Open University books

This book provides critical insights and practical approaches to help you support babies and young children with special educational (read more)

This book provides critical insights and practical approaches to help you support babies and young children with special educational needs and disability (SEND) in the early years. The book starts by briefly considering the current political and legislative context before considering what this means for children with SEND in early years settings. Numerous case studies offer real-world examples to challenge and develop your thinking and there are summary key points, thought provoking questions and ideas for developing practice.

In addition the book draws on parents' and children's perspectives to assist you in devising an individual and setting action plan for babies and young children with SEND. Key content includes: How the principle of the 'unique child' informs practice for all children Implications of the 2014 Code of Practice for early years provision What 'good practice' looks like Early identification and intervention, and engagement with parents Exploring the role of the SENCO Keeping families' and children's voices at the heart of all decision making. This is an invaluable book for anyone involved in early years provision who strives to improve their practice to include all children and their families.

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Why use qualitative research in psychology? How is qualitative research in psychology carried out? What are the major debates and (read more)

Why use qualitative research in psychology? How is qualitative research in psychology carried out? What are the major debates and unresolved issues surrounding this form of research? Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology is a vital resource for students new to qualitative psychology. It offers a clear introduction to the topic by taking eight different approaches to qualitative methods and explaining when each one should be used, the procedures and techniques involved, and any limitations associated with such research. Throughout the new edition, material has been re-organized and updated to reflect developments in the field, while Carla Willig's style of writing, popular with students and lecturers alike, remains unchanged.

Together with wider coverage of conceptual issues and epistemological & theoretical challenges in qualitative research, this third edition boasts three new methods chapters: Thematic Analysis, Narrative Analysis and Visual Methodologies. Three additional chapters on Qualitative Research Design & Data Collection, The Role of Interpretation and Putting Together A Research Proposal will be invaluable to students and researchers during conceptual preparation.

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This book recognises that teacher training is changing, following government announcements to move the responsibility for teacher (read more)

This book recognises that teacher training is changing, following government announcements to move the responsibility for teacher training more into schools through further development of routes to teaching such as Teach First and Schools Direct. This means that a trainee teacher may soon be learning under the auspices of a school rather than a college or university. This in turn may mean that support mechanisms are not universally strong and that trainees need to 'hit the ground running' in their role. Therefore the idea behind the book is to give enough information and ideas for trainee teachers to approach the practical business of teaching with confidence.

The starting points for the book are: *What do you, as a trainee teacher or new classroom practitioner, really need to know? *Now that you've made the decision to teach and you've chosen the route (SCITT, HEI, Teach First, School Direct), what are the nuts and bolts of teaching? *What are the day-to-day essentials that will help you rise to the challenge of your teaching role and become an outstanding teacher?Hence this book aims to offer a comprehensive overview of teaching and, as one of its USPs, picks up on the all important aspects of teaching that some other books can leave out i.e. how to teach.

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MBA Admissions Strategy is a bestseller that shows MBA applicants:* What MBA Admissions Committees value and how they work * What (read more)

MBA Admissions Strategy is a bestseller that shows MBA applicants:* What MBA Admissions Committees value and how they work * What to say in a b-school application, and how to say it well * How to answer tricky essay and interview questionsIt guides the reader through the four key aspects of competitive MBA admissions: navigating the admissions process; enhancing profile value; managing essay and interview communications; and writing better. MBA Admissions Strategy is about what is hard for MBA applicants to find: the candid "what-I-wish-they'd-told-me" insights about what really works in MBA admissions. It is what to do to win in MBA admissions, and a step-by-step guide how to do it. (hide)

Most pupils start their scientific learning with previously formed ideas, based on prior reasoning or experience, but these ideas (read more)

Most pupils start their scientific learning with previously formed ideas, based on prior reasoning or experience, but these ideas are often founded on common misconceptions, which if left unexplained can continue into adulthood. The new edition of this bestselling book offers advice on how to recognize and challenge such misconceptions. This book offers coverage of the most common scientific misconceptions that you may come across and, in addition to background theoretical and research material, offers appropriate teaching strategies to help you seek out and challenge misconceptions during your primary science teaching.

This handy book has been expanded to offer even more support and practical advice for dealing with the common misconceptions encountered in the primary science classroom. Michael Allen describes over 100 common misconceptions and their potential origins, and then offers creative activities to help you grasp the underlying scientific concepts and bring them alive in the classroom, as well as practical strategies to improve pupil learning.

