(2008). Statistical Phonetic Learning in Infants: Facilitation and Feature Generalization. Developmental Science, v11 n1 p122-134 Jan. Over the course of the first year of life, infants develop from being generalized listeners, capable of discriminating both native and non-native speech contrasts, into specialized listeners whose discrimination patterns closely reflect the phonetic system of the native language(s). Recent work by Maye, Werker and Gerken (2002) has proposed a statistical account for this phenomenon, showing that infants may lose the ability to discriminate some foreign language contrasts on the basis of their sensitivity to the statistical distribution of sounds in the input language. In this paper we examine the process of enhancement in infant speech perception, whereby initially difficult phonetic contrasts become better discriminated when they define two categories that serve a functional role in the native language. In particular, we demonstrate that exposure to a bimodal statistical distribution in 8-month-old infants' phonetic input can lead to increased discrimination of difficult contrasts…. [Direct]
(2000). Friendships over the Transition from Early Childhood Centre to School. International Journal of Early Years Education, v8 n1 p57-69 Mar. Observed friendships of sixteen 4- to 5-year-olds during their transition to school. Found that important shared activities for friends over the transition included birthday parties, overnight stays, resource sharing, and reciprocal or complementary play. Only two dyadic friendships survived over the transition. Children with friends did not make an easier transition to school than children without friends. (Author/KB)…
(1982). Sharing Time: A Student-Run Speech Event. An ethnographic study was made of a student-led speech event in an ethnically mixed combined first- and second-grade classroom. In an activity called "Sharing Time," general rules governed appropriate ways of behaving, but no teacher rules governed ways of speaking, topic, or amount of time at talk. Collected over a 5-month period, data were gathered through audiotape recordings supplemented by field notes and interviews. Efforts focused on obtaining an emic, or "insider's view," of success in sharing. It was found that the content of turns in the sharing activity could be described as being object-oriented, event-centered, animal-related, character-oriented (from television or movies), or person-oriented. Two distinct styles of sharing were detected: the performed narrative and the lecture demonstration. Both the typical content of each style and the techniques students used to support their presentations differed. It was additionally found that children…
(2012). Proximity Displays for Access Control. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University. Managing access to shared digital information, such as photographs and documents. is difficult for end users who are accumulating an increasingly large and diverse collection of data that they want to share with others. Current policy-management solutions require a user to proactively seek out and open a separate policy-management interface when she wants to review or change her access-control policy. However, end users treat access control as a secondary task, and rarely visit a website for the primary task of managing security. Historically, security administrators and auditors were available to check for access-control issues on behalf of users, but in the age of Facebook and Flickr people are responsible for their own content. Users need a way to review their access-control policies that fits into their normal workflows. This thesis proposes the use of "proximity information displays"–small interface components spatially located near the data elements (or near a… [Direct]
(2012). Cross-Border Partnerships in Higher Education: Strategies and Issues. International Studies in Higher Education. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group "Cross-border Partnerships in Higher Education" looks beyond student and faculty exchanges to examine the myriad ways international colleges and universities work together as institutions. These partnerships have involved the creation of branch campuses, joint research and technology initiatives, collaboration in strengthening institutional management, testing, faculty development efforts, collaboration in quality assurance, and sharing of technology. Cross-national collaborations are a growing financial and informational resource for universities, and non-Western schools are increasingly taking part. The volume provides an overview of the purposes and types of cross-border collaborations, an analysis of the benefits, and an examination of issues arising from these efforts. A cross-cutting goal is to provide a critical look at the models being employed, the challenges encountered, and the unintended consequences of such collaboration, both positive and negative. The book is… [Direct]
(2012). Race to the Top. New York. State-Reported APR: Year One. US Department of Education This paper describes New York's progress in implementing a comprehensive and coherent approach to education reform from the time of application through June 30, 2011. In particular, this report highlights key accomplishments over the reporting period in the four reform areas: standards and assessments, data systems to support instruction, great teachers and leaders, and turning around lowest-achieving schools. Highlights of this report include: (1) The State Board of Regents adopted the Common Core State Standards for Math and ELA; made progress in developing and disseminating CCSS implementation resources–including conducting a statewide webinar with David Coleman and creating the EngageNY.org microsite; completed the design of its very successful statewide Network Team Summer Institute for approximately 500 educators (August 2011); continued its active engagement as a governing state for PARCC; and conducted a gap analysis to determine how well aligned its current state… [PDF]
(1995). Crunchy Granola and the Hegemony of the Narrative. Educational Researcher, v24 n2 p26-28 Mar. Explores the ongoing debate over quantitative versus qualitative research, arguing that qualitative research has evolved from a methodological approach into a social and political ideology. The current emphasis on narrative ways of sharing knowledge raises concerns about evaluation and hypothesis testing. (SLD)…
(2007). Three Mentoring Team Relationships and Obstacles Encountered: A School-Based Case Study. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, v15 n3 p293-308 Aug. This case study is a continuation of a research project that investigated 149 mentoring teams in four school districts over a two-year period. The primary goal in the first phase of the study was to identify mentoring teams that were regularly encountering problems, introduce intervention procedures, and assess the effectiveness of those procedures. In this phase, three teams were selected from the original study to represent four common problems encountered during formal mentoring: institutional barriers, issues of time, lack of emotional support, and poor interpersonal skills. Results indicate the need for a closer examination of the principal's role in the mentoring process, more attention to how mentoring coordinators and administrators use their time, a more rigorous mentor selection process, a more detailed evaluation of the teaching environment, additional support mechanisms, and more prevalent sharing of research…. [Direct]
