Picture naming and developmental reading disorders

One of the most frequently cited papers from the twenty‐five years of the Journal of Research in Reading is ‘Object‐naming deficits in developmental dyslexia’ by Maggie Snowling, Bente van Wagtendonk and Carolyn Stafford, published in 1988. Looking back at the paper some sixteen years after its publication, it is striking to note how topical some of the issues discussed by Snowling and colleagues remain. This commentary revisits some of these issues and examines how subsequent research has consolidated and extended Snowling et al.'s findings and conclusions.     

'The visual helps me understand the complicated things': pupil views of teaching and learning with interactive whiteboards

This study is one element of a government‐sponsored evaluation into the introduction of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) to Years 5 and 6 in English primary schools. This element of the research aimed to gather information regarding pupil views of IWBs and the impact these tools can have on teaching and learning. To extend current literature, the method targeted pupils’ views of how IWBs can impact on metacognition: thinking about learning. Using a template that has been developed by the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University, pupils were encouraged to talk about learning in different contexts: this methodology and its rationale are described. The results show that overall comments from the pupils are positive, with the resulting themes encompassing how the IWB can facilitate and initiate learning and impact on preferred approaches to learning. The pupils describe how different elements of software and hardware can motivate, aid concentration, and keep their attention. On the negative side, pupils candidly describe their frustration when there are technical difficulties, their desire to use the board themselves and their perceptions of teacher and pupil effects. As IWBs are becoming more and more prevalent in schools, we discuss implications and make re‐commendations for teachers and manufacturers.     

Formative and summative evaluation in the faculty peer review of teaching

If the process of the faculty peer review of teaching is to overcome institutional marginalization, then its formative and summative components must employ rules, criteria, and standards for the identification of effective teaching that have been agreed to within a peer conversation among the faculty members of a scholarly unit. This conversation serves to collectively clarify the unit's expectations for its curriculum, teaching, and student learning. Only such a process can produce the credibility necessary to regularly effect the faculty development and personnel decisions of a unit.Dr. Ronald R. Cavanagh holds a doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, a Master of Divinity from Moravian College and the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and a B.A. in English. Since coming to Syracuse University in 1967, Dr. Cavanagh has served as a faculty member in and chairperson of the Department of Religion, Associate Dean, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and he is presently the University's Vice President for Undergraduate Studies. In 1995, he was a participant in the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard Univesity, Boston, Massachusetts.     

Both here and elsewhere: rural girls’ contradictory visions of the future

Girls' studies have made an important contribution to the literature on subjectivity and schooling in neoliberal times; however, girlhood studies within Western contexts remain predominantly urban in focus. This article brings an analysis of place to debates about gendered subjectivity formation by exploring gendered patterns within rural students' imagined futures. Drawing upon ethnographic research with grade 7/8 students in rural Ontario (Canada), the analysis demonstrates how girls construct contradictory future narratives envisioning urban femininities while insisting they will remain living in the country. I argue that this tension must be explored in relation to the gendered context of rural social space, as well as post-feminist discourses of ‘girl power’. The analysis contributes to the fields of rural education and girlhood studies by foregrounding the significance of place within the gendered formation of student subjectivities and future aspirations.     

Extending students’ mathematical thinking during whole-group discussions

Studies show that extending students’ mathematical thinking during whole-group discussions is a challenging undertaking. To better understand what extending student thinking looks like and how teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) supports teachers in their efforts to extend student thinking, the teaching of six experienced elementary school teachers was explored. During group discussions, all six teachers created opportunities for extending student thinking about important mathematical ideas and solution methods. Findings on the nature of these episodes include identification of individual instructional actions and the ways in which teachers’ MKT was connected to these actions.