Cooperative group,risk‐taking and inclusion of pupils with learning disabilities in physical education

The aim of this research was to study the impact of cooperative learning on changes in cooperative behaviours and acceptance amongst pupils with learning disabilities related to risk‐taking. One hundred and sixty‐eight French first year middle school pupils participated in this study. Thirty‐six pupils with learning disabilities were mainstreamed in six ordinary classes during seven two‐hour gymnastic lessons. Three classes practised under low risk conditions and three classes performed under high risk conditions. The helping behaviours of the SEGPA pupils were observed and the acceptance of pupils was measured thanks to a sociometric questionnaire during the first and last lessons. The results showed that risk‐taking affected the helping behaviours and the acceptance of pupils with learning disabilities. These results lead us to think about the factors that could have an impact on the influence of cooperative learning structures when mainstreaming pupils with learning disabilities in physical education.     

网络学习环境下低年级小学生写作中的思维品质特点

对小学二年级网络和普通学习环境下学生写作作品中表现出来的思维品质特点进行对比分析,结果表明:(1)网络班学生的思维灵活性低于普通班;(2)网络班学生的思维独创性优于普通班;(3)网络班学生的思维逻辑性明显优于普通班;(4)二年级学生的思维品质发展基本不存在性别差异。     

Making Pupils Fit the Framework: research into the implementation of the National Curriculum in schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties,focusing on Key Stage 4

The introduction of a National Curriculum in England and Wales caused a dilemma for many teachers who were responsible for pupils with learning difficulties. The issue of an entitlement curriculum for all pupils raised fundamental questions about the nature of special educational needs. This paper draws on the results of a questionnaire which was sent to senior teachers in schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties in England and Wales. The results raise interesting questions about how schools structure the curriculum to enable equality of opportunity for all pupils whilst still managing to cater for the individual learning needs of pupils experiencing difficulties.     

Relation of General Intelligence to the Persistence of Educational and Vocational Plans of High-School Pupils

ABSTRACT

The author aimed to explore primary pupils’ perceptions of learning and to what extent they perceive learning is important to them. Fifty-five primary school pupils in Istanbul and Canakkale (Turkey) were interviewed. To analyze the data, A. Strauss and J. Corbin's (1998) grounded theory methodology was followed. NVivo 7 (QSR, Australia) a software program for qualitative analysis, was also used during the analysis process. Research findings revealed that pupils who have a low-socioeconomic background have stated that learning is for a reason of employability. The interviews also revealed that many pupils associated learning with memorization and listening. This showed that they perceive learning as a passive transmission.     

民族地区小学生数学学习态度调查研究

本研究以民族地区194名少数民族和汉族小学生为被试,使用问卷法对小学生数学学习态度的现状进行调查,结果表明：1．少数民族学生对“数学用处”和“得到教师的关注少”的认识比汉族学生低;2．四年级数学态度得分最高,五、六年级出现下降趋势;3．女生数学态度均分高于男生,但男女生的数学成绩没有差异;4．数学态度在“对教师的看法”上存在地域差异,市区学生得分优于郊区和山区学生;5．数学学习成绩好的,其数学态度得分较高。数学态度与数学学习成绩是双向影响的,这在民族地区的数学教学中应给予充分重视．     

A study of the effects of an organization change from streamed to mixed-ability classes upon science classroom instruction

The aim of this study was to quantify possible changes in the classroom learning experiences of high- and low-ability pupils, which might accompany an organizational change from streamed to mixed-ability classes for learning science in secondary schools. Deteriorations in the quality of the classroom interactions of both high- and low-ability pupils were found, these deteriorations being particularly significant for high-ability pupils. It was suggested that these changes in classroom processes might provide the key to understanding the superior academic achievement of pupils in homogenous groups, which has been reported by other research workers. It was concluded that the nine teachers studied did not respond to this organizational change by individualizing classroom activities. Instead, they tended to teach to the middle of the ability range, with both ends of the ability spectrum being adversely affected, in terms of classroom behaviors. For high-ability pupils, the observed learning experiences became more structured and teacher-directed in mixed-ability classes, with decreased opportunities' for these pupils to practice a range of higher-order intellectual skills. For slow-ability pupils, an overall decrease in the frequencies of classroom behaviors was recorded. However, these changes in classroom processes were small compared with those experienced by high-ability pupils.     

Affective Outcomes of Cooperative Learning in Social Studies

This paper reports an experimental study involving the use of cooperative learning in a social studies classroom. The outcome variables discussed in the paper are pupil self-esteem and classroom climate. Over the period of the study, cooperative learning did not significantly improve the self-esteem of the pupils. However, pupils in the experimental group who were taught through the cooperative learning approach perceived classwork to be less difficult than the control pupils who worked individually. The control pupils also reported a decline in satisfaction with classwork and perceived more friction in their class. Interviews with the teacher and pupils showed favourable attitudes toward cooperative learning.     

