The simultaneous production of educational achievement and popularity: How do some pupils accomplish it?

In spite of research showing that pupils—particularly boys—tend to experience tension between high academic achievement and popularity with peers at school, some pupils continue to maintain simultaneous production of both. This article focuses on a sample of 12–13 year‐old pupils, identified as high achieving and popular, to examine classroom subjectivities, with attention to their practices around gender and educational achievement. Data are drawn from a qualitative study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which involved observation of classes at nine different co‐educational state schools in England, and interviews with 71 high‐achieving pupils, including 22 that were identified as high achieving and popular. The study findings belie the notion that high‐achieving pupils necessarily jeopardise their social standing with classmates. However, it also demonstrates the importance of embodiment and even essential attributes in productions of subjectivity that successfully ‘balance’ popularity and achievement. Nevertheless, high‐achieving and popular pupils are shown to undertake significant identity work, employing particular gendered performances and practices in order to maintain this simultaneous production.     

Comprehension and rate during silent reading: Why do some students do poorly?

This exploratory study was designed to evaluate the interplay of students’ rate and comprehension in independent silent reading of accessible text, within the frameworks of the Simple View of Reading and the RAND Reading Study Group. In the first phase, 61 sixth graders were given a reading test (GRADE), a motivation questionnaire, and an on-screen measure of comprehension-based silent reading rate (SRF-O, adapted from aimswebPlus SRF) with on-grade and below-grade text. Two-thirds of students had perfect or near-perfect SRF-O comprehension, but the other one-third had moderate to poor comprehension. These weaker SRF-O comprehenders had relatively low GRADE scores, but others with comparable GRADE scores comprehended well on SRF-O. The poorest SRF-O comprehenders read with increasing rate and decreasing comprehension across the SRF-O texts. In the second phase, the 21 students with weaker SRF-O comprehension took an oral reading fluency (ORF) test and a paper form of the silent reading rate measure (SRF-P) in a one-on-one setting. All students comprehended well on SRF-P and their SRF-P rates correlated highly with GRADE and ORF. Results support the view that poor comprehension in independent silent reading of accessible text may be due to factors other than reading ability (such as assessment context) and that, when students read with comprehension, their rate is a good indicator of their reading ability.

     

The typical Australian university mathematics student: Challenging myths and stereotypes?

Historically mathematics has been perceived as the domain of white, middle-class males. In contemporary Australia, more females than males complete 12 years of secondary schooling and a higher proportion of females than males is enrolled in university courses. Females, however, are less likely than males to study the most demanding mathematics courses offered in the final year of schooling and fewer enrol in engineering and science-related tertiary courses. In a recent study investigating the factors implicated in students' decisions to pursue tertiary level mathematics, biographical data and students' perceptions of their tertiary mathematics learning environments were gathered. A revealing profile of the backgrounds of students enrolled in mathematics courses at three metropolitan universities in Australia emerged. There were similarities and differences among the cohorts. Gender and ethnic differences, and differences by university attended emerged. Replicating previous findings, a higher proportion of males than females was found to be studying tertiary mathematics. Multiple indicators revealed that the socio-economic backgrounds of the cohorts differed. The data revealed that various generations of Australian migrants, representative of the nation's multicultural profile, were studying mathematics. Students were generally satisfied with many aspects of their learning environments. Yet, areas in which the learning environment might improve for the longer term benefit of all students were evident. The study suggests that tertiary level mathematics is no longer the exclusive preserve of Anglo (English speaking), middle-class, Australian males. That is not to say that previously identified inequities in mathematics and science have been overcome.     

Spelling: do the eyes have it?

This paper explores the question of whether the ability to spell depends mainly on visual perception and visual imagery, or on other equally important auditory, cognitive, and motor processes. The writer examines the evidence suggesting that accurate spelling draws on a combination of visual processing, visual memory, phonological awareness, phonic knowledge, handwriting, knowledge of morphemic principles, and strategic thinking. Implications for teaching and intervention are presented.     

School Leaders as Learners: what attitudes and preferences do they have?

Leadership development is a key issue for success in leading educational reform and school improvement. Demands for more flexible, responsive, and enterprise‐driven schooling require that school leaders can create the kind of conditions which sustain vigorous processes of continuous school improvement. To meet this requirement, school leaders must be in command of a broader range of leadership and management expertise than was traditionally required of them. The changing environments make it essential for school leaders to have a high level of awareness of their preferences for leadership development and a commitment to improve their professional performance. This paper discusses findings of a survey‐based study of school leaders’ attitudes and preferences for professional development in Western Australia. Surveys conducted among principals and deputy principals of primary (n = 233) and secondary (n = 180) schools reveal some important similarities, as well as differences, in the extent to which primary and secondary school leaders have recognized the potential for work‐based and peer‐assisted learning.     

Deaf clubs today: do they still have a role to play? The cases of Cyprus and Greece

The present study investigated the current functions of Deaf clubs in Cyprus and in Greece. The researchers conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 24 Cypriot and 22 Greek deaf individuals ages 19-54 years. The researchers found that the Deaf clubs in both countries provide a gathering place for deaf people, organize social and sport activities, and promote their demands through legislation. In addition, Deaf clubs maintain and transmit Deaf culture and history to future generations, offer Deaf role models to young deaf children and their families, and provide Deaf awareness to hearing people (e.g., through sign languages classes). The study participants also stressed the role of Deaf clubs in deaf people's lives, unity, and prospects for future progress.     

