New approaches to the inservice education in science and technology of primary and early childhood teachers (or mum is not dumb after all!)

Conclusion These preliminary findings have implications for the effective inservicing of early childhood and primary teachers in the science and technology areas. They are also likely to have implications for preservice courses. The research findings indicate that teachers can overcome their often negative views of science and of science teaching. Factors significant in this process appear to be: firstly, and most importantly, experience by the teachers of support and acceptance as they begin—often anxiously-their explorations of science, science teaching and learning. Secondly, teachers begin their investigations in a context with which they are familiar, from the point “where they are at” and hence from which they can develop their investigations in directions they perceive to be the most fruitful. Thirdly, the sharing of explorations, reflections and progress amongst group members encourages the teachers to clarify and justify their own directions and perspectives, to learn of others' journeys, and to receive affirmation of their own learning. it is clear that this complex process cannot be hurried: inservicing teachers in an area that has been so neglected in the school curriculum requires an approach that fully recognises this.     

Issues and Directions in Technology-Integrated Personnel Assessment and Professional Development

Program design possibilities for educational personnel assessment and professional learning have considerably expanded in recent years as a result of the continued development and refinement of computer, video, and web-based digital technologies. As a result, preK-12 teachers, administrators, and other educators increasingly have access to newer kinds of technology-based professional assessment and career learning tools that enable personnel to approach assessment, evaluation, and professional learning activities in more integrative and effective ways. These technology-based tools engender new sets of issues and raise prospects for new directions and possibilities for personnel assessment and development in the field of education.     

Revisiting Peirce’s account of scientific creativity to inform classroom practice

Abstract

Peirce made repeated attempts to clarify what he understood as abduction or creative reasoning in scientific discoveries. In this article, we draw on past and recent scholarship on Peirce’s later accounts of abduction to put a case for how teachers can apply his ideas productively to elicit and guide student creative reasoning in the science classroom. We focus on (a) his rationale for abduction, (b) conditions he recognised as necessary to support this speculative reasoning, (c) pragmatic strategies to guide inquiry and test conjectural hypotheses, and (d) his growing recognition of creative dimensions to reasoning beyond abductive inference-making. We illustrate this case through examples of a guided inquiry approach to student claim-making in the science classroom.     

Vignette question design for the assessment of graduate sustainability learning outcomes

The development of university wide graduate attributes has become an important mechanism for setting generic learning outcomes across higher education institutions. Many universities around the world have developed sets of graduate attributes that they aim to develop through degree programs. Sustainability related attributes have been included in numerous university attribute statements, however, little research exists on methods that can be used to capture data on the application and use of these attributes by graduates. This paper evaluates an assessment tool, based on a scenario/vignette question design, which can be used to capture data on graduate attributes in context and has the potential to be used across a large graduate population which would enable comparative research of learning outcomes to be undertaken. An evaluation of the usefulness of the scenario/vignette design will be presented based on a pilot of the question design with a sample of RMIT University graduates. The results of the pilot show that scenario/vignettes address some of the limitations of existing self-assessment methods and represent a novel way to collect data on graduate sustainability attributes post-degree completion.     

Lifelong Learning and Adult Education: Russia Meets the West

This article examines the impact of social change and economic transformation on adult education and lifelong learning in post-Soviet Russia. The article begins with a brief economic and historical background to lifelong learning and adult education in terms of its significance as a feature of the Russian cultural heritage. An analysis of Ministerial education policy and curriculum changes reveals that these policies reflect neo-liberal and neo-conservative paradigms in the post-Soviet economy and education. Current issues and trends in adult education are also discussed, with particular attention to the Adult Education Centres, which operate as a vast umbrella framework for a variety of adult education and lifelong learning initiatives. The Centres are designed to promote social justice by means of compensatory education and social rehabilitation for individuals dislocated by economic restructuring. The article comments on their role in helping to develop popular consciousness of democratic rights and active citizenship in a participatory and pluralistic democracy.     

Extensive reading as a means of input to L2 learning

A group of ESL learners (n = 16) in the UK were given a 3-month extensive reading programme involving graded readers to test the hypothesis that input of this nature could effect an improvement in their L2 competence. Comparison of pre-and post-treatment tests in reading and writing indicated that subjects had improved significantly in both skills, though particularly in writing. A subsequent more detailed analysis of one of the writing tests (an essay) showed post-treatment gains in number of words written and accuracy of expression. However, subjects' vocabulary base remained relatively unchanged and they used a generally more simple syntax. The experimental treatment thus appears to have encouraged a simpler but more correct form of expression in the L2. These results may relate to the linguistic models provided by the simplified language used in the graded readers. Extensive reading is suggested to have a potential in L2 development terms, teough the effect obtained from any given reading programme may be significantly related to the linguistic form of the material used.     

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Contents