Educator understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury: a New Zealand perspective

ABSTRACT

Approximately 15% of New Zealand children will experience a traumatic brain injury during their school years. Given that educators play an important role in facilitating the successful school re-entry and recovery of these students, it is paramount that educators have adequate knowledge of childhood traumatic brain injury. This study used an online questionnaire to assess knowledge traumatic brain injury among 20 New Zealand educators. It also identified what services educators were aware of within their schools and communities that could assist with the management of students with brain injury, and what further training or information educators required to feel confident in supporting these students in the school environment. Results indicated that although educators possessed sound general understanding of traumatic brain injury, they had some misconceptions regarding the implications and recovery trajectories of these injuries during childhood. Educators reported the need for training relating to diagnostic criteria and strategies for supporting students with traumatic brain injury in the classroom. Providing educators with information and training on how to identify traumatic brain injury and manage the needs of students with traumatic brain injury will allow them to facilitate inclusive and supportive educational opportunities, leading to improved outcomes for these students.     

An integrative review of in-class activities that enable active learning in college science classroom settings

ABSTRACT

Engaging students in active learning is linked to positive learning outcomes. This study aims to synthesise the peer-reviewed literature about ‘active learning’ in college science classroom settings. Using the methodology of an integrative literature review, 337 articles archived in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) are examined. Four categories of in-class activities emerge: (i) individual non-polling activities, (ii) in-class polling activities, (iii) whole-class discussion or activities, and (iv) in-class group activities. Examining the collection of identified in-class activities through the lens of a theoretical framework informed by constructivism and social interdependence theory, we synthesise the reviewed literature to propose the active learning strategies (ALSs) model and the instructional decisions to enable active learning (IDEAL) theory. The ALS model characterises in-class activities in terms of the degrees to which they are designed to promote (i) peer interaction and (ii) social interdependence. The IDEAL theory includes the ALS model and provides a framework for conceptualising different levels of the general concept ‘active learning’ and how these levels connect to instructional decision-making about using in-class activities. The proposed ALS model and IDEAL theory can be utilised to inform instructional decision-making and future research about active learning in college science courses.     

Women,Research Performance and Work Context

Tertiary Education and Management - This article presents findings from a qualitative study focused on the conditions that support high research productivity in women. Interviewees were all active...     

The Role of Executive Functions in Socioeconomic Attainment Gaps: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

The socioeconomic attainment gap in mathematics starts early and increases over time. This study aimed to examine why this gap exists. Four-year-olds from diverse backgrounds were randomly allocated to a brief intervention designed to improve executive functions (N = 87) or to an active control group (N = 88). The study was preregistered and followed CONSORT guidelines. Executive functions and mathematical skills were measured at baseline, 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year posttraining. Executive functions mediated the relation between socioeconomic status and mathematical skills. Children improved over training, but this did not transfer to untrained executive functions or mathematics. Executive functions may explain socioeconomic attainment gaps, but cognitive training directly targeting executive functions is not an effective way to narrow this gap.     

Authoring “Race”: Writing Truth and Fiction after School

This article examines the process a diverse group of eighth grade students go through when charged with writing about the ways in which race might matter at their desegregated school. Students' articulations are bounded by a school culture of silence around race. The regulatory aspect of this school culture was enacted when students first make racism visible through exaggerated writing in a fictional play about school life, only to later censor themselves in an effort to more accurately portray the implicit nature of racialized relations at the school. As the students talked and wrote about their understandings of race and racism at their school, we listened carefully to what they said and also to their silences, paying attention to the erasures. The article concludes that such findings invite us to think about the value of alternative spaces for students to talk and write as well as a consideration of how the school sphere itself might be made more accepting of diverse perspectives on race outside of the dominant colorblind discourse. In addition, we suggest the power of fiction for eliciting conversation among youth. Katherine Schultz is an Associate Professor of Education, Foundations and Practices of Education Division, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania. Patricia Buck is an Assistant Professor of Education, Department of Education, Bates College and Tricia Niesz is an Assistant Professor of Qualitative Research in Education, Department of Educational Foundations and Special Services, Kent State University. All these authors have received their Ph.D from University of Pennsylvannia.     

Children with Severe Behavior Problems: A Survey of Texas Child Care Centers' Responses

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study designed to look at the issue of removal of children from childcare due to behavior problems. A survey was sent to a random sample of nonresidential licensed day care centers (DCCs) in Texas. Results from the survey indicate that 50% of DCCs have removed a child from care due to behavior problems. In most cases, parents were left to figure out for themselves what to do with their children following their dismissal from care. This and other relationships found in the data are discussed as well as the need for future research in this area.     

Instruction Boot Camp: Better Instruction Through Collaborative Course Design

ABSTRACT

This case study details Oregon State University Libraries and Press’ Instruction Boot Camp, a professional development event inspired by several different instructional improvement models, where librarians have a chance to work collaboratively in small groups of four to six to redesign a library instruction session. Librarians from six different departments participated in two Instruction Boot Camp sessions in 2012. The benefits of such collaboration include drawing upon the collective wisdom of the group to design a course and having a dedicated time to work on instruction. Although our assessment did not include student-learning outcomes, participating librarians found this a useful and valuable experience.