Teaching Grammar and Testing Grammar in the English Primary School: The Impact on Teachers and their Teaching of the Grammar Element of the Statutory Test in Spelling,Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

The research examined the impact on teachers of the grammar element of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in primary schools in England. The research aimed to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of the test in 2013. The research explored teachers’ responses to teaching grammar to a statutory test format, and how teachers implemented rapid curriculum change in their classrooms. The research sought to learn the perspectives of teachers as they adjusted to new English assessments and new expectations for children’s language in the primary school. This paper draws on teacher interviews (n = 16) and an online survey of teaching staff (n = 170). Teachers discuss their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of grammar at their own level, and their skills for teaching pupils; they also discuss their observations of how pupils have responded to explicit grammar teaching and the grammar test. The data give some insights into the processes for teachers of applying new requirements for teaching and testing grammar, and how teachers strive to make grammar accessible to children. The findings discussed in this paper are: (1) since the introduction of the statutory SPaG test in primary schools, time spent teaching decontextualised and contextualised grammar has increased significantly; (2) grammar is now taught explicitly and formally as a classroom literacy routine; (3) the test format influences grammar teaching content and approaches; (4) teachers observe that pupils enjoy learning grammar and taking the test; (5) teachers disagree about the extent to which explicit grammar teaching and testing have a positive impact on pupils’ language and literacy skills; (6) teachers feel more confident about teaching grammar.     

Comparing primary student teachers’ attitudes,subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge needs in a physics activity

This research explores and compares primary student teachers’ attitudes, subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in physics in two institutions in England and Finland, using a practical physics activity and questionnaire. Teaching of physics activities was rated unpopular both in Finland and England, although English students were more confident, but no more knowledgeable nor more secure in their PCK. We argue that confidence needs to be developed alongside knowledge. Teacher education programmes in physics should particularly concentrate on helping student teachers to teach difficult concepts in a meaningful and accessible way, developing positive attitudes alongside understanding and pedagogical skills.     

Inquiry-Based Science and Technology Enrichment Program: Green Earth Enhanced with Inquiry and Technology

This study investigated the effectiveness of a guided inquiry integrated with technology, in terms of female middle-school students’ attitudes toward science/scientists and content knowledge regarding selective science concepts (e.g., Greenhouse Effect, Air/Water Quality, Alternative Energy, and Human Health). Thirty-five female students who were entering eighth grade attended an intensive, 1-week Inquiry-Based Science and Technology Enrichment Program which used a main theme, “Green Earth Enhanced with Inquiry and Technology.” We used pre- and post-attitude surveys, pre- and post-science content knowledge tests, and selective interviews to collect data and measure changes in students’ attitudes and content knowledge. The study results indicated that at the post-intervention measures, participants significantly improved their attitudes toward science and science-related careers and increased their content knowledge of selected science concepts (p < .05).     

SOCIAL CLASS AND EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

The effect of higher education upon student attitudes is one of increasing liberality and decreasing authoritarianism. In this study of 345 women students in a college of education similar trends were recorded concerning teacher‐role expectations during a three‐year period of anticipatory professional socialization. The early part of the course is seen as particularly significant in changing attitudes. The nature of the change is complex, for whilst on home‐school relationships, curriculum, organization and motivation students become more ‘open’ in their teacher‐role expectations, a hardening of attitudes was seen towards corporal punishment and teachers’ leisure time involvement with their school children. Some changes may be attributed to the orientation of the college towards certain professional beliefs and practices. The process of professional socialization is marked by increasing differentiation among students at different stages of their course on questions relating to teachers’ instrumental (task‐centred) roles. Further, this college's stress upon primary education may be responsible for only slight differences developing between the role‐concepts of groups training for different levels of school.     

The involvement of school teachers in research‐related activities: Extent,quality and predictors

In view of the need to develop school teachers as research‐oriented professionals and the reported complexities of this endeavour internationally, this article explores teacher involvement in research‐related‐activities in Cyprus. It aims to measure the extent and quality of such involvement and explore possible predictors. Data were collected from a sample of 420 public primary and secondary school teachers. Most respondents reported involvement in activities for the consumption of research, which was found to be related to teachers' background in research methods courses and work context (primary/secondary school). Teachers' involvement in activities for the production of research was less extensive, whilst statistical associations with the specific background variables were not traced. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for the transition towards research‐oriented teachers are discussed in terms of developing research knowledge, skills and attitudes and providing supportive measures to schools.     

