Teacher education and quality teaching in a globalizing world: a socially critical cautionary tale

I wish to start by acknowledging the organisers of the International Conference on Teacher Learning and Development ...and also former colleague Dr Sabry Ahmad. The sheer fact that I am here speaking to you in this forum is tied very closely to the theme of the conference and also the ideas I wish to share with you in this presentation, that is, Teacher education and quality teaching in a globalizing world: a socially critical cautionary tale. You see the ideas I wish to share on “quality teaching” and “teacher education” in an inter-connected world grew considerably for me in 2010, and a few years either side, when I was involved in a “twinning project” between my then university - the University of Otago in New Zealand and IGPM Batu Lintang in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. This “twinning” project resulted in multiple trips from NZ to Malaysia by myself and NZ colleagues. On one of those occasions some NZ teacher education students came too. Then there were hosting visits in NZ by Batu Lintang academic staff and of course the Batu Lintang students themselves who did two years of their teacher education degree at home in Malaysia and two years with us in NZ

Pacific tertiary students in New Zealand’s South: towards a more nuanced framework for understanding

The experiences of students from Pacific backgrounds at the University of Otago, marked in part by problems of achievement and retention, are similar to those faced by Pacific students elsewhere in New Zealand’s tertiary sector and also in the education sector generally. However, there are some differences in both the study and wider social context of Otago and its location in the south of New Zealand’s South Island, and, according to results from a small student experience study, a difference in the cohort of students itself that may call for a different means of addressing student needs. This article examines the context of tertiary study for Pacific students in New Zealand’s south and some of the popular culturalist frameworks put forward for understanding and addressing Pacific student need in the education sector generally. The southern study context as well as student self-reported study experiences demonstrate the need for a set of frameworks that are more sensitive to the diversity of Pacific students’ experiences at Otago. The metaphor of the beach from Pacific history, with its emphasis on crossing and meeting difference, is tentatively put forward as a means for better understanding and facilitating Pacific students’ pathways in New Zealand’s south

Negotiating conflicting discourses of quality teaching in Fiji: initial teacher education and practicum at the University of the South Pacific

This article identifies a number of conflicting discourses informing education in Fiji and their impact on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students. The socially constructivist progressivism of the Ministry of Education and the ITE provider is being eroded by a set of socially conservative discourses symptomatic of neoliberal education reforms elsewhere. It is the Practicum where the conflict is most acutely evidenced. To highlight the conflict 90 ITE students, as ethno-graphic fieldworkers, have used an accepted quality teaching checklist to record the teaching they witnessed while on practicum. The resulting misalignments between discourses of quality teaching identified in this article and highlighted by ITE students contributes to debates about what constitutes effective teaching in Fiji. Additionally, despite the multi-discursive reality of Fijian education the article suggests ITE based on a learning-centred rather than learner-centred approach where teachers make critical choices for teaching based on links between pedagogy, context and consequence

Reaching the Unreached Primary Teachers: Distance Teacher Education at the University of the South Pacific

This paper reports on the recent completion of an educational aid project carried out at the regional University of the South Pacific in Fiji. From 2004 to 2006, the university’s on-campus Bachelor of Education (primary) was restructured for delivery in flexible and distance learning mode, in order to better meet student need across the Pacific region. The paper highlights the processes as well as some of the challenges involved in such a large undertaking. The paper also highlights the unique distance/teacher education context in which the University of the South Pacific operates

Reaching the Unreached Primary Teachers: Distance Teacher Education at the University of the South Pacific

This paper reports on the recent completion of an educational aid project carried out at the regional University of the South Pacific in Fiji. From 2004 to 2006, the university’s on-campus Bachelor of Education (primary) was restructured for delivery in flexible and distance learning mode, in order to better meet student need across the Pacific region. The paper highlights the processes as well as some of the challenges involved in such a large undertaking. The paper also highlights the unique distance/teacher education context in which the University of the South Pacific operates

