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The Unlocking the World community is the perfect place to ask questions, discuss ideas and exchange information with other teachers and our program consultants.
Facing challenges of learning
February 13, 2012
"Students with learning difficulties are graduating from school barely able to read or write but educators, governments and scientists are at a loss over how to deal with the problem." In our education system "primary school teachers undertake a four-year teaching degree and though many do a minor in inclusive education, they are not equipped with the skills to deal with high-need students." "High school teachers are even less prepared"
There are experts that parents can turn to to help their children but finding the right one is challenging.
Key Principles for Promoting Quality in Inclusive Education - Recommendations for Practice
January 11, 2012
This document "focuses upon Key Principles for Practice that support quality in inclusive education. It has been prepared by education policy makers and practitioners for policy makers and other professionals providing leadership in education. The aim of the document is to provide a summary of the main principles for practice that appear to be crucial in providing quality support to learners with diverse needs in mainstream settings."
Tags:
training, practice, teachers, education, inclusive, key, principles, special, needs, and mainstreamAn inspirational story to help achieve inclusive education
December 05, 2011
With Human Rights Day coming up in less than a week this story from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reminds us that everyone deserves the right to achieve as much as they can.We should provide them with the best opportunities to achieve their best and this is behind a lot of momentum in the area of inclusive education.
To read this story go to http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Aninspirationalstorytohelpachieveeducation.aspx and also watch the short video with the article.
Fresh approach pays off in the classroom
November 29, 2011
This newspaper article is about how one school in Melbourne has used a simple change in teachers' responses to misbehaviour in the classroom to improve overall student behaviour. Though not a new technique it has been applied consistently across the whole school and involves students in the process.
Read more at http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/fresh-approach-pays-off-in-the-classroom-20111127-1o1cs.html
iPads in Schools: Replacing Backpacks? iThinkNot!
November 15, 2011
Do you believe that all students will have tablet computers within 5 years?
Many schools are introducing iPads as a tool for learning and engagement.
Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray, recently surveyed 25 educational technology directors about their experiences and opinions of the potential of tablets in schools.
The results of the survey were discussed on sites such as Apple 2.0 on CNN, the The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), and the All Things D on the Wall Street Journal.
Positive behavioral interventions and supports
November 08, 2011
The UNH Institute on Disability's National Center on Inclusive Education has a 10 minute preview of a film that looks at the inclusion of students with emotional/behavioral challenges through positive behavioral interventions and supports. Though brief it is intriguing and well worth viewing.
Go to the NCIE website at http://www.iod.unh.edu/priorityareas/inclusive-education/default/11-11-03/Assistive_Technology_and_Transition.aspx to view this video.
Towards effective teaching
October 31, 2011
The majority of us assume that teachers have been trained in the methodologies, classroom management techniques etc that will enable them to better engage and educate their students. This article by Ainee Shehzad Salim shows that this may not be the case everywhere in the world.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/285121/towards-effective-teaching/
Tags:
training, teaching, teacher education, teacher, effective teaching, methodologies, and pedagogiesWellington College head: 'Schools becoming exam factories'
October 31, 2011
The head of a private school in Berkshire has said the government's education targets are turning schools into "exam factories".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-15273028
Exceptional teachers for disadvantaged schools
August 11, 2011
Exceptional teachers for disadvantaged schools
Jo Lampert, Bruce Burnett, Curriculum Leadership, 5 August 2011
The Exceptional Teachers for Disadvantaged Schools (ETDS) project is an innovative way to prepare high-quality teachers for employment in low-SES schools. The program, based at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), offers a specialised curriculum, designed to equip high-achieving pre-service teachers for work in the schools that need them most.
Selected pre-service teachers at QUT are invited to take part in the trial course, based on their academic performance over the first two years of their four-year Bachelor of Education degree, and on a demonstrated commitment to social justice. These participants undertake a modified version of QUT's B Ed on-campus curriculum. They have their practicum/field experience at one of a range of disadvantaged schools throughout Queensland which have agreed to partner with QUT in the program.
In the past, teacher education for disadvantaged schools has been described as applying a 'missionary' or deficit model (Larabee, 2010; Comber and Kamler, 2004; Flessa, 2007). The principals of schools participating in the ETDS react strongly against such an approach, and have explicitly asked project staff not to send them anyone who 'thinks they can save the world'. The ETDS project has moved well away from such a model, towards a position that is explicitly centred on notions of academic excellence.
The project is now at the end of its first trial year.
Read more: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=33544&issueID=12442
Dr Jo Lampert and Dr Bruce Burnett are senior lecturers in the Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology.
SPERA: Summit 2011
August 05, 2011
The purpose of the Summit is to produce a set of recommendations for local, state/territory and national governments and agencies, private enterprise, relevant community associations and for wider public interest on Australia's sustainability and the roles of education and rural communities in progressing this.
Read more: http://www.spera.asn.au/articles.php?req=read&article_id=136