The role of visual discrimination in the learning-to-read process

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the extent to which visual discrimination (VisD) skills play a role in developing letter identification abilities, which are essential in learning to read. Results from a correlational analysis of 73 4- and 5-year-olds revealed a significant association between VisD and letter identification abilities, which was not moderated by estimated nonverbal or verbal abilities or lexical access. Stronger VisD abilities also were positively associated with better phonemic awareness skills, presumably because of the association between letter knowledge and phonemic skills, or letter-sound correspondence. A pilot study explored the benefit of visual discrimination training of letter-like forms to letter learning for a subset of 28 children with below average lowercase letter identification abilities. Only letter-name training significantly impacted lowercase letter identification; visual discrimination training did not further enhance performance. Implications for theory and applications to interventions aimed at children at risk for reading delays are discussed.

Innovation in Publishing: This is not an Oxymoron!

While many pundits claim that publishers are not innovative, this paper cites dozens of recent examples of innovation in the publishing industry. The main models reviewed are: innovative projects/partnerships, investment, accelerators/incubators, public/private partnership, and grass-roots programs. Case studies are presented from HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Penguin Random House, and many others, based on research and the author’s own experience. By following the lead of these innovative accomplishments, publishers can foster innovation at their own companies.     

Spanish Language Children’s Books Focusing on Health Literacy: An Annotated Bibliography

An efficient and economical health care system requires that patients and providers understand each other. For Latino patients, the challenges to effective communication include limited Spanish language ability of providers, limited English language ability of patients, lack of knowledge of the health system, and a generally low educational attainment resulting in general low literacy and numeracy abilities. Both literacy and public health research suggests that focusing on family systems and children is a good path to helping the entire Latino community to navigate better healthcare. This poster provides a selection of titles of readily available Spanish and bilingual (Spanish/English) children’s books that focus on health literacy as well as a series that addresses children’s health issues written for low literacy Spanish-speaking parents. The bibliography is organized into the following categories: Exercise, Healthy Habits, The Human Body, Hygiene, Nutrition, Parenting, and Understanding Difference. It is incumbent upon those in public service, including public libraries, the educational system, and literacy experts, as well as those in the medical professions to try and remedy this situation. Ideally, the titles for children should be read with parents or teachers. This bibliography should be useful for public librarians, school librarians, academic librarians collecting for education departments, literacy experts, and medical and health sciences librarians.     

Coach Education and Continuing Professional Development: Experience and Learning to Coach

Research over the last decade has demonstrated that it is experience and the observation of other coaches that remain the primary sources of knowledge for coaches. Despite this, coach education and continuing professional development fail to draw effectively on this experience. Using the work of Pierre Bourdieu, this paper attempts to understand how the “art of coaching” can be characterized as structured improvisation and how experience is crucial to structuring coaching practice. An examination of current coach education and assessment demonstrates that coaching practice viewed as a composite of knowledge has not specifically addressed the pervasive influence of experience on coaching practice. Drawing on experiences from the educational field, we examine how coach education and continuing professional development can utilize mentoring and critical reflection to situate learning in the practical experience of coaching.     

Fourth‐grade Elementary Students’ Conceptions of Standards‐based Lunar Concepts

Fourth‐grade students’ knowledge of observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as conceptual understanding of the cause of moon phases, was investigated before and after special instruction. Pretest and post‐test data for 48 students were used to address the research question related to observable moon phases and patterns of change. Interviews were conducted with 10 students on a post‐only basis to provide data on understanding the cause of moon phases. The researchers used the constant comparative method to analyse data. Pretest results indicate these students had not met the expectations expressed in the U.S. Science Education Standards for lunar concepts. Post‐test results reveal a very positive performance on observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as the cause of moon phases. Interpretation and implications of these findings are provided.     

Constructing the Good Teacher in Higher Education: The discursive work of standards

Professional development for academics in higher education is increasingly important in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Promoting better teaching practices through professional development is part of the drive for quality and excellence. However, the focus has been on teaching as a "technical" activity, defined as competence in a particular domain of practice. This has obscured the social and discursive practices through which a very particular sort of teacher identity is produced. It is possible, therefore, to examine the ways in which the standards of competence operate to normalise and fashion what it means to be a "good teacher". In this article, we examine extracts from course documentation produced by a UK university through which the professional standards of those working in higher education are being constituted. Our focus is not the quality of these particular materials but the work the documentation performs in building up a particular notion of what characterises a professional teacher in higher education.     

ELDERLY PERSONS’ ATTITUDE TOWARD CHILDREN

Many school systems and other agencies across the nation are implementing or planning to implement programs involving older persons with children. Thus it now seems crucial to examine older person's attitudes toward children. Intergenerational encounters can be positive only if the attitudes of both groups are known and taken into consideration. The instrument, Elderly Persons’ Attitudes Toward Children, was administered to a random sample of persons over age 65 throughout the nation (N = 542). Results indicated that the elderly hold overall positive attitudes toward children; however, their responses reveal the complexities of attitudes. Negative attitudes toward some personality characteristics of children, as well as the belief that stricter methods of discipline should be used, were found. Higher levels of education, more frequent contact with children, and having grandchildren under the age of twelve were related to more positive attitudes toward children. This information should be useful to those involved in planning and implementing intergenerational programs in school and nonschool settings and for the design of training programs for elder volunteers desiring to work with children.     

Lifelong learning,higher education and active citizenship: from rhetoric to action

This introductory paper provides the background to the Cape Town Statement on Characteristic Elements of a Lifelong Learning Higher Education Institution that appears in this Journal. It describes the journey of a network of adult educators and academics from the North, South, East and West through contested terrain from Hamburg, to Paris, Mumbai and Cape Town in 2000. At a conference held in Cape Town in October 2000, the delegates concluded that there were six essential characteristics of a higher education lifelong learning institution. This paper reviews the essential elements of these characteristics and comments on the journey of their development.