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Background: People with aphasia are vulnerable recipients of healthcare. The nature of the communicative environment and the communication disability can adversely impact access to timely and quality healthcare. Student healthcare professionals are often underprepared to interact successfully with people with aphasia and may benefit from communication partner training (CPT). Aims: To investigate the potential effectiveness and acceptability of a brief, two-part introductory Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA[superscript TM])-based CPT package, delivered to a sample of students across a diverse range of healthcare disciplines. Methods & Procedures: A pre-post-within group experimental design was used to investigate the potential effectiveness and acceptability of an online CPT package (50 minute module + 1 hour workshop) for healthcare students. The Aphasia Attitudes, Strategies and Knowledge (AASK) survey measured participants' knowledge of aphasia, facilitative communication strategies and attitudes towards people with aphasia. Data were collected pre-training, following the training module and following the workshop, and 6 weeks post-training. Statistical analysis was conducted on the AASK data. In addition, participant feedback (ratings and open text responses) was collected after the workshop. Ratings were analysed descriptively, and thematic content analysis was used for open text responses. Outcomes & Results: 236 participants completed the pre-training AASK and 106 completed the AASK at subsequent time points. Statistically significant gains were demonstrated from pre- to post-module completion. Between the end of the module and the end of the workshop, some gains were maintained and others showed further statistically significantly improvements. While all gains were not maintained at the 6-week follow-up, statistically significantly improvements from pre-training scores remained evident. Student feedback was predominantly positive, with suggested improvements for training content and length. Conclusions & Implications: The results provide preliminary evidence that a brief, online CPT package can support student healthcare professionals' knowledge and attitudes towards aphasia and communicating with people with aphasia. Online training was acceptable to students and feasible as an embedded or optional component of curriculum. Ongoing training (e.g., in the form of refresher sessions) and inclusion of a skills-based component are recommended to maximize communication skill development.

The interplay between facial age and facial identity is evident from several scenarios experienced in daily life, such as when recognising a face several decades after the last exposure. However, the link between age and identity processing, and how age perception abilities might diverge in individuals with different face processing abilities, has scarcely been considered. Furthermore, the approach used to test age perception ability may also influence outcome, but the effect of different paradigms on performance is not yet known. Across three studies, we compare super-recognisers (SRs), people with developmental prosopagnosia (DPs), and a group of neurotypical controls, on three age perception paradigms. There were no differences on the numeric age estimation task (i.e. providing precise age estimates for a series of faces; Study 1), and numeric age estimation task with added noise-distortion to stimuli (Study 2). However, SRs were more accurate when instructed to classify ambient faces as either over- or under- the age of 18 compared to both DPs and controls (Study 3). Thus, there may be nuanced differences in age processing which can be tapped into using separate paradigms; however, given that the difference is only with SRs it remains unclear to what extent these are linked to facial identity processing.

While there is much research concerning the interpretation of diagrams such as geographical maps and networks for information systems, there is very little on the diagrams involved in electrical and electronic engineering. Such research is important not only because it supports arguments made for other types of diagrams but also because it informs on the cognitive processes going on while learning electrical and electronic engineering domains, which are generally considered difficult to teach and learn. Such insight is useful to have as a pedagogical tool for teachers. It might also benefit would be self-learners, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists in the field because it can guide self-learning practices. When cognitive practices specific to this knowledge domain are more understood, they might give rise to automated intelligent tutor systems which could be used to augment teaching and learning practices in the education of electrical and electronic engineering. This research analyses the spatial cognitive processes involved in the translation of an electronic circuit schematic diagram into an iconic representation of the same circuit. The work shows that the cognitive affordances of proximity and paths perceived from a circuit schematic diagram have great influence on the design of an iconic diagram, or assembly diagram, representing a topologically equivalent electronic circuit. Such cognitive affordances reflect and affect thought and can be used as powerful pedagogical tools within an educational scenario.

