Taking light for a walk

Recent research on manipulating the speed of light has established the possibility of bringing down the speed of light to a value that can be challenged by a humble bullock cart. The processes that influence the speed of light in natural and artificial materials have been investigated in depth, leading to the design of specific techniques to slow down and even store light in appropriate medium at room temperature. We introduce here the basic science of slow-light propagation in materials and artificial structures such as photonic crystals and highlight the important milestones in research on this fascinating frontier.     

“Stop and Go”: In search of new ecology and dynamics in group counselling for employees in transition

“Stop and Go” (SG) is a group counselling concept developed for employees in transition. The SG approach has its main roots in relational psychology. This article explores the ecology and the dynamics of the SG process including the simultaneous presence of societal and social (‘meso’) factors, as well as the individual assessment of the group counselling process as a restructuring of the social level. The SG dynamics create a mediating dialogical space, based on peer dialogue, of connecting, affording participants the opportunity to relate differently to the world of work.     

Promoting assessment efficacy through an integrated system for online clinical assessment of practical skills

This paper presents evaluation outcomes from an externally funded research project involving the online clinical assessment of practical skills (eCAPS) using web-based video technologies within a university medical programme. eCAPS was implemented to trial this web-based approach for promoting the efficacy of practical skills assessment in knee joint examinations for a pre-clinical cohort of second year medical students. eCAPS involves a progressive organisation of online video experiences and task expectations for formative and summative assessments of selected competencies. Data are presented from semi-structured interviews with the medical students (N?=?40). eCAPS successfully supported students’ skill development in knee joint examinations on fellow students and allowed remote assessment of candidates’ performances by clinicians experienced in musculoskeletal examinations. An ‘indicative standard’ paradigm, involving formative assessment of one randomly selected performance from the submission of all students’ responses within a small group, offered an efficient and efficacious avenue for providing consolidated feedback to students and promoted desirable learning behaviours. Overall, there was evidence of reciprocal learning benefits to the ‘blending’ of an online learning and assessment approach with an existing face-to-face environment. The medical students were able to successfully engage online with high quality and consistent practical skill-based materials in a flexible, independent and individual manner.     

Creating the effective school : The role of evaluation

The concept of children's rights evolved during the 1980s giving prominence to the role of children as active participants in the construction of their lives. The rhetoric of children's rights has emerged as an important consideration in all policy and practice relating to children. Implementation of children's rights in practice is necessary to maximise their potential to improve the lives of children. This paper presents an argument for the importance of giving meaning to the implementation of children's rights in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Ireland. The study, on which this paper is based, was conducted in two stages using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first stage focused on the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process based on a children's rights framework and informed by the perspectives of children, parents and teachers, alongside the literature on best practice on IEPs. In the second stage, a survey questionnaire was designed, based on the children's rights indicators, to evaluate current IEP practice in Ireland for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder. This article outlines the development of a set of indicators for the IEP process. It also presents findings of the survey which evaluates current practice in relation to the IEP process for pupils with ASD in Ireland. The article focuses specifically on Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) which stipulates that in all actions concerning children, ‘the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration’.     

Reenacted Case Scenarios for Undergraduate Healthcare Students to Illustrate Person-Centered Care in Dementia

Healthcare practitioners have suggested that interpreting person-centered care for people who have dementia to undergraduate students requires guidance in practical application. This article describes the production of a written and digital interdisciplinary educational resource for tertiary students. It uses real-life case scenarios provided by healthcare practitioners to illustrate person-centered care in practice with people who have dementia. The resource provides students with the theoretical underpinning of person-centered care and dementia as well as reflective questions that relate to the reenacted case scenarios to guide their application of this theory in practice.     

Factors Influencing the Development of Career-Change Teachers' Science Teaching Orientation

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Adult Interactions and Child Engagement

The purposes of this study were to investigate how engagement varied as a function of concurrent adult interactions (e.g., individual versus group orientation, type of teacher interaction) and pre-existing states (e.g., age, ratings of typical engagement). Eleven child care teachers and 63 children were videotaped in 93 naturally occurring child care situations. Two teacher interaction categories, elaborations and information giving, were associated with participatory engagement, attention, and low engagement. Interaction behaviors that were responsive without providing direction and those that were directive without responding to children were not associated with engagement. Individually targeted interactions produced more engagement than did group-targeted interactions. Chronological age, developmental age, and ratings of persistence did not statistically significantly affect engagement.     

Bystander Intervention in Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying incidents often occur in the presence of other bystanders. The inaction of bystanders can augment the deleterious effects of bullying on a victim. However, bystanders can intervene to stop a cyberbullying incident or offer support to the victim. Two studies were conducted to examine variables that were expected to influence the propensity of a bystander to take action in cyberbullying incidents: the number of bystanders, the anonymity of the bystander, and the closeness between the bystander and the victim. Results supported the diffusion of responsibility effect. A higher number of bystanders was negatively associated with bystander intervention. Moreover, the perceived anonymity of bystanders was negatively related to the propensity to intervene, and closeness with the victim was associated with a greater tendency to intervene and support the victim. Altogether, the results shed light on the interplay of context, relationships, and technology in the behavior of bystanders to a cyberbullying episode.     

Relations Among Maternal Literacy Beliefs, Home Literacy Practices, and the Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment

Self-reported maternal literacy beliefs and home literacy practices were compared for families of children with typicially developing language skills (TL, n = 52) and specific language impairment (SLI, n = 56). Additionally, the present work examined whether maternal beliefs and practices predicted children's print-related knowledge. Mothers filled out 2 questionnaires asking about their literacy beliefs and practices while children's print-related knowledge was assessed directly. Results indicated that mothers of children with SLI held somewhat less positive beliefs about literacy and reported engaging in fewer literacy practices compared to mothers of children with TL. For the entire sample, maternal literacy practices and beliefs predicted children's print-related knowledge, although much of this association was accounted for by maternal education. Subgroup analyses focused specifically on children with SLI showed there to be no relation between maternal literacy beliefs and practices and children's print-related knowledge. The present findings suggest that the home literacy experiences of children with SLI, and the way that these experiences impact print-related knowledge, may differ in important ways from typical peers.     

Collaborative learning: A memorable model

Abstract

Reform movements envision schools that will involve greater levels of cooperation and collaboration. Collaborative learning strategies provide a powerful mechanism not only to address affective goals in education but also to enhance students’ cognitive development; to deepen their understanding of concepts; and to press them to examine, articulate, and elaborate their ideas with greater clarity and rigor. Unless teachers have effective means to manage the complex problem solving involved in implementing collaborative learning strategies, the rich possibilities offered will not be realized. This paper proposes a five‐part conceptual framework to guide teachers decision making in order to capitalize on these powerful strategies. The framework incorporates a “G” mnemonic to make the elements memorable.