‘One girl had a different idea’: children’s perspectives on learning and teaching models in the traditional classroom

ABSTRACT

This paper explores learning from the perspective of primary pupils in Egypt. The article explores models of learning and teaching and how pupils respond to traditional models and to changes within those. Qualitative data was collected from 57 interviews with 81 primary pupils in Alexandria, Egypt. Our research approach was interpretivist and our method was individual interview and observation. Teachers had introduced for the first time the practice of group and/or pair-work in the English language classroom. Following this change, pupils described their learning as benefiting from: peer support; exercising self-direction; participating more actively; and enjoyment of collaborative work. These findings accord with the research literature on collaborative learning. We conclude that even in traditional sites of learning, children appreciate aspects of collaborative learning.     

Pupils’ views on an ICT-based learning environment in health learning

This paper presents a study that examined pupils’ views on an ICT-based learning environment in health learning. The study was a part of the wider European Network of Health Promoting Schools programme (ENHPS; since 2008, Schools for Health in Europe, SHE) in Finland, and particularly its sub-project, From Puijo to the World with Health Lunch, which sought to renew secondary schools’ health education by developing and utilising an ICT-based learning environment. The research data were collected through a structured questionnaire presented to pupils (N = 92) in two secondary schools, one rural and one urban, in Eastern Finland. The results showed that pupils’ opinions about the ICT-based learning environment were fairly positive. Pupils felt that the ICT-based learning environment was easy to use and supported cooperative learning. Computing and Internet skills positively supported pupils’ favourable attitudes towards the ICT-based learning environment. An interesting result from the point of view of e-learning was that the pupils increased their awareness of how to critically evaluate health information found on the Internet.     

Self‐regulated pupils in teaching: teachers’ experiences

This article outlines in a theoretical and practical way the concepts of self‐regulated learning, learning strategies and metacognition by looking at concrete examples in the classroom. The teachers presented in the article were taking part in a research and development (R&D) work project in which they were cooperating both with each other and a researcher who was facilitating their way through the development processes. The article focuses on how the teachers introduced learning strategies, how the strategies were adapted to the pupils, how the strategies were connected to various tasks and what the use of strategies means for the pupils’ learning in the studied context. The overall aim of the article is to illuminate how the teachers experienced the pupils’ use of strategies in their learning work. Findings from the study indicate that teachers have to adapt the introduction and use of strategies to the pupils’ development levels and that pupils from 13 to 16 years of age need help from their teachers, both in learning and in controlling their own learning processes.     

Irish primary school teachers' experiences with Sport Education

This study examines the degree of active learning, participation and engagement of civic, social and political education (CSPE) pupils through an analysis of interview and focus group data, supplemented with key findings from a survey undertaken with CSPE pupils. The study focuses on pupils’ views of the status of CSPE, their experience of active learning, or its absence, and the benefits pupils derived from active/experiential learning. These findings are presented in terms of gender and school-level differences and are analysed within an appropriate participation framework.

The importance of citizenship education is conceptualised through a review of participation theory and the rationale for engaging pupils in active/experiential learning. It is argued that whilst it is important to engage young people in this type of learning, it can only be achieved if teachers believe in it and are willing to give pupils the appropriate autonomy needed to succeed. Examining pupil accounts of CSPE and active learning reveals there is a disparity in perspective between pupils who, in some schools, have benefited greatly from CSPE (through increased confidence and skills development) and those in other schools, where some pupils appear to have subverted active learning and have benefited little.     

A computer card game for the learning of basic aspects of the binary system in primary education: Design and pilot evaluation

This paper presents the design, features and pilot evaluation study of a computer card game for the learning of basic aspects of the binary system (BS) by primary level education pupils. This design was based on modern social and constructivist theories of learning, in combination with basic game design principles. Pupils are asked to play against the computer with cards featuring Binary Numbers (BNs). To engage successfully with the game, pupils are provided with opportunities to review their previous knowledge of the decimal system and, subsequently, to use analogical reasoning to make connections between this knowledge and basic aspects of the BS. Several scaffolding elements are also provided for the pupils to construct, verify, extend and generalize their knowledge, at the same time using essential learning competencies. The game was piloted in the field using real pupils (20 6th Grade pupils) with encouraging results. Finally, an attempt has been made to address essential points of this game that have contributed to its becoming a successful learning environment. Addressing these points could be useful for both designers of educational computer games for Computer Science (CS) education and educators in Computing.     

