Teacher Self-efficacy and Accommodating for Students with Disabilities in the Regular Education Classroom

The purpose of the present study is to investigate how teachers feel about their abilities to educate students with special needs, how their degree of teacher self-efficacy compares to intended courses of action, if teachers develop learned helplessness over time, if there is a relationship between low teacher efficacy and high learned helplessness, and if teacher self-efficacy and learned helplessness differ by gender, educational level, years of teaching experiences, and grade level taught.

In the Loop: One Librarian's Experiences Teaching Within First-Year Learning Communities

Unique as snowflakes, learning communities are formed in countless ways. Some are designed specifically for first-year students, while others offer combined or clustered upper-level courses. Most involve at least two linked courses, and some add residential and social components. Many address core general education and basic skills requirements. Learning communities differ in design, yet they are similar in striving to enhance students' academic and social growth. First-year learning communities foster experiences that have been linked to academic success and retention. They also offer unique opportunities for librarians interested in collaborating with departmental faculty and enhancing teaching skills. This article will explore one librarian's experiences teaching within three first-year learning communities at Buffalo State College.

A Departmental Focus on High Impact Undergraduate Research Experiences

Undergraduate research experiences have become an integral part of the Hamilton College chemistry experience. The major premise of the chemistry department’s curriculum is that research is a powerful teaching tool. Curricular offerings have been developed and implemented to better prepare students for the independence required for successful undergraduate research experiences offered during the academic year and the summer. Administrative support has played a critical role in our ability to initiate and sustain scholarly research programs for all faculty members in the department. The research-rich curriculum is built directly upon or derived from the scholarly research agendas of our faculty members. The combined strengths and synergies of our curriculum and summer research program have allowed us to pursue several programmatic initiatives.