“It looked like one thing but when we went in more depth,it turned out to be completely different”: Reflections on the Discourse of Guided Reading and its role in fostering critical response to magazines

This article explores the discourses of power prevalent in classrooms through considering the nature of critical response and the role of reflective group talk in negotiating meaning in children's magazines. It shares the findings from a small‐scale research project, which explored the potential of guided reading to develop critically literate response to text and reports on a case study involving two groups of pupils from broadly similar primary schools. A critique of guided teaching is offered and it is argued that while on some levels the model seems an effective vehicle for fostering critical response, its inherent power structures bring into question the validity of its role in facilitating independent critical thought.     

Simultaneous Delivery of a Face-to-Face Course to On-Campus and Remote Off-Campus Students

The purpose of this case study was to determine the feasibility of delivering a course on-campus and in real time, simultaneously transmitting it to students who were remotely accessing the same course. In future years, it is anticipated that universities will have inadequate physical facilities to meet the demands of an increasing student population. Additionally, with warnings of impending pandemics, universities need to be prepared to deliver courses in alternative ways to ensure continuity of instruction. Thus, this pilot project was designed to deliver a course to a large section of students while also allowing off-campus students access to the course in real time. The planning and delivery of the course is described, including the technology used, the support provided by the university and technology support staff, the course that was used for the pilot project, and how students were selected to participate as the off-campus students. The perspectives of the instructor, teaching assistant, students (both on- and off-campus), and technology support personnel are summarized.     

Seeing one another as “other”

In this paper, the authors discuss two complementary life history research projects investigating prospective teachers' identities in relation to their race and social class. Drawing on the experiences of one student from each study, they show how both whites and students of color primarily thought about one another as “others”—people who fundamentally differed from one another and whom they understood through preconceived ideas about a group. The authors draw on a Bakhtinian notion of how a “surplus of sight” enables one to develop understandings of an “other” and also of oneself.     

An introduction to education research methods: exploring the learning journey of pre-service teachers in a transnational programme

Internationally there is interest in developing the research skills of pre-service teachers as a means of ongoing professional renewal with a distinct need for systematic and longitudinal investigation of student learning. The current study takes a unique perspective by exploring the research learning journey of pre-service teachers participating in a transnational degree programme. Using a case-study design that includes both a self-reported and direct measure of research knowledge, the results indicate a progression in learning, as well as evidence that this research knowledge is continued or maintained when the pre-service teachers return to their home university. The findings of this study have implications for both pre-service teacher research training and transnational programmes.