Using learning principles as a theoretical framework for instructional consultations

Learning theory provides a powerful framework for analyzing instructional consultations and increasing their effectiveness. In this paper, the authors review the main tenets of learning theory, apply them to consultation scenarios, and present a complex case study to show how they can guide analysis and problem solving around challenging consultations.     

Supporting new school leaders: findings from a university‐based leadership coaching program for new administrators

Administrators need intense support in their early years in their jobs to master the demands of the position and to emerge as effective leaders for their schools. This article reports on a leadership coaching program offered by a university to support graduates as they transition to new school leadership roles. First year research results of the Program for New Principals indicate that all of the program participants felt that the coaching program was a positive addition to the induction experience for new administrators. New principals viewed coaching positively and emphasized that it is both a valuable and unique form of professional development. Both coaches and new principals cited personalized support as one of the coaching model's most significant assets. The results should inform the development of a model of leadership coaching for new administrators.     

Chasing joint work: administrators’ efforts to structure teacher collaboration

ABSTRACT

Although the benefits of teacher collaboration have been touted, school administrators often struggle to foster productive collaboration at their sites. This study takes a deep dive into teachers’ interactions to understand how administrators’ efforts to engineer collaboration play out in teachers’ relationships. Analysis of qualitative interview and observation data with a social network lens provides a nuanced understanding of teachers’ formal and informal interactions at two schools. Findings make clear why leaders are unlikely to build effective collaborative cultures without noticing and building off of the relationships teachers have built within their existing contexts. Overly regulated meetings impacted both formal and informal relationships between teachers, and productive collaboration during formal meeting time could not be sustained in teachers’ informal networks when other structural obstacles intervened. Few teachers were able to overcome either of these constraints to engage in meaningful collaboration, although the efforts of some provide insight for promoting collaborative cultures. This study provides insights for how leaders might notice and capitalise on existing relationships as well as on sometimes unintended structures to support teachers’ join work.     

DNA as a Work of Art: Processes of Semiosis between Contemporary Art and Biology

When A Genomic Portrait – Sir John Sulston by Mark Quinn appeared in the London National Portrait Gallery's exhibition in 2001/2, the ensuing public controversy over its portrayal raised a number of questions about the representation of a publicly known figure. Because the portrait was the Gallery's first contemporary commission using specialised, scientific procedures in its creation, a number of issues arose surrounding its authenticity. How questions of authenticity are answered depends upon how the viewer reads aspects of scientific coding as it functions within the artistic domain. This is a form of visual literacy that depends on the viewer's ability to lift the veil that operates between coding systems and the context of their use. Literacy in this case is built upon the relationship between visual interpretation and ascribed systems of meaning within the context of their recontextualisations. By playing with the intersections between artistic and scientific discourses, the authors investigate how the representation of identity functions as a polysemy across different semiotic domains. Using visual semiotics to examine the intersections between sign systems across these domains, some of the communication aspects of how new modes of art function in present‐day communities are provoked. By illustrating the complexity of this process as a part of transforming expert knowing into pedagogical practice, support is given for improving teacher education in the arts and cultural domain.     

Orthography and the development of metalinguistic reflection in Portuguese primary school pupils / Ortografía y desarrollo de la reflexión metalingüística en alumnos portugueses en primaria

Abstract

Linguistic awareness is crucial in learning literacy. This project has a two-fold aim: to develop the students’ ability to think about language in order to write with accuracy and to lead teachers to promote students’ discussions about their writing difficulties. The study is part of a two-year action-research project developed in primary schools from the Lisbon area, with experimental and control groups. The starting point of the project was the analysis of the problems students of third and fourth grades showed in their writing. The scope of the project includes dictation tasks within an interactionist approach, favouring grammatical discussions leading to the observation and manipulation of linguistic data.     

