The heart of quality teaching : a values-based pedagogy for pre-service teacher education

In an ever changing world the adults of the future will be faced with many challenges. To cope with these challenges it seems apparent that values education will need to become paramount within a child.s education. A considerable number of research studies have indicated that values education is a critical component within education (Lovat & Toomey, 2007b). Building on this research Lovat (2006) claimed that values education was the missing link in quality teaching The concept of quality teaching had risen to the fore within educational research literature in the late 20th century with the claim that it is the teacher who makes the difference in schooling (Hattie, 2004). Thus, if teachers make such a difference to student learning, achievement and well-being, then it must hold true that pre-service teacher education programmes are vital in ensuring the development of quality teachers for our schools. The gap that this current research programme addressed was to link the fields of values education, quality teaching and pre-service teacher education. This research programme aimed to determine the impact of a values-based pedagogy on the development of quality teaching dimensions within pre-service teacher education. The values-based pedagogy that was investigated in this research programme was Philosophy in the Classroom. The research programme adopted a nested case study design based on the constructivist-interpretative paradigm in examining a unit within a pre-service teacher education programme at a Queensland university. The methodology utilised was qualitative where the main source of data was via interviews. In total, 43 pre-service teachers participated in three studies in order to determine if their involvement in a unit where the focus was on introducing pre-service teachers to an explicit values-based pedagogy impacted on their knowledge, skills and confidence in terms of quality teaching dimensions. The research programme was divided into three separate studies in order to address the two research questions: 1. In what ways do pre-service teachers perceive they are being prepared to become quality teachers? 2. Is there a connection between an explicit values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education and the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching? Study One provided insight into 21 pre-service teachers. understandings of quality teaching. These 21 participants had not engaged in an explicit values-based pedagogy. Study Two involved the interviewing of 22 pre-service teachers at two separate points in time . prior to exposure to a unit that employed a values-explicit pedagogy and post this subject.s lecture content delivery. Study Three reported on and analysed individual case studies of five pre-service teachers who had participated in Study Two Time 1 and Time 2, as well as a third time following their field experience where they had practice in teaching the values explicit pedagogy. The results of the research demonstrate that an explicit values-based pedagogy introduced into a teacher education programme has a positive impact on the development of pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching skills and knowledge. The teaching and practice of a values-based pedagogy positively impacted on pre-service teachers with increases of knowledge, skills and confidence demonstrated on the quality teaching dimensions of intellectual quality, a supportive classroom environment, recognition of difference, connectedness and values. These findings were reinforced through the comparison of pre-service teachers who had participated in the explicit values-based pedagogical approach, with a sample of pre-service teachers who had not engaged in this same values-based pedagogical approach. A solid values-based pedagogy and practice can and does enhance pre-service teachers. understanding of quality teaching. These findings surrounding the use of a values-based pedagogy in pre-service teacher education to enhance quality teaching knowledge and skills has contributed theoretically to the field of educational research, as well having practical implications for teacher education institutions and teacher educators.

Introduction. Locating men in the work-life nexus

In the last two decades there has been a plethora of research on a range of subjects collectively and rhetorically known as ‘work-life balance’. The bulk of this research, which spans disciplines including feminist sociology, industrial relations and management, has focused on the significant concerns of employed women and/or dual career couples. Less attention has been devoted to scholarship which explicitly examines men and masculinities in this context. Meanwhile, public and organizational discourse is largely espoused in gender neutral terms, often neglecting salient gendered issues which differentially impact the ability of women and men to successfully integrate their work and non-work lives. This edited book brings together empirical studies of the work-life nexus with a specific focus on men’s working time arrangements, how men navigate and traverse paid work and family commitments, and the impact of public and organizational policies on men’s participation in work, leisure, and other life domains. The book is innovative in that it presents both macro (institutional, how policy affects practice) and micro (individual, from men’s own perspectives) level studies, allowing for a rich and contrasting exploration of how men’s participation in paid work and other domains is divided, conflicted, or integrated. The essays in this volume address issues of fundamental social, labor market, and economic change which have occurred over the last 20 years and which have profoundly affected the way work, care, leisure and community have evolved in different contexts. Taking an international focus, Men, Wage Work and Family contrasts various public and organizational policies and how these policies impact men’s opportunities and participation in paid work and non-work domains in industrialised countries in Europe, North America, and Australia.

