Abstract: This study analyzes the extent to which students using web-based discussion boards show an increase in perspective-taking in structured and unstructured discussions. Messages from fifty-six students enrolled in one of two courses were content analyzed using Jarvela and Hakkinen’s (2003) expansion of Selman’s (1980) perspective-taking coding scheme. There was a significant difference in the level of perspective-taking shown across the three periods of the semester. The level of perspective-taking in structured discussions was significantly correlated with learning. Class leaders showed higher levels of perspective-taking than did other students in the class. The results suggest a relationship between use of higher order perspective-taking and learning, particularly when instructors provide structure for student discussions.

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Abstract: This article describes the development of an undergraduate interdisciplinary global citizenship program. The process of program development was guided by the core belief that students need not only information and skills, but the tools to develop their own individual citizenship in today’s world. Using document analysis, interviews with key informants and survey data from faculty involved in course development and delivery, the authors examine the challenges of construct definition, of establishing learning outcomes, and of program assessment that confronted the program developers. The article concludes with an exploration of the underlying assumption that university programs are effective means for building an engaged citizenry.

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Abstract: This study examined relationships between home-based communal activities and beliefs and student reports of various achievement correlates with 290 black and white undergraduates. MANOVA procedures examined differences in self-esteem, self-efficacy, identified motivation, motivation to know, and amotivation and scores on Home Communalism Measure subscales as a function of race and other demographic variables. No significant race differences emerged for any of the communalism or motivation subscales. Subsequent regression analyses found that reports of communalism were predictive of students’ self-efficacy, self-esteem, identified motivation, motivation to know and amotivation scores. Implications and limitations of findings are discussed.

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Abstract: This study focuses on self-efficacy, attitudes, perceived preparedness, and the knowledge of preservice teachers in the USA regarding isolated English Language Learners (ELLs) in high school classrooms. In the first study, 62 preservice teachers who were doing their student teaching completed a survey on: (a) their perceived preparation and self-efficacy regarding ELL students, (b) their attitudes towards ELL students in mainstream classrooms and their parents. They also completed an ELL knowledge test. In Study 2, several high school classrooms that included a few ELLs were observed to determine what these students experienced in a mainstream classroom and how the preservice teachers interacted with them. Four Caucasian female pre-service teachers from Study 1 were observed. Results from Study 1 showed that the sense of preparedness was verified by the performance on the knowledge test and was related to self-efficacy. The classroom observations indicated that these preservice teachers were not well prepared to teach ELL students and their mentoring teachers were not providing any guidance.

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Abstract: Special education master’s degrees are proliferating, most probably in response to the requirement for all special education teachers to be highly qualified. The aim of the study is to evaluate the 10- year Master’s Degree “Educating in Diversity” (MDED) at the University of La Laguna (ULL) and to examine the extent to which the development of diversity competencies in graduates is related to their perceptions of the overall quality of the postgraduate program. Two hundred and eight University students and 235 part-time faculty members evaluated the basic program indicators. Finally, MDED results gathered from 135 postgraduates and 707 beneficiaries indicate high levels of purpose achievement and satisfaction with the program, the faculty, and the curricular content. The framework for improvement in which the MDED is viewed as compatible with national and regional evaluation and accrediting agencies is discussed.

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Abstract: This article is based on a case study exploring the effectiveness of inquiry-based method of teaching to reduce levels of student resistance to diversity issues and increase students’ willingness to become activists. The case study draws from a one-year action research conducted in a Foundations of Education class. Data were collected through class discussions, informal interviews, reflective journals, papers, and observations. The results of the case study showed that application of the inquiry based method reduced levels of resistance and increased students’ willingness to engage in activism. The results of this case study may be meaningful not only in the field of education but also in other fields of study that are presented with student resistance.

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Abstract: Neoliberal ideologies influence both the content and pedagogical approach of educational leadership programmes. This article proposes an alternate pedagogy, one which privileges the experiential nature of the leadership and challenges students to critique prevailing ideologies within education. The authors describe the reshaping of a compulsory, foundational academic paper within a Masters of educational leadership programme to focus on the phenomenon of leadership more explicitly. They illustrate the use of student stories and hermeneutic interpretation to deepen the appreciation of the contextual nature of educational leadership practice. The authors suggest that the influence of this pedagogical approach resides in the sincerity of the pedagogical comportment of the teaching faculty and the elusiveness of the taken-for-granted nature of leadership. They conclude that pedagogical processes that maintain a centrality of concern for the humanity of leadership experiences are a matter of urgency in our present educational context.

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Abstract: Metaphors are pervasive and accessible thinking and learning machines that have the ability to disrupt and transform our patterns of thought. While much has been written about metaphor as a pedagogical tool, the potential learning opportunity that arises when students co-create metaphor within the classroom as a way to make sense and meaning of the curriculum and co-discover knowledge is not discussed. Through the example of six graduate students co-creating a metaphor of capacity-development-as-fire, this critical reflective paper describes an emergent learner-driven process involved in utilizing metaphor as a learning activity to promote deeper and long-lasting student learning and knowledge acquisition.

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Abstract: In this paper, we summarize our experiences from teaching a course in humanoid robotics at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden. We describe the robotic platform used in the course and we propose the use of a custom-built robot consisting of standard electronic and mechanical components. In our experience, by using standard components, the students obtain a deeper understanding of robotics hardware than would be possible with the use of (some) commercially available robot kits such as e.g. Boe-Bot or Lego Mindstorms. Furthermore, we propose a division between time spent on teaching the theoretical background and time spent on robot assembly and programming, which, in our view, provides the optimal balance between theory and practical work. Summarizing briefly, for a seven-week course, we propose two weeks of theoretical background lectures, followed by five weeks of practical work, in which each practical session starts with a brief theory demonstration.

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Abstract: The concept of research-led education is gaining increasing attention in higher education. However, the concept may be interpreted in different ways, some more feasible within an undergraduate curriculum than others. The approach described in this paper aims to introduce students to ways of thinking and acting like a researcher through engaging in research-like activities during lectures, tutorials, practical sessions, and assessment. This case study models an approach to research-led education that involves identifying key research skills, then designing learning activities that encourage the development of those skills, such as collecting small amounts of data in laboratories, using data analysis, and writing weekly practical exercises and reports; presenting findings to peers; interpreting and writing results and conclusions to accompany data drawn from the research literature; exploring the literature in a research field and finding gaps in the research; and producing a mock research grant application. We conclude that this approach to research-led education can be integrated into the general undergraduate curriculum with relative ease.

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Abstract: The performing arts studio is a highly complex learning setting, and assessing student outcomes relative to reliable and valid standards has presented challenges to this teaching and learning method. Building from the general international higher education literature, this article illustrates details, processes, and solutions, drawing on performance assessment and studio research literature in the field of one-to-one, or applied, music teaching. The nature of musical performance assessment will be explained as an emerging tool embedded in the pedagogical methodology research literature of the applied studio learning setting. Implications are explored and suggestions are made for other disciplines in regards to both summative and formative performance assessment strategies.

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