Baseline Assessment and Progress during the First Three Years at School

An analysis of data involving over 1,000 pupils in 62 classes focused on the progress made during the first 3 years of schooling in England. The pupils started school at the age of 4 and they were assessed on entry to school. They were then assessed 1 year later and again 2 years after that. Building on work reported in an earlier paper this study considered: ? The adequacy of the baseline assessment for 4-year-olds in predicting later progress. ? The differences between classes in value-added terms. ? The long-term impact of being part of a class that made rapid academic progress during the 1st year at school. ? Differences between pupils who started school in different terms. ? Differences between pupils of different ages. Overall, the analysis supported the view that effective early provision has a positive impact on children's academic progress to the age of 7.     

Backs to the Wall: Supporting Teacher Professional Development With Technology

This paper describes the development and initial piloting of a technology based model for professional development, qesn.connection (www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/connection), designed to provide short-term and sustained support to school teams in the area of curriculum reform in Québec, Canada. The model responds to a design request from the Ministère de l'Éducation du Québec to offer school teams tools and strategies, via distance, for team building and school based decision making. The launch topic to accomplish this is the integration of technology in the classroom, to be followed by the implementation of a reformed curriculum. Two pilot schools offer support and feedback on the model and areas for further research and evaluation.     

Learning to contribute: text connections in early childhood teacher education

ABSTRACT

Face-to-face time with students in the early childhood college setting is at a premium and often flies by before we begin to scratch the surface of active learning. Building a community of learners is one of our main goals as instructors; therefore, we strive to set up active learning environments optimal for all students. This reflection on practice highlights the text connections learning strategy, describes how four early childhood education instructors use it, and analyzes its theoretical underpinnings to investigate how it helps students learn to contribute to the learning of all. Student examples and reflections from the instructors are included.     

Perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities

Two national surveys of the perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities (LID) were conducted. The first survey, sent to the directors of 250 school psychology training programs, was designed to determine the extent and type of training in assessment and intervention for students with LID offered in school psychology training programs. The second survey, mailed to 500 randomly selected National Association of School Psychologists' (NASP) members, was developed to assess the extent and type of assessment and intervention for students with LID provided by school practitioners. Responses were received from 121 trainers (50.8% response rate) and 361 practitioners (72.2% response rate). Results indicated, while assessment and intervention for LID remains a small part of the school psychology caseload, school psychologists are using many of the best practice methods. However, recommendations are provided for increased awareness of additional methods, for seeking closer collaboration with special education professionals who specialize in working with this student population, and for more possibilities of subspecialization for future psychologists who will possess expertise in conducting assessment and intervention for LID. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 677–689, 2005.     

Informing about climate change and invasive species: how the presentation of information affects perception of risk,emotions, and learning

Environmental issues such as climate change are becoming ever more important in today’s societies and politics. Information is spread by the media, for example, via the Internet or information brochures, employing different representational styles (e.g. sensational vs. neutral styles, emphasis of human vs. natural causes). We investigated the effects of such differences in presentation when informing about local impacts of climate change – more specifically about invasive species – on perceived risk, emotions, and learning. Seventy-two students at a German university read five brochures about the local effects of climate change and invasive species. They rated their perceived risk and emotions and worked on learning outcome tests. As expected, the sensational style led to higher perceived risk and stronger negative emotions than the neutral style. In addition, our results reveal a potential dilemma for environmental education: while a sensational style enhanced general learning outcomes, it seemed to lead to quite a negative and one-sided view about climate change and invasive species.     

Kahoot! Using a game-based approach to blended learning to support effective learning environments and student engagement in traditional lecture theatres

ABSTRACT

Traditional lecture theatre environments present significant challenges in higher education, in light of increasingly large and diverse student populations. This small-scale study explores how blended learning through the game-based platform Kahoot! can be used to enhance the learning experience offered to students in these spaces, from the perspective of 44 final-year primary education undergraduates. An action research approach was employed with data collected from pre- and post-lecture surveys. Findings suggest that the integration of synchronous online learning in lecture theatres presented no technical difficulties and that gaming was successful in enabling active participation and interactive learning. Students valued its competitive nature, the immediacy of feedback on their knowledge and structured opportunities for further discussion. Students reported improvements in engagement, concentration and retention, although results for the latter were more ambiguous and would benefit from further investigation.     

‘If this was real … ’: researching student meaning making in a digital rolling role drama

ABSTRACT

This article explores the interplay of the ‘live’ experience of drama learning in the classroom and curated digital content on learner meaning making, collaborative creation and subjectivities. It examines a case study conducted in an inner-city secondary school in Sydney, Australia, as part of a larger innovative international collaborative drama exercise entitled ‘The Water Reckoning Project’ (http://www.water-reckoning.net) which focussed on sustainability education. Data collected and analysed included ethnographic observations, video documentation and digital curation of students’ creative work, focus groups, and pre- and post-surveys. Findings of this study reveal the importance of the aesthetically charged, embodied experience of drama as the key driver of learning when integrating drama with digital technologies. This unique project enabled students to critically and creatively engage with significant real and fictional contexts, as well as issues of local and global relevance.     

Watching transitions unfold: a mixed-method study of transitions within early childhood care and education settings

Unlike the transitions children make between settings, those they undertake between age groups within early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings are seldom studied. Accordingly, this exploratory study followed seven preschool children (three boys and four girls) as they moved to new rooms in five ECCE settings. Structured observations of children’s behaviour were collected along with semi-structured parent interviews and participatory child interviews. All boys and one girl demonstrated increased anxiety behaviours following transitions. This gender difference was mirrored in parental reports of negative affect and aggression in sons, but independence and assertiveness amongst daughters. Families also reported shifts in children’s identity from expert to novice and a sense of becoming ‘big’. Interviews highlighted the challenges and opportunities underlying transitions, and parents provided a rich overview of the factors they believed support and hinder transitions, emphasising the importance of strong home-centre connections. These exploratory findings suggest that internal ECCE transitions may be unique junctures in children’s ECCE experiences.     

Using interactive nonfiction narrative to enhance competence in the informed consent process with 3-year-old children

ABSTRACT

Ensuring young children’s competence to participate meaningfully in the informed consent process is a troublesome ethical issue. Evolving recognition of the influence of context and relationship, researcher perspective, and researcher responsibility to provide adequate support has advanced understanding of how this might be achieved. Here, we report the findings of the pilot trial of a new approach that used an ‘interactive nonfiction narrative’ to enhance young children’s capacity to provide meaningful informed consent. This innovative approach employs (re)telling strategies and technology (interactive) to convey factual information about the research (nonfiction) via a story (narrative) to promote participant understanding. Case studies of two 3-year-old boys and their mothers captured participants’ understanding of the informing and consent process. Data collection in the child’s home took place over 11 weeks and included conversations with children and semi-structured interviews with parents on three occasions, together with videos of children interacting with the informing story. We found that children understood many of the key concepts, including the research problem and how they could ‘help’ (participate). Children also understood that they could cease their participation, with one boy exercising his right to opt out towards the end of the study.