Year: 2013

Educational Research: Informing and Impacting Educational Practices

Wednesday, 8th May 2013
IoE Doctoral Researchers Conference

Call for Posters

• Conference Booking Form for MAs 
• MA Poster Application Form 
• EAS_DSF_Poster_Guidance

The IoE Doctoral Researchers Conference Committee is pleased to announce its Postgraduate Conference on Wednesday, 8th May 2013 from 16:00 to 19:45, which all postgraduate IoE students are cordially invited.The venue for the event is L022 G01 London Road Campus.

MA students are invited to attend the conference where oral presentations will be made by doctorial researchers, and are  invited to present posters at the conference of completed or intended research. If you would like your poster to be considered for presentation please fill the attached application form and send it to Shahla Yassaei (s.yassaei@pgr.reading.ac.uk).

Posters represent a summary of your work in a visual form. At conferences poster presenters literally stand next to their displayed poster and are available to answer questions and/or to receive feedback on their work. Please see the attached Guidance on Poster Presentation. In order to be allocated an area to present your poster at a conference it is usual that authors submit an abstract summarising the work that the intended poster is on; thus, the conference committee welcomes abstracts from IoE MA students who would like to present a poster at this inaugural IoE student conference. The poster can be presented on any area of research you are/ will be conducting for your MA dissertation or other empirically based research conducted as part of your MA degree. In either case, you are asked to mention the relevance of your research to education and its potential impact.

The deadline for abstracts is 5pm, Friday 15^th March 2013. All abstracts received on or before this date are reviewed by the Conference Committee and decisions on the successful posters will be communicated to the authors no later than Monday, 8^th April 2013. Please note that the reviewers will provide constructive feedback on all abstracts submitted.

Abstract Guidelines

Your abstract should provide an overview of your poster.  You can choose to focus on either an introduction of your research project as a whole or a specific aspect of your research. In either case, you should explain its significance/contribution to your field.

Word limit for abstract is 200 words.

It is important to remember that your poster should make reference to the theme of the conference, ‘Educational Research: Informing and Impacting Educational Practices.’

Application

If you are interested in presenting your work in the form of a poster, please fill in the attached application form and make sure that you take into account the criteria stated below when you write your abstract.

• The title of your abstract should not be more than 12 words in which you encapsulate the topic of your poster in a clear but interesting manner.
• A very short but informative background to your research should be provided (about two to three sentences).
• The overall subject of the poster should be clearly stated i.e., whether it is an overview of your MA research or it is a particular aspect of it, e.g., your methodology, your literature review, and details of the presentation should be provided
• The potential significance of your research to your field should be clearly stated.
• The way your research is in line with the theme of the conference should be stated.

Conference Booking

If you would like to attend the conference please book your place by filling in the booking form attached and emailing it to Debbie Grimmond (dg030384@pgr.reading.ac.uk) no later than Friday 15th March 2013.

*Please note that those students who would like to apply need to book their place as well.

We look forward to hearing from you all. Please do not hesitate to contact Debbie Grimmond (dg030384@pgr.reading.ac.uk) if you have further questions.

We hope that you will be able to join us on the day.

Regards,

IoE Doctoral Conference Student Organisers

Debbie Grimmond

Shahla Yassaei

Rfah Alyami

• Conference Booking Form for MAs 
• MA Poster Application Form 
• EAS_DSF_Poster_Guidance

Director appointed for new Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism

Director of the new Centre will be Professor Jeanine Treffers-Daller, currently Professor of Second Language Education.

A new Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism will be launched at Reading in early September, bringing together a range of world class experts with the intention of creating an internationally renowned hub for research into linguistic, psychological, clinical and educational aspects of multilingualism and literacy.

Director of the new Centre will be Professor Jeanine Treffers-Daller, who is currently Professor of Second Language Education, based in the Institute of Education.

“Although there is a lot of research on bilingualism, relatively little is known about multilingualism and yet much of the world’s population is multilingual, as is a growing proportion of the UK population. In Reading itself, 30% of children in primary schools are bilingual or multilingual (national average 17.5%) and this brings challenges for the education system as well as many potential benefits to society. The focus of the Centre will be on looking at the positives relating to multilingualism such as the benefits in cognitive control, language acquisition and the benefits to global enterprise.

“The University already has a strong base on which to build a successful Centre and with a number of new international appointments funded through the Academic Investment Programme, we will be in a strong position to become a leading centre.

“What will truly distinguish us from other international centres, however, is our unique approach to the interface between multilingualism and literacy. Literacy is crucially important for a person’s educational and professional career chances but its role in multilinguals is under-researched. Multilingualism provides opportunities to improve literacy in a first language which will act as a stronger foundation on which to make better progress in other languages.

“We aim to build partnerships with the private sector, develop a parallel Centre in multilingual Malaysia as part of the University’s presence there, hold training events for PhD students and public engagement events for teachers, speech and language therapists and parents of multilingual children. Ultimately, I would like the Centre to be a source of impactful research for policy makers, employers, teachers, test developers and community organisations.”

The new Centre will be based in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, from where training sessions will be run, but activities will take place in Psychology, the Institute of Education and Applied Linguistics. Membership of the Centre will be open to staff in the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science.

Jeanine Treffers-Daller is herself a good example of multilingualism. She is Dutch and has lived and worked in Turkey and Germany as well as the UK. She is married to a German and her children are fluent in three languages. She joined the University of Reading 18 months ago having worked most recently in the University of the West of England as Professor of Linguistics. More about Jeanine

The Centre will be launched on 3 September prior to a British Psychological Society conference taking place at Reading that week.

 

Tuesday, 05 March 2013 – Source: http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/staffportal/news/articles/spsn-491250.aspx

The University of Reading is one of just a handful of providers across the country authorised to run the new Subject Specialism in Primary (Mathematics) postgraduate route into teaching.

This new and innovative option aims to provide trainees with the capacity to teach mathematics across the primary age-range to a high standard, and to take on a leadership role in supporting other teachers in this key subject. The programme will address mathematical subject knowledge, pedagogical understanding and leadership skills to nurture a confident practitioner able to make an immediate professional impact.

While providing additional expertise in the teaching of mathematics, trainees will also receive a broad and rich preparation for teaching to ensure that they meet the full range of Teachers’ Standards. Trainees will gain experience in Early Years and Key Stage 3 settings, and will receive input and application on placement of a range of areas including child development, inclusion and safeguarding; literacy and phonics; behaviour management; and teaching and learning across the curriculum.

This programme will suit those who:

• Have obtained at least an upper second class degree in their subject
• Have achieved an A*-C in A-level mathematics or equivalent
• Enjoy mathematics and want to share that enjoyment with children and other adults within a primary school setting
• Want to take a school-based route into teaching

Those enrolling who have at least a B in A-level mathematics will receive an additional £2000 bursary.

Two modules required for this route are at postgraduate level and could contribute subsequently to the requirements of a Masters programme.

The mathematics team at the Institute of Education offer a wide range of skills and experience. With substantial subject knowledge, active research interests, experience of teaching in England and abroad, and knowledge of local and national policy making, the team are ideally placed to support you in becoming a much sought-after mathematics specialist.

See more: http://www.reading.ac.uk/education/pg-taught/ioe-SchoolDirectPrimaryMaths.aspx

You can now learn to teach Secondary Computer Science at the Institution of Education.  There are a number of options so if you are interested please view our website:

Secondary Initial Teacher Training: http://www.reading.ac.uk/education/pg-taught/ioe-secondaryITT.aspx

Secondary Computer Science: http://www.reading.ac.uk/education/pg-taught/ioe-secondarycs.aspx

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