Long before Google Glass ... there was the Camera Lucida.
The camera lucida.
It’s a prism on a stick! For making realistic drawings!
It used to be everywhere. A portable version hasn’t been manufactured in generations.
And we’re bringing it back. Really inexpensively. For artists and art students everywhere.
We have designed the NeoLucida: the first portable authentic camera lucida to be manufactured in nearly a century—and the lowest-cost commercial camera lucida ever designed.
The NeoLucida is a drawing aid that allows you to trace what you see. By the mid-1800s, camera lucidas were everywhere. Indeed, the device is so effective in assisting accurate life-drawing that, according to the controversial Hockney-Falco hypothesis, it's now believed that many of the most admired drawings of the 19th Century, such as the Neoclassical portraits of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, could only have been made with a camera lucida. This becomes astonishingly clear if you try one—an experience we hope to share with as many people as possible by launching the NeoLucida.
But the NeoLucida is not just a product. It’s a provocation. In manufacturing a camera lucida for the 21st century, our aim is to stimulate interest in media archaeology—the tightly interconnected history of visual culture and imaging technologies. We want to make this remarkable device widely available to students, artists, architects, and anyone who loves to draw from life. Released from obscurity, NeoLucida entreats a generation of artists to ask: "What if you could trace what you see?" And: "How might artists in the 19th century have seen the world?" And: "How might tracing from life fit into contemporary art education?" And: "What is the historical relationship between art and technology?"
Our design is lightweight (7oz., or 199g), sturdy, compact enough to fit in a handbag, highly adjustable, totally non-electronic, and effective in all lighting conditions. The NeoLucida will also be released with a liberal open-source hardware license, encouraging the world to modify and make their own NeoLucida devices and experiment with new optical applications.
If you enjoy drawing from life, or if you're interested in experiencing for yourself how the Old Masters could possibly have created such accurate, lifelike drawings—then the NeoLucida is for you.
Creative Applications: Feature by Filip Visnjic
Colossal: Article by Christopher Jobson
BoingBoing: Article by Cory Doctorow
WIRED GadgetLab: Feature by Christina Bonnington
WIRED UK: Feature by Ian Steadman
Mashable: Article by Anita Li
WIRED Beyond the Beyond: Post by Bruce Sterling
ANIMAL: Article by Kyle Petreycik
The Creators Project: Article by Kevin Holmes
FastCompany Co.Design: Feature by Margaret Rhodes
Art in America: Article by John Anderson
HLN Television: Article by Colette Bennett
Wired Japan: Article by Tomoko Mukai (In Japanese)
TechBeat: Article by Annie
SinEmbargo Mexico: Article (in Spanish)
Original Kickstarter Video:
Live demo, Eyeo Festival 2013:
NeoLucida Setup Guide:


MARKING THE ROLE OF HORSES DURING WAR - Tuesday, 3 June 2014
A First World War 18-pounder, quick-firing field gun makes its first public appearance following its complete restoration and overhaul during the Weald and Downland Museum’s Horses at War event this weekend (June 7 and 8).
Royal Armouries will be showcasing the gun and its limber – now restored to its original First World War colours – courtesy of Robert Sampson and his splendid horses, along with a detachment of volunteers from Ubique Right of the Line.
The “living history” event commemorates the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, as well as the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. For more event information, please visit www.wealddown.co.uk
Part of Royal Armouries’ national collection, this gun is no stranger to publicity and was used in Neil Jordan’s 1996 film Michael Collins, starring Liam Neeson as the Irish patriot and revolutionary. It has also made several television appearances.
Royal Armouries’ Keeper of Artillery Nicholas Hall said, “We are delighted to be supporting the Weald and Downland Museum event, which promises to give an exciting and innovative look at the role of horses in war.”
He explained, “Artillery was by far the greatest cause of casualties during the First World War: British 18 pounders fired nearly 100 million rounds between 1914 and 1918.”
“The 18 pounder was introduced in 1904, after British experiences during the Boer War revealed that the Army was falling behind in the arms race to produce a true quick-firing gun, vital in modern warfare. The 18 pounder was the result of rapid development combining the best features of designs from Vickers and from the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.
“It could fire eight rounds per minute and was intended for the rapid action fought largely in the open in South Africa. It was therefore designed to fire only shrapnel shell at troops within sight. The ammunition was ‘fixed’ that is the shell was fixed to the cartridge containing the cordite [propellant] and primer and loaded as one, making it quick to fire. But to be able to fire the sustained barrages of high explosive demanded during the First World War, as the opposing armies dug into their deep trenches, the 18 pounder had to be modified, as in our example, which is dated 1918.
The 18 pounder was one of the most powerful and effective field guns on the Western Front, but also saw service further afield, notably in Mesopotamia.”
The 18 pounder’s overhaul was carried at Fort Nelson, home to one of the world’s finest collections of artillery and guns, from across the ages and from all corners of the globe.
In 2011, this unique heritage attraction underwent a major redevelopment to create a museum for the 21st century, supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, complete with new galleries, state-of-the-art education centre and visitor facilities, including a café with views over Portsmouth Harbour.
For more information and the latest news about Fort Nelson and the Royal Armouries:
Notes to editors
- Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour and has sites in Leeds, HM Tower of London, Fort Nelson and Louisville, Kentucky. It is the first British national museum to open a permanent presence in another country
- Admission to the museum is free. However, there may be a small charge for some special events.
- Open all year daily, 10am-5pm. Closed 24-25 December
- Information Line: 0113 220 1999
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.
- Background – Standing high on Portsdown Hill near Fareham, Fort Nelson showcases one of the world’s finest collections of artillery, down the ages and from across the globe. In 2011, this unique heritage attraction underwent a £3.5m redevelopment to create a museum for the 21st century, supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, complete with new galleries, state-of-the-art education centre and visitor facilities.


As sure as day follows night, Education Minister George Abbott’s letter to teachers announcing “A New Focus on Reading” will reignite the age-old and still unresolved debate about how best to teach reading.
The education ministry website which invites teachers to “join the conversation” has already logged hundreds of responses, some advocating a traditional phonics-based approach and others supporting literature-based “whole language” methods.
The goal of phonics is to enable beginning readers to decode new written words by sounding them out, or in phonics terms, blending the sound-spelling patterns.
The “whole language” approach emphasizes identifying words and deriving meaning from context. In the minds of some teachers this approach could not be reconciled with the phonics system.
But the most successful reading teachers know that it is not an either/or issue and that different kids learn in different ways.
Here’s what we know for sure, though: To the extent that strong reading skills can be considered predictive of a better-skilled citizenry and workforce, countries and jurisdictions with a large proportion of students attaining high reading levels will have an important social and economic advantage.
On the other hand, those young people with poor, or low-level, literacy skills may find it difficult to benefit from further educational opportunities and may be limited in their ability to contribute and participate in societies dependent on information and knowledge.
So B.C.’s newly appointed superintendent of reading, the highly regarded and energetic Maureen Dockendorf, has her work cut out for her both educationally and politically as the point guard for the minister’s “New Focus on Reading.”
To lead this latest effort, Dockendorf will draw on research and an understanding of what builds reading success in kindergarten to Grade 3.
She also plans a review of various literacy programs around the province to determine why some schools have had exceptional success in teaching their students to read while others have not.
“In many communities across the province we can see outstanding examples of early reading success,” said Dockendorf recently, “but despite our best efforts to date, the 2012 Foundational Skills Assessment [FSA] data tells us that provincially only 70 per cent of Grade 4 students and 64 per cent of Grade 7 students are meeting or exceeding B.C.’s expectations in reading.”
That’s not good enough and Dockendorf, no doubt, recognizes that a major aspect of her job will be to identify where there is, as always, room for incremental improvement in the teaching of reading, not just kindergarten to Grade 3 but at all levels and how to bypass the usual obstacles to changing current practices.
“Where success has happened, it has invariably been the result of a deliberate and relentless focus on reading success, which is precisely what we hope to instil across the province this year” she said in a recent CBC interview.
Dockendorf’s approach is supported by the findings of virtually every review of successful reading programs and a growing body of evidence to the effect that what matters for student achievement are approaches that fundamentally change what teachers and students do every day in prioritizing the teaching of reading from kindergarten through Grade 12.
Instructional reviews, national and international, are unanimous in agreeing that programs designed to transform daily teaching practices require extensive professional development in specific classroom strategies and have greater effect than programs focusing on curriculum or technology alone.
None of this will come cheap, which raises the issue of whether and to what lengths Abbott is prepared to go in pursuit of adequate funding to support his initiative.
Geoff Johnson is a retired superintendent of schools.


