Textual Cohesion and Effective Reading: A teaching strategy

The unfamiliarity of the language of books sometimes contributes to the limited effectiveness with which pupils read. An action research project was carried out with a group of primary school teachers and their pupils, who belong to minority ethnic groups, in order to develop a teaching strategy to help these pupils to attend to the cohesive elements of texts, alongside the conceptual content. The teachers selected texts for reading and discussion with their pupils and they included in the discussion some prepared questions aimed at recovering the meaning of cohesive devices in the texts. The teachers found that they developed their own awareness of the linguistic demands on pupils of the texts which they selected, and the responses of the pupils demonstrated the contribution of the cohesive elements of the texts to the interplay of the factors, linguistic and conceptual, which influence pupils' effective reading.     

What happens when I write? Pupils�� writing about writing

This article presents pupils?? awareness of writing as elicited through a metawriting task, in other words a task in which pupils from the third, fourth and sixth forms (grades) were required to write about writing. The analysis of the texts revealed the pupils?? increasing ability to write texts focusing on writing and on the subject??s relationship to writing. There are significant differences concerning the number of processes mobilised by the pupils to describe the writing process and the operations that take place within it. The increase in awareness is particularly salient in the case of planning during pre-writing. The pupils from the sixth form also mobilise a significantly higher number of processes concerned with the components of textualising (translating) and revising. The results for awareness of text and of reader do not present significant differences or any gradual increase. On the textual dimension, attention is given predominantly to the formal aspects of the texts, especially in the lower forms, while the emergence of other factors, such as genre, is still limited. As for the reader, this aspect of awareness receives the lowest number of associated processes when pupils write about their writing. The results revealed the dimensions and factors to which pupils in different school forms have conscious access when reflecting on their writing. The outcomes support the strategy of using metawriting as consciousness raising tool to increase pupils?? writing skills.     

Developing an emotional awareness programme for pupils with moderate learning difficulties at Durants School

Abstract

Emotional awareness programmes and initiatives in education have a high profile. Training courses in emotional literacy and emotional literacy projects are being promoted nationwide. However, whilst many successful projects and programmes have taken place in the context of mainstream school settings, by comparison relatively fewer projects have been reported in special school settings. A seven-week emotional awareness project was designed for seven pupils in a Year 8 form group (12–13 years of age) who were presenting with emotional and emotional/behavioural difficulties in Durants School, which caters for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The project drew upon principles of circle time and placed emphasis on multisensory activities and role play. The purpose of the project was to identify whether an emotional awareness programme would lead to an increase in the pupils’ awareness and understanding of their own emotions, and whether an awareness of other people’s feelings/emotions could be integrated as a core module of the school’s personal, social and health education curriculum. This project illustrates that an emotional awareness programme can be adapted creatively for pupils with special educational and learning needs without involving expensive resources, and can give pupils life skills that can be applied both in and out of the classroom.     

基于提高学生核心素养,转变学生学习方式的研究

目前,很多小学生的学习方式落后、单一,降低了学习效率,需要引起广大教师的重视.在新课程背景下,教师要注重挖掘小学生的潜力,以提高学生核心素养为宗旨,促进小学生学习方式的转变,提高课堂教学实效.本文将通过对责任意识、学习目标、质疑能力、现代技术四个方面的探讨,帮助小学生找到适合自己的学习方式,实现可持续发展.     

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.     

Promoting NQT linguistic awareness of dialogic teaching practices: a dialogic model of professional development

This study offers an insight into the experiences of three newly qualified English primary teachers and their pupils as they sought to develop dialogic teaching in lessons. It draws upon a range of literature from the field of classroom talk, with a particular focus on the work of Robin Alexander to underpin teacher/researcher professional discussion and analysis of periodic video recordings of talk in these classrooms. Supplemented by teacher interviews, the research examines the extent to which a dialogic approach to teacher professional development might facilitate teacher self‐evaluation as a means of developing a more dialogic classroom. In doing so, it seeks to exemplify key talk moves (dialogic bids) that these teachers used to open up dialogic spaces in lessons. The research concludes that raising teacher awareness of such talk moves through professional discussion and reflection upon teaching can provide teachers with a metacognitive resource for talking about and furthering dialogic teaching practices.     

