title: Primary school teachers' knowledge of phonemic awareness and its importance as a factor in learning to read

authors: Clark, Linda Kaye

subjects: phonemic awareness

abstract: The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the knowledge that teachers in New Zealand primary school classrooms have in regard to phonemic awareness, their understanding of its importance as a factor in learning to read, and the methods they use to assess and teach it.  International assessments continue to highlight an unacceptably large gap in reading achievement between good and poor readers in New Zealand primary schools (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Drucker, 2012; Tunmer, Chapman, Greaney, Prochnow, & Arrow, 2013a).  Up to 20% of children in New Zealand primary school classrooms are struggling to learn to read (Education and Science Committee, 2001, 2008; Education Review Office, 2005).  Research shows that explicit instruction in phonemic awareness will help children struggling with reading to learn to read (Ehri et al., 2001; Hatcher, Hulme, & Snowling, 2004; Nicholson, 2003; Pressley, 2006; Ryder, Tunmer, & Greaney, 2008; Strattman & Hodson, 2005; Torgesen et al., 2001).  Teachers’ knowledge of phonemic awareness becomes important in the context of providing this explicit instruction.  

     An online survey was used to assess 68 in-service teachers’ knowledge of phonemic awareness.  Four semi-structured interviews were also conducted which allowed the survey findings to be investigated further in four local contexts to add depth to the researcher’s understanding.  Results revealed that participants struggled to define phonemic awareness, and did not understand the differences between phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics.  Participants found some tasks more difficult than others, in particular phoneme counting and phoneme identity.  There were also discrepancies between the participants’ perceived knowledge and their actual knowledge.  Participants tended to overestimate their actual knowledge, perceiving themselves as more knowledgeable with regard to phonemic awareness than they actually were.  Phonemic awareness did not appear to be regularly assessed nor explicitly taught in most of the participants’ classrooms.  The findings suggest that the teachers who participated in this study did not typically have the knowledge of phonemic awareness needed to be able to provide the explicit instruction in phonemic awareness children struggling to learn to read need in order to become successful readers.

text: Primary school teachers' knowledge of phonemic awareness and its importance as a factor in learning to read The purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the knowledge that teachers in New Zealand primary school classrooms have in regard to phonemic awareness, their understanding of its importance as a factor in learning to read, and the methods they use to assess and teach it.  International assessments continue to highlight an unacceptably large gap in reading achievement between good and poor readers in New Zealand primary schools (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Drucker, 2012; Tunmer, Chapman, Greaney, Prochnow, & Arrow, 2013a).  Up to 20% of children in New Zealand primary school classrooms are struggling to learn to read (Education and Science Committee, 2001, 2008; Education Review Office, 2005).  Research shows that explicit instruction in phonemic awareness will help children struggling with reading to learn to read (Ehri et al., 2001; Hatcher, Hulme, & Snowling, 2004; Nicholson, 2003; Pressley, 2006; Ryder, Tunmer, & Greaney, 2008; Strattman & Hodson, 2005; Torgesen et al., 2001).  Teachers’ knowledge of phonemic awareness becomes important in the context of providing this explicit instruction.  

     An online survey was used to assess 68 in-service teachers’ knowledge of phonemic awareness.  Four semi-structured interviews were also conducted which allowed the survey findings to be investigated further in four local contexts to add depth to the researcher’s understanding.  Results revealed that participants struggled to define phonemic awareness, and did not understand the differences between phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics.  Participants found some tasks more difficult than others, in particular phoneme counting and phoneme identity.  There were also discrepancies between the participants’ perceived knowledge and their actual knowledge.  Participants tended to overestimate their actual knowledge, perceiving themselves as more knowledgeable with regard to phonemic awareness than they actually were.  Phonemic awareness did not appear to be regularly assessed nor explicitly taught in most of the participants’ classrooms.  The findings suggest that the teachers who participated in this study did not typically have the knowledge of phonemic awareness needed to be able to provide the explicit instruction in phonemic awareness children struggling to learn to read need in order to become successful readers.

