Mobile Phones and Contact Arrangements for Children Living in Care

This article reports the findings from the first UK study to examine the use of mobile phones by looked after children. Contact with family and friends is important, but it has sometimes to be carefully managed to avoid unintended consequences such as placement instability. The study examined the ways in which mobile phone technology impacts on contact, drawing on the experiences of children and young people in foster-care and residential care, and of policy makers, social workers, foster parents and residential care staff. No guidance was available that addressed the issue of mobile phone contact arrangements for looked after children and young people. Three years on from the start of the study, this remains the case in the area where the study was conducted, resulting in variation in the way mobile phone use for contact is managed; the issue appears only to be specifically addressed when identified as a problem. The position of mobile phone facilitated contact as a recognised form of contact requires review. The evidence suggests it should routinely form part of children’s care plans, and that residential staff and foster parents need to be adequately prepared and supported for the dynamics of mobile phone facilitated contact.

Audit of mathematics learning support in Ireland in 2015 – the key findings

In 2015 the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) commissioned a comprehensive audit of the extent and nature of mathematics learning support (MLS) provision on the island of Ireland. An online survey was sent to 32 institutions, including universities, institutes of technology, further education and teacher training colleges, and a 97% response rate was achieved. While the headline figure – 84% of institutions that responded to the survey provide MLS – sounds good, deeper analysis reveals that the true state of MLS is not so solid. For example, in 25% of institutions offering MLS, only five hours per week (at most) of physical MLS are available, while in 20% of institutions the service is provided by only one or two staff members. Furthermore, training of tutors is minimal or non-existent in at least half of the institutions offering MLS. The results provide an illuminating picture, however, identifying the true state of MLS in Ireland is beneficial only if it informs developments in the years ahead. This talk will present some of the findings of the survey in more depth along with conclusions and recommendations. Key among these is the need for institutions to recognise MLS as a vital element of mathematics teaching and learning strategy at third level and devote the necessary resources to facilitate the provision of a service which can grow and adapt to meet student requirements.

The Hidden benefits of “poster presentation assessment”: Skill acquirement and learning; evaluated from the nursing students perspective

Introduction
This paper reports to an exercise in evaluating poster group work and poster presentation and the extra learning and skill acquisition that this can provide to nursing students, through a creative and stimulating assessment method. Much had been written about the benefits of using posters as an assessment method, yet there appears to be a lack of research that captures the student experience.
Aim
This evaluative study sought to evaluate the student experience by using a triangulation approach to evaluation:
Methodology
All students from the February 2015 nursing intake, were eligible to take part (80 students) of which 71 participated (n=71). The poster group presentations took place at the end of their first phase of year one teaching and the evaluation took place at the end of their first year as undergraduate. Evaluation involved;
1. Quantitative data by questionnaires
2. Qualitative data from focus group discussions
Results
A number of key themes emerged from analysis of the data which captured the “added value” of learning from the process of poster assessment including:
 Professionalism: developing time keeping skills, presenting skills.
 Academic skills: developing literature search, critic and reporting
 Team building and collaboration
Overall 88% agreed that the process furnished them with additional skills and benefits above the actual production of the poster, with 97% agreeing that these additional skills are important skills for a nurse.
Conclusion
These results would suggest that the process of poster development and presentation furnish student nurses with many additional skills that they may not acquire through other types of assessment and are therefore beneficial. The structure of the assessment encourages a self-directed approach so students take control of the goals and purposes of learning. The sequential organization of the assessment guides students in the transition from dependent to self-directed learners.