STUDENT EXPERIENCES IN SMALL COLLABORATIVE GROUPS ONLINE

The purpose of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of collaborative learning as experienced by adult learners enrolled in an online course. The findings suggest that the participants in this study were caught in a paradox; they wanted to engage in learning where they were allowed to co-construct knowledge, but they also wanted to learn independently. The students participated in a form of resistance, which resulted in ambivalence rather than collaborative learning

Developmental Gradations of Kindergartners' Concept of Word in Text: An Examination of the Relationship between Fingerpoint Reading Skills and Other Early Literacy Measures

This study examined the relationships between concept of word development and other early literacy measures (rhyme awareness, beginning sound awareness, alphabet knowledge, letter sound knowledge, spelling, and word recognition in isolation) using data from the PALS-K. Supporting previous research by using a much larger data set than had been used to date, Pearson Product-Moment correlations were used to describe the relationships between total concept of word scores and the literacy measures and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the ability of the literacy measures to predict total concept of word scores. Extending previous research, this study examined the developmental gradations in children's concept of word, a novel approach to examining concept of word data. Discriminant Analyses were used to build and test a model to identify the literacy measures from the PALS-K that best predict a child's level of concept of word development - developing, rudimentary, or firm. Pearson Product-moment correlations indicated significant relationships between all variable on the PALS-K and total concept of word scores with word recognition in isolation scores and spelling scores demonstrating the largest correlations. Standard multiple regression indicated that the subtests on the PALS-K were able to significantly predict a large portion of the variance in total concept of word scores with word recognition in isolation scores and spelling scores contributing the most unique variance. Discriminant analyses indicated the measures were able to classify students' concept of word development into the categories of developing, rudimentary, and full/firm, with word recognition in isolation score and spelling scores being most associated with the functions generated. Implications for teaching and future research are also discussed

Work and leisure in modern Nandi: preliminary results of a study of time allocation

This paper reports the preliminary results of a study of time allocation conducted among the members of eleven typical rural households in Nandi District. The study used the method of random visits pioneered by Barker and Wright and recently popularized in social anthropological research by Allen Johnson. Numerical data on amounts of time spent in various work and leisure activities by people of different age and sex categories. The following conclusions emerge from analysis of this data: Nandis work relatively short hours in agriculture as compared with many other Kenyan and African peoples, but longer work hours would probably to substantially increase productivity; women and men work approximately equal hours in cultivation and probably always did—unlike the case of "ideal type" pastoralists in which women are much more responsible for cultivation than are men; when the care of cattle is taken into consideration as a part of basic agricultural production, adult women and men still work approximately equal hours; women's total work occupies substantially more hours than does that of men, but most of this difference is accounted for by housework; the work of children in the rural Nandi economic system is extremely important and can hardly be over-rated at most ages children of both sexes spend more hours involved in work activities than do adult men; adult women are very minimally involved in childcare, which is primarily the work of girls , particularly those between the ages of 7 and 9; the work of boys is mainly cattle care; most younger adults of both sexes are involved in cash-gaining activities—men spend substantially more time in such activities than do women; older married women, but not men, also frequently do work for cash, primarily brewing; women's participation in community activities, such as Harambee projects, is extremely limited, unlike many other areas of Kenya. Typical division of labour in the traditional past is described, and there is discussion of the changes which appear to have taken place. The paper also describes the community in which the research was conducted, including its basic socio-economic characteristics as revealed by a random sample household census

The status of career development in the elementary school as viewed by elementary school counselors of Virginia

Although 1970 has been proclaimed the contennial year of the founding of the public school system in Virginia,1 organized guidance in the elementary schools had its beginning only five years ago.2 During the ensuing years, there has been increased interest in offering more and improved guidance services in the elementary schools of the state. An additional emphasis has been placed on the developmental aspect of guidance, specially trained persons have been employed in some of the elementary schools in Virginia. One of the this developmental aspect of guidance in which there is great concern is career development. Because of the rapidly changing conditions that characterize the world of work, many educators are seeking ways to provide the young child with a vocational awareness which is both relevant and up to date. The basic idea behind the vocational awareness concept is that boys and girls of elementary school age will receive adequate training and experiences to help foster self-knowledge in relation to the world of work. Such experiences should provide these youngsters with an occupational readiness which will enable them to make meaningful occupational choices later in life. Thus, the guidance movement is directing its attention to ways in which the experiences of the elementary school child will affect his ultimate decisions and ability to cope with current and future problems.

