Student Visual Communication of Evolution

Despite growing recognition of the importance of visual representations to science education, previous research has given attention mostly to verbal modalities of evolution instruction. Visual aspects of classroom learning of evolution are yet to be systematically examined by science educators. The present study attends to this issue by exploring the types of evolutionary imagery deployed by secondary students. Our visual design analysis revealed that students resorted to two larger categories of images when visually communicating evolution: spatial metaphors (images that provided a spatio-temporal account of human evolution as a metaphorical “walk” across time and space) and symbolic representations (“icons of evolution” such as personal portraits of Charles Darwin that simply evoked evolutionary theory rather than metaphorically conveying its conceptual contents). It is argued that students need opportunities to collaboratively critique evolutionary imagery and to extend their visual perception of evolution beyond dominant images.     

Some Implications of a Diversifying Workforce for Governance and Management

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper suggests that as university missions have adapted to accommodate major developments associated with, for instance, mass higher education and...     

Teacher agency in the performance of inquiry-oriented science curriculum reform

In this commentary, I consider several theoretical and analytical aspects of Tang Wee Teo and Margery Osborne??s case study. I begin by identifying structuralist and cultural themes in Tang Wee and Margery??s theoretical model of human activity. Next, I offer an alternative interpretation for Tang Wee and Margery??s reported findings in terms of the notion of multiple teacher agencies. After that, I discuss the dramaturgical or theatrical nature of the symbolic interactionist model used by Tang Wee and Margery, focusing specifically on the issues of teacher role-taking and curriculum authorship. The paper then ends with a discussion about the significance of Tang Wee and Margery??s study wherein I emphasize the need for science education researchers to give more careful consideration to teacher agency and the analytical value of theatrical metaphors from the field of social dramatism.     

Strands of Science Teaching

Science & Education - The paper introduces a tool for analyzing the teaching venue (where and how the teaching happens) of science teachers, called Strands of Science Teaching (SST)....     

The pupil's view of mathematics learning

This article reports an exploratory study which set out to examine how 14-year-old pupils perceive good and bad learning experiences in school. In particular, it describes the significant features in learning experiences which were associated with mathematics. Eighty-four pupils were asked, in semi-structured interviews, to tell stories about times when they had felt particularly good or particularly bad when learning. A story consisted of a critical event actually experienced by the pupil and what the pupil had felt at the time. The structure of the interview used and the means by which the qualitative data were analysed are discussed, as well as the main findings of the research.     

Referring and Reporting Research Participants at Risk: Views from Urban Adolescents

Researching developmental risks of urban youth raises ethical concerns when an investigator discovers a participant is in jeopardy. This study collected data on 147 seventh, ninth, and eleventh graders' views of 3 investigator options: (1) taking no action and maintaining confidentiality, (2) reporting the problem to a concerned parent or adult, and (3) facilitating adolescent self-referrals. Participants judged these options within the context of 5 risk domains: substance abuse, child maltreatment, life-threatening behaviors, delinquency, and shyness. Judgments of reporting options were related to grade and ratings of risk severity, but not to moral reasoning. Confidentiality was viewed favorably for risk behaviors of low perceived severity or for which the consequences of adult discovery might introduce greater risk. Confidentiality was viewed unfavorably and reporting to adults favorably for child maltreatment and threats of suicide. Self-referral was viewed favorably across all grades and risk behaviors. Implications of adolescent perspectives for research ethics are discussed.     

Peer Social Skills in Toddlers: Competencies and Constraints Illustrated by Same-Age and Mixed-Age Interaction

One important aspect of social competence is the ability to accommodate social behavior to different contexts. Can children who are just beginning to acquire peer interactional skills adjust their social behavior to the age of their partner? 18- and 24-month-old children were paired in same-age or mixed-age dyads, and their spontaneously occurring peer interactions were observed. Previously documented age differences in peer skills were replicated. Additionally, toddlers in mixed-age dyads adjusted both the behavioral content and the complexity of their social behavior to the age of their partners. For initiations the effects were interactive. That is, children's adjustments in social behavior were a function of both the child's age and the partner's age. There also were age-related constraints on the accommodations that children made to one another. Speculations are offered about potential contributions to these developments during the second year. Results support arguments for the uniqueness of the mixed-age context, and show that by the second year children possess rudimentary skills to permit functional accommodations to this context.     

A Critique of the external product evaluation of the brazilian system of undergraduate education

International Review of Education -