A Beautiful Game—Oral Narrative and Soccer

This study looks at the storytelling of a retired professional soccer player. It is my intent to analyse this oral narrative event, looking at the structure or formal organisation of the text (the morphology) as well as the performance techniques of the telling. Although a personal story, in its structure it is much like a wonder tale (or märchen). This analysis will, I believe, suggest ways narrative is shaped by folkloristic structures that thereby attract the listener and encourage the listener's contribution to the narrative performance. Similar techniques and responses can be observed in written and read texts. The study will also suggest how sports, particularly team sports like soccer, have a narrative structure of their own, which could partly explain another aspect of their appeal and enjoyment for many.     

The World Wide Web,Computers and Teaching Literature

Abstract

Students in my on‐campus literature classes have made good use of a series of computer programs that I have created for text analysis. I offered a course via the World Wide Web that provided 14 of my programs to students throughout the world. My course taught those students how to use the programs, and as they completed the assignments, students not only learned to use software for literary analysis, but they also often gained new kinds of insights into the study of texts.     

Understanding and overstanding: Feminist-poststructural life histories of physical education teachers

This article discusses theoretical tensions within a feminist-poststructural life history study that used a hybrid methodology for data analysis, including speech act theory, deconstruction, psychoanalysis and social postmodernism. In particular, the article explores the paradox of using "spoken accounts" to investigate "homophobic silences" about lesbian sexuality in the life histories of six lesbian and heterosexual physical education teachers. This paradox was, in part, resolved by drawing on Jonathon Culler's (1992) distinction between understanding, which asks questions the text insists upon, and overstanding, which asks questions the text did not pose. Excerpts from the life history interviews about coming out, marriage, lesbians in sport and teacher-student crushes illustrate how speech act theory and social postmodernism led to understanding while deconstruction and psychoanalytic theory contributed to overstanding.     

‘Start from your own situation’: a political analysis on the relationship between gender and education in an Italian University course

ABSTRACT

In the text, we will try to give an account of the experience of collaboration in a Public Ethics course in the degree course in Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Verona. The course in Public Ethics has had, as its main theme, the reflection on the distinction between public and private. We will begin with consider the national context and then the one of Verona, characterised on one side by a strong feminist presence, on the other from being inserted into a cultural environment with an equally strong presence of the Catholic and conservative. After investigating this peculiar coexistence, we would like to highlight our reactions and those of the students. In particular, we will focus on emerging resistances and on amazement in front of the issues and the history of feminism by many male and female students. Finally, we use the points that emerged during the course to rethink our position as feminists and as researchers.     

Energy and Energy Waste: a Topic for Science Education

The Science Foundation Programme (SFP) was launched in 1991 at the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in an attempt to equip a selected number of matriculants from historically disadvantaged schools with the skills, resources and self-confidence needed to embark on their tertiary studies. Previous research within the SFP biology component suggests that a major contributor to poor achievement and low retention rates among English second language (ESL) students in the Life Sciences is the inadequate background knowledge in natural history. In this study, SFP student background knowledge was assessed along a continuum of language dependency using a set of three probes. Improved student performance in each of the respective assessments examined the extent to which a sound natural history background facilitated meaningful learning relative to ESL proficiency. Student profiles and attitudes to biology were also examined. Results indicated that students did not perceive language to be a problem in biology. However, analysis of the student performance in the assessment probes indicated that, although the marine course provided the students with the background knowledge that they were initially lacking, they continued to perform better in the drawing and MCQ tools in the post-tests, suggesting that it is their inability to express themselves in the written form that hampers their development. These results have implications for curriculum development within the constructivist framework of the SFP.     

‘I feel I am really pleading the cause of my own people’: US southern white students’ study of African-American history and culture in the 1930s through art and the senses

Abstract

In the 1930s there emerged an initiative to teach black history and culture to white students, which pre-dates more widespread efforts of the post-Second World War era. This article analyses student work – considering sight, sound and text – and investigates what white students learned about African-American history and culture. Curriculum history has generally relied on textbook analysis, while this study examines non-traditional teaching materials and student work. It is argued that, while most of the student work reveals the reification of stereotypes of blacks as lazy and in need of white oversight, the school work of white students reveals an eagerness to understand African-Americans. However, white students could only understand African-Americans in relation to themselves and could not remove themselves from the centre of their study of black history and culture. Such attempts at learning an inclusive history from the learners’ viewpoints are rarely documented in the history of education.     

Improving the Research Climate in Social Work Curricula

Abstract

Research courses are associated with performance anxiety and educational insecurity for many social work students. This paper makes the case that student anxiety associated with research courses is rooted in the history of the social work profession, and this history sheds light on the present day climate of research in social work education. The authors suggest that improvement to the research climate in social work education requires an “institutional” response. To that end, this paper describes a committee process that resulted in changes to one school's curriculum policy by revamping student learning objectives for a sequence of five research courses that spanned BSW and MSW programs. The committee produced a continuum of student learning expectations based on Bloom's taxonomy, which represents a logical progression of knowledge and skill competencies as students advance through their course work.     

