Input-Based Approaches to Teaching Grammar： A Review of Classroom-oriented Research

2．Input-processing studies The input-processing studies examined here involve experimental comparisons of input-based and production- based instruction．Whereas traditional grammar teaching attempts to manipulate learner production,‘processing instruction’emplys‘interpretation tasks’(Ellis 1995)that invite learners to engage in intentional learning by consciously noticing how a target grammatical feature is used in input specially contrived to contain numerous exemplars of the structure.     

Comparison of the validity of four fall-related psychological measures in a community-based falls risk screening

We examined the measurement properties offall-related psychological instruments with a sample of 133 older adults (M age = 74.4 years, SD = 9.4). Measures included the Comprehensive Falls Risk Screening Instrument, Falls-efficacy Scale-International (FES-I), Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC), modified Survey ofActivities and Fear ofFalling in the Elderly (mSAFFE), Consequences of Falling (CoF), Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). The FES-I, ABC, mSAFFE, and CoF were significantly correlated with each othe, with SF-36, and with mobility. The ABC and mSAFFE were significantly correlated with PASE. The ABC differentiated between fallers and nonfallers and predicted total falls risk. Findings can assist with the selection of psychological instruments in a falls risk screening context.     

The Map of Medicine: a review of evidence for its impact on healthcare

Objectives: Map of Medicine is an evidence‐based online clinical knowledge resource. Procured at significant cost by healthcare providers in the UK, Sweden and Denmark, it is important to establish the beneficial impact that investment has had on healthcare practise and, ultimately, on patient outcomes. The objective of this study is to review the evidence for the impact of the Map of Medicine on clinical practice. Methods: A systematic review of peer‐reviewed and grey literature was conducted. Nine healthcare databases, Google Scholar and Google were searched for articles containing the terms ‘map of medicine’. Results: The search identified 133 articles. Eleven of the articles identified met the inclusion criteria. The main finding of the study is the paucity of evidence available on the impact of the Map of Medicine and the variable quality of that which does exist. There are some encouraging early indications for the Map of Medicine as a tool within service redesign, leading to an increase in appropriate referrals to secondary care, decreased patient waiting times and considerable cost savings. Conclusion: Further research with study designs that can generate high quality evidence for the impact of Map of Medicine is essential in order to support policy decisions.     

Advocating for the Rights of the Child Through Family–School Collaboration

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2014 as the premier international human rights treaty focused on childhood rights and protections. In this article, we briefly review the 41 substantive principles embodied in the 54 Articles of the Convention and stress the need for educators, and specifically school psychologists, to work in concert with families to promote these premises through effective collaborative partnerships. Finally, we review examples of how the themes and positive ideology of the Convention can be enhanced through family–school collaboration infused into schooling practices within a multitiered service delivery framework to meet the learning and development best interests of the child.     

How context shapes practitioner research and professional learning in schools in Singapore and NSW

The New South Wales (NSW) Government Department of Education and Communities and the Singapore Ministry of Education have encouraged teachers to engage in practitioner research as part of their professional learning agenda because it is perceived as a powerful means of investigating and improving educational practice. Drawing on a Schatzkian perspective, where social life is understood as being tied to a context, or ‘the site of the social’, we examine teachers’ experiences as practitioner researchers in NSW and Singapore. We also argue that practitioner research has been remodelled and re-interpreted differently in different contexts and that cultural context is a potent constituent of the practice architecture that prefigures practitioner research. Using data collected from interviews with 42 participants comprising academics, policy makers and teachers, we specifically illuminated those contextual/cultural characteristics respondents identified as factors that actively shape teachers’ experiences as practitioner researchers.     

The Evolution of Critical Thinking Skills in Library Instruction, 1986–2006: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography and Review of Selected Programs

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate students are increasingly being asked to conduct higher-level research in their areas of study. In order to address undergraduate needs, many academic librarians, especially those charged with crafting instruction, take critical thinking as a given in the teaching of information literacy skills. However, this review of the literature has revealed that, though there was some discussion of critical thinking in a library context in the mid 1980s, the concept did not really take hold until the 1990s, when higher education reform began to appear on many campuses. Additionally, the literature regarding critical thinking skills during this period exhibits four themes: (1) a lack of agreement among librarians and others on what critical thinking is and how it can be defined, (2) the importance of subject and course integration in the teaching of critical thinking skills in libraries, (3) the necessity of reaching undergraduate students, and (4) the special challenges of teaching critical thinking skills in an age when technology is changing so rapidly.