In the South Pacific new approaches to the teaching of English are overdue. Here is one, tried in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and Kiribati, using books not specifically designed for 2nd-language learners. Its impact and success are described.
140 reading books, developed in his 'spare' time by a reading advisor, use peer tutoring to boost slow readers. Here the resource is explained, and the research that revealed its power.
Many of our teaching techniques are based on behaviourist experiments of years ago. But behaviour analysis has moved on and discovered that most of what we do is governed by rules we pick up, not experiences we have. A review of what these researchers have discovered.
Dyslexia and autism are both examples of cognitive deficits. You can think of these handicaps as 'holes in the mind.' Both may be encountered in mainstreamed or integrated classes these days. Here is help with understanding and helping.
St. Patrick's College, Campbelltown, NSW, teaches mathematics to the senior classes by bringing all the pupils together for lectures, followed by class-sized tutorials, not all compulsory. John Greene reports how they checked the scheme's success.
As a guidance officer in a Queensland secondary school Kym Dickinson found herself spending a lot of time counselling because of teasing and bullying. A simple research project led to a new all-school approach which works.
A co-educational state high school in Queensland developed a way of identifying and helping children-at-risk. This case study results in helpful advice.
A case study of adults back at ordinary schools shows how successful it can be. The small adaptations the school can make to enhance that success are noted.
There is bad power and good power, power that you resent and power you respect. The power a teacher can wield is examined and ways to create power that flows from admiration and regard are explained.
Since teachers talk a great deal, careful analysis of what teachers say is revealing. The talk of two teachers dealing with the same topic, is described here. More variety, suiting the words to the teaching point, and thinking the subject out better, seem to be required.