Here is a great article from guest blogger Lisa Pemerton on art education. Sharing ideas like this is important because it relates to interdisciplinary common core subject matter. This project is showing what is possible and how art can be made to have a lasting impression.
LISA PEMBERTON | Staff writer • The Olympian—Published September 04, 2012 Creative Commons License 4.0 Attribution
Mariah Art students installed a mural about the life cycle of a salmon last week at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge’s Environmental Education Center.
“I’m really proud of it,” said 12-year-old Ellison Roycroft, a seventh-grader at Griffin School. “The colors are really vibrant.”
About 25 students worked on the project that involved 180 4-inch-by-4-inch hand-painted ceramic tiles, said Diane Gaile, the school’s owner and director.
“The children drew individual pictures and the teachers put together the composition,” she said. “It’s all original. They painted all of the animals that are on it.”
Mariah Art is a licensed child care center on Olympia’s west side. In addition to offering pre-kindergarten and after-school elementary art classes, the center operates day camps when school is not in session.
Gaile, 62, has a bachelor’s degree in education and is state-certified in art education for grades kindergarten through high school. She opened the school about 25 years ago, at a time when public school teaching jobs were scarce.
“A girlfriend of mine talked me into starting art classes in my garage,” she said with a chuckle.
Mariah Art operated out of a studio in downtown Olympia for several years before moving to its current location across from Garfield Elementary School. It offers programs in visual arts such as drawing and ceramics, as well as performing arts such as theater and music.
For many years, Mariah Art students have visited the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge for field trips to view, sketch and learn about birds, plants and animals in the region, Gaile said.
About five years ago, at the suggestion of a former Mariah Art student who was working at the refuge as an AmeriCorps member, Gaile and her students produced a mural of handmade tiles, as a gift for the refuge.
The children’s art work was used as a prominent element in the refuge’s new education building.
“The architect said he’d use the mural,” Gaile said. “We didn’t know it would be on the front entrance.”
Since then, the school has created four other large murals for the refuge. And they’re planning to create at least two more next year, Gaile said.
The murals serve as a hands-on lesson about art, nature, collaboration and Northwest heritage. But they’re also a chance for the kids to create something that will last for generations, Gaile said.
“I said, ‘You’ll be taking your kids to see this,’” she said.


New student enrichment periods called "personalized learning time," but officially termed Response to Instruction and Intervention or RTI2, has been added to help students transition to the tougher Common Core Standards.
The program was created to identify weaknesses beginning as early as kindergarten. In Tennessee, 36 districts have adopted some form of it, including the Dickson County Schools District.
Traditionally, schools directed struggling students out of classrooms into special education, an unwanted outcome.
Dickson County began planning for RTI2 in 2010. The district's former literacy coordinator, Evonne Dunn, and Director of Elementary Education for Dickson County Schools, Ernestine Adams, added a daily intervention, Power Learning Block or PLB, into each of the school district's elementary schools.
During PLB, students are grouped by skill and provided intervention, remediation, or enrichment.
In the county's middle schools, the daily intervention period is called Focus Time. Creek Wood High School calls their time Power Lunch and Dickson County High School refers to their units as Cougar Paws Time.
Dr. Mary Collins, the school district's new RTI2 Coordinator, said during those times students will be screened and from there educators will develop a plan of action.
"We use a skills-based universal screener three times a year in order to determine which students are most in need of intervention," said Collins. "From the screening results, we target interventions and instruction in order to meet the specific students' needs."
Dickson County students who have mastered any given skill will be given added "enrichment". Tier II students who performing "below average" will receive 30 minutes of remediation and students performing "well below average" will get 45 minutes of intervention.
Aligning with Common Core standards, assessments of math, literacy and writing, will be measured three times throughout the year.
"We put some effective components in place last year and feel that we have seen dividends already in regard to closing achievement gaps with our subgroups," said Adams. "Over the course of the last four years, we have added instructional coaches to support instruction for all students, interventions to target specific skill deficits, and interventionists to work specifically with our most needy students."


Franz Liszt’s and Richard Wagner’s works for wind instruments and wind ensembles of various kinds as well as for winds and voices in various combinations epitomize much of nineteenth-century musical romanticism. From ceremonial and religious works to compositions for court occasions from the concert hall to the operatic stage Wagner’s and Liszt’s wind and wind-voice music offers insights into each composer’s stylistic evolution as well as the emergence of the symphonic poem and music-drama as genres in their own right.
Keith Kinder is Professor of Music and Director of the School of the Arts at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where he conducts the McMaster Chamber Orchestra and the McMaster Concert Band and is responsible for the direction of the Music Education program. Prior to his appointment at McMaster, Dr. Kinder served on the faculty of the University of Prince Edward Island and taught instrumental music for many years in the schools of Nova Scotia. He holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario (B. Mus. – Music Education), Northwestern University (M. Mus. – Trombone Performance), and the University of Colorado (D.M.A. – Instrumental Conducting).
An internationally recognized researcher in the area of wind music, Dr. Kinder appears regularly at conferences all over the world, and publishes frequently in recognized journals dedicated to his primary research interests. He also researches conducting where his principal interest is in the expressive interpretation of music notation through the creative application of gesture.
He has previously published two books: The Wind and Wind-Chorus Music of Anton Bruckner (Greenwood Publications, 2000) and Best Music for Chorus and Winds (Manhattan Beach Music, 2005). A third book, Prophetic Trumpets: Homage, Worship and Celebration in the Wind Band Music of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt is published by Pendragon Press.


Training sessions seek to make church a place for everyone
Around 85% of people with and without disabilities state their faith is important, but only 47% of people with disabilities attend church at least once a month, most likely due to achitectural and invisible barriers.
Sometimes the quest for accessibility at church doesn’t end when the wheelchair ramp is installed.
Accessibility takes other forms, too. It is found in attitudes, in opportunities to serve, in social connections. At a recent Disability Specific Training for Faith Based Organizations session, presenters stressed that while many church buildings provide physical accommodations, attitudes sometimes still get in the way.
The training sessions are offered through the CPD, and they focus on dispelling both physical and attitudinal barriers. In addition to offering training, a website advises leaders of all faiths on ways to make sure all members are included.
Project director Marilyn Hammond said myths can also prevent people with disabilities from fully enjoying their faith experience. Sometimes church leaders and members assume wrongly that their congregation doesn’t have people with disabilities in it because some conditions—depression and diabetes, for example—are not obvious. They may assume that a person with a mental or an intellectual disability does not need religious instruction. They may not recognize that if one family member feels excluded, the rest of the family often stops coming to church, too.
But perhaps the biggest mistake that people without disabilities can make is to be so paralyzed by the fear of messing up that they don’t do anything. To learn more, see the full story on the CPD website.
CPD by the numbers
CPD projects disseminated 250,000 public awareness materials during the 2009 year, including pamphlets, brochures, information sheets and other communications.
"Tough Boris" and other outlines will help young English language learners build vocabulary
Dr. Gina Cook displays Mem Fox's Tough Boris.
A CPD research project focuses on helping young children from high-risk neighborhoods.
Now, even before the research results are in, children and their teachers nationwide will benefit from its efforts to engage teachers and students in reading. “Using Tough Boris to Promote Dialogic Reading Strategies” is the first of several training modules that will be produced through the project.
These outlines will help Head Start teachers build more vocabulary and promote language development. (Dialogic reading teaches the child to become the storyteller and to engage in conversation before, during and after the story.)
Researchers from the Early Intervention Research Institute at the CPD are working with a team at the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership Head Start to improve language, literacy and self-regulation among young children who may be learning a second language, facing developmental delays and living in a family situation where money is tight. The PEECSE project (Promoting Effective Engagement, Communication and Self-Regulation with English Language Learners) takes many approaches to encourage language development, but one specifically encourages teachers to engage children through stories.
Dr. Gina Cook developed the “Tough Boris” outline because dialogic reading doesn’t always come naturally to preschool teachers. “It takes more time,” she said. “It’s introducing new vocabulary in a way that children will understand. It’s promoting more language interactions between the children and the teachers. It’s asking questions instead of reading the book straight through.” In fact, teachers using this approach will end up reading the same story to children several times, until the children reach the point where they can tell the story themselves.
Cook developed the outline around Tough Boris, a story by Mem Fox. Her goal was to help teachers use the strategy in a way that keeps the story interesting to preschoolers as they repeat it. The payoff comes in an increased vocabulary and more language interaction—key goals in a project that focuses on children who face a lot of extra issues as they grow up.
Once the outline was finished, it was placed on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center’s website, which offers information to Head Start teachers nationwide. Several other dialogic outlines will follow.
The PEECSE project is funded through Head Start as an innovative project. Dr. Lisa Boyce is its principal investigator, Dr. Mark Innocenti is its co-principal investigator, and four other researchers from the Early Intervention Research Institute are on its staff. In addition, the project employs three graduate and two undergraduate students.
The EIRI research team is analyzing data from the project’s second year and will soon submit a continuation grant.