Given the current shortage of teachers and the diminishing attraction of the teaching profession, it is important to have analytic and systematic studies of teachers' lives and careers, and to locate teachers' lives within a wider contextual understanding. The rationale for this educational research paper is to study Maltese teachers' professional behaviour and how they define themselves as teachers, particularly in a period of time where teachers in Malta were experiencing reform fatigue. The authors' aims were to explore the factors which motivate people to enter and remain into teaching, and to identify the routes they take throughout their career. Data were collected through an empirical research consisting of an online questionnaire with open-ended questions with teachers (n = 755). One of the findings shows that the majority of teachers enter the profession for altruistic motives, however, if given the opportunity, they would move into another role or profession.

Amidst ongoing calls for teaching improvement, there has been growing interest in the work of middle leaders in leading school-based curriculum and professional development. Research and policy initiatives have acknowledged that these leaders in schools are well placed to successfully drive educational change that leads to improved educational outcomes for students. This has led to an increase in development programmes for middle leaders, but there appears to be a distinctive disconnect between the research and theory that should inform these, initiatives. This article reports findings gathered from a questionnaire completed by almost 200 middle leaders from across Australia, conducted as part of a larger national mixed method research studying middle leader practices. The instrument was designed to investigate the practices of middle leaders who were responsible for leading school-based development, based on three domains of middle leading practices: leading and teaching, managing and facilitating, and communicating and collaborating. Multivariate analysis techniques were used to analyse the data, and there were statistically significant differences in the practices of middle leaders based on school type and their professional accreditation levels. Participant responses related to highlighted high administration workload potentially impacted ML practices related to leading teaching and learning.

Previous research demonstrates links between student social identification, perceived learning norms, learning approaches and academic outcomes and indicates the value of bolstering student social identification in higher education settings. The current study aimed to examine whether the models identified in this previous research replicated in a fully online environment. This is critical knowledge in the context of the industry-wide debate on the gains and losses of online university. Self-report survey data (N = 112), e-learning analytics and grades were used to examine student social identification, perceptions, behaviours, and outcomes over a 4-month period of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were unexpected: previous models failed to replicate in our data. Exploratory analysis identified three ways forward: examination of student learning activity outside of institutionally provided online contexts, revisiting the use of SPQ as a measure of learning approach, and examining student social interactions and identification in a social media-rich online environment.

Programming is one of the most important aspects of a Computing course. Teaching programming is a challenging task due to a number of factors, ranging from lack of student problem solving skills to different teaching methods. This paper focuses on Maltese Computing teachers' perspectives about the difficulties encountered when teaching programming to secondary school students in order to determine whether introducing programming to secondary school students through creating mobile-based games is an effective method to teach programming constructs. A resource pack consisting of various activities using MIT App Inventor 2 was created which incorporated constructivist approaches to teaching. This resource pack was reviewed by the teachers and their feedback was collected by means of a case study. The teachers agreed that developing mobile-based games would be highly stimulating to their students but there were uncertainties how this would affect students with different learning abilities and due to a general lack of computational thinking and problem-solving skills by most students.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many teachers around the world to make a sudden switch from face-to-face to online teaching. This shift in practice has provided an opportunity to reconsider how technology use in mathematics education can be utilised to improve student engagement. In this study, we explore four case studies of Australian secondary mathematics classrooms conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how teachers are using blended learning approaches and how their students perceive these pedagogical practices. Findings across all four sites indicate that technology use expands student opportunities to engage with mathematics learning through the provision of multiple pathways and methods of access. Specifically, we find evidence supporting the use of blended classroom teaching strategies to provide differentiation and personalised learning approaches; visualisation and dynamic manipulation of mathematics concepts; and alternative methods for teacher-student feedback and communication. We argue that the student learning experience in mathematics can be enhanced through a variety of blended learning approaches by allowing for diverse points of access to learning opportunities which are more closely aligned to individual learning needs and free from the temporal constraints of the classroom.

In 2018, the state Kindergarten sector in Malta (3-5 years) was influenced by the shift from a prescriptive to an emergent curriculum, and the increasing use of eTwinning - a particular scenario that is research-worthy. Through one narrative inquiry of a Kindergarten educator who decided to 'marry' the emergent curriculum and eTwinning in practice, this paper aims to systematically track down the educator's experience of this integration. Findings indicate initial and ongoing challenges overshadowed by sustained success through the synergy created from the philosophically fused emergent curriculum and the eTwinning concept. This study conceptualises the birth of an innovative approach and surfaces a rediscovery of Froebel's 19th-century Kindergarten.

