Simplifying informational text structure for struggling readers

Direct instruction of reading strategies, such as the ‘structure strategy’, is demonstrated to be effective for the development of more mature and skilled reading processes in struggling readers. This instructional intervention approach, aimed at directly improving reading ability, can be used in combination with text simplification. Text simplification is the modification of the text in order to make it more understandable or readable for target groups of readers. In this article, we discuss a theoretically-driven text simplification approach, inspired by cognitive models of reading comprehension. Differently from classical approaches to linguistic text simplification, the aim of cognitive text simplification is not simply to reduce the linguistic complexity of the text, but to improve text coherence and the structure of information in the text. This can be achieved by using rhetorical devices, like signaling or discourse markers, which specify relationships among ideas at a global level (macrostructural) and work as processing instructions for the reader, scaffolding reading comprehension. The goal of this paper is to discuss, in light of the literature, the effectiveness of these adaptations for improving struggling readers’ understanding and learning from informational texts.     

Whole-school antibullying interventions: A systematic review of 20 years of publications

A systematic literature review on whole-school antibullying interventions was conducted. Twelve databases were consulted, considering as inclusion criteria: scientific article, published between 1998 and June 2018, in English or Portuguese, describing empirical studies on whole-school antibullying interventions. Seventeen studies were analyzed, indicating that the interventions had the reduction of bullying prevalence as main goal, and secondary goals as improvements in reporting bullying occurrences, bullying identification, and attitudes toward bullying. Six interventions had experimental designs, five were quasiexperimental, and six were preexperimental. Data collection in 14 studies involved exclusively students, in two studies measurements also encompassed teachers, and one study applied questionnaires to parents only. Intervention effects on bullying prevalence were inconsistent, with eight studies finding significant decreases in bullying involvement, while seven studies did not show significant effects on bullying prevalence or found negative results, such as an increase of its prevalence. However, the interventions had significant positive effects on increasing the reporting of bullying occurrences, attitudes toward bullying, and perceived peer and teacher intervention. Thus, whole-school antibullying interventions, incorporating multiple strategies and targeting multiple individuals, should be encouraged to address the complexity of bullying.     

Discussing education by means of metaphors

Abstract

Metaphors help us understand a concept by resorting to the imaginary because it is sometimes difficult to do so through the use of words alone. Thinkers have made use of metaphors to not only describe ‘falling in love’, ‘the pain of losing someone dear to us’, but also to describe particular concepts both in arts and sciences. In fact, the use of metaphors in some disciplines, particularly the sciences, is now regarded as something essential for the development of the field. We note that influential philosophers of education, such as Martin Buber, Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Gert Biesta and Ilan Gur-Ze’ev have also made use of metaphors to discuss education and specific issues in educational contexts. In this article, we do two things: (i) we discuss the methodological importance of metaphors in helping us make better sense of concepts and particular problems; (ii) building on this methodological discussion, we critically discuss the problems posed by the current processes of ‘marketisation’ and ‘learnification’ in education. We conclude by arguing that metaphors do not provide us with ultimate answers to the problems we face; rather, they help us unveil a diversity of novel perspectives and a world of new possibilities.     

Mentoring practices in workplace-based professional preparation: a critical analysis of policy developments in the Italian context

In recent years, the issue of early childhood staff professionalisation has been taking an increasingly prominent position in policy-making and academic debates at the international level. Despite this growing interest, studies investigating the content and delivery of professional preparation programmes for early childhood practitioners are still quite rare in European literature. Against this background, the article will describe and critically analyse the characterising features of the university degree for the professional preparation of pre-school teachers in Italy, with a special focus on workplace-based training. In particular, the theoretical underpinnings and shared understandings related to the implementation of mentoring practices within the university course will be explored by drawing on the data collected from documentary sources and interviews with local experts. Findings highlight that the main strengths of mentoring practices within such a programme are: (a) the extended placement periods in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings which allow prospective teachers to live the culture of practice; (b) the critically reflective component of tutoring practices, which combines theoretical and experiential learning; (c) the strong partnerships built at the local level between ECEC services and universities, which generates reciprocal influences between academic research and educational practices and thus sustains pedagogical innovation. At the same time, the fact that the mentoring role of placement tutors in ECEC institutions is not adequately supported in terms of competence development and workload allocation might potentially undermine the benefits of workplace-based training for students. In addition, the contextualisation of our analysis within the broader landscape of national policy developments in the field of ECEC staff professionalisation revealed that the increased academisation of pre-school teachers professional preparation might lead – in the long term – to a risk of ‘schoolification’ of pedagogical practices enacted within ECEC services. In regards to these issues, the article will raise questions for further consideration and debate.     

