Problem solving in the primary school (K-2)

This article focuses on problem solving activities in a first grade classroom in a typical small community and school in Indiana. But, the teacher and the activities in this class were not at all typical of what goes on in most comparable classrooms; and, the issues that will be addressed are relevant and important for students from kindergarten through college. Can children really solve problems that involve concepts (or skills) that they have not yet been taught? Can children really create important mathematical concepts on their own – without a lot of guidance from teachers? What is the relationship between problem solving abilities and the mastery of skills that are widely regarded as being “prerequisites” to such tasks?Can primary school children (whose toolkits of skills are limited) engage productively in authentic simulations of “real life” problem solving situations? Can three-person teams of primary school children really work together collaboratively, and remain intensely engaged, on problem solving activities that require more than an hour to complete? Are the kinds of learning and problem solving experiences that are recommended (for example) in the USA’s Common Core State Curriculum Standards really representative of the kind that even young children encounter beyond school in the 21st century? … This article offers an existence proof showing why our answers to these questions are: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And: No. … Even though the evidence we present is only intended to demonstrate what’s possible, not what’s likely to occur under any circumstances, there is no reason to expect that the things that our children accomplished could not be accomplished by average ability children in other schools and classrooms.

Modeling as a bridge between real world problems and school mathematics

This article argues for an interdisciplinary approach to mathematical problem solving at the elementary school, one that draws upon the engineering domain. A modeling approach, using engineering model eliciting activities, might provide a rich source of meaningful situations that capitalize on and extend students’ existing mathematical learning. The study reports on the developments of 48 twelve-year old students who worked on the Bridge Design activity. Results revealed that young students, even before formal instruction, have the capacity to deal with complex interdisciplinary problems. A number of students created quite appropriate models by developing the necessary mathematical constructs to solve the problem. Students’ difficulties in mathematizing the problem, and in revising and documenting their models are presented and analysed, followed by a discussion on the appropriateness of a modeling approach as a means for introducing complex problems to elementary school students.

Collaborative research into the affordances of place for primary school children’s literacy learning

In the context of culturally diverse high poverty areas of Australia, we have conducted collaborative research with teachers and students in a primary school for more than a decade. Teachers have been exploring the affordances of place‐based pedagogies (Gruenewald & Smith, 2008) for the development of students’ spatial literacies and their understandings of the politics of places and built environments (Comber, Nixon, Ashmore, Loo & Cook, 2006; Comber, Thomson and Wells, 2001). This paper reports on a project in which the affordances of placedbased pedagogy are being explored through teacher inquiries and classroom‐based design experiments (Cobb, Confrey, di Sessa, Lehrer & Schauble, 2003). Located within a large‐scale urban renewal project in which houses are being demolished and families relocated, the original school has been replaced by a larger school that serves a population from a wider area. In this paper we draw on the study to consider the challenges of working with teachers and primary school students to study innovative ideas and practices in educational research. Specifically we consider issues raised by collaborative studies of the affordances of cross curricular projects focusing on social and environmental change to engage students in academic learning and expand their literate repertoires in a changing policy climate.

Leadership for creating a thinking school at Buranda State School

This article explores the role of principal leadership in creating a thinking school. It contributes to the school leadership literature by exploring the intersection of two important areas of study in education - school leadership and education for thinking - which is a particularly apt area of study, because effective school leadership is crucial if students are to learn to be critical and creative thinkers, yet this connection has not be widely investigated. We describe how one principal, Hinton, turned around an underperforming school by using critical and creative philosophical thinking as the focus for students, staff and parents. Then, drawing on the school leadership literature, the article describes seven attributes of school leadership beginning with four articulated by Leithwood and colleagues (2006) (building vision and setting direction; redesigning the organisation; understanding and developing people; managing the teaching and learning program), and adding three others (influence; self-development; and responding to context). This framework is then used in a case study format in a collaboration between practitioner and researchers to first explore evidence from empirical studies and personal reflection about Hinton's leadership of Buranda State School, and second to illuminate how these general features of school leadership apply to creating a thinking school. Based on the case study and using the general characteristics of school leadership, a framework for leading a thinking school is described. Because the framework is based on a turnaround school, this framework has wide applicability: to schools that are doing well as an indication of how to implement a contemporary approach to curriculum and pedagogy; and to schools that are underperforming and want a rigorous, high expectation and contemporary way to improve student learning.