Classroom discipline and student responsibility:: The students’ view

There is, internationally, increasing interest in the quality of children's character. This paper examines, in 21 elementary and 21 secondary schools, the role of classroom discipline in promoting student responsibility for the protection of learning and safety rights in the classroom. The results indicate that teachers are seen by students to react to classroom misbehavior by increasing their use of coercive discipline, which inhibits the development of responsibility in students and distracts them from their schoolwork. Unfortunately, teachers fail to increase their use of more productive techniques, such as discussions, rewards for good behavior and involvement in decision-making. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Weekend feeding (“BackPack”) programs and student outcomes

Weekend feeding (“BackPack”) programs that provide food to children have grown dramatically in recent years, yet their effects on educational outcomes have been little investigated. Our study combines administrative student data on test scores and absences in Northwest North Carolina elementary schools with primary data on program participation. School and student program eligibility criteria is used to estimate the intent-to-treat effect within a difference-in-difference-in-difference (DDD) framework. Results suggest a sizable 0.09 standard deviation improvement in reading scores, with a similar but weaker effect for math scores. These effects are strongest for the youngest and lowest performing students.     

Using avatars and virtual environments in learning: What do they have to offer?

This paper explores and discusses arguments for the use of virtual environments and interactive avatars in supporting the achievement of student learning goals within conventional educational contexts. It describes and evaluates arguments promoted by some authors (eg, van den Brekel, 2007 ; Deuchar & Nodder, 2003 ; Dickey, 2003 ; Facer, 2004 ; de Freitas, 2006 ; de Freitas & Oliver, 2006 ; Garris, Ahlers & Driskell, 2002 ; JISC, 2007 ; Martino, 2007 ; Prensky, 2004 ; Prensky, 2007 ) relating to advantages from gaming and avatar use, ranging from enhanced engagement in learning activities, through to more purposeful and focussed communication, and, when used in group situations, better cooperation and collaboration between students. It explores the potential of avatar environments to act as powerful communication mediums for students to display knowledge and understanding, and engage in the development of 'higher order thinking skills, such as interpreting, analysing, evaluating, synthesising and solving complex problems'.
It also introduces and discusses the avatar-based authoring program MARVIN, and identifies potential for its use as a digital storytelling tool to assist students in communicating outcomes from units of learning, and in supporting the development of a range of key learning competencies identified in the New Zealand Curriculum Framework ( Ministry of Education, 2007 ). It profiles a successful example of the classroom-based use of MARVIN within a community project undertaken by groups of year 7 and 8 students at two Hamilton intermediate schools, and identifies how the program supported student thinking and relating to others key competencies ( Ministry of Education, 2007 ).     

Why do bears have short tails?

一个寒冷的冬日,一只狐狸告诉熊妈妈他能教她怎样钓鱼。熊妈妈想学,狐狸就把她带到一个冰窟窿旁,告诉她把尾巴放进水里。     

What effect does flipping the classroom have on undergraduate student perceptions and grades?

There is a lack of consensus of the effects on student perceptions and performance in flipping the classroom and its possible value over the traditional face-to-face (FTF) classroom approach. This research examines the expectation that flipping an undergraduate, introductory level, information concepts and skills class would benefit student learning and evaluates the results of flipping this type of course. The study showed a significant difference in student perceptions about the course itself between web-enhanced, FTF and hybrid, flipped classrooms, but this may be dependent upon the level of technology integration rather than the approach. In addition, students who were required to work in groups on a weekly basis had more positive responses toward the flipped classroom improving their soft skills than those who did not. Finally, for written content exams it seems the flipped class approach is at least as effective as the traditional classroom in terms of grades. However, it appears teaching software skills may be better with at least some direct instruction over just the use of simulation software.     

Teacher and student responses to interdisciplinary aspects of sustainability education: what do we really know?

That the value of interdisciplinarity in sustainability education is largely taken for granted reflects widely held views about the inherent complexity and uncertainty of sustainability issues and the need for holistic responses to them. Although there is an extensive literature on interdisciplinarity, there has been relatively little investigation of the ways in which teachers and learners deal with and respond to this central aspect of sustainability education. This paper presents data from two case studies of masters course in sustainability education, one in an English university and one in a Chinese university, and examines some of the contextual factors that support or limit their attempts to go beyond the bounded ways of thinking associated with more traditional academic disciplines. While some learners respond enthusiastically to interdisciplinarity, others experience forms of ‘cognitive dissonance’. Interdisciplinarity requires individual teachers to operate as members of teams and to find ways of promoting dialogue between different perspectives, discourses and methods of approaching problems. The key to interdisciplinarity is an open attitude, a willingness to learn and an ability to engage with different ways of thinking about issues we face in common.     

