Strategies and Techniques for Teaching Children with Learning Disabilities: A Case Study of the Spring Reading Program

This case study explored strategies and techniques in order to assist individuals with learning disabilities in their academic achievement. Of particular focus was how a literacy-based program, titled The Spring Reading Program, utilizes effective tactics and approaches that result in academic growth. The Spring Reading Program, offered by the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region (LDANR) and partnered with John McNamara from Brock University, supports children with reading disabilities academically. In addition, the program helps children increase their confidence and motivation towards literacy. I began this study by outlining the importance of reading followed by and exploration of what educators and researchers have demonstrated regarding effective literacy instruction for children with learning disabilities. I studied effective strategies and techniques in the Spring Reading Program by conducting a qualitative case study of the program. This case study subsequently presents in depth, 4 specific strategies: Hands-on activities, motivation, engagement, and one-on-one instruction. Each strategy demonstrates its effectiveness through literature and examples from the Spring Reading Program.

Cardmobili: innovation technology in everyday life

The developments of the internet, the proliferation of the use of Web 2.0 tools, and of the technology in general, are leveraging new ways of people to communicate, collaborate, and interact. This new world and new markets, in a daily change, are enabling the emergence of new innovative enterprises and services, taking advantage of the new technologies and of the global network. Cardmobili is a Portuguese start-up company working in the area of mobile services. This company provides a mobile service to manage rewards and membership cards, enabling users to store them in the cloud, while using mobile applications to present them in store, collecting and using the rewards, sharing cards and information with other users and friends in social networks. Cardmobili is linked to merchants’ loyalty management systems, enabling users to access exclusive offers, delivered to their mobile application and web account. The company provides complete services to make any loyalty or membership program mobile: branding, new customer registration, integration of customer account balance, mobile vouchers, coupons and offers, and mobile communication.

La educación de la creatividad : técnicas creativas y cambio de actitud en el profesorado.

Procurar un cambio de actitud hacia la creatividad de una manera que afecte a toda una forma de enseñanza e implique al profesorado con sus alumnos para posibilitarles ser creativos. 265 profesores que provienen del CAP (curso para obtener el Certificado de Aptitud Pedagógica) y están en sus primeros años de docencia. La submuestra pretest cuenta con 148 profesores. Elabora el marco teórico sobre la creatividad, creatividad y educación, actitud y cambio de actitud. Confronta distintos medios para educar la creatividad y comprueba los resultados en los sujetos. Centra la creatividad en el área del profesorado. Hipótesis: un cambio de actitud creativa será más amplio cuanto mejor se integre la acción sobre los tres componentes de la actitud (cognitiva, conativa y emocional). Cuestionario de creatividad SP 296: 'Su estilo de aprender y de pensar', de Torrance. 'Cuestionario de actitudes creativas del profesorado', reelaborado a partir del 'Teacher Questionnaire. Spring 1979, Program of Teaching Effectiveness, Stanford-Oakland Project on Teaching Practice'. Pruebas ad-hoc. Metodología psicosocial. Diseño cuasiexperimental. Diseño prestest posttest. Histogramas. Fiabilidad y validez. Se acepta la hipótesis. El grupo 3 es el que obtiene mayores puntuaciones actitudinales. Las técnicas creativas permiten resultados diferenciadores, dignos de tenerse en cuenta en la educación de la creatividad y equilibran el tipo de enseñanza centrada en lecciones magistrales de acumulación de información. Las técnicas creativas grupales facilitan el desarrollo del cambio al incidir sobre los 3 componentes de la actitud (cognitiva, conitiva y emocional).

A reflexive course for Masters students to understand and plan their own continuing professional development

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is seen as a vital part of a professional engineer’s career, by professional engineering institutions as well as individual engineers. Factors such as ever-changing workforce requirements and rapid technological change have resulted in engineers no longer being able to rely just on the skills they learnt at university or can pick up on the job; they must undergo a structured professional development with clear objectives to develop further professional knowledge, values and skills. This paper presents a course developed for students undertaking a Master of Engineering or Master of Project Management at the University of Queensland. This course was specifically designed to help students plan their continuing professional development, while developing professional skills such as communication, ethical reasoning, critical judgement and the need for sustainable development. The course utilised a work integrated learning pedagogy applied within a formal learning environment, and followed the competency based chartered membership program of Engineers Australia, the peak professional body of engineers in Australia. The course was developed and analysed using an action learning approach. The main research question was “Can extra teaching and learning activities be developed that will simulate workplace learning?” The students continually assessed and reflected upon their current competencies, skills and abilities, and planed for the future attainment of specific competencies which they identified as important to their future careers. Various evaluation methods, including surveys before and after the course, were used to evaluate the action learning intervention. It was found that the assessment developed for the course was one of the most important factors, not only in driving student learning, as is widely accepted, but also in changing the students’ understandings and acceptance of the need for continuous professional development. The students also felt that the knowledge, values and skills they developed would be beneficial for their future careers, as they were developed within the context of their own professional development, rather than to just get through the course. © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

Independent Living Program, Spring 2006

The Iowa Department for the Blind partnered with The Lodge of Ashworth retirement community in West Des Moines to bring information to visually impaired residents, friends and family. The Lodge furnished refreshments, and the Department furnished the programming.

Independent Living Program, Spring 2005

Rehabilitation Teachers -- Who are they and what do they do? Blindness Techniques to assist, in everyday activities and upcoming events all in this issue.