Assessing preschool number sense: skills demonstrated by children prior to school entry

Components of early number sense, as identified in two Delphi studies and in the number sense literature related to mathematics difficulties, were assessed for 176 children in preschools and childcare centres across one local government area in Sydney, Australia, using tasks or modifications of tasks reported in the number sense literature. In addition, the children’s receptive vocabulary was measured using The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (third edition) and math reasoning was measured using Woodcock‐Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Although the children demonstrated a broad range of skills, there were no significant differences between children attending childcare and preschools for any of the measures. However, boys performed significantly better than girls in quantitative concepts and girls performed better than boys in subitising. In discussing the data, a comparison is made of the skills demonstrated by children and skills that were highlighted in the two Delphi studies and in the early number sense literature as being essential components of number sense prior to school entry. Implications for kindergarten mathematics curricula and approaches to the teaching of early number skills are discussed.     

‘There’s a lot of learning going on but NOT much teaching!’: student perceptions of Problem‐Based Learning in science

In this paper I report on 625 student responses and analyse student perceptions of Problem‐Based Learning during their first semester at university. The data I present outlines the scope of the implementation at six entry‐level units for the years 2007 to 2009 and is followed by a qualitative analysis of student responses. Eight themes are conceptualised as stretching along a continuum with one end point representing an instrumentalist and superficial response and the opposite end representing a professional and more thoughtful response. Despite some tension, this implementation of Problem‐Based Learning into the Science Faculty was, in the main, challenging, time‐consuming and rewarding for the majority of students. Two implications for science education evident as a result of this study are that the general student response to change is more positive if they are informed and supported when a different teaching and learning strategy is introduced and that many students require training and support to become self‐directed learners.     

Understanding and reducing the fear of COVID-19

Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B -     

Empowering the supporters: enhancing the role of unqualified support workers in a housing scheme for people with mental health problems

The research reported in this study is a practitioner action research study that is primarily concerned with the activities of unqualified support workers in an accommodation scheme for people who have experienced enduring mental health problems. A central focus became the relationship between the support workers and professional staff within the wider mental health service. Parallel with a ‘practice gap’ identified in their relationship with professional staff was a ‘supervision gap’ in terms of their relationship with myself as their manager. One means of exploring this relationship was the use of ‘critical scenarios’. A series of ‘connections’ or practice support linkages were put in place that aimed to bridge this gap and at the same time enhance the role of the support workers.     

Supporting the supporters: the learning and supervision needs of unqualified support staff in a supported housing scheme for people with mental health problems

The investigation reported here started out as an exploratory study of the nature of ‘support’ in a supported housing development for people with mental health problems. It was intended that this would suggest appropriate changes in staff practices. This report describes how ideas around a number of themes identified were gradually developed and refined to provide a focus for investigation. The eventual focus centred on my apparently pivotal role in supporting ‘unqualified’ support staff. An inter-relationship between how residents experience ‘being supported’ and the learning needs of support staff is identified, teased out and described. Action research methods were found to be a useful means of generating areas of learning that appeared to be most relevant in this particular work context. The discoveries and insights that developed helped inform the tentative application of some initial action steps aimed at meeting these learning needs and guiding the activities of support staff.     

GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ELDERLY HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN ALASKA: AGING IN THE LAST FRONTIER

The current research assessed Alaskan health and mental health care professionals’ perceptions regarding Alaska's elderly health care services as well as professional educational and training needs. Fifty‐four percent of community professionals sampled indicated that preexisting services in their community were not adequate to meet the needs of the elderly population. In addition, 55% indicated that the knowledge level of community professionals regarding the elderly and the aging process was insufficient and 51% believed they were not well educated in meeting the needs of Alaskan native elders. An overall 91.8% indicted that they were in need of further training in the field of aging and geriatrics. They noted in particular the lack of knowledge and training opportunities in mental health and Alzheimer's disease. The significance of these findings is discussed in terms of the broader social implications associated with meeting gerontological and geriatric education and training needs, as well as the specific education and training problems of Alaskan health care professionals in keeping up with the recent trend of “aging in the last frontier.”     

Prospective gymnasium teachers' conceptions of chemistry learning and teaching

The aim of the study was to investigate prospective gymnasium teachers' conceptions of chemistry learning and teaching. Data were collected through individual interviews with nine prospective teachers at one German university. Phenomenography served as the methodological framework for the study. The findings revealed that chemistry learning is conceptualized as gaining knowledge, problem-solving and constructing personal understandings; and that chemistry teaching is conceptualized as transferring knowledge, problem-posing and interacting with pupils. The majority of the prospective teachers' conceptions of learning chemistry were considered reproductive rather than constructive and their conceptions of chemistry teaching were viewed as facilitating reproductive learning. Comparisons of the dominant conceptions of learning chemistry and teaching chemistry held by each prospective teacher revealed mixed support for the assumption that if one holds a reproductive (or constructive) conception of teaching, then (s)he will also hold a reproductive (or constructive) conception of learning. Support for the assumption was found in the reproductive-oriented relationship between conceptions of learning chemistry as gaining knowledge and of teaching chemistry as transferring knowledge, but not found in the relationships between learning chemistry as problem-solving and teaching chemistry as problem-posing and between learning chemistry as gaining knowledge and interacting with pupils.     

Type of speech,sex of speaker,and sex of subject as factors influencing persuasion

Speeches that advocated “institutional”; norms were compared with speeches that did not, in conditions where male and female speakers were varied. Female speakers were more successful when they took a noninstitutional position, and male speakers were more successful when they took an institutional position. “Masculinity”; and “Femininity”; were not significant factors in any of the effects.