Learning citizenship: Campus‐based initiatives for developing student change agents

The phrase “social movement” typically conjures up images of pickets, massive crowds, and noisy demonstrations. An emerging approach to campus‐based change, used in Fraternal Futures and other projects, is tapping into the small, the local, and the personally relevant.     

Key Educational Factors in the education of students with a medical condition

The education of children with a medical condition represents a unique educational context. The key educational factors that can help these children continue their education despite the burdens associated with their illness were discussed and analysed by a pool of experts for an EU funded project. In this context, relationships, making sense and constructing knowledge, assuming roles in front of others, metacognition, individualities and inter‐institutional communication emerged as the 6 Key Educational Factors (KEF) that are crucial for the education of this vulnerable population. The implications of the KEFs for home and hospital education are discussed, with a particular focus on practices that meet the relational and communicational needs of these children. Specific recommendations for the practice, policy, and research regarding these KEF within this unique educational context are presented.     

Advances in the phylogenesis of Agaricales and its higher ranks and strategies for establishing phylogenetic hypotheses

We present an overview of previous research results on the molecular phylogenetic analyses in Agaricales and its higher ranks (Agaricomycetes/Agaricomycotina/Basidiomycota) along with the most recent treatments of taxonomic systems in these taxa. Establishing phylogenetic hypotheses using DNA sequences, from which an understanding of the natural evolutionary relationships amongst clades may be derived, requires a robust dataset. It has been recognized that single-gene phylogenies may not truly represent organismal phylogenies, but the concordant phylogenetic genealogies from multiple-gene datasets can resolve this problem. The genes commonly used in mushroom phylogenetic research are summarized.     

The legitimacy of curriculum development in post-colonial Hong Kong: insights from the case of Liberal Studies

Liberal Studies was initially introduced as a non-statutory subject in Hong Kong in 1992. It then confronted intense opposition and a bumpy implementation path before securing mandatory status in the new senior secondary curriculum introduced in 2009. Recently, this core subject has been under review. Whilst it is considered to promote students’ socio-political participation, the subject has also been accused of triggering antagonism towards the government. In view of these concerns, this article probes teachers’ perceptions of the recent development of Liberal Studies and examines the dynamic interplay between the curriculum review and the potential political controversies surrounding the subject in post-colonial Hong Kong. Reporting the results of a study comprising questionnaire-based surveys and follow-up semi-structured interviews, it reveals that whilst teachers are worried about the proposed reduction of socio-political topics in the curriculum, they approve of incorporating additional China-related content. Furthermore, the participating teachers praised Liberal Studies for its notable impact on raising students’ social consciousness, which has motivated them to learn about community affairs and fight for justice. Finally, the article also explores the study’s profound implications for the further development of Liberal Studies and citizenship education in Hong Kong and beyond.     

The Impact of Tier 2 Mathematics Instruction on Second Graders with Mathematics Difficulties

Although research on Tier 2 interventions for early mathematics is accumulating, such efforts remain far behind those for reading, especially regarding specific features such as the ideal time to begin an intervention. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a Tier 2 intervention using a single subject multiple baseline, across-groups design with two cohorts of second graders. Because the two cohorts of students were given the intervention at different times during the second grade year, the study also documented whether the timing of the intervention affected acquisition and retention of second grade mathematics competencies. Finally, the study tracked student performance up to the first semester of the third grade year to document any sustained effects. The results show that the supplemental intervention was effective for both cohorts, but differences in performance indicate that the timing of the intervention may affect the degree of success. In addition, for some participants, the positive effects of the intervention were sustained into the third grade year.     

Connecting Video Segments to Collaborative Learning Activities

Abstract

The article discusses how sections of a video can best be used in the instructional process by activating the minds of students and using their reactions to viewing to produce intellectual action. It gives some suggested schemes for this activity and shows how technological forces can become energies of change.