Changing practice in Malaysian primary schools: learning from student teachers’ reports of using action, reflection and modelling (ARM)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Education for Teaching on 15 March 2018, available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2018.1433468. Under embargo until 1 August 2019.Curricular and pedagogical reforms are complex inter-linked processes such that curricular reform can only be enacted through teachers teaching differently. This article reports the perspective of emergent Malaysian primary teachers who were expected to implement a Government reform that promoted active learning. The 120 student teachers were members of a single cohort completing a new B.Ed. degree programme in Primary Mathematics designed by teacher educators from Malaysia and the UK. They were taught to use a tripartite pedagogical framework involving action or active learning, supported in practice through reflection and modelling. Drawing on findings from surveys carried out with the student teachers at the end of their first and final placements this article examines evidence for the premise that the student teachers were teaching differently; illustrates how they reported using active learning strategies; and identifies factors that enabled and constrained pedagogic change in the primary classroom. The students’ accounts of using action, reflection and modelling are critiqued in order to learn about changing learning and teaching practice and to contribute to understanding teacher education and early teacher development. The students’ reports suggest diversity of understanding that emphasises the need to challenge assumptions when working internationally and within national and local cultures.Peer reviewe

Using action, reflection and modelling (ARM) in Malaysian primary schools: connecting 'the ARM theory' with student teachers' reported practice

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor and Francis in Teachers and Teaching, published online 29 July 2016. The version of record is available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13540602.2016.1211101This article presents Malaysian student teachers' reports of using an action, reflection and modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach during their placements in Malaysian primary schools. The ARM approach was designed to support the implementation of the Malaysian primary school mathematics curriculum, which involved changing classroom practice in learning and teaching. It was developed and used during a Malaysia-UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics for a cohort of 120 student teachers in Malaysia. The three principles integral to the ARM approach were repeatedly made explicit to the student practitioners who were engaged in learning and teaching on the new degree programme. Using findings from surveys carried out with the students at the end of their first and final placements, this article provides examples of the way some of them described ARM and recounted how they had used the approach in the classroom. Four of these narratives are used as 'vignettes' to illustrate the students' perceptions of using new ways of learning and teaching in primary schools and to inform and enable a discussion of the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Evaluation of the Primary Science Quality Mark programme 2013-15

This large-scale research project was designed to explore the overall impact of the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) Programme from 2013-15 and wider issues relating to primary science teaching, learning and subject leadership, and to evaluate the PSQM programme against its five aims. These aims are: raising the profile of science in primary schools; providing schools with a framework and professional support for developing science leadership, teaching and learning; celebrating excellence in primary science; using networks to provide local support for science for schools; and assembling a rich database of current practice in primary science and making it accessible to the wider science education community.Final Published versio

Using a teacher knowledge framework to connect teaching practice with theory

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/).The process Shulman described as ‘teacher-knowledge growth’ is complex, particularly for student teachers. This article presents an ‘Eraut-Shulman teacher knowledge framework’ that provides a structure and language to use to extend student teachers’ learning about knowledge. The article describes how the framework was created and draws on student teachers’ accounts of their teaching whilst on placement to demonstrate how it could be used to connect personal experiences of teaching with theoretical understandings of teacher knowledge. The students’ accounts were written whilst they were completing a new BEd degree programme in Malaysia. Seven accounts are presented, each with two ‘focus points’, to illustrate how a teacher educator could use the knowledge framework to engage the student teacher in dialogue that links their experience of teaching with theory. Issues explored in these examples include categories and types of knowledge; conceptions of knowledge; sources of knowledge; theories of knowledge and learning; and the nature of personal knowledge in teaching. Significantly, this article presents a practical approach that provides opportunities for teachers to relate their practice to theory; contributes to the conceptualisations of teacher knowledge; and extends our ability to unpack the nature, development and use of knowledge in teaching.Peer reviewe

Adrenaline and amiodarone dosages in resuscitation: Rectifying misinformation

Despite the recognition of specialists in emergency medicine and the professionalisation of prehospital emergency care, international guidelines and consensus are often ignored, and the lag between guideline publication and translation into clinical practice is protracted. South African literature should reflect the latest evidence to guide resuscitation and safe patient care. This article addresses erroneous details regarding life-saving interventions in the South African Medicines Formulary , 10th edition

A Personalised Needs-Led Group Approach to Induction: Perceptions of Early Academics in a University School of Education

Members of staff joining a school of education often have extensive experience in practice but not in academia and the university setting may present a complex diversity of roles, ways of working, values and goals. Colleagues may face issues of understanding the organisational structure and culture, changing identities, and concerns about their academic reading and writing abilities. This paper presents a study designed to examine the efficacy of a personalised needs-led self-study group approach to induction for experienced professionals joining a University School of Education. The approach was new to both current staff members and the four early academic staff, most of whom were teacher educators. In group sessions new colleagues had space for dialogue and story-telling based on their experiences, and created visual images for reflection and discussion with group members. Progressive group activities included presentations at local and international conferences, and academic writing. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine the efficacy of the self-study group as part of an induction process; exploring the developing professional identity of the new staff, the role of the group, and the effects of collecting visual research data for reflection and analysis of personal and group themes. New colleagues prepared a reflective account of their experiences of the group and their developing professional identity, took part in an evaluation workshop, and responded to questions on the longer term impact of the group. Outcomes of the group process included participants\u27 increased confidence to work in the context of complexity, and the ability to embrace their changing identities. A self-study group process can help facilitate the development of the professionals needed to work in the dynamic context of the university of today and is likely to have implications for a range of organisational settings

