‘Eye-candy’ in ‘Interactive Books’– a Wholesome Diet?

CD-ROMs are becoming more widely used now and one particular genre seems to have a good deal to offer as a medium for the development of reading. These so-called ‘interactive books’ have not yet been investigated in terms of their usefulness in teaching reading and Clare Burrell and John Trushell make a useful beginning to this. They are particularly concerned with whether the eye catching graphics of these books helps or hinders children’s reading of them and their report raises many interesting issues.     

Introduction of a peer mentoring scheme within biomedical sciences education – easing the transition to university life

The transition from school to university can prove problematic for a number of academic and social reasons and first-year attrition rates are high. Research suggests that first-year students need help adjusting to a new phase of learning in a larger community of practice and that a student’s decision to leave represents a negative combination of multiple integration variables. One practice that may help to reduce stress and subsequently assist in lowering first-year attrition rates is a peer pentoring (PM) scheme. Within the Centre for Biomedical Sciences Education (CBMSE) at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) a PM scheme was designed to engage new students in informal supportive relationships with more experienced students. Qualitative reports indicate that the scheme provided an avenue for new students to reappraise their previous expectations of university and develop a sense of identity within their course. An added benefit from this PM scheme was that it also allowed older students to gain transferrable employment-related skills in communication, teamwork and organisational expertise. In 2009–10, 9.1% of Biomedical Science (BMS) students, studying at QUB, did not return to the second year of their degree; however, following implementation of a PM scheme in 2011–12, figures show a reduction of first-year attrition to 3%. While such improvement is characteristic of many transition initiatives, not just those associated with PM, it is likely that implementation of PM is intrinsically linked to student retention within a course.     

Constructivism as a framework for literacy teacher education courses: the cases of six literacy teacher educators

This paper presents findings from the large-scale study Literacy Teacher Educators: Their Backgrounds, Visions, and Practices that includes 28 literacy/English teacher educators (LTEs) from four countries. The participants were interviewed three times and shared their course outlines. Six pre-service LTEs who use a constructivist approach are presented. The six LTEs speak English as their mother tongue. Three aspects of constructivism are discussed: knowledge is constructed by learners; knowledge is experience based; and a strong class community is essential. They have adopted a constructivist approach because they conceptualised the teaching/learning process as a partnership. Constructivism is a flexible and fluid framework so individual LTEs can shape their work for their context and draw on their strengths; however, it is demanding because courses have to be somewhat organic in order to create space for discussion of issues as they arise.     

初恋

从未有过的震撼当爱来的如此突然,如此甘甜。她的脸如花儿般甜美娇艳,盗走了我整个心田。我的脸庞变得苍白,极度的苍白,双腿也不愿挪开,她明眸的顾盼让我魂萦梦牵,我的生命和我的一切俨然成了泥块。     

The Home Environment Shapes Emotional Eating

Emotional overeating (EOE) is the tendency to eat more in response to negative emotions; its etiology in early life is unknown. We established the relative genetic and environmental influences on EOE in toddlerhood and early childhood. Data were from Gemini, a population‐based cohort of 2,402 British twins born in 2007. EOE was measured using the “emotional overeating” scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) at 16 months and 5 years. A longitudinal quantitative genetic model established that genetic influences on EOE were minimal; on the other hand, shared environmental influences explained most of the variance. EOE was moderately stable from 16 months to 5 years and continuing environmental factors shared by twin pairs at both ages explained the longitudinal association.     

Comparative studies in education in Italy. Heritage and transformation

ABSTRACT

The aim of the article is to investigate the profile of comparative education in Italy, highlighting those elements that have characterised its development in relation to the cultural and political features of the country. This approach inevitably involves the comparison of Italy's specific particularities to those of other countries in the north and the south of Europe, in order to understand whether there are certain features that may place Italian comparative education within the wider framework of the Mediterranean area. What is involved in making a comparative analysis of the profile of a discipline and, more particularly, of comparative education in Italy, concentrating principally on the geopolitical context of its development? What is it that typifies the feature or features that make Italian comparative education quintessentially Italian? What are the main sources of comparative education in Italy, and what are the disciplines with which it continues to interact today? The article argues that in the wider framework of Western comparative education, Italy's voice, rooted in a plural tradition and open to new developments, is an original and important contribution for thinking critically this field of study.     

A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Consultation Process Research: What We Know and Where to Go

ABSTRACT

Qualitative metasynthesis (QM) is a research methodology that permits the meaningful integration and interpretation of qualitative research. This study applies a QM approach combined with constructivist grounded theory methods, bolstered by several features of research credibility, to examine the state of consultee-centered consultation (CCC) and related relational, process-oriented school consultation research. A systematic search and retrieval process including two rounds of appraisal resulted in a final sample of 38 relevant studies from 1995 to 2014. Data analyses included two stages of coding/theme development. Integrated themes suggest a number of considerations regarding consultation implementation including: system-level factors; consultation structure; consultee voice, social-emotional support, and learning; ecological orientation and cultural responsiveness; and consultation training. Future research priorities stemming from these themes are identified and elaborated upon, as are future applications for QM in educational research.     

Identifying pedagogy and teaching strategies for achieving nationally prescribed learning outcomes

With the globalisation of university education, national frameworks are commonly used to prescribe standardised learning outcomes and achieve accountability. However, these frameworks are generally not accompanied by guiding pedagogy to support academics in adjusting their teaching practices to achieve the set outcomes. This paper reports the results of a scoping review of health science literature aimed at identifying pedagogy and teaching strategies relevant to achieve the learning outcomes specified by the Australian Qualifications Framework at a master's degree level. Eight practical teaching messages emerged from the review and three broad pedagogical trends were identified: the need to use authentic disciplinary-based learning activities; ensure that students are able to discover different perspectives about future practice and bring student reflection about their own knowledge into curricula. More critically, the review highlights that academics attempting to translate national learning outcome frameworks into their teaching practices face a complex and time-consuming task which may involve searching beyond their own disciplinary focus to identify practical teaching strategies to meet prescribed learning outcomes.     

The immediate and longer‐term effectiveness of a speech‐rhythm‐based reading intervention for beginning readers

Despite empirical evidence of a relationship between sensitivity to speech rhythm and reading, there have been few studies that have examined the impact of rhythmic training on reading attainment, and no intervention study has focused on speech rhythm sensitivity specifically to enhance reading skills. Seventy‐three typically developing 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups and received a speech‐rhythm‐based intervention, a phonological‐awareness‐based intervention, or a control intervention over 10 weeks. All children completed pre‐test, post‐test and delayed post‐test measures of speech rhythm sensitivity, single‐word reading, phonological awareness and vocabulary. The results show that it is possible to train speech rhythm sensitivity in this age group and that children who undertook the speech rhythm intervention showed a significant improvement in their word reading performance compared to children in the control group. Group differences were maintained 3 months later.