What do clinicians want from us? An evaluation of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust clinical librarian service and its implications for developing futureworking patterns

Background: The Clinical Librarian (CL) Service at Brighton was established in 2003 with the aim of providing high‐quality evidence to designated teams and fostering an evidence‐based culture. Objective: To evaluate the CL service at Brighton and discuss the implication of the findings. Methods: A combination of internally collected data (n = 167), and an external evaluation of the service by questionnaires (n = 86) of users and non‐users and interviews (n = 9) of users. Results: Internal data suggest that the service is valued by its users and that patient care and continuing professional development are the most common uses for searches (confirmed by the external study); that searches generally result in some change in knowledge; and that this knowledge is disseminated. The external study found that visibility of the CL was crucial to the effectiveness of the role and that clinicians used the service mostly to get access to a wider range of resources and/or to save time. Users wanted the CL to include evaluative annotation with the results, and for the CL role to become more embedded in the team. Interview results expanded on the issues of integration of the CL and the need for annotation of results. Conclusions: To be most effective, CLs would be dedicated to one team, but financial constraints make this unlikely. Alternative working patterns are suggested as a possible compromise.     

Schools and informal science settings: collaborate, co-exist, or assimilate?

In this metalogue we build on the arguments presented by Puvirajah, Verma and Webb to discuss the nature of authentic science learning experiences in context of collaborations between schools and out-of-school time settings. We discuss the role of stakeholders in creating collaborative science learning practices and affordances of out of school time and formal science learning contexts. We contend that authentic science learning experiences are those where science learning happens within a social milieu and advocate for true collaborations between schools and informal settings in ways that emphasize the goals of the collaboration and strengths of each setting.     

The role of keypecking during filled intervals on the judgment of time for empty and filled intervals by pigeons

Pigeons were trained in a within-subjects design to discriminate empty intervals (bound by two 1-sec visual markers) and filled intervals (a continuous visual signal). The intervals were signaled by different visual stimuli and they required responses to different sets of comparison stimuli. In Experiment 1, empty intervals were judged longer than filled intervals. The difference between the point of subjective equality (PSE) for the empty intervals and the PSE for filled intervals increased as the magnitude of the anchor-duration pairs increased. Although there was more pecking during filled intervals than during empty intervals, there was no significant correlation between pecking during filled intervals and the value of the PSE. In Experiment 2, empty intervals continued to be judged longer than filled intervals, even when pigeons were required to refrain from pecking during filled intervals. Keypecking per se does not appear to play an important role in the empty-filled timing difference.     

How the structure and focus of teachers' collaborative activities facilitate and constrain teacher learning

What kinds of teacher collaboration are most likely to improve what teachers—and, ultimately, students—learn during their time in school? This study looks within and across different collaborative activities that occurred among one teacher team. Observational data analyzed through a sociocultural theoretical framework suggest how the structure and intended focus of collaborative activity can influence (1) how often and how concretely teachers discuss their teaching with colleagues; (2) which aspects of schooling collaboration will address; and (3) what opportunities for teacher learning are afforded and constrained. Intentionally focusing and structuring teachers' collaborative activity can improve its impact on schooling.     

Change and Innovation in Schools

The code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (1994) places new responsibility on the special needs coordinator (or SENCo) for its implementation and subsequent management. Many additional duties, as well as significant changes to existing practices, are required. This paper reports the experiences of a small group of SENCos in adopting the new arrangements. They suggest that the Code brings both benefits, including enhanced status and more effective provision for their pupils, and drawbacks, notably the failure to provide non‐teaching time for Code‐related administration.