Last Update: March 8, 2011
Welcome to the Addiction and Art Website
Throughout its history, Art Education has been influenced by societal needs and values. As more and more of our young people either experiment with drugs or are exposed to substance abuse in their homes and/or communities it is appropriate to generate and make available curriculum guides to facilitate the education of our youth on the topics of addiction (all kinds) and recovery.
The language of art is both flexible and powerful. Art Educators understand that art can allow students to successfully interact with the world in both verbal and non-verbal ways, and that it can promote significant understanding.
AddictionAndArt.Org promotes the following Curriculum Guide to be considered for adoption by public schools, private schools, home schools, and any other setting where an art lesson can take place. The guide can be adapted to coincide with local goals and resources.
Putting a Human Face on Addiction and Recovery
Curriculum Guide K - 12 for Art Educators and Guidance Counselors
Museum Education Program
Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, 2011
(Note: this is a 23 Megabyte download)
This curriculum guide approaches the subject matter in a way that is adaptable and appropriate to all age groups, from grades K-5 to grades 6 -12. It includes informational articles, lesson plan suggestions, a glossary and sample artworks. The guide is a product of Florida State University and all materials are in accordance with the current Florida Sunshine State Standards. The guide was created to coincide with an Art and Addiction Exhibition at Tallahassee Community College in 2011; however, it's contents may certainly be utilized by schools anywhere, at any time.
Art and Addiction Curriculum Guide Committee:
- Amanda Alders, Doctoral Student, FSU Art Therapy Program
- Sarah Gonzalez, FSU MoFa Education Program
- Anniina Suominen Guyas, PhD, Asst. Prof., FSU Art Education Program
- Carla Morgan, FSU MoFA Education Program
- Marcia L. Rosal, PhD, ATR - BC, Director of FSU Art Therapy Program
- Tonya Smith, FSU MoFA Education Program
- Sunny Spillane, MFA, Doctoral Student, Art Education Program
- Laura Thompson, MFA, Coordinator TCC Fine Art Gallery
- Catherine Warden, FSU MoFA Education Program
- Viki D. Thompson Wylder, PhD, Curator of Education, FSU MoFA


What do IBM and a group of five-year-olds have in common? They both have creative minds that could change the world.
That’s why IBM and other companies recognize the value of investing in early education: so today’s young children will have the skills to become tomorrow’s STEM employees (science, technology, engineering and math.)
The link between early education and the business community will be highlighted in a webinar called “Start Early with STEM” that’s being hosted on Monday, August 5, 2013, at 3 p.m. (Eastern time), by ReadyNation, a nonprofit business partnership for early childhood and economic success.
The webinar will cover “the latest early childhood STEM education research and how the business community is supporting the development of early childhood STEM through smart policy advocacy and community initiatives.”
The speakers include: Greg Duncan, a professor of education at the University of California, Irvine; Marcy Reed, National Grid president, Massachusetts; and JD Chesloff, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and the chair of the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care.
In a recent Education Week article, Chesloff wrote about STEM and early education and the value of investing early to meet the economy’s increasing demand for STEM skills. Our STEM policy brief is another resource for advocates and policy makers.
The upcoming webinar builds on a ReadyNation brief, which notes, “Astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to orbit the earth, knew she wanted to be a scientist when she was five years old. Fortunately, her teachers nurtured this interest. How many more five-year-olds can we encourage to become tomorrow’s scientific leaders?”
That’s a challenge for parents, educators and business leaders as well as government officials who help create or fund publicly accessible programs. Such efforts could start a STEM pipeline in preschool programs or even earlier.
As a philosophical foundation for giving children an early STEM start, the brief highlights four key facts:
– “The math achievement gap starts early, even before kindergarten.”
– “High-quality early education includes real math and science content.”
– “Early math instruction improves later ability.”
– “Early learning also helps build the behavior traits—perseverance, problem-solving, patience—that STEM employees need.”
The brief also points to ways that businesses are beginning to bring STEM activities to very young children including the following:
– “Boeing is a founding supporter of Thrive by Five Washington, a public-private partnership that is helping build a comprehensive early learning system in the state.” Boeing’s funds help pay for a program that includes numeracy skills.
– “National Grid has partnered with the Boston Children’s Museum to create and distribute STEM teaching kits for child care facilities, pre-schools, Head Start centers, and public school kindergartens.”
– PNC, a financial services company, has, through its PNC Foundation, worked with Sesame Street to support a “planetarium show that travels via a mobile dome to early learning centers to provide preschoolers with lessons on math, astronomy and science.”
Businesses can do more, the brief says, by supporting access to high-quality early education programs, supporting STEM training for pre-k and grade-school teachers, and providing expertise, volunteers and resources to preschools.
“Finding skilled workers will be a constant challenge for American businesses as they compete in the global marketplace,” the brief concludes. “To keep our STEM workforce competitive, we need to develop the young learners who will start the innovative companies and make the scientific breakthroughs that our country needs.”


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Make Science for Kids More Fun!
My Sawyer is all about animals right now. So we’ve been embracing that passion and are following his lead for homeschool science. We read The Magic School Bus Chapter Book, Food Chain Frenzy for bedtime over the last few weeks. They loved the book, but science for kids should be more hands-on, don’t ya think? So I put together a sort of Animal Geoboard for the kids to make their own food chains and food webs. Check it out…
DIY Food Web Geoboard Science for Kids
This activity was super-easy to set up and entertained the kids for nearly an hour.
The Hands-On Science for Kids Setup:
I just printed some free animal picture cards from The Swedish Teacher on Teachers Pay Teachers (all you need to do to download them is sign up for the free membership) and cut them out. Then presented the kids with the animal cards, some rubber bands, push pins, and a cork board. My clever Sawyer knew right away that it was perfect for making a food web!
First, they sorted through the animal cards. In retrospect, I would have given them far less. The amount of them was a little overwhelming. But sorting them was a great activity for the kids, too.
Then they got to work making their food web by using the pushpins to stick the animal cards onto the board and connecting them with the rubber bands. Sawyer quickly realized that there weren’t any plants in the cards. And one NEEDS plants in a food web! So he grabbed his colored pencils and made some plant cards. The kids did get a little frustrated at times when their web got so big that the rubber bands pulled the push pins out. So using string would be a good option, too. But I liked the fine motor practice that they got with the rubber bands.
They loved this Food Web Science for Kids Activity! And we’ll be saving the animal cards for more learning, too.
What fun science for kids have you been having lately? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
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International Journal of Art & Design Education
Fly’s Eye View: Introducing Young Children to Digital Art through Virtual Reality
Volume 19.2 2000
SMITH, DAVID & COYLE, JANICE
This paper describes ‘Fly’s Eye View’, a project devised and directed by David Smith and supported by a grant from the UK Techniquest Pantechnicon Millennium Awards (intended to help bridge the gap in public perception between science and art). ‘Fly’s Eye View’ was specifically aimed at young children, aged 7–11 years (Key Stage Two of the UK National Curriculum). The project used a low-level VR fly-by system to represent a garden scene as it might be experienced by a dragonfly. The analogy between the mosaic visual ‘perception’ of insects and image representation in computer systems allowed some interesting explorations into what may be involved in ‘seeing’. This analogy was used as the starting point for a series of exploratory activities using digital art work. The paper reviews the out-comes of the project and discusses their possible significance in the context of current approaches to art education and the stimulation of creative thinking in young children.


Angeles-Bautista, Fenny delos (ed.), 1994. The multigrade teacher's handbook. BEE/DECS/UNICEF: Philippines.
Bacharach N., Hasslen R. C., Anderson J.,1995. Learning together: A manual for multiage grouping. Corwin Press Inc, Thousand Oaks, California.
Basic Primary Education Project, 2000. Multigrade teacher training manual (for teachers). Primary Teacher Training Unit, Sanothimi, Nepal. Bureau of Elementary Education, Department of Education Culture and Sports (1994) The multigrade teacher's handbook. Department of Education Culture and Sports/UNICEF Philippines
CERID 1988. Multigrade teaching in primary schools of Nepal (parts1-3). Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development, Kathmandu.
CERID 1989. Multigrade teaching in primary schools. Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development, Kathmandu.
Collingwood, I., 1991. Multiclass teaching in primary schools: a handbook for teachers in the Pacific. UNESCO Office for the Pacific States: Apia, Western Samoa.
Commonwealth Secretariat, 1997. Teacher education modules for multi-grade teaching modules 1-9 (DRAFT). Commonwealth Secretariat: London.GOI/UN, 1999. Workshop on teacher development in multigrade context. Janshala 2 (3). Available from
Janshala Gritzman, N, 1998. Teaching in the Multigrade Classroom. A Pack of Materials to Support Teachers in Multigrade Classrooms in Stann Creek District, Belize. Belize Teacher's Training College, Belize
Juarez and Associates, 1992. Multigrade schools: An information packet. US Agency for International Development Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, Office of Development Resources, Education and Human Resources Division. Report Number: (Contract) LAC 0032 C 00 9036 00
Kich Pham Vu et al, 1995. Teacher Training Modules on methods and techniques of multigrade teaching and learning (Module 4, module 5, module 6). UNICEF: Hanoi
Miller, Bruce A., 1989. The multigrade classroom: a resource handbook for small rural schools Regional Educational Laboratory: Oregon, USA.
Philippon, A, 1986. Guide pour classes à plusieurs niveaux (Guide for multigrade classes), Pédagogie pratique à l’école, Hachette Education, Paris.
Sinha, S, 1998. Vidhi mein nidhi (A trainer's handbook on multigrade teaching). National Council of Educational Research and Training: Bihar, India
Son, V., Pridmore P., Nga, B.. My D., and Kick P., 2002. Renovating the teaching of health in multigrade primary schools: A teacher's guide to health in natural and social sciences (Grades 1,2,3) and Science (grade 5). British Council /National Institute of Educational Sciences: Hanoi, Vietnam. full text (pdf file)
Vithanapathirana, M., 2006. Training Modules on Multigrade Teaching for Multigrade Teachers in Sri Lanka.
Thomas, C. & Shaw, C., 1992. Issues in the development of multigrade schools. World Bank Technical Paper 172: Washington
UNESCO, 2001. A handbook for teachers of multigrade classes (volume 1). UNESCO: France.
UNESCO, 2001. A handbook for teachers of multigrade classes (volume 2). UNESCO: France.
UNESCO/APEID, 1988. Multiple class teaching in primary schools: a methodological guide. UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific: Bangkok
UNICEF Vietnam/Ministry of Education and Training, 1998. Multigrade and bilingual education classes in primary school in Vietnam. UNICEF/MoET: Hanoi, Vietnam. Link to extracts: Teacher Training Modules
World Bank/UNICEF, 1996. Towards a new school for the 21st century: Teacher's learning guides for the organisation of primary education in multigrade schools. Initiation Workshop, UNICEF Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.


