Expanding Democracy in Classrooms: History Teacher Candidates\u27 Perceptions of Student Feedback as a Democratic Teaching Practice

This study examines the perceptions of middle and high school history teacher candidates about the use of student feedback as a democratic teaching practice. It explores preservice teachers\u27 responses when asking students to comment about the use of interactive, student-centered teaching. In a collaborative action research approach, qualitative research methodologies were used to document experiences of candidates as they designed and implemented student surveys in classes and responded to what students said. Participants included 14 history teacher license candidates at a public university in the Northeast United States who were completing their pre-practicum and student teaching field experiences in history and social studies classrooms in public middle and high schools during the 2013-2014 school year. Data was drawn from field notes, focus group discussions, papers, and online responses written by history teacher candidates as part of required teacher license courses. Based on themes generated from participant data, student feedback holds promise as a democratic teaching method in history classrooms. As candidates integrated democratic feedback in classes, their attitudes and behaviors changed from being reluctant inquirers to active solicitors. They became eager to learn what students had to say and prepared to make changes to curriculum content and instructional practices based on feedback. Some candidates acknowledged that asking students for feedback had transformed the culture of their classrooms and broadened their daily practice as a teacher. This study has implications for improving the preparation of new history teachers at every grade level, redefining the traditional supervision model in which student teachers receive feedback from university program supervisors but not from students. This study demonstrates ways to engage K-12 students as learning partners in history education. Student feedback reinforces and encourages future teachers\u27 engagement with continual reflective practice in their teaching. The implementation of the feedback as a part of reflective practice offers an alternative to the use of student surveys for teacher evaluation purposes

Managing novelty at the interfaces between concept and product : case studies for the automotive industry

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-88).Appearance of the product is a discerning factor for the consumers purchase decisions. Time from concept to product creation is a critical factor in the competitive automotive industry. The period to develop a product is dependant on the people, content and the technology changes that constitute a large majority of expense allocation, and time invested. The greater the degree of change from something established and successful, the more difficult it becomes to incorporate the change into a product. Being successive in the automotive industry relies on the ability to maintain market presence with new and innovative products, while shortening the cycle time associated with new product design, development, and its introduction. Increasing capability to manage changes becomes more challenging as product complexity and customer demands increase and product life cycles decrease. How automotive manufacturers manage these changes during the critical product definition phase through process, tools and methods is the central discussion of this paper. The intent of this thesis is to identify the processes and key enablers that allow a rapid development process for appearance related systems, in particular the interior environment of the vehicle. Five cases that effect the interior trim environment will be reviewed to understand the methods, which allow the migration of novelty. Situations that will be studied will be introductions to aspects of: new technology, strategies, and the impact of late additions. To compare and contrast the degree of change occurring in these cases, a framework is essential to identify novelty. The ability and skills which an organization can perform changes is defined as organizational capability. This term(cont.) describes how people within the organization manage to perform work. Specific case studies will be analyzed--reviewing the novelty introduced to the program, the organizational capability utilized, and the artifacts and processes employed to develop a final product within the division of the Sport Utility Vehicle Body on Frame, of Ford Motor Company, and contrasting comparisons to similar areas within Nissan Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation. Through these cases different types of novelty are revealed and its impact upon the interior trim system. It is argued that allotting more time in the preparation and early planning stages will reconcile problems that may arise later on. The approaches that these departments use: formal, informal meetings, conference calls, and written communication to manage novelty will be reviewed and compared in order to provide recommendations for improvement.by Lara Daniv Zarewych.S.M

Educating teachers in an integrated arts curriculum : a rationale and pilot study

The major purpose of this study was to develop a rationale for a teacher training program and design a curriculum for student teachers compatible with a specific school curriculum. The study was designed to provide experiential learning in a context analogous to a classroom situation so student teachers could learn as they expect their students to learn. An assumption was made that teachers who experience self-directed learning will be more likely to integrate the insights gained from their own learning into their classroom teaching. The investigation was made to examine issues and gain insight into some of the problems and practices common in teacher education programs. The sample of subjects consisted of twelve student teachers beginning their final semester of professional block courses culminating in practice teaching. All of the subjects were assigned randomly to the writer as student teacher advisees. A workshop format was designed and adopted in place of the traditional student teaching seminar. The curriculum was designed on the basis of research into the ideas of Dewey, Piaget, Hunt, and others whose educational philosophies accept education as a cognitive-developmental ideology. This program was an attempt to make optimal use of interaction processes to make the cognitive and affective modes of assimilating and responding to experiences mutually supportive

The role of organizational culture in creating secure and resilient supply chains

