Using teacher ratings of social behavior to differentiate gifted from non‐gifted students

This study investigated the effectiveness of teacher ratings of student social behavior in differentiating a group of 81 elementary‐age gifted students from a control group of 81 age and gender matched non‐gifted students. The School Social Behavior Scales, a recently developed set of rating scales that assesses both social competence and antisocial behavior, was used for the ratings. Gifted students were rated as having significantly higher levels of social competence and lower levels of antisocial behavior than the comparison group, and the individual scores of the gifted students were significantly skewed in the direction of better social‐behavioral adjustment. The findings also indicated the presence of a small subset of gifted students who appeared to have extremely poor social competence and high levels of problem behaviors. The results are compared to previous research on the psychosocial development of gifted children, and important areas for future research on this topic are recommended.     

Why support students? Using the past to understand the present

This paper examines why students are supported, taking an historical approach to analyse the influence of former, or longstanding, practices on current practice and to identify repeating themes. Documentary evidence shows that students have been supported because they are young, vulnerable or because studenthood is considered to make unique demands on individuals. Ideas of danger and the need for protection are persistent and can have effects that contradict the educational purposes of higher education. Underpinning rationales result in particular forms of student support, each with its own intended and unintended consequences.     

In search of the feeling of ‘belonging’ in higher education: undergraduate students transition into higher education

ABSTRACT

Previous research that evaluated first year students’ transition into university found that the values of ‘being, belonging and becoming’ were important in particular within the first few months and within the first year of university. From our previous work, we reported that three things matter to students: the academic staff they work with, the nature of their academic study and the feeling of belonging. This paper provides a further illumination to our work by reporting on the qualitative data collected in the same study. The study included 530 students from five cohorts over a five-year period. As part of the Student Experience Evaluation instrument, open-ended questions probed students about their early experiences of belonging and transition into university. This original research uses rich data to illuminate the scales and items from previous quantitative data analysis to explore ‘belonging’, triangulated with research from the field. This paper is timely due to increased emphasis placed on learning and teaching with the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework. Student satisfaction is not a simplistic measure and this study articulates the complexity of student belonging in Higher Education.     

Using the multimodal affordances of the interactive whiteboard to support students’ understanding of texts

The purpose of the study reported on here was to explore ways in which the interactive whiteboard (IWB) can support students’ understanding of texts. A Year 3 and a Year 4 primary school class in New South Wales, Australia, is the focus of the research. A qualitative case study was carried out using multimodal analysis focusing on the use of an e‐book displayed via the IWB. The results of the study indicate that the IWB can support students’ understanding of a narrative to prepare them to write a whole‐class response through providing increased access to a range of resources that are multimodal in nature. The way the interactive features of the IWB can facilitate access to multimodal resources to cater for student needs is also discussed.     

Using I poems to illuminate the complexity of students’ mathematical identities

In this article, we demonstrate how I poems, part of the Listening Guide method, can help researchers to better understand the multiple voices that might comprise a student’s mathematical identity. We provide an analysis of one student’s interview as an example of this method. We argue that the use of the Listening Guide method illuminates the complexity of students’ mathematical identities, especially their fluid, negotiated, and sometimes contested character. In the example shared here, we show how others’ discourses become part of a student’s developing mathematical identity, as well as highlight how the addition of drawings enhances the Listening Guide method.     

Prediction assessments: Using video-based predictions to assess prospective teachers’ knowledge of students’ mathematical thinking

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of an experimental elementary mathematics field experience course, we have designed a new assessment instrument. These video-based prediction assessments engage prospective teachers in a video analysis of a child solving mathematical tasks. The prospective teachers build a model of that child’s mathematics and then use that model to predict how the child will respond to a subsequent task. In this paper, we share data concerning the evolution and effectiveness of the instrument. Results from implementation indicate moderate to high degrees of inter-rater reliability in using the rubric to assess prospective teachers’ models and predictions. They also indicate strong correlation between participation in the experimental course and prospective teachers’ performances on the video-based prediction assessments. Such findings suggest that prediction assessments effectively evaluate the pedagogical content knowledge that we are seeking to foster among the prospective teachers.     