Kerry Hempenstall summarises key aspects of the controversy around whole language versus phonics methods in beginning reading instruction. He argues for the evidence of scientific research to be given greater emphasis.
The development of research in support of effective systematic phonics teaching is outlined. To demonstrate the breadth of the research base, there is a useful link to a detailed bibliography compiled by the SRA team at McGraw-Hill.
This short paper form 1996 outlines the problem of falling standards and attributes it largely to a ‘mixed methods’ or ‘balanced’ approach, combining phonetic methods with context clues and guessing. The challenge for teacher training is clearly set out. It is interesting to reflect on how much (or little) progress has been made since the time of publication.
Tom Burkard sets out the appalling statistics for continuing literacy failure after the Literacy Hour was introduced in 1998, showing how the National Literacy Strategy was itself a component in this failure due to its roots in whole language concepts of reading (not to mention some suspicious tinkering with statistics).
A news report from 2005 contrasting the success of synthetic phonics in Clackmannanshire with the lack of progress under the Literacy Hour. A key question is how much the classroom has changed since.
Why Are Our Best Readers in School Failing the Government's New Phonics Screener? (Dodah C A 2013) The Huffington Post Students
A good example of how mixed messages come from confused ideas about phonics teaching. Exactly when students should be taught more varied and complex aspects of the alphabetic code, some practitioners eagerly want them to begin to use ‘visual memory’ and look for ‘context clues’. Muddling up phonics instruction with other (failed) methods is the likely explanation for poor scores on the phonics screen (which assesses the teaching, not students).
Explains the principal differences between these two sometimes confused approaches, and why synthetic phonics is superior as an approach to early reading instruction.
This study compares the effects of synthetic vs analytic phonics on students’ word reading, spelling and reading comprehension.
John Walker explains how high frequency words can be taught using phonic principles, despite the oft-asserted claim that frequent but irregular words should be learned ‘by sight’.
John Walker explains how high frequency words can be taught using phonic principles, despite the oft-asserted claim that frequent but irregular words should be learned ‘by sight.
A short, clear overview of the necessity of phonics and the utility of a systematic phonics component to reading instruction.
This study re-analysed the meta-analysis of the National Reading Panel. While the authors agree that there is evidence for the efficacy of systematic phonics instruction, they also argue that there is similar evidence to support systematic language activities and individual tutoring. They assert that these effects are additive, and that combining the three approaches could triple the impact of reading instruction.
The authors contend that literacy is much more complex than just learning to read, that the government’s policies on literacy are too narrow, and its treatment of professionals too heavy-handed. The weight of material cited is firmly on the ‘socially constructed’ approach to reading that is associated with whole language and constructivism.


Utilizing a group training format, researchers have found that parents can learn to successfully incorporate an established treatment for ASD into everyday interactions with their children. According to findings published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, parents learned to successfully apply an evidence-based therapy method called Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), also referred to as Pivotal Response Training, and observed meaningful improvement in their children.
PRT is one of the best studied and validated behavioral treatments for autism. It is a naturalistic behavioral intervention derived from the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). PRT builds on learner initiative and interests, and is particularly effective for developing communication, language, play, and social behaviors. PRT was developed to create a more efficient and effective intervention by enhancing four pivotal learning variables: motivation, responding to multiple cues, self-management, and self-initiations. According to theory, these skills are pivotal because they are the foundational skills upon which learners with ASD can make widespread and generalized improvements in many other areas.
The objective of the study was to evaluate a PRT parent training group (PRTG) for targeting language deficits in young children with ASD. For the study, researchers randomly assigned parents of 53 children with autism to participate in 12 weeks of classes on PRT or a psychoeducation group (PEG). All of the children were between the ages of 2 and 6 and had language delays. The PRTG taught parents behavioral techniques to facilitate language development. The PEG taught general information about ASD. All of the children were assessed at the outset of the study, at six weeks and at 12 weeks to determine their language abilities. Parents were also videotaped at six and 12 weeks to measure how well they were applying the treatment.
The results indicated that parents were able to learn PRT in a group format, as the majority of parents in the PRTG (84%) were using it correctly by the end of the study. Children also demonstrated improvement in adaptive communication skills. Children whose parents learned the technique reported greater gains in both the number of words used and how they used them as compared to children in the psychoeducation (control) group.
This study is considered the first randomized controlled test of group-delivered PRT and one of the largest experimental investigations of the PRT model to date. The findings suggest that specific instruction in PRT results in greater skill acquisition for both parents and children, especially in functional and adaptive communication skills. Even with the improvements, researchers said that parent-implemented approaches are intended to augment, not replace, autism therapies from professionals. Likewise, further research in PRT is warranted to replicate the observed results and address other core ASD symptoms. It should also be noted that research findings are not the only factor involved when selecting an intervention. Professional judgment and the values and preferences of parents, caregivers, and the individual are also important.
Hardan, A. Y., Gengoux, G. W., Berquist, K. L., Libove, R. A., Ardel, C. M., Phillips, J., Frazier, T. W. and Minjarez, M. B. (2014), A randomized controlled trial of Pivotal Response Treatment Group for parents of children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12354
Lee A. Wilkinson, PhD, CCBT, NCSP is author of the award-winning book, A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism and Asperger Syndrome in Schools, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. He is also editor of a best-selling text in the APA School Psychology Book Series, Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Evidence-Based Assessment and Intervention in Schools and author of the book, Overcoming Anxiety and Depression on the Autism Spectrum: A Self-Help Guide Using CBT. His latest book is A Best Practice Guide to Assessment and Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Schools (2nd edition).


Direct Instruction and Music Literacy: One Approach to Augmenting the Diminishing?
Lowe, Geoffrey, Belcher, Steven, Australian Journal of Music Education
Secondary school music teachers are facing the increasing problem of diminishing class time in an increasingly crowded curriculum (Burke, 2007). The creation of the Arts Learning Area has seen the teaching time available for class music reduced in many instances, as sequential class music makes way for short term 'arts taster' programs (Stevens, 2005; Walker, 2005). However, music teachers are still expected to produce musically literate students potentially capable of undertaking post-compulsory music courses in upper secondary school. Accordingly, maximising diminishing class time is becoming increasingly important for music teachers, especially in the preparation of students potentially able to complete senior secondary music courses.
This study set out to examine the effectiveness of a music literacy intervention designed to accelerate literacy acquisition and recall among students in their first year of secondary school (Year 7). The study employed the pedagogical approach of Direct Instruction (DI) as its theoretical basis. While somewhat at odds with mainstream educational thinking because of its teacher-centred nature, proponents of DI claim it is an efficient method for fast tracking basic skills acquisition. Using the DI approach, a series of carefully scripted 10 minute lesson interventions were constructed, and delivered at the start of each lesson over the course of 20 lessons (13 weeks) to half of a Year 7 student cohort in a major Victorian secondary school, while the other half of the cohort were taught using traditional student-centred approaches. Pre- and post-testing of the levels of students' musical literacy, using Gordon's Iowa Tonal and Rhythm Tests as a benchmark, was undertaken to determine whether the DI intervention resulted in any significant differences to Year 7 student music literacy levels over the period of the intervention.
The study was carried out in the knowledge that music educators are coming under increasing pressure with diminishing class time to adequately prepare students for higher level music studies. The DI teaching approach has been successfully used in lower secondary remedial English and mathematics in Australia. By testing the efficiency of DI as an approach for teaching basic music literacy, the researchers hope to find a way forward for music teachers to maximise their diminishing teaching time in lower secondary school, while significantly improving music literacy outcomes for students to enable them to successfully engage in applied music activities. Ultimately, it is hoped that such a program may help better prepare students to complete senior school music courses.
This article examines DI as a potential teaching approach for class music, and describes the DI program created for this study. It sets out in detail the steps involved in the intervention and presents the findings of the study before discussing their implications.
The current state of music education in Australia makes it difficult for students to gain the skills and competencies required to successfully complete music at the post-compulsory level. A major problem is that of declining class music time, especially in lower secondary school. This has been brought about partly by the amalgamation of music into a generic Arts learning area. Stevens (2005) notes that music is 'One of the more highly specialised and therefore time-consuming areas of The Arts [Key Learning Area]' (p. 256). Yet music has had to make way for the other arts in an increasingly crowded curriculum, and this situation will continue with the introduction of the National Arts Curriculum (ACARA, 2011).
A problem readily identified with the move towards generic Arts education has been a resulting lack of continuity, as students in lower secondary school often take part in arts 'taster' courses which alternate between visual arts, drama, dance and media (Grattan, 2006; Stevens, 2005; Walker, 2005). …


