The Effects of Technology on Urban High School Students\u27 Sense of Classroom Community

This study measured the sense of classroom community among students from two different grades in an independent urban high school (N = 181). A standardized instrument was used to compare sense of community in classes whose teachers used computers frequently and consistently in their instruction with others in which the teachers seldom or never included computer use in the classroom. Quantitative analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between the classes in terms of one of the sub-scales of the instrument; students whose teachers used computers frequently and consistently scored higher on the learning sub-scale of the sense of community. The data also showed a significant difference between grade levels as measured by the spirit subscale of the sense of community; the older students scored higher. A sample of the participants was selected for interview. Qualitative analyses of students\u27 responses revealed three factors that they considered important to their sense of classroom community and its importance for learning: a feeling of belonging; trust of peers and teachers; and use of computers. The analyses showed that students considered the most important variable in the development of a sense of classroom community was a sense of connectedness with their peers. These results suggest the following policy implications for urban education: (1) sense of classroom community is important and may plausibly be linked to academic success; (2) use of computers in teaching does not detract from, and may add to, that sense of community

Relationships between Sense of Community and Academic Achievement: A Comparison among High School Students

This paper reports on a research study measuring the constructs of community and academic achievement and examining the relationship between them. The authors\u27 research compares sense of community and academic achievement among 11th grade students attending three independent high schools in a southeastern US state. Implications for teachers of high school students are discussed

Factors that Influence Teachers’ Views on Standardized Tests

The central aim of this study was to explore K-12 teachers’ (N = 183) attitudes about standardized tests as a function of experience, instructional level, student population, and type of school. The Teachers’ Views on Standardized Tests Questionnaire was developed to assess teachers’ perceptions of the impact of standardized tests on practice. All survey items were intended to measure a facet of teachers’ attitudes regarding the necessity of standardized tests and their influence on best practices. Findings from this study indicated that special education and inclusion teachers viewed standardized tests as more negatively influencing instruction than general education teachers. There were also significant differences by instructional level and type of school (i.e., public vs. independent). Compared to elementary teachers, middle and high school teachers’ views were more negative, and public school educators perceived standardized assessments as having a more negative influence on instruction than teachers in independent schools. Finally, elementary school teachers reported that the standards of learning were more appropriate in contrast to middle and high school teachers

Commercial Arctic shipping through the Northeast Passage:routes, resources, governance, technology, and infrastructure

The Russian and Norwegian Arctic are gaining notoriety as an alternative maritime route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and as sources of natural resources. The renewed interest in the Northeast Passage or the Northern Sea Route is fueled by a recession of Arctic sea ice coupled with the discovery of new natural resources at a time when emerging and global markets are in growing demand for them. Driven by the expectation of potential future economic importance of the region, political interest and governance has been rapidly developing, mostly within the Arctic Council. However, this paper argues that optimism regarding the potential of Arctic routes as an alternative to the Suez Canal is overstated. The route involves many challenges: jurisdictional disputes create political uncertainties; shallow waters limit ship size; lack of modern deepwater ports and search and rescue (SAR) capabilities requires ships to have higher standards of autonomy and safety; harsh weather conditions and free-floating ice make navigation more difficult and schedules more variable; and more expensive ship construction and operation costs lessen the economic viability of the route. Technological advances and infrastructure investments may ameliorate navigational challenges, enabling increased shipping of natural resources from the Arctic to global markets.Albert Buixadé Farré, Scott R. Stephenson, Linling Chen, Michael Czub, Ying Dai, Denis Demchev, Yaroslav Efimov, Piotr Graczyk, Henrik Grythe, Kathrin Keil, Niku Kivekäs, Naresh Kumar, Nengye Liu, Igor Matelenok, Mari Myksvoll, Derek O'Leary, Julia Olsen, Sachin Pavithran.A.P., Edward Petersen, Andreas Raspotnik, Ivan Ryzhov, Jan Solski, Lingling Suo, Caroline Troein, Vilena Valeeva, Jaap van Rijckevorsel and Jonathan Wightin

Measuring sense of community and academic learning in graduate education

This article reports findings from a research study that investigated sense of community and perceived learning among 223 graduate-level education students. Utilizing canonical correlation analysis, the researchers examined the interaction between two types of classroom community (social community and learning community) and three types of perceived learning (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning). Results indicate that the higher the sense of both social and learning community that students have, the higher their perceived learning will be in all three areas (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor perceived learning). The reverse is also true; participants who report low levels of social and learning community also show lower levels of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor perceived learning. Recommendations for further research are provided. © Common Ground, Deanna Nisbet, Mervyn Wighting, Amanda Rockinson-Szapkiw, All Rights Reserved