Using interactive multimedia (IMM) to help year four and five students identified as experiencing reading difficulties: A formative approach

This study involved four formative experiments, each of which investigated ways in which IMM (Interactive Multimedia) could be used to help children who experienced reading difficulties. In each of the four contexts, classroom teachers identified a number of students with reading difficulties, selected pedagogical goals for them and worked with the researcher to plan IMM-based activities that targeted the selected goals. The implementations were evaluated formatively and modifications were made accordingly, with the intention of \u27fine-tuning\u27 them to facilitate achievement of the pedagogical goals. Facilitative and inhibitive factors were identified during and after each formative experiment, as were unplanned outcomes. Finally, attempts were made to ascertain the preferability of the interventions, in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and appeal, as well as with reference to factors that facilitated and inhibited them. Two of the formative experiments took place at a private girls\u27 school. Boh of the participating classroom teachers, a Year 4 teacher and a Year 5 teacher, selected oral reading fluency as a pedagogical goal. A strategy that was termed \u27Interactive Multimedia Assisted Repeated Readings\u27 (IMMARR) using electronic storybooks was implemented, in addition to the creation of electronic talking books with the multimedia authoring program, Illuminatus Opus (2001), as a context for enhancing oral reading fluency. Many facilitative and inhibitive factors were identified during the implementations, although both teachers judged that the interventions had been effective and appealing. Post-intervention assessments also showed some gains in oral reading fluency, as well as unplanned outcomes, especially for the Year 5 group

Early Career Teachers’ Knowledge and Practice in Spelling Instruction: Insights for Teacher Educators

Children who cannot spell fluently are likely to encounter difficulty in writing texts across the curriculum. Furthermore, spelling is often a component in high stakes tests, the results of which have significant implications for students and schools. In the context of debates on teacher quality, it is pertinent to examine the views of early career teachers on their preparedness to teach spelling. This article reports on a small scale study on the views, knowledge and practices of early career teachers in relation to the teaching of spelling, and their views on their pre-service teacher preparation. Participants were early career teachers in Western Australia and data were collected through a questionnaire. This article adds to evidence indicating that many teachers feel inadequately prepared to teach spelling, particularly differentiated spelling instruction. The study is significant in that it focuses on early career teachers’ preparedness to teach spelling, an area not previously thoroughly investigated

Welcome to the Outback: The Paradoxes of Living and Teaching in Remote Western Australian Schools

Teaching in remote schools can prove to be a challenging experience. Twenty three teachers from remote schools, located in Western Australia, were interviewed about their teaching and living experiences in isolated communities. The interview questions were designed to elicit information regarding three areas: demographic information; reasons for applying for a position in an isolated school and living in a remote community; and, professional factors impacting on the respondents. Interviews were conducted during a residential professional development session and involved twenty-three teachers with wide ranging ages and teaching experience. These teachers identified a number of affective factors including what attracted them to teach in remote communities, what they liked and disliked about their lifestyle and why they decided to stay in the community in which they lived and taught. Professional factors identified included teaching and learning issues; curriculum and assessment; catering for individual needs; liaising with Aboriginal Education Workers; engaging and managing students; pedagogical issues and professional development. Teachers also identified the professional benefits and challenges of teaching in remote communities. The article concludes with a short discussion on the paradoxes of living and teaching in isolated locations, followed by outlining three recommendations derived from the interview data

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Principal: Tales from Remote Western Australia

This research investigated the experience of leadership in an isolated school. Data were obtained through structured and semi-structured interviews (Burns, 2000) with a total of eight principals whose experience of leadership in remote communities ranged from new recruits to several decades. Three research questions guided the investigation: What are the social-biographical characteristics of principals in isolated schools? What are the characteristics of the schools? What are the professional and pedagogical aspects of their current position? The interviews were conducted while the principals were gathered at a central location for professional learning workshops prior to the beginning of a new term. Participation was voluntary with principals who wished to participate making an appointment to meet with an interviewer in a location that afforded the opportunity to speak openly (Wiersma & Jurs, 2009) and with some privacy. The eight principals who elected to be interviewed represented 100% of the principals attending the workshops. The first stage of data analysis involved transcription of the interviews. All responses were then grouped by question, enabling the researchers to see the range of responses to each question. The responses were read and re-read several times in order to establish key themes. The data were then further coded (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007) into various sub-themes. Three broad themes, within which the issue of loneliness was identified, emerged from the analysis: affective factors, professional learning, and professional benefits and challenges. Within each of these broad themes a number of sub-themes emerged and are discussed in detail in the paper

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Perspectives of Western Australian Primary School Teachers

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of Western Australian teachers at the Proficient career stage on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), or ‘the Standards’. Fifteen teachers from five independent schools participated in semi-structured interviews and five themes were identified, under the broad categories of Strengths and Challenges of the Standards. Strengths identified were that the Standards support professional practice and career development and are user-friendly. Challenges identified were that the Standards can present challenges to professional practice and are problematic in the way that they are presented. Importantly, participants felt that the Standards ignored important social and relational teacher qualities

An evaluation of the integration of m-learning in Total Reading Approach for Children Plus (TRAC+): Enhancing literacy of early grade students in Cambodia.

