Asynchronous access to conventional course delivery: a pilot project

This study describes a technological pilot project providing 160 graduate students with asynchronous access to the ongoing proceedings of a lecture‐based course. Exactly half of the students spoke the language of instruction, English, as a second language (ESL). While the asynchronous video‐on‐demand service proved popular overall, ESL students were markedly heavier users of the system and reported most enthusiastically on its benefits. Asynchronous access was valued as much for empowering the learner with control of the lecture as it was for the issue of convenience. Furthermore, the medium of video capture was found to create an impression of intimacy simultaneously cleansed of environmental distractions, an experience not necessarily consistent with live attendance. These findings became the foundation of a course distribution system now providing lectures to over 1,500 undergraduates each semester, yet many of the observed benefits remain to be confirmed by future research.     

Evaluation of a pilot project: preparenthood and pregrandparenthood education

A pilot project in expanding perinatal education is presented in this article. The author has experimented with a series of group sessions on the introduction to the transition to parenthood for couples who are either engaged or recently married. Such couples, if introduced to the changes associated with the transition to parenthood at a point of development in the commitment process, may increase their chances of weathering the turbulence that is often a part of the transition. The potential grandparents are part of the process since they are usually an important source of social support. Preparenthood and pregrandparenthood education is a useful extension of perinatal education for the beginning of this century.     

集中性实践教学环节的教学改革研究

在与企业的交流中发现,学校的实践教学获得的认同度并不高。考察高等院校的教学活动,对于学生,本质上是一种基于资源的学习;对于学校,师资建设、实验室与实习基地建设等,本质上是一个教学资源的建设。工科学生实践教学环节训练乏力的问题,实际是一个实践教学资源缺失的问题。对于实践教学的重点部分如集中性实践教学环节,其教学资源建设的重点在于拓展与企业的合作渠道,把教学环境转移到企业现场,并结合CDIO大纲和企业培训纲要来指导教学,使得实践教学环节尽可能映射工程实践。介绍了基于上述思考的教学改革试点工作。     

Dangerous liaisons: Reflections on a pilot project for state-mandated outcomes assessment of written communication

This study details the development and results of a campus-based writing assessment plan that was mandated by a state-wide university system in order to explore the “value-added” from a writing program curriculum to undergraduate students’ competence with written expression. Four writing samples (two timed essays and two conventional essays) that are produced before, during and at the close of enrollment in the writing program are scored for critical thinking, genre knowledge, rhetorical skills, and mechanics. The results indicate that local campus student achievement related to writing is comparable with performance captured by nationally normed technologies and larger assessment projects at similar state universities. The data also suggest significant performance difference related to the institutional position of students’ instructors as well as students’ own enrollment status. The article concludes that while the data produced by this research project are compelling, the policy and political implications of the undertaking suggest greater sensitivity to the institution's culture and program direction as well as its impact on instructor morale, student learning environment and the place of composition studies in the university.     

The Renewal of Science Teachers’ Knowledge: a pilot professional development project

This paper describes a pilot project for the professional development of science teachers, a major aim of which was to update teachers’ science content knowledge. The paper focuses on the rationale and background of the project, the model of inservice education, the arrangements for credentialling and recognising participating teachers, and the findings of the external evaluation of the initial stages of the project. It concludes with a summary of the features of the project which appear to be facilitating the achievement of its aims.     

Talking about teaching in non-crisis situations: learning from a teacher support project

Facilitating schools to develop more collaborative cultures is seen as one of the major challenges in promoting teachers’ continuing professional development. This article recounts how a fifteen-month project designed to promote greater collegial learning and professional development emerged and developed within one school. Evidence suggests that a model that is voluntary and that involves teachers observing each other's classrooms and sharing insights is both effective and sustainable. Trust, supportive school leadership and external facilitation are also identified as important components in the realization of this model of teacher development.     

Speech and language therapy support for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) – a pilot project

Current research highlights the prevalence of potentially undetected communication difficulties, often associated with major difficulties in literacy and learning, among pupils identified as having behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). In this article, Sarah Heneker, who is a speech and language therapist working mainly with adults with learning disabilities in a Primary Care Trust in Surrey, reports on a pilot project that provided speech and language therapy to a group of pupils in a pupil referral unit (PRU). The research involved formal assessment of 11 pupils aged between five and 11 years. These assessments confirmed that ten out of the 11 pupils experienced some degree of difficulty in communication. Six of these pupils, whose significant difficulties warranted the intervention, were offered speech and language therapy for one term. All these pupils made progress in the areas targeted for intervention and gained confidence generally in their communication. The pupils who worked on word knowledge made the greatest measurable progress. Sarah Heneker reports on these and other benefits to the pupils involved and reveals that the success of her pilot project has led directly to a sustained programme of speech and language therapy input for the pupils in this PRU. This may be a response that education providers in other localities will wish to emulate.     

Online support for primary school pupils: project eDIHO

The paper describes the history, results and teaching experiences associated with an educational project eDIHO that was designed as a model of teacher education enabling student teachers to teach online. The paper analyses and evaluates practical experiences gained in project activities and summarises methodological perspectives for the online support of primary school educators and those in teacher education courses.

