The crisis in academic statistics: an exploration

Abstract

At present, statistics as an academic career is not only experiencing an identity crisis, but is also fighting for survival as a vital and vibrant career choice. Good financial benefits, as well as the increasing demand for applied statisticians, have opened up very attractive career opportunities for statistics graduates, while at the same time eroding the viability of pursuing statistics as an academic teaching profession. As a result, the number of students wishing to teach statistics at universities is dwindling, and the number of vacancies in statistics departments at higher education institutions has increased. This article explores some of the reasons for the above, as well as the impact of the crisis on academic statistics. The article considers possible solutions – like opening the discourse on the future of academic statistics, taking students’ experiences seriously, the Africanisation of the curriculum, the effective use of technologies, ongoing research, and adequate financial reward.     

Cross-cultural immersion in China: Preparing pre-service elementary teachers to work with diverse student populations in the United States

Cross-cultural immersion experiences have been considered to be an effective way to prepare American pre-service teachers for culturally responsive pedagogical practices. The literature review shows few studies have investigated pre-service teachers' cross-cultural experiences in non-English speaking countries, specifically Asian countries. This qualitative study examined ten American elementary pre-service teachers' teaching and learning experiences in China. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: understanding and respecting Chinese culture; developing empathetic dispositions towards non-English speaking students; exchanging teaching strategies and resources; reflecting on professional and personal growth; and initiating a proactive stance as culturally responsive change agents. Additionally, the study revealed that having two separate Chinese field placements may have differing pre-service teachers' teaching and learning experiences. Varying types of opportunities to study abroad are on the rise. Recommendations are provided for the type of cultural immersion experience that encourages neophyte educators to not only learn about others, but also learn from and with others.     

Developing communication as a graduate outcome: using ‘Writing Across the Curriculum’ as a whole-of-institution approach to curriculum and pedagogy

Communication is widely recognised as an important capability for university graduates [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013). OECD skills outlook 2013: First results from the survey of adult skills. Author. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204256-en]. Yet, research suggests that it is often not adequately developed by Australian universities, remaining implicit in teaching and assessment. This is in part because Australian universities have historically conceptualised communication not as an outcome of disciplinary study, but as a generic, foundational competency or skill. It has therefore been managed outside the curriculum by establishing academic language and learning units that help students develop written and spoken communication through a range of student services. The services model of communication development is becoming untenable, however, given the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of students and the recognised importance of communication as a graduate outcome. Whole-of-institution approaches are required to integrate communication into course curricula as a fundamental part of disciplinary learning, and develop the capacity of teaching staff to teach it. This paper explores Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing Inside the Disciplines, two complementary approaches used widely in the US for developing literacy in higher education. They emerged in the 1970s in response to the kind of student diversity now common in Australian universities, and offer institution-wide strategies for developing communication as an essential outcome of study in academic and professional disciplines.     

2 Perspectives in pedagogy

The paper discusses the dominant place of expository verbal teaching in most teaching institutions, and argues that it is deleterious to pupil learning. It goes on to propose that greater attention to pedagogy is essential to break out of current transmission modes of teaching. In particular, it is crucial to develop teaching for conceptual learning and for problem solving, and it is suggested that there is information from learning psychology that can be fruitfully related to practical teaching to achieve these developments. However, it is not suggested that teachers merely applylearning theory, but that they explore its relevance and mode of application to real teaching situations. In teacher education there is a serious problem of lack of pedagogical understanding in supervisory staff of student teachers. This is a vital deficiency that will need to be repaired before advances in teacher preparation can be realistically expected.     

