Slaughterhouse 22

Help and stimulus for science teaching seems to be a topic of concern in many schools. This article, by Gloucestershire's Science Adviser, is an illustration of one LEA's approach to providing support. The ideas may be of interest and help to others.     

Long-term instructional development: A 20-year ID and implementation project

This article describes the development and implementation in the schools over a 20-year period of the Energy Source Program, a comprehensive K-12 energy education curriculum. The program was developed beginning in 1980 using state-of-the-art development procedures for that time and has been used to date by more than 12 million American students to learn about energy and energy issues. End-of-unit posttest scores for the elementary and high school units averaged above 80% for their field tests. Data obtained from a large sample during the first three years of installation of the program in the schools indicated that posttest scores remained at a level during installation similar to that during the field-test phase. A study conducted in the early 1990s by an independent research organization to assess the program's long-term effects revealed that grade 6 students who had used one or more units from the program had significantly greater energy knowledge and better energy conservation habits than students who had not used any units. A set of 10 guidelines are offered for long-term instructional development and implementation projects. He supervised the development of the Energy Source Program from 1980 to 1984 while serving as a consultant to EDS. Kay Ice was Director of Program Development at EDS, and she was a primary writer and developer of the Energy Source Program. She has been president of EDS since 1999. Fred Niedermeyer was the founding president of EDS. He was project director of the Energy Source project, and he played a major role in all aspects of the project from its inception until his retirement in 1999.     

Using an Attribution Support Tool to Enhance the Teacher Efficacy of Student Science Teachers

To increase the teacher efficacy of student teachers, they need positive classroom experiences: mastery experiences. These mastery experiences have to be created by the student teachers themselves. Therefore, student teachers need a tool to better understand problematic teaching experiences and help them create positive classroom experiences. Nine student biology teachers used this attribution support tool when reflecting on multiple lessons taught in classes they considered difficult. They scored their lessons and filled in a teacher efficacy questionnaire after each lesson. The results show that teacher efficacy increased and the number of failures during the lessons decreased; on average, the self-awarded marks per teacher per lesson increased, indicating an increase in mastery experiences. Therefore, the attribution tool seems to be a promising tool for student teachers to enhance their teacher efficacy and to support reflection on problematic teaching experiences.     

Public discourse on HIV and AIDS: an archival analysis of national newspaper reporting in Uganda, 1996–2011

Uganda is recognised as an early success story in the HIV epidemic at least in part due to an open and vigorous national dialogue about HIV prevention. This study examined the national discourse about HIV, AIDS, and young people in New Vision, Uganda's leading national newspaper between 1996 and 2011, building from a previous archival analysis of New Vision reporting by Kirby (1986–1995). We examined the continuing evolution in the public discourse in Uganda, focusing on reporting about young people. An increase in reporting on HIV and AIDS occurred after 2003, as antiretroviral treatment was becoming available. While the emphasis in newspaper reporting about adults and the population at large evolved to reflect the development of new HIV treatment and prevention methods, the majority of the articles focused on young people did not change. Articles about young people continued to emphasise HIV acquisition due to early and premarital sexual activity and the need for social support services for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Articles often did not report on the complex social conditions that shape HIV-related risk among young people, or address young people who are sexually active, married, and/or HIV-infected. With HIV prevalence now increasing among young people and adults in Uganda, greater attention to HIV prevention is needed.     

The centrality of Aboriginal cultural workshops and experiential learning in a pre-service teacher education course: a regional Victorian University case study

This paper discusses a cross-cultural pedagogical approach, couched in a theory–practice nexus, used at a Victorian regional university to guide non-Indigenous pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and cultures. We have drawn on qualitative and statistical data, and current issues in Australian and international literature, to explore the relevance and success suggested by data from this cross-cultural pedagogical approach, in particular the notion of teacher ethnicity in racialised spaces. In doing so, we have addressed recent sentiments about a lack of quantitative and qualitative research that explores inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and discussions of ways in which tertiary educators construct and influence teachings about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. It is anticipated that this paper will generate further dialogue and research-based evidence on ways in which other tertiary education providers may draw on cross-cultural theories to guide inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and perspectives in PST education courses.     

The awkward ages,or what shall we tell the children?

Children's Literature in Education -