A critical analysis of the Syrian refugee education policies in Lebanon using a policy analysis framework

ABSTRACT

Lebanon, a country impacted by ongoing political and economic instability, has an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees competing for access to already fragile healthcare, education and labor sectors. Half of these refugees are children. This piece will discuss the efforts and policies Lebanon already has in place regarding the education of Syrian refugees. This will be done through the implementation of Lesley Vidovich’s (2007) a policy framework which proposes an analysis of the policy context and policies’ influence, an analysis of the policies as text as well as an analysis of the implementation of those policies. Such a framework has the opportunity to not only provide a holistic view of the Lebanese history and context leading to current policies surrounding the education of refugees, but it has the potential of serving as a systematic framework for other various contexts concerning education in conflict areas.     

An Evaluation of a Compensatory Introductory Sociology Section

A comparison, via path analysis, of educationally disadvantaged students (EOP) as participants and non-participants in an experimental section of a large introductory sociology course did not reveal significant differences in test performance. Given the great predictive strength of verbal SAT (r = .65) and the large differential in SAT scores between EOP and non-EOP students, it is argued that EOP performance, relative to that of the non-EOP majority, will not be significantly enhanced by this type of program. By contrast, it is shown that a substantial improvement is to be expected in the performance of future EOP students if the admissions policies were changed so as to admit students with higher verbal SAT scores. Some preliminary evidence indicates that with a smaller gap in verbal ability, it may be possible for compensatory programs to make a further contribution to the improved performance of disadvantaged students.     

The Evolution of the Notion of Culture in the French Pedagogical Discussion

I. An analysis of the evolution of the idea of culture might seem to be quite an ambitious undertaking, inasmuch as it covers so many aspects — philosophical, historical, literary, and sociological. Such a study in fact requires a certain multidisciplinarity, but, as the title of this essay suggests, the pedagogical aspect will remain our main concern in this discussion. It is not possible in such a study to make an exhaustive analysis of all the nuances that have accrued to the concept of culture during the course of history. And so, our analysis is presented as an attempt to categorize the main currents of ideas delineating this concept, and hence as a certain system — perforce a simplification of a more complex reality. At the same time, during the course of our presentation we shall endeavor as much as possible to respect the chronological course of events, although, as we have said, our analysis is both historical and systematic.     

Advancing text-analysis to tap into the student voice: a proof-of-concept study

Abstract

Student evaluations of teaching and courses (SETs) are part of the fabric of tertiary education and quantitative ratings derived from SETs are highly valued by tertiary institutions. However, many staff do not engage meaningfully with SETs, especially if the process of analysing student feedback is cumbersome or time-consuming. To address this issue, we describe a proof-of-concept study to automate aspects of analysing student free text responses to questions. Using Quantext text analysis software, we summarise and categorise student free text responses to two questions posed as part of a larger research project which explored student perceptions of SETs. We compare human analysis of student responses with automated methods and identify some key reasons why students do not complete SETs. We conclude that the text analytic tools in Quantext have an important role in assisting teaching staff with the rigorous analysis and interpretation of SETs and that keeping teachers and students at the centre of the evaluation process is key.     

Involving History Students

Abstract

This article discusses the use of text messaging as an effective way for faculty to communicate with students in between class meetings or within an online course. The benefits of text messaging will be discussed, as well as the tools one faculty member has used when texting students or groups of students. Text messaging can be used to give student “nudges” to increase the likelihood students will act in accordance with what the faculty member expects (i.e., read textbook prior to class, attend tutoring sessions, submit homework on time). It can also be used to streamline group work.     

The effects of multimodal texts on science reading comprehension in Chilean fifth-graders: text scaffolding and comprehension skills

ABSTRACT

Reading comprehension is a crucial skill that elementary school students must develop in order to learn science. However, there is not yet enough research about the role that multimodal texts play in scaffolding student reading comprehension of complex scientific processes, such as energy transfer. This study explored how verbal and visual resources (scaffolding level) and individual differences (reading skills) contribute to science reading comprehension. One-hundred and sixty Chilean fifth-graders were assessed on reading skills, vocabulary, and prior science knowledge. A counterbalanced design was used to test two groups: Group 1 reads a text with low multimodal scaffolding and Group 2 reads a text with high multimodal scaffolding. Level of text scaffolding was determined by (1) image function, (2) visual-verbal relations, (3) presence of an explicit explanatory structure, and (4) lexico-grammatical resources. General monomodal and multimodal science reading comprehension were assessed with multiple-choice tests. An ANCOVA analysis revealed non-significant differences between groups after controlling for prior knowledge, fluency, and vocabulary. Likewise, a two-factor ANCOVA analysis showed that the high-multimodal scaffolding text significantly boosted science reading comprehension for low-skilled comprehenders. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for pedagogy and research, aiming to foster multimodal literacy for learning in content areas.     

