3,232 research outputs found
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A. Barker and F. Manji, Writing for Change â An Interactive Guide to Effective Writing, Writing for Science, Writing for Advocacy, CDâROM and Users Guide, Fahama/International Development Research Centre, Oxford, 2000. ISBN: 0â9536â9021â0, no price given. Softback (28 pages) and CDâROM
Literature-informed, one-turn action research: three cases and a commentary
Although action research is a common feature of courses of initial teacher training, the evidence as to its efficacy, in encouraging reflection among trainees, is mixed. This article discusses cases of action research assignments carried out by three trainees into their own practice in relation to a) behaviour management, b) monitoring and assessing, and c) pupil-centred education. The assignments are analysed using Bloomâs (1964) typology of thinking skills, Handal & Lauvasâ (1987) model of reflective practice, and typologies of action research by Noffke (1997) and Rearick & Feldman (1999). They are positioned as cases of âliterature-informed, one-turnâ action research; a concept which is discussed in relation to other concepts of action research
Pedagogy or pedagogues in the first year critical thinking classroom: helping students connect the global to the local by creating a sense of community, place and purpose
Assessing Career Planning Courses without using test scores: another neglected issue?
Twenty years ago, in an article entitled âAssigning Grades in Career Planning Courses: A Neglected issueâ[1], Rex Filer posed several important questions in terms of the practicalities of how we design and grade career planning courses. The challenge, he suggested, is that while teaching pedagogy often relies on Bloomâs traditional taxonomy where information and understanding act as an âanchorâ while synthesis and evaluation are goals achieved later, career course activities are naturally geared to the top of the pyramid â regardless of when the class is taught. This, he argues, poses particular issues in terms of career course objectives and outcomes.
Even a cursory examination of the literature on career course assessment may offer some insight as to why Filerâs individual instructor/student level concerns have been âneglectedâ: most of the mainstream work in this area is based on various types of exams or pre and post test scores. One of the most common tools, the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) based on Cognitive Information Processing Theory, helps researchers determine âdysfunctional thinkingâ in career problems and identify issues for specific populations as well as general âprogressâ made in the course.
While such tools are invaluable and have provided many crucial insights in terms of the value and impact of career courses, the suggestion here is that, for smaller schools and programs, there is a largely unmet need to discuss grading systems used for career courses and the assessment of career education at any given institution.
This paper will examine the course design and assessment process, including specific rubrics and tools, used by an interdisciplinary program at our small liberal arts school in a remote, rural California campus of Humboldt State University (HSU). The goal, with Filer, will be to address (another) neglected issue of how we go about creating career development interventions, design specific courses, and assess career education at the level of the individual student, instructor/course and program.
[1] Filer, Rex (1986) âAssigning Grades in Career Planning Courses: A Neglected issueâ. The Career Development Quarterly. December. Vol 35. pp. 141-147
Career Planning and Curriculum Integration: millennials on the âlostâ coast
Career preparation during college is increasingly an area of interest and concern not only for the parents, family and friends of prospective students, but administrators, politicians, and even the average taxpayer. As costs continue to rise, the âvalueâ of higher education is no longer based primarily on the goal of preparing a future generation to participate in, and to lead a democratic civil society, but on how competitive students will be in the global marketplace as a result. Humboldt State University is located approximately 300 miles north of San Francisco in a relatively isolated region known as the âlost coastâ, famous for old growth redwoods and a dramatic coastline. Over the past five years, HSU has started to take seriously the challenge of connecting the ideals of a relatively small, liberal arts school to the changing goals and aspirations of an increasingly diverse student body in the context of an ever more connected world.
This paper seeks to do two things. First, to briefly outline current questions in the field of career development with a view to better understanding how the stated goals of the millennial generation affect their ideas of âcareerâ and âsuccessâ. Second, to offer Humboldt State University as a case study by examining the way these issues have influenced the development of career education in the HSUâs College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), specifically the International Studies Program.
The argument is that while the overarching goals of millennials are not so very unusual or different from their predecessors, career education needs to adapt to meet specific needs of our students. Further, that this is best done through a strategy that combines traditional âuser activatedâ services, with intentional âscaffoldingâ designed by each college â ideally by each department or program. The objective is to offer other and/or similar institutions a framework that includes a range of approaches to embedding career education into the academic curriculum in a way that not only meets the range of needs of our students, but also connects the liberal arts education campus to the classroom of the world
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