Using the Stepped Care Model to Empower University Students With Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities face several challenges in postsecondary education settings. The authors explore the issue and shed light on the importance of self‐advocacy for academic success. The stepped care model (SCM) is suggested as an approach to assist college students with learning disabilities in developing these skills and obtaining services. A brief case example from 1 of the authors' work is shared to illustrate the use of the SCM with a student with a learning disability.     

Effective Practices in Distance Education

Summary

Distance education is changing the landscape of higher education and many faculty are now developing Web-based courses. This paper describes the lessons learned by the authors' experiences and research and offers a specific set of pedagogical and assessment strategies that they have found to be successful in online settings. The authors have found that classes delivered on the Web provide a viable option for professional development of K-12 teachers, and that the learning that occurs is of equal quality to those university courses taught on campus. Web-based courses offer students an opportunity to take courses anytime, anyplace.     

Untangling the Net

Abstract

The importance of computer training in social work education will continue to increase as the profession becomes more globalized and technological. It is the authors' premise that social work education must include the integration of training in computer technology. One resource available to educators is the Internet. The world wide web contains a vast amount of information on policy and social issues. This article discusses the use of web based learning exercises to simultaneously teach social policy and enhance student computer skills. Two learning exercises are presented which are designed for use in social work policy courses. The authors present their teaching experiences and provide suggestions on using this approach in the classroom environment. Information on resources and useful URL's for policy research is included in the discussion.     

Reviews

The authors' experiences of observing teaching and learning in schools have led them to become concerned at the dominant paradigm of a ‘pedagogy of poverty' at the expense of a ‘pedagogy of plenty’. Bernstein's theory of power and control of education knowledge is overtly practised in classrooms globally. This is evidenced in the narrowing of the curriculum in response to the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative in the USA and the centrally imposed National Strategies and Standards agenda in the UK. Bernstein's theory is still a means of clarifying the relationships between social class, family income and the education process. It introduced the concept of ‘restricted and elaborated codes’, which has been labelled by its critics as a deficit model for the working-class population. The authors contest that expectations for this new meritocracy have failed to materialise and the expectations for equity have been reduced by the prevailing metric. This ‘pedagogy of poverty’ is now practised in the current ‘one size fits all’ model of teaching and learning operating within narrow accountability based on a ‘testocracy’. This case study demonstrates one teacher using guided group work as a potential strategy for a ‘pedagogy of plenty’.     

Conceptualization of readiness and the content of early learning standards: The intersection of policy and research?

A content analysis of 46 early learning standards documents developed by state-level organizations and available for review in January 2005 was conducted to determine the specific areas of development addressed within the standards documents. The authors contend that this type of analysis is important because early learning standards that define expectations for children's learning and development prior to kindergarten entry are, in essence, a reflection of how states are conceptualizing children's readiness for school. Results suggest that early learning standards have emphasized the language and cognitive domains, and that specific areas within domains of learning and development, such as physical fitness, relationships and reading comprehension have been addressed relatively less often. Standards developed under the leadership of the state departments of education emphasized social–emotional and approaches toward learning domains less than standards developed under the leadership of other agencies. The authors suggest that the content of the early learning standards reflects a number of different factors, such as the views of persons involved in developing the standards, and in some cases may not be consistent with the research literature on children's early learning and development. Implications for the standards development process and for future research are discussed.     

A Liminal Space: Challenges and opportunities in accreditation of prior learning in Judaic Studies

The accreditation of prior learning (APL) attests to the value of learning that takes place in a non-accredited institution. In the process of accrediting such learning, criteria have to be established and assessment methodologies selected. Accreditation deals with definitions, values, ideals, searches for equivalency, and similarities in the examined learning. However, such values and examinations are located within distinctive structures of learning: the greater the difference between these structures of learning the more problematic the accreditation process. While generally true, this proposition is highlighted in the evaluation of prior learning of Judaic Studies. Such accreditation brings into contrast the learning structures of both the rabbinical ('sacred') and Western liberal higher learning ('secular'). We review the difficulties of criterion selection, current accreditation techniques, and detail those elements of the ultra-Orthodox structure of learning that are salient and problematic in accreditations. Drawing metaphorically on the works of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner, we encourage a more theoretical, humble, and sensitive exploration of the liminal space that lies beyond structures.     