Phonics is a method of teaching reading which deals with the relationship between the letters and sounds. One cannot learn to read effectively without an understanding of relationship between the letters and letter sounds, and how they connect to form the words.
Learning phonics will help kids learn to read and spell. Written language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of letters and letter combinations will help your child decode words as he reads. Knowing phonics will also help child know which letters to use as he writes words.
Child will probably learn phonics in kindergarten through second grade. In kindergarten, children usually learn the sounds of the consonant letters (all letters except the vowels a, e, i, o, and u). First- and second-graders typically learn all the sounds of letters, letter combinations, and word parts. They practice reading and spelling words containing those letters and patterns.
Children vary in the amount of phonics instruction they need and when they need it. Some children need very little phonics instruction, while others still benefit from phonics instruction in third grade.
We at DINOLAND start phonics session from Kindergarten onwards. There are programs for kids as well as parents. Some of the events are free for kids enrolled for preschools. For more information please contact our office.
© 2017 DINOLAND India DINOLAND.in


How important is proper breathing when it comes to playing music and singing? Very! For singers, especially, learning how to control your breathing helps with your tone, your vocal power, and your phrasing. Read on as Portland music teacher Bonnie M. explains the 3 simple steps to keep in mind…
If you’re an instrumentalist, how comfortable are you with considering your breath while playing? When you watch an orchestra begin to play, you will notice the Concertmaster’s bow indicate the upbeat at the same time he or she shows an exaggerated breath. This communicates to the orchestra the time of that first measure. The next time you sit down at your piano, and hear the beginning tempo of your piece, take a breath in time as you start your practice session. At the next phrase, do the same, and listen as the music becomes more alive. Please, don’t hold your breath between phrases though!
If you’re a vocalist, you’ll already know that you can’t makes sounds if you don’t breathe. Your breath gives shape to the phrase, and sometimes as a beginner your breath can feel as if it restricts your phrasing. Let’s break down the process:
The lungs fill with air drawn in by the diaphragm. Silence and relaxation are key, as few things disrupt the mood of your song more than a sudden *GASP* between phrases! When the vocal folds are tense, the inhalation of the breath creates that ugly sound. If you’re having difficulty finding enough breath, imagine buckling on a belt of noses around your waist. All those noses are breathing for you, helping you expand all the way around your belly. (Another hint: breathing through your nose is always quiet!)
For a singer, the release of air is carefully rationed to sustain a phrase until the end. I often imagine a feather in front of my mouth, and in my breathing exercises I blow just strong enough to keep the feather uplifted, but not so strong that the feather is blown away from my face.
The easiest thing to forget when you’re focused on singing to the end of that long phrase: the best way to end that note is to breathe IN again. Don’t just let the sound stop by tensing up – gently let your diaphragm fill your lungs once more and that note will end softly, instead of harshly. If you want to go a step further, consider the next word you sing and allow your mouth to form its first vowel while you breathe in again. Then you’re doubly prepared for your next entrance.
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Bonnie M. teaches piano, singing, flute, music theory and opera voice lessons to students of all ages in Portland, OR. She joined the TakeLessons team in November 2012, with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Music Education from Willamette University. Learn more about Bonnie, or search for a teacher near you!
Photo by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson


ERIC Number: EJ663385
Record Type: CIJE
Publication Date: 2002
Reference Count: 0
"Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition," by Ellen Bialystok. Book Review.
Bilingual Research Journal, v26 n3 p729-35 Fall 2002
This book assembles a wide range of research on children's language development, interprets it with analyses of how bilingualism affects that development, and, above all, breaks the myths surrounding bilingualism and bilingual education. The urgency about introducing language minority children to English immediately in schools, and about mainstreaming them as early as possible has no basis in fact. (TD)
Descriptors: Bilingual Education, Bilingualism, Book Reviews, Child Development, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Processes, Cultural Influences, Elementary Education, Metalinguistics, Preschool Education, Second Language Learning, Social Influences, Young Children
For full text: http://brj.asu.edu/content/vol26 no3/abstracts.html.
Publication Type: Book/Product Reviews; Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Critical Period (Language Learning)


Learning to Ride a Bike
As spring began to overtake winter, I noticed an increasing number of children riding their bicycles in my neighborhood. Seeing one father helping his daughter with her new two-wheeler reminded me of my own initial experience with my first bicycle.
The bike I received for my birthday had no training wheels on it, and so I floundered on my first attempts to ride on a spring afternoon. My dad came home from his factory job one day and saw me struggling to keep my balance as I rode the bike. Getting out of the car, he walked over to me and had me get on the bike while he steadied it by grasping the seat. As I pedaled and steered, he ran next to me, holding me up. When I turned, I usually leaned too much or too little into the curve; my dad gave me feedback (he’d say “lean the other way”) and supported me by tilting the bike in the opposite direction. After a few trips up and down the block, he gave me a push, let go of the seat, and before I knew it, I was riding without his help. I could ride my bike! Later that afternoon, my father gave me a few more tips on bike safety and expressed how proud he was of my accomplishment.
This experience reminds me of what happens during assisted reading with feedback. A considerable body of theory and research in reading acquisition tells us that the foundational skills in reading (Common Core State Standards—phonics, word recognition, and fluency) are best developed through instruction followed by practice with support and feedback. When a struggling or developing reader reads a text while simultaneously hearing it read to him or her, the developing reader will eventually be able to read that text (and others) without assistance. An essential key to the assist, however, is to provide formative feedback to the reader in the same way that my father gave feedback to me. That feedback can take a variety of forms: emphasizing a word that was mispronounced, providing the definition to a word or phrase, or briefly discussing the text after reading. The focus is on how well he or she read, or if there is an area of need.
Most learning, it seems, is facilitated by an assist, scaffold, or support provided by another. Learning to read and learning to ride a bike are no exceptions. As teachers we need to find ways to support our readers in their reading while providing formative feedback during and after their reading. When we do so, we will find our students not only making great progress in their reading but also viewing themselves as competent and independent readers.
Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D., Kent State University, is the author of numerous books and articles on reading education. His research on fluency was cited by the National Reading Panel. Rasinski is the co-author of Building Vocabulary, Greek & Latin Roots: Keys to Building Vocabulary, Fluency through Practice and Performance, and consulted on TIME FOR KIDS® Nonfiction Readers and Read! Explore! Imagine! Fiction Readers. He is a frequent and popular presenter nationwide.
Thanks, Dr. Rasinski, for the great analogy of bicycle training to the gradual release employed in reading instruction! We’re wondering what analogies other teachers may use to illustrate the process of education. Have you ever thought, “Teaching is like . . . “? Share your ideas in the reply section!


One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language, Volume 1
Today's early childhood educators are serving more children learning English as a second language than ever--in Head Start alone, nearly 30% of the children speak a language other than English at home.* To support second language learners and put them on the path to academic success, every teacher needs this popular, practical, and highly readable guidebook.
Reflecting 10 years of dramatic change in early education--especially in critical areas like assessment and cultural diversity--the second edition of this bestseller gives teachers up-to-date research, usable information, and essential tools to meet the needs of second language learners in today's learning environments. Leading researcher Patton Tabors equips teachers with the foundation of knowledge they need to
Teachers will also get updates on all the key topics covered in the first edition, including working with parents, understanding the process of second-language acquisition, and using the curriculum and classroom organization to facilitate English language and literacy learning. Ideal for professional development, this book is the best tool a teacher can have to support the language and literacy development and school success of second language learners while honoring their home languages and cultures.*English Language Learners Focus Group Report, 2002
Get practical strategies on the accompanying DVD, One Child, Two Languages in Action.A featured book in our Launching Literacy Kit!
See which domain of school readiness in the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework this book addresses.
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Chapter Three Getting Started in a Second Language
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I just happened upon this bundle from http://www.eartrainingandimprov.com/ in my inbox this morning.
It’s a great assortment of beginner music theory worksheets for children. I printed them all out and am going to assemble a worksheet packet that my students will work through up until Halloween. Kristin (the lady behind the packet) gives great suggestions for how to make these exercises extra fun for kids. I’m especially looking forward to the rhythm dictation worksheet called “Knock, Knock Trick or Treat.” If the student “knocks” correctly, they get the treat. I know my students are just going to eat that up (literally and metaphorically.
Anyway, serious thanks to Kristin. Here’s a preview of some of the sheets and links to get them (click on image).
My students LOVE these kind of worksheets. I’ve shared a few of my own making, but these are really great:
My students often don’t get enough consistent practice drawing the treble clef sign and grand staff. It’s my recent resolution to focus on this more, so it’s great to have a Halloween-themed way to bring it to them this month!
Ear training, despite how vital it is, often gets put to the side in lessons – there’s just too much to teach in one hour, once a week. Definitely going to use this to make sure my students get a well-rounded music education.


