I Am Sure There May Be a Planet There: Student articulation of uncertainty in argumentation tasks

We investigated how students articulate uncertainty when they are engaged in structured scientific argumentation tasks where they generate, examine, and interpret data to determine the existence of exoplanets. In this study, 302 high school students completed 4 structured scientific arguments that followed a series of computer-model-based curriculum module activities simulating the radial velocity and/or the transit method. Structured scientific argumentation tasks involved claim, explanation, uncertainty rating, and uncertainty rationale. We explored (1) how students are articulating uncertainty within the various elements of the task and (2) the relationship between the way the task is presented and the way students are articulating uncertainty. We found that (1) while the majority of students did not express uncertainty in either explanation or uncertainty rationale, students who did express uncertainty in their explanations did so scientifically without being prompted explicitly, (2) students’ uncertainty ratings and rationales revealed a mix of their personal confidence and uncertainty related to science, and (3) if a task presented noisy data, students were less likely to express uncertainty in their explanations.     

Supporting Teachers to Attend to Generalisation in Science Classroom Argumentation

In scientific arguments, claims must have meaning that extends beyond the immediate circumstances of an investigation. That is, claims must be generalised in some way. Therefore, teachers facilitating classroom argumentation must be prepared to support students’ efforts to construct or criticise generalised claims. However, widely used argumentation support tools, for instance, the claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) framework, tend not to address generalisation. Accordingly, teachers using these kinds of tools may not be prepared to help their students negotiate issues of generalisation in arguments. We investigated this possibility in a study of professional development activities of 18 middle school teachers using CER. We compared the teachers’ approach to generalisation when using a published version of CER to their approach when using an alternate form of CER that increased support for generalisation. In several different sessions, the teachers: (1) responded to survey questions when using CER, (2) critiqued student arguments, (3) used both CER and alternate CER to construct arguments, and (4) discussed the experience of using CER and alternate CER. When using the standard CER, the teachers did not explicitly attend to generalisation in student arguments or in their own arguments. With alternate CER, the teachers generalised their own arguments, and they acknowledged the need for generalisation in student arguments. We concluded that teachers using frameworks for supporting scientific argumentation could benefit from more explicit support for generalisation than CER provides. More broadly, we concluded that generalisation deserves increased attention as a pedagogical challenge within classroom scientific argumentation.     

Inquiry-based learning: reconciling the personal with the public in a democratic and archaeological pedagogy

When the National Literacy Strategy was introduced into English primary schools it aimed, among other things, to raise standards of reading and, in so doing, to improve children's ability to use textual sources to enhance their wider learning and enjoyment. We propose that success in achieving these is likely to be affected by the way in which school resources are allocated between staffing and learning resources, in particular books and other text-based media. Consequently, this article investigates school policies towards book provision. Using evidence from inspections of 6150 primary schools, questionnaire returns from head teachers in 540 primary schools and individual interviews with primary teachers, we argue that book provision is a significant factor in the success of a literacy strategy. The findings also indicate, more widely, that appropriate decisions on the allocation of school resources are an important component of curriculum policy.     

Ego Integrity of Older People with Physical Disability and Therapeutic Recreation

Ego integrity, the last developmental task in Erikson's psychological theory, develops naturally among older people. However, the presence of loss–like physical disability–can considerably affect the quality of life, interactions, and well being of older adults. Hence, older people with physical disabilities need more assistance in accomplishing tasks of ego integrity. This study aimed to utilize traditional Filipino art to capture the essence of the lived experiences of a select group of older people with physical disabilities in relation to their ego integrity. Four Filipino elderly with physical disabilities were purposely selected for this study. Picture prompting and doodling sessions were held as pretest and posttest to ascertain the effectiveness of puni-making in facilitating ego integrity of participants. A series of interviews were pursued to elicit experiences and feelings of participants regarding their disability and old age. From the analysis of the triangulated set of data, two findings emerged. First, four activators of ego integrity, namely: work, family, belief in self and belief in God, were identified as essentials in the formation of the participants' ego-integrity. Second, shifts related to the activators were identified indicating ego integrity's source, meaning and connection elements have become more grounded, certain and integrated. The influence of puni-making in understanding the ego integrity of older people with disabilities was found to be a sound and novel recreational therapy. It can stimulate a select group of Filipino elderly for openness to share their subjective and yet illuminating life experiences.     

Teachers,Families, and Communities Supporting English Language Learners in Inclusive Pre-Kindergartens: An Evaluation of a Professional Development Model

The purpose of the Teachers, Families, and Communities Supporting English Language Learners (TFC) project was to implement and evaluate a sustainable model of high-quality professional development focused on improving inclusive pre-kindergarten services for English Language Learners (ELL) and their families. The professional development program consisted of three interactive training sessions and on-site classroom coaching visits. The project evaluation consisted of an assessment of the professional development program (i.e., the training sessions and coaching) and teachers' self-assessments of their beliefs and practices. Results indicate that the professional development program supported pre-kindergarten teachers in their efforts to be responsive to ELL children in their classrooms and with their families. Results also indicate that pre-kindergarten teachers are in need of continued support as they work with linguistically and culturally diverse children and their families. Implications for future professional development focused on English Language Learners are discussed.     

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY IN NEW ZEALAND AND TAIWAN

The tacit messages transmitted to indigenous learners in the science classroom provide a lens through which indigenous disengagement with school science can be better understood. In this paper, the findings of a cross-national comparative study conducted with indigenous Maori students in New Zealand and Seediq/Atayal students in Taiwan are discussed from a sociological perspective. The purposes of the present study were to explore the ways in which indigenous elementary school students in two industrialized nations experience the science curriculum and to identify the socialization processes through which patterns of indigenous under-achievement in science are maintained and reproduced. The findings suggest that the peripheral positioning of indigenous culture and knowledge within the science curriculum in developed nations underpins a series of tacit pedagogical codes that contribute to indigenous student disengagement with the subject.     

Using life/work planning techniques for internship placements

This paper discusses the use of life/work planning techniques in internship placements. Specifically, it offers a way to help students mesh their individual interests, values, and skills with the proposed internship, work/study, or volunteer experience through the application process itself. The application, which is brief and eliminates the need for submitting a resume, has been found to be a valuable asset in clarifying needs and goals for the experiential project. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive for the application, which centers on a broader, more holistic internship placement procedure than the traditional career and academic goals approach.     

Displacement or complementarity? Assessing the relationship between social media and public library usage in the U.S., South Korea,and Singapore

The relevancy of public libraries is often called into question, with some saying that library services have been or will be displaced by, among other things, new media such as social media. This study tested this displacement hypothesis with survey data collected from three nations (the U.S.: N = 879; South Korea: N = 700; and Singapore: N = 987). Ordinal regressions were used to investigate the relationship between the use of social media and nine public library services, taking into account individual demographic differences. The results show that for all three nations, social media use has significant complementary relationships with all nine library services examined. Computer and information literacy training showed the largest effect size. However, signs of displacement effects were observed in the odds ratio statistics, particularly among daily social media users and in reference services, library visits, and time spent in the library, suggesting that where displacement is concerned, these areas warrant extra attention.