Search

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.