Web design and learning in agri-environmental education: A UK case-study

Abstract

The development of websites was traditionally an occupation for those that possessed an in-depth knowledge of computer systems and programming languages. The advent of ‘user-friendly’ web development software in recent years has made this process less select. The Environmental Challenges in Farm Management project is an educational website developed by a team of non-web specialists both for third-level education and the agricultural community. This paper outlines the design, development and use of the site, and makes recommendations to those new to the task of putting web-based learning on-line, based on the experience gained during the project.     

Children’s Drawing in the UK and China

We report the results of a comparative study of drawings completed by 952 children aged between 6–13 years in the UK and Chinese ordinary schools. Although there was no significant difference in standard between the drawings of these two cultural groups the drawings of 240 children who attended a week-end art school in Beijing were given consistently higher ratings. In addition, there were noticeable differences in style, composition, colour and depth cues among all three samples.     

Principals' confidence in managing disruptive student behaviour. Exploring geographical context in NSW primary schools

This article discusses the results from an initial quantitative analysis of survey data collected from the Principals and Behaviour Survey (PABS) conducted in New South Wales, Australia. PABS was built upon a foundation of existing validated studies measuring principals' attitudes to the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream schools. Principal component analysis as an exploratory procedure indicated that whilst many similarities exist, the geographical context of the school impacts on a principal's skills and confidence, how they use their skills, and their attitudes towards the resources and supports required to support students with disruptive behaviour. Implications for the wide-scale implementation of approaches to managing disruptive behaviour across contexts are discussed alongside continuing dichotomies between the pragmatics of school practice and benefits of inclusive practice.     

Multiple Measures: Alternative Design and Analysis Models

The use of multiple measures is emphasized by legislation regulating the distribution of Title I funding to states, as well as by professional and industry standards regarding the use of test scores in high-stakes decisions. There are a wide variety of methods with which multiple measures can be designed and analyzed, and these methods have different implications for conclusions that will be reached. Recognizing the complexities associated with the implementation of a multiple measures approach to system evaluation, this article provides an overview and discussion of alternative models that may be considered in an accountability system and their applicability relative to the goals of the system evaluation. The article concludes with an example of the use of multiple measures with regard to No Child Left Behind legislation.     

“处方调剂及处方管理”说课

说课是一种教研模式。教师通过对教材的分析,对学情的了解,对教学方法和学法的仔细斟酌,以及对教学过程的精心设计,提高学生的学习兴趣及主动学习的积极性,使学生通过课堂教学轻松达到教学目标。本文就“处方调剂和处方管理”对说课进行详细的分析说明。     

Contradiction and conflict between ‘leading identities’: becoming an engineer versus becoming a ‘good muslim’ woman

This paper builds on previous work (Black et al., Educational Studies in Mathematics 73(1):55-72, 2010) which developed the notion of a leading identity (derived from Leont’ev’s concept of ‘leading activity’) which, we argued, defined students’ motive for studying during late adolescence. We presented two case studies of students in post-compulsory education (Mary and Lee) and highlighted how the concept of a leading identity might be relevant to understanding motivation in mathematics education and particularly the ‘exchange value’ or ‘use value’ of mathematics for these students. (Lee’s identity was mediated by mathematics’ potential exchange value in becoming a university student, and Mary’s more by its perceived use value to her leading identity as an engineer.) In this paper, we follow up Mary’s story as she progresses to university, and we see how she is now ‘led’ by contradictory motives and identities: Mary’s aspirations and decisions seem to be now as much related to her identity as a Muslim woman as to her identity as an engineer. Therefore, we argue that more than one identity/activity may be considered as ‘leading’ at this point in time—e.g. work versus motherhood/parenting, for instance—and this raises conflicts and tensions. We conclude with a more reflexive account of leading identity which recognises the adolescent’s developing awareness of self—an ongoing process of organisation as they experience contradictions in managing their education, work, domestic, community and other lives.     

The expertise reversal effect in prompting focused processing of instructional explanations

Providing prompts to induce focused processing of the central contents of instructional explanations is a promising instructional means to support novice learners in learning from instructional explanations. However, within research on the expertise reversal effect it has been shown that instructional means that are beneficial for novices can be detrimental for learners with more expertise if the instructional means provide guidance that overlaps with the internal guidance provided by the prior knowledge of learners with more expertise. Under such circumstances, prompts to induce focused processing might even be detrimental for learners with expertise whose prior knowledge already provides internal guidance to learn from explanations. On this basis, we aimed at experimentally varying expertise by developing prior knowledge. Specifically, we used a preparation intervention with contrasting cases to enhance learners’ prior knowledge (expertise). Against this background, we tested 71 university students in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design: (a) Factor of expertise. Working with contrasting cases to develop prior knowledge and expertise to provide internal guidance to learn from instructional explanations (with vs. without), (b) Factor of prompts. Prompts to induce focused processing of the explanations (with vs. without). The results showed that prompts to induce focused processing fostered conceptual knowledge for novice learners whereas prompts hindered the acquisition of conceptual knowledge for learners with expertise that was developed by working with contrasting cases beforehand. Moreover, measures of subjective cognitive load and learning processes suggest that the instructional guidance provided by prompts compensated for the low internal guidance of novice learners and overlapped with the internal guidance of learners with expertise.     

Trust schools and the politics of persuasion and the mobilisation of interest

This paper sets out the theoretical and methodological approach of a study of the politics of persuasion and the mobilisation of interest in relation to the Trust schools initiative in England. Drawing on the discourse theoretical approach of Laclau and Mouffe the paper argues that the politics of consensus associated with New Labour reconfigures the field of politics, closing down legitimate democratic space. Building on this approach and that of policy sociology the paper outlines how the researchers seeks to address the following questions – if the space for legitimate democratic debate is so severely constrained then how does a social democratic government deal with the kind of opposition that Labour faced in relation to Trust schools? How do governments persuade dissident citizens to support unpopular policies? How are citizens mobilised to support such policies? This also raises questions about how, in such a restricted political space, do those questioning or resisting such policies, engage in the politics of persuasion and the mobilisation of interests? The reconfiguration of the field of politics and what this means for the constitution of legitimate democratic debate is the object of study of the research.