Student resistance and teacher authority: the demands and dynamics of collaborative learning

The intersection among discourses of curriculum, pedagogy, and power are increasingly becoming the focus of research and analysis in southern African classrooms as the effects of apartheid, colonialism, and patriarchalism are critiqued for their influences on epistemic and pedagogic policies and practices. This article draws on feminist research on pedagogy to examine the dynamics of teacher and student relations in southern African university classrooms. In particular, it focuses on student resistance to engaging in collaborative work and with radical ideologies in course content. Drawing on case studies it shows that, despite feminist teachers subscribing to egalitarian ideals, when they encounter student resistance to democratic pedagogic strategies and radical course content they resort to normalizing and regulatory postures that reinstate teacher authority in the classroom.     

E-Learning change management and communication strategies within a HEI in a developing country: Institutional organisational cultural change at the University of the Western Cape

The paper attempts to report on the strides that UWC has achieved in the adoption of eLearning among the campus teaching community, namely the academics from across different faculties, in order to supplement their traditional face-to-face instruction. The qualitative approach was predominantly used. The case study methodology was uniquely applied in this paper because it was used in collaboration with documentary analysis to highlight the achievements and challenges encountered in the adoption and implementation of the existing home-grown Open Source eLearning system. A multi-dimensional non-coercive eLearning implementation approach was used highlighting the various communication and change management strategies that the institution has employed in its endeavours to achieve broad eLearning buy-in within a resistant environment. A generic Instructional Design Model was developed to portray a continuum in the support for a changing organisational culture. The results indicated that the institution has realised a 26% success rate of academics who have managed to have experienced a paradigm shift towards the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in supplementing their teaching practices.     

BRIDGING WORLDS: MEASURING LEARNERS�� DISCURSIVE PRACTICE IN A PARTSIM SUPPORTED BIOLOGY LESSON

We report on a case study that took place in a southwestern culturally and linguistically diverse urban high school science classroom during a grade recovery summer session. The introduction of a technology-infused unit on epidemiology engaged students in a multi-contextual exploration of the spread of diseases. The analysis of the resultant classroom discourse centers on connections made and identities expressed by the students (as students, social beings, avatars, and scientists), with particular attention to how these students use language to bridge worlds (the participatory simulation world, the classroom world, the ‘real’ world (outside the classroom), and the laboratory (science) world). The results indicate that including a participatory technology tool supported students’ learning journey. Specifically, students built on a shared virtual experience in ways that helped them to draw and expand on prior experiences well beyond the classroom in the service of developing science understanding.     

Machine learning for human learners: opportunities,issues, tensions and threats

Educational technology research and development - Machine learning systems are infiltrating our lives and are beginning to become important in our education systems. This article, developed from a...     

Commentary on: Melanie Nind and Mary Kellett (2002). 'Responding to individuals with severe learning difficulties and stereotyped behaviour: challenges for an inclusive era'

The results of a study examining the psychometric quality of a pictorial scale to measure perceived physical competence, perceived cognitive competence and perceived social acceptance by peers and caregivers in individuals with intellectual disabilities are reported. The scale was administered twice to 100 subjects. The stability of the scale proved good: the test–retest correlations were sufficiently high and significant; and the internal consistency of the scale also proved good. To establish the internal validity of the scale, the correlations between the four subscales were calculated. The correlations were reasonable, which shows coherence between the four scales but also sufficient differentiation. The correlations between the two subscales for social acceptance were quite high, and it was therefore decided to combine them. To gain insight into the external validity of the pictorial scale, a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was constructed to measure the three domains of perceived competence from the pictorial scale in a more global manner. The VAS yielded reliable results. The correlations between the VAS and the pictorial scale were moderate to reasonable. Finally, the scores on the pictorial scale did not vary according to sex or level of functioning. All of the subscales differed according to age, however. Individuals over the age of 35 scored significantly lower than younger individuals. The results of this research show the pictorial scale to be a reliable instrument for the measurement of perceived competence and social acceptance in individuals with intellectual disabilities.     

Picture preferences of children and young adults

The authors offer definitions of six types of illustrations and report a study of student preference for those picture styles. Generally, their subjects, 380 students in grades K, 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, and 11, preferred photographs, with realistic drawings ranked second. But there were significant differences between sexes and age groups. This study was supported by the Faculty-In-Aid Program of Virginia Commonwealth University. Statistical advice was given by David F. Bauer.     

A systematic review of environmental interventions to improve child language outcomes for children with or at risk of primary language impairment

Systematic reviews are important as a key source of information for commissioners and for developing practice in speech and language therapy (SLT) and early years. Interventions in this field are often complex and are delivered in community settings. This paper applies a systematic review of environmental interventions in early years for children with speech, language and communication needs. Interventions for primary language impairment may be divided into those which are child-focused and those which are focused on the environment. In both cases, the aim is to effect changes in the child's language skills. The paper introduces the context of evidence-based practice and commissioning of such interventions and argues that systematic reviews may be combined with other evidence to provide information which is fit for purpose for commissioners and for practitioners in the field.