Book Reviews

ABSTRACT

Student foundational knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is formed in their elementary education. Paradoxically, many elementary teachers have constrained background knowledge, confidence, and efficacy for teaching STEM that may hamper student STEM learning. The association between teacher preparation to teach STEM and student achievement in STEM motivated the authors' professional development program. The authors created and implemented a professional development program to address K–5 teacher confidence for, attitudes toward, knowledge of, and efficacy for teaching inquiry-based STEM. Using data from 2 independent cohorts the authors found significant and consistent increases in pre- to postinstitute assessments of teacher confidence, efficacy, and perceptions of STEM. Further, they found increased participant attention toward linking STEM curriculum and instruction to learning standards. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The ambivalence of ownership: nursing graduate students as collaborators in action research

Collaboration is increasingly advocated within the research community. However, there has been limited exploration of the role of graduate students as collaborators. This article describes the ambivalence of ownership that developed during our encounter with collaboration as participants in action research. As a result of the authors' experiences, they began to challenge the traditional notion of collaboration that is pervasive in nursing research, and to explore the possibilities and limitations collaboration offered for graduate students. The authors argue that the participation and collaboration that are inherent in action research provide unique learning opportunities for graduate students and enable their expertise to be more fully realised     

Parents' views on nursery education: Perceptions in context

The analysis describes the broad consensus which is currently emerging about the nature of the educational changes which are necessary for the creation of a 'learning society' and contrasts this vision with the contemporary reality of an education system which is every day more constrained by formal assessment. The implications of these tightening bonds for the development of universities in the third millennium are explored in terms of research evidence which documents the impact of conventional forms of assessment on student learning. The argument is made that this emphasis on 'categoric' assessment if fundamentally incompatible with aspirations towards the creation of a 'learning society'. This is partly because institutions must necessarily give their attention to obtaining high scores and cannot risk the substantial changes in the reorganisation of teaching and learning that an 'empowering' educational environment would arguably require and partly because of the power of the prevailing assessment discourse to define priorities. The article uses Lyotard's concept of 'performativity' to examine these contemporary tensions in higher education, their origins and potential significance for the creation of a 'learning society'.     

ADOLESCENTS' COMPREHENSION AND CONTENT AREA EDUCATION STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS: BENEFITS FROM ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING

In this research study the authors analyzed the effectiveness of content-area education students tutoring adolescents and documented changes in the attitudes of the education students over time. Tutors tested the reading comprehension of both the students they tutored (treatment group) and students they did not (comparison group). The authors used a repeated measures ANOVA to evaluate the effects of the tutorial program on reading for the two groups. The dependent variable was pre- and post-reading scores as measured by the Bader Reading & Language Inventory for both groups. The main effect was significant for the tutored group. In addition, the authors utilized the “preservice teachers' perception/attitude survey” using a Likert scale to document changes in the attitudes of the education students toward implementing literacy strategies within their content areas. To test the effects of the semester-long experience, the authors employed a repeated measures ANOVA to determine significance between the pre/post means. The authors' findings revealed that the semester's experience had a significant impact on the tutors' attitude mean; however, no significant differences pre to post were found among the various content majors.     

Teaching a Course on the Arts and Counseling: Experiential Learning in Counselor Education

The authors offer a rationale, structure, and method for teaching an experientially based class in using the arts as an adjunct to counseling. They describe the benefits to counseling students, review literature documenting the effective uses of the arts in counseling, and recommend textbooks and other resources. Professional and ethical considerations are noted, suggestions for collaborative teaching are offered, and the authors' experience in piloting such a course is documented.     

