Embedding gifted education in preservice teacher education : a collaborative school-university approach

A country’s prosperity relies on the creative potential of its people. Educating gifted students must be a priority for educators and education systems if society is to capitalise on their potential to contribute to an economical and sustainable future. Given the importance of teachers in supporting academic achievement, educating preservice teachers on how to cater for gifted students commences the process as they can foster the implementation of current teaching practices that draw on substantial research into the education of gifted children. This study investigated preservice teachers’ perceptions for teaching gifted students after participating in a school-based intervention with gifted students. The teachers implemented differentiated curriculum activities that catered for the diverse needs of learners. Participants (n=22) were surveyed at the end of the program on their perceptions of how to differentiate the curriculum for meeting the needs of the student. Analysis of the survey indicated these preservice teachers agreed or strongly agreed they had developed skills in curriculum planning (91%) with well-designed activities (96%), and lesson preparation skills (96%). They also claimed they were enthusiastic for teaching (91%) and had understanding of school practices and policies (96%). However, only 46% agreed they had knowledge of syllabus documents with 50% claiming an ability to provide written feedback on the student’s learning. Furthermore, only 64% suggested they had educational language from the syllabus and effective student management strategies. Preservice teachers require direction on how to cater for diversity by building knowledge from direct gifted education experiences. The survey may be used as a diagnostic tool to determine areas for developing education experiences related to the education of the gifted for preservice teachers.

School-based experiences : developing primary science preservice teachers' practice

Reviews into teacher education emphasise the need for preservice teachers to have more school-based experiences. In this study, a school-based experience was organised within a nine-week science curriculum university unit that allowed preservice teachers’ repeated experiences in teaching primary science. This research uses a survey, questionnaire with extended written responses, and researcher observations to investigate preservice teachers’ (n=38) learning experiences in two school settings. Survey results indicated that the majority of these preservice teachers either agreed or strongly agreed that school-based experiences developed their: personal-professional skill development (100%); system requirements (range: 81-100%); teaching practices (81-100%); student behaviour management (range: 94-100%); providing student feedback (89-94%); and reflection on practice (92-100%). Qualitative data provided insights into their development particularly for science content knowledge and receiving positive reinforcement on effective teaching behaviours. According to these preservice teachers, the school-based experiences facilitated “teachable moments – having the knowledge or skills to run with students’ questions or ideas” and allowed preservice teachers to “critically reflect between groups to make the task flow better”. Embedding school-based experiences needs to be part of each and every preservice teacher education unit so preservice teachers can develop confidence, knowledge and skills within authentic school contexts.

Australian ePortfolio Project–Stage 2 ePortfolio use by university students in Australia : Developing a sustainable community of practice Case studies extracted from the final project report December 2009

Fourteen sase studies extracted from the final project report - December 2009 Australian Flexible Learning Framework: E-portfolios Community of Practice (Aus) Personal learning plans and ePortfolio (Aus) RMIT University: Introducing ePortfolios (Aus) ePortfolio Practice: ALTC Exchange (Aus) Australian PebblePad User Group (APpUG) (Aus) ePortfolios in the library and information services sector (Aus) PDP and ePortfolios UK (UK) SURF NL Portfolio (Netherlands) University of Canterbury ePortfolio (NZ) AAEEBL: Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (USA) Midlands Eportfolio Group, West Midlands(UK) EPAC: Electronic Portfolio Action and Communication (USA) Scottish Higher Education PDP Forum (UK) Centre for Recording Achievement (CRA)(UK)

Strategy in developing cell based therapy for large bone

Regeneration of osseous defects by tissue-engineering approach provides a novel means of treatment utilizing cell biology, materials science, and molecular biology. The concept of in vitro cultured osteoblasts having an ability to induce new bone formation has been demonstrated in the critical size defects using small animal models. The bone derived cells can be incorporated into bioengineered scaffolds and synthesize bone matrix, which on implantation can induce new bone formation. In search of optimal cell delivery materials, the extracellular matrix as cell carriers for the repair and regeneration of tissues is receiving increased attention. We have investigated extracellular matrix formed by osteoblasts in vitro as a scaffold for osteoblasts transplantation and found a mineralized matrix, formed by human osteoblasts in vitro, can initiate bone formation by activating endogenous mesenchymal cells. To repair the large bone defects, osteogenic or stem cells need to be prefabricated in a large three dimensional scaffold usually made of synthetic biomaterials, which have inadequate interaction with cells and lead to in vivo foreign body reactions. The interstitial extracellular matrix has been applied to modify biomaterials surface and identified vitronectin, which binds the heparin domain and RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) sequence can modulate cell spreading, migration and matrix formation on biomaterials. We also synthesized a tri-block copolymer, methoxy-terminated poly(ethylene glycol)(MPEG)-polyL-lactide(PLLA)-polylysine(PLL) for human osteoblasts delivery. We identified osteogenic activity can be regulated by the molecular weight and composition of the triblock copolymers. Due to the sequential loss of lineage differentiation potential during the culture of bone marrow stromal cells that hinderers their potential clinical application, we have developed a clonal culture system and established several stem cell clones with fast growing and multi-differentiation properties. Using proteomics and subtractive immunization, several differential proteins have been identified and verified their potential application in stem cell characterization and tissue regeneration

Developing the Practice of Early Intervention into Youth Homelessness

The Australian government has found that early intervention services related to youth homelessness expanded through the Reconnect program have been found to be quite effective and successful. The main things that a good early intervention practice requires are highlighted.

