Research priority setting with parents of students with learning exceptionalities and disabilities

With an increasing focus on knowledge mobilisation, there is a concomitant shift in how stakeholders, such as parents, ought to be engaged in the research process. The purpose of this study was to explore the research priorities of parents of Kindergarten to Grade 12 students with learning exceptionalities and disabilities in British Columbia, Canada. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. A convenience sample of 130 parents completed the survey. From a list of pre-selected variables, parents identified time to initial designation, high school graduation, and home-schooling/independent schooling as the three most important research priorities, with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and moderate behaviour support/mental illness as the three most important designations. In an open-ended response, parents recommended further areas for inquiry, including the effectiveness of inclusive education and school exclusion. Research priority setting can help create research agendas that align with the needs and interests of stakeholders.     

Assessment moderation in an Australian context: processes,practices, and challenges

Moderation is a quality assurance process that plays a central role in the teaching, learning, and assessment cycle in higher education. While there is a growing body of research globally on teaching, learning, and, to a lesser degree, assessment in higher education, the process of moderation of assessment has received even less attention. In a context of heightened accountability and greater transparency in the tertiary sector, the formalising of moderation processes has not been a part of established practice. In light of these changes, the purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and investigate current marking and moderation processes and practices operating within one faculty in a large urban university in eastern Australia to gain insight into the challenges to effective moderation. The findings suggest the need for moderation to be considered holistically as an inherent part of teaching and learning, and the need for ongoing staff development.     

Joined-up approaches to prevent school exclusion

Abstract

This article explores findings from a recent research project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and contextualizes these in a discussion of some current thinking about inclusion and exclusion. Although the research found that it was possible to prevent disciplinary exclusion from school and that inter-agency working was central to this, nevertheless strategies for preventing disciplinary exclusion often meant that young people were no longer very fully included in the mainstream school curriculum. This has implications for how we think about and use the idea of inclusion in practice and raises questions about how we can include the most challenging young people into inclusion theory and practice. This research was carried out in Scotland, and the article also discusses some key differences in policy and practice from England.     

Priorities for an Expanding University

The purpose of this study was to use Fink's (2003) taxonomy of significant learning to redesign courses and assess student learning. Significant improvements were found across the semester for students in the six courses, but there were differences in which taxa showed improvement in each course. The meta-analysis showed significant, positive changes across disciplines in the areas of foundational knowledge, application, human dimension, and learning how to learn. This study provides support for Fink's taxonomy in which significant learning can be achieved through course redesign.     

Hygrothermal effects of baseballs and softballs

This study considered the effect of temperature and relative humidity on the performance of softballs, baseballs and bats. The balls were conditioned in constant humidity and temperature environments and then impacted against a rigidly supported load cell from which the ball coefficient of restitution and stiffness were obtained. The balls reached steady state temperature on the order of a few minutes, while steady state humidity required upwards of 2 weeks. Ball stiffness and coefficient of restitution tended to decrease with increasing humidity. Increasing temperature generally caused ball stiffness to decrease and the coefficient of restitution to increase. Balls made from synthetic materials tended to resist the effects of moisture, but showed an increased sensitivity to temperature. The effect of temperature and humidity on bat performance (sign and magnitude) depended on the design of the ball and bat. The largest effect occurred in professional baseball, where for a long fly ball, decreasing the temperature by 33 °C and lowering the relative humidity from 90 to 10 % resulted in a 5 m decrease and a 15 m increase in hit distance, respectively.     

爱的裁决

电话是在明尼苏达州一个闷热的下午大概三点半的时候打来的。安养院的社工谢丽尔急匆匆地解释着情况。她已经给十五位法官打过电话了,他们不是在出庭就是抽不出时间。抱着试试看的想法,她直接拨通了我的电话。     

A University–School Partnership to Examine the Adoption and Implementation of the Ohio Community Collaboration Model in One Urban School District: A Mixed-Method Case Study

School improvement models are expanding to incorporate priorities around positive youth development, safe and supportive school climates, school mental health, and school–family community partnerships. A partnership was formed between researchers and district/school leaders to examine the 3-year adoption and implementation of 1 such exemplary model, the Ohio Community Collaboration Model for School Improvement, in a Midwest urban district serving a large number of students at-risk. Researchers and district/school leaders examined what types of system-level capacities developed, and explored student- and school-level outcomes that occurred over the course of implementation. Multiple innovations resulted, such as strengthened policies, improved partnerships and collaborations, and enhanced funding streams. Students' perceptions of academic press, school climate, and academic motivation improved over the 3 years. Academic report cards show progress toward districtwide improvement. Implications are drawn for researchers and school leaders, especially in relation to the design, implementation, and evaluation of collaborative models of school improvement.