year: 2015

title: Cartesian genetic programming for trading: a preliminary investigation

authors: Mayo, Michael

subjects: Cartesian Genetic Programming

abstract: In this paper, a preliminary investigation of Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP) for algorithmic intraday trading is conducted. CGP is a recent new variant of genetic programming that differs from traditional approaches in a number of ways, including being able to evolve programs with limited size and with multiple outputs. CGP is used to evolve a predictor for intraday price movements, and trading strategies using the evolved predictors are evaluated along three dimensions (return, maximum drawdown and recovery factor) and against four different financial datasets (the Euro/US dollar exchange rate and the Dow Jones Industrial Average during periods from 2006 and 2010). We show that CGP is capable in many instances of evolving programs that, when used as trading strategies, lead to modest positive returns.

text: Cartesian genetic programming for trading: a preliminary investigation In this paper, a preliminary investigation of Cartesian Genetic Programming (CGP) for algorithmic intraday trading is conducted. CGP is a recent new variant of genetic programming that differs from traditional approaches in a number of ways, including being able to evolve programs with limited size and with multiple outputs. CGP is used to evolve a predictor for intraday price movements, and trading strategies using the evolved predictors are evaluated along three dimensions (return, maximum drawdown and recovery factor) and against four different financial datasets (the Euro/US dollar exchange rate and the Dow Jones Industrial Average during periods from 2006 and 2010). We show that CGP is capable in many instances of evolving programs that, when used as trading strategies, lead to modest positive returns.

year: 2012

title: Mentoring and teaching in academic settings:  Professional and cultural identities from one Pākehā’s perspective

authors: Middleton, Sue

subjects: biculturalism

abstract: When invited to respond to the paper on “Mentoring Māori in a Pākehā framework” by Hook, Waaka and Raumati (2007), I hesitated. Mentoring was not a term I had previously used in my professional thinking or academic writing: unlike Barbara Grant (Ratima & Grant, 2007), I had not been involved in formal mentoring programmes or immersed myself in the mentoring literature. As a Pākehā, I was not qualified to evaluate the authors’ definition of a Māori framework. At first glance, the target paper’s focus seemed to be on mentoring in commercial, rather than academic workplaces. My experience had been as a teacher, the last 30 years having been in a university School of Education. I was persuaded to undertake this commentary on the grounds that academic work involves nurturing, advising and supporting younger or less experienced colleagues, as well as students – tasks identified as mentoring in the Hook et al. paper. The following comments are informed by my everyday practices as teacher, thesis supervisor and researcher, and by my former management roles as an assistant dean of graduate studies and head of department. My angle of vision and conceptual resources are those of a (Pākehā and feminist) sociologist of education.

text: Mentoring and teaching in academic settings:  Professional and cultural identities from one Pākehā’s perspective When invited to respond to the paper on “Mentoring Māori in a Pākehā framework” by Hook, Waaka and Raumati (2007), I hesitated. Mentoring was not a term I had previously used in my professional thinking or academic writing: unlike Barbara Grant (Ratima & Grant, 2007), I had not been involved in formal mentoring programmes or immersed myself in the mentoring literature. As a Pākehā, I was not qualified to evaluate the authors’ definition of a Māori framework. At first glance, the target paper’s focus seemed to be on mentoring in commercial, rather than academic workplaces. My experience had been as a teacher, the last 30 years having been in a university School of Education. I was persuaded to undertake this commentary on the grounds that academic work involves nurturing, advising and supporting younger or less experienced colleagues, as well as students – tasks identified as mentoring in the Hook et al. paper. The following comments are informed by my everyday practices as teacher, thesis supervisor and researcher, and by my former management roles as an assistant dean of graduate studies and head of department. My angle of vision and conceptual resources are those of a (Pākehā and feminist) sociologist of education.

year: 2007-12