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and, (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-95).This thesis aims to understand the role that organizational culture plays in creating secure and resilient supply chains. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the government's subsequent response, propelled supply chain security and resilience to the forefront of industry's concerns. Public-private partnerships such as the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) have capitalized upon these concerns and created incentives for industry to address supply chain security and resilience both internally and with their external partners. The thesis studies how companies manage supply chain security and resilience, and specifically the role that organizational culture plays in instilling their importance into the organization. Senior security executives at twenty-three companies across a variety of industries were interviewed. Companies were selected based on information previously known about their high performance in the supply chain security and resilience arenas. Interviewees were questioned about their company's security and business continuity programs, and how they relate to the company's overall corporate culture. Schein's organizational culture framework was used to analyze observations on three levels: artifacts, espoused values, and basic underlying assumptions. Each level of culture is summarized, and key success factors for creating a supply chain security culture are proposed. Before implementing these key success factors, it is recommended that companies understand the supply chain security context, specifically the need for supply chain security, the primary drivers behind supply chain security, and the overall corporate culture.(cont.) The high performance of the companies included in this study suggest that implementation of the proposed key success factors, in alignment with a company's supply chain security objectives and corporate culture, should increase supply chain security and resilience performance throughout the company.by Abby Sophia Benson.M.Eng.S.M

Re-using listed buildings through conversion: a process mapping approach.

Re-use is the fundamental means of sustaining and thus conserving modest architectural heritage (Grade II listed buildings). Currently, it remains a marginal activity within property development as the direct agents perceive the re-use process to be more complex, construction and project costs to be higher, and the project duration to be longer than new built projects. As a result, the risk of vacancy and obsolescence in architectural heritage Increases. The author asserts that understanding the actual dynamics of the process, and identifying the factors that increase the chances of overcoming challenges associated with re-use, and thus achieving a successful outcome, would be Instrumental In firstly evaluating the validity of the above perceptions, which are widely published in the related literature, and then proposing a 'good practice re-use process' that can be adopted to similar projects. Hence, agents would become equipped with the know-how of carrying out re-use projects. Eventually, re-use would move towards the centre of the property development domain, and subsequently our capacity for sustaining architectural heritage would have increased. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the process of re-using listed buidings. It adopts a process mapping approach m a case study context. The development processes of three re-use projects in London are mapped. The process mapping approach adopted is novel to the property development sector. Its novelty lies in two areas. Firstly, it maps the actual processes instead of proposing a normative process protocol. Secondly, it devises a methodological approach, which is both flexible enough to allow data 'speak for itself, and systematic enough to allow for rigorous and consistent analysis of rich and extensive qualitative data. (Comparative analysis of the maps follow process mapping. Here, the aim is to assess process performances and project outcomes. Then a 'good practice guide for re-use process' is proposed. This is based on the findings of the comparative analysis. The research has shown that the re-use process is complex, but is still possible to achieve success if the development team is competent in managing complexity, flexible and responsive, and adopts a holistic project perspective. Even if the development teams do not have these attributes, they can successfully complete a re-use project if the market is buoyant. The buoyancy of the market can thus counter-balance the direct agents' reluctance to get involved and increase the opportunities of re-using listed buildings. The challenge is to establish and sustain the attributes the development team needs to possess to achieve success in the development/construction industry where short-termism still overrides. Until this is achieved, re- - use is likely to continue to be a marginal activity dominated by a small number of development teams with expertise in the field at locations and times of market depression

Prospects of Cooperation in the Eastern Nile Basin : The case of Experimental Game Application