Student Performance in Three Classroom Settings

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of interactive television in teaching an MSW foundation research methods course. Specifically, the performance of distant students who received instruction via interactive television was compared with the performance of their peers who received simultaneous face-to-face instruction in an interactive television classroom on-campus and with students who took the course in a traditional classroom. This retrospective analysis of student performance, spanning a four-year period, found that students performed comparably regardless of the setting for the course. The three groups of students studied did not differ statistically on their combined midterm/final examination test scores, the required course paper, or final course grades.     

Text structure and patterns of cohesion in narrative texts written by adults with a history of language impairment

This paper examines text structure and patterns of cohesion in stories written by a group of adults with a history of childhood language impairment. The study aimed to extend our knowledge of writing difficulties in this group by building upon a study that examined clause level phenomena (Smith-Lock, Nickels, & Mortensen, this issue). Ten adults with a history of Language Impairment and 30 control participants were asked to write the story of Cinderella. Stories were analyzed for their generic structure and cohesion resources, both of which contribute to the organization and coherence of a text. Results revealed that patterns of text organization at the level of generic structure and measures of cohesion did not distinguish the performance of writers with a history of Language Impairment from the comparison group. A wide range of lexico-grammatical skills was evident within the Language Impaired group, with few individuals with Language Impairment falling outside the normal range of performance. It is suggested that generic structure and cohesion are a relative strength in the writing of adults with Language Impairment, within the constraints of their lexical and grammatical skills.

Metaphors as a way to explore qualitative data

Qualitative data can allow us to see multiple meanings and realities of human experiences. Sometimes the variations of realities makes interpretation challenging. This article provides examples of how metaphors, related to the life history context, "extend horizons of insight and create new possibilities" (Morgan, 1997, p. 351) to view the participants, the researcher, and the story of research as well as to add to the knowledge about Finnish scientists' creative processes. Metaphors connect different layers of text (academic story (normal font), personal story (bold font), and the meta-story) and tease out a story of research with multiple faces, changing stages, views, and alternative interpretations. I do not look for conclusions or a single definition of creativity. Rather, I ask questions and trouble the "category of creativity", addressing methodological issues of educational research.     

Memory training program for older adults

ABSTRACT

Objective: Memory loss affects a large proportion of older adults. Research indicates a positive association between memory training and better memory performance as people age. However, studies on specific memory training using an experimental design are limited. This study explored whether memory training has improved memory performance in a group of older adults.

Method: A convenience sample of 48 participants was recruited from two communities. Disregarding dropouts, this left 23 experimental (mean age = 65.4 ± 6.0, range = 56–80) and 19 control participants (mean age = 64.5 ± 4.9, range: 57–72). The intervention consisted of 60-min classes held on a weekly basis continuing for 8 weeks. The class session was held after a 1-h exercise class and before a 1-h session of cognitive games. The pre–post objective memory performances, including associative, list, text, place, grocery learning, and transfer-effect of daily event memory (ecology validity), were examined to determine whether the intervention was effective.

Results: Intragroup: With Wilcoxon test, the findings showed that the intervention of both the list and place learning had significant differences for the experimental group, but not for the control group. Intergroup: The main effects were found for the associative and text learning. The mixed design ANOVA indicated that there is an interaction (time x group) on the dependent variable of the place learning test. Daily events memory: We found within group that the pre–post differences were significant for the experimental group but not for the control group.

Conclusion: The study showed that memory training can help older adults to ameliorate memory loss problems and these findings deserve more attention.     

Effects of image‐based and text‐based active learning exercises on student examination performance in a musculoskeletal anatomy course

Research on the benefits of visual learning has relied primarily on lecture‐based pedagogy, but the potential benefits of combining active learning strategies with visual and verbal materials on learning anatomy has not yet been explored. In this study, the differential effects of text‐based and image‐based active learning exercises on examination performance were investigated in a functional anatomy course. Each class session was punctuated with an average of 12 text‐based and image‐based active learning exercises. Participation data from 231 students were compared with their examination performance on 262 questions associated with the in‐class exercises. Students also rated the helpfulness and difficulty of the in‐class exercises on a survey. Participation in the active learning exercises was positively correlated with examination performance (r = 0.63, P < 0.001). When controlling for other key demographics (gender, underrepresented minority status) and prior grade point average, participation in the image‐based exercises was significantly correlated with performance on examination questions associated with image‐based exercises (P < 0.001) and text‐based exercises (P < 0.01), while participation in text‐based exercises was not. Additionally, students reported that the active learning exercises were helpful for seeing images of key ideas (94%) and clarifying key course concepts (80%), and that the image‐based exercises were significantly less demanding, less hard and required less effort than text‐based exercises (P < 0.05). The findings confirm the positive effect of using images and active learning strategies on student learning, and suggest that integrating them may be especially beneficial for learning anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 10: 444–455. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.