Emerging Trends in Mathematics Education for People with Down Syndrome: Current Research and Future Directions

ABSTRACT

In September 2017, a group of researchers met for the first conference devoted to the singular purpose of exploring a neglected field – the learning of mathematics by individuals with Down syndrome. This special issue is a result of that first meeting and identifies three emerging trends in the mathematics education of learners with Down syndrome: the goals, content, and pedagogy. Education is central to the goal of improving an individual’s quality of life and only recently has the impact of mathematics been fully comprehended. Many researchers continue to explore the development of the concept of number and there is still much to learn. As a new development, we see that interest is now expanding to explore other areas of mathematics. We still have a long way to go to understand how best to open the doors of mathematics to all learners with Down syndrome. We conclude by offering six areas requiring immediate future research in the field of mathematics and Down syndrome.     

What Do Learning Scientists Do? A Survey of the ISLS Membership

This study responds to a question that people working in the field of learning sciences get asked regularly: What do learning scientists do? Earlier attempts to answer this question came from a need to define a new field of educational research. Now that the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) has grown into a robust and productive society, it is time to gain a more nuanced understanding of learning sciences research and practices—including where it takes place, for whom, and in what form—as defined by members of the learning sciences community. Here we report on the responses of 253 ISLS members to a survey conducted in 2014. We discuss implications of the findings in terms of the type of impact learning scientists have. We also discuss how these results might be used to advise prospective students and to create a vision for our future.     

Impact of the Learner-Educator Ratio Policy on Learner Academic Achievement in Rural Secondary Schools: A South African Case Study

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the rapid growth of learner enrolments in schools in most countries, including South Africa, has brought many challenges, such as a high learner-educator ratio (LER). The purpose of the study reported on was to explore an LER policy that can enhance learner academic achievement in physical sciences. Effective learning demands opportunities for learners to become actively involved in their physical sciences education. Thus, the physical sciences educator should not only act as a lecturer and transmitter of knowledge, but also as a facilitator, an enabler and an empowerer. The research used qualitative research and cultural-historical activity theory as the theoretical framework, viewing learning and teaching as a social process in which the interaction between the learners is the focus and smaller class size is transformative for both learners and educators. Data was collected from physical sciences teachers, principals and curriculum advisers through face-to-face interviews. The study concluded that large class sizes affect the implementation of practical activities and discipline may be adversely affected. Based on the findings of the study the following recommendation was made: the Department of Basic Education should reduce the LER to 30:1 or fewer learners in a class to allow for group activities and learner-centred science.     

Expeditionary Learning in Information Systems: Definition,Implementation, and Assessment

In the natural sciences, collecting, cataloguing, and comparing living specimens have long been a popular, collaborative mode of discovery and learning. New species are discovered, and the relationships between species are theorized. From Aristotle's “History of Animals” to Darwin's “On the Origin of Species”, and beyond, this process of learning through expedition has yielded bountiful knowledge and insights to students of science. In this paper, we propose that expeditionary learning can be applied to a softer science: the field of information systems. In the field of information systems, specimens (information systems) are created by humans, evolving with great speed. Expeditionary learning—where students collaboratively discover, catalog, and compare rapidly evolving information system specimens—is an innovative approach for learners in the IS field, and is effective in increasing IS program visibility and delivering significant, measurable community impact. Our results indicate that learning by expedition has a strong, positive community impact through educating external learners (such as high school and community college students, and the general public), and compares favorably to conventional experiential and service learning styles. Though expeditionary learning does not yield improved course evaluations, we demonstrate that learners’ perceived self‐knowledge and intentions to pursue the subject area are improved.     

泛在技术环境下教学体验与教师角色

随着3G技术、人工智能和云计算等关键技术的快速发展,泛在技术开始出现在多种教育场景中。然而目前国内关于泛在学习的研究,还主要集中在基本理论、技术支持、环境构建、资源服务设计以及标准规范等问题,对泛在技术在教学应用方面的研究还不太突出。深化泛在技术的具体教学应用和实践,对泛在学习研究由理论走向实践,并向教育应用纵深发展具有积极的意义。泛在技术环境下教学系统的各个要素及其关系与传统教学环境存在着内在属性的差异,需要教育实践者亲身体察。华中师范大学教育技术学62名研究生,从体验的视角,在无线网络和笔记本电脑终端构建的学习环境中,探究泛在技术环境下的学习方式、教学交互、课堂参与以及教师角色。研究发现：在泛在技术环境下,学习者以问题为中心,选择自主探究和学习共同体协作为主的方式,进行以人为本的多维互动,其整体参与度呈现多波峰的波浪式变化规律,而个体则以显性参与为主,参与体验的终端数对学生的深层参与影响较大。同时,泛在技术对教师能力提出了更高要求,强化了教师作用,教师转变为集教学组织、引导、帮助和评价于一身的多元角色。但是为了形成平等、互助、协商的学习氛围,教师需适度参与学习者互动。     

