The practice of beginning teachers: Identifying competence through case writing in teacher education

Competent teachers display common attitudes and behaviours, yet it is apparent to those who attempt to categorise teachers\u27 work, attitudes and behaviours that the identification of competence is extremely complex. This article suggests a rationale for demonstrating competence through case writing. Case writing documents and provides examples of student teachers and beginning teachers at work in teaching and leaming situations. These examples of teaching and learning are part of a portfolio of cases of teaching and learning which student teachers, teachers and teacher educators working within the Department of Education at Victoria University have developed. These collections provide \u27snapshots\u27 of practice, stimuli for reflection and a public and collective view of teaching and learning experiences. They provide a comprehensive perspective of teacher competence as displayed in practice

Fledglings

Fledglings is an anthology of five short films, connected by a theme of transformation and situated in the contemporary folk-horror genre. Exploring a ‘vernacular’ approach to narrative film development, the scripts are set in Cornwall, drawing on places, characters and stories that are found in the land and culture, finding production value in deep local knowledge and material, as opposed to in expensive production design, ‘shipped in’ talent, or unattainable genre convention. This writing process is directly linked to the School of Film and Television’s independent, low budget filmmaking Research Practice centre, advocating for an approach to screenwriting that yields award winning student films. The scripts themselves are popular picks from a large, anonymised script pool that forms the basis of the L5 Skills Development ‘script to screen’ design process – as each film can be researched and ‘found’ in the local environment, they provide a solid basis for teaching the art of vernacular filmcraft within production design. Alongside the scripts, the outputs of the work include a set of ‘look books’, industry standard documents that define the art direction of each of the films. These serve as valuable teaching tools within the later stages of Falmouth University’s Production Design pathway at L6. The films are set on the edges of the land and the sea. In these peripheral places the people lead peripheral lives, struggling to rise above the beliefs that weigh them down, struggling to become, struggling to fledge... A vicar must become a monster to save her church. A taxi driver feels alive only when she is transporting the dead. A small child finds the Devil while searching for God. An older child finds reality in an imaginary post-apocalypse. A mariner proves that the end is just another kind of beginning. The films are designed to work, and be shot, individually, before locking together like the barbs of a feather

WHY MUMS DON'T JUMP: ANIMATION AS A FEMINIST TOOL

In 2020, journalist Helen Ledwick launched her podcast Why Mums Don't Jump with a manifesto to help bust taboos surrounding incontinence, prolapse and pelvic pain after childbirth. As a backdrop to this the UK government published its 'Women's Health Strategy for England' that acknowledged there were gaps in research, training and education. Other affected women were also going public with fitness channels, books and podcasts. In this article I draw attention to the cultural and medical bias women face, the activists who are making a difference and the power of animation to help break taboos. In 2022, I invited Ledwick to be a live-brief client for the 2nd year animation students at Falmouth University. The students produced a short 2D animated film that premiered at La Femme International Film Festival in Los Angeles in October 2023. The film captures the suffering women endure but also their optimism for the future they'd like to create. Reflecting on the process of making and distributing the film, I make a case for animation as a powerful feminist tool

Freeman

Treatment and Script In 1882 a young Jamaican travels to Panama to work on the Canal, in his struggle to survive he finds that capitalism is another type of slavery.” Freeman is co-written with Adrianne Arendse, a 7-part episodic TV series developed to the industry standard of show 'bible' and pilot episode. The project was submitted to two of the largest US script competitions, Screencraft and Shore Scripts, achieving quarter and semi-final placings respectively, and favourable coverage from studio readers. The project has produced research findings that give insight into the route to market for writers in modern day Hollywood. Ancillary outputs include a Coverfly presence for the project (at time of submission it ranked in the top 4% of screenplays) and valuable insights into the requirements and standards expected of speculative scriptwriting. These insights have fed into the Film BA(Hons) modules Production Cultures 1, and Skills Development, with teaching material drawing on both the show ‘bible’, script, web presence, studio notes and coverage scores, giving students an up to the minute model of how to approach the Hollywood studio industry as a speculative scriptwriter

From the Culch: Film

From the Culch is assembled from the bin cuts of a lost 1978 BBC documentary about the Fal River oyster fishery. After the documentary was broadcast a can of randomly assembled 16mm film was given to Dennis Laity, crewman on the working boat George Glasson, as a memory of his brother who passed away just after shooting wrapped. The can of film lay in Dennis’s airing cupboard for 45 years, unseen, before being passed to the director. A 4K digital scan revealed the beauty captured in the celluloid and Dennis, now 82 years old, gave voice to his memories of the men who dredged the Carrick Roads and the boats they sailed on

Does a brief, behavioural intervention, delivered by paediatricians or psychologists improve sleep problems for children with ADHD? Protocol for a cluster-randomised, translational trial

INTRODUCTION: Up to 70% of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience sleep problems. We have demonstrated the efficacy of a brief behavioural intervention for children with ADHD in a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) and now aim to examine whether this intervention is effective in real-life clinical settings when delivered by paediatricians or psychologists. We will also assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Children aged 5-12 years with ADHD (n=320) are being recruited for this translational cluster RCT through paediatrician practices in Victoria and Queensland, Australia. Children are eligible if they meet criteria for ADHD, have a moderate/severe sleep problem and meet American Academy of Sleep Medicine criteria for either chronic insomnia disorder or delayed sleep-wake phase disorder; or are experiencing sleep-related anxiety. Clinicians are randomly allocated at the level of the paediatrician to either receive the sleep training or not. The behavioural intervention comprises 2 consultations covering sleep hygiene and standardised behavioural strategies. The primary outcome is change in the proportion of children with moderate/severe sleep problems from moderate/severe to no/mild by parent report at 3 months postintervention. Secondary outcomes include a range of child (eg, sleep severity, ADHD symptoms, quality of life, behaviour, working memory, executive functioning, learning, academic achievement) and primary caregiver (mental health, parenting, work attendance) measures. Analyses will address clustering at the level of the paediatrician using linear mixed effect models adjusting for potential a priori confounding variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been granted. Findings will determine whether the benefits of an efficacy trial can be realised more broadly at the population level and will inform the development of clinical guidelines for managing sleep problems in this population. We will seek to publish in leading international paediatric journals, present at major conferences and through established clinician networks. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN50834814, Pre-results

'Deep' Kiss Pre-production

'Deep' is an experimental film that allows students to collaborate with staff and industry professionals. This presentation documents the pre-production stage of the 'KISS' scene and has been used to generate teaching materials

From the River: Beneath the Visible Evidence

A documentary short filmed in Cornwall in 2021/22. The film has screened alongside Q&As and panel discussions at international film festivals, community events and academic conferences throughout 2022/23