Guests in someone else’s house? Sense of belonging among ethnic minority students in a Hong Kong university

The evolution of globalisation and ensuing internationalisation of higher education need radical reform of institutional policies and practices to promote education for diversity, equity and inclusion. Extant literature on university/college student persistence/retention witnesses a lack of research on the subjective sense of belonging on campus among ethnic minoritised students who have been historically marginalised in higher education and are now part of the emerging demographic on campus. This study attempted to fill the gap. Engaging qualitative individual interviews with 12 university students of South/Southeast Asian ethnicity in Hong Kong, the purpose of this study was to examine their perceptions and experiences of institutional affiliations and engagement in university. Findings suggested that being connected to the programme and university, and the depth and quality of intragroup dynamics, are key to a sense of belonging among ethnic minority students. Findings also elucidated a lack of cross-cultural interaction and racial/ethnic diversity within the university environment, which shaped participants’ feelings of isolation and exclusionary experiences as they sought to adjust to the campus academically and socially. The study’s findings could help inform the development and evaluation of institutional strategies that can sustain minoritised students in university transitions and promote institutional connectedness and academic success among all students on campus.     

Development and validation of an instrument to assess primary school students’ perceptions of the learning environment

Over the past 40 years, numerous instruments have been developed to assess the learning environment for a variety of purposes. Despite this plethora of available surveys, there are few that have been developed for use at the primary school level, and even fewer that have been comprehensively validated. This article describes the development of a long-overdue learning environment survey that is suited to primary school students. Evidence to support the validity of the survey, in terms of translation and criterion validity, was guided by Trochim and Donnelly’s (2006) construct validity framework. A pilot test involving one class of 30 students and interviews with six students was used to examine the face validity of individual items. Analyses of data collected from 609 students in 31 classes supported the convergent, concurrent, discriminant and predictive validity, the results of which were all satisfactory. This article is significant in that it provides educators and researchers with a valid tool to assess the learning environment. The instrument, named the Classroom Climate Questionnaire—Primary (CCQ-P), is described and its practical advantages and limitations are discussed.     

Are we able to pass the mission of statistics to students?

The article illustrates our long term experience in teaching statistics for non‐statisticians, especially for students of economics and humanities. The article is focused on some problems of the basic course that can weaken the interest in statistics or lead to false use of statistic methods.     

Burdens too difficult to carry? A case study of three academically able Indigenous Australian Masters students who had to withdraw

Previous research into attrition rates of Indigenous Australian Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidates has focused on institutional barriers, highlighting cultural disparities. This case study of three academically able candidates who withdrew before completion from an institution designed to meet the needs of Indigenous students describes their path into the award and non-academic factors over the span of their education that impacted on their performance, then draws upon studies of resilience to propose that the psycho-social environments in which they had to operate were complex and burdensome. It proposes that institutions that enroll Indigenous Australian HDR candidates cannot ignore these environments and more appropriate support strategies should be employed.     

Correction to: Expanding the interpretive functions of framing for understanding marginalized students’ participation in collaboration and learning

Cultural Studies of Science Education -     

Voluntarily exiled? Korean state’s cultural politics of young adults’ social belonging and Korean students’ exile to a US community college

This study examines the complicated interlink between the Korean state’s neoliberal identity politics and working- and lower middle-class Korean students’ study abroad as a form of voluntarily exile. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis and a 14-month ethnographic study, this study discusses how these students’ decisions to study abroad are inextricably intertwined with the authoritarian Korean state’s neoliberal political-economic strategies of pushing out seemingly less-profitable citizens (namely, students and graduates of low-ranking 4-year institutions). This study also examines students’ strategies for simultaneously resisting and conforming to this neoliberal ethos. For working-class and lower middle-class Korean community college students, study abroad means a deviation from the normal educational and life trajectories in Korea while, at the same time, their education in the USA opens a pathway for reentering the Korean neoliberal system as more profitable citizens. Their being recognized as members of a profitable workforce indicates their achievement of neoliberal normalcy.     

Should students design or interact with models? Using the Bifocal Modelling Framework to investigate model construction in high school science

The Bifocal Modelling Framework (BMF) is an approach for science learning which links students’ physical experimentation with computer modelling in real time, focusing on the comparison of the two media. In this paper, we explore how a Bifocal Modelling implementation supported learning outcomes related to both content and metamodeling knowledge, focusing on the role of designing models. Our study consisted of three conditions implemented with a total of 69 9th grade high-school students. The first and second classes were assigned two implementation modes of BMF: with and without a model design module. The third condition, employed as a control, consisted of a class that received instruction in the school’s traditional approach. Our results indicate that students participating in both BMF implementations demonstrated improved content knowledge and a better understanding of metamodeling. However, only the ‘BMF-with-design’ group improved significantly in both content and metamodeling knowledge. Our qualitative analyses indicate that both BMF groups designed detailed models that included scientific explanations. However only students who engaged in the model design component: (1) completed a detailed model displaying molecular interaction; and (2) developed a critical perspective about models. We discuss the implications of those results for teaching scientific science concepts and metamodeling knowledge.     

