Cheryl Poth

CONTEXTUAL AND SCHOOL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ACHIEVEMENT ON A HIGH‐STAKES EXAMINATION

This study identified student and school ‐ level factors associated with student achievement on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), an examination that includes a student questionnaire examining home literacy practices. Linked student and school contextual data enabled the use of hierarchical linear modeling to complete the analyses and examine both student and school level effects. Fourteen student and three school level variables were found to be associated with students’ reading achievement and twelve student and two school level variables were associated with writing. Significant variations between schools were also found for students with individualized education plans, English as a second language, or previous eligibility on the OSSLT. Key words: hierarchical linear modeling, literacy testing, achievement, education factors Dans cette etude, les auteurs ont identifie les facteurs eleves et niveaux scolaires associes au rendement scolaire dans le Test de competences linguistiques de l’Ontario, un examen qui comprend un questionnaire pour les eleves au sujet des habitudes en matiere de litteratie a la maison. Des donnees reliees aux eleves et au contexte scolaire ont permis l’utilisation d’une modelisation lineaire hierarchique en vue de completer les analyses et d’etudier les effets quant aux eleves et aux niveaux scolaires. Les auteurs ont etabli que quatorze variables ayant trait aux eleves et trois ayant trait aux niveaux scolaires etaient associees au rendement des eleves en matiere de lecture et que douze variables ayant trait aux eleves et deux ayant trait aux niveaux scolaires etaient associees a l’ecriture. Des ecarts importants entre les ecoles ont egalement ete notes chez les eleves ayant des programmes pedagogiques sur mesure, inscrits en anglais langue seconde ou deja admissibles au Test de competences linguistiques des ecoles secondaires de l’Ontario. Mots cles : modelisation lineaire hierarchique, test de competences linguistiques, rendement scolaire, facteurs pedagogiques

Editors’ Afterword Toward Evidence-Based Guidelines for Reviewing Mixed Methods Research Manuscripts Submitted to Journals

There are approximately 23,000 scholarly journals in the world, collectively publishing 1.4 million articles a year. The number of articles published each year and the number of journals have both grown steadily for over two centuries, by about 3% and 3.5% per year, respectively. The reason is the equally persistent growth in the number of researchers, which has also grown at about 3% per year and now stands at around 5.5 million. (p. 3)

Twelve tips for developing a near-peer shadowing program to prepare students for clinical training

Background: One effective way to help prepare medical students for clinical training is the implementation of a near-peer shadowing program, in which pre-clinical trainees shadow clinical trainees. Aims: This article describes techniques for ensuring the effectiveness of a near-peer shadowing program in the hope of improving the preparedness of students for clinical training. Method: A list of 12 tips were developed by combining a review of the literature with a reflection upon the authors’ own experiences with developing a near-peer shadowing program, in which first-year medical students shadowed first-year residents. Results: Both successes and failures were identified, both in the literature and in the authors own experiences. These can be used to inform the development of future programs. Conclusions: A near-peer shadowing program has the strong potential to play a key role in preparing students to enter clinical training. These 12 tips, drawn from the literature and our own experience, will maximize the benefits for both student and tutor learning and minimize the potential pitfalls encountered by other programs.

What constitutes effective learning experiences in a mixed methods research course? An examination from the student perspective

Abstract Researchers are increasingly tasked with integrating multiple data sources for addressing complex issues, yet methodological training has to date failed to prepare researchers adequately to meet these new demands (e.g., Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2010). An embedded mixed methods design was used in which quantitative data were embedded within a qualitative case study bounded by the duration of the course and its participants for the purpose of generating a comprehensive understanding of the course experience and impact from the students’ perspective. The findings shed new light on the inadequacy of a single mixed methods course for preparing course participants to undertake mixed methods dissertation research, as well as the untapped potential of the course for building research skills beyond planning across three methodologies. Implications for teaching about mixed methods are discussed.

Learning the CanMEDS roles in a near-peer shadowing program: A mixed methods randomized control trial

Background: The development of competency frameworks, such as CanMEDS, has helped define professional behavior, but programs that translate their theoretical aspects into practical learning are lacking. Aim: To improve instruction of the CanMEDS framework, the University of Alberta implemented a program in which 83 first-year medical students shadowed a first-year resident for eight months. Methods: A randomized trial compared participants’ attitudes and knowledge regarding CanMEDS to controls. A concurrent–triangulation mixed methods design with questionnaires and interviews provided a comprehensive understanding of program experiences. Results: Students reported increasing their understanding of CanMEDS and increased their acceptance of the frameworks importance and knowledge of its contents when compared to controls. Residents also reported that their knowledge of CanMEDS had increased. Participants considered the program to be effective for learning CanMEDS and developing professionalism, especially when paired with clinical encounters relevant to given professional roles. Conclusion: This simple, low cost, near-peer shadowing program can be useful for teaching professional behavior.

Relationships between Pre-Service Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment, Approaches to Instruction, and Assessment: An Achievement Goal Theory Perspective.

