Education and self-regulation of learning for gifted pupils: Systemic design and development.

Gifted pupils differ from their age-mates with respect to development potential, actual competencies, self-regulatory capabilities, and learning styles in one or more domains of competence. The question is how to design and develop education that fits and further supports such characteristics and competencies of gifted pupils. Analysis of various types of educational interventions for gifted pupils reflects positive cognitive or intellectual effects and differentiated social comparison or group-related effects on these pupils. Systemic preventive combination of such interventions could make these more effective and sustainable. The systemic design is characterised by three conditional dimensions: differentiation of learning materials and procedures, integration by and use of ICT support, and strategies to improve development and learning. The relationships to diagnostic, instructional, managerial, and systemic learning aspects are expressed in guidelines to develop or transform education. The guidelines imply the facilitation of learning arrangements that provide flexible self-regulation for gifted pupils. A three-year pilot in Dutch nursery and primary school is conducted to develop and implement the design in collaboration with teachers. The results constitute prototypes of structured competence domains and supportive software. These support the screening of entry characteristics of all four-year old pupils and assignment of adequate play and learning processes and activities throughout the school career. Gifted and other pupils are supported to work at their actual achievement or competency levels since their start in nursery school, in self-regulated learning arrangements either in or out of class. Each pupil can choose other pupils to collaborate with in small groups, at self-chosen tasks or activities, while being coached by the teacher. Formative evaluation of the school development process shows that the systemic prevention guidelines seem to improve learning and social progress of gifted pupils, including their self-regulation. Further development and implementation steps are discussed.

Handmade Education : Interactive Food for Children`s Learning

Back to the early age of human history, Human thought of food as any substance that provides nutrition for the body. Man needed to hunt animals for food. Nowadays, Food is consumed not just to stop hunger of the body, but it also feeds the souls. Food has already been used for many other objectives apart from eating such as for artistic creations and creative marketing campaigns. Likewise, this research will also show a new perspective of food – Food as an educational material for children.

Neuroscience and education: prime time to build the bridge

As neuroscience gains social traction and entices media attention, the notion that education has much to benefit from brain research becomes increasingly popular. However, it has been argued that the fundamental bridge toward education is cognitive psychology, not neuroscience. We discuss four specific cases in which neuroscience synergizes with other disciplines to serve education, ranging from very general physiological aspects of human learning such as nutrition, exercise and sleep, to brain architectures that shape the way we acquire language and reading, and neuroscience tools that increasingly allow the early detection of cognitive deficits, especially in preverbal infants. Neuroscience methods, tools and theoretical frameworks have broadened our understanding of the mind in a way that is highly relevant to educational practice. Although the bridge’s cement is still fresh, we argue why it is prime time to march over it.

Parents’ Preparedness for Their Infants’ Discharge Following First-stage Cardiac Surgery: Development of a Parental Early Warning Tool

Aim The aim of this study was to explore parental preparedness for discharge and their experiences of going home with their infant after the first-stage surgery for a functionally univentricular heart. Background Technological advances worldwide have improved outcomes for infants with a functionally univentricular heart over the last 3 decades; however, concern remains regarding mortality in the period between the first and second stages of surgery. The implementation of home monitoring programmes for this group of infants has improved this initial inter-stage survival; however, little is known about parents’ experiences of going home, their preparedness for discharge, and parents’ recognition of deterioration in their fragile infant. Method This study was conducted in 2011–2013; eight sets of parents were consulted in the research planning stage in September, 2011, and 22 parents with children aged 0–2 years responded to an online survey during November, 2012–March, 2013. Description of categorical data and deductive thematic analysis of the open-ended questions were undertaken. Results Not all parents were taught signs of deterioration or given written information specific to their baby. The following three themes emerged from the qualitative data: mixed emotions about going home, knowledge and preparedness, and support systems. Conclusions Parents are not adequately prepared for discharge and are not well equipped to recognise deterioration in their child. There is a role for greater parental education through development of an early warning tool to address the gap in parents’ understanding of signs of deterioration, enabling appropriate contact and earlier management by clinicians.

Examining the Longitudinal Stability of a Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health in Early Elementary School Students

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

The Effects of a Group-Based Approach to Parent-Mediated Early Behavioral Intervention for Very Young Children with or At-Risk for Autism

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Early Years Teachers and young children’s rights: the need for critical dialogue

The absence of knowledge about children’s rights is frequently associated with ineffective implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC); this directly impacts on children’s lives and the ways they are viewed by adults (Freeman 1998; Pugh 2015). Recent research (Jerome et al. 2015) has highlighted the lack of focus on children’s rights in the initial training of teachers and other education practitioners. In this paper I analyse the status of children’s rights in the standards for Early Years Teachers (EYTs) introduced in 2013 in England. Informed by the findings from research in sites of early years practice, I suggest possibilities for a critical dialogue that repositions the UNCRC as a visible and explicit framework of reference for EYTs’ work with young children.

