Searching the literature on teaching strategies and approaches for pupils with special educational needs: knowledge production and synthesis

This paper considers the problems that were encountered in searching and using the literature (about practice) to answer questions about future directions for policy in teaching learners with special educational needs (SEN). It draws upon a recently completed scoping study on the effectiveness of different approaches and strategies used to teach pupils with a range of special educational needs ( Davis & Florian, 2004 ) which foregrounded issues of search strategy, knowledge organisation and synthesis. The paper argues that a literature review is historically, culturally and socially produced knowledge and is an important but limited piece of evidence. Guidance for undertaking a review of literature on teaching practice is offered.     

Basic art materials

All children enjoy using crayons, chalk and clay, especially during the cold winter months when they may be confined indoors. These basic art materials can be expensive, so why not take the time to make your own. With careful supervision, even young children can help with the measuring, stirring and kneading ... and what fun you'll have together, while they are learning about math, science, colors, textures and so forth, and developing their small muscle coordination too. The following pages provide recipes for making these basic art materials, as well as creative projects to keep kids productively busy and happy for hours! Carolyn Haas is co-author of the new book Purple Cow to the Rescuepublished by Little, Brown and Co., as well as many other creative activity books for parents, teachers, and children. These activities are excerpted from the book Recipes For Fun and Learningby Carolyn Haas, Ann Cole, and Betty Weinberger, CBH Publishing, Box 236-D, Glencoe, IL 60022. For a copy of the book, send $4.95 plus $1.00 for postage and handling to the above address.     

Recipes for fun

Summertime means hours of outdoor play! Children of all ages will enjoy these games and nature activities whether in their own backyards or at a playground, or a nearby park or forest preserve. Ann Cole and Carolyn Haas are parenting consultants and the authors ofI saw a Purple Cow, Pumpkin in a Pear Tree andChildren are Children are Children (all Little, Brown & Co.), as well as theRecipes For Fun books (each $2.50 from PAR, 464 Central, Northfield, II. 60093). Their newest book isThe Big Book of Recipes For Fun (from PAR, $12.98 plus 1.00 postage and handling).     

Preservice teachers’ evaluations of students’ achievement development in the context of school-track recommendations

European Journal of Psychology of Education - We experimentally examined whether preservice teachers considered both the gender of primary school students and their development of GPAs, indicated...     

Effective Inclusive Schools: a study in two countries

Over the past several years a number of constituencies in the USA and the UK have advocated for the concept of the inclusive school as the placement of choice for students with disabilities. Such a school offers appropriate educational opportunities to all students regardless of type or severity of disability or difficulty. To determine the characteristic features of such a school, two separate studies of inclusive educational practices were undertaken in locations that shared a commitment to inclusive education but differed geographically and culturally. The first study focused on the implementation of a statewide policy on inclusion in a rural state in the USA. The second study was conducted in a densely populated London Borough also committed to inclusive education. Both studies utilised interviews with key personnel and observations of innovative practice. Results suggest that effective inclusive schools are diverse problem solving organisations and that there are different ways of achieving this goal that must reflect the cultural and social context. The barriers faced by schools are described and suggestions for policy makers, administrators and practitioners are presented.     

Argumentation in Science Education: A Model-based Framework

The goal of this article is threefold: First, the theoretical background for a model-based framework of argumentation to describe and evaluate argumentative processes in science education is presented. Based on the general model-based perspective in cognitive science and the philosophy of science, it is proposed to understand arguments as reasons for the appropriateness of a theoretical model which explains a certain phenomenon. Argumentation is considered to be the process of the critical evaluation of such a model if necessary in relation to alternative models. Secondly, some methodological details are exemplified for the use of a model-based analysis in the concrete classroom context. Third, the application of the approach in comparison with other analytical models will be presented to demonstrate the explicatory power and depth of the model-based perspective. Primarily, the framework of Toulmin to structurally analyse arguments is contrasted with the approach presented here. It will be demonstrated how common methodological and theoretical problems in the context of Toulmin’s framework can be overcome through a model-based perspective. Additionally, a second more complex argumentative sequence will also be analysed according to the invented analytical scheme to give a broader impression of its potential in practical use.     

Pre-service teachers’ personal epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils to have

In their workaday life, teachers are faced with multiple complex tasks. How they carry out these tasks is also influenced by their epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils hold. In an empirical study, pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs and those they assume of their pupils were investigated in the setting of teacher education for vocational schools in Germany. Results of the empirical study point at significant inconsistencies between pre-service teachers’ beliefs, the beliefs they assume of their pupils and beliefs conducive to the curricular and didactic concept preferred for vocational schools. Partly, these inconsistencies can be explained by pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in school and university. It seems important that the education of teachers in vocational education aims at scaffolding pre-service teachers in developing beliefs that are conducive for their future profession.