Special Education Teachers’ Narratives on Literacy Support for Bilingual Students with Dyslexia in Swedish Compulsory Schools

The aim of the study is to investigate how special education teachers talk about their teaching in relation to bilingual students with dyslexia within Swedish compulsory schools. Data consist of transcripts from in-depth interviews with 15 special education teachers. According to the teacher narratives, the special education services appeared to be biased against bilingual students, as the support provided to bilingual students with dyslexia was revealed to be more or less the same as that provided to monolingual Swedish-speaking students with dyslexia. This bias is discussed in relation to the notion of difference blindness as well as in relation to practical constraints. Nevertheless, the teachers strongly advocated collaborative work with mother tongue teachers in order to facilitate dyslexia identification in bilingual students and to gain a more comprehensive picture of their language and literacy competencies, which is a desire that contrasts and contests a pedagogical monolingual master model within special education services.

Ultrasound Mapping of Nerve Stimulator Response during Sciatic Nerve Blockade and Relation to Postoperative Pain Scores

1.1 Background and Purpose: Ultrasound guided sciatic nerve blockade has rapid onset but at 24 hours pain is greater than nerve stimulator techniques. Injection of the nerve branches or trunk and sub-sheath blockade increase success and reduce onset times but risk injury. This study mapped needle coordinates for sciatic nerve blockade with nerve stimulation and its relation to postoperative pain scores. 1.2 Method: Angle and distance of the needle tip and infusion catheter from the popliteal sciatic nerve at which stimulated plantar flexion occurred were measured. Pain scores at postanesthesia unit discharge and 24 hours were recorded. 1.3 Results: 81% of opioid naïve patients reported immediate analgesia and 20.8% at 24 hours. In opioid tolerant patients 56.8% reported immediate analgesia and 9.1% at 24 hours. Plantar flexion was observed with the needle in the posterior medial quadrant near the sciatic nerve. Opioid tolerant patients reported adequate analgesia when the needle was located more medially and proximally to the sciatic nerve. 1.4 Conclusion: Stimulated plantar flexion is isolated to a narrow angular range in the posterior medial quadrant adjacent to the sciatic nerve. Opioid tolerant patients report adequate analgesia if the needle and catheter are more medial and proximal to the nerve surface.

Post-Operative Pain Scores and Level of Regional Anesthesia Expertise: Using Clinical Outcomes to Assess Procedural Proficiency

Background and Objectives: Peripheral nerve blockade requires regional anesthesia skills that trainees learn in several formats. Technical proficiency has shifted from a quota to comprehensive procedural evaluation. Successful nerve blockade is the clinical endpoint validating proficiency but patient, technical and procedural factors influence this result. The purpose of this study was to determine if procedural expertise for sciatic nerve blockade influenced postoperative pain scores and opioid requirements and if patient factors, technique and repetition influenced this outcome. Method: Sciatic nerve blockade by nerve stimulation and ultrasound guidance and training level of the resident performing the procedure were recorded. Patient obesity, trauma, chronic pain, opioid use and preoperative pain scores were compared to post-procedure pain scores and opioid analgesic requirements. Results: 102 patients received sciatic nerve blockade from 47 trainees over a 36 month interval. A significant relation between training level and improved pain scores was not demonstrated but transition from nerve stimulation to ultrasound guidance lowered scores in all groups. Nerve blockade failure was frequent with chronic opioid use and trauma. Conclusion: Analgesic outcomes should be an integral part of assessment of proficiency in regional anesthesia techniques. Evaluating outcomes of procedures throughout training will longitudinally assess technical expertise.

Literacy Content and Core Practices: Teacher Educator Pedagogy as the Bridge Between Knowing and Doing

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-04

social me: social media literacy for middle school classrooms

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Developing students' critical literacy: Exploring identity construction in young adult fiction

The authors use a critical literacy stance to engage students in a discussion of young adult literature from Australia and America. They offer a framework teachers can use to initiate discussions based on critical literacy in their own classrooms.

A sociocultural analysis of language learning: New forms of literacy practices in a language and culture awareness programme

This paper reports on a sociocultural study conducted in a Catholic primary school in the Australian outback and provides insights into how policy related to Languages Other Than English (LOTE) programmes is implemented in a specific location and interwoven within the literacy practices of children, parents and teachers. A case study that tracked a Year Four student's learning and development during a Language and Culture Awareness Programme is discussed within a discourse of cultural and linguistic practices. Significant aspects of the student's learning related to a phenomenon called multi-tiered scaffolding temporarily disrupted the established literacy practices in the school community. Implications of the research for second-language teaching and learning in Australian primary schools are elaborated.

Going global with assessment: what to do when the dominant culture's literacy drives assessment

This article explores how the dominant cultural literacy in a western context relies on a western template of knowledge that can inhibit internationalisation of the curricula unless it is identified, transformed, and broadened to become interculturally responsive. As Brian Street has said "literacies may be sites of negotiation and transform ation" (1994, p. 99). Drawing on the findings of an innovative website, Worldmarks , developed at Queensland University of Technology, as well as qualitative interviews with international students and staff, this article addresses the serious implications of assessment driven by the dominant culture's literacy. We identify how and why assessment driven by responsive cultural literacy enables all students to develop comprehensive intercultural communication skills and understandings as part of their lifelong learning in Australian universities.