title: A discursive approach to relationship practices in classrooms: An exploratory study

authors: Kecskemeti, Maria

subjects: behaviour management

abstract: In today’s increasingly diverse classrooms it is well accepted that the relationship practices employed by teachers have consequences for the quality of the learning environment. Well chosen relationship practices are thought not only to help teachers to manage their classes but they can contribute to achieving desired educational outcomes. The principles and processes of restorative practice (RP) are seen by many to offer a significant contribution to relationship practices in schools. One of the challenges of realising this potential is to adapt RP for daily classroom use. However, increasing heterogeneity in the student population makes the classroom a complex environment where teachers and students are likely to operate from a range of paradigms of relationship. This study proposes that a discursive conceptualisation of relational identity supports the development of more equitable relationships. It is argued that this then manifests in greater individual and communal well-being. The research involved the development of specific conversational moves adapted from narrative therapy, which were taught to 39 teachers in two schools through a series of four workshops. Following the workshops, a series of seven focus group meetings were held in which teachers engaged in a process of guided deconstructive reflection. The study set out to investigate the contributions of both the conversational moves and the reflective group practices to teachers’ capacity for relationship management (with both students and adults), teaching, and maintaining their own well-being. The focus groups had a triple function of skill practice, reflection and sharing concerns. The group discussions were audio-taped. Examples given by participants of the effects of using the conversational moves were documented. The teachers’ concern narratives were analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. The study suggests that the use of both discursive conversation practices and deconstructive reflection increased the participants’ capacity for dialogue and tolerating differences. Deconstructive readings of the teachers’ concern narratives identified teacher-student conflicts as a product of multiple positionings and confusion about their respective roles. Deconstructive analysis exposed a range of discourses of care, professionalism, pedagogy and gender as problematic, often placing teachers and students in opposition, and undermining teaching and learning. These findings suggest that systematic deconstructive reflection can usefully inform teachers’ relational strategies in the classroom. It can provide the opportunity for individual teachers to develop an understanding of themselves as teachers, and at the same time it offers useful appreciation of the discursive influences operating in the wider school culture. Some of these discourses deserve critical attention as they are central to the development of teachers’ professional identities. This thesis argues that a discursive approach to relationship practice can support the development of teachers’ capacity to manage the complexities of their work, and as such it is also restorative practice. This critical theoretical approach offers significant potential for explaining how a collaborative relationship paradigm can be understood, practised, and studied.

text: A discursive approach to relationship practices in classrooms: An exploratory study In today’s increasingly diverse classrooms it is well accepted that the relationship practices employed by teachers have consequences for the quality of the learning environment. Well chosen relationship practices are thought not only to help teachers to manage their classes but they can contribute to achieving desired educational outcomes. The principles and processes of restorative practice (RP) are seen by many to offer a significant contribution to relationship practices in schools. One of the challenges of realising this potential is to adapt RP for daily classroom use. However, increasing heterogeneity in the student population makes the classroom a complex environment where teachers and students are likely to operate from a range of paradigms of relationship. This study proposes that a discursive conceptualisation of relational identity supports the development of more equitable relationships. It is argued that this then manifests in greater individual and communal well-being. The research involved the development of specific conversational moves adapted from narrative therapy, which were taught to 39 teachers in two schools through a series of four workshops. Following the workshops, a series of seven focus group meetings were held in which teachers engaged in a process of guided deconstructive reflection. The study set out to investigate the contributions of both the conversational moves and the reflective group practices to teachers’ capacity for relationship management (with both students and adults), teaching, and maintaining their own well-being. The focus groups had a triple function of skill practice, reflection and sharing concerns. The group discussions were audio-taped. Examples given by participants of the effects of using the conversational moves were documented. The teachers’ concern narratives were analysed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. The study suggests that the use of both discursive conversation practices and deconstructive reflection increased the participants’ capacity for dialogue and tolerating differences. Deconstructive readings of the teachers’ concern narratives identified teacher-student conflicts as a product of multiple positionings and confusion about their respective roles. Deconstructive analysis exposed a range of discourses of care, professionalism, pedagogy and gender as problematic, often placing teachers and students in opposition, and undermining teaching and learning. These findings suggest that systematic deconstructive reflection can usefully inform teachers’ relational strategies in the classroom. It can provide the opportunity for individual teachers to develop an understanding of themselves as teachers, and at the same time it offers useful appreciation of the discursive influences operating in the wider school culture. Some of these discourses deserve critical attention as they are central to the development of teachers’ professional identities. This thesis argues that a discursive approach to relationship practice can support the development of teachers’ capacity to manage the complexities of their work, and as such it is also restorative practice. This critical theoretical approach offers significant potential for explaining how a collaborative relationship paradigm can be understood, practised, and studied.

