The views of Pasifika students in New Zealand about communicating mathematically

This paper focuses on the perspectives of Years 7 and 8 Pasifika students on mathematics learning, in particular their views about the communication of solution strategies with others (their peers), and their teacher. Pasifika students' ideas about the importance of communicating their mathematical reasoning and strategies to peers and teachers were analysed and themes identified. While most students were in agreement about the importance of explaining their thinking to others, there was considerable variation in the reasons they gave for their views. The findings are interpreted in relation to socio-cultural theory and recent writing about requirements for citizenship in the twenty-first century.     

Student learning performance in online collaborative learning

Education and Information Technologies - Online collaborative learning (OCL) has received significant attention, but the ultimate goal of adopting OCL is neglected, especially in higher education...     

The Home Literacy Environment and Preschool Children's Reading Skills and Interest

Research Findings: This study explored the association between the home literacy environment (HLE), conceptualized as comprising parents’ reading beliefs and home literacy practices, and preschoolers’ reading skills and reading interest. It also identified factors in the HLE that predict emerging reading competence and motivation to read. A total of 193 children age 6 years from 14 preschools across Singapore and their parents participated in the study. The parents completed a reading belief inventory, a family literacy activity inventory, and a demographic questionnaire that surveyed the child's reading interest. The children were administered a battery of standardized literacy tests. The study found a moderate relationship between the HLE and children's reading competencies and a strong relationship between the HLE and children's reading interest. When parents’ education level and children's age were controlled, hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that family literacy activities contributed more unique variance to children's reading outcomes and reading interest than did parents’ reading beliefs. Active parental involvement was the strongest component of the HLE, with parent–child engagement in reading and writing emerging as the best predictor of both the child's emerging reading skills and reading interest. With respect to reading beliefs, parents’ efficacy in supporting literacy development before their child attended school positively predicted reading competence, as did parents’ affect and verbal participation in fostering reading interest. However, verbal participation negatively predicted Singapore children's reading competence. Practice or Policy: The implications of the results were discussed.     

Therapeutic radionuclides in nuclear medicine: current and future prospects

The potential use of radionuclides in therapy has been recognized for many decades. A number of radionuclides, such as iodine-131 (¹³¹I), phosphorous-32 (³²P), strontium-90 (⁹⁰Sr), and yttrium-90 (⁹⁰Y), have been used successfully for the treatment of many benign and malignant disorders. Recently, the rapid growth of this branch of nuclear medicine has been stimulated by the introduction of a number of new radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of metastatic bone pain and neuroendocrine and other malignant or non-malignant tumours. Today, the field of radionuclide therapy is enjoying an exciting phase and is poised for greater growth and development in the coming years. For example, in Asia, the high prevalence of thyroid and liver diseases has prompted many novel developments and clinical trials using targeted radionuclide therapy. This paper reviews the characteristics and clinical applications of the commonly available therapeutic radionuclides, as well as the problems and issues involved in translating novel radionuclides into clinical therapies.     

Fostering online social construction of science knowledge with primary pre-service teachers working in virtual teams

As many primary pre-service teachers enter teacher education courses with little science background, it is essential in teacher education courses to provide opportunities for them to learn more science independently. The purpose of this study is to investigate an online pedagogical activity that fosters the social construction of science knowledge by primary pre-service teachers working in small virtual teams. The study investigated how the pre-service teachers collaborated online in virtual teams to complete set tasks, their attitudes toward and beliefs about the effectiveness of the online learning experience, and the types and quality of the resources developed. The findings indicated that the virtual team-produced science resource materials were generally of high quality, with nearly half the number of teams engaging with Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. wikis and blogs) to construct their product. The findings indicated positive attitudes toward the collaborative learning even though beliefs about online learning were mixed.     

Communication channels within ethnic groups

Major channels of communication are examined for two major functions: providing news of the ethnic community, and linking ethnics to the “mother country.” The four major channels are: interpersonal channels (friends and neighbors), radio, local metropolitan daily newspapers, and ethnic-language newspapers. Size of ethnic group is linked to channel preference, and greater ethnicity is related to a preference for ethnic media for both functions. Lower SES ethnics lend to rely more on interpersonal communication and ethnic media, while higher SES ethnics turn more to metro media and magazines. Channel preference as indicated by respondents is also linked to actual usage patterns.     

School‐to‐work transition services for students with disabilities in Malaysia: organisations' views on policy and practices

Transition services are required by law for students with disabilities in many developed countries. In Malaysia, however, there is still no specific legislation mandating that school‐to‐work transition planning and services be provided to students with disabilities. This study investigated the state of the transition services provided by educational organisations to students with disabilities in Malaysia. A mixed method research design, which utilises both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, was employed to obtain information from 23 government organisations and NGOs involved in the education and training of students with disabilities. This study found that the organisations surveyed were aware of the lack of transition support and call attention to the importance of instituting a national policy on school‐to‐work transition services and supported employment systems for students with disabilities. The legislative and educational implications for Malaysia are discussed.