The Role of the Internet in the Adoption of Computer Modeling as Legitimate High School Science

We describe a recent project that explored combined use of Internet client-server technology and interactive computer modeling software for improving secondary science teaching. We envisioned a constructivist network in which teachers make contributions to the resources available. The purpose of the network was to promote the emerging field of computer modeling in high school science. Our approach coupled the networking and curricular initiatives with evaluation of changes in classroom core practices—those which have a traceable impact on student learning. Distribution of work, ideology of science, teaching styles, and curricular goals come together dynamically to influence teachers' use of modeling technology in the high school science classroom. A combination of Internet tools, each affording a different contribution to the spread of innovation, provides the best promise for future networks of this kind.     

The Curious Incidence of Novels About Asperger's Syndrome

Since Asperger's Syndrome was formally recognised in 1994, several novels featuring characters with the syndrome have appeared. Bill Greenwell's article discusses these books in providing a context for a closer consideration of the British publishing sensation of 2003, Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The reasons for the success of this suburban comedy, Greenwell argues, include the consequences for the reader of Haddon's choice of the sufferer from Asperger's as narrator, especially the generation of unconscious humour and the range of literary forms he uses to tell his story. Nicholas Tucker adds an Afterword from his perspective as an educational psychologist as well as a literary critic, finding in the novel a rich mixture of heroism, mystery and love mediated through narrrative ingenuity.     

Lecturers’ views of assessment design,marking and feedback in higher education: a case for professionalisation?

Abstract

Research on professional assessment practice in higher education does not always take account of lecturers’ perceptions and experiences, or their disciplinary context. This questionnaire study was designed to explore lecturers’ views about three inter-related elements of professional assessment practice: assessment design, marking and feedback. It consisted of two questionnaires: the Assessment Design Inventory (ADI), previously published, and the Assessment, Marking and Feedback Inventory (AMFI) which was newly developed for this study. The two main purposes of the research were to: i) establish the validity of these two questionnaires as research tools, ii) explore the existence of professional practice in assessment and analyse any perceived hindrances as well as possible effects of participants’ subject discipline. 356 lecturers from two UK universities, with a range of teaching experience and representing soft and hard disciplines, took part. Results indicated that the ADI and the AMFI were robust instruments. Findings showed evidence of assessment professionalism, but also some areas where it was lacking, together with a perceived need for formal training. Participants recognised that there were certain hindrances in putting their pedagogical beliefs into practice. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of advancing the sector’s understanding of assessment professionalism.     

The Evaluation of Student Fitness Levels in Exercise Science and Physical Education Teacher Education Programs

The debate on whether kinesiology students should undergo fitness testing is controversial. Some are strong proponents of fitness testing, while others are in strong opposition. As advocates for fitness testing among kinesiology majors, we aimed to assess the fitness levels of Exercise Science and Physical Education Teacher Education majors and evaluate current physical education teacher education (PETE) fitness criterion. One hundred and sixteen participants (males N = 49; females N = 67) underwent health-related fitness assessments. 37% of males and 51% of females met PETE’s fitness criteria. Both groups performed significantly better in body fat percentage and upper body strength than PETE’s acceptable (average) standards; however, most were significantly lower than target (above average) standards. Presented are fitness passing criteria for PETE majors and fitness reporting that aids in improved fitness tracking and accountability. We also highlight the need for NASPE and SHAPE America to clearly define fitness expectations for PETE majors and encourage other kinesiology faculty to consider implementing fitness testing in their programs.     

A follow-up study of dyslexic boys

Over 500 men who attended the Gow School, an independent school for boys with developmental dyslexia, were given a follow-up questionnaire from 1 to 38 years after they left the school. More than half had graduated from college; business was the most frequently chosen major in college; most were employed in managerial or related business positions; and their adult reading habits and attitudes did not compare well with those of other men of similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Socioeconomic status and IQ were not predictive of adult outcome among these men in contrast to their effect in the general population. An important result was that severity of the reading problem upon entrance to Gow and the academic and remedial progress of the men while at the school were highly predictive of adult educational, occupational, and attitudinal status. This work was supported by funds from NIH grant HD00486, the Gow School, and the John F. Kennedy Institute.     

Sales information systems in the UK financial services industry: an analysis of sophistication of use and perceived barriers to adoption

This paper evaluates the use of sales information systems (SIS) in the UK financial services sector. The study is based on a quantitative survey of a sample of sales and marketing managers in banks, building societies and insurance companies. Seventy-two usable responses were received and our analysis reveals that the systems that have been adopted are being used to provide information for little more than mailing lists. Further, the aspirations for our respondents for further data capture and analysis are low—such that their overarching goals of improving customer retention, customer relationships, and customer acquisition are unlikely to be achieved. This mismatch between our respondent's data capture and their strategic goals is associated with the further finding that our respondents place more importance on technical barriers to implementing SIS—such as fragmented market and sales information, high cost of development and poor data quality—as compared to the lowered importance placed on organizational barriers. Importantly, the latter barriers have been recognized in the literature as the true barriers to achieving the strategic potential of marketing information. We argue that the future promise of sophisticated use of the capabilities of current SIS is thus likely to be compromised, due to the lack of awareness, amongst our respondents, of the criticality of organizational and strategic barriers.     

The International Adult Literacy Survey: What Does It Really Measure?

The paper evaluates the work of the International Adult Literacy Survey as reported in OECD 1997. It assesses its contribution to understanding literacy in terms of the perspective of the New Literacy Studies. It outlines this perspective as a basis for a critique that is mostly concerned with the validity of the test. Three criticisms of the survey are made: that it provides only a partial picture of literacy; that culture is treated as bias; and that the test items do not represent the real-life items as claimed. Finally, the paper concludes with an overall evaluation of what the IALS achieves in terms of its own aims.     

A Family Focused Intervention Influences Hippocampal-Prefrontal Connectivity Through Gains in Self-Regulation

The stressors associated with poverty increase the risks for externalizing psychopathology; however, specific patterns of neurobiology and higher self-regulation may buffer against these effects. This study leveraged a randomized control trial, aimed at increasing self-regulation at ~11 years of age. As adults, these same individuals completed functional MRI scanning (M_age = 24.88 years; intervention n = 44; control n = 49). Functional connectivity between the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex was examined in relation to the intervention, gains in self-regulation, and present-day externalizing symptoms. Increased connectivity between these brain areas was noted in the intervention group compared to controls. Furthermore, individual gains in self-regulation, instilled by the intervention, statistically explained this brain difference. These results begin to connect neurobiological and psychosocial markers of risk and resiliency.     

Reflections on social justice, race, ethnicity and identity from an ethical perspective

In these reflections, I identify complexities in few constructs that are often used in educational research, although not often critically, namely, social justice, race, ethnicity and identity. This paper suggests a non-ontological and non-epistemological approach to ethics as developed by Emmanuel Levinas as a normative means to deal with some of the complexities. In dealing with the construct of social justice, an ethical approach calls for productive research tools to not only understand exclusion but also to change situations of injustice to marginalised groups. Further, both constructs race and ethnicity can be used to identify groups of people based on their history, culture and/or lifestyles. As social constructions they have different historical origins and are open to alternative connotations, uses and abuses. An ethical perspective is useful to manage the dilemma of essentialism that group identification may lead into. Finally, the debate around the usefulness of the construct of identity raises some ethical questions about the role of research and the lived experience of its subjects. An ethical stance demands that constructs of analysis in social inquiry should not only demonstrate their utility for knowledge generation but also should demonstrate a responsibility for the construction and reconstruction of lifeworld in which academic endeavours are conducted.