The Total Reading Approach for Children (TRAC) project was first implemented in Cambodia from 2013 to 2014 by World Education, Inc. (WEI) to improve early grade reading outcomes among Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. This was made possible through a grant from All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD). ACR GCD, which was launched in 2011 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Vision, and the Australian Government, is an ongoing series of competitions that leverages science and technology to source, test, and disseminate scalable solutions to improve the literacy skills of early grade learners in developing countries. End-of-project assessments of TRAC were encouraging: over 90% of performance indicators were successfully achieved. As a result, WEI was awarded follow-on funding by World Vision International – Cambodia to scale up TRAC. Called TRAC Plus (TRAC+), the scale up rolled out in 13 World Vision area development programs in five provinces in Cambodia in December 2014. In Year 1, TRAC+ ran in 170 schools, and continued to work in 138 of the 170 original target schools in Year 2. By the end of the project in September 2017, TRAC+ had directly reached about 20,000 students. This report presents the findings of an independent evaluation of TRAC+ conducted from February to September 2017 by Dr. Grace Oakley, Dr. Mark Pegrum, and Dr. Thida Kheang—all from the Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia—assisted by Cambodian researcher Mr. Krisna Seng. The primary focus of the evaluation was the m-learning component of TRAC+—the use of Aan Khmer, a game-based app developed with funding from ACR GCD to teach Khmer alphabetical principles, vocabulary, and fluency in low resource environments. The evaluation set out to answer the question, “How and to what extent does the integration of m-learning in TRAC+ enhance the literacy of early grade students?” The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge on the effectiveness, sustainability, and scalability of m-learning integrated into TRAC+ in the Cambodian primary school context. Equity and efficiency issues were also addressed. This evaluation was conducted under the Digital Learning for Development (DL4D) project of the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED) of the Philippines. As part of the Information Networks in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (INASSA) program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, DL4D aims to improve educational systems in developing countries in Asia through testing digital learning innovations and scaling proven ones. Funding for the evaluation was provided jointly by DL4D and ACR GCD.This research was conducted under the Digital Learning for Development (DL4D) project of the Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development (FIT-ED) of the Philippines, jointly funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, and All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD)—a partnership of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Vision, and the Australian Government

Better beginnings: A Western Australian State Library initiated family literacy project

Better Beginnings is an early intervention family literacy program that has been developed by the Public Library Services Directorate, at the State Library of Western Australia. Its stated purpose is to provide positive language and literacy influences for children in their first three years of life. The program is thought to be the first of its kind in Australia and has recently been taken up by another Australian Territory State. A fully evaluated pilot of Better Beginnings commenced in January 2004 in Gosnells, Mandurah, Midland, Carnarvon, Halls Creek and Kalgoorlie and in September was extended to include Armadale, Rockingham, Bayswater, East Pilbara and Ashburton. The program will be expanded state-wide during the next four years to a range of communities that represent diverse geographical, social, cultural and economic contexts. The State Government\u27s continued financial commitment along with that of Local Government and funding from the Rio Tinto WA Future Fund will enable Better Beginnings to be rolled-out to communities across Western Australia commencing in 2005/06

Preliminary Results of American Eel Sampling Efforts in Gulf of Mexico Drainages of Texas

American Eel Anguilla rostrata has a unique and complex life history that is fairly well-studied on the eastern coast of the United States, but few studies have been done on Gulf of Mexico drainages. To inform conservation and management decisions, efforts to better understand the population structure, seasonal dynamics, and life history of American Eel are underway. The primary objectives of our efforts are to assess the current and historical distribution and abundance, habitat use, movement patterns, parasite occurrence, diet and population structure of American Eel across all life stages in Gulf of Mexico drainages of Texas.Texas State Wildlife Grant Program grants T-173-R-1 and T-172-R-1 in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration ProgramIntegrative Biolog

Annual Narrative Report of Miss Grace Ryan, Home Demonstration Agent and Mrs. Lora E. Oakley, Assistant Demonstration Agent, Maricopa County, Arizona, From November 30, 1937 - December 1, 1938

Bound typescripts of agents reports, including photographs, charts, clippings, and examples of publications, 1937 to 1938. Also includes statistical summaries for 1937-38.This material from the University of Arizona Agricultural Extension Service is made available by University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. Contact us at [email protected], or (520) 621-6423

Annual Narrative Report of Miss Grace Ryan, Home Demonstration Agent and Mrs. Lora E. Oakley, Assistant Demonstration Agent, Maricopa County, Arizona, From November 31, 1935 - December 1, 1936

Bound typescripts of agents reports, including photographs, charts, clippings, and examples of publications, 1935 to 1936. Also includes statistical summaries for 1935-36.This material from the University of Arizona Agricultural Extension Service is made available by University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. Contact us at [email protected], or (520) 621-6423