Teacher shortages and retention problems occur globally. This paper explores support for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs), in particular the role of mentoring. Reasons for mentoring NQTs include combating isolation and fostering collaboration, enhancing professional practice and retaining teachers in the profession. Three different national environments are compared, with teacher induction programmes at national and local levels providing support for NQTs. We contrast the situation in Scotland, an early adopter of a national teacher induction scheme (2002), with that of Malta where an induction programme has been in place since 2010 and Denmark where there is no national scheme, but some support may be organised at a municipal or school level. In all three countries challenges were found in the enactment of mentoring such as having time for observation and feedback but also in terms of how to mentor. Based on our findings we propose that both mentors and NQTs need time away from their teaching commitments to devote to their mentoring relationship. Furthermore, it would appear from our analysis that while a national induction scheme is important to promote the induction of NQTs, support for the transition into the teaching profession also depends on the individual school context.

This paper presents ways in which animated cartoons influence primary school children's views of social reality based on students' relationships with these characters and their perception of these characters as being 'real'. For this purpose, a mixed methods approach was adopted, in which 9/10-year-old Maltese primary school children were provided with an opportunity to participate in activities related to cartoon characters. In these activities the children (n = 10) provided their interpretations of animated cartoon characters through drawings, writings and verbally during semi-structured interviews and cartoon watching. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the children's verbal expressions and interpretations. From the outcomes of the analysis, educational implications and cross-curricular pedagogical suggestions were then derived through the use of the MIRROR multimodal framework. These educational implications indicate that children can be taught critical thinking skills through the integration of animated cartoons in different curricular subjects. Moreover, the results indicate that students need to be offered the possibility to express themselves through various modes as exemplified in the pedagogical suggestions proposed. These pedagogical suggestions can be used by primary school educators, parents and guardians in order to teach creativity, expressive skills and literacy skills to primary school children.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing facemasks was mandatory in the United Kingdom except for individuals with medical exemptions. Facemasks cover the full lower half of the face; however, the effect of facemasks on age perception is not yet known. The present study examined whether age estimation accuracy of unfamiliar young adult women is impaired when the target is wearing a facemask. This study also examined whether makeup, which has previously been shown to increase error bias, further impairs age estimation accuracy when paired with a facemask. The findings indicate that both facemasks and makeup tend to result in overestimation of the young women's age compared to neutral faces, but the combination of both is not additive. Individual level analysis also revealed large individual differences in age estimation accuracy ranging from estimates within 1 year of the target's actual age, and age estimates which deviated by up to 20 years.

The positioning of migrant students within schools of the host country is considerably determined by issues related to the language of instruction adopted in these schools. This article presents a qualitative study conducted in two Maltese girls' secondary schools and examines how teachers and migrant students dealt with language issues. Data were collected through focus groups to find out power dynamics that emerged as a result of the negotiations surrounding issues related to language. The authors draw on Foucault's works on power relations to demonstrate that learning experiences of migrant girls are situated in language and shaped by joint construction of meanings, which students and teachers create. The findings indicate that migrant students' use of language functioned as a source of power, which seemed instrumental in developing a sense of belonging at school. Although the study is located within a specific Maltese context, it may be considered relevant to debates about the experiences of English language learners in other geographical and socio-cultural settings involving migrant students.

Adopting an international approach to journalism pedagogy, this study reports on the findings of a Global Journalism Collaboration Project involving 267 undergraduate and postgraduate students from Germany, Italy, Kenya, Uganda, Romania, Colombia, and Australia. Over 6 weeks in 2019, students collaborated to produce multimedia news stories on current issues. Using student survey results and written evaluation assessments, we report on the benefits and challenges of international student journalism collaboration. The most significant challenge was differential access to information communication technologies (ICTs) among African partner countries and, using empirical data, we offer a set of "guardrails" for future international student journalism collaboration projects.