Education response to COVID 19 pandemic,a special issue proposed by UNICEF: Editorial review

This editorial paper presents 11 papers related to the special issue proposed by UNICEF on the Education Response to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic provoked an education emergency of unprecedented scale. At its onset in February 2020, school closures were announced in the worst-hit countries. At the peak of the crisis, 90 per cent of learners worldwide had had their education disrupted. Some learners, especially those from the most marginalised population groups, were put at risk of permanent dropout, provoking long-term and significant negative effects on children’s life-long wellbeing and the socio-economic development of their communities and countries. This special issue, which received contributions from UNICEF staff and various researchers, focuses on the impact of school closures, the effectiveness of remote learning solutions, equity implications, the mitigation of learning loss and notions around re-opening better. Different research perspectives and evidence is gathered to help strengthen policy considerations and future planning. The conclusion emphasizes building on the innovative solutions generated by the response to the crisis to make education systems more resilient, whilst also reinforcing the focus on equity and inclusion so that pre-existing disparities are not exacerbated in the future.     

Examining Spontaneous Perspective Taking and Fluid Self-to-Data Relationships in Informal Open-Ended Data Exploration

Engaging learners with complex unfamiliar datasets is a known challenge in Data Science education. One promising phenomenon investigated in related work is perspective-taking. A first-person “actor” perspective can help facilitate group and individual sensemaking by mediating observations and actions taken by learners. Here we investigate how museum visitors made use of an actor perspective when exploring an open-ended, interactive data map museum exhibit. We use a mix of qualitative and quantitative empirical methods to explore how actor perspective-taking (APT) may mediate joint sensemaking around data visualizations. By applying interpretive coding to 54 conversations wherein APT naturalistically emerged, we identify 3 distinct self-to-data relationships constructed via APT: role-play, projection, and orientation. A further analysis explores how APT was embedded in joint sensemaking of the visualized data. Twelve APT-mediated sensemaking processes are identified; two (extrapolating and noticing absence) were used in conjunction with multiple APT self-to-data relationships, while the remaining ten (e.g., enacting, spatially characterizing, generalizing) were exclusively used with specific self-to-data APT relationships. We use these empirical findings to generate hypotheses about how APT and associated sensemaking processes may support Data Science learning goals.     

Towards convergence of mobile and psychological theories of learning

This special issue was designed to promote an integration of mobile and psychological theories of learning by inviting empirical research that draws upon both theoretical approaches to guide investigation into learning involving mobile devices. Five empirical articles illustrated how mobile devices afford resources to learners and how new channels of data afford researchers new insight into learning processes. Authors of two invited commentaries note the challenges involved in researching mobile learning, which unfolds across multiple contexts and can involve novel tools, multiple learners, and instructors and experts. These authors propose a taxonomy that can organize research that investigates interactions amongst learners, instructors, experts, and tools across one or more physical contexts, as well as a research agenda that would empirically test and refine assumptions made by mobile learning theorists. In this commentary, the editorial team proposes that mobile and psychological theories may be improved through convergence. Theories of mobile learning can be advanced by adopting practices previously employed to refine psychological theories of learning, whereas conducting research using mobile devices (and the data they provide) can further refine psychological theories of learning. We illustrate these positions with examples, and consider how instruction must be designed and how learners must be prepared in order to benefit from learning using mobile technology.     

学习风格与英语课堂教学关系初探

近20年来,英语教学研究的重心已从教学法转向了学习者及其在学习中的作用,"以学生为中心"围绕学习者进行教学"已成为当今国内外外语教学界的一个时髦话题,学习风格———作为构成学习者个体特征的主要因素之一,已越来越受到众多学者及外语教师的关注。通过实施对中学生学习风格的系统性研究,有利于教师根据学生的学习风格有效地进行教学。对于学习者而言,了解自身的学习风格,并通过拓展自己的风格类型,则有利于他们去主动适应不同教师的教学风格,从而达到最佳的学习效果。     

Makabayan Curriculum for Secondary Schools in the Philippines: The Development of Citizenship

