Parties as reflectors of the feminine sensibility: Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway counters James's the wings of the dove

This article examines the ways in which parties conceived by women writers elucidate the feminine sensibility and feminine concerns with communication. Communication occurs through the preparation of a context—the making of the party from the planning stage, through the purchasing and preparation of food, to its opening in an artfully ordered drawing‐room. It occurs through attention to relationships between partygoers spatially; through attention to people over objects; through attention to the individual hostesses’ attempts to shape the meaning of events internally, intrapersonally; and through an exchange of meaning between individuals through a system of symbols constellated around death. A comparison of Clarissa Dalloway's party in Virginia Woolf's novel with Milly Theale's in Henry James's The Wings of the Dove aptly conveys the differences between male/female reflections of the party and illuminates how death figures prominently in feminine imaginings of social gatherings. Death is the metaphor to communicate psychic fears occasioned in women by parties. Finally, the article suggests how women writers have altered the tradition of the party in literature, permitting it to reflect their felt and lived experience.     

The common first year programme: some lessons from a construction science course

In 2005, the School of Property, Construction and Project Management at RMIT University, Melbourne, introduced a new curriculum format for all first year students. All students enrolling in one of the four undergraduate degrees offered by the school commenced a common first year programme. This new curriculum was adopted to provide students with a broader depth of knowledge and experience across all study areas and to provide greater skill enhancement for graduates. The common first year university experience allows students to build a multidisciplinary degree based upon their interests and skills. But the common first year has created a number of challenges for the lecturing staff: extremely large classes, space and resourcing issues, assessment and administration problems; greater strains upon technology; and increase in the impersonal nature of the learning environment. This paper examines how one of these large first year classes (construction science) was conducted to address some of the learning issues arising from a common first year. It describes how students were encouraged over the semester to electronically build and create a classroom resource of e-reference material on construction science topics, which was the basis for classroom discussion, interaction and assessment. The result was an electronic reference folder on CD that provided students with both a starting point for assignments, class interaction and assessment, and the development of vital information technology literacy skills.     

The impact of an intensive multisensory reading program on a population of learning-disabled delinquents

The high prevalence of learning disabilities in the juvenile delinquent population has been well documented, but attempts to remediate and have an impact on recidivism of this population of delinquents has produced limited results. The present study is a replication of the remediation phase of the 1976 LD/JD Project with methodological refinements to control for treatment integrity and strength of treatment. Delinquents in two detention facilities were screened for a developmental reading disorder. Subjects were selected for the study based on normal intelligence, full English proficiency, and a discrepancy of 15 points between reading achievement and IQ. Subjects in the treatment group received 90 minutes of remedial reading instruction per day using a multisensory (Orton/Gillingham) approach. A comparison group received 45 minutes of daily reading instruction in the regular classroom. There was no significant difference between the two groups in mean age of first arrest, mean age, and mean hours of reading instruction. Based on pre- and posttesting in reading and arrest records one year following release, the treatment group made significantly greater growth in reading (.33 year growth vs −.05 year growth per 10 hours of instruction) and had a significantly lower rate of recidivism (41 percent vs 63 percent) than the comparison group. Results were discussed in terms of hours of instruction necessary to improve reading, intervening treatment variables, and cost effectiveness of remedial program.     

Teacher preparation to proficiency and beyond: exploring the landscape

Concerns around the provision and retention of quality teachers are global. Amongst these concerns are the preparedness of graduate teachers and the quality and nature of teacher education. The purpose of the article is to focus questions of teacher preparedness and education within a wider discussion around the professional life-cycle of teachers. Initial teacher education is viewed as the first phase of the professional life-cycle of a teacher; part of a professional continuum of learning and expertise, rather than a distinct preparatory phase. We do not present a detailed model for this continuum; believing there is still significant work to be done on defining and delineating the levels of expertise. Such work is beyond the scope of this paper. We do provide a starting point for further consideration. Further, we suggest a scaffolded transition, determined by the learning needs of teachers, between initial teacher education and induction, moving to in-service learning, with closer connections between providers and schools to mitigate against a disconnect between these phases of development. The potential role of professional standards in supporting teacher learning across the professional life-cycle is also discussed.     

College Academic Assistance Programs and Practices

Most public institutions offer some form of academic assistance to help their students adjust to the demands of college level learning tasks. Because these academic assistance efforts vary considerably, ranging from an emphasis on functional reading to an emphasis on strategic learning, it is important to describe these programs and their instructional methodologies and to review the pertinent research supporting them. After examining four critical issues confronting all academic assistance programs, the authors examined the goals, assessment procedures, salient features, and program evaluation methods of four prevalent program models: learning to learn courses, supplemental instruction, required programs for underprepared students, and integrated reading/writing courses. They concluded by outlining suggestions for future research and by listing specific questions that college students need to ask about the programs at their institutions.