The re-creation and resolution of the ‘problem’ of Indigenous education in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cross-curriculum priority

This paper focuses on the ‘problem’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education represented in the Australian Curriculum’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority. Looking beyond particular curriculum content, we uncover the policy discourses that construct (and reconstruct) the cross-curriculum priority. In the years after the Australian Curriculum’s creation, curriculum authors have moulded the priority from an initiative without a clear purpose into a purported solution to the ‘Indigenous problem’ of educational underachievement, student resistance and disengagement. As the cross-curriculum priority was created and subsequently reframed, the ‘problem’ of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education has thereby been manifested in policy, strategised as curriculum content and precipitated in the cross-curriculum priority. These policy problematisations perpetuate contemporary racialisation and actively construct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, histories and knowledges as deficient.     

Background knowledge and the construction of a situational representation from a diagram

Comprehension of a diagram requires viewers to construct from its graphic constituents a mental representation that captures the situational entities and relationships referred to by the diagram. However, this implies viewers possess appropriate background knowledge concerning the depicted situation. Meteorologists' and non-meteorologists' mental representations were investigated using a three-stage card sorting task during which subjects generated hierarchical groupings of the graphic elements of an Australian weather map diagram. Cluster analysis indicated that the two subject groups differed fundamentally in the basis of their sorting behaviour. Subjects' justifications of the groupings suggested that non-meteorologists' mental representation of the diagram elements was primarily based upon domain-general, visuospatial characteristics whereas in meteorologists' representations, these characteristics were subservient to a domain-specific, situational interpretation of the graphic array. The findings indicate that background knowledge deficiencies may make it difficult for learners beginning study of a domain to construct suitable mental representations from domain-related diagrams.     

“Reading” scientific diagrams: Characterising components of skilled performance

Conclusion The interpretation of scientific diagrams has been characterised as a complex process. This contrasts sharply with an apparently widespread view among producers and users of resources for science teaching that they are generally unproblematic and that their meaning is usually quite transparent. The continued currency of this view is a matter of concern, especially when resources for learning in science are now so heavily based on pictorial presentation. It is likely that students who are new to scientific diagrams as a pictorial genre will look at them in a manner that is quite different from the way they are seen by their teachers. What seems to a teacher to be a straightforward and clearly presented depiction of a scientific concept, process or structure may be a mysterious and impenetrable abstraction to a student. Whereas the teacher is able to identify readily the elements of a diagram and link them into a coherent, meaningful whole, the student may misunderstand what it is that is depicted and how the depicted entitles are related. A critical factor underlying such differences appears to be the extent and nature of the mental representation of student and teacher. Both of these aspects of the mental representation of scientific diagrams would probably have to be addressed if there are to be improvements in the development of students' diagram interpretation skills. It does not seem sufficient merely to give students a huge diet of diagrams and assume that the necessary reading skills are either present or will develop by themselves. Rather, a deliberate programme designed to develop well structured mental representations of scientific diagrams should accompany efforts to build up an extensive knowledge base about this highly specialised form of visual display. Such a programme should be accompanied by instruction that develops appropriate processing strategies that allow students to gain maximum value from the diagrams they encounter.     

Teacher and child variables as predictors of academic engagement among low‐income African American children

A causal model for understanding the complex interplay between student‐reported teacher behaviors, student self‐systems, and student engagement was tested. One hundred seventeen African American students in grades 1 through 12 completed a comprehensive questionnaire regarding teacher context, self, and engagement variables. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized mediation models and to construct a path model. Most hypotheses were supported. Student self‐system variables (perceived competency and autonomy) mediated relations between teacher context (structure and autonomy support), and engagement. Contrary to predictions, however, teacher involvement exerted a strong and direct effect on student engagement even when controlling for grade level and self‐system variables. Given existing research showing that African American students are at risk for low teacher involvement and that engagement is critical for academic success, research and intervention strategies are urgently needed to promote teacher involvement with these students. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Low-Income Children's After-School Care: Are There Beneficial Effects of After-School Programs?

4 types of after-school care (formal after-school programs, mother care, informal adult supervision, and self-care) were examined for 216 low-income children ( M age = 9.1 years). After-school care was associated with maternal education, race, and family income but not with child gender, family marital status', neighborhood safety, or parenting style. When maternal education, race, and family income were controlled, attending a formal after-school program was associated with better academic achievement and social adjustment in comparison to other types of after-school care. Children's activities and experiences also varied in different after-school settings. Children in formal programs spent more time in academic activities and enrichment lessons and less time watching TV and playing outside unsupervised than other children. They also spent more time doing activities with peers and adults and less time with siblings than did other children. The time that children spent in these activities was correlated with their academic and conduct grades, peer relations, and emotional adjustment.     

Impact of model-based science curriculum and instruction on elementary students' explanations for the hydrosphere

Developing scientific literacy about water systems is critical for K-12 students. However, even with opportunities to build knowledge about the hydrosphere in elementary classrooms, early learners may struggle to understand the water cycle (Forbes et al., 2015 ; Gunckel et al., 2012 ; Zangori et al., 2015 ; Zangori et al., 2017 ). Scientific modeling affords opportunities for students to develop representations, make their ideas visible, and generate model-based explanations for complex natural systems like the water cycle. This study describes a comprehensive evaluation of a 5-year, design-based research project focused on the development, implementation, revision, and testing of an enhanced, model-centered version of the Full Option Science System (FOSS) Water (2005) unit in third grade classrooms. Here, we build upon our previous work (Forbes et al., 2015 a; b; Vo et al., 2015 ; Zangori et al., 2015 ; Zangori et al., 2017 ) by conducting a comparative analysis of student outcomes in two sets of classrooms: (1) one implementing the modeling-enhanced version of the FOSS Water unit developed by the research team (n = 6), and 2) another using the standard, unmodified version of the same curricular unit (n = 5). Results demonstrate that teachers in both conditions implemented the two versions of the curriculum with relative fidelity. On average, students exposed to the modeling-enhanced version of the curriculum showed greater gains in their model-based explanations for the hydrosphere. Engagement in scientific modeling allowed students to articulate hydrologic phenomena by (1) identifying various elements that constitute the hydrosphere, (2) describing how these elements influenced the movement of water in the hydrosphere, and (3) demonstrating underlying processes that govern the movement of water in the hydrosphere.