Numeracy for everyone

Most techniques in statistics are used in many disciplines besides ecology and have a wide range of applications from anthropology to zoology. They are used in industry, agriculture, social sciences and business. That is why we have called this series ’Numeracy for Everyone’. In the forthcoming parts, we will discuss applications of statistics in some of these fields. But some techniques are developed specially for ecological problems. Let us briefly look at a selection of those techniques.     

Podcasts are not for everyone

Twenty‐first century students are expected to utilise emerging technologies such as lecture podcasts as learning tools. This research explored the uptake of podcasts by undergraduate students enrolled in two very different cognitively challenging subjects in the second year of the nursing programme and in the first year of a business programme. Regardless of the semester, the different content being studied and the statistically significant demographic differences between the nursing and business cohorts, striking behavioural similarities emerged. Students from both cohorts in each semester under investigation spent similar amounts of time studying regardless of gender, age, Internet access and time spent on paid work. The patterns of podcast usage by responding nursing and business students were not significantly different. Non‐listeners in both cohorts did not differ significantly from podcast users (listeners) either demographically or with regard to personal access to computers, the Internet and MP3/4 players. Non‐listeners utilised lecture notes, text resources and the learning management system in a similar way to listeners. The only significant difference was the longer hours spent in paid work by non‐listeners. These findings reinforce the emerging concept that podcasts are not embraced by everyone. Despite the flexibility and mobile learning opportunities afforded by podcasts, significant numbers of students prefer to learn in face‐to‐face environments and by reading and/or listening in set study environments.     

Early Numeracy Assessment: The Development of the Preschool Early Numeracy Scales

Research Findings: The focus of this study was to construct and validate 12 brief early numeracy assessment tasks that measure the skills and concepts identified as key to early mathematics development by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2006 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2006). Curriculum focal points for prekindergarten through Grade 8 mathematics. Reston, VA: Author. [Google Scholar]) and the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008 National Mathematics Advisory Panel. (2008). Foundations for success: The final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. [Google Scholar])—as well as critical developmental precursors to later mathematics skills noted in the Common Core State Standards (2010 Common Core State Standards. (2010). Common Core State Standards: Preparing America’s students for college and career. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ [Google Scholar]). Participants were 393 preschool children ages 3 to 5 years old. Measure development and validation occurred through 3 analytic phases designed to ensure that the measures were brief, reliable, and valid. These measures were 1-to-1 counting, cardinality, counting subsets, subitizing, number comparison, set comparison, number order, numeral identification, set-to-numerals, story problems, number combinations, and verbal counting. Practice or Policy: Teachers have extensive demands on their time, yet they are tasked with ensuring that all students’ academic needs are met. To identify individual instructional needs and measure progress, they need to be able to efficiently assess children’s numeracy skills. The measures developed in this study not only are reliable and exhibit evidence of validity but also are easy to use and can be utilized for measuring the effects of targeted instruction on individual numeracy skills.     

Literacy,Numeracy and Computer Literacy

Abstract

Prevailing hierarchical attitudes have prevented most British organisations changing to more successful democratically run organisational cultures. Many academics have played a part in this by themselves suppressing the lessons of best democratic practice. The human and economic cost of hierarchical working and teaching/ learning practices makes it morally incumbent on those who work in education to rationally and honestly evaluate evidence and voice the central and urgent need for top managers to take the lead in the culture change process required for high quality educational and industrial performance.     

An Examination of Construct Validity for the EARLI Numeracy Skill Measures

The purpose of the current study was to examine dimensionality and concurrent validity evidence of the EARLI numeracy measures (DiPerna, Morgan, &; Lei, 2007 DiPerna, J. C., Morgan, P. L., &; Lei, P. (2007). Development of early arithmetic, reading, and learning indicators for head start (EARLI Project). Semi-annual performance report to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, College of Education.  [Google Scholar]), which were developed to assess key skills such as number identification, counting, and basic arithmetic. Two methods (NOHARM with approximate chi-square test and DIMTEST with DETECT classifications) were used to examine the dimensionality of each of the dichotomously scored measures. Both indicated unidimensionality for four of the EARLI measures (Counting Aloud, Counting Object, Measurement, and Pattern Recognition); however, results were discrepant for Numbers and Shapes. For the polytomously scored measure (Grouping), exploratory factor analysis indicated essential unidimensionality. In addition, the majority of the EARLI numeracy items did not appear to function differently by demographic variables, and scores from the EARLI numeracy measures demonstrated adequate concurrent relationships with scores from the WJ-III mathematics subtests.     

