Abstract: This study investigated the extent that cooperative group members’ levels of hopefulness, operationalized as a combination of pathways to meet desired goals and the agentic thinking that motivates an individual to use those pathways, predict (a) group performance, namely, the quality of an article critique assignment and research proposal assignment, and (b) the degree that heterogeneity (i.e., variability of pathways and agency levels) is related to this outcome variable. Participants were 86 graduate students enrolled in a research methodology course. Groups (n = 28) formed the unit of analysis. A multiple regression analysis revealed that groups attaining the lowest scores on the article critique and research proposal assignments combined tended to report the lowest levels of hope, as measured by agentic thinking, and the greatest variation with respect to pathways to meet desired goals. These variables explained 20.5% of the variance in performance. This finding is placed within the context of other studies in which the predictability of group characteristics and dynamics has been examined.

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Abstract: The study investigated whether learner-centeredness is reflected in teacher performance assessment as applied in a higher education sample. A measure of teachers’ performance anchored on Danielson’s Components of Professional Practice was constructed in three parallel forms. A measure of learner-centeredness with four factors (developing positive interpersonal characteristics, encouraging personal challenge, adopting class learning needs, and facilitating the learning process) was also used. These two instruments were administered to 2,032 college students in 85 classes. Different sets of measurement models were constructed where all factors of the teacher assessment and learner-centered scale are intercorrelated in a measurement model. The measurement models were tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results showed that learner-centeredness is reflected in the three forms of the teacher assessment as indicated by their significant paths, p<.05. The four-factor model, where learner-centered is related to each form of the teacher assessment had the best fit (GFI=.94, TLI=.98, RMSEA=.06). Adequate fit was also established when learner-centeredness is related to separate domains of teacher assessment (GFI=.97, TLI=.99, RMSEA=.04). Results indicated that high performance in the constructed teacher assessment is indicative of learner-centered practices. Theoretical implications of the measurement models about assessment and the teaching-learning paradigm were also discussed.

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Abstract: The present study examined roles that perceived English fluency and sociocultural adaptation difficulty play in predicting self-efficacy beliefs for teaching in a sample of 119 international teaching assistants (ITAs) from East Asian countries of China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Results showed that a positive relationship between perceived English fluency and teaching self-efficacy was not apparent until the moderating influence of sociocultural adaptation difficulty was examined. More specifically, at high levels of adaptation difficulty, positive relations between English fluency and teaching self-efficacy were found; however, as sociocultural adaptation difficulty decreased, the effect of perceived fluency in English on efficacy decreased. Implications for ITA training as well as limitations of the study were discussed.

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Abstract: This study compares the effectiveness of two different assessment techniques; readiness assessment tests (RATs) and frequent quizzing. We report student perceptions of the impact of these techniques on the number of readings done prior to the class period, thorough reading of assignments, ability to follow class discussions, ability to participate in class, ability to prepare for exams and exam scores. We also examined student’s overall preferences for assessment technique as well as how preferences varied by learning styles. Readiness assessment tests were generally better than frequent quizzes at encouraging students to do the readings prior to class, follow class discussions, and participate in class. A majority of students preferred readiness assessment tests to frequent quizzes. However, whereas global and/or intuitive learners preferred the readiness assessment tests, sequential and/or sensing learners preferred the quizzes.

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Abstract: In the pedagogy of classroom engagement, most instructors have become vastly familiar with first day of class Get-to-Know-You exercises. While entertaining, the empirical value of these exercises is not well established. The present analysis provides a data driven study of the utility of initial engagement activities, including a generalized Get-to-Know-You exercise as well as, specifically, the on-going “Photo Roster” activity by evaluating cross sectional data. An analysis of Time One and Time Two data from 140 students builds upon previous investigations while correcting for methodological issues of past studies. We establish that students’ use of the Photo Roster Get-to-Know-You procedure results in higher levels of classmate liking, instructor liking, and classmate name recall as compared with students in the traditional Get-to-Know-You exercise group at its initial time or over time. No difference was found between groups for elements of anxiety reduction, student empowerment, or group immediacy.

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Abstract: The purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences of participants (practicing teachers) involved in an online course entitled: “Reflective Practice for Teachers.” Using a provocative pedagogy in the course, the teachers were challenged to confront beliefs and assumptions about teaching and learning and become active participants in the process rather than passive observers. The study aimed to generate a greater understanding of the perceived links between the pedagogy of the class and the learning of the teachers. A questionnaire and an online focus group were used to explore and report on teachers’ experience of learning about reflection in an online environment. The results indicated that specific pedagogies and being part of a community of learners were most significant in their understanding of self as a reflective practitioner. Some of the guiding research questions were: What learning and thinking processes were associated or attributed to the learning process? What learning and thinking processes were enabled by these experiences of pedagogies?

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Abstract: The first year of university study has a major impact on later participation and performance. Transitioning to university from school or other contexts requires first year students to become self-directed learners, entering an environment with minimal constraints and expectations of self-motivation and individual effort. In 1991, Costa named the habits of mind, suggesting that demonstration of these habits will enhance the academic success of learners. This research project aimed to identify teaching and learning strategies with potential to assist first year university students to persist at a task. Persistence is one of Costa’s (1991) habits, and it supports one of the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, recently adopted by Central Queensland University. This paper outlines data gathered from two participating tutors of first year teacher education students at a Queensland regional campus. Participant journals and individual interviews were the data sources. Analysis revealed that student persistence can be developed and enhanced through teaching and learning strategies focusing on reflection on learning, shared experiences, and positive feedback, even though different pedagogical approaches were adopted. Specifically, one tutor addressed the habit of persistence explicitly, the other did not, yet both groups of students showed evidence of having persisted at their tasks.

