Performance and perception in the flipped classroom

Changes in the conceptualisation of higher education have led to instructional methods that embrace technology as a teaching medium. These changes have led to the flipped classroom phenomenon - where content is delivered outside class, through media such as video and podcast, and engagement with the content, through problem-solving and/or group work, occurs in class. Studies investigating the impact of the flipped classroom have mainly looked at the student experience with little focus on whether exam outcomes are enhanced by flipping. An undergraduate Material Technology course at The University of the West Indies was taught in two formats over two successive years. The course was taught during the 2012/13 academic year in a ‘traditional’ format but, after reflecting on student feedback and personal pedagogy, the lecturer restructured the class and taught it in a flipped format during the 2013/14 academic year. This research examines whether the flipped format improved the learning experience in relation to exam performance and student perception. Data was gathered through analysis of course grades and student evaluation questionnaires. The lecturer’s reflective comments were also reviewed before and after the study. Analysis of the qualitative data shows that the flipped format led to a slight improvement in how students perceived the course and the lecturer’s reflection shows that they are keen to continue with the flipped format as it allowed more time for them to work with students at an individual level. While no significant change in relation to average cohort exam performance was found, fewer students in the flipped classroom achieved marks at the highest level. It is therefore recommended that practitioners who intend to flip their classroom pay as much attention to student performance as they do to student perception.     

Reading research in the primary classroom

This paper attempts to show the importance of the interface between research findings and classroom practice. The writer demonstrates how the judicious use of research has informed the decisions made about reading in three schools of which she has been Head teacher. Two key influences have been an understanding of child development, and what that says about all learning, and the messages about learning to read conveyed by the psycholinguists. The link is made between these influences on learning and the context of overall ‘school effectiveness'. The central tenet in practical terms is the concept of the ‘literate environment'. In defining this term she recognizes the key role of parents and teachers as both ‘models’ for reading and supporters in the learning process. The component parts of the literate environment are described at length before finally the suggestion is made that perhaps it is time for there to be a less mechanistic type of reading research.     

Elementary teachers' use and perception of rewards in the classroom

In the past four decades much research has gone into the use of rewards in education yet little attention has been given to the use of rewards from the perspective of teachers. This mixed method study examined how elementary school teachers define and use rewards in their classrooms and how various motivational constructs such as goal orientation, self-efficacy, and autonomy relate to teachers' use of rewards. Results revealed that all teachers in our sample use some form of rewards in their classrooms and the majority use some form of tangible rewards. Rewards were most frequently given for behaviour management, but there was a significant relationship between the use of rewards for behaviour and those given for academic achievement. Performance goal orientations for teaching were positively related to the use of tangible rewards and a higher degree of classroom control and negatively related to teacher self-efficacy. When asked to report on the appropriateness of using rewards in the classroom only one-third of the teachers reported that they should be used conditionally.     

再议小学数学课堂导入的目的与要领

课堂导入占用的时间虽然很少,但决定了一节课的授课效果与成败。所有的小学数学课堂导入都有一个共性,即如何巧妙地将新旧知识串联起来,融会贯通,通过已知知识的引入,为新授知识的学习搭建平台,从而让学生对新旧知识的理解与巩固达到事半功倍的效果。该文对小学数学课堂导入的目的与要领进行了具体分析,以供教师参考。     

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.     

Observing justice in the primary school classroom

Justice-related situations are a part of students? everyday life. In order to test the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of (in)justice in school, valid measures of justice are needed. To our knowledge, this is the first study to develop an observer low inference rating instrument that can be applied to measure justice in the primary classroom. In two pre-studies, justice-relevant situations in the classroom were extracted and observable indicators for these situations were developed. In the main study, this instrument was used to observe 208 primary school students with regard to their experiences of justice or injustice. In addition to this, other measures of justice were developed to examine the convergence between observer low inference ratings of classroom justice and high inference rating instruments for teachers, students, and external observers.Factor analyses and correlations between the different indices of the observer low inference rating and the high inference rating items suggested that incidents of justice and injustice in the classroom do not tend to co-occur frequently. Teachers do not appear to have a general tendency to treat a child more or less justly across a large number of situations.The findings suggest that a comprehensive assessment of classroom justice requires a multi-method approach where the justice ratings of students, teachers and external observers are all taken into consideration.     

Active classroom participation in a Group Scribbles primary science classroom

A key stimulus of learning efficacy for students in the classroom is active participation and engagement in the learning process. This study examines the nature of teacher–student and student–student discourse when leveraged by an interactive technology—Group Scribbles (GS) in a Primary 5 Science classroom in Singapore which supports rapid collaborative knowledge building (RCKB). We envisaged nine design principles for RCKB in the design of lessons and postulated a logic model that links and explains the effects of our design principles to the ultimate goal of learning efficacy. We presented a case study of a GS lesson which shows that GS affordances leveraged by good lesson and activity design could enable the students to have more epistemic agency. Students had opportunities to participate spontaneously in class discussions by fully expressing their ideas without inhibition. The technology effect is used to support instant formative feedback and interactions among students effectively.     

