The pedagogical value and the interdisciplinary nature of inductive processes in forming generalizations: Reflections from the classroom

The tendency to generalize from specific experiences leading to new, more abstract concepts is a natural aspect of human thought. Generalizations are the end result of an inductive process that begins with the identification of similarities in seemingly disparate situations. It is the existence of such generalizations that makes it possible for us to understand each other and the world around us. It is pedagogically weak to present generalizations to students and expect them to know how and when to apply them. On the other hand if students experience the inductive process in classrooms and discover generalizations, they are likely to remember and use this process when tackling other problems. The authors illustrate the pedagogical value of such an approach and the interdisciplinary nature of the inductive process by reflecting on teaching practices in English literature and mathematics in a high school classroom. In particular the authors reflect on how the inductive process was applied to four short stories and four problem-solving situations, which resulted in high school students arriving at generalizations that characterized the stories and the problems. A conceptual model that illustrates how inductive processes facilitate generalizations in the classroom is presented.     

Lecturer Confidence Building: The Use of Age Progression and Ego Enhancement

Twenty‐two university academics lacking confidence in their lecturing ability had two treatment sessions embracing age progression in the form of a success scenario and ego‐enhancement in the form of positive suggestions. A hypnotic induction involving the academics going ‘inside’ their bodies, finding the area of greatest comfort, relating into that comfort, and watching the flow of their breath as they allowed each out breath to take away tension was used to enhance a pleasant fantasy in which they recalled their best teaching performance. This was revived in their imaginations and embellished to become a total success experience to be carried forward to their next lecture. A Confidence Thermometer, designed to measure the academics self‐estimate of their confidence level, was administered before treatment, one week after completion of the second training session and as a follow‐up six months later. In addition, on the two latter occasions, the academics completed anecdotal reports recording their impressions of the treatment. Both Confidence Thermometer scores and the anecdotal reports indicated that confidence level was significantly higher both immediately after treatment and at the six month follow‐up.     

Social integration of deaf children in inclusive settings

This article examines social integration of deaf children in inclusive settings in The Netherlands. Eighteen Grade 1-5 deaf children and their 344 hearing classmates completed 2 sociometric tasks, peer ratings and peer nomination, to measure peer acceptance, social competence, and friendship relations. Deaf and hearing children were found to be similar in their peer acceptance and friendship relations, but differences occurred in social competence. Deaf children scored lower than hearing children on prosocial behavior and higher on socially withdrawn behavior. Structural equation modeling showed peer acceptance, social competence, and friendship relations to be stable over time, and the structure of interrelations between variables at 2 measurements were found to be the same for deaf and hearing participants.     

The equity impact of public finance of private education provision in Côte d’Ivoire

The equity effects of public subsidization of private schools in Côte d’Ivoire are analyzed. The subsidy per student in private (and public) schools increases as one goes to higher household per capita expenditure groups. Students from families in the highest expenditure quartile receive twice the subsidy received by students from families in the lowest quartile, compared to four times more in the case of students attending public schools. However, the subsidy system is relatively progressive in the case of private school attendance as there is a clear tendency for the share of family education expenditure covered by subsidies to decline as one goes to higher quartiles.     

The mutual shaping of human action and institutional settings: a study of the transformation of children's services and professional work

This paper is concerned with the way we understand and investigate the relationship between human functioning and social setting. The central argument draws on the work of Bernstein and Vygotsky. A novel approach to the study of the mutual shaping of human action and institutional settings is developed and an empirical example of its application is presented and discussed. The research reported here is drawn from a four‐year ESRC‐TLRP‐funded study of professional learning in and for interagency working in children's services in England.     

The Return to Final Paper Examining in English National Curriculum Assessment and School Examinations: Issues of Validity,Accountability and Politics

There are sound educational and examining reasons for the use of coursework assessment and practical assessment of student work by teachers in schools for purposes of reporting examination grades. Coursework and practical work test a range of different curriculum goals to final papers and increase the validity and reliability of the result. However, the use of coursework and practical work in tests and examinations has been a matter of constant political as well as educational debate in England over the last 30 years. The paper reviews these debates and developments and argues that as accountability pressures increase, the evidence base for published results is becoming narrower and less valid as the system moves back to wholly end-of-course testing.     

Impressions of ICOTS II

The following short contributions are from people who attended the Second International Conference on Teaching Statistics held in Victoria, August 1986     

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Theory–Practice Integration in a Faculty Certificate Program

There is growing recognition of the complexity of academic work and the need for university and college faculty members to develop scholarly approaches to teaching and learning. While structured programs of study have been initiated for faculty to address these issues in various higher education contexts, very little research has investigated the theory–practice relationship of the scholarship of teaching and learning within a faculty certificate program context. This article presents a program development and evaluation framework to enhance the theory–practice integration of the scholarship of teaching and learning in such a program. Data suggest that a broad range of institutional and programmatic strategies can enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning in a faculty certificate program. A scholarly approach to teaching and learning is viewed as both an individual and social contextual process.Dr Harry Hubball and Dr Helen Burt are faculty members at the University of British Columbia, BC, Canada. Harry Hubball's research focuses on curriculum and pedagogy in university settings. He coordinates the UBC Faculty Certificate Program on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Helen Burt is the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her research interests include the development of novel polymer-based drug delivery systems.