Organisational knowledge integration: towards a conceptual framework

This study analyses organisational knowledge integration processes from a multi-level and systemic perspective, with particular reference to the case of Fujitsu. A conceptual framework for knowledge integration is suggested focusing on team-building capability, capturing and utilising individual tacit knowledge, and communication networks for integrating dispersed specialist knowledge required in the development of new products and services. The research highlights that knowledge integration occurring in the innovation process is a result of knowledge exposure, its distribution and embodiment and finally its transfer, which leads to innovation capability and competitive advantage in firm.

Reconstructing the event stratigraphy from the complex structural - stratigraphic architecture of an Archaean volcanic – intrusive – sedimentary succession : the Boorara Domain, Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Western Australia

Two main deformational phases are recognised in the Archaean Boorara Domain of the Kalgoorlie Terrane, Eastern Goldfields Superterrane, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, primarily involving southover- north thrust faulting that repeated and thickened the stratigraphy, followed by east northeast – west-southwest shortening that resulted in macroscale folding of the greenstone lithologies. The domain preserves mid-greenschist facies metamorphic grade, with an increase to lower amphibolite metamorphic grade towards the north of the region. As a result of the deformation and metamorphism, individual stratigraphic horizons are difficult to trace continuously throughout the entire domain. Volcanological and sedimentological textures and structures, primary lithological contacts, petrography and geochemistry have been used to correlate lithofacies between faultbounded structural blocks. The correlated stratigraphic sequence for the Boorara Domain comprises quartzo-feldspathic turbidite packages, overlain by high-Mg tholeiitic basalt (lower basalt), coherent and clastic dacite facies, intrusive and extrusive komatiite units, an overlying komatiitic basalt unit (upper basalt), and at the stratigraphic top of the sequence, volcaniclastic quartz-rich turbidites. Reconstruction of the stratigraphy and consideration of emplacement dynamics has allowed reconstruction of the emplacement history and setting of the preserved sequence. This involves a felsic, mafic and ultramafic magmatic system emplaced as high-level intrusions, with localised emergent volcanic centres, into a submarine basin in which active sedimentation was occurring.

Building community resilience – learning from the 2011 floods in Southeast Queensland, Australia

The year 2010 was the wettest year on record for Queensland, Australia and the wettest year since 1974 for Southeast Queensland. The extremely heavy rain in early January 2011 fell on the catchments of heavily saturated Brisbane and Stanley Rivers systems resulting in significant runoff which rapidly produced a widespread and devastating flood event. The area of inundation was equivalent to the total land area of France and Germany combined. Over 200,000 people were affected leaving 35 people dead and 9 missing. The damage bill was estimated at over $1B and cost to the economy at over $10B with over 30,000 homes and 6,000 business flooded and 86 towns and regional centres affected. The need to disburse disaster funding in a prompt manner to the affected population was paramount to facilitate individuals getting their lives back to some normality. However, the payout of insurance claims has proved to be a major area of community anger. The ongoing impasse in payment of insurance compensation is attributed to the nature and number of claims, confusing definition of flooding and the lack or accuracy of information needed to determine individually the properties affected and legitimacy of claims. Information was not readily available at the micro-level including, extent and type of inundation, flood heights at property level and cause of damage. Events during the aftermath highlighted widespread community misconceptions concerning the technical factors associated with the flood event and the impact of such on access to legitimate compensation and assistance. Individual and community wide concerns and frustration, anger and depression, have arisen resulting from delays in the timely settlement of insurance claims. Lessons learnt during the aftermath are presented in the context of their importance as a basis for inculcating communities impacted by the flood event with resilience for the future.

Teachers as advocates for widening participation

In England and Australia, higher education institutions (HEIs) are expected to widen participation (WP) in higher education (HE) to enhance social justice and improve individual and national economic returns. Furthermore, HEIs are the major providers of initial and in-service teacher education. This article surveys international literature to explore ways in which teacher education programmes could and do contribute to preparing teachers to advocate for WP, including drawing on learning from WP research that demonstrates the value of current HE students engaging young people in schools and colleges to support them in seriously considering progressing to HE. We conclude that teachers and pre-service teachers are well placed to be advocates for WP. In the majority of higher education institutions, however, WP and teacher education functions are not working collaboratively to embed advocacy for WP into teacher education programmes.

