Preschool Teachers and Children’s Emergent Writing: Supporting Diverse Learners

Early literacy skill development is critical during the preschool years. Under that umbrella is emergent writing, a small but important component of overall literacy development. This article presents two writing strategies: (1) writers’ workshop and (2) dictation within the context of storybook reading that preschool teachers can utilize to target emergent writing development. Modifications for diverse learners are also included throughout.     

Technology,Learning Communities and Young People: The Future Something Project

The Future Something Project (FSP), a two‐year action research project, was devised to nurture the creative and technological talent of small groups of young people at risk by creating a structured network, mentored and driven by creative professionals exploring innovative ways for the two distinct target groups to work together. The project practice is located within the new field of interaction design and takes a social and critical approach to art and design pedagogy. The external research team found that one valuable way of looking at the FSP enterprise was through the social theory of communities of practice (CoPs) developed in the 1990s by Lave and Wenger. The creation of a learning community as a pedagogical strategy is central to the conception and practice of this project. This article, therefore, sets out to apply an existing theory to a new art and design context together with more general thoughts on learning communities. It explores the potential of new technologies and different settings to effect learning within structured networks and local and virtual communities of practice.     

Developments in electronography for astronomical research

Astronomers are always interested in detecting and observing the faintest, most distant objects in the Universe. Electronography has the advantages over photography where it counts most—when observing the faintest objects. The technical problems involved in the development of electronography are here reviewed, and recent advances and observations with the RGO camera are described.     

A Festschrift for Andy Hargreaves

Recent social policy reforms have sought to overcome the limitations of “First Way” strategies emphasizing the welfare state and “Second Way” approaches advocating markets. Scholars and policymakers instead have begun to explore optimal synthesis of the public and private sector in a new “Third Way” of leadership and change. According to one line of interpretation advanced by Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley, however, the Third Way as developed in education has ushered in a new orthodoxy of testing, accountability, and data-driven decision making. This new orthodoxy is said to distract educators from their true moral purposes. Hence, Hargreaves and Shirley have called for a new “Fourth Way” of change that draws upon international best practices in education. In this interpretive essay for a Festschrift issue of the Journal of Educational Change celebrating Andy Hargreaves’ 60th birthday, Dennis Shirley revisits Fourth Way change architecture to inquire after the appropriate role of new technologies in classrooms and schools. He retrieves the concept of mindful teaching and learning from the Fourth Way change model and illustrates how it can be used as a lens to adjudicate various interpretations of the appropriate role of new technologies in schools.     

黑社会的制衡

在校园，黑社会，以及国际事务中，一些组织总是试图用武力从其他组织手中掠夺财物。当他们拥有绝对的实力优势时，便会肆无忌惮地进行攻击，目标是获取财富。有时，个人或组织也会联合起来，组成一个临时聪盟以获取财富或阻止对手的进攻。     

Plasticity of human menstrual blood stem cells derived from the endometrium

Stem cells can be obtained from women’s menstrual blood derived from the endometrium. The cells display stem cell markers such as Oct-4, SSEA-4, Nanog, and c-kit (CD117), and have the potent ability to differentiate into various cell types, including the heart, nerve, bone, cartilage, and fat. There has been no evidence of teratoma, ectopic formation, or any immune response after transplantation into an animal model. These cells quickly regenerate after menstruation and secrete many growth factors to display recurrent angiogenesis. The plasticity and safety of the acquired cells have been demonstrated in many studies. Menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) provide an alternative source of adult stem cells for research and application in regenerative medicine. Here we summarize the multipotent properties and the plasticities of MenSCs and other endometrial stem cells from recent studies conducted both in vitro and in vivo.