Changes in children’s cognitive development at the Start of School in England 2001–2008.

Since 1997, England has seen massive changes in the Early Years including the introduction of an early childhood curriculum, free pre-school education for three-year-olds and local programmes for disadvantaged communities. Many of these initiatives took time to introduce and become established. Beginning in 2001, and each year thereafter until 2008, the authors collected consistent data from thousands of children when they started school at the age of four on a range of variables, chosen because they are good predictors of later success. These included vocabulary, early reading and early mathematics. Children from the same set of 472 state primary schools in England were assessed each year. This paper contributes to the existing studies of educational trends over time by examining the extent to which children's scores on these measures changed over that period; in general, they were found to have remained stable

The invisible plan: how English teachers develop their expertise and the special place of adapting the skills of lesson planning

This paper analyses how English teachers learn to become expert designers of learning and why sharing that expertise is increasingly vital. Its conceptual framework is the widely recognised, empirically tested, five-stage developmental Dreyfus model of skill acquisition, exemplifying the development of teacher expertise, constituted by the “milestone” [m] and “transitory” [t] phases connecting with the five stages of: Novice [m], Advanced Beginner [t], Competent [m], Proficient [t] and Expert [m]. Teacher planning is analysed as one key tacit or non-tangible component of developing expertise. Focusing specifically on English teachers as key participants in this pioneer teacher cognition study, the defining characteristics of milestone stages of expertise development are explored with specific attention to the remarkably under-researched area of planning. We introduce three new categories, defining modes of planning: (i) visible practical planning, (ii) external reflective planning and (iii) internal reflective planning, demonstrating their role in teacher development through the Dreyfus five stages. English is a subject which suffers from frequent disruptive changes to curriculum and assessment: new learning designs are constantly demanded, making planning an ongoing challenge. The implications for practice include the importance of an explicit understanding of how teachers’ planning moves through the three phases from the very “visible” novice phase to the internal relatively “automatic” competent teacher and finally the seemingly “invisible” expert phase. Further research is needed to explore how English teachers can share planning expertise between the three phases to improve teachers’ skills and student learning

Editorial: Non-themed issue: 2010

The decision to have regular non-themed issues of English Teaching: Practice and Critique was made by way of Board consultation some time ago. As a Board, we believe that the policy of having a panel of guest editors taking control of a “themed” issue has worked well. In many cases, guess editors have worked together for the first time in a common enterprise. In all cases, having panels of guest editors has expanded the reach of the journal, increasing its subscriber base and the number of distinct educational constituencies who view the journal as a desirable target for contributions. It has facilited the journal’s aim of providing “a place where authors from a range of backgrounds can identify matters of common concern and thereby foster professional communities and networks”

The role of itinerant teachers of reading : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education at Massey University

The position of Itinerant Teacher of Reading was established following a successful pilot scheme in 1974. The Department of Education indicated that the function of the itinerant teachers was to help alleviate the problem of children who experience severe difficulties in learning to read. Departmental instructions to Education Boards were couched in general terms to allow the Boards some latitude in defining and establishing the role. This study researches the role of Itinerant Teachers of Reading. The major objectives of the study were to describe the underlying purposes of the itinerant service and to clarify the role of Itinerant Teachers of Reading. The literature discussing children at risk in reading reveals a similarity of opinions on the alleviation of the problem. New Zealand authorities on reading agree that there is a minority group of children who require intensive regular and individualised instruction to improve their reading ability. Also apparent is the tendency for the varied methods of instruction to be focussed closely upon text reading rather than isolated skills acquisition. To ascertain the ways in which itinerant teachers were dealing with children at risk information was gathered via a questionnaire from all Itinerant Teachers of Reading in New Zealand. From their responses emerged three clearly discernible role patterns which ranged from an advisory type role to that of a travelling reading clinician. More detailed information was obtained by interviewing six of the fifteen itinerant teachers and observing four of the teachers at their work. To gain a balanced viewpoint of the itinerant service a second questionnaire solicited opinions and data from a representative adviser and an inspector from each of the ten Education Boards. In general their opinions of the true function of itinerant teachers supported their Board's itinerant teacher(s). Some variation between the methods of teaching advocated by this group and those used by the itinerant teachers was apparent. An examination of Departmental documents followed by a lengthy correspondence with personnel involved in the pilot scheme produced a description of the initial purposes of the itinerant service. The first itinerant teachers were required to establish a pool of resource teachers in schools by training selected teachers in appropriate teaching skills. Although the study is a descriptive one, the opinions expressed by the questionnaire respondents were discussed and presented as recommendations for possible future action. The recommendations encompassed the spheres of communications, service support, role clarification and standardisation, and accountability. The study concludes with a brief note on possible future evaluation

A model for best practice HTA

The aims of this paper are: to review and describe different approaches to HTA used in Australia and in other countries and to identify the features of best practice in HTA, particularly those likely to be most relevant to HTA at a local (ie state/regional) level. There are a number of well-developed models of HTA at the national and local levels. Most information about the operation of these models, particularly about the type and number of evaluations conducted, the recommendations/decisions made and the reasons for these is available for national processes, but there is much less readily available documentation about local level HTA. Most HTA processes that operate nationally and internationally can be categorised in one of three ways: guidance (provides structured information about appropriate technologies), mandatory (provides mandatory information about technologies to be implemented) and funding and implementation (provides structured evidence-based advice about which technologies should be implemented, the level of funding required to implement them and the source of these funds). The main factors which distinguish a high quality HTA process are that i) it is efficient in terms of setting priorities, the scope of the technologies to be assessed, avoidance of duplication and overall cost of the process, ii) the overall impact on utilisation and health budget is calculated as part of the HTA and iii) procedural justice occurs and is seen to occur; iv) it includes a comprehensive assessment of the impact on issues such as workforce, credentialing of providers and the ethical dimension of the technology; v) it influences decision making by being communicated appropriately and using trusted methods; vi) it influences adoption and diffusion of technology by ensuring that there is no diffusion prior to HTA, the results are incorporated into guidelines or recommendations, funding is linked to the decision, and remuneration arrangements and other characteristics of the HS facilitate the appropriate adoption and diffusion and vii) it influences health outcomes/efficiency/equity by ensuring that the methods and/or results are available and able to be used at a local level. Firm recommendations for an ideal system for HTA at the local level are not possible as much of the necessary information and evidence is not available about the strengths and weaknesses of HTA practices and processes currently in use. However, it is likely that the operation of a successful model of HTA at a local level would require the development of a central organizational unit, a process for implementing the results of HTA and, crucially, the building of capacity to support both types of activities. Additional expertise and skills will be required for both providers of HTA evaluations and for the commissioners and users of HTA.health technology assessment, Australia, review

Evaluation and Management of Sleep Disorders in the Hand Surgery Patient.

Despite posing a significant public health threat, sleep disorders remain poorly understood and often underdiagnosed and mismanaged. Although sleep disorders are seemingly unrelated, hand surgeons should be mindful of these because numerous conditions of the upper extremity have known associations with sleep disturbances that can adversely affect patient function and satisfaction. In addition, patients with sleep disorders are at significantly higher risk for severe, even life-threatening medical comorbidities, further amplifying the role of hand surgeons in the recognition of this condition

Formative interventions and practice-development: A methodological perspective on teacher rounds

Highlights • We examine Rounds in education from a methodological perspective. • In doing so, we class Rounds as a formative intervention and compare it to another means of formative intervention—Developmental Work Research. • We raise three methodological issues about both types of formative intervention: the role of theory; the relationship between the individual and the collective; and the meaning of collaboration