Learn something new in 20 minutes: Bite Size sessions to support research and teaching

The School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at The University of Sheffield run an innovative series of informal 20‐minute Bite Size sessions to help staff and students teach, research, collaborate and communicate more effectively. The sessions have two clear strands: one focused on teaching and the other on research. The remit is not to teach people how to use something in their work or study, but to let them know why they should use it and how they can employ it. By introducing participants to the possibilities and how they can apply ideas and technologies in their work and study in an enthusiastic manner, it is possible to send them away with at least the intention to explore and experiment. The evidence shows that this organic approach is working – staff and students are starting to use many of the tools that Bite Size has covered. Any kind of widespread change within organisations can be hard to deliver, but by bringing champions on your side and delivering sessions in a convenient, informal and timely manner; good practice and ideas can spread naturally. H.S.     

No longer exempt from good practice: using exemplars to close the feedback gap for exams

In this paper, we discuss the anomaly between the increasing interest in feedback in current education research, the continued role of time-limited, unseen examinations as a form of assessment and the dearth of literature on feedback related to such exams. We argue that while exams have long been regarded as different from other forms of assessment, it is not justifiable to exempt them from the good practice that can, and does, inform these other types of assessment. We suggest a solution to providing timely, effective feedback for end of course examinations is to move the feedback emphasis to ‘feedforward’ by implementing exemplars (examples of real students’ work, generally of different qualities). This study adopts a mixed-methods approach to investigate whether there was a relationship between student use of exemplars before the exam and the final exam grade achieved (n?=?520), and to explore students’ and lecturers’ perspectives about the effectiveness of and engagement with exemplars. Quantitative findings suggested that those students who accessed exemplars did score better in their exams than those that did not. Qualitative data revealed that exemplars were received positively by students and lecturers, and we use this to provide practical suggestions on exemplar good practice.     

Guidance in Secondary Education: The Flemish Experience

This paper outlines the characteristics of peer mediation in schools and its potential, evident in the literature, for reducing pupil–pupil conflicts referred to teachers. Then, drawing on personal experience, research and a review of literature, the author argues that for peer mediation projects to be effective they need to be in synergy with the culture of the school, including its approach and vision to the management of conflict. Making this argument requires a means of modelling school culture, which will be outlined. Finally, the author argues that attention also needs to be given to how the service will be sustained.     

Exploring student ideas about biological variation

ABSTRACT

An understanding of biological variation is important for understanding ecological interactions, ecosystem function, and species’ response to environmental change. Biological variation is essential to species survival because natural selection acts upon the phenotypic variation within a population: the more varied the population’s genetic resources, the more likely that the population will persist into the future. We explored how students think about biological variation by evaluating written assessments and interviews of grades 6–16 students about starting a captive breeding programme for species conservation. We created a qualitative framework that describes levels of proficiency in student ideas about biological variation. Lower level responses reason about attributes related to an individual’s reproduction and survival rather than population-level variability. Student responses at a middle level of sophistication point to the importance of variation but do not link it mechanistically to species survival and resilience. We also describe alternative conceptions related to biological variation and natural selection which exist at all grade levels. Educators can use these findings to inform curriculum and instruction in terms of addressing important concept areas (e.g. variation at the population scale) and some common alternative conceptions that may impact an accurate understanding of natural selection and evolution.     

Pedagogy,information and communications technology and teachers' professional knowledge

In this article UK governmental policy imperatives to apply new forms of information and communications technology (ICT) to school improvement are explored, with particular reference to the National Curriculum for England and Wales. The analysis juxtaposes the piecemeal, random way in which ICT is used in National Curriculum programmes of study and schemes of work with the government rhetoric that requires coherent planning and integration of ICT within all aspects of teaching learning. The article argues that this contradiction within the policy process could be overcome if a stronger conceptualization of teachers' professional knowledge was embraced. An example of such a conceptualization is presented and this is exemplified by accounts of teachers' development of ICT within their pedagogic practice.     

Evidence‐based practice and teacher action‐research: a reflection on the nature and direction of ‘change’

This study was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on the place of action‐research in the contested landscape of educational change in the UK where increasing emphasis has been put on the use of evidence to drive reform. In the context of a government‐sponsored project in Scotland, this study looked at the impact of a scholarship initiative supporting classroom teachers to undertake action‐research projects on a topic of their own choice with the assistance of a mentor. Data collected from interviews with teachers and analysis of teacher action‐research reports pointed to a multi‐faceted concept of practice unfolding from individual inquiry and dialogical conversations with colleagues and university mentors. The study argues for further analysis of the use of action‐research as a means to develop teachers’ knowledge and to recover the value of collective and creative engagements in education to guide reform.     

Reducing discrepancies between teachers’ espoused theories and theories-in-use: an action research model of reflective professional development

This article reports on an action research project in which two New Zealand classroom teachers worked with a university researcher to investigate the effects of their knowledge, thinking, and beliefs on the ways in which they mediated students’ learning in teacher–student interactions. Working in a small community of practice over a two-year period, the group carried out four cycles of action research. They gathered information through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and engaged in professional reading, reflection, and discussion. Initially the group found discrepancies between the teachers’ espoused theories and their theories-in-use. Implicit beliefs and routinised behaviours were found to have a detrimental influence on the nature of the teachers’ interactions with students. Through examination of their own practice and participation in reflective professional development, the teachers were able to make incremental changes and improvements in their interactions with students.