targeting specific and collective needs of course participants. Further research is required for articulating a theoretical rationale for targeting particular cohorts in primary science education.

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Abstract: The offering of a graduate-level seminar at a major, public, North American university on the spiritual and moral dimensions of educational leadership provided the authors the unique opportunity to research the connections between higher education and spirituality, to determine the extent to which spiritual transformation might be possible within a secular institution. The study?s 17 student seminar members were challenged, through reframing exercises and case studies, to enter empathetically into the inner life of colleagues, their own students, supervisors and supervisees in order to experience a shift in consciousness, from the egocentric to the compassionate. Employing participant observation, interviews and term assignment analysis the researchers were able to document and account for significant incidents of personal and spiritual transformation, lying along a continuum from the epochal to the incremental (Mezirow & Associates, 2000). The data, then, lend themselves to the conclusion that spiritual transformation might not be incompatible with higher education?s traditional role of knowledge and skill transfer.

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Abstract: This paper will reflect on the pedagogical challenges facing French Business Schools in the implementation of e-learning initiatives. I will show that the top French Business Schools are not the main providers of e-learning in business education, as the task is mainly assigned to private companies or government-subsidized organizations. Some fragmented e-learning initiatives do exist but the usefulness of this technology to enhance the learning and teaching experience is often overlooked in a drive to provide e-learning at all costs. I will argue that e-learning development should be grounded in a comprehensive pedagogical framework. The various challenges facing educators will be analyzed, such as their epistemological beliefs, their roles as teachers, their ability to create a community of inquiry, and their ability to choose pertinent knowledge. In order to put learning on the agenda in French higher education and help the educator understand how students learn, a more detailed understanding of the generational characteristics of student cohorts, their epistemological beliefs and conceptions of learning, as well as their learning styles and preferences is advocated.

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Abstract: This paper examines some of the dominant discourses related to poverty and education such as those offered by the prominent political ideologies, those presented by educators who write about poverty, those embedded in popular culture, and those surrounding current teacher education curricula. Furthermore, this study evaluates the impact these discourses have on teacher education students, and ultimately on the students they engage. The results of a 15 item survey, distributed to teacher education students at a Midwest university, reveal their perceptions on poverty and offer many potential departure points for educators to consider. Additionally, this paper analyzes the implications of the data for teacher education curricula. The results of the study revealed that teacher education students employ conventional discourses and idioms in their understanding of poverty. The study makes clear that to adequately deal with issues of poverty in their classrooms, teacher education students need to be conversant with the multiple discourses of poverty and require opportunities to develop empathetic responses to poverty and learn to think about poverty from multiple points of view. Additionally, teachers need to learn a range of strategies that will shatter their assumptions about poverty and in turn prepare them to respond in a variety of ways.

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Abstract: In recent years, conceptions of teaching held by academic staff have achieved an increased focus in the scholarly and practical work of teaching developers. Views on the impact of conceptions of teaching on improving university teaching, as well as their significance in doing so, vary from those that advocate changing conceptions as a necessary first step in the process of improvement to more recent views that characterize conceptions of teaching as merely artifacts of reflection on teaching. This paper explores this range of views, raises a number of questions about the current accepted views on the importance of conceptions of teaching development work, and challenges the current accepted wisdom in this important area.

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Abstract: This paper reports on an investigation into the changes in students? attitudes towards learning English in a Malaysian college. The main focus of the study is to investigate the changes in attitudes towards learning English during the critical transition period from secondary school, where the medium of instruction is Malay, to college, where the medium of instruction is in English. Other factors like classroom and school environment, teaching methodologies, and the influence of home background were also considered. A sample of 100 students enrolled in a first level English course during their first semester in a Malaysian college was used for the study. Data were collected using students? weekly journals and interviews of students. Analysis of the data was done qualitatively using an interpretive approach. The findings revealed that there were differences in students? perceptions of and attitudes towards learning English in secondary school and college. Students? attitudes seemed more positive in college and they perceived the college social and classroom environment to be more conducive for learning English. The implications from the study suggest that the school social environment and the family background influence students? attitudes towards learning English.

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Abstract: With businesses struggling for resources during economic downturns, traditional business student internships were becoming more difficult to develop. One business school extended its experiential learning opportunities with specific management projects in community small business, healthcare, education, and non-profit organizations. The on-campus service learning center provided project development, logistical support, and assessment for forty-five business students to participate in 38 on-site, Human Resource Management projects. Means and standard deviations for self-report, end-of-semester surveys were determined for six Likert-scale items that measured the students? satisfaction with the project experience, and percentages were calculated of students who indicated specific personal and intellectual benefits derived from the projects. Most students reported favorable experiences with these non-traditional learning sites. Student projects developed management career choice information through the on-site application of their practitioner skills. They also benefited from their classroom reflections and interactions in sharing their problems, insights, and outcomes among their classmates. Students indicated they felt increased self-confidence, more comfortable about entering the working world, and more awareness of the linkages between the business and community service worlds. Through service learning, students gained experience in leadership, scholarship, and citizenship to become better members of their communities despite an economic downturn.

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Abstract: With increasing interest in online education, instructors must have a repertoire of tools available to promote the critical thinking skills of their students. This paper will present the case method as one pedagogical approach for teaching online courses. Example cases are provided. Pedagogical approaches to working with new and seasoned online students are addressed. Further, the benefits of using the case method to promote learning in the virtual classroom are explained. The case studies presented for online classes present concrete situations that can be used to stimulate analysis, requiring students to project how they might respond to a set of circumstances. Case studies promote Socratic dialogue and higher order thinking skills. Further, the case method can be a good vehicle for stimulating students? thought about step-by-step planning.

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Abstract: One of the challenges of asynchronous online discussions is soliciting student responses that involve critical thinking. Too often students answer one another with "I agree" or "That's what I think" and the discussion dead ends. By providing students with models of good questioning techniques instructors will see the class discussion take on new depth. This article provides online course facilitators with an approach to questioning that can deepen student interactions in asynchronous discussions.

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