Exploring The Island: Mapping the Shifting Sands in the Landscape of English Classroom Culture and Pedagogy

I begin with an account of my own observation of an English lesson taught by one of my student teachers using a teaching resource, The Island, that I used myself as a new teacher more than 20 years ago and of my own responses on finding it transformed by two decades of change in educational policy and practice. It has become almost a given in academic articles on English teaching, to refer, in a sentence or two, to the reduction of the English curriculum, the narrowing of pedagogy and the loss of teacher agency due to the dominance of a high stakes assessment regime. The policy changes that have given rise to this change have been clearly analysed elsewhere, but part of my purpose here is just to look again at how it might be experienced by a particular pupil in a particular class. I am interested in analysing some of the features of The Island’s incarnation then and now, from three different angles: as it is inscribed in the project book, as I remember teaching it and as I observed it recently in a London classroom. I draw on theories of literacy and of the teaching of writing in particular in trying to account for some of the differences but beyond that, I argue that it is essential to link such theories to wider political debates about culture and to reflect back from this to the purposes of the English curriculum and culture of the English classroom.     

Tools or crutches? Apparatus as a sense‐making aid in mathematics teaching with children with moderate learning difficulties

This paper challenges a view of concrete materials as artifacts used within a rigid instructional sequence that particular children are perceived to require or not, as the case may be. Focussing on mathematics teaching, it contends that it is more useful to consider the function of these materials as tools, artefacts used flexibly and selectively by pupils to make sense of mathematics, rather than as crutches, devices which may support procedural competency in mathematics but with no guarantees of understanding.     

A sense of history: History of science and the teaching of introductory quantum theory

This paper argues that some kind of historical perspective is a conditio sine qua non in the teaching of physics. Without a proper historical perspective the student will not experience physics as the living, human endeavour it is; in addition, the historical-exemplaric approach is often beneficial also to the technical and conceptual aspects of physics education by offering a deeper and more critical look at particular physical problems. However, the relationship between physics and history of physics is intrinsically problematic in that the lessons to be learned from history are often counterproductive to those aimed at in science teaching. The tensions between the two approaches may lead to a historically unsatisfactory quasi-history adapted to the perceived needs of science education, but although this dilemma is genuine, there is no reason why it should block a historically oriented teaching of physics. Based on the example of the history of the photoelectric effect as a case in the teaching of introductory quantum theory it is argued that the dilemma between historical truth and didactic usefulness may be circumvented by focussing on a few, carefully selected case studies. The didactic potentials of one such example, the early introduction of the light-quantum, are discussed.Roskilde University Centre, P.O. Box 260, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.     

The Birth of a Notion: The Windfalls and Pitfalls of Tailoring an SoTL-like Concept to Scientists, Mathematicians, and Engineers

Despite calls for greater agreement in defining the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), terms that resemble SoTL are proliferating. An NSF-sponsored center for teaching and learning coined its own term, teaching-as-research (TAR), believing it would resonate better with research-active scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. To understand whether this was a wise strategy, we interviewed 43 participants from courses that sought to explain and demonstrate TAR. Our study found that participants defined TAR with varying complexity and that disciplinary concepts generally provided “conceptual handles” for making sense of TAR. However, tailoring a term to particular disciplines entails several challenging tradeoffs.

Where there are no rules or systems to guide us: argument from example in a hermeneutic rhetoric

Many rhetoricians treat argument from example as a kind of induction, an illustration of a general principle. Although this is one function of example, consistent with Aristotle's statements about the paradeigma and The New Rhetoric's “argumentation by example,” it camouflages the practice of exemplary proof that has contributed to our richest sense of rhetorical understanding. Inductive example allies itself with the principles of theoretical science and contradicts Aristotle's insight that rhetoric functions where rules or systems are wanting. A properly rhetorical understanding of the exemplum does not work through a universal, implicit or otherwise, but follows a sideways movement from particular to particular. This essay traces the alliance of the paradeigma with inductive science to an unstable fault-line in our Aristotelian heritage, then retraces the path of the prudential tradition by following the long and distinguished career of the rhetorical example in the West in order to reclaim this heritage and to challenge the pre-eminence of inductive subsumption.     