Identifying Early Numeracy Indicators for Kindergarten and First‐Grade Students

Recent studies have documented positive effects for early intervention in improving the mathematics performance of low‐achieving children. Consequently, educators need technically sound mathematics screening measures to identify children at risk and then intervene to improve achievement. In this article, we describe preliminary technical adequacy evidence for four early numeracy measures (number identification, quantity discrimination, quantity array, and missing number). We assessed over 300 kindergarten and first‐grade students in two states to evaluate the reliability and criterion validity of the four measures. Fall and spring administrations of the measures for one subgroup provided preliminary evidence of students' growth on the measures over time. The results supported three of the four measures as potential tools for screening in the early grades.     

Literacy and Numeracy Events in Social Interactive Contexts

Experiences relevant to emergent literacy and numeracy in 2‐year‐ old and 3‐year‐old children were examined in 10public nurseries. The research was guided by three aims, ie. to describe the frequency and variety of such experiences and investigate the contexts in which they occur; to gauge the quality of the experiences in terms of the type of adult‐child interaction in which they are embedded: and to examine variation between nurseries with regard to the frequency of relevant experience. Observations showed numeracy experiences to be infrequent relative to literacy experiences; both were highly context‐ dependent and related to adult input. Variation between the nurseries on a number of measures was examined and showed consistent patterns between variables relating to staff background and nursery organisation on the one hand and the frequency of literacy and numeracy experiences provided for children on the other. In those nurseries with smaller groups, more effectively implemented staff‐child assignment systems and younger staff, the children were more frequently observed involved in some kind of literacy or numeracy experience, and more often seen having positive and less often negative interaction with adults around these experiences. The importance of the interactive basis of early learning is stressed by these findings.     

从人文大家看人文真理

传统的人们人文只有科学领域才会存在着真理,因为真理是确定的、客观的和绝对的,而人文领域是一个没有真理可言的世界。但实际上人文领域也有着自己的不同的真理,只不过这个真理的表现形式多种多样,如,意义、本质、价值等等,它们虽然名目不一,但都有着一些共同的特点,如,相对性、不确定性、主客体的原始统一等。本文试图从人文领域的著名学者的思想那里找到这些特点。     

Warranting Practices: Teachers Embedding the National Numeracy Strategy

This paper explores the notion of the 'evidence-based practitioner' in relation to the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS). The exploration is dealt with in the context of a pilot study of the implementation of the NNS one year before its national launch in September 1999. We begin by describing some of the milestones encountered in the relatively short life history of evidence-based practice (EBP) and exploring some of its various articulations. Challenging the appropriateness of current externally derived formulations of 'evidence' we develop the notion of 'warranting' in order to examine alternative ways in which teachers legitimate their professional practice in relation to the NNS. We conclude that what we observe is a series of shifting and multiple meanings and justifications, carrying different constraints and possibilities for practice.     

Parent and School Partnerships in Supporting Literacy and Numeracy

This study examined home literacy and numeracy practices. It also focused on the roles of home and school in fostering Year 3 children's literacy and numeracy development in Australian schools. A parent survey of 95 parents from four schools, and focus interviews of parents, teachers and a school administrator within one school, provided the data for this study. Results showed that parents helped their children with literacy and numeracy at home. Most of this assistance is given with reading, some with writing and some with routine mathematics. Both parents and school personnel held the children's learning interests at heart and advocated for the formation of parent/school partnerships. Yet the discourses relating to school and home roles for assisting children's literacy and numeracy development provided contrasting views. Implications for school personnel are drawn from the results of this study.     

如何让每个人都喜欢你

有人说,我不可能让每个人都喜欢我,但无论如何。招更多人喜欢与喜欢更多的人都是不错的。     

如果每个人都是环保主义者?

Laurie David,a global warming activist and the author of Stop Global Warming:The Solution If You!设想一下,如果每个人都是环保主义者,我们的世界会变成什么样子呢?或许气候不会变暖,北极熊也不必面临灭绝;或许大伙儿到了晚上都要接受漆黑的挑战,在没有电的空间中生存;或许……有太多的猜想和不得不解决的现实问题存在。看看Laurie David这位环保主义者的猜想吧。     

如何让每个人都喜欢你

利用增进信任的小点子吸引人们并让他们站在你这边.这简单的五个步骤在几分钟之内便将你从局外人改造成局内人……     

Numeracy encounters in a book bag: Meeting the NCTM standards

Four first grades engaged in diverse numeracy encounters using children’s literature bags. This home-school project involved child and family in interactive math learning.