Pedagogical renewal: Improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools

This study reports on an investigation of classroom interaction and discourse practices in Nigerian primary schools. Its purpose was to identify key issues affecting patterns of teacher–pupil interaction and discourse as research suggests managing the quality of classroom interaction will play a central role in improving the quality of teaching and learning, particularly in contexts where learning resources and teacher training are limited. The study was based on the interaction and discourse analysis of video recordings of 42 lessons and 59 teacher questionnaires from 10 States, drawn mainly from the north of Nigeria. The findings revealed the prevalence of teacher explanation, recitation and rote in the classroom discourse with little attention being paid to securing pupil understanding. The wider implications of the findings for improving the quality of classroom interaction in Nigerian primary schools through more effective school-based training are considered.     

Urban classroom conflict: Student-teacher perception: Ethnic integrity,solidarity, and resistance

This study compared student-teacher perception of discipline; inquired if it were interpersonal, procedural, or substantive; and examined how ethnicity, achievement, gender, and position influenced practice. Gay's (1981) theory about interethnic group interactions, combined with perceptual disparity and cultural discontinuity, provided the conceptual framework. Data sources were interviews, classroom observations, and school records. Students (N=16), African American, Chicano, European American, and Filipino, and teachers (N=9) from an urban high school participated. The data analysis revealed that interpersonal conflicts were more consequential for students of color. Evidence of disparate perceptions among ethnically diverse students and teachers surfaced. The attitudes, beliefs, and values of students and teachers differed and were associated with ethnicity, gender, and level of academic achievement.     

Children's observations,ideas, and the development of classroom theories about light

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between children's observations of light and shadows and their developing theories in the context of a series of lessons in a third-grade classroom. Detailed analysis of videotapes of the children's discussions of their investigations into light and shadows led to the finding that the children's observations of light led to the development of a limited theory about light that was largely useful in explaining classroom investigations. However, this theory of light was less helpful in helping them understanding shadow phenomena and was too limited to explain out-of-classroom observations of light and shadows.     

‘Shared Reading’: an experiment in peer tutoring in the primary classroom

A 12‐week peer tutoring reading programme named ‘Shared Reading’ was conducted with a class of SPA primary school children. Significant reading gains were shown by the class at the end of the experimental period when compared to a matched control group. The gains were not maintained when the children reverted back to individual silent reading. Before the programme the children had exhibited poor reading behaviours—whilst the class had a splintered social structure. During the programme the level of on‐task reading behaviours rose considerably and more positive social behaviours were noted in the class with more friendliness, cohesion and co‐operation between the children. The belief that the gains of the children informally acting as ‘tutors’ would be adversely affected by them helping their less able peers was not supported since the ‘tutors’ made more reading gain than the Hutees’. It is concluded that peer tutoring is an under‐used teaching strategy which, if used appropriately, can be a valuable and enjoyable one for teachers and pupils.     

小学良好课堂气氛的营造

课堂教学气氛是教学过程中的"软环境",这种环境与学生的学习以及教师的教学有直接地联系,良好的课堂氛围给学生学习老师的教学带来有利的影响。深入研究影响小学生课堂气氛的积极因素,并充分综合这些因素的作用为学生和教师营造具有和谐而美好气氛的小学课堂。     

教师课堂教学情绪调节策略初探

教学不光涉及到知识的传递,而且关系到教学态度,教学情感等因素,其中,教师的教学情绪会对课堂教学产生重要的影响,影响教学情绪的主要有教学效能感,归因,情境、人际偏好,突发事件,团体氛围等。教师在进行课堂教学时,必须随时对自己的情绪进行合理的必要的调节,以良好的情绪状态及和谐的课堂氛围,促进教学顺利进行,教学中常用的情绪调动策略有心理匹配、归因控制、自我暗示、沟通、排解、规避等。     

Fear appeals in the primary classroom: Effects on test anxiety and test grade

The present study investigated whether fear appeals used prior to a test increased self-reported test anxiety and had a detrimental effect on test scores. Forty primary school pupils were instructed for one week under a low threat condition under which no fear appeals were made and another week under a high threat condition in which fear appeals were made salient. An end-of-week test was given in both conditions. Pupils reported an increase in test anxiety related worrisome thoughts and autonomic reactions under the high threat condition, but not in off-task behaviours. Test scores were lower under the high threat condition, but were not attributable to the increases in test anxiety related thoughts and autonomic reactions. This study adds weight to the argument that fear appeals are a damaging classroom strategy, but the mechanism by which fear appeals are reducing test scores is not yet clear.