Senior Recital: Rodger Burnett, Horn; Julian Dawson, Piano; Maggie Mooha, Piano; Greg Kunde, Tenor; May 2, 1976

Centennial East Recital HallSunday EveningMay 2, 19768:30 p.m

Determining Socio-Economic Impacts of New Gaming Venues in Four Lower Mainland Communities: Socio-Economic Issues and Impacts: First Impact Measures Report

Permission granted by the British Columbia Intellectual Property Program to reproduce this publication.The purpose of the study is to learn what, if any, economic and social costs and benefits emerge over time from the creation and operation of these four new venues. Its intent is to inform planning processes by the provincial government and other stakeholders. The study is being done in three waves: Baseline (2004) First Impact Measures (2005) Final Report with Second Impact Measures (2006) This document constitutes the first impact report. It compares present (2005) data with baseline social and economic data gathered prior to and during the opening of three of the four gaming venues (2004). The impact analysis in this report is limited because it is based on data collected shortly after the Casino opening dates. These delays were not anticipated at the start of the project, however the final report due in 2007 will have sufficient data to support impact analysis. The report is divided into two sections, Social Impacts and Economic Impacts.Ye

Chemical screening by time-resolved X-ray scattering to discover allosteric probes

Drug discovery relies on efficient identification of small-molecule leads and their interactions with macromolecular targets. However, understanding how chemotypes impact mechanistically important conformational states often remains secondary among high-throughput discovery methods. Here, we present a conformational discovery pipeline integrating time-resolved, high-throughput small-angle X-ray scattering (TR-HT-SAXS) and classic fragment screening applied to allosteric states of the mitochondrial import oxidoreductase apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). By monitoring oxidized and X-ray-reduced AIF states, TR-HT-SAXS leverages structure and kinetics to generate a multidimensional screening dataset that identifies fragment chemotypes allosterically stimulating AIF dimerization. Fragment-induced dimerization rates, quantified with time-resolved SAXS similarity analysis (kVR), capture structure-activity relationships (SAR) across the top-ranked 4-aminoquinoline chemotype. Crystallized AIF-aminoquinoline complexes validate TR-SAXS-guided SAR, supporting this conformational chemotype for optimization. AIF-aminoquinoline structures and mutational analysis reveal active site F482 as an underappreciated allosteric stabilizer of AIF dimerization. This conformational discovery pipeline illustrates TR-HT-SAXS as an effective technology for targeting chemical leads to important macromolecular states

Association of Ambient Air Pollution with Respiratory Hospitalization in a Government-Designated “Area of Concern”: The Case of Windsor, Ontario

This study is part of a larger research program to examine the relationship between ambient air quality and health in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. We assessed the association between air pollution and daily respiratory hospitalization for different age and sex groups from 1995 to 2000. The pollutants included were nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulate matter ≤10 μm in diameter (PM(10)), coefficient of haze (COH), and total reduced sulfur (TRS). We calculated relative risk (RR) estimates using both time-series and case-crossover methods after controlling for appropriate confounders (temperature, humidity, and change in barometric pressure). The results of both analyses were consistent. We found associations between NO(2), SO(2), CO, COH, or PM(10) and daily hospital admission of respiratory diseases especially among females. For females 0–14 years of age, there was 1-day delayed effect of NO(2) (RR = 1.19, case-crossover method), a current-day SO(2) (RR = 1.11, time series), and current-day and 1- and 2-day delayed effects for CO by case crossover (RR = 1.15, 1.19, 1.22, respectively). Time-series analysis showed that 1-day delayed effect of PM(10) on respiratory admissions of adult males (15–64 years of age), with an RR of 1.18. COH had significant effects on female respiratory hospitalization, especially for 2-day delayed effects on adult females, with RRs of 1.15 and 1.29 using time-series and case-crossover analysis, respectively. There were no significant associations between O(3) and TRS with respiratory admissions. These findings provide policy makers with current risks estimates of respiratory hospitalization as a result of poor ambient air quality in a government designated “area of concern.