On Learned Ignorance: Science and Unknowability in the Religious Enterprise

The author looks at the importance of the dynamic of unknowability in theology and in science, alike. Both disciplines teach us about ourselves, not about God. Learning about the universe and our own place in it, we learn more about our fallibility and the need for humility

From Classroom Teacher to District-Based Content Specialist: Exploring Organizational and Individual Teacher Identity in Science Teacher Leaders

In the current educational context teachers are called to take leadership roles, formally and informally, by school districts, researchers, and policy makers. Increased emphasis on STEM/STEAM education and the introduction of new science standards have amplified the importance of the district-based science specialist. This study’s purpose was to explore: (a) the changing role of teachers by investigating paths teachers take from science classroom teaching to district-based science specialist; (b) how professional identity of teachers is affected by this transition; and (c) organizational factors of the role within districts. Utilizing Marcia’s (1993) ego identity statuses, Ebaugh’s (1998) role exit theory, and Wenger’s (1998) social learning theory, role transition from classroom teacher to district-based science specialist was qualitatively explored through organizational and individual perspectives. Seventeen science specialists (11 teachers, six administrators) from seven geographically diverse states participated in two semi-structured interviews (via free, online video-conferencing platforms) and a participant questionnaire (via email). Data established two distinct district-based specialist roles: teacher science specialist and administrator science specialist. Primary roles and functions of the teacher science specialists were identified as forms of teacher support (i.e., curriculum, professional development, coaching) while administrator participants’ roles and functions were primarily identified as organizational leadership (i.e., partnerships and grants, district and department meetings, budget). Teacher specialists expressed a high level of commitment to the role of teacher that administrative participants did not. Through exploration of how teachers described their evolving professional identity, seven characteristics of the transition including gaining clarity on role expectations, negotiating district politics, managing work time, re-establishing relationships with the science teacher group, were established. Common paths to teacher leadership were also identified. Experiences of evolving teacher identity indicated individual acceptance of formal teacher leadership that may contribute to organizational efforts to distribute leadership in ways that are not only structural--establishing positions--but interactional (expanding definitions of teacher role). Organizationally, understanding the complexity of the role transition could allow for all involved to better prepare for the transition. Implications for future research include further exploration of the transition to district-based teacher leader and the effect of the change on professional identity

Locating Supervision—A Reflective Framework for Negotiating Tensions Within Conceptual and Procedural Foci for Teacher Development

This manuscript presents a theoretical construct for analyzing procedural and conceptual tensions within instructional leadership for teacher development. The dynamic, multi-dimensional framework demonstrates possibilities for locating supervision as having procedural and conceptual bases. By employing the questions identified, educators place themselves within the framework focused on specific areas and located along a procedural to conceptual continuum. Identifying tensions in practice guides educators to be more reflective when engaging in professional growth. Ultimately, teachers need to become empowered to engage in reflective supervision in order to guide professional development, teaching and learning

Empowering Partnerships: Building Diversity and Inclusion in Digital Scholarship Projects

The experiences of immigrant students on college campuses may lead to feelings of exclusion or invisibility. How can academic librarians use digital scholarship programs to foster an environment of inclusion and give underrepresented students a voice? This poster showcases the approach taken by UConn through a collaborative internship between the library and the History department to help student create essays about the city of Hartford (any topic and time period) using WordPress to create the site

