Which qualities did aspiring teachers value in their ‘best’ mathematics teachers?

When aspiring mathematics teachers were asked to describe one of their own mathematics teachers who had made an impact on them it was found that personal attributes such as empathy, caring and commitment to their students were mentioned most often. This study uses Gossman’s categories of ‘teacher as teacher’ and ‘teacher as person’ to analyse the descriptions of best teachers given by people who were being interviewed for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Secondary Mathematics at our Institution. The aim of this study is to add to the growing body of literature which indicates the value of teachers’ personal attributes and how important these can be for student motivation and confidence in mathematics. These attributes are hardly mentioned in lists of teacher competencies compiled as part of Government standards for teachers. We expected that aspiring mathematics teachers, since they are most likely to have been successful at mathematics themselves, would feel positively about mathematics and their mathematics teachers. However a surprising finding from the data was that even successful students occasionally experienced disaffection

Low Wage Jobs and Pathways to Better Outcomes

Many people find their first employment in a low wage job. Others accept low wage jobs after a period out of the workforce or unemployed. An issue of vital social interest is the speed with which low wage workers move on to better jobs. This review of the international literature finds that the extent of mobility depends on the definition of low wage, and that the least upwardly mobile are older, less educated workers, including middle aged women, sole mothers and men who have been retrenched. Young, educated, urban workers quickly move to better paid jobs. Everywhere, women are more likely to be low paid than men, and have lower mobility. Higher education reduces the risk of low pay, but not to zero. The paper goes on to examine the extent and sources of wage mobility, and looks carefully at the question of whether a low wage job can be assumed to be preferable to no job (and finds that it cannot). It finds that countries with high levels of wage inequality have lower levels of wage mobility. It concludes with a discussion of possible policy steps that could reduce the risk of people being stuck in low wage jobs for long periods. These should be targeted at both the demand side (the structure of jobs) and the supply side (the capacity of workers).Low wages; mobility; work and welfare; low wage workers.

Flight Path

Grade Level(s): K-1This lesson will help students to be able to identify and relate to the world in spatial terms. The student will be able to know and understand the spatial concepts of location, distance, direction, scale, movement and region. The context of this lesson will reinforce cardinal directions as well as the measurement of movement in a directed path.Faith Christian Academy, Columbia Cit

The foraging behaviour and population dynamics of the northern gannet

The northern gannet Morus bassanus population has been increasing in size over the last century. Larger gannet colonies in the British Isles are growing more slowly per capita than the smaller ones. For the first time, this study provides empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that seabird populations are regulated through density dependent competition for food (a theory proposed four decades ago). On average, gannets from larger colonies have to travel further to forage than birds from smaller colonies, leading to reduced provisioning rates at larger colonies. Differences were found in the foraging behaviour of male and female gannets. Females dived deeper and spent more time resting on the sea surface than males. Females also tended to forage in a specific location whereas males were much more variable. This was the first demonstration of sex-specific foraging behaviour in a monomorphic seabird. Foraging location and depth may be driven by sex-specific dietary needs, differences in foraging efficiency or competitive ability. State dependent foraging decisions were examined. Typically, gannets alternate foraging at sea with periods attending the chick at the nest. However, sometimes the attending parent will leave the chick alone. This decision is influenced by the prolonged absence of the partner and a low arrival mass of the adult, prior to its attendance shift. Unattended foraging trips were shorter in duration and therefore closer to the colony than attended trips. Since leaving the chick unattended is risky, there is a trade-off between offspring predation and short-term food requirements. When aspects of the foraging behaviour of gannets were compared between a large and small colony, both striking contrasts and similarities were evident. At the larger colony there were no sex differences in trip duration or the propensity to leave the chick alone whilst at the smaller colony males made significantly shorter trips than females and left the chick alone much more than females. However at both colonies unattended trips were shorter than attended trips. These results suggest interactions between density dependent competition and sex-specific individual behaviour. Identifying important areas for foraging is a major challenge for marine conservation. This study has demonstrated that colony size, sex and condition all affect the foraging decisions of the northern gannet

The Pawnee Mission Letters, 1834–1851

Review of: The Pawnee Mission Letters, 1834–1851, edited by Richard E. Jensen

The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849

Review of: "The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849," written by Edmund F. Ely, edited by Theresa M. Schenck

The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849

Review of: "The Ojibwe Journals of Edmund F. Ely, 1833–1849," written by Edmund F. Ely, edited by Theresa M. Schenck

Declining popularity increases lack of diversity: extending the discourse of the discipline

The number of young people selecting a university Information Technology (IT) course is low and has been declining alarmingly in the last few years. While young women appear to be rejecting the discipline at a greater rate than young men, the declining popularity of IT university courses is a worrying trend that is affecting the culture of the discipline and the industry nationally and internationally. The discourse of the discipline is often focused on curriculum content and industry applications with little or no attention to the type of student who is taking our courses. This paper presents senior secondary school and university enrolment statistics that emphasise a steady decline in popularity of IT courses since 2000. Results of a quantitative survey of over 700 undergraduates are presented to provide a lens into the current student experiences in IT in secondary school, the home and at university. Factors underpinning the declining popularity of the discipline as a course and career option are explored and some thoughts on the future of the discipline are offered

Doctoral‐Level Counseling Students’ Experiences of Social Class Microaggressions

The authors recruited 11 doctoral‐level counseling students to participate in a study exploring the lived experiences of people who have encountered social class microaggressions (SCMs). Findings (consisting of 6 themes) suggest that SCMs are a distinct phenomenon arising from interpersonal and environmental exchanges that damage recipients. The authors present implications for counselor education and future research trajectories