Representing and practising meaningful differences in a well‐structured but complex art curriculum

This paper conceptualizes the secondary art curriculum as a well‐structured but complex knowledge‐domain, with the aim of emphasizing meaningful differences in the way creative grammar operates in the following gatherings of art practices: Pre‐historic and non‐European cultures; Ancient and European cultures before c. 1800; Romantic and Modern culture from c.1800 to c.1950; and Late‐and Post‐modern culture from c.1950 onwards. The gatherings are further differentiated into pre‐modern practices of Gemeinschaft (community) and modern forms of Gesellschaft (association). Practices of Gemeinschaft use the creative grammar of accretion and the grammar of omission to emphasize meaningful differences. The earlier phase of Gesellschaft inherits the grammar of accretion and omission from Gemeinschaft in the attempt to sustain the expression of meaningful differences. The late‐ and post‐modern phase of Gesellschaft adopts a nihilistic creative grammar to level such differences. Approaches to teaching the grammar of each gathering of art, and the related practices, are explored in a well‐structured way by students using ‘know‐how’ and ‘know‐that’ grammar. By conceptualizing and teaching an art curriculum in this way, students develop the insightful knowledge to understand how their life‐world, as embedded in a technological understanding of being and its technological nihilism, compares with alternative understandings of being as articulated by different cultural grammars.     

Pupils' word choices and the teaching of grammar

The idea that formal grammar teaching leads to improvements in school pupils' writing has been a popular one. However, the robust and extensive evidence base shows that this is not the case. Despite this, policy initiatives have continued to suggest that grammar teaching does improve pupils' writing: the Grammar for Writing resource is the most recent example in England. Educational analysis on the subject of grammar has moved from a focus on whether grammar teaching improves pupils' writing to reflection on the rational for teaching knowledge about language, and subsequently a focus on a wide range of language topics. The study reported in this paper analysed the way that eight children made word choices during the writing process. Theory is presented to support the idea that contextualized learning of grammar is significant. Five significant influences on word choices are reported. Strong links between text‐level influences on word‐choices and the use of unconventional language at sentence and word level were found. It is concluded that writing pedagogy should be re‐evaluated in order to consider the balance between individualized support and support for groups during the writing process.     

UNESCO'S Environmental Education Program

Abstract

A visitor education strategy was developed, implemented, and tested for its effectiveness in raising levels of knowledge and attitudes toward state nature preserve management. Visitor sociodemographic and site-specific data were also collected and analyzed. A stratified random sample of visitors to four Ohio state nature preserves was taken, and visitor sociodemographic, site-specific, knowledge and attitude data were obtained by a 35-item questionnaire. Results from 1,141 completed questionnaires showed preserve visitors to be mostly male, age 20–39, with incomes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000, and with few of them holding memberships in either community or conservation groups. Most visited state nature preserves frequently, were very satisfied with their most recent preserve visits, and came to the preserves with either family or friends, for solitude and to see sights. A pretest of knowledge of and attitudes toward selected nature preserve management concepts showed that visitors poorly comprehended the concepts and held negative or neutral attitudes toward them. A visitor education program was developed utilizing interpretive strategies as methods of transmitting information about the preserve management concepts. Posttest scores showed gains both in levels of knowledge and attitudes. The largest gains were found where brochures and personal services were employed as interpretive strategies. Correlational analyses showed a statistically significant relationship between visitors' knowledge of preserve management and their attitudes toward it. Analyses also showed no relationship between sociodemographic variables and knowledge of or attitudes toward preserve management concepts.     

Effects of Emphasizing Hypothetico‐Predictive Reasoning within the Science Learning Cycle on High School Student's Process Skills and Conceptual Understandings in Biology

This study examined the effects of adding a prediction/discussion phase at the beginning of a three‐phase learning cycle involving exploration, term introduction, and concept application. The added phase required high‐school biology students to individually write out predictions with explanatory hypotheses concerning concepts in genetics, homeostasis, ecosystems, and natural selection. This was followed by interactive debate of predictions and reasons. Data sources included questionnaires, field observations, teacher/researcher daily log reports, and a battery of tests to assess cognitive changes. Hypothetico‐predictive reasoning and logical argumentation served as cognitive‐development processes which prompted students to construct and deconstructed their procedural and declarative knowledge. The prediction/discussion‐based learning cycle instruction, when compared with traditional learning cycle instruction, produced significant gains relative to the use of process skills, logical‐thinking skills, science concepts, and scientific attitudes. Guidelines were generated for developing, teaching, and evaluating prediction/discussion based learning cycles. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 1127–1147, 1999     

The effects of concept and vee mappings under three learning modes on Jamaican eighth graders’ knowledge of nutrition and plant reproduction

