Peter Johnston
Biographic Data
| ID | 3983577 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Peter Johnston |
| GIVEN NAMES | Peter |
| FAMILY NAME | Johnston |
| SIGNATURE | JOHNSTON P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cape Town |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5115-3416 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 45 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1983 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Paradise Lost
Volitional reading, ‘disturbing’ books, and the transformation of readers
Although reading comprehension research and instruction commonly focus on individuals’ ability to extract meaning from text, eighth-grade students whose teachers chose to focus on engaged volitional reading, rather than comprehension, demonstrated expansive forms of meaning-making and purpose. Interviews and observations across two school years indicated many of students’ preferred books were those they considered ‘disturbing’ – narratives that r…
Role of Indigenous and local knowledge in seasonal forecasts and climate adaptation
Accessible, reliable and diverse sources of climate information are needed to inform climate change adaptation at all levels of society, particularly for vulnerable sectors such as smallholder farming. Globally, many smallholder farmers use Indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) to forecast weather and climate; however, less is known about how the use of these forecasts connects to decisions and actions for reducing climate risks. We …
The role of indigenous knowledge and local knowledge in water sector adaptation to climate change in Africa
Evidence is increasing of human responses to the impacts of climate change in Africa. However, understanding of the effectiveness of these responses for adaptation to climate change across the diversity of African contexts is still limited. Despite high reliance on indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) for climate adaptation by African communities, potential of IK and LK to contribute to adaptation through reducing climate risk or su…
Measuring the skill of an operational ice jam flood forecasting system
Today's doctors
Engaging Disturbing Books
There is evidence that student‐selected reading of compelling, relevant young adult literature helps address the problem of low reading engagement among adolescents, but schools rarely take up this option as a curricular priority. A major source of apprehension for adults is fear that students might be placed at risk by exposure to realistic content of some young adult books or that parents might object. In this article, the authors take up this …
How Language Supports Adaptive Teaching Through a Responsive Learning Culture
For students to learn optimally, teachers must design classrooms that are responsive to the full range of student development. The teacher must be adaptive, but so must each student and the learning culture itself. In other words, adaptive teaching means constructing a responsive learning culture that accommodates and even capitalizes on diversity to ensure that each student is learning optimally. There are 2 primary resources for accomplishing t…
Arctic Energy Resources
In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the Arctic as a source for resources, as a potential zone for commercial shipping, and as a region that might experience conflict due to its strategic importance. With regards to energy resources, some studies suggest that the region contains upwards of 13 percent of global undiscovered oil, 30 percent of undiscovered gas, and multiples more of gas hydrates. The decreasing amount and durati…
The Security Impact of Oil Nationalization
This article highlights the security impact of oil nationalization, develops and analyzes four energy security scenarios, and suggests options to reduce the potential negative impact of oil nationalization. In addition to the use of oil as a weapon, nationalization of oil can also lead to competition for scarce resources among states, facilitate the funding of terrorists or insurgents, contribute to destabilizing regional arms races, influence in…
Late Quaternary river evolution of floodplain pockets along Mulloon Creek, New South Wales, Australia
Valley confinement along upper-middle reaches of Mulloon Creek, in the upper Shoalhaven catchment of southern New South Wales, Australia, restricts floodplain development to a series of distinct pockets. These pockets comprise a downstream-thinning wedge of vertically accreted fine-grained deposits atop basal gravels. Some time before 12 500 years ago a bedload-dominated river was transformed into a suspended load system. In the mid-late Holocene…
Principles for literacy assessment
From the article's introduction: “What gets assessed is what gets taught” is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just what gets assessed, but how it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, “If I knew that I'd be the teacher” he is saying something about the relationships of authority learned in the process of assessment. When a…
Sustainable futures
How Will Literacy Be Assessed in the Next Millennium
In this “RRQ Snippet,” several researchers share their ideas about trends in literacy assessment, including high‐stakes testing, the influence of technology, and assessment to inform instructional practice
Small Change
In this article, we describe the findings from a 5-year multilevel project in which we studied 4 high-poverty school districts that were attempting to change to a literature-based literacy curriculum in line with State Department of Education manifestos. The various studies in the project drew on class- room observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, and various documents and reports from schools, the State Department of Education…
Small Change
Assessment of teaching and learning in “literature-based” classrooms
Asking After the Lived Experiences of and with Difficulty in Physical Activity in the Lifeworlds of Children and Young People by Maureen Connolly