The low levels of student engagement with mathematics has been of significant concern in Australia for some time (Attard, 2013). This is a particularly important issue in mathematics education given the current attention to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to ensure "the continued prosperity of Australia on all fronts--socially, culturally and economically--for all our citizens and for our place in the world" (Office of the Chief Scientist, 2013, p.3). One of the most common reasons for students to disengage with mathematics is the issue of relevance. Many students fail to see how the mathematics they learn in the primary classroom is applied in their day-to-day lives. Financial literacy appears to be a natural solution to this issue because all students have some familiarity with money related matters. This article presents a case study of one class from a Year 6 classroom from Fairfield Public School that successfully addressed this issue through their participation in an action research project that was based around MoneySmart. The Framework for Engagement with Mathematics is described. The aim of the project was to explore if combining financial literacy education and mathematics, through the use of student-centred units of work, could improve engagement with mathematics and provide a foundation of financial literacy to positively impact children's lives (Attard, 2016). The process for developing a new unit of work in financial literacy is explained.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of social communication skills training (TBIconneCT) for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their communication partners, delivered in-person or via telehealth, on quality of conversations. Method: This study is a clinical trial, including an in-person intervention group (n = 17), a telehealth intervention group (n = 19), and a historical control group (n = 15). Participants were adults at least 6 months post moderate-to-severe TBI with social communication skills deficits and their usual communication partners. Participants completed a casual and purposeful conversation task at pre-intervention, postintervention, and a follow-up assessment. A blinded assessor evaluated conversations using the Adapted Measure of Participation in Conversation and the Adapted Measure of Support in Conversation. Treatment effects were examined by comparing groups on change in ratings between pre- and posttraining. Maintenance of effects was examined using change between posttraining and follow-up assessment. The trial protocol was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12615001024538). Results: Trained participants with TBI had significant improvements in participation in casual conversation compared to controls. Trained communication partners also had significant improvements compared to controls on ratings of support in casual conversations. However, treatment effects were not maintained at follow-up for two of eight measures. Comparisons between outcomes of in-person and telehealth groups found negligible to small effect sizes for six of eight measures. Conclusions: The findings reinforce previous studies demonstrating the efficacy of communication partner training after TBI. Telehealth delivery produced similar outcomes to in-person delivery.

Background: Training conversation partners of people with aphasia who use facilitative communication strategies is one method that can improve access to healthcare for people with aphasia. However, the efficacy of communication partner training (CPT) has been investigated almost exclusively in the context of face-to-face (F2F) delivery. Online training may offer more cost-effective and accessible options to a wider range of conversation partners, including student healthcare professionals. Aims: To conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial with student healthcare professionals comparing: (1) an online aphasia CPT program; (2) a F2F CPT program; and (3) no program (control group) on outcomes relating to attitudes and knowledge of aphasia. Methods & Procedures: A 45-min introductory aphasia CPT program was developed using the theories and techniques of Supported Conversations for Adults with Aphasia (SCA)™. A total of 30 first-year undergraduates studying occupational therapy at The University of Sydney were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: online CPT delivery, F2F delivery or delayed training control (no program). Outcomes measures included pre-post-testing with the Aphasia Attitudes, Strategies and Knowledge (AASK) survey. Outcomes & Results: A significant difference existed for the AASK survey pre-post-change scores between the online, F2F and control groups (X[superscript 2](2) = 20.038, p = 0.000). Post-hoc analysis revealed that, compared with the control (Ctrl) group, participants in both the online and F2F groups had significantly higher knowledge of aphasia (Online versus Ctrl: p = 0.000; F2F versus control: p = 0.002), knowledge of facilitative strategies (Online versus Ctrl: p = 0.000; F2F versus Ctrl: p = 0.002), and positive attitudes towards aphasia (Online versus Ctrl: p = 0.031; F2F versus Ctrl: p = 0.032). No significant difference was observed between the online and F2F groups for the Total or any subtotals (p = 1.000). Conclusions and Implications: The results from this pilot randomized controlled trial indicate that online delivery of the 45-min introductory CPT is equally as efficacious as F2F delivery, and thus may be a viable mode of delivery for future aphasia CPT programs. These pilot results pave the way for a larger study that will comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of an online aphasia CPT program for improving attitudes, knowledge and skills in a broad range of student healthcare professionals.

