Computerised formative assessment of reading comprehension: field trials in the UK

Increased curriculum time allocated to reading might not be effective in raising achievement. Teachers need to closely monitor and manage both the quality and quantity of individualised reading of all their pupils for optimal effectiveness. ‘Learning information systems’ (LIS) for reading such as the ‘Accelerated Reader’ (AR) enable this through individualised computerised assessment of pupil comprehension of ‘real books’, with feedback to both pupil and teacher. This study explored the impact of AR on reading achievement in 13 schools of different types spread across the UK, the majority socio‐economically disadvantaged. Participating pupils were aged 7–14 years. Pre‐post norm‐referenced gains in reading achievement were measured by group paper‐reading tests and a computer‐based adaptive reading test. The implementation integrity of AR was assessed by direct observation by researchers and through data generated by the programme itself. On both paper and computer‐based reading tests, on aggregate pupils in the 13 schools gained in reading at abnormally high and statistically significant rates. Boys tended to show larger gains than girls on the paper test. However, implementation integrity was very variable. In particular, some teachers failed to intervene in response to AR data indicating that pupils were reading ineffectively. AR appears to have potential for raising reading achievement, but only if implemented appropriately.     

Sources of students’ frustration in pre-university level, prerequisite mathematics courses

This paper looks at sources of frustration in students of “prerequisite” mathematics courses (PMC), that is, courses required for admission into undergraduate programs in a large, urban, North American university. The research was based on responses to a questionnaire addressed to students and interviews with students and instructors. In the design of the questionnaire and the analysis of responses, an “institutional” theoretical perspective was taken, where frustration was conceived not only as a psychological process but also as a situation experienced by participants in a concrete educational institution. Several sources of frustration were identified as important in the group of respondents: the fast pace of the courses, inefficient learning strategies, the need to change previously acquired ways of thinking, difficult rapport with truth and reasoning in mathematics, being forced to take PMC, insufficient academic and moral support on the part of teachers, and poor achievement. These sources of frustration are discussed from the point of view of their impact on the quality of the mathematical knowledge that students develop in the PMC. Consideration is also given to the possibilities of improving the quality of this knowledge, given the institutional constraints implicated in the sources of students’ frustration.

Discipline Reform: The Impact of a Statewide Ban on Suspensions for Truancy

Chronic absenteeism and truancy have been linked to a variety of undesirable outcomes for students including increased risk of dropout, lower test scores, lower educational and social engagement, juvenile delinquency, and substance abuse. One controversial response to truancy is the use of exclusionary discipline, such as out-of-school suspensions (OSS). Out of concern that such a practice is counter-intuitive and likely not effective at improving student engagement or academic outcomes, some states have recently banned this practice altogether. This analysis uses Arkansas as a case study to estimate the impact of a state-level ban on the use of OSS for truancy on attendance—an important measure related to student engagement and opportunity to learn. Using an eight-year panel of student-level data in a difference-in-differences framework, we find no evidence of improvement in attendance for truant students. Implications for policy design, implementation, and evaluation are discussed.     

Informal Education: A New Lens on Socially Engaged Design Practices

The disciplinary intersection between community work and design is under‐explored. Despite similarities in both the context and values of the work, there has not been a significant critical comparison of their respective approaches in either theory or practice. This article suggests that informal education offers an alternative lens to consider both disciplines and inform future practice. More specifically, it considers the relevance of informal education principles in design education and design practice that has an explicit social focus. This discussion is drawn from doctoral practitioner action research in Scotland during 2016–18. The fieldwork focused on the different outlooks and approaches to work in community settings from both design and community work perspectives.     

Opportunities for a democratic pedagogy: a comparative study of South African and Swedish teachers' attitudes to inclusive education

This paper is based upon the collaboration between two research groups from Stockholm University and the University of South Africa. The main objective is to compare attitudes between South African (SA) and Swedish teachers regarding inclusive education (IE). IE in this paper is examined as a distinct part of the Swedish welfare system. The method used can be characterised as a combined, quantitative and qualitative research design with a purposive sampling. A similar adapted questionnaire was distributed in the two countries. The Swedish teachers in our data are more pro‐inclusion and more hesitating to accommodate learners with barriers in special schools. However, both the Swedish and the SA teachers in the study are hesitating towards the feasibility to implement IE practically. A team approach is concluded to be an adequate pedagogy for supporting IE both in South Africa and Sweden.     