Like a fish in water? Experiences of Muslim families in the British education system

This article summarises the explorations of two Initial Teacher Education (ITE) lecturers looking particularly at Muslim families’ sense of belonging as they encounter the British education system. The study draws on Garcia’s (2009, Alstad, 2013) view of monoglossic and heteroglossic settings, and on Cremin’s (2015) proposition of the super-diversity of inner-city experiences. Case studies of individual families are used to create a picture that reflects the complexity and shifting nature of cultures, languages and identities in present-day Britain. Video and tape interviews are used and data coded and analysed to identify prevailing themes. The families and schools taking part are active participants in the research process, giving informed and ongoing consent, and having control of the resulting findings. Parents’ and children’s perceptions and experience have evolved in complex ways across the generations, and in ways that challenge the stereotypes that dominate media portrayals. Early findings suggest that existing paradigms for discussing identity fail to capture the increasingly complex and super-diverse realities. In a world where xenophobia currently fuels rigid and stereotypical views of cultures in general and Muslim cultures in particular, it is important that the complexity of families’ identities and relationships to the existing systems is seen, heard and appreciated.

Gender Differences in Early Reading Strategies: a Comparison of Synthetic Phonics Only with a Mixed Approach to Teaching Reading to 4-5 Year-Old Children

A survey of primary schools in England found that girls outperform boys in English across all phases (Ofsted in Moving English forward. Ofsted, Manchester, 2012). The gender gap remains an on-going issue in England, especially for reading attainment. This paper presents evidence of gender differences in learning to read that emerged during the development of a reading scheme for 4- and 5-year-old children in which 372 children from Reception classes in sixteen schools participated in 12-month trials. There were three arms per trial: Intervention non-PD (non-phonically decodable text with mixed methods teaching); Intervention PD (phonically decodable text with mixed methods teaching); and a ‘business as usual’ control condition SP (synthetic phonics and decodable text). Assignment to Intervention condition was randomised. Standardised measures of word reading and comprehension were used. The research provides statistically significant evidence suggesting that boys learn more easily using a mix of whole-word and synthetic phonics approaches. In addition, the evidence indicates that boys learn to read more easily using the natural-style language of ‘real’ books including vocabulary which goes beyond their assumed decoding ability. At post-test, boys using the nonphonically decodable text with mixed methods (Intervention A) were 8 months ahead in reading comprehension compared to boys using a wholly synthetic phonics approach.

Early stage memory loss interventions: utilization, impact, and the experience of living alone.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Positioning Australia’s contemporary health and physical education curriculum to address poor physical activity participation rates by adolescent girls

THE USE OF THE EARLY WARNING INDICATOR REPORT TO IMPACT NINTH GRADE PROMOTION RATES IN A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how four high schools used an Early Warning Indicator Report (EWIR) to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Ninth grade on-time promotion is an early predictor of a student’s likelihood to graduate (Bornsheuer, Polonyi, Andrews, Fore, & Onwuegbuzie, 2011; Leckrone & Griffith, 2006; Roderick, Kelley-Kemple, Johnson, & Beechum, 2014; Zvoch, 2006). The analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the ways that the four schools used the EWIR. The research took place in a large urban school district in the Mid-Atlantic. Sixteen participants from four high schools and the district’s central office voluntarily participated in face-to-face interviews. The researcher utilized a qualitative case study method to examine the implementation of the EWIR system in Wyatt School District. The interview data was transcribed and analyzed, along with district documents, to identify categories in this cross case analysis. Three primary themes emerged from the data: (1) targeted school structures for EWIR implementation, (2) the EWIR identified necessary supports for students, and (3) the central office support for school staff. The findings revealed the various ways that the target schools implemented the EWIR in their buildings and the level of support that they received from the central office that aided them in using the EWIR to improve ninth grade promotion rates. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher provided a number of key recommendations: (1) Districts should provide professional development to schools to ensure that schools have the support they need to implement the EWIR successfully; (2) There should be increased accountability from the central office for schools using the EWIR to identify impactful interventions for ninth graders; and (3) The district needs to assign dedicated central office staff to support the implementation of the EWIR in high schools across the district. As schools continue to face the challenge of improving ninth grade promotion rates, effective use of an Early Warning Indicator Report is recommended to provide school and district staff with data needed to impact overall student performance.

The Effects of the Project Approach on Children in Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms

Research on the impact of the Project Approach on young children with disabilities or children who are at-risk is limited. Mixed methods were used to study the impact of the Project Approach on the social interactions, challenging behaviors, and language development of eight focal children in two inclusive classrooms. Child participants were two children with IEPs and two children identified as at-risk from each class. Adult participants were six professionals who received high quality supports to implement the Project Approach. Adults were interviewed prior to the beginning of the study and again mid-, and post-implementation. Choice time observations were videotaped twice per week over 14 weeks to assess the impact of the Project Approach on play levels and MLUm. Results revealed that social interactions, challenging behaviors, vocabulary, MLUm, were positively impacted following implementation of the Project Approach. Limitations of the study and suggestions for research and practice are discussed.

A longitudinal interpretive phenomenological investigation into latent entrepreneurial learning processes: Key implications for entrepreneurial education.

The effectiveness and value of entrepreneurship education is much debated within academic literature. The individual’s experience is advocated as being key to shaping entrepreneurial education and design through a multiplicity of theoretical concepts. Latent, pre-nascent and nascent entrepreneurship (doing) studies within the accepted literature provide an exceptional richness in diversity of thought however, there is a paucity of research into latent entrepreneurship education. In addition, Tolman’s early work shows the existence of cases whereby a novel problem is solved without trial and error, and sees such previous learning situations and circumstances as “examples of latent learning and reasoning”, (Deutsch, 1956, pg115). Latent learning has historically been the cause of much academic debate however, Coon’s (2004, pg260) work refers to “latent (hidden) learning … (as being) … without obvious reinforcement and remains hidden until reinforcement is provided” and thus, forms the working definition for the purpose of this study.