Curriculum Materials as a Professional Development Tool: How a Mathematics Textbook Affected Two Teachers\u27 Learning

This study reports on 2 upper-elementary teachers\u27 learning through their use of potentially educative mathematics curriculum materials without additional professional development. 41 observations of the teachers\u27 mathematics lessons and 28 interviews of the teachers were collected from October to May of an academic year. The case study analyses indicated that curriculum materials can be an effective professional development tool, but perhaps not for all teachers. 1 teacher\u27s instructional focus and rationale for instructional practices remained stable throughout the school year, whereas the other\u27s changed dramatically. The cases illustrated the teachers\u27 dynamic and divergent nature of opportunities to learn through reading materials and enacting lessons. Findings also indicated that consideration of the interaction between beliefs integral to teachers\u27 identity and those that are targets for change may illuminate responses to potentially educative curriculum materials. Teacher learning is widely acknowledged as critical to educational reforms. Although textbooks and other curriculum materials are ubiquitous in American schools (Woodward & Elliot, 1990), researchers are just beginning to investigate the contributions of curriculum materials designed to support teacher learning (Remillard, 2000; Schneider & Krajcik, 2000). The purpose of this article is to report a study of two elementary teachers\u27 use of and learning from curriculum materials designed to support teacher learning in addition to providing a sequence of mathematics lessons for students

Using Motivational Theory with At-Risk Children

Rawsonville Elementary is a neighborhood school near Detroit, where the automotive industry is the major employer. Recent layoffs have affected many families in the area, and more than half of the school\u27s 480 students receive reduced or free lunch. Of the district\u27s six elementary schools, Rawsonville has been identified as most in need of Chapter 1 services. For years, the school improvement team had worked hard to improve student motivation and learning. Yet, something was still missing. The number of at-risk and underachieving students entering the school continued to increase. At the same time, a group of researchers at the University of Michigan had been testing a theory of student motivation known as achievement goal theory (see Maehr and Midgley 1991, Maehr and Pintrich 1991). Their work confirmed what other studies had indicated: The goals that students pursue have a powerful influence on the quality of their learning. Schools, through their policies and practices, give strong messages to students about how success is defined within their walls

Elementary School Meets University

When school districts and universities combine their strengths, both benefit. Like teaching hospitals associated with medical schools, professional development schools (PDSs) train future practitioners, develop state-of-the-art practices, and nurture professional growth. Schools benefit from sustained professional development focused on their unique needs. Teacher preparation programs benefit from exemplary placements for student teachers and the wisdom of current practitioners. Both gain from joint research into innovative practices and the cross-fertilization of ideas

Promoting Resiliency among First-generation College Students

On a momentous day in May, six unlikely students walked across the graduation stage of a competitive, private university to receive their bachelor’s degrees. All six were participants in our study of successful first-generation college (FGC) students. Extensive research investigated the high attrition rates of FGC students and enumerated obstacles that led them to drop out. Our research took a different approach. Through in-depth interviews, we explored the way resilient FGC students navigated around obstacles and what supported their success. By definition, resilient individuals succeed despite characteristics that predict their failure. Stories from this study offer practical implications for advisers seeking to create university environments that support resiliency. The university can be a difficult place for people whose parents never attained a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (Warburton, Bugarin, & Nuñez, 2001), only 9.1 percent of students whose parents earned at least a bachelor’s degree drop out of college. In comparison, 20.5 percent of students whose parents did not attend college withdraw. The attrition rate of students whose parents attended but did not complete college remains a high 17.1 percent. The gap between FGC students’ attrition rates and that of their later-generation peers has been explained in a number of different ways. Chief among these are academic preparation, financial strain, identity issues, and social capital

