Assessment must lead to action

Abstract

A new theory of the learning of reading, the Knowledge Sources Theory, has appeared in the research literature in the past ten years, and with an increasingly wide range of supporting evidence. A feature of the theory is the recognition of two ways of learning the relationships between letters and sounds within words. While both ways offer some facilitation of the learning of reading vocabulary, only one, lexicalised phonological recoding, is attuned to the total reading vocabulary of the child. The theory has prompted a revised understanding of some aspects of reading difficulties, including reading speed. For teaching practice, the theory has directed attention to the significance of the beginning reader's experience of both consistencies and inconsistencies of letter‐sound relationships in words, and to the ways in which the child's reading vocabulary knowledge is fostered and used in teaching letter‐sound relationships.     

Creativity,Curricula and Paradigms

What are the relations between creativity, curricula and paradigms? In this paper the historical development of major curriculum theories are interpreted in terms of their relation to creativity as a goal of organised learning. Further, the development is analysed by discussing the organising of learning for creativity from the viewpoints of different sociological paradigms. These represent mutually exclusive ways of understanding knowledge production and societal change. A synthesis of how schools try to reach creativity as a goal for organised learning, seen through the 'dark glasses' of curriculum traditions and paradigms, is presented. The paper ends with some concluding remarks regarding how creativity fits into a curriculum profile needed under the present level of economic globalisation.     

An Exploration of Indonesian Postgraduate Students’ Conceptions of Learning

Abstract

This study sets out to explore and model selected aspects of the approaches to, and conceptions of, learning by Indonesian postgraduate students. Meyer's Experiences of Learning Inventory was administered to 105 postgraduate students at the University of Indonesia in 1995. In 1996, Meyer and Boulton‐Lewis's Reflections on Learning Inventory was administered to a separate group of 94 postgraduate students studying at the same University. An initial finding is that, for a Javanese subgroup of responses, some established operationalised constructs collectively associated with a broader ‘meaning orientation’ to learning, in particular a ‘deep approach’, exhibit low values of internal consistency (alphas between 0.18 and 0.51; ‘deep approach'= 0.28). In contrast, non‐Javanese responses exhibit acceptably higher values of internal consistency (alphas between 0.54 and 0.76; ‘deep approach’ = 0.60). Further contrasts between these two subgroups emerge in terms of exploratory factor structures (of conceptions of learning and related effects). It is argued that an understanding of variation in students’ conceptions of learning, and the influence of these conceptions on the experiences of postgraduate students, can assist supervisors and support staff to better assist them during their candidature. Such assistance, while being important for local postgraduate students, takes on an added dimension when students and supervisors are working within a cross‐cultural setting.     

Moving Beyond Collaboration: Re-describing research relationships with classroom teachers

Drawing on my own difficult experience as a well-intentioned educational researcher working in collaboration with an elementary school teacher, this article highlights some of the dilemmas and complexities of collaboration with classroom teachers. Specifically, I raise questions about a previously underexplored yet surprisingly powerful factor in collaborative educational research: the language we use to talk about research relationships. I offer an interpretation of a recent 'collaborative' study that positions our difficulties as a conceptual-language problem rooted in our severely limited vocabulary for discussing and understanding research relationships. I conclude the article with a call for the development of a richer, fuller range of terms to describe research currently labeled 'collaborative'.     

Conversation and Object Manipulation Influence Children's Learning in a Museum

The effects of parent–child conversation and object manipulation on children's learning, transfer of knowledge, and memory were examined in two museum exhibits and conversations recorded at home. Seventy‐eight children (M_age = 4.9) and their parents were randomly assigned to receive conversation cards featuring elaborative questions about exhibit objects, the physical objects themselves, both, or neither, before their exhibit visits. Dyads who received the cards engaged in more elaborative talk and joint nonverbal activities with objects in the first exhibit than those who did not. Dyads who received objects engaged in the most parent–child joint talk. Results also illustrate transfer of information across exhibits and from museum to home. Implications for understanding mechanisms of informal learning and transfer are discussed.     

Students–exhibits interaction at a science center

In this study we investigate students' learning during their interaction with two exhibits at a science center. Specifically, we analyze both students' procedures when interacting with exhibits and their understanding of the scientific concepts presented therein. Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse (1990, 2000) provided the sociological foundation to assess the exhibit–student interaction and allowed analysis of the influence of the characteristics of students, exhibits, and interactions on students' learning. Eight students (ages 12ndash;13 years of age) with distinct sociological characteristics participated in the study. Several findings emerged from the results. First, the characteristics of the students, exhibits, and interactions appeared to influence student learning. Second, to most students, what they did interactively (procedures) seems not to have had any direct consequence on what they learned (concept understanding). Third, the data analysis suggest an important role for designers and teachers in overcoming the limitations of exhibit–student interaction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 987–1018, 2006     

Sex bias in science teachers’ ratings of work and pupil characteristics‡

In this paper, the role of modelling in the teaching and learning of science is reviewed. In order to represent what is entailed in modelling, a 'model of modelling' framework is proposed. Five phases in moving towards a full capability in modelling are established by a review of the literature: learning models; learning to use models; learning how to revise models; learning to reconstruct models; learning to construct models de novo . In order to identify the knowledge and skills that science teachers think are needed to produce a model successfully, a semi-structured interview study was conducted with 39 Brazilian serving science teachers: 10 teaching at the 'fundamental' level (6-14 years); 10 teaching at the 'medium'-level (15-17 years); 10 undergraduate pre-service 'medium'-level teachers; 9 university teachers of chemistry. Their responses are used to establish what is entailed in implementing the 'model of modelling' framework. The implications for students, teachers, and for teacher education, of moving through the five phases of capability, are discussed.     

