The sharing‐out of nuclear attraction: or ‘I can't think about physics in chemistry’

Pre‐university chemistry students were found to consider that an atomic nucleus gives rise to a certain amount of attractive force which is shared equally among the electrons. Students used this ‘conservation of force’ principle in their explanations of such phenomena as patterns in ionization energy. It is suggested that teachers of chemistry should be aware that although they may be using conventional electrostatic principles in their presentations, their students may be reinterpreting their explanations through this alternative conception. The present research concerns the interface between two scientific disciplines (chemistry and physics) and suggests that learners do not readily integrate their knowledge across such domains. It is mooted that more research into how such demarcations encourage learners to compartmentalize their knowledge may prove fruitful.     

Reading Practices in the Juvenile Correctional Facility Setting: Incarcerated Adolescents Speak Out

This multi-phasic, qualitative study explored the perceptions and provision of research-based reading instruction in the juvenile correctional facility setting. In three settings in two states, we interviewed students (n = 17), teachers (n = 5), and administrators (n = 3); and conducted two focus groups (n = 8), student surveys (n = 49), and seven observations of reading instruction. Our purposes were to (a) examine students' perceptions of themselves as readers, (b) their perceptions regarding the importance of reading, and (c) the reading practices implemented with juvenile offenders. Findings suggest that a majority of incarcerated students view reading as an important skill, but there is a large disparity in the amount and type of reading instruction they are provided.     

Memories and scientific literacy: remembering exhibits from a science centre

The contribution of science centres to scientific literacy in the general adult population was explored through the study of memories of exhibits. Visitors participated in a structured interview about two exhibits they found interesting at the time of the initial visit and one month later. Participants retained stable episodic memories of the exhibits they chose, independently of whether or not they had discussed the exhibit in detail with the interviewer in the first interview. As to change in semantic memory, for some particpants the memories were enhanced between the initial and follow-up interview, for some they remained stable, and for others they deteriorated. There was an approximately equal proportion in each category. All participants reported affective involvement at both interview times, with happiness, followed by curiosity, being the most common. Post-visit integration of the exhibit information was common. The majority of participants reported talking to others about the exhibits. Moreover, one-third of the participants reported linking the exhibit memories to everyday occurrences, thus indicating an increased awareness of scientific phenomenon.     

Visualising expertise: towards an authentic pedagogy for higher education

The development of expertise is seen as a crucial element in higher education, but the nature of expertise has been clouded by assumptions of the centrality of intuition and tacit knowledge. In this paper the authors contend that much knowledge that has been described as tacit can be surfaced for examination through the application of concept mapping techniques. This approach allows experts to articulate their practice in a way that is transparent, making it available for scrutiny by students. Expertise is described here as connecting the chains of practice that denote competence with the underlying networks of understanding that are required to support academic development. This occurs across the academic disciplines with various degrees of subtlety. It is described in the context of clinical teaching as it is in this context that the separation of chains of practice from underlying networks of understanding is most pronounced.     

Tutoring in mathematics: a generic method

A pilot study is reported of a generic method for tutoring in mathematics, intended to be suitable for use by peers, parents and volunteers in a wide range of applications. Thirty children aged 9–10 years of below average mathematical ability were randomly allocated to experimental or control conditions. Experimental tutees (n=17) were tutored in mathematical problem solving at home by their parent(s) using the method, while control children (n=13) received traditional maths problem homework. Pre‐ and post‐test assessment of both groups involved a criterion‐referenced mathematics test in parallel forms and a scale of attitudes to mathematics. Experimental tutors completed a pre‐test questionnaire on attitudes to mathematics and home‐school links, and experimental tutees and tutors engaged in a post‐test debriefing interview. On the attainment test, the experimental group gained significantly, while the control group did not. Male tutees gained more than females. No significant pre‐post differences were evident on the tutee attitude questionnaire. However, interview feedback from both tutees and tutors was generally positive. Given the brevity of the pre‐ to post‐test interval, the finding of positive differences in attainment was considered encouraging. Recommendations for future research were made.     

Managing Interschool Networks: across the primary/secondary divide

This paper examines how schools in one area of the East Midlands have developed interschool collaboration not to undermine central‐government policy but to make possible the successful implementation of the local management of schools. The study is based on structured interviews carried out with secondary headteachers and headteachers of some of the primary schools which feed pupils into these secondary schools. The time and effort expended by schools on these networks is assessed, and their advantages and disadvantages, as perceived by the headteachers, are summarised. The paper concludes with some suggestions for developing the management of these networks.     

Analogy in Scientific Argumentation

Analogical reasoning has long been an important tool in the production of scientific knowledge, yet many scientists remain hesitant to fully endorse (or even admit) its use. As the teachers of scientific and technical writers, we have an opportunity and responsibility to teach them to use analogy without their writing becoming “overly inductive,” as Aristotle warned. To that end, I here offer an analysis of an example of the effective use of analogy in Rodney Brooks's “Intelligence Without Representation.” In this article, Brooks provides a model for incorporating these tools into an argument by building four of them into an enthymeme that clearly organizes his argument. This combination of inductive and deductive reasoning helped the article become a very influential piece of scholarship in artificial intelligence research, and it can help our students learn to use analogy in their own writing.

Every one who effects persuasion through proof does in fact use either enthymemes or examples: there is no other way. (Aristotle, 1984b Aristotle. 1984b. The rhetoric and the poetics of Aristotle, Edited by: Roberts, W. R. and Bywater, I. New York: The Modern Library.  [Google Scholar], p. 26)