Mineralogy of chondritic interplanetary dust particles

From a mineralogical survey of approximately 30 chondritic micrometeorites collected from the lower stratosphere and studied in detail using current electron microscopy techniques, it is concluded that these particles represent a unique group of extraterrestrial materials. These micrometeorites differ significantly in form and texture from components of carbonaceous chondrites and contain some mineral assemblages which do not occur in any meteorite class. Electron microscope investigations of chondritic micrometeorites have established that these materials (1) are extraterrestrial in origin, (2) existed in space as small objects, (3) endured minimal alteration by planetary processes since formation, and (4) can suffer minimal pulse heating (<600°C) on entering earth's atmosphere. The probable sources for chondritic interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are cometary and asteroidal debris and, perhaps to a lesser extent, interstellar regions. These sources have not been conclusively linked to any specific mineralogical subset of IDP, although the chondritic porous (CP) aggregate is considered of likely cometary origin. Chondritic IDPs occur in two predominant mineral assemblages: (1) carbonaceous phases and phyllosilicates and (2) carbonaceous phases and nesosilicates or inosilicates, although particles with both types of silicate assemblages are observed. Olivines, pyroxenes, layer silicates, and carbon-rich phases are the most commonly occurring minerals in many chondritic IDPs. Other phases often observed in variable proportions include sulphides, spinels, metals, metal carbides, carbonates, and minor amounts of sulphates and phosphates. Individual mineral grain sizes range from micrometers (primarily pyroxenes and olivines) to nanometers, with the predominant size for all phases less than 100 nm. Specific mineral characteristics for particular chondritic IDPs provide an indication of processes which may have occurred prior to collection in the earth's stratosphere. For example, pyroxene mineralogy in some chondritic aggregates is consistent with condensation from a vapor phase and, we consider, with condensation in a turbulent solar nebula at relatively low temperatures (<1000°C). Carbonaceous phases present in other CP aggregates have been used to imply low-temperature formation processes such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (∼530°C) or carbonization and graphitization (∼315°C). Alteration processes have been implicated in the formation of some layer silicates in CP aggregates and may have involved hydrocryogenic alteration at <0°C. In general, interpretations of transformation processes on submicrometer-size minerals in chondritic IDPs are consistent with formation at a radius equivalent to the asteroid belt or greater during the later stages of solar nebula evolution using currently available models.

Studios for the masses : can student colaboration replace the master-apprentice relationship in design instruction?

This action research project investigated the use of a collaborative learning approach for addressing issues associated with teaching urban design to large, diverse cohorts. As a case study, I observed two semesters of an urban design unit that I revised between 2011 and 2012 to incorporate collaborative learning activities. Data include instructional materials, participant observations, peer-reviews of collaborative learning activities, feedback from students and instructors and student projects. Themes that emerged through qualitative analysis include the challenge of removing inequalities inherent in the diverse cohort, the challenge of unifying project guidance and marking criteria, and the challenge of providing project guidance for a very large cohort. Most notably, the study revealed a need to clarify learning objectives relating to design principles in order to fully transition to and benefit from a collaborative learning model.

Exploring the conditions to support assessment for more equitable learning outcomes

NAPLAN RESULTS HAVE gained socio-political prominence and have been used as indicators of educational outcomes for all students, including Indigenous students. Despite the promise of open and in-depth access to NAPLAN data as a vehicle for intervention, we argue that the use of NAPLAN data as a basis for teachers and schools to reduce variance in learning outcomes is insufficient. NAPLAN tests are designed to show statistical variance at the level of the school and the individual, yet do not factor in the sociocultural and cognitive conditions Indigenous students’ experience when taking the tests. We contend that further understanding of these influences may help teachers understand how to develop their classroom practices to secure better numeracy and literacy outcomes for all students. Empirical research findings demonstrate how teachers can develop their classroom practices from an understanding of the extraneous cognitive load imposed by test taking. We have analysed Indigenous students’ experience of solving mathematical test problems to discover evidence of extraneous cognitive load. We have also explored conditions that are more supportive of learning derived from a classroom intervention which provides an alternative way to both assess and build learning for Indigenous students. We conclude that conditions to support assessment for more equitable learning outcomes require a reduction in cognitive load for Indigenous students while maintaining a high level of expectation and participation in problem solving.

