Byron's oratory

The occasion for Edward Kennedy's Lynchburg address on “Tolerance and Truth in America” has been called “something of a mistake.” However, Kennedy used the opportunity to speak at Liberty Baptist College in 1983 to propose a “contract” for the public relationship between himself and Jerry Falwell. Virtually auditioning for a part in a new form of dialogue, Kennedy displayed for Falwell a universe of discourse in which each could be more civil toward the other without betraying his own constituencies or threatening the other's supporters. Subsequent events demonstrate that the contract, although never explicitly stated, was accepted.     

Visual Processing Deficits in Children With Slow RAN Performance

Two groups of 8- to 10-year-olds differing in rapid automatized naming speed but matched for age, verbal and nonverbal ability, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and visual acuity participated in four experiments investigating early visual processing. As low RAN children had significantly slower simple reaction times (SRT) this was entered as a covariate in all subsequent data analyses. Low RAN children were significantly slower to make same/different judgments to simple visual features, non-nameable letter-like forms and letters, with difference in SRT controlled. Speed differences to letter-like forms and letters disappeared once RTs to simple visual features were controlled. We conclude that slow RAN children have difficulty in discriminating simple visual features that cannot be explained in terms of a more general speed of processing deficit, a deficit in making same/different judgments, or to differences in word reading ability.     

Integrated water resource management: a platform for higher education institutions to meet complex sustainability challenges

Higher education institutions in Sweden are increasingly exposed to international market conditions and rising competition from a more mobile student body. This increases the need for universities to adapt to their social and economic environment and to their clients, including the political trends and financial opportunities in Sweden and EU, if they are to successfully implement sustainability reforms. In this regard, we examine the barriers faced by a ‘post-normal’ education for sustainable development (ESD) inherent within the structures of a ‘normal’ University. We pose the question whether Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as a post-normal process can contribute to increased capacity of normal higher education institutions to address complex sustainability problems? IWRM is conceptualised as an interactionist process of social learning and adaptive management to reflect on the experiences from one particular case, namely the Master Programme in IWRM at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. We illustrate how IWRM can contribute to address conflicts of interests in education arising from competing claims of stakeholders in real life management situations, but also to reconcile the conflicts associated with institutional adaptation under conditions characterised by a new international educational regime and rapidly changing market conditions. The paper brings together the discourse on ESD with lessons from IWRM and contends that the interactionist approach might offer a useful alternative to realist conceptions of ESD in learner-centred and institutional systemic approaches. Contrary to other reports on IWRM education, this paper reflects on this role of IWRM within higher education per se.     

The Effect of Addition and Subtraction Practice within a Word-Problem Intervention on Addition and Subtraction Outcomes

This study examined the influence of addition and subtraction practice embedded within a word-problem intervention for Grade 3 students experiencing word-problem difficulty. Students (N = 448) were randomly assigned to one of two variants of a word-problem intervention or a business-as-usual comparison condition. Within the word-problem interventions, students participated in targeted addition and subtraction fact and computation practice for approximately 3 minutes of each 30-minute session across 47 intervention sessions, but also continually practiced addition and subtraction through word-problem solving. At posttest, students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved single-digit addition and subtraction performance as well as improved double-digit addition and subtraction performance. At follow-up in Grade 4, persistence of effects was only identified for double-digit addition. Considering addition and subtraction are foundational to many other mathematics skills, addition and subtraction practice serves as an important component of mathematics intervention.     

Language Proficiency and the Relation to Word-Problem Performance in Emergent Bilingual Students with Mathematics Difficulties

As students enter the upper elementary grades, word problems become a main component of mathematics instruction, increasing in complexity as students advance through the curriculum. For students identified as emergent bilinguals with mathematics difficulty (MD), the linguistic complexity inherent in word problems may serve as a barrier to word-problem proficiency. The current study investigated the potential relation between academic English proficiency and word-problem outcomes for emergent bilinguals with MD. After analyzing data from 241 third-grade students, results indicated students who participated in an evidence-based word-problem intervention outperformed students who did not receive the intervention. Moreover, students’ academic English-language proficiency scores in the domains of reading and writing positively correlated with higher scores on a measure of word-problem solving.     

Investigating the impact of at-home learning on secondary school-aged children with ADHD: a qualitative study

Students with ADHD can benefit from at-home learning in terms of managing their symptoms; however, lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic are having negative impacts on the student population. This study was designed to ascertain how students with ADHD have been impacted by at-home learning under lockdown restrictions. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews from students, parents and teaching staff. These interviews were used to identify three main themes (anxiety caused by at-home learning, change in social interaction and academic impact of at-home learning) that best identified the participants' experiences. The results suggested that whilst supportive home environments helped students with ADHD to better manage their symptoms, social anxiety was a significant problem, and not all schools allowed students with ADHD to take full advantage of at-home learning for their students with ADHD.     

Reconceptualising fair access to highly academically selective universities

Higher Education - The higher education regulator for England has set challenging new widening access targets requiring universities to rethink how merit is judged in admissions. Universities are...     

EQUATIONS AND THE EQUAL SIGN IN ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS

To promote a relational understanding of the equal sign (=), students may require exposure to a variety of equation types (i.e., 3 = 8 - 5; 2 + 3 = 1 + 4; 9 - 3 = 6). The purpose of this study was to evaluate 8 elementary curricula for degree of exposure to equation types. Across 6 elementary grade levels, curricula were coded for the number of standard and nonstandard equation types appearing within the student textbook. Except in 1 of the 8 curricula, students typically do not receive exposure to nonstandard equation types that promote a relational understanding of the equal sign. An analysis of the accompanying teacher manual for each textbook suggests that students receive minimal instruction on relational definitions of the equal sign, with the majority of instruction occurring in grades K-2 and minimal instruction provided in grades 3-5.     

Piloting a Mathematics‐Writing Intervention with Late Elementary Students At‐Risk for Learning Difficulties

High‐stakes mathematics assessments require students to write about mathematics, although research suggests students exhibit limited proficiency on such assessments. Students with LD may have difficulties with writing, mathematics, or both. Researchers employed an intervention for teaching students how to organize mathematics writing (MW). Researchers randomly assigned participants (n = 61) in grades 3–5 to receive instruction in MW or information writing. Students receiving MW outperformed control students on a researcher‐developed measure of MW (d = 1.05). Component assessment revealed MW students improved in writing organization (d = 1.49) but not in mathematics content (d = 0.11 ns). Results also indicated MW students outperformed control on percentage of correct MW sequences (d = 0.82). Future directions for MW intervention development are discussed.     

Teachers as readers: building communities of readers

Given the narrow scope of primary teachers' knowledge and use of children's literature identified in Phase I of Teachers as Readers (2006–2007), the core goal of the Phase II project was to improve teachers' knowledge and experience of such literature in order to help them increase children's motivation and enthusiasm for reading, especially those less successful in literacy. The year‐long Phase II project, Teachers as Readers: Building Communities of Readers, which was undertaken in five Local Authorities (LAs) in England, also sought to build new relationships with parents and families and to explore the concept of a “Reading Teacher (RT): a teacher who reads and a reader who teaches” (Commeyras and colleagues). The research design was multilayered; involving data collection at individual, school and LA levels, and using a range of quantitative and qualitative data research methods and tools. This paper provides an overview of the Phase II research. It suggests that teachers need support if they are to develop children's reading for pleasure, and enhance their involvement as socially engaged and self‐motivated readers.