Fairy-tale Retellings between Art and Pedagogy

In this article, it is shown how authors of fairy-tale retellings have incorporated ideas of feminist literary criticism into a fictional form. As such, these retellings display the tension between the pedagogic and aesthetic aspects of all childrens literature. Jane Yolens Sleeping Ugly is chosen as a case study: although it can be argued that the book serves as a mouthpiece for the ideology of the emancipation movement formulated in Marcia Liebermans key text Some Day My Prince Will Come, it is suggested that Sleeping Ugly teaches children to read against a texts authority and as such undermines its own didactic potential.Vanessa Joosen (1977) has a Masters degree in English and German Literature from the University of Antwerp, and an MA in Childrens Literature from the University of Surrey Roehampton. In 2003, she received an FWO scholarship to fund her PhD at the University of Antwerp. She researches the interaction between fairy-tale retellings and criticism on fairy tales in the period from 1970 to 2000. Recent publications include Translating Dutch into Dutch in Signal 100, and an article on Belgian childrens books in Peter Hunts International Companion to Childrens Literature.     

‘An essential right’: reflections on evaluating a professional development program for tutors

Abstract

While there is a growing body of research on sessional staff experiences, there are few published accounts evaluating their professional development. This paper reflects on an evaluation of a university-wide professional development program for tutors at an Australian university. A combination of complementary approaches were used to inform the development of the evaluation, namely: Participatory Action Research, monitoring, evaluation, research and improvement, and Participatory Evaluation. Findings of the evaluation reveal valuable lessons for the academic development of sessional teaching staff.     

Teaching Multiplication with Regrouping to Students with Learning Disabilities

The Common Core Standards require demonstration of conceptual knowledge of numbers, operations, and relations between mathematical concepts. Supplemental instruction should explicitly guide students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) in these skills. In this article, we illustrate implementation of the concrete‐representational‐abstract (CRA) sequence and the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM) for teaching multiplication with regrouping to students with SLD. CRA combined with SIM has been shown to be effective in teaching computation for students with SLD, specifically for developing conceptual understanding. Four elementary students with SLD participated in this study. The researchers used a multiple‐probe design to show a functional relation. Students demonstrated increases in computational fluency; skills were maintained and generalized.     

Developing Videos to Better Inform Middle School Students About STEM Career Options

Student perceptions of science-oriented careers and scientists have been shown to be largely inaccurate. Through an instructional design and development process we have developed a method for offering students more accurate information about science-oriented careers. This paper follows the steps involved in developing a volume of podcast/interviews with STEM professionals and implementing the podcasts in middle level science classes. The purpose of the podcasts is to better inform middle school students about STEM career options. We present the challenges and successes of the development process as well as the efforts to create a second volume of podcasts, planned improvements and efforts for larger scale implementation, and the results from a pilot study involving the podcasts.     

A Degree Is Not Enough: A quantitative study of aspects of pre-service science teachers’ chemistry content knowledge

Aspects of chemistry content knowledge held by 265 UK-based pre-service teachers (PSTs) were probed using 28 diagnostic questions in five chemistry concept areas, Particle theory and changes of state, Mass conservation (taught to 11–14-year-olds), and Chemical bonding, Mole calculations and Combustion reactions (taught to 14–16-year-olds). Data were collected over six years from academically able science graduates starting a full-time, university-based teacher education programme of one academic year duration. PSTs in three sub-cohorts (‘chemists', ‘physicists' and ‘biologists' on the basis of their undergraduate degrees) demonstrated similar levels of content knowledge (CK) for Particle theory and changes of state and Mass conservation. Biologists demonstrated statistically significantly weaker understanding than chemists and physicists in Chemical bonding, Mole calculations and Combustion reactions. Forty-four ‘triads' each comprising one chemist, physicist and biologist, matched by academic and personal backgrounds, showed that chemists outperformed biologists and physicists in Chemical bonding and Combustion reactions. The findings suggest that non-chemists' CK is insufficient for teaching these chemistry concepts in high schools, despite their possession of ‘good' Bachelor of Science degrees. These data have implications for science teacher education, including how best to prepare science graduates from diverse backgrounds for teaching specialist science subjects to 11–16-year-olds.     

Emblem of an empire: the development of the Byzantine empress's crown

Byzantine crowns are not only emblematic of the empire, but also reflect the breadth and depth of her acquaintance. Much like the Classical tradition of using women as personifications of cities, states and ideals, the empress who embodied the empire was often depicted in a more elaborate crown than the emperor. The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of the Byzantine empress' crown as distinct from the emperor's crown. Both evolved, in part, from the much simpler diadems of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Comparison of pictorial images and historical sources reveals how their respective styles diverged and the influences that fed those variations. Further comparison with the jewellery and headgear of neighbouring peoples reveals the influence of Eastern headgear and hairdressing upon the evolution of the empress's crown. Much like the decorative arts of Byzantium, the empress's crown testifies to the fusion of Mediterranean and Eastern cultures.