Teaching children is an act of love." (Beckman, 1982). Maureen Connolly's dissertation is an in-depth exploration of the notion of difficulty in physical education. More specifically, this study describes what a physically difficult experience is like from an emic or insider's point of view. Connolly's research question is directed to 11to 18-year-old children and youth
Prior Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Test Bias
not refer back to the text. The biasing effects of prior knowledge were demonstrated both within subjects and between subpopulations (rural and urban). Bias was shown to operate at the level of the individual and therefore should be removed at that level, not at the population level. This was achieved by using a content-specific vocabulary test to estimate prior knowledge, and incidentally resulted in a decrease in the bias due to intelligence. A…
The groundnut scheme — a personal memoir
Sustainable futures
Prior Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Test Bias
not refer back to the text. The biasing effects of prior knowledge were demonstrated both within subjects and between subpopulations (rural and urban). Bias was shown to operate at the level of the individual and therefore should be removed at that level, not at the population level. This was achieved by using a content-specific vocabulary test to estimate prior knowledge, and incidentally resulted in a decrease in the bias due to intelligence. A…
The role of indigenous knowledge and local knowledge in water sector adaptation to climate change in Africa
Evidence is increasing of human responses to the impacts of climate change in Africa. However, understanding of the effectiveness of these responses for adaptation to climate change across the diversity of African contexts is still limited. Despite high reliance on indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) for climate adaptation by African communities, potential of IK and LK to contribute to adaptation through reducing climate risk or su…
Principles for literacy assessment
From the article's introduction: “What gets assessed is what gets taught” is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just what gets assessed, but how it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, “If I knew that I'd be the teacher” he is saying something about the relationships of authority learned in the process of assessment. When a…
Role of Indigenous and local knowledge in seasonal forecasts and climate adaptation
Accessible, reliable and diverse sources of climate information are needed to inform climate change adaptation at all levels of society, particularly for vulnerable sectors such as smallholder farming. Globally, many smallholder farmers use Indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) to forecast weather and climate; however, less is known about how the use of these forecasts connects to decisions and actions for reducing climate risks. We …
How Language Supports Adaptive Teaching Through a Responsive Learning Culture
For students to learn optimally, teachers must design classrooms that are responsive to the full range of student development. The teacher must be adaptive, but so must each student and the learning culture itself. In other words, adaptive teaching means constructing a responsive learning culture that accommodates and even capitalizes on diversity to ensure that each student is learning optimally. There are 2 primary resources for accomplishing t…
Assessment of teaching and learning in “literature-based” classrooms
Arctic Energy Resources
In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the Arctic as a source for resources, as a potential zone for commercial shipping, and as a region that might experience conflict due to its strategic importance. With regards to energy resources, some studies suggest that the region contains upwards of 13 percent of global undiscovered oil, 30 percent of undiscovered gas, and multiples more of gas hydrates. The decreasing amount and durati…
Late Quaternary river evolution of floodplain pockets along Mulloon Creek, New South Wales, Australia
Valley confinement along upper-middle reaches of Mulloon Creek, in the upper Shoalhaven catchment of southern New South Wales, Australia, restricts floodplain development to a series of distinct pockets. These pockets comprise a downstream-thinning wedge of vertically accreted fine-grained deposits atop basal gravels. Some time before 12 500 years ago a bedload-dominated river was transformed into a suspended load system. In the mid-late Holocene…
Small Change
The Security Impact of Oil Nationalization
This article highlights the security impact of oil nationalization, develops and analyzes four energy security scenarios, and suggests options to reduce the potential negative impact of oil nationalization. In addition to the use of oil as a weapon, nationalization of oil can also lead to competition for scarce resources among states, facilitate the funding of terrorists or insurgents, contribute to destabilizing regional arms races, influence in…
How Will Literacy Be Assessed in the Next Millennium
In this “RRQ Snippet,” several researchers share their ideas about trends in literacy assessment, including high‐stakes testing, the influence of technology, and assessment to inform instructional practice
Small Change
In this article, we describe the findings from a 5-year multilevel project in which we studied 4 high-poverty school districts that were attempting to change to a literature-based literacy curriculum in line with State Department of Education manifestos. The various studies in the project drew on class- room observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, and various documents and reports from schools, the State Department of Education…
The groundnut scheme — a personal memoir
Prior Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Test Bias
not refer back to the text. The biasing effects of prior knowledge were demonstrated both within subjects and between subpopulations (rural and urban). Bias was shown to operate at the level of the individual and therefore should be removed at that level, not at the population level. This was achieved by using a content-specific vocabulary test to estimate prior knowledge, and incidentally resulted in a decrease in the bias due to intelligence. A…
