Despite the profound impact of action research coaches on teachers' experiences of the inquiry process, little research exists in the field regarding the coach's role. In this exploratory study, two groups of action research coaches--one novice and one experienced--share their experiences of coaching inquiry during the 2009/10 school year. Out of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the confidence, anxiety, and attitude of novice string student improvisers. A form of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, as modified for improvisation by Wehr-Flowers, was given to middle school and high school string students (N = 121) after their participation in a 4-month improvisation…

The goal of this study was to determine which linguistic aspects of second language speech are related to accent and which to comprehensibility. To address this goal, 19 different speech measures in the oral productions of 40 native French speakers of English were examined in relation to accent and comprehensibility, as rated by 60 novice raters…

In this paper, we expose the unique challenges confronting graduate field-ecology students and the coping strategies they adopt to overcome such challenges. To do so, we used a qualitative ("in vivo") research method that combines interviews, observations and open questionnaires with a group of five Israeli graduate students. The two…

English as a lingua franca studies (ELF) from a socio-interactional perspective have illustrated the subtle actions of interlocutors that highlight their "situated identities" (Zimmerman, 1998) in talk-in-interaction. Many of these studies have focused on speakers' identities associated with ethnicity, nationality, or their first or…

In an attempt to increase second language (L2) learners' understanding of the benefits associated with the process approach to writing and, more specifically, to gain their appreciation of how their peers might contribute to the quality of their writing, in this study peer revision was modified between two groups of lower-level proficiency L2…

In response to national calls to better align physics laboratory courses with the way physicists engage in research, we have developed an epistemology and expectations survey to assess how students perceive the nature of physics experiments in the contexts of laboratory courses and the professional research laboratory. The Colorado Learning…

The professional development of novice staff at the university still requires considerable improvement. In this research paper, and in an attempt to define a development model in higher education, attention is paid to the perspectives and judgments of novice university staff. The research focuses specifically on the expression of their problems,…

Teachers often describe their first teaching job following graduation as a shocking experience. This description raises several questions: Do novice teachers actually have a lower level of coping than experienced teachers? Are there factors in the work environment that make coping difficult for all teachers at a school? This paper compares the…

Social work is emerging as a rapidly developing profession in mainland China, a unique context that affects how these new social workers view themselves, their professional identity, and their work. Few studies explore the lived experiences of these new social workers as they enter agencies and begin working with clients while interacting with…

In highlighting the importance of problem-based learning in the development of 21st century skills, (Yun Jo) An (2013) identified the challenges faced by novice teachers in its implementation and suggested strategies to support them. This commentary explores two aspects mentioned in the article, assessment and the role of collaboration, and argues…

Providing quality support for novice teachers as they enter the profession has been an ongoing concern of educator preparation programs. This article describes the efforts of one teacher preparation program in addressing this matter by utilizing Facebook[R] to provide sustained support and professional development for its beginning teachers. We…

The purpose of the study reported in this article is to investigate the effect of two instructional approaches--focus on forms (FonFs) and focus on form (FonF)--on the acquisition of a set of nouns and adjectives by young Japanese children who were complete beginners. The article begins by defining FonFs and FonF and considering the theoretical…

In an urban Texas Independent School District (TXISD), novice teachers leave the field of education for different careers within the first 3 years of employment at a rate that is nearly twice the Texas average and near the top of the national novice teacher attrition rate range. This study examined the lived experiences of 23 TXISD novice teachers…

As newly graduated associate degree nurses (ADN) and baccalaureate degree nurses (BSN) enter into the workforce, they must be equipped to care for a complex patient population; therefore, the purpose of this study was to address the practice expectations and clinical competency of new nurses as perceived by nurse preceptors and nurse managers.…