'I never imagined I'd have to teach these children': Providing authentic learning experiences for secondary pre-service teachers in teaching students with special needs

This article describes a collaborative and cross-curricula initiative undertaken in the School of Education at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The project involved developing an integrated approach to providing professional year pre-service secondary teacher education students with experiences that would assist them to develop their knowledge and skills to teach students with special needs in their classrooms. These experiences were undertaken in the authentic teaching and learning context of a post-school literacy program for young adults with intellectual disabilities. In preliminary interviews pre-service teachers revealed that they lacked experience, knowledge and understanding related to teaching students with special needs, and felt that their teacher education program lacked focus in this field. This project was developed in response to these expressed needs. Through participating in the project, pre-service teachers' knowledge and understanding about working with students with diverse learning needs were developed as they undertook real and purposeful tasks in an authentic context.

Can we get General Practitioners to Promote Physical Activity? Results of the 10,000 Steps Rockhampton Community-Based Physical Activity Promotion Project

Evidence supporting the efficacy of physical activity promotion in primary care settings has evaluated patient-level changes in physical activity, with little focus on the issue of general practitioner (GP) uptake. The 'GP Strategy' of 10,000 Steps Rockhampton provided an opportunity to explore this issue in the context of a multi-strategy, community-based physical activity intervention project. The 'GP Strategy' was developed in partnership with the Capricornia Division of General Practice. It aimed to: 1) increase GP awareness of the 10,000 Steps project, 2) upskill GPs in brief physical activity counselling techniques, and 3) provide GPs with evidencebased physical activity counselling materials and pedometers. The evaluation, which was guided by the RE-AIM evaluation framework, used a pre-post design, including a GP mailed survey, and collection of process data. Survey response rates were 67% (n=44/66; baseline) and 70% (n=37/53; 14-month follow-up). GP awareness of 10,000 Steps Rockhampton increased from 46% to 97%. 21/23 practices were visited by 10,000 Steps staff and accepted 10,000 Steps posters, brochures, and pedometers. At follow-up, 78% had displayed the poster, 81% were using the brochures, and 70% had loaned pedometers to patients. Despite the very high rate of uptake and use of 10,000 Steps materials, there was no change in the percentage of patients counselled, and relatively few pedometers had been loaned to patients. The results of this trial indicate that it will take more effort to change GP physical activity counselling behaviour, and provide only modest support for use of pedometers in the busy general practice setting. Acknowledgement:This project is supported by a grant from Health Promotion Queensland.