Beyond “Beyondness”

When the term “anti-aesthetic” emerged thirty years ago, it was presumed to stand in stark opposition to the “aesthetic.” Today the situation is less clear. While the seminars aim to move beyond this dichotomy, many of the participants doubt whether the anti-aesthetic still holds as an absolute distinction. Over the course of the conversations, other oppositions arise—such as art theory and criticism versus philosophical aesthetics, art history versus visual culture—but it is the debate over Modernism that most complicates moving beyond, to the next aesthetic paradigm.

Fresh ideas : services thinking for social marketing

Purpose The social marketing literature tends to focus on upstream marketing (policy) and downstream (individual behaviour change) and has a limited view on midstream (working with partners and community groups) social marketing. The paper proposes midstream social marketing should also include an understanding of how services and service employees influence and support individual behaviour change goals. The paper presents four key services marketing principles - derived from services theory and thinking - which the paper believes to be essential for implementing effective midstream social marketing. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that uses service theory and case-examples to show how service thinking can be used as a midstream social marketing approach. Findings For effective uptake and impact of social marketing services amongst people and populations, social marketers need to design programs that consider the service experience, the service employee, service quality/customer value and the active role of the customer in value creation. Research limitations/implications Services marketing is a well-established sub-discipline of marketing which, until recently, has not interacted with social marketing. The extension and application of services theory for social marketing can enrich and propel the social marketing discipline forward. Further research is recommended to evaluate how service principles can be applied in practice. Social implications Given that social marketing services tend not to be accessed in sufficient numbers by the people who most need them, social marketers need to think beyond the technical, cognitive, and organisational-focused goals when designing social services. Originality/value This paper identifies key service theories that social marketers should understand and use and is thus a source of fresh ideas for theory and practice.

Short term variability in urinary bisphenol A in Australian children

Used frequently in food contact materials, bisphenol A (BPA) has been studied extensively in recent years, and ubiquitous exposure in the general population has been demonstrated worldwide. Characterising within- and between-individual variability of BPA concentrations is important for characterising exposure in biomonitoring studies, and this has been investigated previously in adults, but not in children. The aim of this study was to characterise the short-term variability of BPA in spot urine samples in young children. Children aged ≥2-<4 years (n = 25) were recruited from an existing cohort in Queensland Australia, and donated four spot urine samples each over a two day period. Samples were analysed for total BPA using isotope dilution online solid phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and concentrations ranged from 0.53–74.5 ng/ml, with geometric mean and standard deviation of 2.70 ng/ml and 2.94 ng/ml, respectively. Sex and time of sample collection were not significant predictors of BPA concentration. The between-individual variability was approximately equal to the within-individual variability (ICC = 0.51), and this ICC is somewhat higher than previously reported literature values. This may be the result of physiological or behavioural differences between children and adults or of the relatively short exposure window assessed. Using a bootstrapping methodology, a single sample resulted in correct tertile classification approximately 70% of the time. This study suggests that single spot samples obtained from young children provide a reliable characterization of absolute and relative exposure over the short time window studied, but this may not hold true over longer timeframes.