LINKING AND LEVERAGING FOR POWERFUL IMPACT: AN INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION TO ADDRESS NATIONAL WORKFORCE NEEDS

Learning assistance is in increasing demand in postsecondary institutions. This study investigates the students accessing the services offered by the Learning Skills Center (LSC) in a Canadian community college. Students are compared with the general student body. Results indicate that students requesting assistance tend to be predominantly female and in their first year of study. Mature students appear to use the Center more readily than younger students. The increasing number of students who speak English as a second language may place special demand on the instructional techniques used by LSC staff. Suggestions are provided for increasing the student demand from underrepresented groups.     

Spelling,Reading Abilities and Speech Perception in Deaf Children with a Cochlear Implant

ABSTRACT

This study aims to compare word spelling outcomes for French-speaking deaf children with a cochlear implant (CI) with hearing children who matched for age, level of education and gender. A picture written naming task controlling for word frequency, word length, and phoneme-to-grapheme predictability was designed to analyze spelling productions. A generalized linear mixed model on the percentage of correct spelling revealed an effect of participant’s reading abilities, but no effect of hearing status. Word frequency and word length, but not phoneme-to-grapheme predictability, contributed to explaining the spelling variance. Deaf children with a CI made significantly less phonologically plausible errors and more phonologically unacceptable errors when compared to their hearing peers. Age at implantation and speech perception scores were related to deaf children’s errors. A good word spelling level can be achieved by deaf children with a CI, who nonetheless use less efficiently the phoneme-to-grapheme strategy than do hearing children.     

The ecology of interactive learning environments: situating traditional theory

In educational discourse on human learning (i.e. the result of experience) and development (i.e. the result of maturation), there are three fundamental theoretical frameworks, – behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, each of which have been applied, with varying degrees of success, in online environments. An ecological framework of human learning and development in interactive learning environments is proposed. Such an inclusive paradigm organizes the fundamental theoretical assumptions of behaviourism (i.e. automated learning), cognitivism (i.e. recall, understanding, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, creativity, problem solving) and constructivism (i.e. private and shared meaning). Based on review of the literature, behaviourism is best conceptualized as a learning theory; constructivist theoretical assumptions are best applied to cognitive development including private online experience (cognitive constructivism) and shared online experience (social constructivism). Cognitivism is a particularly relevant theoretical orientation in understanding both human learning and development in interactive learning environments.     

Influence of Process Parameters on Chlorinated Biocide Decontamination by li-CO2 on Artificially Contaminated Model Materials

ABSTRACT

Previously, heavy use of biocides for the treatment of objects made of organic materials in museum collections (e.g. ethnographic, historical collections) was very common. Now suitable decontamination methods/technologies are being sought. A decontamination treatment by li-CO₂ was optimized that considered the specific requirements of museum objects. The treatment was tested on model materials artificially contaminated with biocide solutions containing dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), pentachlorophenol (PCP), lindane, and permethrin or cypermethrin. High decontamination was achieved for DDT, lindane, PCP, and permethrin on artificially biocide loaded wool and wood model materials. Optimal process parameter settings for li-CO₂ decontamination include a single 30?min cycle for woolen materials and three sequential 30?min cycles each for wood. These methods allow a reduction of at least 90% of all biocides for wool and between 70% and 85% for wood. Decontamination of the latter was more effective for less polar biocides as DDT and permethrin. Despite a significant improvement in decontamination for wood using co-solvents such as acetone, ethanol, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), their use is not recommended due to the increased risk of damage to the objects, in particular if a surface coating is present.     

He Asked Me What!?—Using Shared Online Accounts as Training Tools for Distance Learning Librarians

ABSTRACT

This study explores the idea of creating a knowledge base from shared online accounts to use in training librarians who perform distance reference services. Through a survey, follow-up interviews and a case study, the investigators explored current and potential use of shared online accounts as training tools. This study revealed that the participants viewed the concept positively, but many encountered barriers to effectively employing a local knowledge base as a training tool.