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This popular book is the ideal companion text for all new and trainee nurse mentors, providing unique strategies and ideas to help (read more)

This popular book is the ideal companion text for all new and trainee nurse mentors, providing unique strategies and ideas to help devise and enhance learning opportunities for their students. With a practical and accessible style, the book answers the many questions that mentors may have about the mentoring role, including: How can I create a good learning environment? What should I include in my mentor's portfolio? How can I best support failing students?

The book includes plentiful case studies, tools and interventions that you can use in clinical practice, and is full of real insights from students and mentors. Fully updated in this second edition the book includes new and additional coverage on e-portfolios, undertaking student evaluations, conducting the final interview, using evidence as a mentor, the best way to teach skills in practice and how to demonstrate leadership skills as a mentor.

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Fully revised and updated, the new edition of this handy pocketbook provides key advice for busy practitioners on the day-to-day (read more)

Fully revised and updated, the new edition of this handy pocketbook provides key advice for busy practitioners on the day-to-day aspects of using and applying the Mental Health Act. The busy practitioner will find this guide invaluable for quickly finding the information they need to set up, undertake and complete an assessment under the Mental Health Act. The new edition features: up-to-date information reflecting the revised Mental Health Act Code of Practice, Reference Guide and case law; new advice on integrating the concept of Deprivation of Liberty in decision making during Mental Health Act Assessments; points to watch out for when assessing homeless people, and young people experiencing mental health problems; new guidance on joint working with the police, particularly in relation to s135; an expanded chapter focusing on using compulsion in the community, aimed at helping practitioners understand and use all available frameworks, including the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); and, key points of law, highlights from the Code of Practice , checklists, flow charts and reminders provide clear and unambiguous guidance throughout. (hide)

This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes which improve practice. It draws on (read more)

This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes which improve practice. It draws on research into a group of early years leaders which followed them for almost three years as they attempted to improve provision in their settings as 'change agents' and 'leaders of practice'. Through exploring their successes and failures, the book builds a picture of what it takes to lead improvements in practice. This book develops four principles of practice that many leaders adopt as they innovate.

These principles provide basic guidance about how to bring about improvements in practice and are derived from the real-life attempts of both inexperienced and established leaders to improve the quality of provision. With its strong research methodology and skilled analysis, this book provides an excellent insight into the challenges of leadership for quality provision in early years settings.If you are working as a leader in the early years sector, or aspire to a leadership role in the early years, this book is inspiring and essential reading.

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This book provides an economic perspective on health promotion and chronic disease prevention, and gives a rationale for assessing (read more)

This book provides an economic perspective on health promotion and chronic disease prevention, and gives a rationale for assessing the economic case for action. It provides a comprehensive review of the evidence base in support of a broad range of public health interventions, addressing not only their effectiveness in improving population health, but also their implementation costs, impacts on health expenditures and wider economic consequences. An economic perspective is about more than counting the costs associated with poor health.

It is about understanding how economic incentives can influence healthy lifestyle choices in the population. The book provides tools for developing effective and efficient policy strategies and addressing trade-offs between the goals of improving population health, while being mindful of the need to tackle inequalities in health outcomes across individuals and populations. The book: practically illustrates methods and measures of cost and outcome used in the evaluation of interventions covers specific risk factor areas including tobacco smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, poor mental health and harmful environmental factors considers cross-cutting themes including key implementation issues, health inequalities, and the merits of early life interventionsThe book is designed for health policy makers and all those working or studying in the areas of public health, health research, medicine or health economics. (hide)

"This beautifully written book ...clearly explains the application of psychological concepts and theories to health and succinctly (read more)

"This beautifully written book ...clearly explains the application of psychological concepts and theories to health and succinctly summarises key issues. Each chapter also provides a series of vignettes capturing the kind of real-life situations health and social care professionals will encounter in their own practice and a set of thought-provoking exercises ...These will be invaluable in developing critical thinking skills and growing the capacity to provide the kind of empathic care which is the heart of person-centred practice" Dr Wendy Cousins, Course Director, University of Ulster School of Nursing, UK "I have recommended earlier editions of this book and now am delighted to say that this latest edition is even better.

The authors continue to clearly explain the relevance of psychological theories, models and approaches to nursing care but now, through the use of frequent reflective activities, vignettes and a 'psychosoap' family, students are also highly encouraged to identify how the theory will help them to become the high quality holistic practitioners they desire to be."Anthony Duffy, Nurse Tutor, College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, UK "This new edition embraces innovation in student learning.

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