The Gift of the ISE Frameworks: A Better Language for Museum Learning

Abstract The publication of Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits has garnered well‐deserved attention from the whole museum profession. It has become a point of discussion and debate, as well as a new tool for museum leadership and advocacy. Thinking of it only as a landmark report for science‐based museums, however, would be a mistake and a lost opportunity. This report has important content for cross‐disciplinary impact. It offers the gift of new language and thoughtful frameworks through which we can tell our individual stories more compellingly while supporting a shared definition of museums as valid places of learning. It gives fresh substance to the role of museums as effective learning resources.     

Bologna in Context: a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites for a Europe of Knowledge

This article presents a horizontal perspective on the dynamics of governance sites currently active for the European of Knowledge and places the Bologna process in this wider European level context. It introduces two dynamics of change in political organisation: a) institutional differentiation and specialisation and b) the interaction between institutional spheres and sectors. Signs of sectoral differentiation are identified in the history of European integration that is relevant to the Europe of Knowledge. The argument is that the nature and sequence of the differentiation process are key to understand current governance processes. It is illustrated by showing how a horizontal dynamics has been played out in the case of the EU's Lisbon strategy and in particular the cooperation taking place in the framework of the EU's “Education and Training 2010” work programme. The analysis shows how the Bologna process, although perpetuated as a sector internal governance site, has co-evolved and interacted with this strategy, partly as an object of emulation and source of support and partly as a competing governance site. A horizontal dynamics of change is also evident in the larger Lisbon strategy as it lifted research and higher education policy to the centre of the European integration project. It resulted in the development of several governance sites with different foci targeting European higher education. A more prominent place on the political agenda came together with demands that research and education should be integrated with the overall political and economic objectives of the EU.     

Evaluating the teaching and learning experience for the child with dyslexia in special and mainstream settings in Ireland

This study examines and evaluates special provision for pupils with dyslexia in three different settings: reading schools, reading units and mainstream support. The research focused on the teaching and learning context for pupils with dyslexia, the support teacher, the mainstream teacher and the experience of the student. The main participants were teachers and tutors supporting pupils with dyslexia, and the parents of these children. Survey methods included questionnaires, focus group discussions, interviews and quantitative data on pupils' reading attainment. In addition, a total of six schools, two representing each model of support, were selected as case studies. This article reports part of a larger survey, which evaluated the effectiveness of three models of special provision for children with dyslexia in primary school. The study shows that there are academic and social benefits for the child with dyslexia who is enrolled in a special setting. However, placement in a reading school or reading unit per se does not guarantee that a child will ‘catch up’ with his or her peers. The findings reported a similarity in the methods and practices teachers use in both mainstream and special settings. The discussion suggests that if teachers are to ‘catch them before they fall’ there are serious questions that must be asked about how we are teaching basic literacy skills. The findings suggest an urgent need for a more balanced approach to teaching reading and writing.     

What's in their baggage? The cultural and social capital of Australian students preparing to study abroad

Governments and educational institutions promote study abroad in the belief that it offers valuable learning experiences for all students. Yet studies suggest that equitable access to study abroad is more myth than reality. This study took a narrative approach supported by survey data to explore this issue at one Australian university. The survey indicated that the majority of students are effectively excluded from the university's Student Exchange Programme, and that those included generally have high cultural, social and economic capital. Interviews revealed how multiple dimensions of privilege typically work to make study abroad imaginable, affordable and do-able for some. These findings are complicated by one student's atypical narrative, which serves to raise further questions for research.     

Thiolene-based microfluidic flow cells for surface plasmon resonance imaging

Thiolene-based microfluidic devices have been coupled with surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRI) to provide an integrated platform to study interfacial interactions in both aqueous and organic solutions. In this work, we develop a photolithographic method that interfaces commercially available thiolene resin to gold and glass substrates to generate microfluidic channels with excellent adhesion that leave the underlying sensor surface free from contamination and readily available for surface modification through self-assembly. These devices can sustain high flow rates and have excellent solvent compatibility even with several organic solvents. To demonstrate the versatility of these devices, we have conducted nanomolar detection of streptavidin-biotin interactions using in situ SPRI.