|Title:||The Female and Male Orphan Schools in New South Wales, 1801-1850|
|Authors:||Bubacz, Beryl M|
|Keywords:||Male Orphan Institution of New South Wales -- History.|
Male Orphan School (Bonnyrigg, N.S.W.) -- History.
Female Orphan School (Sydney, N.S.W.) -- History.
Female Orphan School (Parramatta, N.S.W.) -- History.
Children -- Institutional care -- New South Wales -- Sydney -- History.
Orphanages -- New South Wales -- Sydney -- History.
|Publisher:||University of Sydney.|
Faculty of Education and Social Work
|Abstract:||This thesis is concerned with an examination and re-assessment of the establishment, operation and management of the Female and Male Orphan Schools, in the first half of the nineteenth century in New South Wales. The chaplains and governors in the early penal settlement were faced with a dilemma, as they beheld the number of children who were ‘orphaned’, neglected, abandoned and destitute. In order to understand the reasons why these children were in necessitous circumstances, the thesis seeks to examine the situations of the convict women, who were the mothers of these children. Governors Philip Gidley King and Lachlan Macquarie respectively in 1801 and 1819 established the Schools, which provided elementary education, training and residential care within a religious setting. Researching the motives underlying the actions of these men has been an important part of the thesis. An examination of the social backgrounds of some of the children admitted to these Schools has been undertaken, in order to provide a greater understanding of the conditions under which the children were living prior to their admissions. Information about family situations, and the social problems encountered by parents that led them to place their children in the Schools, have been explored. The avenues open to the girls and boys when they left the Schools, has formed part of the study. Some children were able to be reunited with family members, but the majority of them were apprenticed. A study of the nature of these apprenticeships, has led to a greater understanding of employment opportunities for girls and boys at that time. In 1850 the Schools were amalgamated into the Protestant Orphan School at Parramatta. By examining the governance and operation of the Schools during their last two decades as separate entities, we have more knowledge about and understanding of these two colonial institutions. It is the conclusion of this thesis that some of the harsher judgements of revisionist social historians need to be modified. It was the perception that more social disorder would occur if action was not taken to ‘rescue’ the ‘orphaned’ children, usually of convict parentage. However genuine charity, philanthropy and concern was displayed for the children in grave physical and moral danger. The goals of the founders were not always reached in the Orphan Schools, nevertheless they performed an invaluable service in the lives of many children.|
|Description:||Doctor of Philosophy|
|Rights and Permissions:||The author retains copyright of this thesis.|
|Type of Work:||PhD Doctorate|
|Appears in Collections:||Sydney Digital Theses (Open Access)|
|01BubaczThesisPart1Chs1&2.pdf||1.71 MB||Adobe PDF|
|02BubaczThesisPart2Ch3.pdf||5 MB||Adobe PDF|
|03BubaczThesisPart2Ch4.pdf||6.38 MB||Adobe PDF|
|04BubaczThesisPart3Ch5.pdf||828.82 kB||Adobe PDF|
|05BubaczThesisPart3Ch6.pdf||9 MB||Adobe PDF|
|06BubaczThesisPart4Ch7.pdf||3.37 MB||Adobe PDF|
|07BubaczThesisPart4Ch8.pdf||4.37 MB||Adobe PDF|
|08BubaczThesisConclusion.pdf||677.94 kB||Adobe PDF|
Items in Sydney eScholarship Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.


In Sunday's New York Times Magazine, Ann Hulbert warned against the problem with advocating for arts education by citing its ability to help kids perform well in other areas, particularly on the "testable" areas of education. A recent study released by the Dana Foundation explored the connections between arts education and coginition. Here, we've invited Mark Cooper, co-author of Making Art Together: How Collaborative Art-Making Can Transform Kids, Classrooms, and Communities, to discuss how he feels an education in the visual arts benefits students.
In my experience, arts education provides a format for students to think critically, ask questions, and ultimately, find their own answers. This is especially true for students with little or no art making background in that much of their education revolves around the acquisition of other skills, retention of facts, and meeting specific expectations. Arts education provides a different model and when it succeeds, an ability to "think outside of the box."
A principal component to succeeding in the creation of an art object is the process of developing an idea about what is desired to be communicated and how best to do so. There are generalities that often hold true; but, the minute a rule is made, someone breaks it in an interesting way. I always encourage students to look at how other artists, from the past and from their moment, problem solve and articulate their ideas. I encourage them to study history, learn from it, and expand upon it, to become "masters of their media," able to make educated decisions and trust their instincts. I help them look to the past as well as the present for ways to enter the dialogue that mirrors their own interests.
There is a large component of critical thinking involved in studying art, beginning with evaluating art made by others at different times and within different cultural frameworks, that results in the student's ability to be objective in making decisions about their own creative efforts. The process of looking and learning allows them to evaluate the success and failures of others and apply these observations to the path they may wish to pursue. The idea of objectively learning from history is obvious and overlooked in much of what we do.
Making art is about coming up with visual solutions that allow viewers the opportunity to see the world a little differently than they might have before. I have often felt that if there were only one thing I could accomplish in teaching art it would be to help the students along the path of learning how to trust themselves, their decisions, and their ability to think through problems. This involves the collaborative process of interacting with a public, real or perceived, and understanding the success and failures of their creative endeavors. With enough time spent, art education can provide students with a sense of mastery and the experience of having succeeded, both of which are highly and easily transferable to other aspects of their lives.
The process of learning about the clarity of form required to succeed through making art supports the students in understanding what is necessary to succeed in non-art related endeavors. The experience of learning about how to "frame" and present their ideas is transferable to other endeavors. Most importantly, the confidence that comes from succeeding at an activity with a history that goes back to the cave paintings is incredibly empowering. Having succeeded at their artistic endeavors and developed a sense of being a master in one pursuit is a tremendous life lesson.


DETERMINING ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE, AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA DIRECTORS' PRESENTATION SEQUENCE OF TECHNICAL SKILLS TO BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE STRING STUDENTS
The purpose of this study was to determine elementary, middle, and junior high school orchestra directors’ presentation sequence of technical skills to beginning and intermediate string students. Surveys were distributed to 209 public school orchestra directors from Illinois (n = 57), Texas (n = 53), California (n = 51), and North Carolina (n = 48). A total of 60 teachers from Illinois, North Carolina, and Texas responded to the survey. Since only three teachers responded from California, data from this state were removed from analysis in order to allow for a more reasonable comparison among the other three states. The survey consisted of four sections: director profile, school profile, skills, and method books. Results of the director profile indicated that 76.7% of respondents were female, 55% have a masters degree, 50.85% play the violin, and 18.6% have taught for more than 25 years. School profile indicated that 51.72% of respondents teach at a middle school, 84.4% teach in a suburban setting, and 50% start their students on a string instrument in the sixth grade. The skills section of the survey asked respondents to supply data pertaining to nine technical skills for the developing string player: (a) placing the bow on the string for the first time, (b) note reading, (c) low second finger, (d) low first finger, (e) students tune their own instruments, (f) vibrato, (g) shifting (violin/viola), (h) shifting (cello), and (i) shifting (bass). Seven of these nine skills are currently introduced by 48.2% of directors in the sixth grade. The method books section of the survey indicated that Essential Elements was used by 86.67% of directors. Implications for music education included encouraging orchestra directors to introduce vibrato before high school. Suggestions for further research included compiling a handbook describing the effective teaching techniques orchestra directors use to teach the nine technical skills to their developing string players.
School:Bowling Green State University
School Location:USA - Ohio
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:elementary middle school junior high orchestra directors presentation sequence technical skills beginning string students intermediate
Date of Publication:01/01/2007


Reading Comprehension Strategies
Because reading comprehension is a skill that can be learned, there are several teaching strategies that allow for helping individuals master this skill. There is, however, some division between those who seek to focus on the understanding of the text, and those who prefer to begin with phonics, and the decoding of words.
Vocabulary is vital to reading comprehension and a major part of reading comprehension strategies. Knowing words is large part of understanding what one is reading, and students with a larger vocabulary will have an easier time comprehending. Isabel Beck, Margaret McKeown and Linda Kucan developed the three-tier theory of vocabulary. Tier one consists of very basic words, such as fish or shoe. The second tier are general academic words, such as frequent. Tier three involves content-specific words such as photosynthesis. Beck and her coworkers stress the teaching of Tier Two words in order to increase a student’s general vocabulary, leaving Tier Three words for specific content instruction.
Reciprocal teaching is another strategy for improving reading comprehension. Summarizing after every paragraph has proven to be an effective technique in this strategy for building comprehension. Instructional conversations have also proven effective, creating higher-order thinking through discussion of text and meaning.


With a basis in Suzuki’s talent education method and the belief that all children can learn, lessons draw upon the influences of of Galamian, Flesch, Paul Rolland, Mimi Zweig, Maria Montessori, Dalcroze, Orff and others. The ultimate goal is to educate happy, healthy and well-rounded young musicians who have the technical, theoretical and expressive means to enjoy a lifetime of music, regardless of which path or profession they choose.
- Every child has the ability to learn and brings his or her own unique and positive qualities. All students aged 3+ are welcome, regardless of their current level of ability, learning challenges, physical development or socio-economic background (including adults!)
- Daily practice is essential. Efficient practice is the key to success.
- The cultivation of musical excellence and a fine character go hand in hand as we strive to do our best, develop discipline and appreciate hard work.
- A positive and patient environment is essential for productive lessons and practice. Happy kids learn better.
- Aural development and technical facility should be developed in tandem from an early age.
- A adult should never do for a child something which he or she can do for him/herself.
- A well-rounded music education includes the development of an complete skill-set: technical proficiency on the instrument; the ability to perform in a healthy way; awareness of style and form; a practical knowledge of music history, rudiments and harmony; fluency in aural skills and solfeggio; and the ability to make music with others. These should be taught from the first lesson.
- A student’s musical development (and the methods for teaching) should be directly related to his or her age and cognitive development.
- Parents are partners in their children’s musical education, and should be actively involved in lessons and daily practice. It is the job of a teacher to nurture the parent-child relationship.


