The OECD‐ENSI Project and its Relevance for Teacher Training Concepts in Environmental Education

This article presents an account of the Environment and School Initiatives (ENSI) project. The philosophical basis of the project is outlined, and case studies from within the project provided as a basis for a consideration of some current issues in the field. It is concluded that one of the distinctive features of the ENSI project is its encouragement of praxiological, action research‐based approaches to curriculum and professional development. The case studies of ENSI activities suggest that some of the more conventionally prescribed characteristics such as agreed sets of goals and professional competencies might need to be revisited.     

Applying Tablet‐Based Performance Support Application for Technicians’ Training at the Israeli Air Force: A Case Study

Performance support systems are mechanisms enabling users) productivity while reducing training expenses as support is being delivered in real time, often eliminating the need for costly pre‐performance training. Mobile technologies have created new opportunities for improved performance support systems, especially for tasks performed outside the offi ce. This article describes the fi rst mobile learning and performance support initiative taken by the Israeli Air Force. The project included the development and eff ectiveness pilot study of a learning and performance support application delivered via tablet to helicopter engine technicians. The application provided support videos and illustrations of maintenance routines, thereby enabling learning and practicing at the same time. Pilot study results show high performance levels of application users compared to those applying traditional methods. Results also show that self‐effi cacy levels were not aff ected by the successful performance achieved when using the mobile performance support application. Plans to expand mobile support use are also described.     

‘Teamwork’ or ‘Working as a Team’? The Theory and Practice of Top Team Working in UK Higher Education

This article focuses on the theory and practice of teamwork in ‘top management teams’ in UK higher education institutions. It is informed by some of the key findings from a recent two‐year research project sponsored by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education that investigated the different ways in which UK higher education institutions organise their ‘top management’ and ‘senior management’ structures ( Kennie and Woodfield, 2008 ). The authors discuss literature from the corporate and higher education sectors on the meaning of ‘teamwork’ in top teams (e.g. Bensimon and Neumann, 1993 ; Katzenbach, 1998 ; Wageman et al., 2008 ) and relate the findings to the challenges of top level team working in higher education settings. Particular issues discussed include: the terminology related to higher education top teams, areas of decision‐making and time‐management, team orientation and agenda setting, team behaviours and team roles, team performance and evaluation, location, logistical support and resources, and team development. The authors conclude that the challenges of top team working in higher education settings are similar to those found in the corporate sector, albeit nuanced by different organisational cultures, and suggest some key principles to help top teams in higher education institutions improve their ability to work effectively together.     

Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance, delayed text recall, and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 undergraduate students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally, half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition), whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition, and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns.     

The Relations Between Early Working Memory Abilities and Later Developing Reading Skills: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten to Fifth Grade

This study investigated the relations of early working‐memory abilities (phonological and visual‐spatial short‐term memory [STM] and complex memory and episodic buffer memory) and later developing reading skills. Sixty Hebrew‐speaking children were followed from kindergarten through Grade 5. Working memory was tested in kindergarten and reading in Grades 1, 2, and 5. All memory measures, but phonological STM, correlated with reading up to Grade 5. Regression analyses (with intelligence quotient controlled) demonstrated that phonological complex memory predicted all reading skills in Grade 1, and accuracy in Grade 2. The rather understudied visual‐spatial memory predicted comprehension in Grades 2 (STM) and 5 (complex memory). The results point to an important role of the phonological complex memory in early assessment, and suggest a long‐lasting role of early visual‐spatial memory in predicting variance in reading. Whether this role of the visual‐spatial memory is unique to the Hebrew orthography because of its visual features requires, however, further investigation.     

Virtuous reality: moral theory and research into cyber-bullying

This article draws on a study investigating how 11–14 year olds growing up in England understand cyber-bullying as a moral concern. Three prominent moral theories: deontology, utilitarianism and virtue ethics, informed the development of a semi-structured interview schedule which enabled young people, in their own words, to describe their experiences of online and offline bullying. Sixty 11–14 year olds from six schools across England were involved with the research. Themes emerging from the interviews included anonymity; the absence of rules, monitoring and guidance and, the challenges associated with determining the consequences of online actions. The findings demonstrate the advantages of adopting a character-based moral theory to compliment rules and/or consequence based moral theories as the basis for future research into cyber-bullying. The findings evoke some wider implications for future research into cyber-bullying that might equally be applied to investigations into other Internet related moral concerns.