When do examinees change their initial answers? The influence of task instruction,response confidence,and subjective task difficulty

Changing a small number of answers to multiple-choice questions reliably improves test-scores, although it remains unclear how examinees select which initial answers to change and whether answer-changing behaviour is susceptible to instruction. We tested the effect of an instructional intervention on the number of changes made by examinees on a mock-exam in a controlled experimental design. We also examined how examinees' confidence with their initial answers, and their judgement of how difficult each exam question was, predicted their answer-changing behaviour. We found that the number of changes made increased, to a small extent, through instruction, without increasing the rate of errors. The likelihood of changing an initial answer decreased with examinees’ feeling of confidence, and increased with their feeling of difficulty. This is consistent with the theory that examinees use metacognitive experiences to select which initial answers to change on exams.     

What do students consider useful about student ratings?

Although measures of student ratings of instruction have been developed and examined empirically, students' attitudes about the utility of these ratings have yet to be meaningfully quantified. Using survey responses from 1229 students at a major Canadian university, we developed a psychometrically sound measure of the usefulness of student ratings. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation was conducted and three factors (Instructor characteristics, Course characteristics and Instructor's relative ranking) were obtained that explained 64% of the variance in six iterations. The usefulness of these three types of ratings information differs according to several student and course characteristics. The present results provide evidence for both reliability and validity of the instrument as an indicator of the utility of teaching evaluation for students.     

The hyperkinetic child: What do teachers know?

School personnel are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of hyperkinetic children in many important ways: (a) schools identify and refer the hyper-kinetic child to the physician, who then relies on behavioral reports provided by teachers and parents in making a formal diagnosis and in evaluating treatment; and (b) more recently, schools have begun to administer behavioral intervention programs which may well be as effective as drug treatment in reducing the off-task classroom behavior of many hyperkinetic children. There are many hyperactive children in classrooms who are not referred for medical evaluation and treatment. A group of teacher-identified hyperactive boys was rated significantly higher on the Hyperkinesis Index of the Conners Teacher's Questionnaire than a group of non-hyperactive classmate control boys, but the mean Hyperkinesis Index scores of teacher-identified hyper-actives and clinic-diagnosed hyperkinetics did not differ from each other. The teacher-identified hyperactive boys were observed to be off-task 33% of the time in their classrooms, and the clinic-diagnosed hyperkinetic boys were off-task a comparable 37% of the time. It was suggested that if school personnel use their expertise to identify hyperactive children in the classroom and begin behavioral intervention programs at the earliest possible time, medical referral and treatment will be unnecessary for many children.     

The deviant university student: historical discourses about student failure and ‘wastage’ in the antipodes

The emergence of academic development in Anglophone higher education was linked to post Second World War massification and concerns about student failure. These concerns were driven by increasing statistical investigations into student attrition and degree times to completion, particularly in Australia and Aotearoa, New Zealand. There was a dominant discourse about student ‘wastage’ (the deviant student). However, if we fast-forward to the late 2000s, we can see that these discourses have been replaced by discourses about university responsibility and teaching quality. Drawing on Foucauldian discourse analysis, this paper aims to trace the historical roots of contemporary teaching and learning dilemmas and to show how the responsibility for student failure was gradually shifted from perceptions of deviant students to perceptions of teacher ‘deviance’, which academic development units were designed to ameliorate.     

The personal tutor–student relationship: student expectations and experiences of personal tutoring in higher education

The personal tutor plays a key role in the student experience at university, and personal tutoring embodies the student relationship with the university, suggesting that it has the potential to provide insights beyond that specific relationship to the institution and higher education context. A focus session with first year undergraduate students explored expectations and experiences of personal tutoring from the student perspective. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore students’ lived experiences, and identified superordinate themes of expectations, experiences and relationships, with cluster themes including independence and authenticity. Developing a positive and genuine relationship with the personal tutor was found to ‘buffer’ against some of the first year challenges and contribute towards a sense of belonging. Importantly, this study provides evidence that experiencing poor personal tutoring is worse than not having a personal tutor at all, as this can lead to students experiencing strong negative emotions and re-evaluating their decision to go to university. Implications of these findings in the current higher education context of fee-paying students and competing institutional demands are discussed.     

Why do elephants have big ear flaps?

In this essay we shall try to answer the question in the title with some geometry and heat transfer thrown in for effect. For doing so, as the joke goes, allow me to assume the elephant as a sphere. The reason will be apparent soon. Arunn Narasimhan is a faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His research interests include transport in porous media, phase change materials and heat transfer in biological systems.     

Collaborations across “Sister” community colleges: a strategy to strengthen programs and support student persistence

Community colleges are typically relied upon to address many challenges in United States higher education and, more recently, are under public pressure to increase student completion rates. This article presents a case study of colleagues at three Minnesota community colleges as they work together to address student and program needs. While traditionally community colleges tend to focus primarily on gaining transfer partnerships with universities, we suggest that collaborations across community college programs may be key to long-term success. If done well, such sister program collaborations can support a trajectory of programmatic strength that not only bolsters the curriculum, enrollment, and program visibility, but also ultimately supports students’ ability to complete and successfully transfer. The result, then, is that university partners are attracted and sustained by a vibrant network of colleagues and a pipeline of student support.