全新版《大学英语综合教程》的一份评估

有效评估教材是外语教师非常重要的一项职业活动。运用McDonough and Shaw的教材评估模式,结合我国大学英语的教学实际,对当前较为通用的全新版《大学英语综合教程》(一至四册)做出评估是十分必要的。     

Table of Contents

Executive Summary Foreword A Changing World Calling for New Leaders Leadership and Diversity Guiding Framework Organization of Monograph Contributions of Monograph Defining Leadership Language and Guiding Models Distinguishing Leader and Leadership Distinguishing Leader and Leadership Development The Individual: Leader-Based Models The Process: Leadership-Based Models Diverse Student Identity and Capacity Development Student Identity and Capacity Development Diverse Student Identity Development Diverse Student Leader Identity Diverse Student Leader Capacity Environment Matters National Context Institutional Context Curricular and Cocurricular Context Exemplary Programs and Characteristics of Effective Practices Exemplary Programs Characteristics of Effective Practices Guiding Questions for Effective Programming Implications for Policy, Practice, and Future Research Policy Implications Practical Implications Contributions to Future Research Conclusion Notes References Name Index Subject Index About the Authors     

The teaching portfolio: A professional development tool

Abstract

There seems to be some confusion in the literature regarding what a collection of evidence about teaching should be called. In some instances it is referred to as a ‘profile’ (see for example, Gibbs, 1989), in others a ‘dossier’ (see for example Shore et al, 1986) or portfolio. For simplicity I use the term ‘portfolio’ to describe a collection of data on teaching. A summary of this information can then be used in conjunction with a curriculum vitae and is termed a ‘teaching profile’. This paper will examine some of the current writing on teaching portfolios, and the use of teaching portfolios at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. While they are recognized as invaluable dossiers of professional information per se, the author promotes their use, more particularly, as powerful tools for personal, professional development.     

Environmental education in television narratives: a Brazilian case study

Abstract

This article discusses recent Brazilian research on the relationship between environmental education and cultural studies. Television narratives about the environment and/or sustainability in our everyday lives are used to pose some initial questions about this relation. First, culture is discussed briefly showing how it potentially relates to teaching and informs our role as environmental educators. We argue that culturalist perspectives on research in environmental education politicise teaching practices, even though they are in a context that strays from prerogatives that envisage a future world marked by sustainable development and a green economy. We investigate the impacts of television narratives and images on our everyday lives wherein we are consistently taught particular written and visual messages about how to plan for our future. Examples are draw from the teaching effects of a Brazilian television programme called Repórter Eco, broadcast on a public television network, including the sustainable management of the baru (a typical tree from the Brazilia Cerrado). We argue the educational aspects of television programmes should receive critique, as the relationships established between people and various media artifacts produce particular meanings and ways of seeing the world. This presents a challenge for teachers as examining these subjective ways carefully requires critical examination, not only in terms of education for sustainability or environmental preservation, but also teaching using media.     

Toward preparing students for change: A critical discussion of the contribution of the history of physics in physics teaching

In this paper I place physics teaching, and the inclusion of the history of physics into teaching, within a wide context. I start from the conviction that there are considerable changes ahead in the life circumstances of people in western industrial societies. This expectation should influence our aims of education generally, and in particular the aims of physics teaching. The paper does not offer final solutions, but analyses the situation and thereby argues for a change in perspective in physics teaching. The main idea is that physics teaching has to solve the problem of balancing seemingly incompatible needs, for example, conveying a stock of stable, dependable physics knowledge to students, and on the other hand to train them to see their physics knowledge within varying contexts of change. It is argued that the history of physics can be of high value in solving this problem.This article was originally published in: F. Bevilacqua and P.J. Kennedy (eds.): 1983, Proceedings of the Conference on Using History of Physics in Innovatory Physics Education, Pavia University.     