Online‐Unterstützung von Grundschülern: das eDIHO Projekt

In diesem Papier werden die Entwicklung, die Ergebnisse und die Lehrerfahrungen geschildert, die am Unterrichtsprojekt eDIHO , das als Lehrerbildungsmodell zur Befähigung von Studenten zum Online‐Lehren entwickelt worden war, gewonnen wurden. Der Beitrag analysiert und evaluiert praktische Erfahrungen, die bei der Arbeit in diesem Projekt gewonnen wurden und stellt die methodologischen Perspektiven für die Online‐Unterstützung für Grundschüler und die für die Lehrerbildung zusammen.

Soutien en ligne pour les élèves de l’école primaire:projet eDIHOS

Cet article décrit l’histoire, les résultats et les expériences d’enseignement associées à un projet éducatif eDIHO qui a été établi comme maquette de formation des Maîtres permettant aux futurs professeurs d’enseigner en ligne.Cette étude analyse et évalue les expériences pratiques acquises dans les activités du projet et résume les perspectives méthodologiques qui s’offrent au soutien en ligne tant pour aider les éducateurs du primaire que ceux qui donnent des cours de formation des maîtres.     

Making a Difference: Using peers to assess individual students' contributions to a group project

Overcoming the potential dilemma of awarding the same grade to a group of students for group work assignments, regardless of the contribution made by each group member, is a problem facing teachers who ask their students to work collaboratively together on assessed group tasks. In this paper, we report on the procedures to factor in the contributions of individual group members engaged in an integrated group project using peer assessment procedures. Our findings demonstrate that the method we used resulted in a substantially wider spread of marks being given to individual students. Almost every student was awarded a numerical score which was higher or lower than a simple group project mark would have been. When these numerical scores were converted into the final letter grades, approximately one-third of the students received a grade for the group project that was different from the grade that they would have received if the same grade had been awarded to all group members. Based on these preliminary findings we conclude that peer assessment can be usefully and meaningfully employed to factor individual contributions into the grades awarded to students engaged in collaborative group work.     

Ways in which Governing Bodies Contribute to School Improvement: Findings from a pilot project

ABSTRACT

Legislation over the last 10 years has increased considerably the responsibilities of school governors but there has been little research into their role in bringing about school improvement. This paper reports upon a pilot project designed to set the parameters and criteria for a more detailed and extensive study into this area. Based upon the data gathered, it is possible to suggest some ways in which governing bodies can enhance the conditions for improvement.     

Influences on peer evaluation in a group project: an exploration of leadership,demographics and course performance

Collaborative learning strategies are widely used in higher education to deepen learning, promote team-building skills and achieve course learning objectives. Using peer evaluation is an important strategy to ensure that engaged and active students are rewarded for their efforts, and to discourage loafing within groups. However, less is known about what biases may influence students’ peer evaluations. In this paper, we investigate what variables students may (consciously or unconsciously) use to evaluate their peers. We explore the role of sex, race, course performance and group leadership on peer evaluation. We also investigate whether these variables correlate with students’ final course grade. We found that students who reported being leaders in groups were evaluated higher than peers who reported being followers, and that course performance positively correlated with peer evaluations. White students received higher peer evaluations than students of colour. This difference reflects trends in group leadership and course performance, with more white students than students of colour reporting being leaders in groups and receiving higher grades.     

Consulting with groups of teachers. Evaluation of a pilot project in Ireland

This article reports on a two year project in which educational psychologists offered consultation to groups of teachers, to help them find solutions to school-based problems. Teachers were drawn from within individual schools and from across a number of schools. Typically, teachers were trained by educational psychologists in group consultation processes. Group consultation sessions were usually offered on a termly basis (three times per year). The group consultation sessions were facilitated by two psychologists. A formal process was followed, using a problem-solving structure. A pilot project ran for two years and was evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from teachers, school principals and psychologists. Findings indicate that group consultation is an effective method of service delivery, particularly for clusters of small, rural schools. The evaluation considers aspects of group consultation that could be further developed and new directions for this model of working.     

Standing out and fitting in: a report on a support group for individuals with Asperger syndrome using a personal account

In this article, Andrea MacLeod, lecturer in autism studies at the University of Birmingham, and Paula Johnston, a woman with Asperger syndrome who now focuses on writing and speaking about her condition, consider the function of specialist group interventions for individuals with Asperger syndrome. These authors report on one model - a discussion and support group aimed primarily at young adults. The self-report of a former participant, a woman with Asperger syndrome, is used as a case study to illustrate issues and processes. Her report suggests that peer support and peer learning should be recognised as significant goals of such interventions and that interventions should be planned to respond to the needs that follow diagnosis. The authors suggest that clinical and educational services need to work together to ensure that children and young people have immediate access to such support models, which should be viewed as preventative therapies. This article provides evidence that first-hand accounts can offer new insights into how such interventions are experienced by those involved. Andrea MacLeod and Paula Johnston argue that future research in this area should seek to employ participatory methodologies.     

Staff Development in Universities: Should There be a Staff College?

Drawing on 18 years of experience in university staff development the author considers the way staff training is regarded by academics and relates it to the concept of 'professionalism' among university teachers. He describes a two-year in-service course for teachers in higher education as an illustration of one form a professional training might take and argues the case for soundly basing such training on considerations of principle and theory. Changing attitudes and perceptions is perhaps more important than learning classroom skills, or management technique. Training should be informed by research but the author illustrates ambivalent attitudes rewards research on universities with a deception of recent personal experience in connection with a national research project on examiners. The inseparability of institutional research and staff development is illustrated with an account of a stuff development exercise associated with the introduction of staff appraised schemes. Lessons are dram from each of the illustrations to suggest some of the key characteristics desirable in a staff college for universities.