What constitutes 'peer support' within peer supported development?

Purpose: Peer supported schemes are replacing traditional Peer Observation of Teaching (PoT) programmes within some Higher Education Institutions. Peer supported schemes, whilst similar in philosophy to PoT, enable academic and academic related staff to support each other in non-teaching related activities. The purpose of this paper is to explore, therefore, the role of peer support in comparison with that of coaching and mentoring to clearly differentiate the activity. Design/methodology/approach: In 2010, one UK HEI appointed two Academic Fellows to implement and embed a 'Peer supported Development Scheme' (PSDS) within the institution. Through analysing the implementation process and drawing on activity conducted under such a scheme, this article examines the notion of 'peer support' in comparison to mentoring and coaching. The purpose of this will enable Academic Fellows to be able to better advise 'Supporters' how to work with colleagues and engage in structured dialogue to improve teaching and learning practice. Findings: The findings highlight that Peer support schemes are tangentially different to mentoring and coaching, however some activity undertaken as part of our peer supported scheme was actually mentoring and coaching. Therefore clearer guidance needs to be given to colleagues in order to steer the process towards 'peer support'. Originality/value: The PSDS discussed within this paper is only one of a few established within the UK and therefore findings from such schemes and how they are established are still emerging and will benefit other HEIs moving from PoT towards peer supported development

Story : the heart of the curriculum : gramar, genre and gender

There is a substantial amount of research concerning oral narratives and some which covers written narratives but the vast majority is more than ten years out of date and predates the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy. In this study conclusions are drawn regarding this in the light of the story narratives written and the implications for the range of genre taught. The thesis presents findings from research carried out in one primary school with a sample of 82 pupils from each of the four Key Stage Two year groups. The story narratives collected from the sample were analysed using Longacre's (1996) Grammar of Analysis which the writer believes to be a model which is as objective as is possible. The outcome is a range of data which was interrogated using the SPSS programme. This allowed findings to be made explicit and to be comparable, in terms of the sample, for genre, grammar and gender. This thesis draws out similarities and differences in relation to story narrative and focuses on those which relate to the grammar used, the preferred genre of the participants and any differences relating to gender which emerge. It discusses these findings in detail and links them to the Literacy Hour teaching which has occurred in the school prior to the study. The thesis concludes by suggesting ways in which the findings might be addressed, by discussing the implications of these and by identifying possible directions for future research