Child Development And The Curriculum

Seventy-five years of research in the area of teacher effectiveness have failed to yield sound predictive information about teaching success. Several explanations are offered in this paper for observed discrepant and null findings. Commonly employed predictor variables may be unrelated to teacher effectiveness: consideration is given to the appropriate choice of predictor variables and concern expressed regarding the emphasis of research on the affective as opposed to the cognitive domain. Nevertheless, it is stressed that this explanation remains untested because of the following points: (1) The criterion variable may be unstable, invalid or inappropriate; in particular, it is argued that, while presage and process variables may be appropriately employed as predictors of teacher effectiveness, if tautologies are to be avoided, only product variables are valid as direct criteria for the assessment of effective teaching. (2) The influence of a particular variable may differ according to situation, for instance, according to grade level or subject matter taught. Arising from discussion of these points, some recommendations regarding future research are offered.     

实施“三环联动”创新思政课实践教学模式

国家高等职业示范院校杨凌职业技术学院在思想政治理论课实践教学方面进行了富有成效的探索,形成了“以课堂实践为基础,以校园实践为中心,以社会实践为重点”的“三环联动”式思政课实践教学模式,取得了良好的育人效果。     

Bridging the macro- and micro-divide: using an activity theory model to capture sociocultural complexity in mathematics teaching and its development

This paper is methodologically based, addressing the study of mathematics teaching by linking micro- and macro-perspectives. Considering teaching as activity, it uses Activity Theory and, in particular, the Expanded Mediational Triangle (EMT) to consider the role of the broader social frame in which classroom teaching is situated. Theoretical and methodological approaches are illustrated through episodes from a study of the mathematics teaching and learning in a Year-10 class in a UK secondary school where students were considered as “lower achievers” in their year group. We show how a number of questions about mathematics teaching and learning emerging from microanalysis were investigated by the use of the EMT. This framework provided a way to address complexity in the activity of teaching and its development based on recognition of central social factors in mathematics teaching–learning.     

Reviving the ancient virtues in the scholarship of teaching,with a slight critical twist

This conceptual study argues that the scholarship of teaching is not just an evidence-based but also a virtues-based practice. To this end, it pursues two interrelated objectives. First, it seeks to show that the scholarship of teaching is supported by the intellectual virtues of ‘episteme’ (theoretical knowledge), ‘techne’ (productive knowledge) and ‘phronesis’ (practical knowledge). These three intellectual virtues stand in a particular relationship to one another and phronesis assumes a vital mediating function infusing the scholarship of teaching with the practical wisdom required in concrete situations. Phronesis, particularly a critically inspired phronesis, also enables the proper development and enactment of moral virtues, especially truthfulness, justice and courage, without which the standards associated with scholarship could not be upheld. It is further argued that the scholarship of teaching is usefully enriched by recognising two different versions of evidence-based practice: one is concerned with the evidence of instrumental effectiveness between strategies and outcomes; the other with evidence of the internal consistency between strategies and desired outcomes. It is proposed that analysing the scholarship of teaching through the lens of virtue helps appreciate what kind of a practice the scholarship of teaching is and the challenges involved in engaging with it well.     

How do Students Feel about Grammar?: The Framework and its Implications for Teaching and Learning

Grammar's place in English teaching seems to be constantly under review. This paper reflects on the status and methods of grammar teaching at the moment. In particular, it explores both the positive and negative impact of the Key Stage 3 Framework for Teaching English on teaching and learning. It goes on to analyse the writer's experiences of teaching grammar as a student teacher, and asks whether the methods we are using today are adequate for the needs of young writers.     

Race and class silences in teacher education: resisting strategy-based approaches to literacy methods instruction

This article draws on qualitative and practitioner research methodologies to unpack one critical incident from an undergraduate literacy methods course in which possessing complex understandings of endemic poverty proved central to assessing student achievement. In particular, we use an example of a comprehension lesson based on the children’s book Leah’s Pony as a key example through which to consider the dangers inherent in teaching pre-service teachers to adopt strategies that seem universal and innocuous, like answering comprehension questions or filling in worksheets, outside of broader critiques of social class, racism, poverty and student positioning in schools.