Asking After the Lived Experiences of and with Difficulty in Physical Activity in the Lifeworlds of Children and Young People by Maureen Connolly
Teaching children is an act of love." (Beckman, 1982). Maureen Connolly's dissertation is an in-depth exploration of the notion of difficulty in physical education. More specifically, this study describes what a physically difficult experience is like from an emic or insider's point of view. Connolly's research question is directed to 11to 18-year-old children and youth
Assessment of teaching and learning in “literature-based” classrooms
Small Change
In this article, we describe the findings from a 5-year multilevel project in which we studied 4 high-poverty school districts that were attempting to change to a literature-based literacy curriculum in line with State Department of Education manifestos. The various studies in the project drew on class- room observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, and various documents and reports from schools, the State Department of Education…
Small Change
How Will Literacy Be Assessed in the Next Millennium
In this “RRQ Snippet,” several researchers share their ideas about trends in literacy assessment, including high‐stakes testing, the influence of technology, and assessment to inform instructional practice
Principles for literacy assessment
From the article's introduction: “What gets assessed is what gets taught” is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just what gets assessed, but how it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, “If I knew that I'd be the teacher” he is saying something about the relationships of authority learned in the process of assessment. When a…
Sustainable futures
Late Quaternary river evolution of floodplain pockets along Mulloon Creek, New South Wales, Australia
Valley confinement along upper-middle reaches of Mulloon Creek, in the upper Shoalhaven catchment of southern New South Wales, Australia, restricts floodplain development to a series of distinct pockets. These pockets comprise a downstream-thinning wedge of vertically accreted fine-grained deposits atop basal gravels. Some time before 12 500 years ago a bedload-dominated river was transformed into a suspended load system. In the mid-late Holocene…
The Security Impact of Oil Nationalization
This article highlights the security impact of oil nationalization, develops and analyzes four energy security scenarios, and suggests options to reduce the potential negative impact of oil nationalization. In addition to the use of oil as a weapon, nationalization of oil can also lead to competition for scarce resources among states, facilitate the funding of terrorists or insurgents, contribute to destabilizing regional arms races, influence in…
Arctic Energy Resources
In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the Arctic as a source for resources, as a potential zone for commercial shipping, and as a region that might experience conflict due to its strategic importance. With regards to energy resources, some studies suggest that the region contains upwards of 13 percent of global undiscovered oil, 30 percent of undiscovered gas, and multiples more of gas hydrates. The decreasing amount and durati…
How Language Supports Adaptive Teaching Through a Responsive Learning Culture
For students to learn optimally, teachers must design classrooms that are responsive to the full range of student development. The teacher must be adaptive, but so must each student and the learning culture itself. In other words, adaptive teaching means constructing a responsive learning culture that accommodates and even capitalizes on diversity to ensure that each student is learning optimally. There are 2 primary resources for accomplishing t…
Engaging Disturbing Books
There is evidence that student‐selected reading of compelling, relevant young adult literature helps address the problem of low reading engagement among adolescents, but schools rarely take up this option as a curricular priority. A major source of apprehension for adults is fear that students might be placed at risk by exposure to realistic content of some young adult books or that parents might object. In this article, the authors take up this …
Today's doctors
Measuring the skill of an operational ice jam flood forecasting system
The role of indigenous knowledge and local knowledge in water sector adaptation to climate change in Africa
Evidence is increasing of human responses to the impacts of climate change in Africa. However, understanding of the effectiveness of these responses for adaptation to climate change across the diversity of African contexts is still limited. Despite high reliance on indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) for climate adaptation by African communities, potential of IK and LK to contribute to adaptation through reducing climate risk or su…
Role of Indigenous and local knowledge in seasonal forecasts and climate adaptation
Accessible, reliable and diverse sources of climate information are needed to inform climate change adaptation at all levels of society, particularly for vulnerable sectors such as smallholder farming. Globally, many smallholder farmers use Indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge (LK) to forecast weather and climate; however, less is known about how the use of these forecasts connects to decisions and actions for reducing climate risks. We …
Volitional reading, ‘disturbing’ books, and the transformation of readers
Although reading comprehension research and instruction commonly focus on individuals’ ability to extract meaning from text, eighth-grade students whose teachers chose to focus on engaged volitional reading, rather than comprehension, demonstrated expansive forms of meaning-making and purpose. Interviews and observations across two school years indicated many of students’ preferred books were those they considered ‘disturbing’ – narratives that r…
Paradise Lost
Psychology (12 works) · Mathematics education (8 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Business (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Economics (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Environmental resource management (4 works) · Geography (4 works)