357 research outputs found
The Impact of Religious Beliefs on Professional Ethics: A Case Study of a New Teacher
This case study of a math and science teacher in a private religious school looks at the impact of a teacherâs religious beliefs on her experience of engaging with ethical issues in her practice. A Freirean ethical framework is used to analyze her struggles with differences between her own personal religious convictions and those of the school in which she teaches, avoiding undue influence on her studentsâ developing beliefs, and the inherent violence of schooling. This case provides an example of ways in which discussions with teachers about professional ethics might be broadened beyond codes and regulations to the everyday embodied, social milieu in which they work
Beyond the Lone Hero: Providing Supports for New Teachers in High-Needs Schools
This essay examines the activities and challenges encountered in a partnership between a faculty of education and a local school board in Toronto, Canada. The goal was to address concerns over a 40% drop-out rate amongst Black students in the Toronto District School Board.
Teachers were to identify areas of concern, and to use university resources to investigate and improve work with students. Initially, findings were disappointing, teachers often felt isolated working on their own, and some administrators perceived the project as disruptive to the overall running of the school.
Faculty came to the realization that to help support their own graduates they needed to shift priorities from research to providing opportunities for dialogue, and to acknowledge the positions and perspectives of a variety of participants in the system
Evolution of new teachers' beliefs about teaching STSE: Report to school boards
case studies, classroom observations, interviewsThis longitudinal multiâcase study followed four new science teachers over the course of five years. Its
purpose was to examine the ways in which new science teachers integrate scienceâtechnologyâsociety-environment (STSE) and inquiryâbased work into their teaching. I am particularly interested in new
science teachers not only because of my work with prospective science teachers at York Universityâs
Faculty of Education but also because this is a group that is simultaneously expected to usher in new and
innovative approaches to teaching while receiving very little subjectâspecific professional development
to support their efforts (Luft, 2007).York University, Faculty of Education
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (internal grant - York University
Understanding people's willingness to implement measures to manage human-bear conflict in Florida
Moderator: Stewart Breck.Presented at the 8th international congress for wildlife and livelihoods on private and communal lands: livestock, tourism, and spirit, that was held on September 7-12, 2014 in Estes Park, Colorado.Video presenter: Elizabeth Pienaar.In 2009 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) began surveying individuals who reported human-bear conflicts. The purpose of this survey is to assess whether individuals take actions recommended by the FWC to reduce or eliminate conflicts. Using this data set, we determined which factors influence the likelihood that surveyed individuals will follow the advice provided by the FWC for managing human-bear conflicts. We find outreach efforts by the FWC increase the probability that people who report conflicts to the agency adopt recommended measures to reduce these conflicts. Our results suggest that outreach efforts by wildlife agencies increase the likelihood that people will alter their behavior to reduce human-bear conflicts
Teachersâ Conceptions of Student Engagement in Learning: The Case of Three Urban Schools
Although student engagement plays a central role in the education process, defining it is challenging. This study examines teachersâ conceptions of the social and cultural dimensions of student engagement in learning at three low-achieving schools located in a low socioeconomic status (SES) urban area. Sixteen teachers and administrators from the three schools participated in two focus group discussions about their definitions of student engagement, indicators of and factors affecting student engagement, and how to facilitate it. The findings indicate that teachersâ conceptions of student engagement have profound ramifications for the ways that they approach their work. Additionally, the teachers recognize that student engagement is a symptom displayed by individuals, but the roots of engagement lay elsewhere. The teachers also described a wide range of strategies to enhance their students' engagement that focused primarily on the student, the teacher and the classroom through improving student-teacher relationships, incorporating out-of-school issues in the curriculum and the classroom, and having teachers show engagement with educational material. We conclude by outlining several implications for practice and policy and by calling for more research on the origins, development and consequences of teachersâ conceptions of student engagement.Alors que lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves joue un rĂŽle central dans le processus Ă©ducatif, en dĂ©finir le sens reprĂ©sente un dĂ©fi. Cette Ă©tude porte sur les conceptions quâont les enseignants des dimensions sociales et culturelles de lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves dans trois Ă©coles peu performantes situĂ©es dans des rĂ©gions urbaines Ă faible statut socioĂ©conomique. Seize enseignants et administrateurs de trois Ă©coles ont participĂ© Ă des discussions thĂ©matiques de groupe pour partager ce quâils entendaient par « engagement des Ă©lĂšves », les indicateurs de celui-ci, les facteurs qui lâinfluençaient et les moyens de le faciliter. Les rĂ©sultats indiquent que les conceptions quâont les enseignants de lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves ont des rĂ©percussions profondes sur leur façon dâaborder leur travail. De plus, les enseignants reconnaissent que lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves est un symptĂŽme que manifeste une personne, mais que les racines en sont ailleurs. Les enseignants ont dĂ©crit une vaste gamme de stratĂ©gies qui visent lâaugmentation de lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves, qui sont axĂ©es surtout sur lâĂ©lĂšve, lâenseignant et la salle de classe, et qui reposent sur lâamĂ©lioration du rapport enseignant-Ă©lĂšve, lâintĂ©gration dâenjeux externes dans le programme dâĂ©tudes et une manifestation dâengagement de la part des enseignants avec la matiĂšre Ă lâĂ©tude. Nous concluons en prĂ©sentant les grandes lignes des incidences de cette Ă©tude sur la pratique et la politique, et en rĂ©clamant davantage de recherche sur les origines, le dĂ©veloppement et les consĂ©quences des conceptions quâont les enseignants de lâengagement des Ă©lĂšves.
