Maurice DiGiuseppe

Representing Nature of Science in a Science Textbook: Exploring author–editor–publisher interactions

Current reforms in elementary and secondary science education call for students and teachers to develop more informed views of the nature of science (NOS)—a process in which science textbooks play a significant role. This paper reports on a case study of the development of representations of the NOS in a senior high school chemistry textbook by the books author, editor, and publisher. The study examines the multiple discourses that arose as the developers reflected on their personal and shared understandings of NOS; squared these with mandated curricula, the educational needs of chemistry students and teachers, and the exigencies of large-scale commercial textbook publishing. As a result, the team developed and incorporated, in the textbook, representations of NOS they believed were the most pedagogically suitable. Analysis of the data in this study indicates that a number of factors significantly influenced the development of representations of NOS, including representational accuracy (the degree to which representations of NOS conformed to informed views of the NOS), representational consistency (the degree to which representations of NOS in different parts of the book conveyed the same meaning), representational appropriateness (the age-, grade-, and reading-level appropriateness of the NOS representations), representational alignment (the degree to which NOS representations aligned with mandated curriculum), representational marketability (the degree to which NOS representations would affect sales of the textbook), and ‘Workplace Resources’ factors including availability of time, relevant expertise, and opportunities for professional development.

Democratizing digital learning: theorizing the fully online learning community model

The integration of digital technologies at institutions of higher education are profoundly influencing formal learning on a global scale. Social-constructivist models of fully online learning are well-positioned to address the demands of government, and economic and social-development organizations for civically-engaged individuals with strong problem-solving, critical-thinking and collaboration competencies. With an established record of performance at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), Canada, the Fully Online Learning Community (FOLC) is one such model.This paper theorizes FOLC as a response to several problematics, including (a) the aforementioned demand for greater educational focus on higher-order competency development, (b) the deficiencies of distance education and MOOCs as learning models, and (c) a quest for new learning models that strengthen deliberation skills and deepen democratic experience. As a divergent fork of the Community of Inquiry model, FOLC describes collaborative learning as a symbiosis of social and cognitive interactions amplified through effective use of synchronous and asynchronous digital affordances. Furthermore, it models democratized learning communities that reduce transactional distance between learners and educators, incorporates authentic assessment, and encourages negotiated technology affordances and cognitive outcomes while distributing responsibility for constructive criticality.Having positioned FOLC conceptually, and addressed current limitations, a research agenda for extending its empirical foundations, and leveraging UOIT’s EILAB affordances, is presented. The underlying argument is that self-regulating and transformative learning communities can be established and sustained in fully online environments, and that such communities (a) produce a diversity of beneficial learning outcomes, and (b) deepen the democratic functioning of learners and their social contexts.

Exploring Factors Facilitating and Hindering College-University Pathway Program Completion.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore not only the academic measures such as grade point average of success of college-to-university transfer programs (Pathway Programs), but also the social-cultural facilitators and barriers throughout the students’ Pathway experience. Design/methodology/approach – The experience of students and academic advisors moving between Queensdale College and North Star University (NSU) (pseudonyms) were analyzed using a mixed-methods approach including analysis of data from online surveys, secondary data (course performance), and focus group interviews. Findings – Students who are able to enter the Pathway Programs at NSU perform on average better than their four-year traditional program peers. There remain a number of social-cultural barrier which need to be addressed to improve the overall experience of these transfer students. Practical implications – The results from this study will assist the administrative decision makers in designing Pathways and their associa...