To Blend or Not To Blend: Online-only and Blended Learning Environments

Increasing curricular demands and the desire to provide meaningful, engaging instruction have pressed teacher educators to review and revise their programs. Many have viewed the assets of online learning as a potential solution to meet the seemingly ever increasing state- and accreditation-mandated course content and competencies. Universities have explored the inclusion of Web based courses for students for several decades. According to Martyn (2003), over 90% of higher education institutions use some type of electronically enhanced learning or “e-learning” option. These options vary between courses that are offered completely “online” to those that include a blend of differing amounts of face-to-face and online contact time. Research comparing student experiences with online-only and blended delivery has often concentrated on graduate students and nontraditional programs. However, the effectiveness of online and blended delivery depends on audience and subject matter (Saunders & Werner, 2002), suggesting that findings based on data from graduate and nontraditional programs may not hold true for undergraduate students in traditional teacher education programs. This study attempted to address this need in the literature by examining the work of undergraduate teacher candidates who participated in modules delivered in an online environment. Specifically, this study addresses students’ comfort and perceived competence while working in online and blended learning environments, as well as the function of teamwork in an online space

Attending to conditions that facilitate intercultural competence: A reciprocal service-learning approach

Although service-learning can support the development of intercultural competence, it has also maintained power differentials, reinforced privileged perspectives, and strengthened deficit thinking. Recent research has investigated the conditions within service-learning associated with positive change in diversity-related attitudes. We extend that work, conceptualizing a reciprocal service-learning (RSL) approach that integrates conditions posited by contact theory and the process model of intercultural competence into service-learning’s core features of reflection and reciprocity. In an RSL approach, transformational reciprocity at the participant level supports cultural awareness, interdependence, and parity between participant groups. We created an RSL experience and measured change in three attitudes fundamental to the development of intercultural competence with quantitative pre- and post-surveys. Results indicate that both participant groups—native English-speaking undergraduate students and international English language learners—experienced significant growth. This study responds to calls for quantitative pre- and post-research methods and the assessment of outcomes for all service-learning participants

The Educational Achievement Gap as a Social Justice Issue for Teacher Educators

The educational achievement gap is a critical social justice issue. Catholic and Marianist conceptions of social justice in particular call people to work with others in their spheres of life to transform institutions in order to further human rights while promoting the common good. Drawing on key elements of Catholic teaching on social justice, we argue that the achievement gap constitutes a social injustice. We then offer a case illustrating collaboration between university-based teacher educators and school faculty to address the achievement gap through transforming the institutions of school and of teacher preparation. The Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), founded on the University of Dayton’s campus to prepare seventh through 12th graders to become first-generation college graduates, has become an essential site for preparing University of Dayton teacher candidates to become effective teachers of traditionally underachieving students. Our collaboration has resulted in the ongoing transformation of a school and a university’s teacher education program to address the social injustice of the educational achievement gap

Informal carer role in the personalization of assistive solutions connected to aspirations of people with dementia

The increase in the elderly population over the last thirty years with consequent increase in the number of people living with dementia (PwD) has resulted in a research focus on improving quality-of-life and well-being beyond basic needs, to address psychosocial needs and to provide technological support for these. As part of a UK industry-led, publically supported, project Connect-ing Assistive Solutions to Aspirations (CASA), research is being conducted to inform the design of assistive technology packages that are aspiration-led. Focus groups were conducted with informal carers (family relatives) of persons with dementia to elicit views on technology use for increasing independence of PwD (with a carer living at home). The focus groups were analysed through thematic analysis and the results have been used to produce personas and scenarios for creation of demonstrator assisted living packages

One dimensional magneto-optical compression of a cold CaF molecular beam

We demonstrate with a RF-MOT the one dimensional, transverse magneto-optical compression of a cold beam of calcium monofluoride (CaF). By continually alternating the magnetic field direction and laser polarizations of the magneto-optical trap, a photon scattering rate of $2\pi \times$0.4 MHz is achieved. A 3D model for this RF-MOT, validated by agreement with data, predicts a 3D RF-MOT capture velocity for CaF of 5 m/s