Collaborative scholarship as a means of improving both university teaching practice and research capability

The literature suggests generic workshops on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) rarely have a lasting impact on teaching. Seeking an alternative approach, academic developers designed a four-stage Collaborative Scholarship Model where they provided individualised SoTL mentoring to academics implementing a teaching innovation. Project outcomes included sustained change to teaching, openness to new ideas, scholarly contributions and peer recognition (through awards, publications or invited presentations). This model had a sustained impact on participants’ teaching and increased research productivity. Although few individuals can be mentored at one time in this labour-intensive model, long-term benefits may still outweigh limitations in scalability.     

Collaborative Reasoning on Self‐Generated Analogies: Conceptual Growth in Understanding Scientific Phenomena

Abstract

This study investigated fourth graders’ self‐generated analogies, that is, own analogies giving self‐explanations — opposed to analogies provided by a teacher — and the effects of their collaborative reasoning and arguing over these analogies on individual understanding of three scientific phenomena concerning air pressure. At the beginning the children were individually asked to give their own explanations, explicitly encouraged to think of something similar which could help them to understand better what they had experienced. Then, divided in small groups they were asked to compare their accounts to collabora‐tively reach a shared explanation of each phenomenon. At the end, the children were again individually asked to give their explanations. The data underwent both a qualitative and quantitative analysis. The first showed that the children, on the basis of their alternative representations of what air could do, produced and used their own analogies as self‐explanations both to learn the new material and communicate their understanding to others. Moreover, the analysis of the collaborative reasoning and arguing developed in small group discussions revealed that through steps of critical opposition and co‐construction, the learners negotiated and renegotiated meanings and ideas to share a new common knowledge based on the recognition of more appropriate analogies supporting more advanced explanations. The quantitative analysis showed that socio‐cognitive interaction in small groups was fruitful as the children significantly progressed on an individual plane in giving their own explanations of each phenomenon as well as in recognizing the similarities between the three phenomena. In addition, the qualitative data showed evidence that the children were able to express metacognitive awareness of their conceptual growth. Finally, educational implications have been drawn.     

‘Needle and Stick’ save the world: sustainable development and the universal child

This text deals with a problem concerning processes of the productive power of knowledge. We draw on the so-called poststructural theories challenging the classical image of thought – as hinged upon a representational logic identifying entities in a rigid sense – when formulating a problem concerning the gap between knowledge and the object of knowledge. More specifically we are looking at this problem in the contexts of sustainable development and childhood, using illustrating examples in order to test the validity of these theoretical accounts. The examples we use range from internationally agreed documents claiming universality concerning environmental protection and childhood to national curricula for the pre-school to a Swedish governmentally produced and distributed TV series called Needle and Stick save the world, addressing the issue of sustainable development. In short, we wish to problematise the rigid positions of the child and the human being in relation to nature.     

Innovative uses of 3D digital technologies to assist the restoration of a fragmented terracotta statue

This paper describes how some innovative methodologies have been designed and employed to support the restoration of the Madonna of Pietranico, a terracotta statue severely damaged in the 2009 earthquake. The statue, fragmented in many pieces, has undergone a complex restoration performed by a multidisciplinary working group. The contribution of digital technologies was planned from the very beginning, since the complexity of this restoration originated the design of innovative procedures for managing the reassembly and restoration process. The Madonna test bed was therefore an example of how technology innovation could be pushed by clear application needs. A first important contribution was the study of the recombination hypothesis of the fragments. This initial phase was performed on digitized 3D models of the statue fragments, with the aim of reducing fragments manipulation, preventing further damages and increasing the capabilities to rehearse and evaluate different reassembly options. The accuracy of the 3D scanned models and the new recombination procedure introduced in this paper allowed to manage this phase in the digital domain with successful results. The digital 3D models were also used to design and produce an innovative supporting structure, constructed with a rapid prototyping device. Another important contribution concerned the study and virtual restoration of the polychrome decoration of the statue; our aim was to reproduce and restore in the virtual 3D domain the very complex original polychrome decoration, on the base of the remaining traces. Consequently, new virtual painting functionalities have been designed on the MeshLab platform (an open-source tool for 3D models visualization and manipulation) for reproducing pictorial decorations over digital 3D models and have been assessed on this specific test bed. This allowed us also to investigate the complexity of the virtual repainting process and to identify further technology enhancements. Finally, computer graphics technologies have been also used to produce a video that tells the story of the restoration.     

Examining First-Graders’ Developing Understanding of Place Value via Base-Ten Virtual Manipulatives

Early Childhood Education Journal - Place value is a challenging concept in children’s developing understanding of number. In this study we examine how first-grade children’s developing...