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationships between pre-service teachers’ conceptions of assessment and their intended approaches to classroom instruction and assessment. We operationalised approaches to instruction and assessment according to Achievement Goal Theory, postulating that pre-service teachers approach instruction and assessment from either a mastery or performance perspective. The results from a correlational study of 344 Canadian pre-service teachers showed that intended instruction and assessment practices were separated according to mastery and performance approaches. However, there was also alignment between the concepts such that pre-service teachers who had a mastery approach to instruction were more inclined towards a mastery approach to assessment. Approaches to assessment were also related to pre-service teachers’ conceptions: beliefs that assessment holds students and schools accountable were positively related to a performance approach to assessment. In contrast, a belief that assessment improves teaching was positively related to a mastery approach to assessment and negatively to a performance approach. We discuss relationships between conceptions of assessment, approaches to classroom instruction and assessment as conceptualised from an Achievement Goal Theory perspective.

Editor’s Introduction Special Issue: Mixed Methods Part II

This second special issue reflects the great potential that we see for mixed methods research for contributing to innovations within qualitative research by bringing together crossdisciplinary work of authors from Canada, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. Indeed, publications are increasingly focused on the innovative intersections of qualitative and mixed methods research; key among the nine such resources published in 2015 are Ethics in Ethnography: A Mixed Methods Approach (LeCompte & Schensul, 2015) and Qualitative Networks: Mixed Methods in Sociological Research (Bellotti, 2015). At the heart of this second special issue is a focus on continuing the conversations began in the 2015 publication of Volume 14, Issue 2 in International Journal of Qualitative Methods (IJQM) illustrating the use of mixed methods for informing and enhancing qualitative research. The following six manuscripts began life as one of 70 submissions, representing 20 countries across six continents relating to diverse topics across disciplines/fields (e.g., education, health, communication, evaluation, and social services) in response to our call for abstracts for a special issue. Following a rigorous review process, we invited 20 authors to write manuscripts. The next step, the peer review process, warrants some explanation about the excellent work made possible by our remarkable reviewers. This essential role is further explored in our closing editorial focused on the feedback provided based on six criteria (i.e., relevance, quality of information, quality of writing, conforming to American Psychological Association guidelines, adherence to ethical standards, and suggestions for improvement). We are delighted to present the second group of six manuscripts embodying the superb efforts of all our authors in attending to the thoughtful feedback from our reviewers. The opening article—‘‘Qualitative and Mixed Methods Social Media Research: A Review of the Literature’’—provides a meaningful perspective on which to launch this special issue about how qualitative and mixed methods research approaches have been used in social media research. Specifically, Snelson reports her findings of a content analysis of 55 articles published between 2007 and 2013. An overall increase in social media use in general and specifically the use of Facebook has resulted in greater interest in learning about how humans interact with social media and the content posted. Familiar methods have been used for data collection (e.g., interviews and surveys) for the majority of the studies, with few examples of innovative methods (e.g., network analysis). Approximately one half of the studies (n 1⁄4 23) had procedures similar to what Creswell and Plano Clark (2011) refer to as the convergent parallel design, with the other studies involving the use of Creswell and Plano Clark’s either exploratory sequential or explanatory sequential designs. Yet, authors of these articles did not use those terms to describe the designs. Taken together, these findings describing the recent status of mixed methods research within social media research are important for informing the emerging field of research of the mixed methods research literature. In the next article, Feltham-King and Macleod use an illustrative example to forward supplementing discourse analysis with the quantification allowed in content analysis. To that end, the example draws on the analysis of 300 newspaper articles, published in 25 national and regional South African newspapers between 1978 and 2005 using a combination of Foucauldian discourse analysis and directed content analysis based on social constructionist theory. The key findings described in their article, ‘‘How Content Analysis May Complement and Extend the Insights of Discourse Analysis: An Example of Research on Constructions of Abortion in South African

Special Issue: Mixed Methods

© 2015 Poth & Onwuegbuzie. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons‐ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncsa/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, not used for commercial purposes, and if transformed, the resulting work is redistributed under the same or similar license to this one.

Toward Intentional, Reflective, and Assimilative Classroom Practices with Students with FASD.

The value of research-informed classroom practices is well recognized and thus this qualitative study was designed to explore, from multiple perspectives, the experiences and influences of classroom practices for students with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). The inductive analysis of 11 focus groups and three interviews involving 60 individuals working closely with this student population—31 teachers, seven administrators, 16 allied professionals, and six caregivers—generated three themes: understanding the whole student, responding within dynamic environments, and optimizing student-centered programming. This study provides an essential step toward better-prepared educators for meeting the learning and developmental needs of students with FASD as well as other complex populations. The implications for developing professional learning opportunities reflective of intentional, reflective, and assimilative classroom practices are discussed.

Understanding Student Experiences in a Near-Peer Resident Shadowing Program

Introduction. The preparation of medical students for clerkship has been criticized, both in terms of students’ ability to understand their new role as clinical trainees and in their ability to carry out that role. To begin to address this gap, this paper reports the experiences of students in a shadowing program aimed at enhancing the preparedness of medical students for clinical training. The study examined a novel program, the Resident-Medical Student Shadowing Program, in which first-year medical students at the University of Alberta shadowed a first-year resident during clinical duties over the course of eight months. Methods. A study was conducted to assess the experiences of 83 first-year medical student participants who shadowed a first-year resident intermittently for one year. Student and resident participants’ experiences were explored using semistructured interviews. Results. Students and residents experiences indicate that participation increased students’ understanding of the clinical environment and their role within it and introduced them to skills and knowledge needed to perform that role. Students reported that a close relationship with their resident enhanced their learning experience. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that a low-cost program in which first-year students shadow residents may be a useful tool for helping prepare students for clerkship.