This paper explores the experience of educators who participated in a Train the Trainer programme with the aim of supporting teachers in the implementation of the Learning Outcomes Framework (LOF). Empirical data collected through interviews and narratives from a number of LOF Trainers, are analysed through a grounded theory approach. The insights of the participants on the effectiveness of the programme led the authors to identify which factors helped to render this programme a rewarding and meaningful experience, how this programme has equipped and empowered educators with the required skills to support their peers, and how the nature of the programme has led to the development of a professional learning community. The results lead to a consideration of how teacher learning environments can be transformed in order to build educator proficiencies, enhance their leadership capacities and make them more participative in the processes which impact on their professional lives.

Current reforms in the Maltese and Scottish educational contexts can only be fully implemented if teachers radically transform the way they teach. Teacher professional learning is an important mechanism that policy-makers, school leaders and administrators have to achieve this. Teacher professional learning is, above all, situated within the specific social workplace environment of teacher practice. Thus, schools need to be recognised as important sites of professional learning for teachers. In Malta and Scotland teachers were asked about their professional learning to identify how the learning environment within individual schools affects professional learning. In both countries, collaboration and school leadership were key components in determining a school's learning environment. Data analysis led to the production of examples of expansive and restrictive features. Policy-makers, school leaders and administrators can use these features to examine how schools operate in terms of helping or hindering professional learning in the school environment.

This article is about personally driven professional development through the use of reflective self-study. The argument that teachers need to take responsibility for their own learning while also taking decisions on how and in what areas to develop is strongly made throughout the article. Data for this article were gathered over a 10-year period where the author engaged in several studies using self-study as methodology. Between studies, the author kept using reflective self-study as a professional development tool, and it is these data between various studies that were analysed using thematic and reflective analysis. Such analysis resulted in various overarching themes that show how reflective self-study can be of benefit if used by teachers researching their own classrooms. Benefits include teachers taking full ownership of their learning, relevance of learning, learning that is ongoing and not restricted to specific times and places, taking problematic situations as learning opportunities and how other sources take on new relevance through reflective self-study. Some implications for teacher-education programmes and current school structures are also discussed.

Digital natives are now of age and comprise the new generation of early career teachers (ECTs). This is an important change in teacher demographics given that new technologies have been introduced into classrooms with expectations that teachers embed them effectively into the teaching of mathematics. This paper draws on the data of three separate studies and reanalyses it to explore how a small group of four early career primary school teachers use information and communication technologies (ICT) in their teaching of mathematics. Two of the ECTs were observed using interactive whiteboards in their mathematics teaching, and two were observed predominantly using tablets. Two important variables developed from the research presented in this paper suggest that ECT's uses of technology to teach mathematics may not be without complications. First, the teachers appeared to experience "device conflict", in that the type of device and its particular affordances and limitations were the primary factors that influenced their mathematics. This was particularly evident in the uses of fixed and mobile devices. The interactive whiteboard (IWB) did not pose pedagogical challenges to the ECTs as their stable location facilitated the opportunity to still use these devices in traditional teaching ways. However, tablets did pose a problem because of their mobility and the need to reconfigure the organisation and to some extent the roles of teacher and student. The second finding was that the teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching appeared to be directly related to the ways they used their technology.

One of the major tasks of educational psychologists is the writing of reports. Often, all involvement, assessment and intervention culminate in the production of a report. This paper explores critically the tensions involved in writing reports which are closed down in their conformity to requirements of different bodies, while looking for possibilities of openings in this closure. We acknowledge that report-writing is caught in the economies of exchange and the impossibility of gift-giving, based on the writing of Jacques Derrida. This paper will draw upon a small qualitative study of seven experienced school psychologists, and using a Derridian framework, it makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar [Biesta, G., J. Allan, and R. Edwards. 2011. "The Theory Question in Research Capacity Building in Education: Towards an Agenda for Research and Practice." "British Journal of Educational Studies," 59 (3): 225-239.] on the process of report-writing.