Formative peer assessment in primary school: the effects of involving pupils in setting assessment criteria on their appraisal and feedback style

This experimental study is aimed at examining the effect of involving pupils in primary education in setting assessment criteria and standards on their appraisal of a peer’s work and their peer feedback style. It is expected that our intervention will lead to (1) a criteria-referenced appraisal and (2) more final vocabulary, which is associated with a more authoritative style. In total, 95 sixth grade pupils from The Netherlands were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the experimental group, the pupils first received an exemplar, which was followed by a group discussion about appropriate assessment criteria and standards. In the control group, the pupils provided peer feedback without this discussion. Their peer appraisal was measured with a questionnaire and feedback style was determined by analysing the written feedback using a person-oriented approach (cluster analysis). Results showed that the chance that pupils in the experimental group had an authoritative style was three times higher than in the control group. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.     

The global classroom: advancing cultural awareness in special schools through collaborative work using ICT

This paper reports research on cross‐national collaboration through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of 10 special schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Working in north–south paired classes, the pupils carried out joint tasks using asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing. The full spectrum of learning difficulty and disability was represented amongst the participating pupils. Interviews were conducted to elicit the views and experiences of the teachers in the 2002/03 cohort. The main aims were to discover whether cultural awareness developed through joint tasks using the two technologies, if computer conferencing improved literacy and ICT skills, and if videoconferencing enhanced oral communication. The results showed that cultural awareness developed as far as cognition allowed, when pupils in partner schools became aware of similarities as well as differences. Those with sufficient keyboard ability benefited from computer conferencing and ICT competence improved, but the much preferred medium for collaborative, inter‐school work was videoconferencing. All but the most dependent pupils could participate, and valuable, transferable social and communication skills were acquired.     

Pupils’ Views on the Future in Sweden

This paper is concerned with how 16 year old pupils in their final year of compulsory schooling in Sweden think about the future. About 900 pupils from Grade 9 (15‐16 years old) form the investigation group. These pupils responded to the Swedish national evaluation tests in global awareness in social and civic studies during the spring term of 1992. The main finding is that the pupils have a more optimistic view of the future than has been indicated as normal for similar pupil groups in previous investigations. Another result is that the schooling processes can promote an active optimistic future orientation if the pupils are given the opportunity to practice democracy in school and are given the opportunity to develop social competence.     

Early communication strategies: using video analysis to support teachers working with preverbal pupils

Carolyn Anderson is a speech and language therapist who is currently working as a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde. In this article she provides an early account of her ongoing research into communication between teachers and pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities. Video recordings were made of teacher-pupil interactions. The recordings were then analysed in terms of the numbers of turns taken by pupils and teachers; the strategies teachers and pupils used to initiate and respond in interactions; and the numbers of information carrying words teachers used with pupils with different levels of language comprehension. Carolyn Anderson's findings will help teachers who want to develop their own awareness of the role they play in communicating with pupils. This research will also support staff who are trying to encourage pupils with learning difficulties to become more actively involved in interactions and teaching and learning opportunities.     

Sympathetic Behavior in Young Children

Using three stratified random samples of thirty-two teachers each from grades 2 through 5, a 3-group posttest-only control group research design was employed to determine the effectiveness of an in-service program utilizing simulation techniques on teacher awareness of pupils’ instructional reading levels. Pupils were selected randomly from each teacher’s classroom. Differences between the grade level of pupils’ readers and their performance on McCracken’s Standard Reading Inventory constituted the measure of teacher awareness. The importance of teachers’ grade level assignments and the time of year when this in-service training is conducted were also evaluated.

Findings indicated that this in-service program is effective only when conducted before school begins. There was a significant difference in teacher awareness among grade levels but a contravertible one between primary and intermediate levels.     

Assessing pupil development and education in an inclusive setting

In the evaluation of an experimental, full inclusion model in the Netherlands, data on participating pupils with special needs were collected. The evaluation focused on social/emotional functioning, pupil behaviour and the quality of education. Independent assessors were invited to study the files of 24 pupils and evaluate their development and education. The assessors regarded the development of seven pupils as worrying. The remaining 17 were average or above average. The findings were compared with parents’ and teachers’ assessments. The discussion addresses the difficulties involved in interpreting evaluation results for Special Educational Needs (SEN) pupils in inclusive settings.     

Investigating pupils' questions in the primary classroom

The paper presents the findings of a coding system applied to the questions generated by primary school pupils to a narrative text. The coding schedule proved consistent across university and teacher researchers. The results and discussion centre on the question type and the degree of understanding displayed by pupils. Suggestions are put forward for the use of a community of inquiry approach to question generation as a means of empowering pupils and allowing the speaking and listening requirements of the National Curriculum to be met in a holistic manner.     