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Abstract: ICTs have brought benefits to business as well as to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), where an unprecedented demand for tertiary education has seen students enrolling for courses, some doing so through distance education. This has made the internet a very significant and indispensable teaching/learning, communication, and marketing tool for information dissemination for both education purposes and business transactions. The Internet possesses the propensity to change not only the way society retains and accesses knowledge but also to transform and restructure traditional models of higher education, particularly the delivery and interaction in and with course materials and associated resources. Universities have been faced with the daunting task of having to grapple with the inevitable change by re-adjusting and re-organising themselves in preparation for the incorporation of e-learning within their institutions. Institutional leaders have also been faced with the challenge of having to align their institutional objectives to meet the needs and demands of the e-learning demand. This article explores the central theme of attempts by HEIs in the South African context: to exert “attitudinal” changes in current “traditional” educational delivery practices by universities in order to fully utilize e-learning strategies for improved delivery of courses for its students.

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Abstract: Critical pedagogy has become commonplace in contemporary academe. Despite its prominence, the pedagogy continues to face relentless attacks: some scholars have dismissed the pedagogy as essentialist, populist, and unpatriotic, among other labels. The fact of the matter is that these critiques are driven by ideologically masked epistemologies. By adopting a dialectic approach, the focus of this article is to demonstrate that all approaches to literacy are political and that these attacks are anchored in paradigms antithetical to the progressive agenda of critical pedagogy.

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Abstract: This paper explores Malaysian students’ problems within their science and engineering tertiary courses in Japanese through their diary entries and semi-structured interviews. The study analyses how students implement management strategies to overcome their problems. Although many studies are available regarding students’ academic activities in a foreign language, few of those have reported upon foreign students’ academic experiences in Japanese science and engineering courses within their in-country program. The students predominantly had difficulties in writing experiment reports, understanding scientific concepts, and reading Chinese characters (kanji). Management strategies that they significantly employed to overcome their problems were peer cooperation and the use of internet resources. The paper discusses potential support that the program and the language course can provide for these students.

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Abstract: During instruction, higher education faculty should properly address matters of concern related to student performance, conduct and behavior. History is a reminder of this persistent issue. Therefore, a logical sequence of decision-making can be followed to recognize, distinguish and act upon these concerns. Applications for a flowchart tool are offered.

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Abstract: Teacher education and the teaching profession are adapting to innovative methods to ensure the professional longevity and effectiveness of those who become educators. This is particularly important because of the early, and sometimes abrupt, exit of beginning teachers from the profession. Clearly, to mitigate such early exodus from the profession, those responsible for teacher education must examine how they prepare student teachers and whether or not they are equipped to face the realities of the classroom when they enter the profession. This paper presents a modality that engages pre-professionals or student teachers in meaningful and productive field experiences that will improve student teachers’ learning. The author presents an instructional model that can be applied to prepare student teachers for more effective field experiences that will improve their learning.

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Abstract: Educators in professional degree programs are charged with multiple responsibilities in the classroom and in practice settings. We apply our professional knowledge in a variety of settings to serve our communities; we reflect on how to improve practice from our experiences in these settings; we observe our students engaging in learning experiences in the classroom; and we share with our students the knowledge we’ve gained from our experiences and our scholarship within our profession. To accomplish these actions we must serve as both teacher and learner in both classroom and field. Moreover, we want our students to also benefit from the active learning processes of applying, reflecting, sharing, and observing both in and out of the classroom while also functioning as both learners and teachers. Although we can accomplish all these goals over an entire curriculum, this article seeks to provide an example of one teacher’s attempt to achieve these goals within a single Social Work course in Death and Grief. A model is provided that demonstrates how the interactive process works for both the teacher and students in this course and could be adapted for use in other courses incorporating practice settings as part of the curricula.

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Abstract: Science instructors have long known that the use of discrepant events with unexpected outcomes is a powerful method of activating thinking. A discrepant teaching event is similar to a discrepant science event in that it vividly portrays what is often an abstract construct or concept and has an unexpected outcome. The unexpected outcome creates what Piaget (1971) refers to as disequilibrium, thereby uncovering students’ naïve conceptions and tacit beliefs about the concept being studied. This article defines what a discrepant teaching event is and compares and contrasts discrepant science events and discrepant teaching events. Examples of discrepant teaching events useful in mathematics and social studies are also provided. The article concludes with a discussion of the utilization of an “inquiry stance” to teaching as a way to address students’ misconceptions of discipline specific concepts.

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Abstract: The purpose of this article is to present a model of academic motivation that can be used by instructors to design courses that will engage students in learning. The model, based on research and theory, consists of five components that an instructor should consider when designing instruction: (1) empowerment, (2) usefulness, (3) success, (4) interest, and (5) caring. In this article, I describe the components of the model by discussing the key concepts of the components, summarizing the background research and theories that support the importance of the components, and providing questions, suggestions, and examples that instructors should consider when designing instruction. My hope is that novice, as well as experienced, instructors will find this model and the associated suggestions and examples useful as a reference tool to which they can refer when designing instruction.

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