Mentoring pre-service teachers on school students’ differentiated learning

This Australian study explores the mentoring of pre-service teachers in selecting and implementing teaching strategies to meet students‟ learning needs. Two case studies involving 28 mentor teachers in a professional development program and a mentor-mentee partnership during a four week practicum provided data about mentoring teaching strategies for differentiated learning. Findings showed that contexts for learning about differentiation occurred at the pre action, in-action, and post-action stages. Central to each stage were pedagogical knowledge practices such as planning, preparation, classroom management, assessment, and problem solving (reflection-in-action to present solutions to problems) as key to in-action strategising and the mentoring processes. Mentoring pre-service teachers on how to devise teaching strategies for differentiated learning needs to be researched with a wider range of mentors and pre-service teachers, including those at different stages of development.

New graduate occupational therapists feelings of preparedness for practice in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

Aim The development of competent future allied health professionals through academic programmes, professional support and practical education is continually evolving. The aim of this study was to explore the feelings of newly graduated occupational therapists in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand regarding their education and work preparedness. Methods Newly graduated occupational therapists from Australia (n = 178) and Aotearoa/New Zealand (n = 53) who had completed their occupational therapy studies in 2007 were recruited. Participants completed an online survey which explored their preparedness for work; based on professional competencies. Results Most newly graduated occupational therapists felt somewhat prepared for practice. However, only 17.1% of Australian new graduates, and even fewer (8.5%) of Aotearoa/New Zealand new graduates felt very well prepared. Participants felt more prepared for the competencies required for ‘managing inwards’ (including interpersonal skills) and less prepared for those required for ‘managing outwards’ (including evidence-based practice). Conclusions This study provides the first international comparison into the feelings of competence and preparedness for practice of new graduates of occupational therapy from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Given the importance of competencies, such as evidence-based practice to the progress of the profession, there is a need to further explore methods to increase feelings of preparedness in these areas.

Skill development and social inclusion via peer assisted learning in first-year higher education : an evaluation of student experiences across two law units

Because professions seek graduates who can 'collaborate, share skills and knowledge, and communicate' (Kruck and Reif, 2001, p 37), it is important that university graduates are not equipped solely with the content knowledge of their discipline, but also with prospective employment skills. Furthermore, when students 'interact more in positive ways with their teachers and peers, they gain more in terms of essential skills and competencies, such as critical thinking, problem~solving [and] effective communication' (NSSE, 2000, p 2)./n this way, peer assisted fellowing has the potential to enhance students' professional development, and provide the social inclusion and engagement necessary for effective learning. This session describes two peer assisted learning models embedded within first year QUT Faculty of Law units. Through a partnership between teaching staff, student mentors and mentees, the models aim to facilitate student socialisation whilst supplementing understanding of substantive law with the development of academic and work·related skills. Mentor and mentee perceptions, and program implications, are considered.

Studying in Cuba, returning home to work : experiences of graduates from the English-speaking Caribbean

Cuba’s higher education scholarship program has received little attention in the literature on education and development. In this chapter, I discuss themes that emerge from my interviews with graduates from English-speaking Caribbean countries who studied in Cuba, as well as Cuban educators, on the nature of their academic programs and their subsequent careers. This facilitates exploration of a number of questions, including the following: 1. How, in the perceptions of scholarship students and graduates, have they experienced the philosophy of combing study, practical work, and research in the tertiary education curriculum in Cuban universities? 2. What impact does studying in Cuba appear to have on graduates after they return to their home countries? 3. How does the experience of the graduates throw light on the relationship between tertiary education and national development?

