Rhymes and phonemes in the common unit task: replications and implications for beginning reading

Theorists and practitioners in the field of reading development are currently debating the importance of rhymes and phonemes in beginning reading. In a recent study, Duncan, Seymour and Hill (1997) provided evidence that explicit or meta- awareness of sound is closely linked to reading strategy. Meta-awareness was measured by asking beginning readers to identify the ‘common unit’ shared by two spoken words. Results showed that meta-awareness of phonemes emerged prior to meta-awareness of rhyme, and that reading strategy followed a similar small-to-large progression. This study reports on a replication of the ‘common unit’ task which includes modifications to the original procedure (randomisation of conditions, increased practice, removal of positional references from instructions). The results confirm the pattern observed in the original study. Beginning readers learning by a mixed method can identify shared phonemes but not shared rimes in the common unit task. The implications of this and similar replications are discussed.     

‘What drives students’ affective commitment towards their university?’

How can universities build ongoing, committed relationships with students, able to withstand the financial and emotional challenges of studying in higher education? The research proposes that students’ ongoing attachment to their university, based on positive feelings towards the university, is an important aspect of the student experience. This ongoing attachment is conceptualised here as students’ affective commitment towards their institution. Using an online survey-method and a research sample comprising undergraduate students studying in the UK, this research identifies three factors which drive students’ affective commitment towards their institution. These factors include students’ affective commitment towards academics and students’ calculative commitment towards the institution; factors which draw from the relational literature. A third factor, commitment balance, was developed within this research. Commitment balance occurs when a student’s commitment to their university is perceived to be reciprocated by the university’s commitment to the student. The study found that commitment balance was the most important driver of students’ ongoing attachment to their institution. The paper proposes that commitment balance is a key idea to consider within relational studies generally, but has a particular relevance in the higher education context for understanding the student experience. Commitment balance reflects the pulse of reciprocity which energises relational exchanges between students and institution. The findings of this research reinforce how critically important it is for universities and academics to build relationships with students. The desired outcome is to enhance the student experience, create positive attachment between students and university and ultimately improve student retention.     

Holland environments as reinforcement systems

Holland's (1973, 1985) theory of vocational choice stipulates that model environments seek toreinforce the characteristic predispositions and attitudes of their corresponding personality types. The results of this longitudinal study of the self-perceptions of more than 2,000 graduates from eight types of colleges and universities (Carnegie Commission, 1971) generally support the validity of this premise. For example, graduates prepared in investigative environments have higher intellectual self-esteem scores and those prepared in artistic environments have higher artistic self-esteem scores, when pre- and postcollege measures are controlled. These general patterns are consistent for graduates from the eight institutional types. The implications of these findings are discussed for those who study the intra- and interinstitutional diversity of colleges and universities and their differential impact on student developmental patterns.     

The role of letter knowledge and phonological awareness in young Braille readers

Research into sighted children’s reading shows that letter recognition skill predicts phonological awareness skill. Congenitally–blind children do not receive exposure to environmental print and do not generally learn to recognise written letters of the alphabet prior to schooling in Braille. A cross–sectional analysis revealed that blind children with no knowledge of written letters or written words showed no ability at measures of phonological awareness. Blind children with knowledge of written letters and no written words showed much increased phonological awareness scores and blind children with knowledge of written letters and written words scored higher still on phonological awareness measures. It was concluded that letter learning is a major contributor to the development of phonological awareness in blind children. It suggests key similarities in the underlying processes of reading development across two different populations using different modalities to learn to read.     

Practitioners and Parents Have Their Say About Best Practice: Early intervention in Queensland

This paper reports initial findings of a research project in Queensland, Australia that did not adopt recommended practices from listings established in other countries for early childhood intervention services. Instead, a contextual and participatory process served to determine a relevant listing of program quality indicators for a large, early intervention service conducted by the state Department of Education (Stage 1). Thirty-one indicators of program quality were identified for this particular service. To validate these indicators and to gather additional information about their implementation, a statewide survey was conducted (Stage 2). For each of the 31 indicators, parents and staff from within this service were asked to (a) indicate their level of acceptance, (b) report on current use, and (c) comment on barriers to implementation. Results provide strong support for the indicator listing and reveal high level of indicator acceptance accompanied by a lower level of indicator implementation. Lack of time and lack of staff were identified as the primary barriers to implementation across all indicators. The validated indicator listing for Early Special Education (Qld) services is provided.     