Tensions over the use of Nile waters have recently increased and no comprehensive agreement till date acceptable to all Eastern Nile Basin riparian countries exists. After years of escalating tensions between upstream and downstream countries of the Nile basin, mainly because of Ethiopia's construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a sense of mistrust hangs over the dam's ultimate use. Preventing transboundary water conflicts cannot be realized without forming adequate cooperation in managing shared waters which through robust and equitable structures and institutions. Since conflict resolution is a political process to make decisions after a lengthy procedure of negotiations, cooperation at transboundary level needs much time, patience and persistence to have ampler chances to succeed if the drivers and interests of the riparian states are identified, quantified and shared with the help of diplomatic mechanisms. The nature of cooperative decision-making at the transboundary water scale is regarded as a complex system composed which cannot be forgone without diplomacy among parties to facilitate understanding of actors' interests by creating a transparent and confident environment. This study developed a series of laboratory game experiment as an approach to examine the impact of a set of incentivized compensation options to promote cooperation through trust building, reduction of decision makers' uncertainties and simplification of complexities. To test whether individuals have the ability to signal the economic gains expansion as a motive for cooperation, this study reports a laboratory game experiment in the form of non-binding, 3-player, trust games. Payoff schemes are calculated and provided using real-world data for the case of the Eastern Nile Basin under four different allocation scenarios. The analysis of exploring cooperation probability under each scenario aims to identify the likelihood of the "win for all" decisions, which could not be reached with the unilateral behavior of states, but through a stable integrative and collaborative framework. The results of the experimental games indicate that cooperation is indeed hard to establish in a strategic environment with a sense of uncertainty for the future, but it is still attainable. Since cooperation is mostly conditional, as long as a set of preconditions are available and certain ranges of incentives are ensured, cooperation continues. The result of the study demonstrates that basin-wide security requires regional cooperation while cooperative decision-making takes place in a transparent environment with a variety of compensation options, institutional reforms, and incentive-compatible considerations. In the end, key conclusions prove that sustained and open communication and information sharing can lead to collective actions. In order to establish joint decision-making for cooperation over the shared waters, recognition of all sorts of benefits cooperation brings in a short and long run, and fair distribution of those benefits among the riparian countries play a crucial role.Die durch die Verwendung von Nil-Gewässern ausgelösten Spannung erhöhen sich seit geraumer Zeit und nach wie vor wurde noch keine umfassende Vereinbarung getroffen, welche akzeptable Lösungsansätze für alle Staaten am östlichen Nilufer darstellt. Nach Jahren der immer wieder eskalierenden Spannungen zwischen Downstream- und Upstream-Länder im Nilbecken, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Äthiopiens Bau des Grand Äthiopien Renaissance Dam (GERD), schwebt ein Gefühl von Misstrauen über dem Damm und Nutzung. Da die Konfliktlösung einen politischen Prozess darstellt, mit Entscheidungen die nach langwierigen Verhandlungsverfahren getroffen werden, braucht die Zusammenarbeit auf grenzüberschreitender Ebene, viel Zeit, Geduld und Beharrlichkeit, sofern Entscheidungsgrundlagen und Interessen der Uferstaaten mittels diplomatischer Mechanismen bekannt und quantifiziert wurden, um letztlich eine höhere Chance auf Erfolg zu realisieren/erhalten/haben/in Aussicht zu haben. Das Wesen der kooperativen Entscheidungsfindung in einem grenzüberschreitenden Wassersystem wird als ein komplexes Netzwerksystem betrachtet, welches nicht auf Diplomatie unter/zwischen den Parteien verzichten kann, um folglich das Verständnis von Interessen, durch Schaffung eines transparenten und zuversichtlichen Umfeldes, zu erleichtern. Diese Studie trägt dazu bei, eine Reihe von Laborspiel- Experimenten zu entwickeln, welche eine Reihe von Anreizkompensationsoptionen untersuchen, die die Kooperation durch Vertrauensbildung, also der Minderung der Zweifel Entscheidungsträger und die Vereinfachung der Komplexität fördern. Um zu testen, ob Einzelpersonen fähig sind, ihre Bereitschaft zur Zusammenarbeit zu signalisieren, wodurch sie ihre ökonomischen Gewinne erhöhen könnten, zeigt die Studie eine Reihe von experimentellen Laboratorien in Form von unverbindlichen, 3-Spieler, Vertrauensspielen. Die Analyse der Kooperationswahrscheinlichkeitserforschung jedes Szenarios zielt darauf ab, die Wahrscheinlichkeit der "win for all" -Situation zu identifizieren, die zwar nicht mit dem einseitigen Verhalten der Staaten erreichbar ist, jedoch durch einen stabilen, integrativen und kooperativen Rahmen bewerkstelligt werden kann. Die Ergebnisse des experimentellen Spiels zeigten, dass obwohl Zusammenarbeit in strategischen Umfeldern mit ungewisser Zukunft schwierig zu implementieren ist, dennoch, sofern Vorbedingungen zur Verfügung stehen, machbar ist. Da die Kooperation meist unter Vorbehalt ist, schreitet die Zusammenarbeit nur voran, solange eine Reihe von Voraussetzungen gegeben ist und bestimmte Anreizbereiche sichergestellt sind. Das Ergebnis der Studie zeigt, dass ein Becken weite Effizienz, eine regionale Kooperation erfordert und eine kooperative Entscheidungsfindung in einem transparenten Umfeld unter einer Vielzahl von Ausgleichsoptionen, institutionellen Veränderungen und anreizkompatiblen Überlegungen, möglich ist. Die Schlussfolgerungen sind letztlich, dass eine nachhaltige und offene Kommunikation zur Zusammenarbeit führen und eine kooperative Entscheidungsfindung schaffen kann. Das Verständnis für den wirtschaftlichen Nutzen durch die Zusammenarbeit, die Kooperationsbereitschaft und die Vertrauenswürdigkeit der Entscheidungsträger stellen die zentralen Problemfelder dar