Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Noticing and Wondering: An Equity-Inducing yet Accessible Teaching Practice

Noticing and Wondering is a promising practice with an emerging research base in mathematics education for helping move teachers to a more contemporary paradigm of learning where culturally and linguistically diverse students have more equitable opportunities for academic success. This paper documents and extends this emerging research of Noticing and Wondering to fill a gap in the literature by (1) conceptualizing six reasons for the value of Noticing and Wondering and (2) discussing its potential to support English learners, such as by providing teachers easy access to students’ cultural assets. We document application of Noticing and Wondering beyond mathematics and conclude with a call for empirical research and practice in this direction

The Scenario of a Learning Society Model toward Promoting a Positive Paradigm Shif for Communities

This study uses a prospective qualitative approach. The Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research (EDFR) technique is used to propose a learning society model. The data include a review of the peer-reviewed literature, a field study visit and observation of five best practices communities in Thailand, in-depth interviews to gain experts’ perspectives, mini-Delphi techniques questionnaires, focus group discussions, and model evaluation. Qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed using content-analysis. Forty-two individuals (e.g., policy makers, practitioners from public and private agencies, educational personnel, and community leaders) were involved in the data collection effort. Results revealed essential elements for development of a learning society including components, principles, developmental processes, strategies, and key success factors to enhance a positive paradigm shift for communities. It is anticipated that the findings will (1) add meaningful information and practical guidelines for developing a learning society, (2) contribute to ensuring the quality of citizen participation and ensure balanced and sustainable development of communities and societies, as well as (3) serve as a basis for further research

How can I encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of ICT in Teacher Professional Development programmes in Rwanda?

This is an action research enquiry into how I can improve my practice to encourage multi-stakeholder narrative and reflection on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Teacher Professional Development (TPD) programmes in Rwanda. I examine the complexity of the ICT-TPD landscape in the Africa Region. I describe two action research cycles in which I attempt to encourage reflection on ICT in professional development in Rwanda. In each cycle I explore the potential of an Activity Theory lens for probing the issues and examining the perspectives of the stakeholder community of teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and researchers affiliated to national ICT in TPD programmes and initiatives. I integrate a “Most Significant Change” narrative technique to engage participants in telling stories of significant change in their practice with technology integration. Through the rigour of the action research living theory approach I come to a number of conclusions about my own values and how I actually live my values in practice as I engage with partners in discourse and reflection for mutual learning on the issues of ICT integration in Teacher Professional Development

Canadian Child Welfare: System Design Dimensions and Possibilities for Innovation

Ontario child welfare is entering territory where other countries have gone before. A decade earlier, jurisdictions in England, the United States and Australia implemented similar reforms and, not coincidentally, encountered comparable difficulties, creating high levels of dissatisfaction among service users and service providers. Our contention is that such frustrations are inherent consequences of the underpinnings of the “Anglo-American child protection paradigm”. To do better, it is helpful to look for ideas outside of what is familiar and to consider how useful approaches from other jurisdictions might be adapted to a Canadian context. There are two primary focuses for this paper: (1) to extrapolate lessons for reform from the experiences of families and service providers in Ontario’s Children’s Aid Societies; and, (2) to identify opportunities for positive innovations in Canadian child welfare systems drawing upon selected international jurisdictions

Institutional thickening and innovation: reflections on the remapping of the Great Bear Rainforest

The information, practices and views in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). © 2016 Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) As a response to forest conflict, contemporary remapping refers to re-evaluations of resource values, new and diverse forms of governance among stakeholders, and compromises within patterns of land use that give greater emphasis to environmental and cultural priorities. This paper elaborates the processes of remapping by examining the role of institutional innovation in conflict resolution, with particular reference to the iconic Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia. After years of conflict and protest, peace in the Great Bear Rainforest was heralded by an interim agreement in 2006, with final ratification likely in 2016. Conceptually, a four-legged stakeholder model identifies the main institutional interests and their interactions through learning and bargaining. New forms of governance were created to bring the stakeholders together in constructive dialogue and then to reach and implement acceptable bargains. Analytically, the paper examines how this agreement has worked in practice by reflecting on the emergence of novel institutions that integrate the interests of key stakeholders. The discussion identifies six bilateral negotiations between: industrial and environmental interests; federal and provincial governments and aboriginal peoples; government and environmental interests; government and industry; industry and aboriginal peoples; and environmental groups and local communities. The remapping process has produced a thickening architecture of institutions that remain experimental even as they seek to promote sustainability, resilience and legitimacy