year: 2011

title: Caldalkalibacillus thermarum PhoH2: Solving the solubility puzzle

authors: Dillon, Brooke Jane

subjects: Caldalkalibacillus thermarum

abstract: Previous attempts to determine the structure of the protein PhoH2 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium smegmatis and Thermobispora bispora have been unsuccessful producing diffraction data to low resolution. The thermophilic organism Caldalkibacillus thermarum was thought to be an advantageous option from which to clone, express and purify PhoH2 from for the purpose of structure determination. PhoH2 consists of two domains, an N terminal PIN domain, known for its toxic properties as part of many toxin-antitoxin systems present in M. tuberculosis, and a C-terminal PhoH domain, an RNA helicase suspected to be involved in phosphate starvation responses. The cloning and expression of three variations of recombinant C. thermarum PhoH2 was successful in Escherichia coli. However the purification of PhoH2 continues to yield insoluble protein, despite the range of purification buffer conditions screened, thus preventing downstream biochemical characterisation and structural investigations. Multiple options exist to overcome this insolubility problem; including alternate plasmids for protein expression and purification that alter the tag location and type such as C-terminal His-tags and alternative fusion tags.

text: Caldalkalibacillus thermarum PhoH2: Solving the solubility puzzle Previous attempts to determine the structure of the protein PhoH2 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium smegmatis and Thermobispora bispora have been unsuccessful producing diffraction data to low resolution. The thermophilic organism Caldalkibacillus thermarum was thought to be an advantageous option from which to clone, express and purify PhoH2 from for the purpose of structure determination. PhoH2 consists of two domains, an N terminal PIN domain, known for its toxic properties as part of many toxin-antitoxin systems present in M. tuberculosis, and a C-terminal PhoH domain, an RNA helicase suspected to be involved in phosphate starvation responses. The cloning and expression of three variations of recombinant C. thermarum PhoH2 was successful in Escherichia coli. However the purification of PhoH2 continues to yield insoluble protein, despite the range of purification buffer conditions screened, thus preventing downstream biochemical characterisation and structural investigations. Multiple options exist to overcome this insolubility problem; including alternate plasmids for protein expression and purification that alter the tag location and type such as C-terminal His-tags and alternative fusion tags.

year: 2017

title: The Te Kotahitanga Observation Tool: Development, use, reliability and validity.

authors: Berryman, Mere

subjects: chool reform

abstract: Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

text: The Te Kotahitanga Observation Tool: Development, use, reliability and validity. Te Kotahitanga is a New Zealand school reform project aimed at improving the pedagogical contexts in mainstream classrooms in which the indigenous Māori students have traditionally been marginalised. It does this by assisting teachers to implement an Effective Teaching Profile. Part of this process uses an observation tool to monitor the degree to which participating teachers are incorporating the interactions and relationships described in the Effective Teaching Profile into their day-to-day teaching. Given the central importance of these tasks, the Te Kotahitanga team undertook to test the observation tool for measurement reliability and validity. In order to undertake this study, the team conducted synchronous observations amongst trainers (the Professional Development Coordinator and Regional Coordinators) to ascertain their level of consistency when using the tool. The team then conducted synchronous observations between trainers and 38 in-school facilitators in the 12 schools involved in Phase 3 of the project. In total 41 teachers were observed and over 200 Māori students were involved in these observations. This study suggests that the tool can produce consistent and reliable results when observers have been effectively trained.

year: 2011