Education & Pedagogy

The issue of assessment in U.S. education is one that is wrought with conflict because there are many kinds of assessments being used--in various configurations--from district to district and state to state. Contributing writer Susan Reese looks at various assessments, including those being used in career and technical education classrooms, and the value of the information they provide about student outcomes.

The Report of the Nuffield Review of 14-19 education, described by its Lead Director Professor Richard Pring of Oxford University in the last number of FORUM (Volume 51, Number 2 http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/forum.2009.51.2.197), highlights the increasing use of what can be described as "edu-dabble" by sectors of the education establishment.

This chapter explores the tremendous growth in the use of the Internet to deliver distance education at community colleges. The author examines various definitions of online education, including the types of courses, programs, and degrees available and the types of community colleges that offer greater amounts of online programming. Considerations for the future growth of online education are provided. (Contains 3 tables.)

Discusses the focusing effect of technology as a way of systematically accounting for the role of technology when students form ideas that are unexpected and unwanted by teachers and designers of the technology being implemented. Includes examples of university students using graphing calculators and mathematics software and considers implications for teacher education. (Author/LRW)

Case studies of two British outreach initiatives to encourage higher education participation (a school-university partnership and an employer-college partnership) identified issues related to widening access: (1) importance of partnerships and integrated approaches; (2) conflicting definitions of access; and (3) potential for emphasizing recruitment/institutional survival over social justice and inclusion. (Contains 29 references.) (SK)

Business students in U.S. universities (72 Anglo-American, 87 Latin American, 78 Asian, and 69 Arab) completed the Survey of Ethical Theoretic Aptitudes. Significant differences were found beteen newly arrived foreign students and those with longer tenure in the United States. More exposure to a new environment and sustained education influenced changes in values. (Contains 23 references.) (SK)

This study investigated the effects of Braille instruction via interactive video-teleconferencing distance education on 12 South Dakota families and instructional assistants of students with visual impairments. Participants (and their children) were enthusiastic about the course and there was evidence of increased parental involvement in their children's educational development. (Contains references.) (DB)

A study of 69 students with deafness found the following factors facilitated transition from education to adult life and employment: student participation in Individualized Education Program meetings; family involvement in the transition process; transition planning in middle school; and cultural sensitivity in transition planning. Transition guidelines for teachers are provided. (Contains references.) (CR)

Summer institutes with follow-up continuing education sought to increase nursing faculty's knowledge and teaching of genetics. Outcome measures following four summer institutes (n=126) revealed significant improvements in genetics knowledge, increased genetics content in curricula, and development of new elective genetics courses. (Contains 22 references.) (SK)

The nature of education is to learn to think. Thinking demands the weighing of argument, analyzing and evaluating logic, and judging conclusions. These are God given tools to wrestle with big questions of life. A tolerant, pluralistic, truly democratic school system will create respectful, open forums in the classrooms for the worldviews of different religions. (TD)

This essay reviews "Special Education: A Matter of Choice" (Josephine Jenkinson), a book that discusses the major issues and changes that have occurred in special education in the various states and territories of Australia over the past 30 years. It is concluded that the book is an extremely useful guide. (CR)

To help parents talk with children about sexual health, the Kaiser Family Foundation and National PTA developed a series of free resources for parents (e.g., the booklet "Talking with Kids: A Parent's Guide to Sex Education") to increase parent involvement and communication around sex education. This paper notes the importance of parents becoming more informed about and engaged in their children's sex education at school. (SM)

Explores the integration of three factors in the lecture room that influence the function between students and society. Describes the innovation of quality in education that provides students with a work methodology in agreement with the professional world and allows continuous improvement in educational methodology. (Author/KHR)

The value of historical descriptive analysis in comparative education is highlighted by the method's application to schooling in Burma, demonstrating how control over schooling relates to state legitimacy. Supervision of Burmese education by Theravada Buddhist monasteries--Sangha--was undermined by 19th-century British colonial administration. The present autocratic military regime has forced the Sangha into a subordinate role in support of nationalist objectives. (Contains 87 references.) (SV)

Examined differences in communication between masters degree students at Syracuse University who used instant messaging (IM) services and those who did not in the same asynchronous distance education Web-based course. Results showed that students who used IM found it easier to communicate and felt a stronger sense of community. (Author/LRW)