The first objective of this study was to investigate if the experimental students’ post‐test knowledge of nutrition and plant reproduction would be improved more significantly than that of their control group counterparts based on their treatment, attitudes to science, self‐esteem, gender and socio‐economic background. Treatment involved teaching the experimental students under three learning modes—pure cooperative, cooperative–competitive and individualistic whole class interpersonal competitive condition—using concept and vee mappings and the lecture method. The control groups received the same treatment but were not exposed to concept and vee mappings. This study’s second objective was to determine which of the three learning modes would produce the highest post‐test mean gain in the subjects’ knowledge of the two biology concepts. The study’s sample comprised 932 eighth graders (12–13‐year‐olds) in 14 co‐educational comprehensive high schools randomly selected from two Jamaican parishes. An integrated science performance test, an attitudes to science questionnaire and a self‐esteem questionnaire were used to collect data. The results indicated that the experimental students (a) under the three learning modes, (b) with high, moderate, and low attitudes to science, and (c) with high, moderate, and low self‐esteem, performed significantly better than their control group counterparts. The individualist whole class learning mode engendered the highest mean gain on the experimental students’ knowledge, while the cooperative–competitive learning mode generated the highest mean gain for the control group students.     

The Acquisition of Science‐related Attitudes and its Relationship to Pre‐student Teaching Experience

It is desirable that secondary school science teachers should, in addition to acquiring factual knowledge in the content area of science, also develop favourable science‐related attitudes. The present science teacher education programmes provided in Teachers’ Colleges in Nigeria make provisions for the acquisition of factual knowledge in science. However, it is assumed that positive science‐related attitudes would be incidentally acquired as secondary product of cognitive outcomes.

This paper is a report of a study in which an instructional package‐‐the Introductory Science Teacher Education (ISTE)‐‐was designed to promote in pre‐service science teachers the acquisition of favourable science‐related attitudes.

A trial administration of the ISTE was carried out in the study. Then the effect of the ISTE on students exposed to it was determined in terms of acquisition of science‐related attitudes and competence in lesson preparation.

The results obtained confirmed that the ISTE could produce better science‐related attitudes than the traditional science teacher education programme. The superiority of the effect of the ISTE on lesson preparation competence of pre‐service science teachers was also established in the study. Thus, a case is made for the need for such a package as the ISTE in science teacher education programmes.     

Using videodisk instruction in an elementary science methods course: Remediating science knowledge deficiencies and facilitating science teaching attitudes

Inadequate science knowledge of preservice teachers enrolled in science methods courses not only limits their mastery of effective teaching practices, but also may foster negative attitudes toward science teaching. This study investigated the influence of science knowledge upon attitudes toward science teaching in a one-semester elementary science methods course by embedding a videodisk-based instructional component to remediate knowledge deficiencies. Preservice teachers in the experimental group first learned core concepts in physical and earth science through a series of 24 interactive videodisk lessons and then used the concepts as a foundation for preparing and presenting model science lessons. Results showed that the experimental group overcame their initial knowledge deficiencies by mastering the core concepts presented (mean proportion correct on mastery test = 0.91), with multivariate covariance analysis confirming that the experimentals gain in science knowledge was significantly greater than comparable controls in the parallel science methods sections. Additionally, as a result of mastering the core concepts underlying earth science, preservice teachers using the videodisk instruction also displayed significantly greater confidence in their understanding of science knowledge and more positive attitudes toward science teaching at the elementary levels. Implications for improving elementary science teaching through preservice and in-service training are discussed.     

THE IMPACT OF AN INSERVICE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON THE GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF GERIATRIC RECREATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

The impact of an inservice program on practitioners’ gerontological knowledge and attitudes was examined. A nonequivalent control group design was used to conduct the study. The experimental group was made up of geriatric recreational service providers attending the first of two annual one‐week inservice educational programs. An outdoor resource management undergraduate level class served as the control group. The experimental group relative to the control group underwent a significant increase in their gerontological knowledge. Neither group experienced a significant change in their attitudes regarding the social value of the elderly or personal anxiety toward aging. The amount of change experienced in gerontological knowledge by program participants was significantly influenced by the degree of contact the individual had had with elders but not by their educational background. Educational background and degree of contact were not significantly associated with change in gerontological‐related attitudes. Implications for persons involved in designing and developing educational programs are discussed.     

Look who's coming to school: the Emirati student voice in an intervention‐based study on inclusion of learners with intellectual disabilities in Emirati mainstream government schools

Although there are many factors that can affect the success of the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream schools, the attitude of typically developing peers towards peers with disabilities is one of the critical factors leading to success. This study examines the effects of a planned intervention on the attitudes of the typically developing peers related to their perceptions about students with intellectual disabilities during a half‐day workshop which took place in each of the target schools and their opinions about including these students in mainstream schools in the United Arab Emirates. The intervention involved both a presentation about the abilities of persons with intellectual disabilities and an opportunity for personal interaction with these students. Following the intervention, the subjects were interviewed and their responses analysed. The results showed that after the intervention, most typically developing students had gained a basic knowledge of intellectual disability which affected their expectations for the abilities of same‐age learners with intellectual disabilities and their acceptance of their inclusion in the mainstream school. Analysis of the responses of the typically developing peers also indicated that the intervention had a positive effect which can lead to a change in attitudes towards possible inclusion of such students in their schools. For future practice and further research, recommendations are made to assist decision makers in this field.     