自主学习策略在小学课外阅读中应用的行动研究

为了改变小学生课外阅读效果不佳的现状,笔者选择制订目标与计划、组织与转换、自我评价等8项自主学习策略在所任教的班级中开展了行动研究。结果表明,小学生在自主学习策略的运用上非常需要教师的帮助,而本行动研究有效地提高了小学生的阅读能力,以及他们的阅读效率。学生掌握制订目标与计划、组织与转换等5项策略相对容易,而使用自我评价、自我奖惩等3项策略较困难。     

Learning conceptions of young students in the final year of primary education

The purpose of this research was to describe young pupils' learning conceptions. In this study, a learning conception was defined as a cluster of interrelated beliefs about different aspects of learning. Firstly, 27 pupils, all in the final year of primary school, were interviewed to elicit learning-related issues as being relevant for six-graders. Secondly, a questionnaire, developed on the basis of the outcomes of the interviews, was used to determine the interrelatedness of pupils' beliefs about the selected aspects. The results showed the young pupils to have different beliefs about five aspects of learning: purpose of school; learning orientation; regulation; learning demands; and mental activities. In exploring group differences, three different learning conceptions could be distinguished: a restricted learning conception; a functional learning conception; and a developmental learning conception. The characteristics of these different learning conceptions may be indicative of how young pupils conceive learning-related aspects.     

中国、加拿大、美国小学三年级学生学习特点比较研究

中、美、加三国儿童的学习特点存在一定程度的国别差异和性别差异,中国儿童与外国(特指加拿大和美国)儿童学习特点上的中西差异十分明显.在喜欢学校、计算机运用能力、家庭作业能力等方面,中国被调查儿童强于加拿大和美国儿童;但在学习自信心、图书借阅能力、学习效果和学习环境等方面,加拿大和美国被调查儿童的表现明显强于中国被调查儿童.小学生的课业负担沉重,学习自信心不足,是我国面临的突出问题.     

Learning mathematics—letting the pupils have their say

Pupil voice is an emerging force for change and improvement in many UK schools, but what is not fully understood is how best to access pupil voice within the specific context of secondary mathematics departments. This paper presents a research project designed to use pupils as co-researchers in increasing knowledge about how to improve learning in mathematics. Pupils within the school were selected and trained as “Ambassadors” to understand and disseminate innovative ways of learning mathematics into their school environment and to act to allow the voice of all the pupils in their year group to be heard. The project was intended both to raise the pupils’ awareness of how learning mathematics could be different and to enable them to voice their newly informed opinions about how best they learned mathematics. The pupils’ current feelings about the way that they were taught mathematics were explored, but the focus of the project was on enabling the pupils to make informed decisions about how they felt their learning could be improved. The pupils’ awareness of different ways of learning mathematics was raised by introducing them to alternative teaching approaches. The data generated were initially analysed by the pupils themselves in order to inform their teachers about their views and subsequently constant comparison analysis resulted in the outcomes reported here. The outcomes indicate that the students could have an important role in enabling schools to develop their teaching and improve their pupils’ mathematical learning when that voice is both informed and authorised.     

黄冈市城区小学生生长发育的跟踪调查

1999年至2003年连续5年追踪测量了黄冈市实验小学学生的生长发育状况。被测量的103名学生均为1992年出生。结果表明,黄冈市小学生的身高、体重及克托莱指数均低于全国城市同龄学生,两性身高增长的交叉年龄在11岁,比全国城市平均水平推迟1年,体重没有出线交叉现象,与全国城市学生一致。黄冈市小学生体质发育滞后于全国城市平均水平可能与该地区的社会经济发展水平和学业负担较重有关。     

家庭环境是怎样影响小学生学习表现的——基于对新教育实验“家校合作共育”行动效果的调查

通过构建家庭环境影响小学生学习表现的基本机制并运用结构方程模型、多元线性回归分析等方法对770名参与新教育实验“家校合作共育”行动和726名未参与这一行动的小学生进行配对抽样并分析,结果发现:家庭环境通过学生学习投入、学校环境等中介变量对小学生学习表现产生显著作用,学校环境能够直接对小学生的学习投入和学习表现产生显著的正向作用,家校合作共育能够显著改善小学生学习表现。新教育实验学校学生的家庭藏书量显著高于非新教育实验学校的学生,新教育实验学校学生在阅读表现和数学表现上存在显著优势。学校参与新教育实验“家校合作共育”行动的时间越长,其学生的阅读表现和数学表现明显更好。为强化家庭环境对小学生学习表现的积极影响,在兼顾学生性别、年龄以及学校所在地区等因素的同时,可通过打造家庭书屋、创建书香校园、推进每月一事、优化家校合作等方式强化家庭环境对小学生学习表现的积极影响。     

Project on the Effectiveness of Learning Strategies and Metacognitive Skills

Teachers should not only be concerned with the products of learning but also with the processes of learning as good teaching involves teaching pupils how to learn effectively. The importance of teaching pupils ‘to learn how to learn’ has gained momentum as recent research provides more and more evidence that substantial variance in learning outcomes can be attributed to learning approaches adopted by pupils (Marton, 1976; Marton and Sayo, 1978; Svenssin and Theman 1983; Marton and Saljo, 1984; Biggs, 1987; Chew 1988; Cheng, 1985).