Cogenerated understandings of mindfulness-based breathing in elementary mathematics classrooms

Bringing an awareness of emotions to the fore through mindfulness-based breathing and providing a space to discuss them is a way of promoting teacher and student agency in collectively developing structures specific to their learning environment. The authors explore students', teachers', and researchers' collective sensemaking through cogenerative dialoguing (cogen) about a mindfulness-based breathing practice at the start of mathematics lessons in an elementary classroom. They found that the power of cogen as hybridized space enabled the generation of collective understanding and the potential for all cogen participants to become engaged in an authentic and transformative way in discussing classroom life. The authors argue that the mindfulness-based breathing practice itself acted as a heuristic for thinking about learning environments and, during the reflexive process of thinking about the breathing practice, new forms of classroom culture unfolded both expanding classroom structures and the practice itself, and laying bare otherwise taken-for-granted practices.     

Cultural Factors in the Structure and Context of European Engineering Studies

Bilateral, trilateral and even quadrilateral exchange programmes are becoming increasingly common in European undergraduate and postgraduate engineering curricula. Such programmes provide students with opportunities to enrich their scientific, linguistic and cultural profiles. This paper examines and compares the cross-cultural differences within the teaching and learning contexts (not contents) of different engineering study programmes in France, Britain and Germany. The authors relate variations in key variables such as evaluation, teacher-student relationships, student autonomy, the scope of studies and motivation to Geert Hofstede‘s four dimensions of national culture’—Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism and Masculinity. The authors conclude that Hofstede's four dimensions do appear to have explanatory power, and suggest further directions for future research. It is the authors' intention that their research project ultimately be of benefit to engineering students taking part in exchange study programmes. The authors welcome any readers who wish to cooperate and collaborate with them in further research and development work.     

The impact of intensive ‘value for money’ performance auditing in educational systems

The starting point for this article is the authors' ongoing collaborative enquiry into professional practice, which primarily aims to improve and develop our roles in Staff and Educational Development in Higher Education (HE). Part of this action research cycle includes an empirical study carried out in the authors' institution to find out how academic colleagues view their work practices. They identify the major difficulties faced in supporting the professional development of these staff and argue that to be effective within a culture that encourages individualism, and that is driven by a disciplinary-research agenda, those who have responsibility for academic professional development should promote the idea of teachers as researchers. They argue that a research approach to development, centred on individual practice and learning, should be considered by those who engage in professional learning. Beyond these issues, the study also provides a snapshot of academic values in a research-led Higher Education Institution in Britain in the late 1990s.     

Educational Electronic Books for Supporting Emergent Literacy of Kindergarteners At-Risk for Reading Difficulties—What Do We Know So Far?

This article reviews the authors' findings regarding the electronic book's (e-book's) support of emergent reading among kindergarten-aged children at-risk for reading difficulties. All the studies involved use of educational e-books specially designed by the authors to promote literacy among young children in the 5–6 age group. The review focuses on the e-book's contribution to vocabulary acquisition, phonological awareness, concept about print, as well as story comprehension among two groups of kindergartners exhibiting difficulties in language development and emergent literacy: (a) children at-risk for learning disabilities and (b) children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, both groups of children were found to improve vocabulary and phonological awareness following e-book activity in different contexts. These results indicate the e-book's efficacy as an educational tool in heterogeneous classrooms.     

Refugees and evacuees: enhancing historical understanding through Irish historical fiction with Key Stage 2 and early Key Stage 3 pupils

This article explores the use of historical fiction as a means of undertaking a historical enquiry into the experiences of refugees and evacuees with Key Stage 2 and 3 pupils. The authors reflect on the reasons why people have come to Britain before focussing on specific circumstances associated with World War 2. This is undertaken through the use of two historical fiction novels set in Ireland. The choice of an Irish context is intended to challenge Anglo centric notions of the past. The authors also examine differing opinions over the validity of the place of historical fiction in history lessons and make a strong case for its inclusion. Specific teaching and learning approaches, together with teacher and pupil responses are considered. The novels chosen focus on an Irish dimension which also reflects the authors' work with the Ireland in Schools Project.