School and community engaged education (S.C.E.E.): Final Report
Through the project, participating teachers and administrators focused on seven areas:
âą Learning inclusive education practices for school effectiveness;
âą Adopting strategies for infusing culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy into the Ontario curriculum;
âą Linking inclusive practice to assessment and evaluation;
âą Initiating discussions of difference: teacher understanding of students within socio-educational discourse and the impact on learning;
âą Engaging parents and community as a part of inclusive practice;
âą Examining identity and culture; and,
âą Understanding the profile of the school-community, the learners and families within it, including such methods as community walks.Situated within a collaborative approach for supporting schools, the School and Community Engaged Education (SCEE) project was a three-year university/school board partnership (2008-2011, culminating in the TDSB/YCEC 2012 Summer Institute), created to examine ways of co-developing more inclusive forms of curriculum that are appropriate for studentsâ diverse needs, considerate of their cultural experiences, and supportive of their aspirations. Recognizing the critical links between inclusive and equitable teaching and learning scenarios, and student achievement and engagement, the project was an opportunity for five âhighâneedsâ schools (Barrett, Ford & James, 2010) in the Toronto District School Board to examine ways that schools can integrate the histories, cultures, experiences and contributions of all students, thereby improving marginalized studentsâ participation and achievement.Toronto District School Boar
Phylogenetic signals and predictability in plant-soil feedbacks
There is strong evidence for a phylogenetic signal in the degree to which species share co-evolved biotic partners and in the outcomes of biotic interactions. This implies there should be a phylogenetic signal in the outcome of feedbacks between plants and soil microbiota they cultivate. However, attempts to identify a phylogenetic signal in plant-soil feedbacks have produced mixed results. We clarify how phylogenetic signals could arise in plant-soil feedbacks and use a recent compilation of data from feedback experiments to identify: 1) whether there is a phylogenetic signal in the outcome of plant-soil feedbacks; and 2) whether any signal arises through directional or divergent changes in feedback outcomes with evolutionary time. We find strong evidence for a divergent phylogenetic signal in feedback outcomes. Distantly related plant species show more divergent responses to each other's soil microbiota than closely related plant species. The pattern of divergence implies occasional co-evolutionary shifts in how plants interact with soil microbiota, with strongly contrasting feedback responses among some plant lineages. Our results highlight that it is difficult to predict feedback outcomes from phylogeny alone, other than to say that more closely related species tend to have more similar responses
Adapting to Climate Change: The urgency and some challenges to begin
Our response to the challenge of climate change will shape our future in many different and crucial ways. Adaptation is about realizing the impacts of climate change and acting in such a way to limit negative impacts and embrace positive outcomes in order to reduce our vulnerability from the effects of climate change
Not All Cavities Are Treated Equal: Increasing Access to Preventive Dental Care in Texas
The purpose of this report is to examine oral health care for children in Texas. United Ways of Texas is concerned with the disproportionate levels of access that low-income children face. This research team was charged by United Ways to:
Develop appropriate measures of access to preventive dental care for children
Analyze the geographic and socioeconomic patterns of such access measures in Texas
Calculate the expected benefits and costs of expanding access
There are significant disparities in access to oral health care for children in Texas. These disparities are frequently based on income levels, ethnic status, and if a child lives in an urban or rural area. Because disparity continues to exist among Texans, this report offers the following recommendations to improve access to dental care.
To support these recommendations, this report will:
1. Describe the importance of children's oral health.
2. Show disparities that exist among children.
3. Describe the types of preventive care that can improve children's oral health.
4. Demonstrate that preventive care can be cost-effective.
5. Identify barriers to access in Texas through literature and researchUnited Ways of Texa
Efficient generation of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-pseudotypes bearing morbilliviral glycoproteins and their use in quantifying virus neutralising antibodies
Morbillivirus neutralising antibodies are traditionally measured using either plaque reduction neutralisation tests (PRNTs) or live virus microneutralisation tests (micro-NTs). While both test formats provide a reliable assessment of the strength and specificity of the humoral response, they are restricted by the limited number of viral strains that can be studied and often present significant biological safety concerns to the operator. In this study, we describe the adaptation of a replication-defective vesicular stomatitis virus (VSVÎG) based pseudotyping system for the measurement of morbillivirus neutralising antibodies. By expressing the haemagglutinin (H) and fusion (F) proteins of canine distemper virus (CDV) on VSVÎG pseudotypes bearing a luciferase marker gene, neutralising antibody titres could be measured rapidly and with high sensitivity. Further, by exchanging the glycoprotein expression construct, responses against distinct viral strains or species may be measured. Using this technique, we demonstrate cross neutralisation between CDV and peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV). As an example of the value of the technique, we demonstrate that UK dogs vary in the breadth of immunity induced by CDV vaccination; in some dogs the neutralising response is CDV-specific while, in others, the neutralising response extends to the ruminant morbillivirus PPRV. This technique will facilitate a comprehensive comparison of cross-neutralisation to be conducted across the morbilliviruses
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