The National Curriculum and Standards in Primary Schools: A comparative perspective

A comparison is made of the standards in primary school mathematics in England and Cyprus, drawing upon national curricula, content of textbooks and data from international comparisons of attainment. Standards are conceptualised in three ways: expected, planned and realised. It is demonstrated that high expected and high planned standards, as set in national curricula and textbooks, are not associated with high realised standards. Four possible explanations are explored and policy issues associated with national standard setting are discussed. The value of setting national curriculum standards and targets by reference to comparative international data is raised.     

Determining Appropriate Accommodations for Postsecondary Students with Reading and Written Expression Disorders

One of the most significant barriers facing postsecondary students with reading and written expression disorders who are eligible to receive specific accommodations is the lack of professional knowledge pertaining to issues surrounding accommodations. Though guided by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the process by which accommodation decisions are made varies considerably across institutions of higher education. Given the recent rise in litigation surrounding the practice of how accommodations are determined as well as the increasing number of postsecondary students with reading and writing disabilities who are requesting accommodations, it is imperative that accommodation decisions be defensible and supported by empirical research. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of current research on the effectiveness of accommodations for postsecondary students with language‐based learning disabilities, discuss important considerations in the accommodation selection process, and offer recommendations for future research.     

Breaking the Cycle: Future Faculty Begin Teaching with Learner-Centered Strategies after Professional Development

The availability of reliable evidence for teaching practices after professional development is limited across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, making the identification of professional development “best practices” and effective models for change difficult. We aimed to determine the extent to which postdoctoral fellows (i.e., future biology faculty) believed in and implemented evidence-based pedagogies after completion of a 2-yr professional development program, Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST IV). Postdocs (PDs) attended a 2-yr training program during which they completed self-report assessments of their beliefs about teaching and gains in pedagogical knowledge and experience, and they provided copies of class assessments and video recordings of their teaching. The PDs reported greater use of learner-centered compared with teacher-centered strategies. These data were consistent with the results of expert reviews of teaching videos. The majority of PDs (86%) received video ratings that documented active engagement of students and implementation of learner-centered classrooms. Despite practice of higher-level cognition in class sessions, the items used by the PDs on their assessments of learning focused on lower-level cognitive skills. We attributed the high success of the FIRST IV program to our focus on inexperienced teachers, an iterative process of teaching practice and reflection, and development of and teaching a full course.     

Wake up Information Literacy Instruction: Ideas for Student Engagement

In this article, three librarians from Santa Fe College, the community college winner of the 2015 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, share their successful work in information literacy instruction. While the ACRL award is given for overall achievement, this article focuses upon their creative and varied approaches to instruction, incorporating a wide blend of strategies to reach students across the college. Beginning with targeted approaches to virtual instruction, including broad use of the flipped classroom model, and building in active learning techniques, the librarians at Santa Fe College have built an instruction program that could serve as a model to community college libraries across the country.     

Beyond the Classroom: Fostering Soft Skills in Pre-Professional LIS Organizations

Are LIS graduates being adequately prepared to work in the information workplace? While students are absorbing valuable knowledge, library school curricula do not foster the essential soft skills students need to thrive in their post-graduate careers. However by being an active member of a graduate student organization, future LIS professionals can gain and hone effective soft skills, such as communication, initiative, curiosity, understanding, and the means to deal with mistakes, while adopting responsibilities that will all ultimately translate to success in the professional workplace, particularly in their first positions following graduation.     

Actions and Updates on the Standards and Best Practices Front

Four standards and best practices recently released or currently underway at the National Information Standards Organization were presented: Knowledge Bases and Related Tools, Presentation and Identification of E-Journals, Open Discovery Initiative, and Open Access Metadata Indicators. Basics outlining the creation work and deliverables were shared for each project. Applicability of these standards and best practices for different stakeholders of the information community were discussed.     

The effect of breast support and breast pain on upper-extremity kinematics during running: implications for females with large breasts

The relationship between inappropriate breast support and upper-extremity kinematics for female runners is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of breast support and breast pain on upper-extremity kinematics during running. Eleven female recreational runners with larger breasts (UK D and E cup) completed a 7 min 20 s treadmill run (2.58 m · s^?1) in a high and low breast support condition. Multi-planar breast and upper-extremity kinematic data were captured in each breast support condition by eight infrared cameras for 30 s towards the end of the run. Breast pain was rated at the end of each treadmill run using a numeric analogue scale. The high support bra reduced breast kinematics and decreased breast pain (P < 0.05). Upper-extremity kinematics did not differ between breast support conditions (P > 0.05), although some moderate positive correlations were found between thorax range of motion and breast kinematics (r = 0.54 to 0.73). Thorax and arm kinematics do not appear to be influenced by breast support level in female runners with large breasts. A high support bra that offers good multi-planar breast support is recommended for female runners with larger breasts to reduce breast pain.