Effects of GO FASTER on Morpheme Definition Fluency for High School Students with High‐Incidence Disabilities

Although vocabulary plays an important role in literacy and content instruction, there is a paucity of research identifying effective methods for teaching vocabulary. One promising strategy is morphemic analysis, which involves breaking words into morphemes, the smallest meaningful parts of words, and teaching students the meanings of those parts. The current study used a multiple probe across morphemes experimental design to determine the effects of an intervention package, GO FASTER (G raphic O rganizers; F lashcards A dded up and S elf‐graphed to T rack progress; E rrors R eviewed). Findings showed that with three to four instructional sessions, three high school students with high‐incidence disabilities successfully defined morphemes at a predetermined fluency rate and generalized these definitions to untaught words. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Writing for Publication and the Role of the Library: “Do Have a Cow,Man!” (“Don't Have a Cow,Man”-Bart Simpson)

The aim of this small-scale research project was to identify the main concerns of editors, academics, researchers, and librarians involved in the writing for publication (WfP) process. This would provide library and information services (LIS) staff with a clearer understanding of the process to enable them to articulate and develop their own role in supporting this activity. A novel “one thing” approach was used to determine the perspectives of editors, researchers, librarians, and research students on key issues surrounding WfP. The results indicate that there are many opportunities for LIS staff to contribute to the WfP process. One major concern which emerged was just how isolated researchers could feel. Suggestion: Having a CoW (Community of Writers) in the library could provide a potential LIS role. Another best practice to support WfP is also identified.     

The last place to look: the place of pupil councils within citizen participation in Scottish schools

This article critically examines pupil councils as a means of developing pupils’ citizenship participation. It draws on findings across two research projects. The first study is a mixed method study commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) that reviews the range of participatory activities in Scottish schools and their contribution to Scotland’s major curriculum revision, the Curriculum for Excellence (CFE). The second is a longer ethnographic study examining young people’s experience of participation projects in more detail. The findings lend strength to the argument that pupil councils as a stand-alone approach are not an effective means of citizenship participation. When pupil councils are complemented by other participation activity across spheres of school interaction, young people’s understanding of and interest in participation can be greatly enhanced. The article examines the cross curricular linkages schools are making, the barriers that impede such linkages and the benefits derived from successful coordinated approaches in light of criteria for ‘graduated participation’ developed through decades of work internationally on children’s participation.     

Accountability and accomplished teaching: Researching the chartered teacher programme in Scotland

The Scottish chartered teacher programme (2003–2011) is an important example of a national policy designed to support the development of ‘accomplished teaching’. This paper provides an account of the emergence of the programme before discussing how the impact of such a scheme might be assessed and thus rendered accountable. The difficulties of developing valid and reliable methodologies for ensuring accountability are explored, including an account of a pilot research project and an indication of what the international literature may reveal about such aspirations. The paper concludes with a summary of four major challenges facing researchers who wish to offer insights that are of use to policy-makers and practitioners.     

Experiences in the internationalization of education: Strategies to promote equality of opportunity at Monterrey Tech

This article provides an analysis of the reasons why educational institutions choose to internationalize the services they offer, how universities are internationalizing and to explore who is participating in the internationalization process. It not only addresses the theory surrounding the internationalization of education but also the practical issues of implementing it and making it accessible to students from a wide range of socio-economic situations. A case study of a summer study program in Poland for students from the Monterrey Tech (in Spanish El Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, ITESM), Cd. Juarez Campus, Chihuahua, Mexico, is used to explore two theoretical questions: can equality of opportunity be achieved for all students in the process of the internationalization of education and what are the characteristics of the internationalization of education which affect development? These issues take on concrete forms when an educational institution attempts to internationalize the education it offers. At that time, organizations and the people in them must confront questions such as: what strategies can be implemented to internationalize the education offered and how can students of fewer economic means be included in the international opportunities available? My focus is on the benefits and costs to the undergraduate student with an emphasis on examining equality of opportunity for each student.     

Intake assessments for alternative teacher education: moving from legitimation towards predictive validity

There is little empirical evidence concerning the predictive validity of indicators used in intake assessments for alternative teacher education programs. However, pinpointing potentially successful candidates requires predictors of teacher competence, which may be used to assess candidates’ dispositions, knowledge and skills. Available evidence regarding six possible predictors of teacher competence is examined and their limitations and possibilities are pointed out. Recommendations and methodological guidelines are given for developing and using these indicators in valid and reliable ways. Directions are explored for instrument development and assessment practice.     

Helping Military Families Who Have a Child with a Disability Cope with Stress

This exploratory study investigates perceived levels of family stress for military families who have a young child with a disability. Two primary areas of study were the sources and levels of stress, and the benefits of resources designed to help families cope. Results of the study indicate an increased level of stress for families when the demands of military life were coupled with the demands of caring for a young child with a disability. Events such as separation from family members, relocation, deployment, and personal safety and health issues emerged as concerns of the military personnel. The importance of coordinating services for these families is discussed.     

Powerful tasks: A contribution to a high level of acting and reflecting in mathematics instruction

Mathematics instruction contains two conflicting demands: on the one hand, the demand for economical efficiency and for well-developed motorways and, on the other hand, the demand that pupils should investigate and discover for themselves and have the freedom to pave their own ways. It is argued that tasks with a certain richness and quality offer some steps towards a constructive handling of this dilemma. The author tries to develop some properties of powerful tasks and to sketch the structure and philosophy of one concrete system of powerful tasks for the concept of angle. The main part of this paper presents seven examples of powerful tasks: five from the system of tasks and two with regard to pupils' working with 2-D-graphic systems. The construction of powerful tasks is viewed as a valuable contribution to bringing the theory and practice of mathematics education closer together.