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There are two basic types of grammar programs for computers: programs that correct the grammar of a document and programs that teach a user how to use grammar. The former is generally not considered a reliable method of editing an article, but the latter can teach a willing student more about grammar. In addition, some websites offer educational newsletter programs that help people gradually improve their grammar. The capability and reliability of each of these programs vary; for example, a poorly funded grammar program might not be very useful or can even be harmful when it comes to correcting an important document or teaching students grammar.
Some grammar programs are designed to analyze and correct a user’s grammar. A program scans a digital document for errors and then lists them with suggestions on how to completely fix or at least improve all incorrect sentences. These programs are usually reliable for novice mistakes, but they may frequently suggest the user fix correct sentences. It is difficult for programmers to code most or even all possible grammar mistakes, so all grammar programs are lacking in some way. The best computer software programs of this kind are usually not free and might even require a monthly subscription.
Other grammar programs are designed to actually teach users how to use grammar rather than fixing the mistakes they make. These computer programs are usually in the form of games and can range in difficulty from elementary education to high school or higher education. In general, there is relatively little demand for computer grammar programs, so the vast majority of the available games are often several years old. In fact, some old grammar computer games are no longer compatible with the latest versions of the popular operating systems.
Besides computer programs, some Internet newsletters give scheduled lessons on grammar. The emails arrive every day or week with a new explanation, tip, or other tidbit on grammar. This can be a slow way to learn more about grammar, but students are less likely to become overwhelmed with new information. A potential downside to educational newsletters is that students may become disinterested after a few emails and end up unsubscribing, not reading the emails, or sending the emails straight to their spam folder. Sometimes these newsletters make money by selling related products to their email list once they have gained the users’ trust, such as selling an e-book on certain aspects of writing.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate K-4 pre-service classroom teachers’ beliefs about useful skills, understandings, and future practices in music. Questionnaire (N=74) and interview (N=35) data were gathered from teacher candidates enrolled in music methods courses at a large, western Canadian university. Music skills and understandings such as singing, listening, and integrating music across other subject areas were rated as "most useful," indicating a definite valuing of pedagogical content knowledge over content knowledge like music fundamentals, music history, or playing accompaniment instruments. Future music practices discussed by pre-service teachers were closely aligned to the beliefs they hold about the benefits of using music to achieve their own classroom teaching goals. No evidence was found to suggest they were able to take on the role of the music specialist. Recommendations for designing music courses for K-4 classroom teachers and future research are offered.
"K-4 Pre-Service Classroom Teachers' Beliefs About Useful Skills, Understandings and Future Practice in Music,"
Research & Issues in Music Education: Vol. 2
, Article 2.
Available at: http://ir.stthomas.edu/rime/vol2/iss1/2


Between examing the role that Good to Great can have in our schools, I continue to explore what I need to learn about teaching Latino students. In three previous posts, here, and here, I responded to a professional development session in which our staff's effort with Latino students was summarily reproached for its subtly racist undertones. The presentation, though interweaved with some truths, was more for provocation than actual usefulness. I'm tempted to dwell on its need for provocation and not move to the intereweaved truths--I'll refrain for now.
Last year, in my first year at this particular school, I discovered a book, Puerto Rican Students in U.S. Schools, edited by Sonia Nieto. The Daily Grind should fund the purchase of this text, but for now, google books will have to suffice. The truth is that our Latino students do face challenges in finding success within our US schools--we who teach these students should be more educated on those challenges. Yet I can't help but admit that many students of various racial makeup have challenges. Which is why I agree completely with one of Nieto's conclusions about the need for caring teachers--of all the foundational skills needed to succeed with all students, carino, might be the most important.
Nieto concludes, "Care is demonstrated most powerfully through high expectations and rigorous standards, and in teachers' beliefs that students are worthy and capable" (31). The current charter school movement is tapping into the power of carino as a means to improving student learning. We have much to discover about high expectations and rigorous standards.
Sometimes I think teachers of our Latino students, in an effort to care about them, allow themselves to lower their standards and focus too heavily on how the "feel" and less on whether or not they are learning.
She adds that other effective examples of carino include, "...developing strong interpersonal relationships with students and their families, learning about and from them, respecting and affirming their language and culture, and building on these to support learning" (31). At this point, I begin to feel uncertain about what she is proposing. Or, at least start asking far more questions, which would be the better way to describe my uneasiness.
Shouldn't we expect "strong interpersonal relationships" between our teachers and every student? What does "affirming their language and culture" mean?
For instance, in Sweating the Small Stuff, author David Whitman writes that the new paternalistic schools "Street slang, the use of the ‘n-word,’ and cursing are typically not only barred in the classroom but in the hallways and lunch room as well” (38). I know that by "language" Nieto more than likely means Spanish, but what if their "language" is both Spanish and street-slang English? Culture is the learned patterns of behavior, and street-slang falls into that definition.
However, in the end, I agree with Nieto regarding what she more than likely really means. Schools which serve Latino students should be working to create great students. Whitman, in his book, describes Cristo Rey Jesuit High School goal “... to have graduates be bilingual and bi-literate” (139). Not only does this respect their culture, it serves the greater purpose of educating our students to high standards. Now that's real carino.


What it is: Woot Math uses adaptive technology to personalize the math learning experience in new ways for 3rd-6th grade students. With a focus on fractions and decimals, Woot Math allows students many inroads to understanding. Flexible implementation options mean that Woot Math can be used in any classroom configuration whether it be 1:1 devices, shared devices, whole-class, or as intervention. The Woot Math system works on the web, iPads, or Chromebooks seamlessly…it truly is a great option for any classroom! It is super user-friendly, and gives teachers the ability to customize for each student in the class as a starting point. Woot Math is adaptive, as students use it, it gets “smart” and creates learning pathways based on the specific needs of the student. Beginning with foundational rational math concepts, Woot Math makes these necessary foundational skills accessible for all students. It is like having a personal tutor sitting beside them as they work through new learning. If a student doesn’t understand a problem, the program adapts to approach the learning in a new way. The illustration of concepts is brilliant! Woot Math gives students a solid understanding of fractions, laying the necessary ground work for algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, and statistics. Sign up TODAY, Woot Math is totally free for the 2015-2016 school year!
How to integrate Woot Math into your classroom: To begin with Woot Math, decide how you will use it in your classroom. Do all of your students have access to a technology device? Do you have a bank of devices that they can rotate through? Do you have a projector/interactive whiteboard? If you are using Woot Math with limited technology access, beginning with the Interactive Problem Bank is best. Here you can quickly access thousands of hands-on fraction and decimal problems for students to work through together. You can project the problems on a whiteboard or use an interactive whiteboard. Problems can be selected by topic or standard and then by model type. Students can either work together in community solving problems, or as a center in a math rotation. If you have better access to technology, and students can work independently on a device, the Adaptive Practice is the place to start. Here you can print out student login cards, assign an initial topic, and the program will adaptively generate and assess thousands of interactive problems. This is also the place where you can track student progress and understanding through concepts and skills. The visual examples and leading through problems is fantastic, it is truly an engaging process for students to learn with! This is the best way (in my humble opinion) to use Woot Math, because it allows students to work in exactly the way they need to increase understanding and build a solid foundation of understanding. Be sure to go through Woot Math independently of your students to truly appreciate the interactive learning modules and visual representation of concepts…they are brilliant!
Tips: Be sure to sign up soon, take advantage of this timing when Woot Math is 100% free! There are some great teacher resources to download to help you as you implement Woot Math.
Hat Tip to @yourkidsteacher for sharing this awesome resource with me!


ClassImportant Ideas 2 and 3
Thoughts about John Finch and LwICT presentation
x what is he really up to?
Assignments deadlines ???
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Nicolas Carr – Is Google Making Us Stupid? or Watch some video
We can still read! - Why Digital Doesn't Mean Dumb!
What is a good teacher?
Gladwell - How to Identify a Good Teacher Prospect
What is music education for?
- What are schools for? What is education? Why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish with your music students?
- Write down a short response
- Share with one other person and modify/revise if you wish
- Share with another pair of people
- What do some 'experts' say? Audio excerpt from TVO - The Agenda
How does music education fit in to the overall goals of education?
How many halves of education are there?
The Brain - “Will fast facts do to our brains, what fast food has done to our bodies?” R. Redekopp
Start with this short NY Times article: The Science of Concentration
Then choose one more from among the following and bring your notes to class:
Gary Small - iBrain - text or video choices or audio
Multitasking or Paying Attention: Winnifred Gallagher - the book Rapt, or video (around 30 minutes to find the multitasking stuff)
Your Brain on Technology - audio


Bernstorf, Elaine. “Music, Dance, And The Brain: A Great Combination.” Kodaly Envoy 36.1 (2009): 17-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2016
In “Music, Dance, And The Brain: A Great Combination.” Elaine Berstrof talks about the affect music has on the efficiency and effectiveness of the brain. She primarily uses the research and experience of Nina Kraus to support her argument. She explains and documents Kraus’s credentials as well as a specific experiment Kraus and her colleagues performed which proved that those who are musically educated better perceive and respond to stimuli as opposed to those who have not had thorough music education. She suggests that music can actually mold and change the nervous system to be more perceptive. This is great evidence to support the importance of music education in children early on to help with mental development.
- The first thing I saw when looking at this graph is the baby crying. I also noticed the many cramped lines and the black and whit color scheme.
- The graph gives me an initial negative feeling mainly because a crying baby is the first thing I saw. Furthermore the black and white colors don’t help with the negative connotation or distinguishing between the musician and not musician lines. I do notice however the shadow from the not musicians showing they responded more to the sound. Making the musician line lighter helped to demonstrate its larger amplitude.
- Like- the difference demonstrated in the different lines. The x and y axis labels and intervals. The box outlining the important area.
Dislike- the lack of labels. The picture of the baby crying. The lack of color.
4. Three things I would change:
No color- It is over all very difficult to look at because it give a depressing feel. Adding some color might make it more visually appealing and give off a better mood.
The picture of the baby- It doesn’t help support the information the graph is representing and it draws the focus away from the important information as well as giving it a negative feel.
Add labels- It is a little difficult to understand what exactly the graph is telling you without reading the article. Adding labels would make the graph easier to understand and comprehend without going back and forth between the article.