PROGRAMMED LEARNING IN PAIRS

Over 80 pupils in four unstreamed classes in a boys’ grammar school were divided into mixed‐ability and like‐ability pairs in order to work together through a programmed text. No significant difference was found between the performance of individuals in the mixed‐ability pairs and that of similar individuals in the like‐ability pairs. High‐ability pupils in the mixed‐ability pairs expressed less favourable attitudes to the situation.     

The Growth of Knowledge and the Discursive Gap

This article raises the question of the character of Bernstein's theory. It draws upon a set of key concepts elaborated in some of his later papers, although we suggest that it is possible to discern the origins of these ideas in much earlier work. In the first section, Bernstein's diagnosis of the sociology of education as a horizontal knowledge structure with a weak grammar is discussed and an apparent paradox identified: if the sociology of education has this form, how can we account for Bernstein's own theory? The remainder of the paper uses the case of Bernstein's own work as a way of exploring the conditions for knowledge growth in sociology as a vertical knowledge structure with a strong grammar.     

新课程理念下中小学英语教学需要处理的几个辩证关系

新课改后的基础英语教学取得了一些可喜的成绩,但还存在一些不容忽视的问题。为了正确理解和实施新课程的教学理念,我们应当处理好英语教学中五个辩证关系,即课本、教材与课程资源的关系;语言知识教学与综合语言运用能力培养的关系;以学生为主体与以教师为指导的关系;综合教学法与任务型教学的关系;淡化语法教学与优化语法教学的关系。     

Inquiry-Based Science and Technology Enrichment Program for Middle School-Aged Female Students

This study investigates the effects of an intensive 1-week Inquiry-Based Science and Technology Enrichment Program (InSTEP) designed for middle school-aged female students. InSTEP uses a guided/open inquiry approach that is deepened and redefined as eight sciences and engineering practices in the Next Generation Science Standards, which aimed at increasing female students’ interest in science and science-related careers. This study examined the effectiveness of InSTEP on 123 female students’ pre-assessment and post-assessment changes in attitudes toward science and content knowledge of selected science concepts. An attitude survey, a science content test with multiple-choice questions, written assignments, and interviews to collect data were all used to measure students’ attitudes and content knowledge. A within-group, repeated measure design was conducted, and the results indicated that at the post-intervention level, InSTEP increased the participants’ positive attitudes toward science, science-related careers, and content knowledge of selected science concepts.     

Typically developing children’s understanding of and attitudes towards diversity and peers with learning difficulties in the Greek setting

During the last few years, across Europe, special education has been orientated towards an inclusive model. Accordingly, in Greece, special education functions as an integral part of general education. However, few studies have investigated how children in the mainstream school understand diversity issues and specifically learning difficulties. The present study investigated typically developing children’s understanding of and attitudes towards diversity, and peers with learning difficulties. For this purpose, children aged 9–12 years, completed a questionnaire with mainly open‐ended questions and some close‐type questions. Regarding children’s understanding of diversity, the majority of responses focused more on individual/personality differences, on biological differences and less on disabilities or difficulties. Research into children’s understanding about the causes of learning difficulties demonstrated misunderstanding, while a large number of children had a total lack of knowledge. On the other hand, they seem to understand that learning difficulties may affect all the aspects of life. Children’s attitudes towards school inclusion were positive on a more superficial level. Results are discussed in terms of educational implications and school practice for the development and implementation of appropriate intervention programs.     

The influence of web‐based chemistry learning on students' perceptions,attitudes, and achievements

The goal of this study was to investigate whether integrating a website into chemistry teaching influences 10th‐grade students' perceptions of the classroom learning environment, their attitudes regarding the relevance of chemistry, and their understanding of the concept of chemical bonding. Two groups participated in this study: an experimental group and a comparison group. The main study was conducted during the academic year 2005. The teachers in the experimental group were asked to implement four relevant activities from the website that was developed, all dealing with the concept of chemical bonding. Quantitative tools of the study included: A Chemistry Classroom Web‐Based Learning Environment Inventory to assess students' perceptions regarding the relevance of chemistry to their life and attitude towards chemistry studies, a feedback questionnaire that examined the students' response after performing the website activities, and an achievement test that assessed their knowledge and understanding of the concept of chemical bonding. We found that the experimental group outperformed the comparison group significantly in most of the research categories. This led us to conclude that the web‐based learning environment has potential to enhance the comprehension of chemistry concepts, students' attitudes and interests and to increase students' awareness regarding the relevant aspects of chemistry to daily life.