Research in school psychologist report writing has argued for reports that connect to the client's context; have clear links between the referral questions and the answers to these questions; have integrated interpretations; address client strengths and problem areas; have specific, concrete and feasible recommendations; and are adapted to the language and literacy level of the reader. The training of school psychologists involves attention to these factors. However, this paper argues that the experience of "aporia," as described by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, is often removed from the process of report writing, as the aim seems to be to find a formula that works. We call for ethics which is concerned about the good life--this is a broader view than resorting to ethics only when faced with an ethical question. This paper, based on a small qualitative study of seven experienced school psychologists, highlights that psychologists in the process of report writing are caught in the aporia. This paper argues for the acknowledgement of aporia both in report writing and in the training of school psychologists.

This research aims to study the ways in which a teacher learns through and about professional practice. Data presented here is drawn from one year of teaching and focuses on pedagogical practices, critical reflection upon those practices and the impact of the implementation of a new physical education syllabus in Maltese secondary schools. The study employs autoethnography to reveal thoughts, feelings and learning experienced by a new teacher implementing a new curriculum; in other words, I (Attard) am studying myself. "I start with my personal life. I pay attention to my physical feelings, thought, and emotions. I use what I call systematic sociological introspection and emotional recall to try and understand an experience I've lived through." (Ellis & Bochner, 2000, p.737) Data indicates ways in which structured, continuous and critical reflection upon teaching experiences can help to improve job satisfaction. Furthermore, the data illustrates vividly that collaborative reflection with colleagues is important both as a learning opportunity and as a support mechanism and that becoming a reflective practitioner is complex, challenging and hard work! The study will provide unique insight into ways in which a teacher learns and develops, both as a person and a professional.

This article is a report on a longitudinal case study that investigated the problem of lowered engagement with mathematics and students' perspectives of the factors that influenced their engagement during the middle years of schooling. The article provides a synthesis of the entire study and a summary of its findings. In order to address the research question a group of 20 students from within the same school cohort participated in the study spanning three school years from their final year of primary school, to their second year of secondary school. Data was collected through interviews, focus group discussions, and classroom observations. A major finding of this study was that positive pedagogical relationships between teachers and their students must be developed as a foundation for sustained engagement.

In this article, the author reports on an awareness of controversial incidents on campuses around North America surrounding "politically correct" speech codes and thought control measures instituted at the behest of faculty and students of this ideological persuasion. It seems that critical theory is going beyond "critical thinking" to a harsh and accusatory language of criticalism that aggravates cultural divisions. On the other hand, the author contests that, through a liberal education, the individual is initiated into the shared values and common understanding of a true culture, not the "cultures" identified by critical theorists. The capacity of western culture to be self-critical and to absorb ideas and accommodate thoughts from all over the world is part of what Robert M. Hutchins called "The Great Conversation" of Western civilization. This author states that criticalists should take their share of responsibility for the impoverished education today's students receive. As Henry Giroux wrote in "Teachers as Intellectuals," the goal should be to get students to learn how to affirm their own experiences and to understand the need to struggle individually and collectively for a more just society.

Engagement with mathematics during the primary years of schooling is crucial if students are to develop an appreciation for and understanding of the value of mathematics learning. It has been claimed that students who are engaged are more likely to learn, find the experience of schooling more rewarding, and are more likely to continue with higher education (Marks, 2000). In this article, the author explains the necessary foundations for engagement to occur and outlines pedagogy that will assist with encouraging student engagement. A particular highlight is the application of Thinkers Keys to the teaching of mathematics; in this case the teaching of time concepts. (Contains 4 figures.)

Continuing the series of articles on teaching mathematics with technology, this article furthers the authors' exploration of the use of a range of mobile technologies to enhance teachers' practices in the primary mathematics classroom. In Part 1 of this article, the authors explored the use of the iPod Touch and iPad. In Part 2, they explore global positioning system (GPS) devices and a range of other hand-held devices. (Contains 3 figures.) [For Part 1, see EJ961656.]

