Exceptional educators: a collaborative training partnership for the inclusion of students with Down's syndrome

This article discusses the results of a teacher training initiative in the United States. Exceptional Educators is the result of an inter‐organisational collaboration between a community‐based organisation (Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization), the local public school system and a university professor. The training focuses on three distinct objectives; understanding the physical and emotional needs of the disability, creating modified curriculum units based on individual learning goals and recognising common behavioral problems that arise in school settings. Overall, the results showed positive outcomes, with gains in knowledge of curriculum modification, behavioural strategies and overall understanding of Down's syndrome, as well as an increase in confidence level. A six‐week follow‐up survey indicated that the majority of the participants used the information presented back in their teaching environments. This study also investigated the added value of this collaboration, finding that the community connection often continues past the training and has provided teachers additional avenues for support.     

Fertile Soil? How Information does (and does not) Shape Attitudes toward School Choice in Rural America

ABSTRACT

The role of political factors, specifically of public opinion, in the relatively low penetration of charter schools into rural America remains unclear. We use 8 years of national survey data to demonstrate that rural residents express less support for charter schools than residents of other locales do. We attribute this gap to differences in familiarity with charter schools across these locales rather than to differences in satisfaction with local schools or to differences in demographics, party affiliation, or political ideology. However, using a survey experiment and an oversample of districts with charter schools, we show that increased exposure to these schools or information about them does not boost support in rural communities. Lastly, we demonstrate a similar urban-rural gap in support for private school choice policies such as vouchers and tax credits for private school scholarships.     

The (un)invited guest? Feminist pedagogy and guest lecturing

Teaching a one-off session on a colleague’s course is a commonplace occurrence in higher education teaching practice, but it is not an area that has received sufficient attention in pedagogical literature. This article focuses on the scenario where a feminist teacher is invited to give a guest lecture, but is not sure if working with feminist pedagogy will be welcome. Guest lecture pedagogy is outlined: (i) guest lectures are always and yet never a one-off, because they are always embedded in wider teaching practice (ii) guest lecture pedagogy is both a struggle between time and pedagogical principles and an opportunity to break with convention. The challenges and risks of implementing feminist pedagogy in a guest lecture are considered; ultimately the article argues that a feminist teacher cannot simply ‘lay aside’ feminist pedagogy for a guest lecture, but that some compromises will be necessary in adapting practice for this type of teaching.     

Engineering design in the primary school: applying stem concepts to build an optical instrument

Internationally there is a need for research that focuses on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education to equip students with the skills needed for a rapidly changing future. One way to do this is through designing engineering activities that reflect real-world problems and contextualise students’ learning of STEM concepts. As such, this study examined the learning that occurred when fifth-grade students completed an optical engineering activity using an iterative engineering design model. Through a qualitative methodology using a case study design, we analysed multiple data sources including students’ design sketches from eight focus groups. Three key findings emerged: first, the collaborative process of the first design sketch enabled students to apply core STEM concepts to model construction; second, during the construction stage students used experimentation for the positioning of lenses, mirrors and tubes resulting in a simpler ‘working’ model; and third, the redesign process enabled students to apply structural changes to their design. The engineering design model was useful for structuring stages of design, construction and redesign; however, we suggest a more flexible approach for advanced applications of STEM concepts in the future.     

The Remote Area Teacher Program (RATEP): Cultural contextualisation of distance education through interactive

The Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP) is a successful and innovative distance education programme. Curriculum design demands the meaningful integration of traditional distance education materials and strategies with other electronic technology and interactive multimedi a computer courseware. RATEP is more than ‘two‐way schooling’ for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander distance education students studying in their home communities. Centred within Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development, the interactive multimedia computer courseware is informed by the intersecting set of the various cultural contexts: academic culture embedded in Western culture; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and that of the computer. Illustrative examples from generalist and mathematics content and curriculum subjects demonstrate the effectiveness of culturally contextualising instructional computer‐student interface design in order to promote learning through interactive.     

Word reading fluency: A transfer appropriate processing account of fluency transfer

Word reading fluency, as indexed by the fast and accurate identification of single words, predicts both general reading ability and reading comprehension. This study compared the effects of context training and isolated word training on subsequent measures of word reading fluency. Good and poor readers were given 12 repetitions of two sets of words; 48 new words were learned in each condition. Words were presented in a story during context training and on a computer screen during isolated word training. Target words were read in isolation at test, randomly displayed within a series containing 72 untrained words. Results show that words trained in isolation are remembered longer and read faster when presented in isolation at test compared to words trained in context. Theoretical implications are discussed in relation to transfer appropriate processing.     

Does “all students” include girls? Some reflections on recent educational practice and theory

Most people think of the last decade as one where there has been a lot of attention to sexism, gender and equal opportunity. This paper will analyse some recent policy, practice and theory to suggest that much of this apparent attention is illusory and that general policies and discussions of the period are often insensitive to issues of sexism. Examples to be discussed will be drawn from Ministerial and Education Department policy in Victoria; positions taken by teacher unions and “radicals”; and some academic work which attempts to deal with “class, sex and ethnicity” simultaneously.