Exploring the interplay of leadership and quality improvement in early years settings in England and Hong Kong

Literature on professional development indicates that beginning teachers experience a kind of 'reality shock' in their first professional year. This paper reports an investigation aimed at bridging this gap by introducing aspects of reality shock into the practicum component of an initial teacher education programme. A new student-teaching element, 'The Individual and Independent Final Teaching Period (IFTP)' was developed. In this IFTP the student teachers act on their own for three months, supervised by means of 'long-arm' supervision (involving no classroom observation). The characteristics of the IFTP that contribute to the creation of realistic working situation within a teacher training programme that at the same time help to create a fruitful and guided learning situation are described. Actual short-term learning outcomes perceived by the student teachers and their supervisors are also discussed.     

Training for content teachers of English Language Learners: using experiential learning to improve instruction*

Abstract

Experiential learning theory places experience at the center of learning. Kolb’s four-stage cycle of experiential learning suggests that effective learners must engage fully in each stage of the cycle – feeling, reflection, thinking, and action. This research assesses the alignment of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle with the week-long Summer Institute of Assisting, Collaborating, and Training ESL Secondary Content Teachers (ACT-ESL), the first stage of a professional development model designed to train content teachers of English Language Learners (ELLs). Qualitative and quantitative data analysis from pre- and post-surveys determined positive changes in participants’ understanding of key ELL concepts, knowledge, and understanding of instructional strategies and practices. Analysis indicated that the Summer Institute had a large effect (d > 2.00 for each scale), regardless of previous training in ELL instructional strategies. Findings show that the Summer Institute incorporated the cycle of learning and tenets of Kolb’s experiential learning theory and evidenced teacher learning.     

The influence of wait‐time on classroom learning

This study describes a lesson in which students engaged in inquiry in evolutionary biology in order to develop a better understanding of the concepts and reasoning skills necessary to support knowledge claims about changes in the genetic structure of populations, also known as microevolution. This paper describes how a software simulation called EVOLVE can be used to foster discussions about the conceptual knowledge used by advanced secondary or introductory college students when investigating the effects of natural selection on hypothetical populations over time. An experienced professor's use and rationale of a problem-based lesson using the simulation is examined. Examples of student misconceptions and naïve (incomplete) conceptions are described and an analysis of the procedural knowledge for experimenting with the computer model is provided. The results of this case study provide a model of how EVOLVE can be used to engage students in a complex problem-solving experience that encourages student meta-cognitive reflection about their understanding of evolution at the population level. Implications for teaching are provided and ways to improve student learning and problem solving in population genetics are suggested.     

Teaching Women's Studies: The effects of 'race' and gender

This article aims to explore the relationship between gender and 'race' when teaching a course on 'race', class and gender to women's studies students at a university. It will explore how the racial background and gender of the lecturer may affect the relationship she has with the students and how they see her role as a teacher of 'race' and gender. It will examine how teaching can be and is related to our personal subjective experiences such as our gender, 'race', class, sexuality and age. Whilst most students welcomed the opportunity to discuss issues around 'race' and racism, for some (mostly Black and Asian students) this was often seen as a painful experience based on past experiences. For others (mostly white women) the opportunity to discuss and hear about the experiences of Black and Asian women was something they valued. The article goes on to argue that teaching students about sensitive subjects such as 'race' can be affected not only by the personal experiences of the lecturer, but also by their racial identity and their gender. Indeed, such identities can also affect how students feel about such subjects and how they, in turn, experience their learning.     

Retired Teachers Reflect on Learning from Experience

An attempt to clarify how learning from experience takes place and the role memory plays in the process was carried out in the frame of a study of retired teachers' accounts of their teaching, focusing on their views on the transformation of experience into professional wisdom. Forty-three retired teachers participated in the study and were asked to talk about their professional memories. The stimulus question was: 'What can you tell me about recollected events of your teaching practice?'. Further data was collected through lengthy and repeated interviews with 15 teachers. In the interviews, retired teachers were asked what the role of experience was in the development of their professional knowledge. They focused on the necessary conditions for learning from experience, as well as on the process itself. Among the necessary conditions for learning from experience, teachers in the present study mentioned time, maturity, and interaction with others. The following characteristics of the learning process were identified: the importance of narratives; the emotional aspects of learning from experience; and the role of disequilibrium and reframing. Teachers' recollections concerning their practice and insights about learning from experience represent cases of practice that can be analyzed and discussed in pre-service and in-service courses. They serve to create a sense of professional identity and continuity.     

