Developing a smart classroom infrastructure to support real-time student collaboration and inquiry: a 4-year design study

Instructional Science - K-12 classroom settings are not yet incorporating emerging technologies such as ubiquitous computing, augmented reality, nor even touch surfaces, despite the significant...     

Evaluating a computer‐based reading programme with children with Intellectual Disabilities: feasibility and pilot research

Increasing evidence indicates that individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) might benefit from phonics‐based reading instruction. However, research and instruction in this field has predominantly focused on sight word reading. Models for complex interventions recommend that feasibility research be conducted prior to conducting randomised studies to assess efficacy of interventions (Thabane et al., 2010). The aim of the current paper is therefore to investigate feasibility questions relating to conducting a full‐scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of an online, phonics‐based reading programme (Headsprout^? Early Reading; HER) with children with ID. Employing a randomised pre‐test post‐test group design, this study explores and trials important aspects of a RCT evaluation to inform a full‐scale RCT. We also found that HER had a significant effect on reading skills when compared with ‘education as usual’, with large effect sizes on the main outcome measure. This indicates that further, more robust evaluations using HER with children with ID are a worthwhile pursuit.     

Empowerment for individual agency: an analysis of international organizations’ curriculum recommendations

Much recent research stresses the increasing relevance of international organisations (IOs) for national education policymaking. Yet, IOs’ curriculum recommendations have remained largely out of scope, although they provide a forceful example of ‘soft’ governance. Based on a content analysis of 83 documents from 42 inter/-nongovernmental, global and regional organisations involved in international education networks between 1990 and 2015, this paper identifies an expansive field of IOs directing growing attention to such curricular issues as student needs, educational goals and content, as well as issues of teaching and learning. In line with much cross-national curriculum research, analysis provides evidence for the trend towards a global curriculum model stressing empowerment, individual agency and psychosocial development. The article argues that the strong focus on human capabilities and human capital in IOs’ curriculum policies reflects wider cultural transformations in contemporary world society. The article concludes by arguing for an expanded analytical scope of IOs’ educational work and a reconsideration of causal explanations in curriculum theories.     

Racial Justice,Hegemony, and Bias Incidents in U.S. Higher Education

Formal administrative protocols for responding to bias incidents are now the norm in higher education. In considering these developments, the author of this article poses critical questions about racial justice work on campus, identifies key features of an under-acknowledged institutional racism, and contributes to discussions about ways that diversity and social justice efforts often reproduce rather than challenge systemic inequities.     

Parents as cotherapists in think aloud

Results of two case studies in which parents served as cotherapists in a social cognitive problem-solving program are presented. Larry, nine years old, was referred due to distractibility, immaturity, and impulsivity. Robert, eight years old, was referred for aggressive behaviors. Training occurred once a week for 50 minutes for 17 weeks for Larry and for 15 weeks for Robert. Parents were included in training in an effort to promote generalization and transfer of training outcomes. The parents' role included cognitive modeling, reinforcing, providing problem situations from the prior week, and extending training through generalization tasks at home. The following dependent measures were obtained in a pre-post design: Conners Teacher and Parent Rating Scales, Sociometric measures, WISC-R Mazes and Block Design, tests of consequential and means-end thinking, and observations of task-relevant and irrelevant self-verbalizations during Mazes and Block Design: Treatment effects were found for both boys on the parent and teacher versions of the Conners questionnaire. Larry improved in task relevant self-verbalizations, Mazes performance, and consequential and means-end thinking, but he did not improve on the sociometric measures. Robert improved on the sociometric measures, but not on task-relevant self-verbalizations, Mazes, Block Design, or consequential or means-end thinking. While these results are encouraging, limitations of the study limit generalizability of findings. Studies of the long-term benefits of training are needed to determine the cost effectiveness of incorporating parents as cotherapists in social cognitive problem-solving therapy.     

Occupational Social Work Education for Employee Assistance Practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores the current state of Occupational Social Work/Employee Assistance (OSW/EA) education. It examines the relationship between social work curricula, field placement experiences, and entry-level employment opportunities in the OSW/EA field. It is based on an educational initiative called the Partnership for Employee Assistance Education. Drawing on the OSW/EA literature, surveys, and focus group materials, the article concludes that the nature of OSW/EA is being reshaped by information technology, shifting demographics, globalization, and evolving terms and conditions of employment. The authors discuss how the graduate-level OSW/EA curriculum and field placements are being transformed to reflect these trends. Concepts such as Organizational Social Work and organizational intelligence are discussed. Innovative educational strategies are recommended. Finally, the authors argue that the contemporary workplace offers potential opportunity for innovative social work practice and education.     

In the Shadow of Myron: The Impact of the Discobolus on Representations of Olympic Sport from Victorian Britain to Contemporary China

Without doubt, the most famous and instantly recognisable work of art associated with the Olympic Games is Myron's Discobolus. Originally produced in bronze in the fifth century BC, the work is now known primarily through later Roman copies in marble, discovered in Italy during the eighteenth century. Whilst much has been written about the Discobolus as an exemplar of antique art, less attention has been paid to the reception of the work in the modern era. Accordingly, this article shifts attention to the impact made by Myron's work in visual culture produced during the period of the modern Olympic Games; that is from the late nineteenth century to the present day. From Victorian public sculptures, to official Olympic films and posters, and even contemporary art produced for the Beijing Games of 2008, Myron's work has continued to cast an influential shadow over art practices related to the Games themselves, as it has been adopted, adapted and transformed to signify a host of new and frequently diverse meanings. The prominent display of the work at the British Museum in London during the Games of 2012 offers testimony to the work's enduring legacy and its relevance for spectators of the present day.     

Book Reviews

This study examined the teaching of games via a tactical approach (also known as teaching games for understanding) from the theoretical perspective of social constructivism. A pilot study (of student teachers (STs) and pupils) informed the ‘main’ study which included collecting data on 49 STs, 58 cooperating teachers (CTs) and 1177 pupils. ST data were collected through videotaping (lessons), interviews and questionnaires; CT data through interviews and questionnaires; and pupil data through questionnaires. Data analysis techniques included systematic coding of teaching behaviours through computer software, using constant comparison to code open-ended question responses, and computing frequencies of Likert-scale question responses. T-tests were used to compare pre- and post-CT workshop data. Findings suggest that STs’ teaching of the tactical approach was in line with a social constructivist perspective, in part because lessons were student-centred. Overall student activity was 53% of all lessons taught, and STs facilitated pupil learning through several question and answer scenarios. Pupils wrote that they enjoyed playing games in what amounted to ‘authentic’ settings. Their responses also suggest that learning took place through ‘legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice’ and this facilitated pupil movement through the ‘zone of proximal development’. There were indications that pupil experiences were mediated by ST competence. CTs reported that an in-service workshop on the tactical approach and mentoring was beneficial and subsequent pairings with STs elicited positive feelings from both parties.