When discussing issues surrounding mathematics education, the topic of student engagement (or lack of) often dominates conversations. The low levels of engagement with mathematics experienced by students during the middle years have been of some concern to Australian mathematics educators and stakeholders in recent decades. Lowered engagement with mathematics has the potential to affect communities beyond the need to fill occupations that require the use of high level mathematics. It can also limit one's capacity to understand life experiences through a mathematical perspective. This article explores the concept of engagement against the backdrop of a recent longitudinal study into the influences on student engagement during the middle years of schooling, provides some insight into students' perceptions of engaging mathematics lessons and introduces a "framework for engagement with mathematics" that could be used to inform planning. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article is based on a study focusing on how structured learning communities can promote reflective awareness and professional development, through collaborative analysis of professional experience. As participant-observer, the researcher used recorded observations as well as individual participants' reflective writing as data. Of importance is the fact that all seven participants argued that they developed professionally and started to dig deeper into their experiences as the five-month study progressed. They also pointed out that this type of professional development was immediately relevant to their present needs, and this was what motivated them to further engage in reflection as a tool for professional development. Aspects such as conflict and uncertainty in teacher learning, and how collaboration promotes further reflection will also be discussed.

The use of narratives in the social sciences has drastically increased throughout recent decades. They are mainly used as a way of collecting data and as a way of promoting professional development. This article sheds light on how a practitioner-researcher engaged in narrative writing and how this helped in what is hereby termed a reflective odyssey. More specifically, the main focus here is how the very act of writing when keeping a personal journal can act as a catalyst for ongoing reflective thought. Therefore, narratives were firstly used by the practitioner-researcher as a form of personal professional development. However, they also acted as data in the longitudinal process of understanding how narrative writing can aid in the continuous striving for improving professional practice. Original narrative extracts are presented throughout the text to back the claims made for narrative writing. This gives a unique opportunity to the reader to get a glimpse of the practitioner-researcher's thought processes and dilemmas. The roles of writing in meaning creation and representation; pushing thinking into unforeseen directions; and the promotion of "conversing with oneself" and self-understanding are discussed in this article.

The levels of engagement in mathematics experienced by students during the middle years of schooling (Years 5 to 8 in New South Wales) has been of concern in Australia for some years. Lowered engagement in school has been attributed to factors such as inappropriate teaching strategies, curricula that is unchallenging and irrelevant, and cultural and technological conditions that continue to evolve (Sullivan et al. "Australian Journal of Education 53"(2):176-191, 2009). There is currently a gap in this field of research in terms of a lack of longitudinal studies conducted in an Australian context that feature students' voices and their perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning during the middle years. As part of a qualitative longitudinal case study spanning 3 school years, 20 students in their final year of primary school (aged between 11 and 12 years) were asked to provide their views on mathematics teaching and learning. The aim of the study was to explore the students' perspectives of mathematics teaching and learning to discover pedagogies that engage the students. During focus group discussions and individual interviews the students discussed qualities of a "good" mathematics teacher and aspects of "good" lessons. These were found to resonate well with current Australian quality teaching frameworks. The findings of this study indicate that students in the middle years are critically aware of pedagogies that lead to engagement in mathematics, and existing standards and frameworks should be used as a starting point for quality teaching of mathematics.

In this article the relationship between teacher change and teacher learning is analysed. Data presented here were gathered through self-study research over a 30-month period, during which the author, as a teacher-researcher in Malta, systematically recorded observations and reflections into a reflective journal. This article addresses issues such as: (a) how habitual routines that are technical in nature are formed, and how these tend to distance the practitioner from consciously developing and learning, and subsequently changing and improving professional practice; (b) how uncertainty regarding an innovation in the educational field might induce the need for both change and development; (c) how continuous learning and critically questioning beliefs and assumptions is important for change to occur; (d) how important determination on the practitioner's part is in the fight against the status quo; and (e) how reflective practice can be seen as a corrective to experiential over-learning.