Using an epistemic game to facilitate students’ problem-solving: the case of hospitality management

Hospitality students are required to be able to address challenging cases or problems in the work environment. However, traditional lecture- or exam-based instruction leaves a gap between theory and practice. On the other hand, modern youth live and socialise in an increasingly digital environment, and one of their biggest pastimes is playing games. This study employs a game environment to improve students’ problem-solving abilities; the purpose of this article is therefore to determine if the game is effective in this regard. This study selected two classes of hospitality management students as subjects, and randomly assigned them as the control group and the experiment group. The entire process of the study consisted of the pre-test, game training and the post-test. Only the experiment group participants were trained with the game. The quantitative and qualitative results indicate that the use of the game is beneficial in improving students’ problem-solving performance.     

Using concept maps to assess student learning in the science classroom: Must different methods compete?

This yearlong study was implemented in seventh-grade life science classes with the students' regular teacher serving as teacher/researcher. In the study, a method of scoring concept maps was developed to assess knowledge and comprehension levels of science achievement. By linking scoring of concept maps to instructional objectives, scores were based upon the correctness of propositions. High correlations between the concept map scores and unit multiple choice tests provided strong evidence of the content validity of the map scores. Similarly, correlations between map scores and state criterion-referenced and national norm-referenced standardized tests were indicators of high concurrent validity. The approach to concept map scoring in the study represents a distinct departure from traditional methods that focus on characteristics such as hierarchy and branching. A large body of research has demonstrated the utility of such methods in the assessment of higher-level learning outcomes. The results of the study suggest that a concept map might be used in assessing declarative and procedural knowledge, both of which have a place in the science classroom. One important implication of these results is that science curriculum and its corresponding assessment need not be dichotomized into knowledge/comprehension versus higher-order outcomes. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 1103–1127, 1998.     

Using Assessment to Drive the Reform of Schooling: Time to Stop Pursuing the Chimera?

ABSTRACT

Internationally, over the last 20–30 years, changing the procedures and processes of assessment has come to be seen, by many educators as well as policy-makers, as a way to frame the curriculum and drive the reform of schooling. Such developments have often been manifested in large scale, high stakes testing programmes. At the same time educational arguments have been made about the need to provide students with good quality formative feedback, and informative reports about what they have achieved. The chimera of a perfectly integrated and functioning curriculum and assessment system has been pursued, but such ambition far outstretches systemic capacity; it is neither feasible nor desirable. The national testing and examination system in England is an exemplar case. As national results have improved, much evidence suggests that, if anything, actual standards of achievement are falling, and grade inflation is undermining public confidence in the whole system. The paper will review these issues and tensions, and argue that a different model for developing curriculum and assessment is urgently needed.     

The pursuit of excellence or the search for intimacy? The forced‐choice dilemma of gifted youth

Educators often fail to recognize that the intellectually gifted differ from their age peers in their social and emotional development as much as in their intellectual and academic characteristics. A dilemma peculiar to gifted youth arises through the interaction of the psychosocial drives towards intimacy and achievement, which complement each other in students of average ability, but which place the gifted student in a forced‐choice situation. If the gifted child chooses to satisfy the drive for excellence he or she must risk forfeiting the attainment of intimacy with age peers; if the choice is intimacy, the gifted may be forced into a pattern of systematic and deliberate underachievement to retain membership in the social group. Homogeneous grouping of gifted students is suggested as a partial solution to this dilemma.     

Return of the ghost – to discipline or/and to teach?

This paper is a situated biographical reflection on the author's Hong Kong teaching experience written using a narrative inquiry approach, describing attempts to generate innovative pedagogical practices. The journey explores how autocratic, traditional Chinese cultural expectations in Hong Kong education have nurtured a commonsense belief in “discipline first and then teach”. This teacher/researcher adopted alternative approaches to authority through the use of developmental drama which made teacher image and teacher–student power relationships an object of talk and study. The aim of this paper is to bring together theories and pedagogical models based on the sociology of education, social psychology and drama pedagogy in an effort to change how we teach marginalized students in one distinctive Chinese cultural context.     

What is the responsibility of mathematics education to the Indigenous students that it serves?

Although refuted many times, the commonly accepted story about Indigenous communities in Australia is that they had few counting words and thus were lacking in ways to quantify amounts. In this paper, we use the case of quantifying to discuss how Indigenous mathematics can be used, not just to help Indigenous students transition into the classroom but also back into their home communities. We argue that mathematics education must take seriously its responsibility to support Indigenous students to gain school mathematics and also to help maintain the use of traditional mathematical ideas. If this does not occur, mathematics educators will contribute, intentionally or unintentionally to the loss of Indigenous knowledge that present and future generations of Indigenous people will hold them responsible for.