Relations between teachers' approaches to teaching and students' approaches to learning

This paper reports on an empirical study which shows that qualitatively different approaches to teaching are associated with qualitatively different approaches to learning. More specifically, the results indicate that in the classes where teachers describe their approach to teaching as having a focus on what they do and on transmitting knowledge, students are more likely to report that they adopt a surface approach to the learning of that subject. Conversely, but less strongly, in the classes where students report adopting significantly deeper approaches to learning, teaching staff report adopting approaches to teaching that are more oriented towards students and to changing the students conceptions. The study made use of a teaching approach inventory derived from interviews with academic staff, and a modified approach to learning questionnaire. These conclusions are derived from a factor and cluster analysis of 48 classes (involving 46 science teachers and 3956 science students) in Australian universities. The results complete a chain of relations from teacher thinking to the outcomes of student learning. Previous studies have shown relations between teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning and their approaches to teaching. Numerous studies have shown correlations between students' deeper approaches to learning and higher quality learning outcomes. The results reported here link these two sets of studies. They also highlight the importance, in attempts to improve the quality of student learning, of discouraging teacher-focused transmission teaching and encouraging higher quality, conceptual change/student-focused approaches to teaching.     

Assessment Focus in Studio: What is Most Prominent in Architecture,Art and Design?

What can be learned about assessment from what educators in the creative practices focus their studio publications on? What should form the focus of assessment in architecture, art and design studios? In this article we draw on 118 journal articles on studio published over the last decade in three disciplines; architecture, art and design to inform the focus of studio assessment. We believe that what is published by educators themselves in these disciplines reveals what matters most to them. In addition, we argue that regardless of the primary emphasis placed in each discipline, assessment in studio should encompass a broad set of indicators. Within the wider literature including in architecture, art and design, a view of assessment is emerging that recognises the process and the person, beyond a view that positions the product or art/design arte‐fact above all else. Therefore, drawing on what educators in architecture, art and design mentioned most in the journal publications analysed, as well as the literature on good assessment, we offer a holistic model to guide and take studio assessment in the creative disciplines further.     

Induction of newly qualified teachers in New Zealand

In this research, commissioned by the New Zealand Teachers Council, the quality of induction of provisionally registered teachers (PRT) (newly qualified) was examined utilising qualitative ‘success case studies’ within early childhood, primary, secondary, and indigenous Māori medium settings. The establishment of criteria for effective induction (from the literature and previous research) guided the identification of 20 ‘success’ sites across the sectors. In-depth data collection of each case was conducted via focus groups, one-to-one interviews and documentary analysis. The findings of the research highlighted exemplary induction practices across the sectors, with the most important associated with PRTs having access to a community, or ‘family’, of support during their induction. An interesting finding, which contrasted with previous research, was that PRTs in the secondary sector had levels of satisfaction with their role that were as high as those in other sectors. The key limitation to effectiveness was linked to lack of time for discussions and observations of the PRT's practice.     

The impact of curriculum change on health sciences first year students’ approaches to learning

This study aimed to use a learning inventory (the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students, ASSIST) to measure the impact of a curriculum change on students’ approaches to learning in two large courses in a health sciences first year programme. The two new Human Body Systems (HUBS) courses were designed to encourage students to take a deep approach to learning. ASSIST was completed by 599 students enrolled in a biology class in 2006 that was part of the old curriculum, and by 705 students at the beginning and end of the new HUBS courses in 2007. Changes in students’ approaches to learning over time were examined. The ASSIST scores for both HUBS courses reflected the dominance of a surface approach, followed by a strategic and then a deep approach. However, by the end of the year, students were taking a deep and strategic approach to their studies to a greater extent, and a surface approach to a lesser extent. Moreover, students enrolled in the new course adopted a deep approach to their studies to a significantly greater degree than those studying the old curriculum. Despite the predominance of a surface approach, the results suggest that it is possible to bring about small but significant positive changes in students’ learning behaviour in a very large class through curriculum change. The proportion of students preferring a surface approach, and results showing that high performance on the final exam was significantly correlated with a surface approach, probably reflected contextual factors, including assessment, and is the focus of ongoing curriculum development.