Secondary school students' interests,attitudes and values concerning school science related to environmental issues in Finland

This paper explores the relationship between students' interests in environmental issues, attitudes to environmental responsibility and biocentric values in school science education. The factors were investigated within the framework of three moderators: gender, school and residential area of the school. The survey was carried out using the international ROSE questionnaire with ninth‐grade students (N = 3626) from 68 schools. Likert‐type items were categorised with explorative factor analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance was used to study the importance of the moderators. There were significant correlations between the attitude and value factors. Interest and attitude were also significantly correlated, but the correlation between interest and value was negligible. Girls' attitude was significantly more positive and their biocentric value stronger than those of the boys, while in terms of interest, the gender difference was small. The effect of residential area was negligible, but there were significant differences between schools in all the factors studied. A school's own environmental projects and participation in programmes linked to environmental education or education for sustainable development was suggested to enhance students' interest in environmental issues. The role of interests, attitudes and values in teaching environmental issues are important fields for future research in science, environmental and sustainability education.     

Motivation,Confidence, and Control; Unraveling Active Learning for Nutrition and Food Undergraduates

Abstract: Nutrition and food students at Sheffield Hallam University completed an “active learning” assessment as part of a final year module, Applied Nutrition 2. The purpose of the “active learning” assessment was to encourage and enhance learner autonomy. The assessment consisted of 5 main stages: a briefing, thought shower, oral business proposal presentation, a feedback stage, and Nutrition Fair. To assess learner autonomy, levels of motivation, confidence, and control were quantitatively and qualitatively monitored throughout the learning journey. The results showed that levels of confidence, motivation, and control increased following each stage and significantly across the learning journey. However, there were significant gender differences in terms of achievement of marks and in levels of motivation at various stages. On average, females achieved higher marks in certain assessments and they demonstrated higher levels of motivation after the initial briefing. Further, significant differences were also reported between different degree routes in terms of achievement of marks and levels of confidence, motivation, and control. “Active learning” has been shown to foster improved levels of confidence, motivation, and control in a cohort of nutrition and food students, contributing to overall learner autonomy. Graduates able to demonstrate such qualities will undoubtedly be welcomed by employers in the relevant sectors.     

Collegiate influences on the civic values of undergraduate students in the US revisited

Even though colleges have long attempted to promote civic-mindedness among students, recently there have been strong calls for a return and rededication to this mission. Given the many social and political changes that have occurred since Pascarella et al. (J High Educ 59(4):412–437, 1988) in Higher education: Handbook of theory and research, study, the purpose of the present investigation was to extend their established line of inquiry by examining college’s influence on the civic values held by a more recent cohort of students. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyzed a sample obtained from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, a nationally representative panel study of college students administered by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, which sample includes 12,738 undergraduate students from 106 four-year universities. Our findings mostly confirmed our theoretic conceptualization of collegiate influences on the civic values of students. As expected, those values were positively associated with students’ involvement in diverse activities. Institutional impacts, however, disappeared, except for structural diversity. University administrators and educators might find these results informative when developing institutional policies and practices to prepare students for good citizenship in the global society.     

Differential Effects of Salient Visual Events on Memory-Guided Attention in Adults and Children

Both salient visual events and scene-based memories can influence attention, but it is unclear how they interact in children and adults. In Experiment 1, children (N = 27; ages 7–12) were faster to discriminate targets when they appeared at the same versus different location as they had previously learned or as a salient visual event. In contrast, adults (N = 30; ages 18–31) responded faster only when cued by visual events. While Experiment 2 confirmed that adults (N = 27) can use memories to orient attention, Experiment 3 showed that, even in the absence of visual events, the effects of memories on attention were larger in children (N = 27) versus adults (N = 28). These findings suggest that memories may be a robust source of influence on children's attention.     

To do or not to do with feedback. A study of undergraduate students’ engagement and use of feedback within a portfolio assessment design

Feedback is important for student learning; however, research shows that students can have a number of difficulties when attempting to learn from feedback. Based on an in-depth analysis of undergraduate students’ self-reported reflection logs, we present findings about students’ experiences with oral and written feedback and how they act upon this feedback when a portfolio is the main assessment and learning tool. Our findings indicate that, within our context, students’ overall experiences with receiving feedback are positive. Oral feedback was perceived as particularly valuable to the students while written feedback challenged their understanding. We identified four specific actions the students engaged in to create meaning from the feedback: internal feedback, using oral feedback, initiating dialogue and interacting with peers. The findings indicate that the students take responsibility in the feedback process. The findings are discussed in relation to current perspectives on feedback in higher education.