Studying changes in the practice of two teachers developing assessment for learning

This paper describes changes in the practice of two teachers, observed over an eighteen month period, who were participating in a study intended to support teachers in developing their use of assessment in support of learning. The design of the intervention allowed each teacher to choose for themselves which aspects of their practice to develop. Analysis of lesson observations, journal entries and interviews indicate that both teachers were keen to change their practice, but were concerned about the disruption to their established routines, and in particular about the potential for loss of control of their classes. Both teachers did effect significant changes in their classrooms, but these tended to be developments of existing preferred ways of working, rather than radical innovations. In conclusion, it is suggested that to be most effective, teacher professional development needs to be structured strongly enough to afford teacher growth, but flexible enough to allow different teachers to take their practice in different ways

Professional development and sustainable development goals

Professional development is defined as a consciously designed systematic process that helps professionals to attain, utilize, and retain knowledge, skills, and expertise. It is simply a process of obtaining skills, qualifications, and experience that help in advancement in one’s career. In the field of education, it is defined as the process of improving staff skills and competencies needed to produce outstanding performance of students. It also refers to a process of improving an organization’s staff capabilities through access to education and training opportunities for better output. Professional development can include a variety of approaches such as formal and informal education, vocational, specialized, or skill-based training, or advanced professional learning

Probability Theory in Statistical Physics, Percolation, and Other Random Topics: The Work of C. Newman

In the introduction to this volume, we discuss some of the highlights of the research career of Chuck Newman. This introduction is divided into two main sections, the first covering Chuck's work in statistical mechanics and the second his work in percolation theory, continuum scaling limits, and related topics.Comment: 38 pages (including many references), introduction to Festschrift in honor of C.M. Newma

Study of the diffraction by periodic structures for applications in the terahertz range

International audienc

Composite Left- Right Handed Metamaterials at Terahertz Frequencies

International audienc

Bulk metamaterials at THz frequencies: the subwavelength hole stacked arrays approach

International audienc

Grating Diffraction Effects in the THz Domain

We study the far infrared electromagnetic response of grating devices by THz time-domain spectroscopy. We first show that THz waves are efficiently injected into silicon waveguides using grating couplers. Moreover, changing the waveguide material parameters by white-light illumination allows us to strongly modify the coupling efficiency. Then we demonstrate resonant effects in segmented grating structures that act as perfect mirrors at selected wavelengths even for focused beams. About 10 periods of the grating participate in the phenomenon, nevertheless the resonance frequency width of the device remains narrow. This collection of experiments shows that millimeter-size mock-ups and THz waves can be effectively used to extrapolate the optical response of micron-size actual devices

Grating diffraction effects in the THz domain

National audienceWe study the far infrared electromagnetic response of grating devices by THz time-domain spectroscopy. We ¯rst show that THz waves are efficiently injected into silicon waveguides using grating couplers. Moreover, changing the waveguide material parameters by white-light illumination allows us to strongly modify the coupling e±ciency. Then we demonstrate resonant e®ects in segmented grating structures that act as perfect mirrors at selected wavelengths even for focused beams. About 10 periods of the grating participate in the phenomenon, nevertheless the resonance frequency width of the device remains narrow. This collection of experiments shows that millimeter-size mock-ups and THz waves can be e®ectively used to extrapolate the optical response of micron-size actual devices