Education Commons^™

Technology And Teacher Preparation In Exemplary Institutions: 1994 To 2003, Mark J. Hofer

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In a 1994 study commissioned by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Mergendoller, Johnston, Rockman, & Willis (1994) examined four exemplary institutions to identify their approaches to integrating technology into teacher education. A decade later, the field would benefit from a comparison of current approaches of infusing technology into teacher education to the 1994 findings. This study examines the approaches of the first seven teacher education programs to receive the ISTE NETS Distinguished Achievement Award. Current approaches to the process are outlined, including the identification of the key factors impacting their implementation. A comparison of the 1994 and the present …

An Examination Of Ethical Issues Pertaining To Educational Research, Greg Gallagher

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The social sciences in general and educational researchers in particular have become more and more conscious of ethical propriety and the need for universally acceptable codes of ethical conduct in recent years. This newfound interest stems in part from criticisms of innovative contemporary research methodologies, and the fear that they may be at odds with certain fundamental ethical principles. This, in turn, has resulted in the integrity and validity of some of these new contemporary styles of research being held up to scrutiny and debated by adherents to the more conventional research methodologies. This paper begins by tracing back to …

Developing A Participatory Consultation Process For Quality Reviews:The Initial Stage Of The European University Associations Quality Review Of The Technological University Dubin, Aidan Kenny

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This paper describes the evolution of a consultation process utilized by the Technological University Dubin (DIT) as part of a quality review process. An emphasis is placed on outlining: the collaborative nature of the enquiry; the guidelines and code of ethics adopted; the social research methodology utilized both quantitative (online surveys, staff n=1831, student’s n=21094) and qualitative (6 staff focus groups n=45 and 4 stakeholder focus groups n=24 and faculty board submissions 6). Instrument construction, theme sheet design and sampling procedures and response rate are detailed. The author, as consultation facilitator, provides an narrative of events and applies theory to …

Researching From The Inside - Does It Compromise Validity? - A Discussion, Pauline Rooney

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The concept of validity in social research is the subject of much debate. It is a complex and problematic issue, especially because it is difficult to define validity. In traditional studies, validity usually referred to the degree to which the study accurately reflected the issue or topic that the research was attempting to measure (Feldman 2003). More specifically, this type of validity also referred to the role of research instruments and their appropriateness for collecting data that answers the research questions (Black and Champion 1976). Such positivist accounts assumed that science could produce objective knowledge and thus the researcher's goal …

Is There A Need To Debate The Role Of Higher Education And The Public Good?, Sandra Fisher

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Calls for sustaining and increasing investment in higher education are often made on the basis that higher education is a `public good'. The idea of higher education as a public good is frequently conceptualized in terms of its contribution to economic development. If more people participate in higher education then society as a whole will benefit. Outside of the economic benefits of higher education there is less debate as to what is meant by `public good' in the context of higher education. This paper explores higher education as a public good and its role in realizing the public good (Jonathan …

Contradictions In Irish Academic Research, Stephen Jerrams, John Donovan

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The conditions that govern academic research vary greatly from country to country and research in the Republic of Ireland was and remains markedly different from that of its larger European neighbours and the United States. Despite the quality of its education system and the excellent reputation of its universities, until recently Ireland had relatively low levels of academic research. Pinnacles of excellence could be found in certain disciplines, but state funding was low and issues relating to industrial collaborations, international partnerships, commercialisation and the exploitation of Intellectual Property (IP) rarely arose. Even today the Irish Government’s spending on academic research, …

Institutional Mission Vs. Policy Constraint?: Unlocking Potential, Ellen Hazelkorn

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The research-intensive and competitive knowledge society is putting HEIs (higher education institutions) under the spotlight. While many HEIs around the world do not proclaim or wish to be research-intensive institutions the majority desire to intensify their research activity because it is seen as a sine qua non of higher education. Accordingly, HEIs are busy making critical strategic choices concerning human resources, the research environment, the teaching-research nexus, organisational and management structure, and funding. Governments are also making choices, using policies and financial instruments to help shape institutional mission, priorities and HE systems. But if governments genuinely desire to widen access …

Drama In The Docklands, Mary Moynihan

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An article by Mary Moynihan in IN2 Magazine, issue number seven, Winter 2005, on Drama in the Docklands, a project run by Smashing Times Theatre Company that promotes access to creativity in the docklands area of Dublin, bringing drama into two primary schools - St Joseph's Primary School, East Wall and City Quay Primary School, City Quay. The article documents the project and the year-end show by children at Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, Dublin.

Digital Moviemaking—The Harmonization Of Technology, Pedagogy And Content, Mark J. Hofer, Kathleen Owings Swan

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Technology integration in K-12 classrooms resembles the “hammer in search of a nail” phenomenon. While increasingly powerful and accessible technology tools certainly offer promising potential to impact teaching and learning, their implementation can often be contrived or incongruent with classroom practice and discipline-specific pedagogy. Digital moviemaking provides a unique opportunity to connect powerful, yet accessible, technology integration with core content and pedagogical practice within specific academic disciplines. This paper explores the digital disconnect between student use of technology in and out of school, the typical problems with integrating technology in K-12 schools, the potential of digital moviemaking, an examination of …

Instructional Uses Of Instant Messaging (Im) During Classroom Lectures, Mabel B. Kinzie, Stephen D. Whitaker, Mark J. Hofer

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Can “Information Age” learners effectively multi-task in the classroom? Can synchronous classroom activities be designed around conceptually related tasks, to encourage deeper processing and greater learning of classroom content? This research was undertaken to begin to address these questions. In this study, we explored the use of instructionally-related instant messaging (IM) discussions during undergraduate university lectures. Over the course of three weeks, students practiced with and then employed hand-held computers for brief, synchronous class discussions in response to assigned questions related to the lectures. Students were observed during these sessions, and students and the instructors were interviewed separately afterwards. The …

Framing The Role Of Leader: How Community College Presidents Construct Their Leadership, Pamela L. Eddy

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Presidents are one of the most studied of administrative roles, yet little research occurs on understanding how these leaders construct their own leadership. Thus, the question guiding the research reported here concerned how community college presidents cognitively framed their leadership roles. This study involved the interviewing of 9 community college presidents. Findings uncovered 3 themes. The first theme identified how the presidents' underlying mental maps guided decision-making and leadership on campus. The second theme linked the basic cognitive orientation of the presidents with on-going situated cognition in their new work settings. Learning evolved based on environmental factors. The final category …

The Role Of Foreign Languages In Educating Lawyers For Transnational Challenges, Vivian Grosswald Curran

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In a world in which every other country seems intent on teaching English to their youth, and in which the United States educational system does not place a high priority on teaching foreign languages, the American law student, dean and professor may doubt if foreign language knowledge is anything more than marginally helpful to law graduates. Similarly, educators at the primary school level may not be likely to assess foreign language education as warranting a greater allocation of scarce public resources.

The usefulness of foreign languages to the United States lawyer gradually has been gaining increased recognition in the profession, …

Toward A Rule Of Law Society In Iraq: Introducing Clinical Legal Education Into Iraqi Law Schools, Haider Ala Hamoudi

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This Article details my experience introducing clinical legal education into three Iraqi law schools. I highlight some of the cultural, legal and logistical obstacles that existed, and the means my colleagues and I used to circumvent them. By and large we considered our project at least modestly successful and certainly garnered the interest of many faculty and nearly all students who participated. Nevertheless, the extent of our success depended largely on the cooperation of the faculty and administration at the law schools with which we worked, and we were able to achieve the most at those institutions where cooperation was …