Learning together through international collaboration in teacher education in Malaysia. Report of a project to develop a Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Mathematics

Copyright University of Hertfordshire, School of Education 2011Learning together through international collaboration in teacher education in Malaysia is the report of an enterprising partnership between the University of Hertfordshire, UK, the Ministry of Education Malaysia and two Institutes of Teacher Education in Malaysia. Working collaboratively with colleagues in Malaysia, the University of Hertfordshire School of Education designed, validated, supported and quality assured a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme for initial teacher training for a single cohort of 120 students over four years. All the students graduated in 2010. Learning together through international collaboration in teacher education in Malaysia provides a record of the project itself. It also documents in-depth insights from contributors to the project in two main areas: the collaborative approach to working together and issues relating to learning and teaching, including the Action – Reflection – Modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach, which underpinned the degree programme. Senior managers, teacher educators and lecturers share some of their learning from working together to develop and implement the new degree programme. Student teachers voice some experiences from their school placements. They describe how they used ARM; highlight some of the benefits of the approach and identify some of the challenges associated with introducing a different pedagogy in schools as they were 'learning to teach'. There are glimpses of 'lively and attractive' classes in which 'pupils enjoy and feel comfortable to learn' and 'are eager to answer my questions'. School mentors provide additional insights into the student teachers' learning and teaching practice. The richness of the contributions is reflected in the many quotations included in the report. The successful completion of this project was due to the dedication and expertise of many contributors. The findings documented in this report are relevant for all those engaged in international collaboration and teacher education.Final Published versio

BarleyBase—an expression profiling database for plant genomics

BarleyBase (BB) (www.barleybase.org) is an online database for plant microarrays with integrated tools for data visualization and statistical analysis. BB houses raw and normalized expression data from the two publicly available Affymetrix genome arrays, Barley1 and Arabidopsis ATH1 with plans to include the new Affymetrix 61K wheat, maize, soybean and rice arrays, as they become available. BB contains a broad set of query and display options at all data levels, ranging from experiments to individual hybridizations to probe sets down to individual probes. Users can perform cross-experiment queries on probe sets based on observed expression profiles and/or based on known biological information. Probe set queries are integrated with visualization and analysis tools such as the R statistical toolbox, data filters and a large variety of plot types. Controlled vocabularies for gene and plant ontologies, as well as interconnecting links to physical or genetic map and other genomic data in PlantGDB, Gramene and GrainGenes, allow users to perform EST alignments and gene function prediction using Barley1 exemplar sequences, thus, enhancing cross-species comparison

Flor Revisited (Again): eQTL and Mutational Analysis of NB-LRR Mediated Immunity to Powdery Mildew in Barley

Genes encoding early signaling events in pathogen defense often are identified only by their phenotype. Such genes involved in barley-powdery mildew interactions include Mla, specifying race-specific resistance; Rar1 (Required for Mla12-specified resistance1), and Rom1 (Restoration of Mla-specified resistance1). The HSP90-SGT1-RAR1 complex appears to function as chaperone in MLA-specified resistance, however, much remains to be discovered regarding the precise signaling underlying plant immunity. Genetic analyses of fast-neutron mutants derived from CI 16151 (Mla6) uncovered a novel locus, designated Rar3 (Required for Mla6-specified resistance3). Rar3 segregates independent of Mla6 and Rar1, and rar3 mutants are susceptible to Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh) isolate 5874 (AVRa6), whereas, wild-type progenitor plants are resistant. Comparative expression analyses of the rar3 mutant vs. its wild-type progenitor were conducted via Barley1 GeneChip and GAIIx paired-end RNA-Seq. Whereas Rar1 affects transcription of relatively few genes; Rar3 appears to influence thousands, notably in genes controlling ATP binding, catalytic activity, transcription, and phosphorylation; possibly membrane bound or in the nucleus. eQTL analysis of a segregating doubled haploid population identified over two-thousand genes as being regulated by Mla (q value/FDR=0.00001), a subset of which are significant in Rar3 interactions. The intersection of datasets derived from mla-loss-of-function mutants, Mla-associated eQTL, and rar3-mediated transcriptome reprogramming are narrowing the focus on essential genes required for Mla-specified immunity

Position statement: Pre-hospital rapid sequence intubation

The Professional Board for Emergency Care at the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has approved pre-hospital rapid sequence intubation (RSI) as part of the scope of practice for registered emergency care practitioners (ECPs). RSI is an advanced airway management process that facilitates endotracheal intubation in adults and children. Features of this technique include pre-oxygenation, rapid pharmacological induction of unconsciousness, and neuromuscular blockade to enable the placement of an endotracheal tube. RSI has become widespread as the procedure of choice for definitive airway management by pre- and in-hospital emergency care personnel worldwide. In the emergency department setting, RSI is superior to intubation with deep sedation, a technique not incorporating pharmacological paralysis as part of the intubation sequence. For this reason, the implementation of RSI in the pre-hospital environment is supported, provided that it is practised within an appropriate framework of clinical governance