FIRST-GENERATION BLACK MALE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES, AND RELATIONSHIPS THAT SHAPED COLLEGE – TO - CAREER TRANSITION

First-generation, Black, male students continue to lag behind their continuing-generation peers in degree attainment, leaving them deficient in obtaining the social and financial upward mobility higher education is expected to afford. Research finds that, despite Black males entering college with higher degree aspirations than their White peers, they were 6 times less likely to achieve them, and only 5% of Black males would eventually graduate with a degree or certificate within three years of enrollment, compared with 32% of White males (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2014). To close this persistent gap, this research sought to understand the activities, experiences, and relationships engaged in by members of this population who were successful in completing college and transitioning into what they defined as successful careers. This case study was conducted with 10 Midwest college graduates through semi-structured interviews to capture their unique voices and experiences across their college-to-career transition. Themes emerged around leveraging social and cultural capital among faculty, staff, and career professionals of similar race, background. The continuity of experiences between these groups appeared to account for as much as 80% of participants’ access to career services. These findings indicate the need for higher education institutions to employ strategic steps to align support personnel with first generation students’ (FGS) cultural norms and experiences to establish a sense of belonging and develop a nucleus of trust

Preface

Preface to special issue on conversational folklore

Learning To See Through The Invisible: The Problem Of Process In Online Collaborative Learning

Educators are increasingly incorporating collaborative and other group methods into the design of online learning. For the most part, however, these efforts reflect technical-rational views of group process. In this paper, we argue that this view of group process understates the significance of unconscious and invisible processes in online learning. Using psychodynamic theory, we discuss the role of unconscious processes in online learning and pedagogical strategies that may be helpful in making these processes more visible. In The Little Prince we are taught that it is only with the heart that we see rightly and what is essential is invisible to our eyes. We are interested in fostering online learning environments characterized by teaching and learning from the heart. Such an approach, however, requires a richer understanding of the emotional dynamics of online collaborative groups and how deep learning reflects a process essentially invisible to the eye. Online learning programs are increasing at exponential rates (Bishop and Spake, 2003; Kariya, 2003) and many of their participants are adult learners. The design of learning experiences within these programs is also evolving. While early online programs focused largely on transmission and mastery of bodies of information, more emphasis is now being placed on collaborative methods (Bruffee, 1999; Dirkx & Smith, 2003)), such as case study, problem-based learning, and the fostering of learning communities in online contexts. For the most part, these collaborative approaches remain defined within a technical-rational paradigm that stresses subject matter or skill mastery. More expressive dimensions of adult learning, such as fostering awareness of and reflecting on the process and dynamics of individual and group learning remain underdeveloped or ignored by both researchers and practitioners. Yet, adult learning principles and constructivist approaches stress the centrality of meaning-making to learning and the dialectical relationship of the self of the learner with the content and context of learning (West, 2001). Process issues, however, are often difficult to discern even in face-to-face groups and can remain largely invisible in virtual, online contexts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the problem of group process in online learning, to elaborate a deeper understanding of the role of process in fostering deep learning, and to discuss pedagogical strategies that make more visible unconscious emotional processes and dynamics associated with these deeper forms of adult learning

Lost In Familiar Places: The Struggle For Voice And Belonging In Online Adult Learning Groups

Many adults express a preference for learning in small groups but often find their group experiences frustrating and dissatisfying. This tension is increasingly evident in online learning, as collaborative methods become more popular within these environments. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the emotional dynamics and processes reflected in this tension within online collaborative environments. Our findings suggest that online learning groups display behaviors that reflect two powerful, alternating, cyclical fears. On the one hand, the groups act as if they perceive a definite threat to individual identity. Such actions, however, seem to precipitate a corresponding fear of alienation and disconnectedness among group members. Getting stuck in this cycle of alternating fears may account for the lingering dissatisfaction adults have with group learning