Context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory

"The focus of this chapter is on context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory and their implications for practice in diverse cultural and contextual settings. For over two decades, the potential of systems theory to offer a context-resonant approach to career development has been acknowledged. Career development theory and practice, however, have been dominated for most of their history by more narrowly defined theories informed by a trait-and-factor tradition of matching the characteristics of individuals to occupations. In contrast, systems theory challenges this parts-in-isolation approach and offers a response that can accommodate the complexity of both the lives of individuals and the world of the 21st century by taking a more holistic approach that considers individuals in context. These differences in theory and practice may be attributed to the underlying philosophies that inform them. For example, the philosophy informing the trait-and-factor theoretical position, logical positivism, places value on: studying individuals in isolation from their environments; content over process; facts over feelings; objectivity over subjectivity; and views individual behavior as observable, measurable, and linear. In practice, this theory base manifests in expert-driven practices founded on the assessment of personal traits such as interests, personality, values, or beliefs which may be matched to particular occupations. The philosophy informing more recent theoretical positions, constructivism, places value on: studying individuals in their contexts; making meaning of experience through the use of subjective narrative accounts; and a belief in the capacity of individuals known as agency. In practice, this theory base manifests in practices founded on collaborative relationships with clients, narrative approaches, and a reduced emphasis on expert-driven linear processes. Thus, the tenets of constructivism which inform the systems perspectives in career theory are context-resonant. Systems theory stresses holism where the interconnectedness of all elements of a system is considered. Systems may be open or closed. Closed systems have no relationship with their external environment whereas open systems interact with their external environment and are open to external influence which is necessary for regeneration. Congruent with general systems theory, the systems perspectives emerging within career theory are based on open systems. Such systems are complex and dynamic and comprise many elements and subsystems which recursively interact with each other as well as with influences from the surrounding environment. As elements of a system should not be considered in isolation, a systems approach is holistic. Patterns of behavior are found in the relationships between the elements of dynamic systems. Because of the multiplicity of relationships within and between elements of subsystems, the possibility of linear causal explanations is reduced. Story is the mechanism through which the relationships and patterns within systems are recounted by individuals. Thus the career guidance practices emanating from theories informed by systems perspectives are inherently narrative in orientation. Narrative career counseling encourages career development to be understood from the subjective perspective of clients. The application of systemic thinking in practice takes greater account of context. In so doing, practices informed by systems theory may facilitate relevance to a diverse client group in diverse settings. In a world that has become increasingly global and diverse it seems that context-resonant systems perspectives in career theory are essential to ensure the future of career development. Translating context-resonant systems perspectives into practice offers important possibilities for methods and approaches that are respectful of diversity."--publisher website

What’s Mime got to do with it?

What has Mime got to do with Corporate Communication? As a professional Mime artist on both stage and screen for more than 25 years, the author has been adapting and applying the techniques of Mime to the corporate communication context over a number of years, coaching corporate CEO’s, Executives and Managers, representing both public and private sector corporations and organisations. This unusual inter-contextual skill transfer is the subject of both a book and series of VODCasts by the author (currently in the final stages of completion), which form part of the author’s Doctoral Research and from which this paper is substantially drawn. The author’s professional background is multi-disciplinary – encompassing theatre, television, media, music, tertiary education and corporate training contexts. It is also inter-disciplinary – concerned with the commonality of different artistic mediums and forms and how, where and why these professional disciplines: intersect; interact, and inform each other – and therefore how they support each other - rather than losing creative/professional opportunities because of areas where they might conflict. This paper examines in particular the physicality of presentation and communication – beyond ‘generic’ body-language analysis. It involves the analysis, manipulation and stylisation of human physicality to support and enhance individual inter-professional communication, and how mime performance skills specifically, inform that process. This paper discusses:- • how mime skills clarify and enhance inter-professional communication. • what adaptations need to be applied in that context • getting a ‘performance’ from ‘non-performers’

Minimum cost of transport in human running is not ubiquitous

Purpose This study explores recent claims that humans exhibit a minimum cost of transport (CoTmin) for running which occurs at an intermediate speed, and assesses individual physiological, gait and training characteristics. Methods Twelve healthy participants with varying levels of fitness and running experience ran on a treadmill at six self-selected speeds in a discontinuous protocol over three sessions. Running speed (km[middle dot]hr-1), V[spacing dot above]O2 (mL[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]km-1), CoT (kcal[middle dot]km-1), heart rate (beats[middle dot]min-1) and cadence (steps[middle dot]min-1) were continuously measured. V[spacing dot above]O2 max was measured on a fourth testing session. The occurrence of a CoTmin was investigated and its presence or absence examined with respect to fitness, gait and training characteristics. Results Five participants showed a clear CoTmin at an intermediate speed and a statistically significant (p < 0.05) quadratic CoT-speed function, while the other participants did not show such evidence. Participants were then categorized and compared with respect to the strength of evidence for a CoTmin (ClearCoTmin and NoCoTmin). The ClearCoTmin group displayed significantly higher correlation between speed and cadence; more endurance training and exercise sessions per week; than the NoCoTmin group; and a marginally non-significant but higher aerobic capacity. Some runners still showed a CoTmin at an intermediate speed even after subtraction of resting energy expenditure. Conclusion The findings confirm the existence of an optimal speed for human running, in some but not all participants. Those exhibiting a COTmin undertook a higher volume of running, ran with a cadence that was more consistently modulated with speed, and tended to be aerobically fitter. The ability to minimise the energetic cost of transport appears not to be ubiquitous feature of human running but may emerge in some individuals with extensive running experience.