title: Focusing on teachers as learners in professional learning communities

authors: Swanson, Carolyn Julie

abstract: Practising teachers are part of professional learning communities in many educational settings. In this piece, the editors unpack what we mean by the term learning community and outline the nature of professional learning that can occur in professional learning communities. Like all good ideas, the concepts of communities of practice and communities of learners get captured, digested, and become formulas or recipes that have lost the full flavour of the original concepts. Therefore, it is crucial that we re-question the aims of professional learning communities and critically examine their current configurations. Are our professional learning communities safe places, where members can challenge current thinking, take risks and learn together with a shared purpose, and refresh ourselves? Or are the participants compelled to attend, working off someone else’s agenda and direction and lacking the freedom to explore?

text: Focusing on teachers as learners in professional learning communities Practising teachers are part of professional learning communities in many educational settings. In this piece, the editors unpack what we mean by the term learning community and outline the nature of professional learning that can occur in professional learning communities. Like all good ideas, the concepts of communities of practice and communities of learners get captured, digested, and become formulas or recipes that have lost the full flavour of the original concepts. Therefore, it is crucial that we re-question the aims of professional learning communities and critically examine their current configurations. Are our professional learning communities safe places, where members can challenge current thinking, take risks and learn together with a shared purpose, and refresh ourselves? Or are the participants compelled to attend, working off someone else’s agenda and direction and lacking the freedom to explore?

year: 2018

title: Subject(s) matter: a grounded theory of technology teachers’ conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology

authors: Doyle, Andrew

abstract: Technology education internationally has for some time struggled to achieve continuity between what is depicted in policy and curricular documents and the reality of day-to-day practices. With its focus often articulated through the nature of activity students are to engage with, technology teachers are recognised as having significant autonomy in the design and implementation of their practices. From this, it is important to understand teachers’ beliefs about technology education, as their conceptions of the subject will inform practice. As such, this study sought to investigate teachers’ conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology through reflection on their enacted practices. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed for the design of the study and analysis of data. According to our analysis, despite similarities between the nature of student activity that teachers designed and implemented, teachers represented the purpose of the subject in different ways. Three different conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology were identified; obtaining knowledge and skills for application, ability to act in a technological way, and ability to think in a technological way. Central to the three conceptions were contentions in the representations of what constituted subject matter knowledge in the subject, and the role that different application cases played in teaching technology. Without consideration and explicit articulation of the purposes for teaching technology, this lack of clarity and differences in rationale for teaching technology are likely to continue.

text: Subject(s) matter: a grounded theory of technology teachers’ conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology Technology education internationally has for some time struggled to achieve continuity between what is depicted in policy and curricular documents and the reality of day-to-day practices. With its focus often articulated through the nature of activity students are to engage with, technology teachers are recognised as having significant autonomy in the design and implementation of their practices. From this, it is important to understand teachers’ beliefs about technology education, as their conceptions of the subject will inform practice. As such, this study sought to investigate teachers’ conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology through reflection on their enacted practices. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed for the design of the study and analysis of data. According to our analysis, despite similarities between the nature of student activity that teachers designed and implemented, teachers represented the purpose of the subject in different ways. Three different conceptions of the purpose of teaching technology were identified; obtaining knowledge and skills for application, ability to act in a technological way, and ability to think in a technological way. Central to the three conceptions were contentions in the representations of what constituted subject matter knowledge in the subject, and the role that different application cases played in teaching technology. Without consideration and explicit articulation of the purposes for teaching technology, this lack of clarity and differences in rationale for teaching technology are likely to continue.

year: 2023-10-21

title: Efficacy of an incentive intervention on secondary prophylaxis for young people with rheumatic fever: a multiple baseline study

authors: Oetzel, John G.

subjects: Science & Technology

abstract: Background
Acute rheumatic fever in New Zealand persists and is a barometer of equity as its burden almost exclusively falls on Māori and Pacific Island populations. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether an incentive programme will result in increased secondary prophylaxis injections over a one-year period compared to a baseline period prior to the intervention.

Methods
The evaluation used a multiple baseline study to determine whether an incentive consisting of a mobile phone and monthly “top-up” (for data/calls) resulted in increased injections, increased texts/calls with nurses, reduced number of visits to get a successful injection, less medicine wasted, and increased nurse satisfaction. Participants were 77 young people (aged 14–21) on an acute rheumatic fever registry in Waikato region, New Zealand classified as either fully adherent (all injections received and no more than one late) or partially adherent based on injections at baseline.

Results
There was a sharp increase in injections for intermittent patients post-intervention and then a slight decrease overtime, while fully adherent patients maintained their high rate of injections (p = .003). A similar pattern for nurse satisfaction emerged (p = .001). The number of calls/texts increased for all patients (p = .003). The number of visits went down for partially adherent patients and up for fully adherent patients (p = .012). The overall incremental cost-effectiveness was $989 per extra successful injection although costs increased sharply toward the end of the intervention.

Conclusions
Incentivising secondary prophylaxis appears to have a strong impact for partially adherent patients, particularly during the early periods following the initiation of the intervention. Enhancing communication with patients who returned to care may result in more sustainable adherence.

Trial registration
Retrospectively registered: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618001150235, 12 July 2018.

text: Efficacy of an incentive intervention on secondary prophylaxis for young people with rheumatic fever: a multiple baseline study Background
Acute rheumatic fever in New Zealand persists and is a barometer of equity as its burden almost exclusively falls on Māori and Pacific Island populations. The primary objective of this study is to determine whether an incentive programme will result in increased secondary prophylaxis injections over a one-year period compared to a baseline period prior to the intervention.

Methods
The evaluation used a multiple baseline study to determine whether an incentive consisting of a mobile phone and monthly “top-up” (for data/calls) resulted in increased injections, increased texts/calls with nurses, reduced number of visits to get a successful injection, less medicine wasted, and increased nurse satisfaction. Participants were 77 young people (aged 14–21) on an acute rheumatic fever registry in Waikato region, New Zealand classified as either fully adherent (all injections received and no more than one late) or partially adherent based on injections at baseline.

Results
There was a sharp increase in injections for intermittent patients post-intervention and then a slight decrease overtime, while fully adherent patients maintained their high rate of injections (p = .003). A similar pattern for nurse satisfaction emerged (p = .001). The number of calls/texts increased for all patients (p = .003). The number of visits went down for partially adherent patients and up for fully adherent patients (p = .012). The overall incremental cost-effectiveness was $989 per extra successful injection although costs increased sharply toward the end of the intervention.

Conclusions
Incentivising secondary prophylaxis appears to have a strong impact for partially adherent patients, particularly during the early periods following the initiation of the intervention. Enhancing communication with patients who returned to care may result in more sustainable adherence.

Trial registration
Retrospectively registered: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618001150235, 12 July 2018.

year: 2019