Rome (I), November 2011 - The OEB session "Social Sounds for Peer Education" aims to give an overview of how digital-technology applications have changed music education, creation, and production. Andrea Pozzi, marketing and communication manager of MidiWare is also in charge of managing all MidiWare activities relating to their European educational projects. MidiWare provides support to music teachers, schools, conservatories, and other important European Institutions. As a musician, Andrea plays bass in a band that is signed to an Italian record company.
How do you define a "Peer Sound" and a "Social Sound"?
Andrea Pozzi: These definitions are strictly related to the future of web-based music education. Basically "Peer Sound" and "Social Sound" are two faces of the same medal, both connected to how the Web 2.0 community interacts with music and social networking. This community is reticular, populated by owners of specific skills and competencies developed inside the environments and over the net. It uses both software for digital music production and the Internet -œstudios- communities in which all members can share their knowledge.
They're called peer-to-peer communities not only because of the technology used but mainly because of the strategy used (collaboration among peers). The communities can exist thanks to the environments hosted by the communications networks. Media and the Internet have boosted the creation of virtual communities in which a new social and professional behavior is carried out: the sharing of knowledge and skills.
These communities can be stable or unstable and limited in time or exist on a per-project basis, but they are all mediated. In other words they exist thanks to specific media, and from the same media they are enforced, fed, and aimed. This is a new trend that is growing, and in a short time it will have deep effects on many fields, like education, training, work, and even culture.
Music has always been a unifying factor for young people, but it's a leisure-time activity. Does it have any connection to education?
Andrea Pozzi: Music and education are in fact closely related. Education is about the communication of ideas, and nothing is changing faster in the 21st century than communication. The Internet has become a substantial part of the lives of a significant proportion of the people in the developed world. There are a myriad of opportunities for learning presented by the endless flow of information presented in the online world.
The role of the music teacher has increasingly been supplanted by an online community in which the exchange of knowledge is between peers rather than the traditional flow of information from teacher to student. Once it has been accepted that this informal educational context has a valid, important and irrevocable place in the modern music-education process, the challenge for educational professionals is to integrate the tools, ideas, and methods into a formal didactic context.
Since its establishment in 1986, MidiWare has linked music and computers. In your opinion, what influence has this link had on the lives and education of young people?
Andrea Pozzi: Even in the early stages of its activity the MidiWare Educational section integrated new computer technologies into the traditional educational methods used by conservatories, music schools and academies, public and private schools, universities, and professional training centers.
The goal was to develop a complete educational program and a training solution as a solid base for new professional roles introduced by the vertical growth of IT and digital technologies. We sought to link audio editing, mix and post-production sound engineers, experts in the management of live music performances and in the whole entertainment business, together with all industry roles connected with music composition. This could be for television and cinema, music publishing, multimedia, advertising, conservation and restoration of musical works, music therapy, and all disciplines requiring the use of new technologies applied to music.
So the link between music and computers has helped the development of a real integration between the educational and professional sectors, thanks to the common intersection between technology and creativity in music.


All art students take courses within a common Art Core. These courses build a solid foundation in drawing, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, art history, and faith integration for the rest of the art program. The core prepares students to branch out into more specific areas of study.
Art Education, BS
The art education major is designed to prepare students to acquire their teaching certification in art. The major requires professional education and art courses which help you grow as both an artist and a teacher. Learn more.
Graphic Art, BA & BS
Graphic art touches nearly everything we buy, read, wear, ride, and eat. Whether in print or online, strong and effective visual communicators are always in demand. Taylor's courses require experimentation and hands-on work as you put theories into action. You'll develop expertise in Adobe Creative Suite and learn to build a professional practice and portfolio as you use art to effectively communicate messages, stories, and ideas.
Every graphic art student chooses one of the following concentrations:
- Design: typography, editorial design, layout, prepress, branding, packaging design, web design, and web animation
- Illustration: drawing, painting, storyboarding, visual voice, character development, and visual narrative
- Photography: photojournalism, portraiture, product and food photography, photo illustration, and experimental photography
Studio Art, BA & BS
Explore 2-D and 3-D mediums, from printmaking, painting, drawing, and photography to sculpture, ceramics, metalworking, and woodworking. The studio art major is designed for fluidity, so you can experiment with a variety of mediums and develop your artistic voice. In addition to studying and practicing art, you'll be introduced to the world of art exhibitions, galleries, and commission work as you share your artwork outside of the studio. Learn more.
Pre-Art Therapy, BA & BS
Build a foundation in both psychology and art, while learning about the therapeutic uses of art. Pre-art therapy is a pre-professional degree that will prepare you for a graduate program in art therapy through courses in psychology, art, and art education. You'll gain hands-on experience with artistic mediums that can be used anywhere (drawing, painting, ceramics, etc.) while learning how to teach art techniques and taking psychology courses that cover everything from personality and abnormal psychology to development over a life span. Learn more.
A concentration in visual arts is also available with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
Learn the basics of different concentrations of art through our studio art minor.
Art history provides context for the way we view art today. Learn how our culture has been formed by artists before our time through Taylor’s art history minor.
If you love photography but plan to major in another area, consider a photography minor. Required courses cover the fundamentals of photography and how to use digital tools.


The CapED Programme
About the CapED programme
As part of its mandate to lead and coordinate global efforts for Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4), UNESCO is tasked with capacity development with the CapED programme as one of its key operational responses to strengthen systems and assist countries to achieve national priorities in the context of SDG4. The programme focuses on three priority areas: sector-wide policy and planning, skills for life and work, and teachers.
Reinforcing education sector-wide policies, planning and reforms
Evidence-based policy dialogue and the implementation of solid education development plans are key to achieving nationally contextualized SDG4 targets. CapED supports the operationalization of SDG4 through a focused pilot component in selected countries, while maintaining its support to guide educational planning and shape reform agendas:
- SDG4 Pilot: From commitment to action in 10 countries
The SDG4 pilot of the CapED Programme began in 2016 in ten selected countries to help operationalize SDG4 commitments at national level. Its objective is to review existing policies and plans in light of the SDG4 targets and improve national data collection and analysis systems to better monitor progress towards them. CapED works closely with UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics to implement the data component, the key output of which will be the development of a national strategy for the development of education statistics. See country examples.
- National education reforms, plans and policies
In addition to the pilot, CapED continues to support selected countries to conduct systematic and evidence-based planning and management processes of education systems or carry out broader reforms, including curricula reform and decentralization of education management. See country examples.
Fostering skills for life and work
In line with SDG4 Targets highlighting the need for an inclusive approach to learning opportunities, this priority area focuses on policy development to create lifelong learning systems, and the effective delivery of relevant TVET and literacy and foundational skills programmes catering to disadvantaged groups, particularly girls and women. There are three priority intervention areas:
- Policy development for TVET and literacy and Non Formal Education (NFE)
CapED supports educational reforms for the development and review of TVET, literacy and NFE policies to provide quality lifelong learning opportunities for people of all ages. It also works on developing statistical frameworks and databases and enhancing the National Education Management Information System framework for effective monitoring. See country examples.
- Youth employment and entrepreneurship
CapED responds to youth unemployment by developing capacities to tighten coordination between TVET provision and the labour market. It supports the design and delivery of innovative programmes that cater to specific needs, especially girls and women and young people not in employment, education or training in disadvantaged areas. See country examples.
- Literacy skills for girls’ and women’s empowerment
CapED provides a targeted investment for gender-focused literacy interventions within a lifelong learning perspective. It works with beneficiary countries to develop, implement and scale up good quality, relevant and innovative adult education programmes targeting girls and women. CapED’s support to NFE programmes in disadvantaged communities often focus on Community Learning Centres (CLCs), which often serve girls and women with limited learning opportunities, such as out-of-school children, illiterate youth, and the elderly. See country examples.
Improving quality through teachers
As a driving force for the provision of good quality education, teachers constitute one of the key means to implement SDG4 (Target 4.c). They are thus at the centre of CapED’s focus through three priority intervention areas:
- Teacher policy development
CapED engages stakeholders and supports countries to develop and implement comprehensive policies that provide continuous professional development to better attract, train, allocate, manage and retain teaching personnel. See country examples.
- Training of teachers
CapED supports the strengthening of teacher-training institutions through the development of quality assessment frameworks and improvement plans, building capacities for pre- and in-service teacher training programmes, curricula development, pedagogical supervision for continuing support in the classroom, and the piloting and scaling-up of successful initiatives and teaching practices. See country examples.
- Gender-sensitive approaches
CapED supports the review of programmes for the professional development of teachers from a gender-equality perspective. It seeks to equip teachers with gender training to enhance the chances of girls to learn effectively, with a focus on adolescent girls’ access to and progress through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. See country examples