Student & tutor consensus: a partnership in assessment for learning

The mistakes made when attempting tasks often prove to be some of the most invaluable learning experiences. Despite this, outcome and results driven assessment formats largely penalise student performance errors or reward students who succeed by chance. The consequences of this paradigm are visible effects on student relationships with assessment. The student–tutor consensus approach to assessment was introduced to capture student learning achieved ‘from’ assessment to complement the measurement of performance outcomes. This approach parallels student and tutor judgement in a grade negotiation, affording the student an opportunity to share with their assessor what they have learned from the assessment activity. This student self-awareness was then considered alongside the conventional outcome-based score awarded by the tutor to generate a final grade for the assessed activity. Our study evaluated the perceptions of 90 undergraduate students enrolled in the bachelor of paramedic studies, who participated in this novel assessment approach as part of a final-year capstone topic. The results comprehensively indicated value for all aspects of the assessment approach, as well as a recognition that the skills will be useful in their future professional roles.     

A collaborative autoethnography study to inform the teaching of reflective practice in STEM

The paper explores a collaborative self-study, autoethnography research project, which aided in informing practice for the teaching of reflective practice in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at an Australian university. Self-report methods were used, because it enabled the collection of a variety of self-awareness data generated processes to help produce insights and understandings. This was achieved by undertaking a systematic approach to the exploration of a critical friendship between two academic support staff members alongside reflections from a recorded, focus group interview with nine STEM teachers. Four self-awareness data generated processes were used: (1) self-reflections; (2) collaborative reflections; (3) reflections on pertinent literature findings and (4) reflections from nine STEM teachers. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken, which resulted in the discovery of three turning points such as moments of understandings that challenge assumptions and/or lead to new insights. The findings indicated that a STEM-centric, scaffolded approach that utilised the scientific method for reflective practice enabled the development of a shared understanding around teaching and assessing reflective practice for STEM teachers. First, because it boosted self-confidence and second, because it reduced scepticism around reflective practice as a non-scientific form of learning.     

Framing of transitional pedagogic practices in the sciences: enabling access

Educational literature shows that students from working-class backgrounds are significantly less likely to persist to completion in higher education than middle-class students. This paper draws theoretically and analytically on Bernstein’s ([1990. Class, Codes and Control, Volume IV: The Structuring of Pedagogic Discourse. London: Routledge; 2000. Pedagogy, Symbolic Control, and Identity: Theory, Research, Critique. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield]) thesis that, through differential framing of pedagogic practices, the curriculum has capacity to accommodate all groups of students. Pedagogic practices in both a science foundation course and four first-year mainstream science courses in a higher education institution in the South African context are examined. Whilst the foundation course exhibits modalities that generally favour access, the mainstream courses have some modalities that appear to be constraining. It is argued from a social justice perspective that holistic curriculum transformations that better enable epistemic transitions are an urgent imperative, and that consideration of differential framing of pedagogic modalities offer a close-up empirical means of conceptualising such reforms.     

Trainee teachers in unpaid teaching posts: volunteering,risk and vulnerability

This paper explores the experiences and perceptions of a little-known category of in-service trainee teachers in the Further Education (FE) and Skills sector in England: those who meet the practical teaching requirements of their course mainly through unpaid teaching as ‘volunteers’. The paper reports findings from mixed-methods research which used surveys, interviews and focus groups involving trainee teachers within a large FE–HE partnership. Themes relating to motivations to volunteer, the development of teacher identity within marginal roles, and the risks associated with unpaid teaching are discussed. For increasing numbers of trainees, unpaid teaching provides an opportunity for career entry. However, the quality of teaching experience gained is mixed, with some trainees receiving high levels of support, whilst others experience marginalisation and limitations on their developing teacher identities. The paper highlights the specific challenges to professionalism posed by unpaid teaching within the FE and Skills sector, and relates these challenges to a broader context of insecurity and risk. As work experience becomes an increasingly valuable commodity, this paper illustrates the pressures individuals face as they exchange payment and security for the opportunities volunteering provides.     

感光度详解

与光圈和快门一样，感光度也是曝光控制系统的一个重要方面。因此，我们将在这里对它作一次全面，深入的讲解。     

Collaboration in the assessment and diagnosis of preschoolers: Challenges and opportunities

The preschool assessment and diagnostic process offers many opportunities for collaboration across disciplines that can enrich the professional's understanding of the young child. This article addresses the advantages and complexities of such collaboration including opportunities for infusing collaboration across the multiple steps of assessment. Challenges commonly seen in a collaborative process, involving issues of time, decisions regarding diagnosis and recommended interventions, shared responsibilities, conflict across disciplines, and the need for administrative support, are explored. Special issues around creating meaningful partnerships with families are examined with attention to fully including families at whatever level they are comfortable. Finally, trends in consultation and collaboration that require the specialized expertise of preschool psychologists are described, along with promising models of training that incorporate collaboration, consultation, and policy work into the pre‐service experience. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Neurocognitive predictors of reading outcomes for children with reading disabilities

This study reports on several specific neurocognitive process predictors of reading outcomes for a sample of 278 children with reading disabilities. Three categories of response (i.e., poor, average, and good) were formed via growth curve models of six reading outcomes. Two nested discriminant function analyses were conducted to evaluate the predictive capability of the following models: (a) an intervention and phonological processing model that included intervention group, phonological awareness, and rapid naming and (b) an additive cognitive neuropsychological model that included measures of memory, visual processes, and cognitive or intellectual functioning. Over and above the substantial explanatory power of the base model, the additive model improved classification of poor and good responders. Several of the cognitive and neuropsychological variables predicted degree of reading outcomes, even after controlling for type of intervention, phonological awareness, and rapid naming.     

V. THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL TOLL OF EARLY HUMAN DEPRIVATION

Children raised in institutions frequently suffer from a variety of behavioral, emotional, and neuropsychological sequelae, including deficits in attention, executive functions, disorders of attachment, and in some cases a syndrome that mimics autism. The extent and severity of these disorders appear to be mediated, in part, by the age at which the child entered and, in some cases, left the institution. Here we review the neurobiological literature on early institutionalization that may account for the psychological and neurological sequelae discussed in other chapters in this volume.     

Home IV Antibiotic Therapy and Exercise Capacity in Children with CF: A Case Series

Purpose: This case series describes the effect of home intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy on spirometry and exercise capacity in a group of children with cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods: Outcomes from 10 children with CF who were prescribed a 14-day course of home IV antibiotics for a respiratory exacerbation are reported. All children performed spirometry and a modified shuttle test (MST) before and after 14-days of home IV therapy. Results: After 14 days, FEV₁ increased by mean (± SE) 12 ± 4 % (p < 0.05) but mean MST did not improve compared to baseline. All children improved or maintained spirometry values with treatment, however, only 5 improved MST distance. Conclusion: After 14 days of home IV antibiotic therapy, a significant improvement in spirometry, but not exercise capacity, was seen in this small series of children with CF. The lack of improvement in exercise capacity for all children following home IV antibiotic therapy suggests factors other than spirometry determine exercise capacity. Identifying and investigating the factors that influence exercise capacity during home IV antibiotic therapy requires further investigation.Key Words: cystic fibrosis, home IV therapy, FEV₁, Modified Shuttle Test