Working the system: Development of a system model of technology integration to inform learning task design

There has been extensive investigation into factors affecting digital technology integration in learning and teaching, but the complexity of integration continues to elude understanding. Thus, questions about how digital technologies can be best used to support learning persist. This paper argues that methods designed to address complex systems are needed to understand the interplay between teaching, learning and digital technologies. Starting with a developing system model of teachers' technology integration, this study revises the model to include factors of students' experience using digital technologies and beliefs about learning. The revised model is then used to demonstrate possible effects of student experiences in a technologically integrated group learning task. Analysis draws on data from a large-scale Australian study of technology innovation (N = 7406). Data mining techniques are used to identify patterns of students' technology use and perceptions of group work. Findings inform revision of the model to include factors of students' experience and learning and their effects on teachers' practice. Implications for learning design and students' learning experiences are explored.     

Paradoxical tensions in creating a teaching and learning space within a graduate education course on spirituality

Much has been written recently about inclusive learning environments in higher education. Most of this writing has unproblematically assumed a simple link between inclusion and access to institutions. In this paper I suggest that inclusive learning environments need to be reconceptualised as contexts within which a 'democratisation of knowledge' occurs. I draw upon my experience as a tutor on a professional development course for university lecturers to explore this reconceptualisation, looking in particular at issues to do with experiential knowledge, gender and sexuality.     

Changes in science teachers' conceptions and connections of STEM concepts and earthquake engineering

ABSTRACT

The authors find justification for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in the complex problems that today's students will face as tomorrow's STEM professionals. Teachers with individual subject-area specialties in the STEM content areas have limited experience in integrating STEM. In this study, the authors investigated the conceptual changes of secondary school teachers teaching domain-specific STEM courses after a week-long professional development experience integrating earthquake engineering and domain-specific concepts. They documented and then triangulated outcomes of the experience using participating teachers' concept maps and teacher-generated written materials, respectively. Statistical comparisons of participants' concept maps revealed significant increases in their overall understanding of earthquake engineering and more accurate linkages with and among science domain-specific concepts. Content analyses of teachers' learning products confirmed the concept map analysis and also provided evidence of transfer of workshop learning experiences into teacher-designed curriculum products accurately linking earthquake engineering and domain-specific STEM content knowledge.     

Towards an understanding of flow and other positive experience phenomena within outdoor and adventurous activities

Abstract

In considering what draws people to become involved in adventurous activities, studies on flow suggest that people are motivated to participate because of the intrinsic feelings of enjoyment, well-being and personal competence that they experience. This paper explores the positive experience phenomena termed peak experience, peak performance and flow. Similar and distinctive characteristics are identified, and factors influencing the ability to experience such peak moments are considered. A state of flow, which appears to hold the most relevance for adventurous activities, is explored in greater detail and considered in the light of The Adventure Experience Paradigm. Csikszentmihalyi's flow models are outlined and examined with particular reference to perceived levels of challenge and skill. It is suggested that an insight into the nature and characteristics of such optimal experiences can contribute to our understanding of why adventurous activities are intrinsically motivating. Such an understanding can assist practitioners in enhancing the learning experiences and opportunities for development of each individual participant.     

The Preparation of the Interpretive Naturalist

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 experiential science lessons in meeting the objectives of the Colorado model content science standards. Kolb's (1984) experiential learning model was used as a framework for understanding the process by which students engage in learning when participating in experiential learning activities. The authors used classroom exams and written reflections to assess the effects of the activities. The model revealed no significant differences among the 3 lessons in meeting state standards. However, the lessons showed significant effects on student knowledge gain.     

School-based Learning: Constraints and limitations in learning from school experience for teaching assistants

The role and numbers of teaching assistants (TAs) in English schools has grown dramatically in recent years. This is associated with professional development which could give access to Qualified Teacher Status. This part-time, school-based route is consistent with the growth of alternative routes into teaching that are based on an 'apprenticeship model of teacher training'. This model is consistent with the dominant model of 'reflective practice' in teacher training. This study of a cohort of students in their first year of a part-time degree programme for TAs examines the role of experience from constructivist and sociocultural perspectives. It concludes that the TAs' social context in school has a significant impact on the potential to learn from experience and this needs to be addressed in the design of such programmes.     

Examining interactive whiteboard-based instruction on the academic self-efficacy,academic press and achievement of college students*

Abstract

The study reported here examined college students’ academic self-efficacy, ‘academic press’ and learning achievement, as well as the association between these three variables within learning contexts using interactive whiteboard-based instruction. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a sample (n = 103) of first-year college students in China. Participants were taught English by either an interactive whiteboard-based or traditional lecture-based instructional approach for three months. The results showed that the interactive whiteboard-based instructional intervention cultivated higher levels of academic press and academic self-efficacy among students and a significant, positive correlation was identified between these two variables. Students’ learning achievement was not affected by the instructional intervention. These results indicate that interactive whiteboard-based instruction offers some distinct benefits. In future work, additional research is needed to clarify how the instructional model relates to understanding learning achievement.