Teacher induction: personal intelligence and the mentoring relationship

This article is aimed at probationer teachers in Scotland, their induction supporters, and all those with a responsibility for their support and professional development. It argues that the induction process is not merely a mechanistic one, supported only by systems in schools, local authorities and the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS), but a more complex process where the relationship between the new teacher and the supporter is central to its success. In particular, the characteristics and skills of the induction supporter in relation to giving feedback are influential. This applies to feedback in all its forms – formative and summative, formal and informal. The ability of the probationer to handle that feedback and to be proactive in the process is also important

Working and Negotiating with Publishers: The Devil\u27s in the Details

Several people have expressed interest in meeting to talk about what’s involved in dealing with publishers, what kind of questions should one ask, and what aspects of a contract are especially important to pay attention to. Join Julie Hendon, Scholarly Communications Librarians Janelle Wertzberger and Chris Barnes, and special guests Dan DeNicola (Philosophy) and Radi Rangelova (Spanish/LACLS) for an informal discussion of these issues based on your concerns or questions. We also welcome questions related to journal publishing or being a contributor to an edited volume. We’re not lawyers or literary agents but we have experience with publishers, especially those involved in academic or scholarly publishing. Sponsored by the Johnson Center for Creative Teaching and Learning

First Women at Jefferson: Oral Histories

Poster promoting: The Thomas Jefferson University Archives and Special Collections has conducted oral history interviews with some of the first women to attend Jefferson. The interviews explore how each woman became interested in the sciences or medicine, their time at Jefferson, and where their careers took them after graduate school

The Dark Side of the Universe: Doppler Shift

This activity illustrates the Doppler effect in cosmology by use of rubber bands. Students will learn how light waves emitted from stars are red shifted if the stars are moving away from Earth (light waves are stretched, producing longer wavelengths), and blue shifted if the stars are moving towards Earth (light waves are squeezed in front of the star, producing shorter wavelengths). Educational levels: Intermediate elementary, Middle school

Evaluation of arts across the curriculum

This is the final report on the evaluation of the Arts Across the Curriculum (AAC) project, prepared bythe evaluation team in the Quality in Education Centre (QIE) at the University of Strathclyde, who were commissioned by the Scottish Government (formerly Scottish Executive) Education Department.Arts Across the Curriculum is a three-year pilot project sponsored by the former Scottish Executive'sFuture Learning and Teaching (FLaT) programme1, the Scottish Arts Council, and seven localauthorities in which the initiative is being piloted. In order to be eligible to participate in AAC, localauthorities had to have a Creative Links Officer in post. The seven Creative Links Officers were responsible for the management of the AAC project in their local authority

A Curriculum for Excellence: a review of approaches to recognising wider achievement

The is the report of work undertaken by the Quality in Education Centre of the University of Strathclyde on behalf of Learning and Teaching Scotland into Recognising WiderAchievements of young people both in and out of school.Desk research and empirical research were undertaken in January and February 2007. This short timescale inevitably limited the extent of the work undertaken. The views ofstakeholders were sought through interviews and questionnaires. Definitions of wider achievement have been emerging in the UK since four key areaswere identified by the DfES (DfES, 1984). These were recognised in 'National Records of Achievement' and included recognition of achievement (exams and other activities), motivation and personal development, curriculum organisation, and a document of recordthat is 'recognised and valued'. Further policy development in the 1990s and into this century raised further issues including the range of activities and variation in types oflearning, equity of access to opportunities, and challenges of assessment

Teaching Public Affairs – The Cinderella Subject of Journalism Courses

Public Affairs: Even the name of the serious part of Journalism courses is problematic. For years this absolutely essential, but often maligned, part of so many university Journalism courses, has been taught by ‘a guy from Politics’ and hated, or at best endured, by its students. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The plan was to revitalise a university’s ‘Public Affairs’ module. The aim was simple – to help students learn about politics by getting them interested in it. The result: confident, motivated students who went on to study more Politics at university – and a rise in the associated professional qualification (National Council for Training Journalists) Essential Public Affairs exam pass rate from 35% to 80%. This paper will explore the strategies undertaken by the teaching team with regard to the ways in which they engaged the students, and the delivery of the module as a whole. As it is a ‘must pass’ component for the professional qualification, the engagement levels were seen as key. Finding that important ‘hook’ for each of the components of the compulsory syllabus was phenomenally important. It was the success in doing so that resulted in the improved pass rates

Public involvement in health research: a case study of one NHS project over 5 years

Background: Public involvement, both in the National Health Service (NHS) and in clinical research, is promoted as an important democratic principle. The declared aims are to reduce professional autocracy and allow a broader ownership of the research agenda; also to improve the design of, and recruitment and retention of patients to, clinical studies. There have been a number of national initiatives in the UK to improve public input to clinical research activities, but very few reports of effective and sustainable partnerships over time. This study reports the evaluation of one example, which is embedded in the NHS and university partnerships in the Norfolk area of England. Objectives Evaluate: • Putting principles into practice of public involvement in research over a 5 year period for one specific project (Patient and Public Involvement in Research). • How the model contributes to, and impacts upon, all stages of the research process. • Attitudes of the research community and lay volunteers to their mutual experiences of public involvement. • Key factors and strengths of this project, and areas for improvement. Methods: A mixed methods approach related to the 5 years from start of 2003 to end of 2007. This used descriptive statistics of volunteer activity, interviews with key stakeholders (13), questionnaires (53% response rate), and focus group with 10 volunteers to explore emergent themes. We analysed findings using a policy framework approach. Results: About 47 of the original 55 volunteers remained on the panel after 5 years. All have undertaken training, 38% have been involved in the full range of research activities offered, and 75% have attended at least one research project meeting. Some are active in governance, ethics, and advisory committees. Both the research community and the volunteers are very positive about the project. The researchers find it provides well prepared personnel, and gives a speedy and efficient way of fulfilling the expectations of funders for lay input. The volunteers find it gives them important opportunities to influence the quality of research and thus support improvements in patient care. Areas for improvement include increasing social diversity among the volunteers, and improving feedback on input from volunteers, without which volunteers tend to lose confidence and motivation. Conclusion: Long-term sustainable and valuable public input to research is possible. Key factors are committing resources, embedding the service in the infrastructure of a research consortium, and ongoing responsiveness by NHS staff and researchers. Additional activity to recruit and support access may be needed to attract people from a broad range of sociodemographic backgrounds. Some volunteers want more involvement than this model currently offers