Course Description In this course, we will explore the question of the actual and potential connections between democracy and education. Our focus of attention will be placed on a critical examination of democratic theory and its implications for the civic education roles and contributions of teachers, adult educators, community development practitioners, and community organizers. We will survey and deal critically with a range of competing conceptions of democracy, variously described as classical, republican, liberal, radical, marxist, neomarxist, pragmatist, feminist, populist, pluralist, postmodern, and/or participatory. Using narrative inquiry as a means for illuminating and interpreting contemporary practice, we will analyze the implications of different conceptions of democracy for the practical work of civic education.

Democracy and education.

Abbreviated Contents Figures and Tables Preface Introduction and Examples Concepts Relevant to Information Behavior Models, Paradigms, and Theories in the Study of Information Behavior Methods for Studying Information Behavior Research Results and Reflections Appendix: Glossary Appendix: Questions for Discussion and Application References Index

Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs and Behavior

This study guide is a companion to the classic book by Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker: Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement. It can be used by individuals, small groups, or an entire faculty to identify key points, raise questions for consideration, and suggest steps that might be taken to promote the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept in a school or district. This guide is arranged by chapter, enabling readers to either work their way through the entire book or to focus on the specific topics addressed in a particular chapter.

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Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement

by J. Biggs and C. Tang, Maidenhead, England,
Open University Press, 2007, 360 pp., £29.99, ISBN-13: 978-0-335-22126-4

Teaching for quality learning at university

The integration of technology by K-12 teachers was promoted to aid the shift to a more student-centered classroom (e.g., Roblyer, M. D., & Edwards, J. (2000). Integrating educational technology into teaching (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill). However, growth in the power of and access to technology in schools has not been accompanied by an equal growth in technology integration. Research into reasons for minimal technology integration has traditionally focused on post-teacher-education barriers to technology integration (e.g., Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25-39; Ertmer, P. A., Gopalakrishnan, S., & Ross, E. M. (2001). Technology-using teachers: Comparing perceptions of exemplary use to best practice [Electronic copy]. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33(3) 1-2; Hew, K. F., & Brush, T. (2007). Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning: Current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 55(3), 223-252). In this paper, I first clarify the definition of technology integration and question the contention that barriers, particularly those related to teacher beliefs, are behind the lack of technology integration. Using the sociological concept of habitus, or set of dispositions, I then explore preservice teachers' past experiences as a possible explanation for minimal technology integration and discuss implications for future research and teacher education.

Using the theory of habitus to move beyond the study of barriers to technology integration

To better understand how individuals and groups derive satisfaction from information, it is important to identify the information source preferences they apply in information seeking and decision making. Four informal propositions drove the structure and underlying logic of this study, forming a preliminary outline of a theory of information source preference profiles and their influence on information satisfaction. This study employed Social Judgment Analysis (SJA) to identify the information judgment preferences held by professional groups for six selected information sources: word of mouth, expert oral advice, Internet, print news, nonfiction books, and radio/television news. The research was designed as an hypothesis-generating exploratory study employing a purposive sample (n = 90) and generated four empirically supported, testable hypotheses about user satisfaction with information sources. The SJA judgment functions revealed the influences of volume and polarity (i.e., positive versus negative information) on information satisfaction. By advancing the understanding of how information source preferences can be identified empirically and their influence on information satisfaction, this research reflects a first, small step toward understanding "satisficing." Satisficing behaviors result in early termination of information search processes when individuals, facing incomplete information, are sufficiently satisfied to assume risks and execute decisions.

A social judgment analysis of information source preference profiles: an exploratory study to empirically represent media selection patterns

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Can You Hear Me Now? Student Voice: High School & Middle School Students' Perceptions of Teachers, ICT and Learning.

This study is based on earlier research by the author that employed social judgment analysis (SJA; J. Stefl-Mabry, 2001, 2003) to identify the information judgment preferences held by professional groups. This study explores the extent to which individuals, professional groups, and subgroups are self-aware of their judgment profiles. Three specialized groups of professionals--law enforcement, medicine, and education--were chosen to determine if preference profiles cluster around professions or around demographic and other background variables. As the proliferation of data continues to increase, the need to understand users' media preference and selection decisions is of tremendous value to every industry, governmental agency, and institution of learning. In 1966, H. Menzel first raised concern about the reliability of users' to self-assess, and scientists continue to explore the issue of competency in human judgment. To understand the reliability of users' self-assessment regarding media preferences, this study examines the extent to which individuals and groups are self-aware of the empirical judgment profiles they employ in evaluating information source scenarios. This investigation explores the congruence of three groups of professionals' self-reported media preferences as compared to their empirical judgment values, as defined by social judgment analysis.

The reality of media preferences: do professional groups vary in awareness?

Collaborative problem-based courses can engage university students and faculty in more authentic, powerful, and meaningful learning experiences. For the past five years, the College of Computing and Information’s Department of Information Studies has been cultivating an educational partnership that brings together university students with their professional in-service counterparts in local K-12 school districts to explore issues of pedagogy, theory, curriculum, information literacy, technology, multimedia, and assessment. A capstone graduate course has evolved into a trans-generational learning collaboratory. The development and results of the course are discussed along with recommendations for others looking to engage in trans-generational pedagogy.

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Redefining Schools as Learning Organizations: A Model for Trans-Generational Teaching and Learning

This article outlines a K-12 college learning partnership that has evolved over the past two years at the University at Albany, SUNY. Two faculty members with the School of Information Science & Policy (SISP) Joette Stefl-Mabry and Jennifer Goodall Powers, with administrative support of their Associate Dean, Carol Doll, have integrated problem-based learning (PBL) into graduate and undergraduate curricula to establish partnerships with local K-12 school districts. Dynamic PBL environments link K-12 schools, School Library Media (SLM) graduate students, and undergraduate students majoring in information science to develop content, delivery, and assessment methods for K-12 curricula while at the same time strengthening graduate and undergraduate curricula by incorporating real-world challenges into coursework. Through this partnership, K-12 schools benefit from research-based best practices in educational technology and information science graduate and undergraduate students experience real career situation...

Joette Stefl-Mabry

Papers

A social judgment analysis of information source preference profiles: an exploratory study to empirically represent media selection patterns

Can You Hear Me Now? Student Voice: High School & Middle School Students' Perceptions of Teachers, ICT and Learning.

The reality of media preferences: do professional groups vary in awareness?

Redefining Schools as Learning Organizations: A Model for Trans-Generational Teaching and Learning

Creating and Sustaining Problem-Based Partnerships among Graduate, Undergraduate, and K-12 Learners: Opportunities and Challenges