The Department of Education in the Philippines has undertaken initiatives to restructure the curriculum for secondary schools as part of its ongoing effort to improve the quality of learning. After a decade of study, the Department produced a new basic education curriculum, as the 2002 Basic Education Curriculum. All public schools in the country were mandated to implement the curriculum at the start of 2002–2003 school year. Makabayan (nationalistic or patriotic) is one of the learning areas in the Basic Education Curriculum along with English, Filipino, Science and Mathematics. Makabayan from First to Fourth Year is designed to develop the personal, social and work special skills of learners especially their interpersonal skills, empathy with other cultures, vocational efficiency, problem-solving, and decision-making in daily life, that is, to develop socio-cultural and politico-economic literacy. This paper describes the context and content of the Makabayan curriculum and the extent to which it develops in learners a sense of citizenship, that is, a healthy personal and national self-concept. To delimit scope, this paper focuses on the study of geography only as one of the components of Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) in the secondary school Makabayan Curriculum, using the results of a study of third year high school students' learning of geographic knowledge and skills as bases of empirical data. Key Words: citizenship, geographic literacy and competency, Makabayan curriculum, secondary education     

论20世纪上半叶“教育科学”概念在中国的形成

“教育科学”这一概念,既受中国五四时期“科学”观念和教育学多元化趋势的影响,又受“科玄论战”和“教育崩溃”论争的波及,并与国内教育科学化运动的兴衰密切相关。教育科学概念在中国具有独特的形成过程,受美国实验教育学思潮的影响,在20世纪20年代中国出现“教育科学”概念。此后欧美各国关于“教育科学”的论争被陆续引介到中国。在此过程中,“教育科学”与“教育学”“教育哲学”等相剥离,进入教育学分类,并成为大学的系科建制名称。20世纪上半叶教育学者对“教育科学”概念的认识对中国现代的教育科学概念形态产生了深远影响。中国教育学者对“教育科学”的认识深受“唯科学主义”的影响,在认识过程中受欧美多国熏染,“一名多实”的现象影响了中国教育学的分类,同时这些认识特征也反映了教育学在中国成为独立学科的急切呼唤。     

学习分析技术:挖掘大数据时代下教育数据的价值

当前,大数据时代已经来临,教育领域同样积累了海量数据。教育领域已经部署了众多的学习管理系统,在这些软件系统中存储着海量的学习者信息及学习过程数据。如何利用这些数据,使这些数据转变为信息、知识,并为教学决策、学习优化服务,已成为教育工作者以及学习者们所关注的内容。学习分析技术有助于发挥学习过程数据的价值,使数据成为审慎决策、过程优化的重要依据。该文介绍了国内外学习分析技术研究现状,归纳出学习分析技术的关键技术及分析模式,并以实例从不同用户视角包括管理者、辅导教师、学习者展示了学习分析技术在网络学习过程分析中的应用过程。     

论数据挖掘对比较教育研究的影响

教育数据挖掘是综合运用数学统计、机器学习和数据挖掘的技术和方法,对教育大数据进行处理和分析,通过数据建模,来预测个体未来的学习趋势。其应用领域主要包括个体的知识与行为建模以及学习趋势分析。纵观我国比较教育研究近些年的研究趋势,逐渐将数据挖掘纳入其研究方法之一,这使得比较教育学有了更加广泛的研究队伍。对数据挖掘与运用的趋势对比较教育学科本身也带来了挑战,因为数据的可获取性与公共性巩固和加强了实证主义跨国比较与研究,而忽略了地方的社会文化背景,导致比较教育研究的"去情境化"以及"过于简化"。有鉴于此,比较教育学者应该充分把握研究对象的社会、文化环境,不应该让单一研究范式过度主导自己的思维。     

Critical information literacy as core skill for lifelong STEM learning in the 21st century: reflections on the desirability and feasibility for widespread science media education

Grace Reid and the late Stephen Norris argue in this issue the urgent need for widespread Science Media Education (SME) as an integral part of formal and informal science education. SME is to achieve two goals: First, allow learners to critically evaluate any media as a source for scientific information by understanding the socio-economic and socio-cultural context of how and why news and entertainment media are created, and secondly, utilize media as a legitimate and productive source for science education and science learning. While laudable, I will argue that SME as an integral part of STEM education is unrealistic, and offer instead that the broader concept of Information Literacy might be more easily achieved within the current strong movement to conceptualize STEM education via science and engineering practices and within the broad goals of strengthening learners’ 21st century skills.     

Community-driven informal adult environmental learning: Using theory as a lens to identify steps toward concientización

Abstract

This article examines community-driven adult environmental learning in a volunteer watershed stewards program. We look for evidence of elements that portray steps toward “concientización”—the process of individuals and communities directing their own learning in nonhierarchical ways. Leveraging two theories from the learning sciences and community development research, affinity spaces and the Asset-Based Community Development model, we trace participants’ development toward concientización. Data collected through interviews with watershed stewards speaks to parts of these theories that in turn signal elements of concientización. Our findings point to the importance of providing communities with support that is flexible and easy to use for identifying and leveraging the resources in their community. We call for a new framework to understand how to help learners access community-driven environmental learning experiences and supporting resources at opportune times.     