Developing trust networks based on user tagging information for recommendation making

Recommender systems are one of the recent inventions to deal with ever growing information overload. Collaborative filtering seems to be the most popular technique in recommender systems. With sufficient background information of item ratings, its performance is promising enough. But research shows that it performs very poor in a cold start situation where previous rating data is sparse. As an alternative, trust can be used for neighbor formation to generate automated recommendation. User assigned explicit trust rating such as how much they trust each other is used for this purpose. However, reliable explicit trust data is not always available. In this paper we propose a new method of developing trust networks based on user’s interest similarity in the absence of explicit trust data. To identify the interest similarity, we have used user’s personalized tagging information. This trust network can be used to find the neighbors to make automated recommendations. Our experiment result shows that the proposed trust based method outperforms the traditional collaborative filtering approach which uses users rating data. Its performance improves even further when we utilize trust propagation techniques to broaden the range of neighborhood.

An example of developing a business model for information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption on construction projects – the National Museum of Australia project

Effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) is necessary for delivering efficiency and improved project delivery in the construction industry. Convincing clients or contracting organisations to embrace ICT is a difficult task, there are few templates of an ICT business model for the industry to use. ICT application in the construction industry is relatively low compared to automotive and aerospace industries. The National Museum of Australia project provides a unique opportunity for investigating and reporting on this deficiency in publicly available knowledge. Concentrates on the business model content and objectives, briefly indicates the evaluation framework that was used to evaluate ICT effectiveness.

Direct instruction in mathematics : issues for schools with high Indigenous enrolments : a literature review

Direct instruction, an approach that is becoming familiar to Queensland schools that have high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, has been gaining substantial political and popular support in the United States of America [USA], England and Australia. Recent examples include the No Child Left Behind policy in the USA, the British National Numeracy Strategy and in Australia, Effective Third Wave Intervention Strategies. Direct instruction, stems directly from the model created in the 1960s under a Project Follow Through grant. It has been defined as a comprehensive system of education involving all aspects of instruction. Now in its third decade of influencing curriculum, instruction and research, direct instruction is also into its third decade of controversy because of its focus on explicit and highly directed instruction for learning. Characteristics of direct instruction are critiqued and discussed to identify implications for teaching and learning for Indigenous students.

Fatalism and road safety in developing countries, with a focus on Pakistan

Road crashes are a significant problem in developing countries such as Pakistan. Attitudes are among the human factors which influence risky road use and receptiveness to interventions. Fatalism is a set of attitudes known to be important in Pakistan and other developing countries; however it is rarely addressed in the road safety literature. Two broad types of fatalism are “theological fatalism” and “empirical fatalism”, both of which are found in developed countries as well as in developing countries. Where research has been conducted into the issue, fatalism is considered to interfere with messages aimed at improving road safety. Pakistan has a serious road crash problem, and there is sufficient information to suggest that fatalism is an important contributing factor to the problem, but a better understanding of how fatalism operates in Pakistan is needed if effective prevention strategies are to be developed. A proposed study using an anthropological approach is described which will be exploratory in nature and which is aimed at investigating fatalism and related concepts among Pakistani road users and those who develop and implement road safety policy.

Developing a social justice framework to ensure good practice in higher education

As higher education institutions respond to government targets to widen participation, their student populations will become increasingly diverse, and the mechanisms in place to support student success and retention will be more closely scrutinised.

The leader in you : developing your leadership potential

Leadership research demonstrates that there are serious shortcomings in the quality and competence of leaders in our organizations. The recent global financial crisis has also reminded us that, if our society and economies are to move forward sustainability, we must have the right kind of leaders and the right kind of leadership throughout our organizations. "The Leader in You: Developing Your Leadership Potential" has been framed to be useful to all individuals who are currently in leadership roles, from chief executives to frontline managers, and for those who wish to step up to a leadership role. Organizations can also utilize this book to assist their leaders to increase their leadership potential or to complement leadership development programs. If you want to search for and develop leadership qualities in yourself, then this book is for you. If you want to set a higher standard in your organization and you think leadership is a serious matter in the lives of other people, then this book is for you. In the process of self-reflection, "The Leader in You: Developing Your Leadership Potential" will enable you to develop an individual leadership profile and an individual skills profile, culminating in the development of a plan for leadership improvement. This book aims to couple these outcomes with exposure to some practical skills that leaders need to lead in every day environments. The first four chapters allow the reader to develop an understanding of the concepts that underpin leadership performance, and to undertake exercises to develop a comprehensive understanding of their values, behaviors and personality. That is, to understand who they are and why they behave the way they do. An individual leadership profile is developed at the end of these chapters. Then, the remaining chapters look at issues that leaders will face in contemporary society, and at the skills required to address them in everyday environments. An individual skills profile is developed at the end of these chapters culminating in the development of a plan for leadership improvement.

Why a child needs a critical eye, and why the art classroom is central in developing it

It is a common acceptance that contemporary schoolchildren live in a world that is intensely visual and commercially motivated, where what is imagined and what is experienced intermingle. Because of this, contemporary education should encourage a child to make reference to, and connection with their ‘out-of-school’ life. The core critical underpinnings of curriculum based arts appreciation and theory hinge on educators and students taking a historical look at the ways artists have engaged with, and made comment upon, their contemporary societies. My article uses this premise to argue for the need to persist with pushing for critique of/through the visual, that it be delivered as an active process via the arts classroom rather than as visual literacy, here regarded as a more passive process for interpreting and understanding visual material. The article asserts that visual arts lessons are best placed to provide fully students with such critique because they help students to develop a ’critical eye’, an interpretive lens often used by artists to view, analyse and independently navigate and respond to contemporary society.