Levels of Comprehension Monitoring and Working Memory in Good and Poor Comprehenders

This paper reports two studies that investigate differences in comprehension monitoring skills between good and poor comprehenders. Two groups of 9– to 10-year-olds, who were matched for reading vocabulary and word recognition skills but who differed in comprehension skill, were selected. In the first study, in which the children were required to find anomalous words and phrases, the skilled comprehenders engaged in more accurate monitoring of sentence level anomalies (but not word level anomalies) than did the poorer comprehenders. In the second study, the comprehension monitoring task required the children to detect pairs of sentences, in short texts, that were contradictory. In addition, the working memory demands of the task were varied by placing the two items of inconsistent information either in adjacent sentences, or in sentences that were separated in the text by several others. As in the first study, less-skilled comprehenders performed more poorly on the detection task, but the difference between the groups was considerably more pronounced when the sentences were separated than when they were adjacent. In addition, the children were given a numerical working memory test, and the poorer comprehenders performed more poorly on this test. However, although working memory performance was related to performance on some of the error detection tasks, comprehension ability was also a good, and sometimes better, predictor. The results are discussed in terms of the different cognitive abilities that might contribute to efficient comprehension monitoring.     

Towards a knowledge-sharing scaffolding environment based on learners' questions

This article describes a web‐based communicative space (a Dynamic Frequently Asked Questions environment—DFAQ) in which learners consult one another using questions, and in which both the flow of interaction and its artefacts become a resource available to a community of learners. Anecdotal evidence suggests that learners embarking on their first year of university study enter a world that is essentially text‐based and are inclined to view text as an authority, as something fixed that closes rather than opens up enquiry. Motivated by the need to scaffold learners’ engagement with academic text, we developed the DFAQ in which learners asked questions and other learners responded. The article discusses the learning activity that led to student consultation and provides a critical review of the environment based on student interviews. Our conclusion is that the environment provides learners with a unique ‘space’ in which to access questions and responses that they might not have generated themselves. Furthermore, given the environment's capacity to recruit, hold and focus attention as well as model appropriate questioning behaviour, we think that it does indeed provide a space that scaffolds learners’ engagement with the text.     

To cheat or not to cheat? A trial of the JISC Plagiarism Detection Service with biological sciences students

In the UK, there is great concern about the perceived increase in plagiarized work being submitted by students in higher educations. Although there is much debate, the reasons for the perceived change are not completely clear. Here we present the results of a 2‐year trial of the JISC Plagiarism Detection Service (PDS) involving hundreds of students. The effectiveness of the service in detecting plagiarized material and in acting as a deterrent are discussed. Although an increased number of cases of plagiarism were detected during the trial, the relative contributions of the electronic detection system and increased staff awareness remain unknown.     

The Role of Informal Support Networks in Teaching the Nature of Science

This study reports the participation of 13 secondary science teachers in informal support networks and how that participation was associated with their nature of science (NOS) teaching practices 2 to 5 years after having graduated from the same science teacher education program. The nine teachers who participated in informal support networks taught the NOS at high/medium levels, while the four non-participating teachers taught the NOS at low levels. The nine high/medium NOS implementation teachers credited the informal support networks for maintaining/heightening their sense of responsibility for teaching NOS and for helping them navigate institutional constraints that impede effective NOS instruction. Several high/medium NOS instruction implementers initially struggled to autonomously frame and resolve the complexities experienced in schools and thus drew from the support networks to engage in more sophisticated forms of teacher decision-making. In contrast, the NOS pedagogical decisions of the four teachers not participating in support networks were governed primarily by the expectations and constraints experienced in their schools. Implications of this study include the need for reconsidering the structure of teacher mentorship programs to ensure they do not promote archaic science teaching practices that are at odds with reform efforts in science education.

     

Conditions for young infants' perception of object trajectories

When an object moves behind an occluder and re-emerges, 4-month-old infants perceive trajectory continuity only when the occluder is narrow, raising the question of whether time or distance out of sight is the important constraining variable. One hundred and forty 4-month-olds were tested in five experiments aimed to disambiguate time and distance out of sight. Manipulating the object's visible speed had no effect on infants' responses, but reducing occlusion time by increasing object speed while occluded induced perception of trajectory continuity. In contrast, slowing the ball while it was behind a narrow or intermediate screen did not modify performance. It is concluded that 4-month-olds perceive trajectory continuity when time or distance out of sight is short.     

What has <Emphasis Type="Italic">Harry Potter</Emphasis> Done for Me? Children’s Reflections on their ‘<Emphasis Type="Italic">Potter</Emphasis> Experience’

This article reports findings from a small-scale focus-group study funded by the British Academy. Drawing on Herbert Marsh and Richard Shavelson’s notion of “Academic Self-Concept” and David Barton and Mary Hamilton’s view of literacy as context-specific social practices, the authors examine what young British Harry Potter enthusiasts perceive as the influence of the novels on their subsequent reading behaviour and academic development. Specifically, they consider whether these children feel that Harry Potter has helped improve their literacy skills and whether they think the books have changed their attitudes to reading. Moreover, the article sheds light on the role of the films and the possible effect of gender. The authors conclude that the Potter enthusiasts they have interviewed see the series as formative in terms of their literacy. However, regarding gender, intra-group variation (differences among individual readers in a group of either boys or girls) is far more significant than inter-group variation (differences between single-sex groups of boys and girls).     

Joining together or pushing apart? Building relationships and exploring difference through shared education in Northern Ireland

In divided societies, the promotion of cross-cultural contact through the education system has been central to efforts to improve intergroup relations. This approach is informed by an understanding of the contact hypothesis, which suggests that positive contact with a member of a different group should contribute to improvements in attitudes towards the group as a whole. While a substantial body of research provides support for contact theory, critics have argued that its emphasis on harmonious encounters can result in the neglect of group differences and associated issues of conflict and discrimination during contact. The research discussed in this article explores this tension with reference to two shared education projects in Northern Ireland. Research data, gathered primarily through interviews with pupils, confirms that divisive issues are rarely addressed during contact and explores several influences on this: the nature of pupils’ relationships, the programme structure, and the prevailing social norms of avoidance.