Disabled Children and Residential Schools: The Implications for Local Education Professionals

Jenny Morris, freelance researcher, David Abbott, research associate at the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol, and Linda Ward, Director of the Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol, carried out research to look at whether the current system of legislation and regulation is adequately protecting and promoting the interests of disabled children placed at residential schools. This article summarises some findings from the research which investigated the decision-making processes leading to residential special school placements and explored the involvement of education and social services authorities after placements have been made. The research found that the needs of individual children are not central to these decision-making processes; and that the local authorities who make such placements do not pay sufficient attention to protecting and promoting children's educational or care needs once they have gone away to school. Jenny Morris, David Abbott and Linda Ward indicate some of the ways in which current practice could be improved; make recommendations for future developments; and call for further research into the role of special residential schools in the context of policy on educational and social inclusion.     

The literary works of Sir William Osler

A paper read at the first regular meeting of the Osler Society of McGill University, October 19, 1921.     

Understanding the Information Needs of Academic Scholars in Agricultural and Biological Sciences

This study investigates the information needs of faculty and graduate students in agricultural and biological sciences. Qualitative research methods, interviews and focus groups, were used to examine what types of information these scholars need for their research, teaching and learning, how they seek that information, and perceptions. The implications for library service are discussed.     

Appreciative coaching for student academic and professional development

Negative self-talk and appraisals of self-efficacy can damage students’ abilities to do well in college and lead to self-fulfilling prophesies where students fail to meet their academic and professional potentials. This multi-class activity uses appreciative coaching to help students utilize a positive mindset and achieve academic and professional goals. This coaching model, based on the tenets of appreciative inquiry, begins with a topic selection and then progresses through four stages: discover, dream, design, and destiny. The coaching process can assist instructors and students in focusing on the positive aspects of student performance, increase self-confidence, motivation to do well in courses, and proactive career planning, and create a positive learning environment.

Courses: Business Communication, Freshman Seminar, Professional Development, Senior Capstone

Objectives: The objectives of this activity are for students to (1) practice positive reframing, (2) appraise and identify their strengths and skills, (3) select goals, (4) create action plans to reach goals, and (5) be empowered and take responsibility for their academic and professional progress.     

A Meta-Analysis of Single-Case Research on Mathematics Word Problem-Solving Interventions for English Learners with Learning Disabilities and Mathematics Difficulties

This single-case meta-analysis is the first to provide a quantitative synthesis of the published literature on mathematics word problem-solving intervention studies for English learners with learning disabilities and mathematics difficulties. A total of ten single-subject studies were included for analysis. The current study investigated the magnitude of the effect of mathematics interventions targeting the improvement of students’ mathematics word problem-solving performance, and analyzed variables that moderated this effect. Results indicate a moderate overall effect size of 0.81 (95% CI [0.71, 0.90]) on word problem-solving performance for English learners with learning disabilities and mathematics difficulties. Moderator variables such as the implementer of the interventions, instructional focus, and word problem-solving content significantly moderated the mathematics intervention effects.     

Exploring Developmental Appropriateness of Multitouch Tables in Prekindergarten: A Video Analysis

This study explored how developmentally appropriate practices influenced the affordances of a multitouch surface in an early childhood classroom. Children, ages 4 to 5 years old, were videotaped while engaged in a storymaking application on a multitouch table. As a result of the study, we found that some challenges with the functionality undermined children's autonomous control. The researchers observed numerous instances of issues with control of the medium, including height of the table, sensitivity to multiple types of touch, and limited instructions and prompts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.