(2009). Reflections on Teaching and Implications for Higher Education in South Africa: An Autobiographical Account. South African Journal of Higher Education, v23 n6 p1174-1190. According to Martin, Benjamin, Prosser, and Trigwell (1999), the scholarship associated with teaching consists of three related activities which integrate the key functions of higher education, namely engagement with the existing knowledge on teaching and learning; self-reflection on teaching and learning in one's discipline; and the public sharing of ideas about teaching and learning within the discipline. This article attempts to address these three aspects. In this account I reflect systematically on my teaching as it has developed over three decades. I reflect on my actions and those of my learners and later my students; I make careful judgments about my observations, while integrating insights gained from related research; I (re)evaluate the intended educational outcomes–all in an attempt developed a "scholarship of teaching", but more specifically pedagogies that will optimize the learning of my students. These reflections, however, cannot be isolated from my lived… [Direct]
(2009). The Computer Clubhouse: Constructionism and Creativity in Youth Communities. Technology, Education–Connections. Teachers College Press This book is about the Computer Clubhouse–the idea and the place–that inspires youth to think about themselves as competent, creative, and critical learners. So much of the social life of young people has moved online and participation in the digital public has become an essential part of youth identities. The Computer Clubhouse makes an important contribution not just in local urban communities but also as a model for after-school learning environments globally. The model has been uniquely successful scaling up, with over 100 clubhouses thriving worldwide. Showcasing research by scholars and evaluators that have documented and analyzed the international Computer Clubhouse Network, this volume considers the implications of their findings in the context of what it means to prepare youth to meet the goals of the 21st Century. Book features include: (1) A successful, scalable model for providing at-risk youth a rich array of media design and computing experiences; (2) Diverse examples… [Direct]
(2008). Establishing a Preliminary Framework for Effective Blended Learning Practices in the Undergraduate Classroom: A South African Perspective on Selected Aspects. South African Journal of Higher Education, v22 n1 p144-174. At the University of the Free State (UFS) blended learning (a combination of face-to-face and online modes of delivery) is regarded as a relatively new practice with possibilities of addressing many of the context-specific teaching and learning problems at the institution. During the planning phase for the third cycle of an action inquiry project the researcher decided to subject some of the multitude of findings, gathered over the first two cycles, to scrutiny by fellow online/blended learning facilitators/designers/researchers at other higher education institutions in South Africa. She hoped that sharing experiences would not only broaden her own insights, but would also lead to "informed" agreement on at least some practices in which blended learning in either her own or the broader higher education environment could be enhanced. In this article the findings of the inter-institutional opinion survey are presented and analysed. The researcher as (the first author) also… [Direct]
(2008). Parents' Concerns about Children with Specific Learning Difficulties: Insights Gained from an Online Message Centre. Support for Learning, v23 n4 p193-200 Nov. Major developments in the use of the internet have enabled easy and widespread access to information and the ability to form virtual social networks. For parents of children with developmental disorders, who may at times feel isolated, having a forum to discuss their fears and concerns with other parents who are sharing similar experiences may provide a source of support and advice. Waiting lists for assessments, including for children with developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), remain in many areas; a professionally supported message centre could also add an additional level of service and empowerment for these parents. This could potentially reduce the need for unnecessary assessment in some cases and help to bridge the information gap between health and education. The Dyscovery Centre message board has been established for over four years and has seen increasing usage during that time. This paper aims to explore the range, frequency and types of concerns that parents of… [Direct]
(1978). Resource Sharing. SPEC Kit 42. A 1977 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) survey indicated that nearly all respondents viewed enhanced access to needed information and service capabilities as the primary benefit of resource sharing. Most responding libraries participated in more than one type of resource sharing activity, ranging from informal understandings among a few similar libraries, to formal multi-faceted cooperatives, consortia, or networks that operate over a large region or nationally. The introduction provides a concise summary of current issues and trends related to resource sharing. The collection of documents comprises: resource sharing policies from University of California and University of Connecticut, and the Constitution of the Middle Atlantic Research Libraries Information Network, from Princeton University; resource sharing procedures from University of Houston and Queens University, and the user guide for the Boston Library Consortium from University of Massachusetts; program…
(2011). Learner Centered Teaching: Putting the Research on Learning into Practice. Stylus Publishing, LLC This book presents the research-based case that Learner Centered Teaching (LCT) offers the best means to optimize student learning in college, and offers examples and ideas for putting it into practice, as well the underlying rationale. It also starts from the premise that many faculty are much closer to being learner centered teachers than they think, but don't have the full conceptual understanding of the process to achieve its full impact. There is sometimes a gap between what we would like to achieve in our teaching and the knowledge and strategies needed to make it happen. LCT keeps all of the good features of a teacher-centered approach and applies them in ways that are in better harmony with how our brains learn. It, for instance, embraces the teacher as expert as well as the appropriate use of lecture, while also offering new, effective ways to replace practices that don't optimizing student learning. Neuroscience, biology and cognitive science research have made it clear… [Direct]
(2014). END 2014: International Conference on Education and New Developments. Conference Proceedings (Madrid, Spain, June 28-30, 2014). Online Submission We welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2014, taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 28 to 30 of June, 2014. Education, as an important right in our contemporary world, began since we exist. Knowledge and skills were passed by adults to the young, and cultures began to extend their experiences through various forms. Schools and academies were formed since the most ancient civilizations. Although between innumerous difficulties, these experiences were capable to teach us how to develop better formative effects and to turn education a generalized and global right. Formal education and other educational practices are used by all of us in the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and acts. One of the most important contributions resides in what and how we learn through the improvement of educational processes, both in formal and informal settings. This international conference seeks to provide explore the processes, actions,… [PDF]