"You help me improve my English, I'll teach you Physics!" Cuban teachers overseas

Lending teachers for two-year periods is one of the ways in which Cuba has been able to collaborate with other countries in their efforts to improve educational planning and practice. My field research in 2001 in Jamaica (March and November) and in Namibia (December) enabled me to obtain information about how Cuban teachers are being utilized, and about the educational implications of this project. In Jamaica, I interviewed 15 Cuban teachers in several schools and one in the vocational institute, as well as the Cuban project supervisor in charge of the 51 Cuban teachers. I also talked with officials at the Jamaican Ministry of Education to obtain an idea of the developmental needs in the various subjects that the Cubans had been asked to teach. In Namibia I interviewed personnel in the National Sports Directorate and the Cuban manager in charge of the sports education project. The chapter draws on these interviews to build a picture of how the program of collaboration is organized, and considers its postcolonial significance, in theory and in practice, as an example of South-South collaboration. The chapter contributes to a multilevel style of comparative education analysis based on microlevel qualitative fieldwork within a framework that compares cross-cultural issues and national policies. The discussion of the educational situation of the host countries suggests why Cuban teachers can contribute to meeting curricular needs, particularly in the areas of the sciences, mathematics, Spanish, and sports. The friendly and joking remark of one of the Cuban teachers to school students in Jamaica: “You help me improve my English, I’ll teach you Physics!” highlights the reciprocal potential of these cooperation projects, discussed in several chapters of this book.

The International Film and Television School in Cuba : for a stronger media culture in the global south

A little-known facet of Cuban internationalism is the Cuba shares in the education of young people who want to help build a stronger media culture that represents voices from the global South. Cuba was instrumental in the establishment and operation of the International Film and Television School at San Antonio de los Baños. The Cuban government provided the location and buildings for the school, and among the range of international media professionals who teach the students are selected Cuban professors from the Institute of the Arts, based n Havana. The International Film and Television School is supported by funding from Spain and other countries, and by the willingness of international media professionals to teach short courses for little more than an honorarium. Cuba used to provide full scholarships for student from the South to study a two-year course in film or television, but now charges fees for its three-year diploma course.

Pilot evaluation of an adolescent risk and injury prevention programme incorporating curriculum and school connectedness components

School connectedness is an important protective factor for adolescent risk-taking behaviour. This study examined a pilot version of the Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY) programme, combining teacher professional development for increasing school connectedness (connectedness component) with a risk and injury prevention curriculum for early adolescents (curriculum component). A process evaluation was conducted on the connectedness component, involving assessments of programme reach, participant receptiveness and initial use, and a preliminary impact evaluation was conducted on the combined connectedness and curriculum programme. The connectedness component was well received by teacher participants, who saw benefits for both themselves and their students. Classroom observation also showed that teachers who received professional development made use of the programme strategies. Grade 8 students who participated in the SPIY programme were less likely to report violent behaviour at six-month follow-up than were control students, and trends also suggested reduced transport injuries. The results of this research support the use of the combined SPIY connectedness and curriculum components in a large-scale effectiveness trial to assess the impact of the programme on students’ connectedness, risk-taking and associated injuries.

Nursing a case of the blues : an examination of the role of depression in predicting job-related affective well-being in nurses

The current study explored the effect of depression, optimism, and anxiety on job-related affective well-being in 70 graduate nurses. It was predicted that depression and anxiety would have a significant negative effect on job-related affective well-being, whereas optimism would have a significant positive effect on job-related affective well-being. Questionnaires were completed online or in hard-copy forms. Results revealed that depression, optimism, and anxiety were all significantly correlated to job-related affective well-being in the expected direction however, depression was found to be the only variable that made a significant unique contribution to the prediction of job-related affective well-being. Possible explanations for these findings are explored.

School culture matters

Schools today are subjected to a vast array of accountability measures including professional standards and high-stakes testing, to name but two. These measures and the implementation of new curricula inevitably result in change and put pressure on schools and teachers to perform. During these times of change, a positive school culture can make a difference for all school stakeholders: staff, students and parents. As a school leader, what can you do to ensure a positive school culture is maintained in your school environment during these changing times?