Religious education,conflict and diversity: an exploration of young children’s perceptions of Islam

This article explores the way pupils in English primary school perceive Islam through discussion of Islam in the media. The research suggests that pupils are aware of Islam as a world religion and of many of the images and popular discourses associated with Islam. The research also suggests that while a minority of pupils expressed explicit racist or prejudiced views about Islam many pupils appeared to perceive Islam and Muslims as ‘foreign’ and ‘alien’. The article questions the effectiveness of an approach to teaching Islam that does not include pupil’s negative preconceptions of religion and which focuses on presenting an idealised or monolithic version of Islam.     

The Impact of Primary School Teachers’ Expectations of Pupils,Parents and Teachers on Teacher Track Recommendations

To advance the understanding about primary school teachers’ allocation process of pupils during the transition to secondary education, this study aims to investigate the influencing teacher expectations of teacher track recommendations. Using a qualitative research design consisting of an inductive approach, interview data were gathered from 15 Flemish sixth-grade teachers. The results indicate that foremost teacher expectations of pupils, more specifically of pupils’ perceived motivation or interests and learning attitude, were considered by teachers as influencing their track recommendations. Although empirical evidence was also found for the impact of expectations held by teachers about pupils’ parents and about themselves as teachers, as well as about teaching, teachers’ awareness of the impact of one’s own expectations was limited.     

Interpretative Responses to English Educational Television

The paper is concerned with the need to stimulate and evaluate pupils’ responses to educational television broadcasts in English. In particular, it presents a comparative assessment of written follow‐up work during a series of broadcasts. Case study methods are used within one comprehensive school and involve 49 15‐year‐old pupils. Results suggest that those pupils consistently engaging in small‐group discussion are likely to produce better written work and to develop greater independence in formulating their ideas.     

A right to be heard: learning from learners with additional needs in literacy

This study aimed to explore the consultation experiences of pupils who have additional needs in literacy. An opportunistic sample of eight schools – four in Northern Ireland and four in the Republic of Ireland – were chosen by the researchers; selected pupils were receiving additional literacy support. Focus group discussions and arts‐based creative methodologies were used through which visual and verbal stimuli supported and extended the narratives of the children. The findings showed that pupils have a capacity for self‐reflection and metacognitive talk around literacy. They had a keen awareness of their specific difficulties and the reading strategies they use. However, they wished for greater choice in how literacy support is organised and for more information about individual reading targets and scores. There was a great desire among pupils for consultation at meetings concerning their progress. Involving pupils in planning and evaluating their literacy learning needs as a fundamental right raises questions about teachers’ current protectiveness of pupils with additional needs.     

A comment on ‘Class,gender and science teaching processes’ by R. G. Hacker‡

Summaries

English

Proceeding from a historical review of physical geography, an outline of the present concerns of this discipline and its position among other earth sciences is presented. This is followed by a discussion of the aspects of physical geography which are significant in relation to the school curriculum. In the final section the predominantly physical‐science oriented RCF‐Project lesson units Boden (Soil) and Wasser (Water) are described. They show that the most important educational task of physical geography today is to convey to pupils a general insight into geoecological relationships as a basis for ecologically responsible awareness and action.

     

Goal-setting and self-assessment in Year 7 students

Recent legislation has raised awareness about the need for those involved in making decisions about children to take into account the views of the child. With the recent government drive towards target-setting, it has become necessary to acknowledge that pupils can have an input into decisions affecting their learning. The aim of this study is to evaluate a classroom-based project for increasing pupil involvement in their learning. A solution-focused framework was used to support teachers’ dialogue and to enable pupils to talk about and to record their progress. The targets focused on two areas, specified by the teachers. Measures of perception of progress were also taken to explore whether both parties (teachers and pupils) became closer in their perceptions. The findings of this study provide evidence that involving pupils in their learning can raise attainment levels in spelling and punctuation. Other factors, such as feedback to pupils, are also discussed in light of these findings.     

Schools as dangerous places

When students set off for school each day how many of them or their caregivers consider for a moment that they will spend the day at a potentially dangerous place? On the contrary, students and caregivers probably view schools as safe havens, and official research suggests that this is the case for the majority of teachers and pupils. However, underlying this official view, schools are more and more seen as much less benign and safe. The popular press, for one thing, is certainly keen to report instances of schools as dangerous places. This article examines schools as dangerous places because of dangers from pupils to pupils, teachers to pupils, teachers to teachers, pupils to teachers and dangers from the physical and natural environment. The discussion is framed in terms of the culture of the school and the increasingly legal nature of the schooling and educational environment.