The Including Studies of Asia in Curriculum professional development program : who's doing it and why?

This paper aims to provide a general overview of the cohort of teachers who undertook a major professional development program Including Studies of Asia in Curriculum in South Australia in 2000. As the program was the principal vehicle for introducing South Australian teachers to Studies of Asia, ensuring its ongoing relevance was critical. The only source of data about the program itself was an earlier national evaluation based on the 1995 deliveries of the primary version in most states and territories. What was needed, therefore, was an up-to-date picture, based specifically on the contexts and needs of South Australian teachers. Accordingly, participants were invited to complete a 'Participant Profile'. This study examines participants' responses, including their motivations in undertaking the program. Based on the responses, the course was able to be adapted for subsequent delivery, and advanced training courses were developed in line with the needs of the target group. [Author abstract

Going all the way : a life history account focusing on a teacher's engagement with studies of Asia.

What would prompt a primary school teacher in late career and from the Australian cultural mainstream to become interested in the societies and cultures of Asia and then to expand that interest into a personal and professional life focus? Through a life history approach, this paper recounts a teacher's journey from childhood, to becoming and working as a teacher, to initial inclusion in her late career of Asia-related aspects in her teaching and learning program, to extensive professional development in studies of Asia, culminating in a formal postgraduate study pathway. The teacher's story illustrates the complexity, the changing nature and uniqueness of individual teacher identity, thereby reinforcing Goodson's view of a teacher as 'an active agent making his or her own history'. The story also demonstrates the value of the life history approach in showing how personal and professional influences interact to determine how teachers think, what they value, and what they choose to do at any given time - including why they actively engage with particular professional learning programs

The Relationship of Dickenson County Adult Educational Attainment and the Impact on Adolescent Attainment of a High School Diploma

To solve this problem, the following research objectives were established: 1. Determine the educational attainment of two generations of Dickenson County adults; 2. Identify what factors contribute to the education goals of the county\u27s adolescents; 3. Determine effective strategies which would promote life-long learning and student retention in the county

Open, future, online teaching: enabling excellence in the student experience

This mixed-methods study reports on a continuing professional development intervention (CPD), called #OpenTeach, designed to upskill part-team online teachers. CPD is recognised as crucial to the upskilling of educators to enhance the student learning experience. However, an important gap exists in the provision of CPD for part-time and online teachers who rarely have the opportunity to avail of campus-based resources (Beaton & Gilbert, 2013). To address this gap we need to better harness the potential of more flexible models of online education. Geographically dispersed online teachers require opportunities to engage with new learning designs, new digital competencies and new ways of embedding digital technology in teaching, learning and assessment. Accordingly, the #OpenTeach intervention addresses this challenge through a highly targeted CPD programme for part-time online teachers. The core of the initiative involves the development a short open online course on online teaching best practice. This course will develop the digital and pedagogical competencies of the 90 DCU Connected online teachers locally and will be open to online educators globally. The #OpenTeach: Professional Development for Open Online Educators project is funded by the Irish National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

The Promoter of the Cereal VERNALIZATION1 Gene Is Sufficient for Transcriptional Induction by Prolonged Cold

The VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1) gene of temperate cereals is transcriptionally activated by prolonged cold during winter (vernalization) to promote flowering. To investigate the mechanisms controlling induction of VRN1 by prolonged cold, different regions of the VRN1 gene were fused to the GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP) reporter and expression of the resulting gene constructs was assayed in transgenic barley (Hordeum vulgare). A 2 kb segment of the promoter of VRN1 was sufficient for GFP expression in the leaves and shoot apex of transgenic barley plants. Fluorescence increased at the shoot apex prior to inflorescence initiation and was subsequently maintained in the developing inflorescence. The promoter was also sufficient for low-temperature induction of GFP expression. A naturally occurring insertion in the proximal promoter, which is associated with elevated VRN1 expression and early flowering in some spring wheats, did not abolish induction of VRN1 transcription by prolonged cold, however. A translational fusion of the promoter and transcribed regions of VRN1 to GFP, VRN1::GFP, was localised to nuclei of cells at the shoot apex of transgenic barley plants. The distribution of VRN1::GFP at the shoot apex was similar to the expression pattern of the VRN1 promoter-GFP reporter gene. Fluorescence from the VRN1::GFP fusion protein increased in the developing leaves after prolonged cold treatment. These observations suggest that the promoter of VRN1 is targeted by mechanisms that trigger vernalization-induced flowering in economically important temperate cereal crops

Teaching online is different: critical perspectives from the literature

Teaching online is different. In this report we attempt to explain why. This report arises from the #Openteach: Professional Development for Open Online Educators project, which is funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In this project we plan to uncover and promote the keys to effective online teaching practice, while recognising that effective teaching is an art, craft and science. We aim to harness this knowledge to support the professional learning of online educators. Ultimately we want to support online students to learn online by helping and inspiring their educators. This report was developed to help lay a foundation for the project through a critical analysis of relevant literature