Developing reading comprehension through collaborative learning

The present study explores the development and promotion of reading comprehension in primary school students, in the context of the implementation of an educational programme called ‘Learning Together’ (LT). The programme, which centred on collaborative learning activities, was designed to promote oral and written communication in primary school Mexican children. Analyses revealed that children who participated in the LT programme, in comparison with students in a control condition, produced higher‐quality written summaries of texts they had read, both when working in teams and when working individually. This suggests that the LT participants appropriated and transferred the text comprehension strategies promoted, so that they could apply these strategies effectively not only in collaborative contexts but also independently, that is, in a self‐regulated and autonomous fashion. The theoretical and practical implications of the work are discussed in relation to understanding and promoting oracy and literacy processes in primary school students.     

The exact-display approach for online catalog subject searching

When public catalog users enter queries that exactly match the catalog's controlled vocabulary, online systems should respond with browsing lists of alphabetically arranged subject headings, because such displays guide users to retrievals based on the assignment of the matched subject headings to bibliographic records. Unfortunately, studies of online catalog searching demonstrate that alphabetical displays are no longer capable of managing large numbers of subdivided forms of subject headings, because searchers exhibit low levels of perseverance when faced with large numbers of retrievals. This paper introduces a new approach to displaying retrieved subject headings in subject searching—the exact-display approach—designed to encourage users to browse bibliographic information. The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of the exact-display approach by showing how many user queries would be candidates for this approach, demonstrate an implementation of the exact-display approach in an experimental online catalog, and feature end-user experiences with this approach as implemented in the experimental catalog. End-user experiences gave the authors the opportunity to make several recommendations for enhancing the original design of the exact-display approach so that future implementations of this approach in operational online catalogs are responsive to the needs of online catalog users.     

More than Just Worksheets?: A Study of the Confidence of Newly Qualified Teachers of English in Teaching Personal, Social and Health Education in Secondary Schools

This paper addresses concerns regarding the preparedness of newly qualified teachers to deliver Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in the United Kingdom in relation to the training received during Initial Teacher Education and through early Continuing Professional Development. The paper is situated not only within a context where OfSTED has questioned the adequacy of some non-specialist PSHE teachers but also one where, due to a range of social and health concerns centred on young people, schools and teachers are being expected to play an increasingly important role in the social and health education of their pupils. As such, PSHE is increasingly seen as important across all curriculum areas. This paper relates specifically to the confidence of trainee and newly qualified teachers of English in teaching PSHE in secondary schools in the United Kingdom. Drawing on questionnaire data collected from recent Professional Graduate Certificate in Education graduates, the paper suggests that trainee and newly qualified teachers have the skills and knowledge drawn from their main subject (English) to deliver PSHE; however, many lack confidence and awareness to acknowledge these skills. The paper suggests that this situation may be addressed through increased opportunity to deliver and receive feedback on PSHE teaching during initial teacher training.     

Differing expectations: an account of home and school factors affecting EAL learners from Arabic-speaking backgrounds

This article considers research from a preliminary study of Libyan children's accounts of their experience learning English as an additional language (EAL) within mainstream schools in the LJK. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations suggests that for equal opportunity to take place, local education authorities need to place greater emphasis on language and educational provision for newcomers to UK primary schools. In addition, there is still a communication barrier as well as a language barrier between home and school which needs to be addressed in order for children to adjust to and meet school requirements. In a similar way, parents of newly arrived children need to have clear expectations. The implications of this piece of research are extremely relevant for additional language acquisition in British schools and, in particular, for the education of newcomers whose circumstances are similar to those of the children in this study. This research also enables the voice of Arab children, as learners of the English language, to reach educators and policy makers, and empower them further in the research processes which inform British education policy.     

Education on the appalachian trail: What 2,000 miles can teach us about learning

Rather than dwelling on why too many men don't succeed in college, trekker Karen Arnold examines the features of an experience in which many men do excel: the long hike from Georgia to Maine. Educators can learn why accomplishing this feat may be more rewarding than college.