THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS: AN EXPLORATION OF THE PERSPECTIVES AND LIVED EXPERIENCES OF UNIVERSITY SPANISH LANGUAGE TEACHING ASSISTANTS

U.S. schools are emblematic of the increasingly linguistic and cultural diversity present in this country. Despite this well-documented shift, U.S. foreign language teacher education programs have yet to align learning outcomes with the cognitive and affective needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students. Providing educators with opportunities to learn about and prepare for the needs of these students is essential, but this alone will not address the essence of the underlying problem. If foreign language teacher education programs are to evolve, a deeper understanding of the teaching/learning process is critical. In response to this need, this qualitative study explored how multiple participant groups affiliated with a Spanish program at a U.S. Southwest university described their lived experiences and perceptions regarding the teaching and learning of Spanish. Principles from case study and grounded theory methodologies were used to provide a flexible body of knowledge through which current and prospective educators can better recognize and attend to their students’ learning needs. The data collection and analysis were grounded in Vygotsky’s concepts of perezhivanie [one’s lived experiences], vospitanie [nurturing], and obuchenie [teaching/learning process]. This framework allowed for a conceptual understanding of how the dialectical unity of vospitanie and obuchenie, combined with an understanding of students’ sociohistorical and emotional experiences, yields opportunities for reciprocal teaching and learning between an educator and her students. Insight gleaned from the findings therefore has implications for the evolution of teacher education programs. To provide equitable instruction across all learner profiles, teachers need to understand how an openness and willingness to listen and learn from their students can help them take pride in and control of their own learning. This is the essence of an efficacious pedagogy

We’re Not So Different, You and I: How Librarians and Publishers Use Statistics in Different Ways to Achieve Similar Goals

Statistical gathering and analysis plays an important role for librarian and publisher alike as we strive to predict and decipher end user behavior and improve collection development. During this session, hear from a librarian who works with a large university library consortium, and a representative from a major publisher, on how statistics factor into our workflow—and the stories they can tell about how content is being discovered and used. Learn about specific projects and applications from each side, and hear how analyzing end user behaviors helps refine everything from services we provide to institutional decision making. There will also be time for audience members to ask questions and share their own experiences

An Excerpt from the 2009 Kessler Lecture: Ties that Bind: Familial Homophobia and its Consequences

Despite the emphasis on gay marriage and parenthood that has overwhelmed our freedom vision, how gays and lesbians are treated IN families, is far more influential on the quality of individual lives and the larger social order, than how we are treated AS families. Tonight I will try to articulate how and why systems of familial homophobia operate and more importantly, how they can be changed

Palestinian Queer Activists Talk Politics

Palestinian queer activists Haneen Maikey and Abeer Mansour will be touring 6 US cities for a series of open conversations hosted by locally and nationally known US activists. Their New York host is CLAGS—please join us for this exciting expansion of the Global LGBT

Try, Try, Try Again: Better Faculty Outreach Through Trial and Error

Reaching out to faculty about library resources and services is an ongoing and sometimes mysterious process for vendors and librarians alike—one that, when effective, can contribute a higher ROI and improved collaboration between libraries and publishers. However, it can be a challenge to reach that sweet spot between “effective” and “annoying,” especially in the face of seemingly nonresponsive faculty. A physical and life sciences librarian and former head of collection development and acquisitions from the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a Springer account development specialist, who works closely with academic librarians, weigh in on four different issues about improving outreach and identifying opportunities for outreach and collaboration

Myanmar’s Top-Down Transition: Challenges for Civil Society

This article historicises the nature of political transition in Myanmar to better appreciate the challenges faced by civil society. After Myanmar’s political reforms in 2011, Western donors rushed into the country in support of what they misunderstood as a remarkable instance of democratisation. In 2019, escalating civil war, ethnic cleansing, and contracting civil liberties urge a rethink. This article argues that viewing transition in Myanmar through the lens of democratisation has always been misleading and problematic. Partial liberalisation was orchestrated by the military to safeguard its own power. Reforms have not only benefited civil society but also enabled the growth of uncivil society, fuelling sectarian violence and bolstering military rule. Operating on the assumption of democratisation, Western donors shifted funds from grass-roots networks to militarised state bureaucracies that seek to co-opt peace-building and development projects for the purposes of ethnocratic state-building and counterinsurgency. Rethinking the nature of transition is pivotal for preventing inadvertently aiding authoritarianism and conflict

I’ll Be Back: Post‐Purchase Activities and ROI

What kinds of services and support should be expected after the sale? Vendors are increasingly providing postsale services to their customers, typically in the form of account development. This panel discussion examined experiences that vendors, libraries, and consortia have had with one another, including which services have been beneficial, and explored future enhancements that will benefit libraries and users. The panelists provided specific examples of past collaborations, including customized trainings, usage analysis, and professional development events. Panelists discussed topics of interest to librarians and vendors with a focus on ways to get the best ROI out of library resources. Librarians and publishers on the panel highlighted the important role that each side has in improving ROI and marketing the resources to the library community