The focus of this study is the nature and concomitants of pretend play among young children with autism. Age- and language-matched children with autism ("n"= 27), autism spectrum disorder ("n"= 14), and developmental disorders without autism ("n"= 16) were administered the Test of Pretend Play (ToPP; Lewis &…

The article explores the use of a classroom-based investigation at Masters level to support pre-service teachers (secondary English PGCE trainees) in focusing on the need for explicit teaching and assessment of speaking and listening skills. With reference to specific case studies, it explores how the module encourages trainees' use of Socratic…

Self-efficacy beliefs have been identified as associated with students' academic performance. The present research assessed the relationship between two new self-efficacy scales (self-efficacy in reading [SER] and self-efficacy in writing [SEW]) and students' writing performance on a piece of assessed written coursework. Using data from first and…

This article explores the process of Learning to Learn from the pupils' perspective. The Learning to Learn in Schools Project started in 2003 and includes teachers and pupils from primary and secondary age phases in four local authorities. Key to the project has been a focus on the collaborative exploration of metacognition in practice. With the…

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) activities aim to promote collaborative knowledge construction and convergence. During the CSCL activity, the students should regulate their learning activity, at the individual and collective level. This implies an organisation cost related to the coordination of the activity with the team-mates…

The recent development in the measurements of spontaneous mental state understanding, employing eye-movements instead of verbal responses, has opened new opportunities for understanding the developmental origin of "mind-reading" impairments frequently described in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Our main aim was to characterize the…

Students' experience of higher education comprises not only their academic studies but also their extracurricular activities. This article reports on the findings from a mixed-methods research project, exploring in detail the nature and value of extracurricular activity engagement and the significance of institutional schemes encouraging…

Opportunities for the development of science-related pedagogy during training are necessarily limited for the generalist primary (elementary), preservice teacher. While school placement is an important context within which to develop such professional expertise, the role of institution-based learning is less well understood in this regard. This…

This article addresses the need to develop new pedagogic approaches which promote learner independence in contexts where learning takes place through the medium of more than one language. The challenges of responding to a rapidly changing educational landscape to ensure that our learners become pluriliterate global citizens are presented through…

Against a background which recognises pedagogical content knowledge as the distinctive element of teacher competence/expertise, this theoretical essay argues for its central construct--that of transformation--to be understood by teachers and teacher educators in psychological terms (as was originally proposed by Dewey). Transformation requires…

As a new teacher educator of beginner teachers on the Graduate Teacher Programme in a large School of Education in a UK university, I have reflected on how I have been able to develop the effectiveness of modelling good professional practice to student-teachers. In this paper I will present ways in which I have made modelling more explicit, how…

This article examines the introduction of new online technologies to support distance language learning in a higher education institution in the UK, charting the development from using telephone conferencing in the 1990s to the implementation of Moodle and videoconferencing more recently. It uses the sociocultural concept of the learner-context…

Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has shaped the way we teach and learn nowadays. Web 2.0 interactivity capacities have played a major role in providing a virtual space where learning can take place outside the classroom. Digital environments challenge the traditional educational establishment by blurring the boundaries between the recipient of…

Background: Teenagers need information about their changing bodies. Many young people do not receive adequate or accurate puberty/sexuality education from their parents or school, so many teenagers are going online to have their sexuality questions answered. Purpose: This research examines teenagers' web questions on sexuality, and an example of…

Originally developed by Butler (1989) with the Great Britain Olympic boxing team, performance profiling is an assessment tool primarily used by sport psychologists to enhance athlete awareness. The completed profile provides the athlete, the coach, and psychologist with a visual representation of the athlete's perception of his or her performance…