Culture as inter- and intra-personal mediator: considering the notion of conceptual porosity and its connection to culture as a concept

This study reports a collective case study of five science education graduate students to highlight the role of culture as an influential component within their conceptual understandings of urban science education. Conceptual change theory was used as a theoretical framework to explore the negotiations that five graduate students experienced during a semester-long ‘Urban and Multicultural Science Education’ course geared toward increasing conceptual complexity (i.e., the ways students make connections between concepts). Negotiation—the way these students’ adopted, resisted, or considered new inter-conceptual complexity—was studied through how these learners activated and applied their understandings. Findings support that culture influenced the development of conceptual complexity for the themes studied by increasing the permeability of concepts to connect to one another—coined here as conceptual porosity. This complexity is represented through the inter-conceptual connectivity that developed temporally during learning experiences. Implications for these findings are discussed, as well.

     

基于“三维度”的高职院校大数据技术与应用专业精准教学模式探究

为推动大数据与实体经济深度融合,顺应高职教育教学改革方向,教育部增设了"大数据技术与应用"高职专业。文章主要针对大数据技术与应用专业在高职院校人才培养体系建设中存在的数据领域岗位多、技术区别大、技术更新快等特殊问题进行探讨,并提出基于"三维度"的精准课程教学模式方案,从而提高学生学习动力,促进课证融合,提高企业在校企合作中的主动性,为企业提供急需的高素质人才。     

培养自主学习能力 提高英语听力水平

自主学习是目前英语教学的一个热点问题。提高学习者自主学习能力,能给学习者提供新的学习环境,拓展其学习领域。本文主要讨论怎样培养学习者自主学习能力,提高学习者英语听力水平。     

Learner Outcomes in Science in South Africa: Role of the Nature of Learner Difficulties with the Language for Learning and Teaching Science

Paul Leslie Gardner pioneered the study of student difficulties with everyday words presented in the science context (Gardner 1971); several similarly designed studies (e.g. Cassels and Johnstone 1985; Tao in Research in Science Education, 24, 322–330, 1994; Farell and Ventura in Language and Education, 12(4), 243–254, 1998; Childs and O’Farell in Chemistry Education: Research and Practice, 4(3), 233–247, 2003) have since been reported in literature. This article draws from an exploratory study of the difficulties South African High School physical science learners encounter with everyday English words when presented in the science context. The participants (1107 learners and 35 respective physical science teachers) were drawn from 35 public secondary schools in Johannesburg area of South Africa. Data were obtained through a word test to participant learners followed by group interviews but face-to-face interviews with each physical science teacher. This study has revealed that in similar ways as have been reported in each of the studies so far, South African learners also face difficulties with meanings of everyday words presented in a science context. The main source of difficulties encountered was learner inability to distinguish between the meanings of familiar everyday words as used in everyday parlance from the ‘new’ meanings of the same everyday words when used in the science context. Interpretations of learner interview responses revealed that fewer difficulties would have been experienced by learners if science teachers generally explained the context meanings of the words as used during science teaching. The findings suggest that focusing on contextual proficiency more than on general proficiency in the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) during teaching perhaps holds more promise for enhanced learning and achievement in science. Steps necessary to raise teacher awareness of the potential impact of context on meanings of everyday words of the LOLT are discussed. This article stands as an evidence-led discussion of the issues around the language-related difficulties that learners in South Africa may encounter as they learn school science.     

Investigating inclusive education in primary schools in Ghana: what inclusive cultures,environment, and practices support implementation?

Schools create an inclusive environment and cultures and enact inclusive practices to cater for the learning and social needs of learners. Using an adapted Ghana Inclusive Education Monitoring Tool (IEMT), which is based on the Index for Inclusion, we collected data from 74 headteachers of primary schools. Data analysis involved percentages and frequencies of multiple-scaled items of the adapted IEMT. Findings revealed headteachers admit learners with special needs and disabilities (LwSEND) to set the stage for inclusion, while teachers accept these learners in schools. Collaborative cultures among teachers, parents, and other community stakeholders support inclusive education. While classrooms had somewhat good ventilation and lighting, school facilities were less accessible to all learners. Knowledge to adapt the curriculum and the flow of inclusive knowledge among teachers was limited. Suggestions to improve inclusive education include school-wide professional development for sharing inclusive knowledge, enhancing teachers' pedagogical competence and promoting supportive inclusive cultures.