Thursday, June 1, 2023
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Patel Center, Room 136
FEATURED RISE CARIBBEAN BREAKOUT SESSION
1:45 – 1:55 p.m.
“It Takes Two to Talk – Hanen’s Intervention: A Review of the Literature”
Research explains that parent implemented programmes like Hanen’s intervention, are imperative for early years children, as a balance is established between both communicators by reducing parental directiveness and increasing turn taking and children’s initiation (Pennington and Noble, 2010). The theory suggests through these parent programmes, children are more active regarding interaction and produce additional vocabulary, as parents allow more opportunities for their children to communicate increasing their turn taking and language (Pennington and Thomson, 2007). The researcher then seeks to investigate the effect of Hanen’s intervention ‘More than Words’, on the language ability of children diagnosed with SEN, and the change of their parents’ interaction skills. The study will focus on the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and be further extended to Grenada, St. Lucia, and Barbados.The proposed study will be quantitative in nature thus employing a comparative quasi-experimental design with a positivist philosophical perspective. The study will be comprised of, 2 qualified Speech and Language Therapists and approximately 64 participants (8 children and 8 parents per island). Prior the intervention, assessments will be used for (1) the child’s linguistic profile and (2) the interaction and communication styles between the children and their parents to establish their baseline. The intervention will then be implemented via 8 sessions lasting 2.5 hours per session. Participants will be re-assessed post intervention. Data will be analysed using a Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) and results compared between each island.
Jimelle Roberts
2:00 – 2:10 p.m.
“Artificial Intelligence in The Humanities: Benefits and Challenges for Assessment”
The Humanities entail the study of the human world and society from a critical perspective. An understanding of this perspective is often demonstrated by students through writing. Artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT, can provide benefits during the writing process but can also pose significant challenges to assessing written thoughts, ideas and expressions from students in higher education. Consequently, an action research methodology was used to investigate these benefits and challenges.
This session provides an overview of artificial intelligence tools, primarily ChatGPT; discusses issues faced by instructors when assessing student work which might be produced by ChatGPT; and makes recommendations for designing assessments that more accurately reflects the knowledge and skills of students.
Troy Carrington
2:15 – 2:25 p.m.
“Impact of Students’ Well-Being on Student Achievement in the Caribbean: A Meta-Synthesis”
The session will explore the concept of wellbeing and its western expression as characterized by individualism and self-expression, which can be contrary to the cultural values of community and interdependence within the Caribbean. A review of wellbeing framed within the Caribbean environment will further be explored and an ensuing discussion on the preliminary literature review findings regarding the importance of wellbeing and its significance in the classroom educational context.
2:30 – 2:40 p.m.
“Exploring Inclusive Education Practices in Grenada: An Ethnographic Study of District and School Management Teams”
The approaches to addressing inclusion globally, though laudable, often focus on the signing of laws, the development of policies, and the implementation of policy. However, in contexts such as Grenada within the Caribbean, the there are no clear guidelines for implementation, resulting in policy that is not effectively translated into practice (Blackman, Conrad, & Brown, 2019). Although many studies have investigated inclusion efforts in the Caribbean region, very few have attempted a grounded, holistic view at what is happening on site, where inclusive cultures are being developed. Such a view can allow for a focus on implementation rules and regulations that lay down specific interventions and solutions directed toward previously identified priority improvement areas. Grounded inquiry from the site of implementation can assist in improving governance and access to quality education for all learners. Through an ethnographic exploration of one educational district in Grenada, this study draws from the theories of social justice leadership (Furman (2012) and Critical Pedagogy (Freire 2020), to explore how District and School Management Teams accept, interpret, and enact inclusive education in public primary schools in Grenada. Specifically, qualitative data is collected through interviews, observation, document analysis and work diaries over a period of 12 to 15 weeks. This study will likely be of great value for the policy implementation process in the Caribbean and beyond, as it can provide an objective and in-depth insight directly from the field and a “close to context” reflection of how policy is being understood, interpreted, and enacted by administrators.
Judy-Ann Auld
