Student teachers’ prior experiences of history,geography and science: initial findings of an all-Ireland survey1

Research into student teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and prior experiences of learning suggests that these experiences can exert an influence on practice which can be relatively undisturbed by their initial teacher education. This article is based on the initial findings of an all-Ireland survey of all first-year students on B.Ed. courses in colleges in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. The survey is the first stage in a longitudinal study which will follow the same cohort of students for the duration of their initial teacher education, seeking to map and track the development of their ideas about teaching and learning in primary history, geography and science. Based on an analysis of the quantitative data in the entry questionnaire, the initial findings suggest that subject knowledge remains a problematic issue in initial teacher education and that both location and gender interact with knowledge, attitudes and subject area to produce a complex and challenging context for teacher educators in history, geography and science education.     

Implementing cycles of Assess,Plan, Do,Review: a literature review of practitioner perspectives

This article uses a literature review process to explore current literature on Response to Intervention (RtI), an approach to the identification of and provision for students with special educational needs introduced in the USA by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Parallels are made between RtI and the graduated approach of successive cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) outlined in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice introduced in England in 2014. Research concerning APDR is scarce, and therefore this review looks to research on RtI to inform current practice. Recurring themes throughout the literature relate to the ongoing professional development and learning for practitioners that is afforded by engagement in RtI, and an awareness that it takes time to accrue the benefits of such an approach. Further research is needed to ascertain the outworking of a reform such as RtI/APDR within the English context.     

A taxonomy of adolescent metacognitive knowledge during the information search process

A case study that took place in Montreal, Canada, used naturalistic methods to investigate the metacognitive knowledge of 10 adolescents as they searched for, selected, and used information for a school-based inquiry project on a topic related to the history of Western civilization. The study identified 13 attributes of metacognitive knowledge related to the information search process: balancing, building a base, changing course, communicating, connecting, knowing that you don't know, knowing your strengths and weaknesses, parallel thinking, pulling back and reflecting, scaffolding, understanding curiosity, understanding memory, understanding time and effort. The results contribute to the understanding of adolescent information-seeking behavior and have implications for information literacy instruction.     

Developmental assessment: lifting literacy through professional learning teams

Outcomes and findings from an evidence‐based approach to targeting primary school students’ developmental reading comprehension levels for effective learning are described. Nineteen schools participated in a literacy assessment project designed to monitor and improve the reading comprehension achievement levels of their students. The project integrated a developmental approach to learning and teaching, information derived from standardised reading comprehension assessments, and professional development for teachers. Reading comprehension achievement across the schools increased at a higher rate than typically expected. Teacher discourse about teaching and learning changed from discrete skill and resource focused, to developmentally focused. The centrality of a professional learning team approach to change for the student, teacher and school is discussed.     

Exploring the utility of workload models in academe: a pilot study

The workload of academics in Australia is increasing. Among the potential ramifications of this are work-related stress and burnout. Unions have negotiated workload models in employment agreements as a means of distributing workload in a fair and transparent manner. This qualitative pilot study aimed to explore how academics perceive their current workload and the utility of workload formulas within their workplace. The findings revealed five themes: scepticism, anger, vindication, justice and balance. Workload models appear to have utility within academia as a means of balancing role expectations in an equitable and transparent manner. They are also useful for demonstrating workloads to management objectively and identifying staff at increased risk of burnout because of inappropriately high workloads. Problematic issues identified were perceptions that workload models are management tools to control and monitor the workplace, and their implementation would not result in change.     

Educational psychology service contribution to community cohesion: an appreciative inquiry

ABSTRACT

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC) calls for education to prepare children for ‘ … responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin’. The current study examines the potential role of Educational Psychologists (EPs) in addressing the UNCRC call to promote community cohesion through their work in schools. Through an Appreciative Inquiry cycle EPs considered facilitators of and barriers to working with communities. Facilitators included EP practices, skills and knowledge and seeing schools as communities in themselves. Barriers included public service funding and aspects of service delivery. A multi-level approach to promoting community cohesion is put forward, including acknowledgement of the context within which the work takes place as well as positing a continuum of community cohesion to community conflict.     

Identity and place-based teacher identities: what connects across diverse personal and professional landscapes?

ABSTRACT

Given that identity continually evolves within socio-cultural contexts of meaning, is there any perceived connectedness between place-based identity and the development of teacher identity? How might shifting personal and professional stories of experience influence teachers’ sense of place, whereby place is conceptualized through interconnected ways of living and working in time and place with others in early childhood contexts? In this ongoing Sydney-based project, six teachers working in prior-to-school (long day care) settings critically reflected on and represented their identity journeys across the professional experience. Using a new place-based framework for exploring identity development, teachers traced their encounters with the place(s), with multi-modal forms of representation and reflection supporting teachers’ re-examination of significant biography events and social-cultural locatedness. Using aesthetic ways of thinking and representing, this article provides insight into the place-based nature of early childhood teachers’ lives and work, illustrating the interwoven nature of teacher identity often formed “out of view”. Challenges associated with shifting personal and professional terrains are clarified, opening possibilities for renewal of pedagogies and transformation of identity understandings.     

Early Indications of Resilience and Their Relation to Experiences in the Home Environments of Low Birthweight, Premature Children Living in Poverty

The caregiving environment experienced by 243 premature, low birthweight (LBW) children living in poverty was examined to determine whether the quality of care such children receive affords them some measure of protection from the generally deleterious consequences of poverty and prematurity. Only 26 children were identified as functioning in the normal range for cognitive, social/adaptive, health, and growth parameters at age 3. These children, who showed early signs of resiliency, differed from nonresilient children in that they were receiving more responsive, accepting, stimulating, and organized care. They were also living in safer, less crowded homes. 6 "protective" aspects of caregiving were identified and used as part of a cumulative protection index. Children with less than 3 protective aspects of caregiving present at age 1 had only a 2% probability of being resilient, and only a 6% probability if fewer than 3 were present at age 3. Overall, premature LBW children born into conditions of poverty have a very poor prognosis of functioning within normal ranges across all the dimensions of health and development assessed. However, those raised in a setting with 3 or more protective factors were more likely to show early signs of resiliency.     

Longitudinal analysis of time, engagement, and achievement in at-risk versus non-risk students

This longitudinal study investigated the effects of time spent in academic instruction and time engaged on elementary students' academic achievement gains. Three groups were compared over grades as follows: (a) an at-risk experimental group of low-socioeconomic status (SES) students for whom teachers implemented classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) beginning with the second semester of first grade continuing through Grade 3; (b) an equivalent at-risk control group; and (c) a non-risk comparison group of students of average- to high-SES. In both the control and comparison groups, teachers employed conventional instructional practices over Grades 1 through 3. Results indicated significant group differences in the time spent in academic instruction, engagement, and gains on the subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test that favored the experimental and comparison groups over the control group. Implications include the effectiveness of CWPT for at-risk students and the continuing vulnerability of at-risk students whose daily instructional programs provide less instructional time and foster lower levels of active academic engagement.