Collaborators and Partners: Librarians and Digital Scholarship

Digital Scholarship is an important and growing field in which librarians embed themselves in scholarly projects, not just as providers of a service but as partners and collaborators throughout the life-cycle of research. Instead of acting as consultants on the periphery of the research process, librarians can be involved at every stage of the process. They bring valuable skills to the table in terms of technological expertise, subject and research knowledge, preservation considerations, and dissemination pathways. The University of Connecticut Library has consciously sought to grow its digital scholarship program and has undertaken several projects in the last couple of years that embody this commitment to non-traditional forms of scholarship. This poster will highlight one such project. This poster will explore a digital scholarship project on Puerto Rican citizenship, entitled Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives: A History of the Extension of U.S. Citizenship to Puerto Rico. The project is intended to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Puerto Rican citizenship rights and is part of other commemorative events planned to take place throughout 2017. The University of Connecticut Library has made efforts to expand their digital scholarship services, and Jennifer Snow, Digital Scholarship Librarian, and Professor Charles R. Venator, Political Science and the Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, collaborated to create this Omeka-platform project. The poster will showcase not only the research itself, but the innovation that can result when librarians and scholars come together as collaborators and peers. Partnership is a key component of this poster session. Not only has the library partnered with an individual faculty member, but also with the Hartford Public Library, the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, the Universidad del Este, and the Universidad de Puerto Rico. The latter will be producing a Spanish-language version of the Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives. As scholars look for new avenues to publish their research beyond the traditional book, librarians have a exciting opportunity to lead the way

Transformative Education for Culturally Diverse Learners Through Narrative and Ethnography

This article presents a study of the effects of creating a bridge between the narrative and ethnographic methods and writing processes as a means to more effectively educate teachers of culturally diverse learners. Ten teacher-participants from a Masters of Education (M.Ed.) degree programme in Bilingual Education at a university in the northwestern United States took a sequence of courses in which instructor-researchers taught them narrative and ethnographic pedagogy, theory, and methodology. Through qualitative methods, instructor-researchers analyzed teacher-participants’ personal narratives and ethnographic case studies for generative themes. In discovering the commonalities of themes between these two methods of inquiry, the research reveals the value and transformative nature of building a bridge between narrative and ethnographic methods. The following overlapping generative themes were voiced by teacher-participants: 1) awareness of self and others; 2) consciousness of educational issues and their implications; 3) transformative action and advocacy. These themes are substantiated with related literature and further elucidated upon in the paper

Acanthocephalus criniae n. sp. (Anthocephala: Echinorynchidea) from the Cricket Frog, Crinia Tasmaniensis (Gunther)

The morphology of the adult and the egg of Acanthocephalus criniae n. sp. from Crinia tasmaniensis (Gunther), C. signifera Girard and C. laevis (Gunther) is described. Information on the frequency and degree of infection of C. tasmaniensis, collected from Mt Wellington, Tasmania, is given

Finding our Place in the Third Space: The Authority of Not Knowing \u3ci\u3eas Becoming\u3c/i\u3e in School-University Partnership Work

School-university partnerships have been a space for simultaneous renewal and teacher development for decades (Darling-Hammond, 1994; Goodlad, 1994; Teitel, 2003). As a case in point, this article takes a deeper look at how school- and university-based teacher educators experience professional growth and negotiation of partnership contexts, roles, and responsibilities. Recognizing the complexity of teacher development across the professional lifespan, and the tensions of school-university partnership work, we explore the diverse roles and positions from which we come to the work of clinical supervision and school partnership work. To highlight the varied levels of development and professional growth in these hybrid teacher education spaces, we highlight two liaison cases – Hannah, a new tenure-track faculty liaison and Sara, a veteran school-based teacher educator, who is now a district instructional coach and university liaison. As liaisons, Hannah and Sara experience self-doubt, struggle to negotiate power, and strive to sustain relationships. Grappling with finding their place in school-university partnership work, the two liaisons accept the unknown and perceive their work as a process of becoming in teacher education

“We Do More Than Discuss Good Ideas”: A Close Look at the Development of Professional Capital in an Elementary Education Liaison Group

In an era when many news media, policy makers, and professionals in the field may consider teacher education under attack, teacher education programs are being held accountable for increased rigor (Council of Chief of State School Officers, 2012). Teacher educators are in a unique position to examine more closely specific practices and teacher education as a profession to enhance program quality and candidate outcomes. Toward that end, we focused on work within a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) for this inquiry. Faculty who work in elementary school settings at least one day per week, serving as liaisons to partner schools and supervising teacher candidates, made up this community