In this article, the author begins by defining globalisation, shedding light on the complexity of the global reality, the intensification of global interaction and the distinction between the descriptive and the prescriptive use of the term. The second section introduces the three main approaches, and their respective criticisms, that build the author's arguments: a-critical, the reformist and the radical approach. Consequently, Section 1.3 presents the positive approach, the idea that the world is a global society with resulting educational benefits, like wider access and new opportunities for research. The reformist approach, in Section 1.4, acknowledges the shortcomings of the current global situation and suggests ways that education systems can adapt critically to this global reality. The last of the approaches, in Section 1.5, represents the views of radical critics of globalisation who maintain that only through critical resistance can one challenge dominant modes of pedagogy and power relations that exploit the oppressed. Concluding observations are found in Section 1.6. (Contains 8 notes.)

Background: It is widely claimed that critical reflection upon experience is a valuable process in which all teachers should engage in order to improve their professional practice. Assumptions are made about the benefits of reflection both for the teacher as person and professional; however, there is a lack of in-depth research on the reflective process conducted by teachers. Purpose: To illustrate and understand the process of critical reflection as it was experienced and used by one teacher to support his early career professional development. Participants and setting: A case study of one physical education teacher in a secondary school in Malta. Research design: The research takes the form of a self-study undertaken over a 30-month continuous period. The teacher-researcher was engaged in case-study research in which aspects of action research, self-study and writing as a research method were combined. Data collection: The teacher-researcher kept detailed reflective journals in which his experience of engaging in the process of professional learning through critical reflection was recorded meticulously. Data were collected at three levels: reflection upon personal practice, pupils' learning and "official" professional development activities. Reading of the wider research literature was incorporated into the reflective process. Data analysis: Data analysis was ongoing throughout the research and a systematic grounded theory process was undertaken at the end of the 30-month data collection phase. Findings: The process of reflection is characterised as a "reflective odyssey". At the beginning of the process, it was difficult for this teacher to engage in reflection in a meaningful way; however, once the habit of reflection became established, it was impossible to stop reflecting. Reflection was, at times, an uncomfortable experience and it leaked into this teacher's personal life. Reflection was not foolproof nor did it automatically lead to changes in practice. Conclusions: Although it was neither easy nor straightforward, this teacher found engaging in the process of critical reflection to be a valuable experience because it gave him a powerful sense of control over his professional learning and his professional life.

iPads are beginning to appear in more and more primary classrooms, yet it is difficult to find teaching ideas that promote deep mathematical understanding. Catherine Attard provides a list of teaching considerations to be used when using iPads and two practical ideas for using them.

It is a common belief that the incorporation of computer technology into mathematics teaching and learning motivates and engages students. However, research into the use of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in mathematics classrooms has revealed some issues that could negatively impact on student engagement as a result of how they integrate with existing practices. There is a danger of the technology driving pedagogy, rather than pedagogy driving the technology. In other words, technology sometimes becomes the focus of the mathematics lessons instead of the mathematics itself. Research by Samuelsson (2007) revealed some teachers who regularly incorporate computers into their lessons tend to use them in a way that resonates with a didactical, teacher-centred approach. In this situation such an approach restricts the potential of ICTs to act as an agent of change in terms of supporting students' engagement with the subject. When good pedagogy drives the incorporation of technology into mathematics teaching and learning, ICTs have immense potential to enhance students' experiences with mathematics. In this article, the authors explore the use of the iPod Touch and iPad and provide a brief overview of how these can be used in the primary mathematics classroom. (Contains 3 figures.)

New technologies continue to change every aspect of home, life and work: the way people communicate, calculate, analyse, shop, make presentations and socialise. "The Australian Curriculum" acknowledges the importance of teaching and learning with technology by including the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as one of the skills, behaviours and attributes, identified as general capabilities, that students need to "succeed in life and work in the twenty-first century." With ICT embedded within the content descriptions and elaborations across each of the three strands in the Australian Curriculum comes a responsibility for teachers to incorporate a repertoire of ICTs that serve to enhance student learning and engagement with mathematics. As with any teaching and learning resources, ICTs have the potential to succeed or fail depending on how they are implemented. This is the first of a series of articles that explores the use of ICT in the classroom. Here, the author highlights the use of the Web as a tool for teaching mathematics.