Support Teams in New Zealand Schools: A National Survey of Establishment and Practice

Two and a half years after the initial funding allocation for teacher release hours to establish Support Teacher positions in New Zealand schools, 63 (91%) of the schools with a Support Teacher funding allocation completed a questionnaire on the establishment of the position in the school. Information derived from the questionnaire included qualifications and experience of teachers appointed to the role of Support Teacher, and detail regarding the establishment, practice, and degree of adherence to the Support Team model of operation. Significant difficulties with Support Team establishment and program adherence are reported, notably in selection, training, organizational support, and form of service delivery. The results are discussed in terms of the speed of drift from the model, differences between primary and secondary schools in implementation of the program, the importance of training, and the presence of an active Support Team Management Committee in ensuring effective service delivery.     

l'Utilisation De La Télévision Scolaire Au Niger,En Côte d'Ivoire Et Au Sénégal

Conclusion Les limites de cet article ne permettent de tirer que quelques conclusions d'ordre très général. On peut remarquer tout d'abord que ces opérations demeurent trop peu connues et que l'ignorance tant de leurs caractéristiques que de leurs résultats pédagogiques, ne permet pas d'effacer les opinions négatives erronées qui continuent à être émises à leur sujet. Elles ont mis en évidence le bien fondé d'une approche globalisante, considérant la mise en place d'un véritable système original (et non l'adjonction au système traditionnel d'un élément supplémentaire, comme ce fut presque toujours le cas dans les pays du Nord), fondé sur l'usage de longues séries d'émissions, cohérentes et à fort taux de redondance. Elles ont enfin relevé l'importance déterminante du ‘facteur humain’ à tous les niveaux de l'entreprise qu'il s'agisse de l'adhésion des divers publics concernés, de la cohésion d'équipes, ou, problème qui ne fut jamais résolu convenablement, de la formation des nouveaux spécialistes requis par ces projets.     

Problem length as a structural variable in verbal arithmetic problems

Of five structural variables that in previous studies accounted for a significant amount of the observed variance in the error rate in verbal arithmetic problems, the length variable (number of words in the problem statement) apparently was more important in the upper grades than in the lower grades. In this study three forms of a verbal problem set in which the number of words in the problem statements were systematically varied were administered to classes of students in Grades 4–9. Using regression analysis, the investigator found that although the length variable did not measure a significant amount of variance between two of the forms, with the third it did.This study was begun while the author was a staff member of The Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences at Stanford University. The research was partially supported by National Science Foundation grant G18709.     

The Phenomenology of Space in Writing Online

In this paper we explore the phenomenon of writing online. We ask, 'Is writing by means of online technologies affected in a manner that differs significantly from the older technologies of pen on paper, typewriter, or even the word processor in an off-line environment?' In writing online, the author is engaged in a spatial complexity of physical, temporal, imaginal, and virtual experience: the writing space, the space of the text, cyber space, etc. At times, these may provide a conduit to a writerly understanding of human phenomena. We propose that an examination of the phenomenological features of online writing may contribute to a more pedagogically sensitive understanding of the experiences of online seminars, teaching and learning.     

The nature of the phonological processing in French dyslexic children: evidence for the phonological syllable and linguistic features' role in silent reading and speech discrimination

This study investigated the status of phonological representations in French dyslexic children (DY) compared with reading level- (RL) and chronological age-matched (CA) controls. We focused on the syllable’s role and on the impact of French linguistic features. In Experiment 1, we assessed oral discrimination abilities of pairs of syllables that varied as a function of voicing, mode or place of articulation, or syllable structure. Results suggest that DY children underperform controls with a ‘speed-accuracy’ deficit. However, DY children exhibit some similar processing than those highlighted in controls. As in CA and RL controls, DY children have difficulties in processing two sounds that only differ in voicing, and preferentially process obstruent rather than fricative sounds, and more efficiently process CV than CCV syllables. In Experiment 2, we used a modified version of the Colé, Magnan, and Grainger's (Applied Psycholinguistics 20:507–532, 1999) paradigm. Results show that DY children underperform CA controls but outperform RL controls. However, as in CA and RL controls, data reveal that DY children are able to use phonological procedures influenced by initial syllable frequency. Thus, DY children process syllabically high-frequency syllables but phonemically process low-frequency syllables. They also exhibit lexical and syllable frequency effects. Consequently, results provide evidence that DY children performances can be accounted for by laborious phonological syllable-based procedures and also degraded phonological representations.     

中澳美的经济变革与数学课程改革方向

世界经济结构正经历巨大的转型,具体表现为农业所占GDP的比例显著下降,而制造业,尤其是服务业则不断提高.中国、澳大利亚与美国是3个具有代表性的国家,经济上的这种变化对教育以及数学课程都产生了影响,反映了当今社会中对人们所需的"数学素养"的全新要求.中国、澳大利亚与美国义务教育阶段国家级数学课程都强调了"统计思想"与"关系性思维"这两个重要内容.