DRAFT Report:Community Systems Strengthening Toward a Research Agenda

Communities have a long history of acting to preserve and promote the health of their members. Public health researchers, programmers, and funders are increasingly recognizing that community involvement is essential to improving health, especially among populations that are disproportionately affected by HIV. The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, together with civil society organizations and other development partners, created the Community Systems Strengthening (CSS) Framework to help Global Fund applicants frame, define, and quantify efforts to strengthen community contributions engagement (Global Fund 2011). Although the use of a CSS approach in health programming implementation shows promise, it lacks a theoretical framework to guide collaborations with communities. Additionally, it suffers from a paucity of program designs and evaluation practices, an incomplete evidence-based rationale for investing in CSS, and imprecise definitions (e.g., what is meant by “community” and “CSS”).The purpose of this paper is to highlight promising areas for future research related to CSS. Toward this objective, we propose to lay a foundation for a CSS research agenda by using theories and approaches relevant to CSS, reinforced with evidence from projects that employ similar approaches

Aligning vision and action of a landcare ethos through systematic intervention : the case of the Farmer Support Group.

Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.The present context of community based natural resource management is characterized by multiple stakeholder involvement, a situation that presents challenges in aligning vision for common action. A 'systemic intervention' involved the staff and stakeholders of the Farmer Support Group, a non-profit rural development organization based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The 'creative design of methods' guided inquiry in aligning vision of a Landcare ethos amongst the organization and their stakeholders, and in directing action toward the vision. Critical Systems Thinking is outlined as the framework in which the intervention methodology is encompassed. The importance of applying a broad range of environmental education methods to Landcare is established through drawing from present debates and contexts in environmental education and community based natural resource management. The 'organization as community' approach to organizational learning and development is highlighted as a means of creating synergy of purpose across staff and stakeholder boundaries. The intervention's methodology consisted of three phases: drawing out perspectives, forming a common vision in a mission statement, and developing action plans based on the mission statement. Outcomes included: identification of three schools of thought that drove perspectives on the role of environmental education in natural resource management strategies, formation of the FSG Landcare Ethos Mission Statement, which was inclusive of all stakeholder perspectives, and integration of the mission statement into FSG projects through action plans. The intervention found that aligning staff members and stakeholders in common vision and action towards developing a Landcare ethos could be accomplished through a blend of environmental education approaches that facilitate sustainable decision making by building capacity in individuals and communities in a participatory and locally relevant manner that is attentive to predominant perspectives and adaptive to change

The shape of things to come: visions for the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research

This paper presents the results of a project that considered how research might best contribute to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing in the year 2030. Executive summary In late 2012, the Lowitja Institute embarked on a project using ‘futures thinking’ to consider how research might best contribute to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing in the year 2030. The project was motivated by a desire to ‘get ahead of the game’: to anticipate and prepare for the potential research demands of the future. In particular, there was a desire to ‘close the gap’ between the point at which important research needs are identified by policy makers or service providers, and when research findings can be delivered. To think about the research needs of the future, it was necessary to first imagine what life might be like in 2030. What might Australia be like then, and the world? And what might the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people be? Workshops were held around the country to consider issues and trends visible in the current landscape, and how these might play out to influence life in 2030. A range of possible scenarios emerged, clustering around two divergent futures: an inclusive, vibrant Australia in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are valued and embraced as central to the Australian identity; or an Australia in which economic and/or spiritual poverty drive a rejection of diversity and increase the divide between rich and poor. Participants then grappled with the question: If this (or that) scenario occurs, then what will be needed from research? By thinking about the range of possible scenarios for life in 2030, what capabilities are required to deliver the research that will be needed to address emerging issues and create a healthy future? The inspirational and empowering answer—perhaps not surprisingly—was not simply a list of research topics. Instead, participants articulated a strong and widely shared desire for a profoundly different system of research. A vision emerged of a research system in which research and practice are closely interwoven and which would enable greater integration of health services, policy and research. Such a system would be responsive to changing research demands, but also to changing social, economic, technological and knowledge landscapes. Specific research capabilities were also identified. An urgent necessity to actively address the social determinants of health was articulated in every workshop, along with a growing sense that the health and health research sectors may need to play a facilitating role, inviting other sectors—such as education, justice, local government—to collaborate and maximise the impact of their collective efforts to bring about change. A need for more evidence and evaluation around early childhood development programs (social as well as physical development) was seen as a priority for the immediate future. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and health research sectors have played a pioneering role in the reform of research in Australia. The strength of vision articulated by participants in this project, and the desire to see that vision become a reality, suggests the sector will succeed in its drive toward a vision of a more effective research system