Exploring the Usefulness of Kelly's Personal Construct Theory in Assessing Student Learning in Science Courses

We explore the utility of George Kelly's Personal Construct Theory, specifically his repertory grid technique, to the assessment of student learning in undergraduate science courses. We provide an in-depth review of the assumptions underlying Personal Construct Theory and how these were reflected in the repertory grid technique Kelly developed. We explain how an adapted version of the repertory grid, sharing some yet not all of Kelly's assumptions, was utilised as a research tool in a recent study involving science instructors and their students. We argue that as well as having applicability as an innovative research tool, an adapted version of Kelly's repertory grid is a useful heuristic for university teachers when used as a classroom assessment technique (CAT) and indicate several features it shares with the more widely-known conceptual mapping technique, which has been used in the study of science teaching and learning for many years. We conclude by highlighting several advantages the use of repertory grids has for both students and instructors.     

Electroosmotic flow hysteresis for dissimilar ionic solutions

Electroosmotic flow (EOF) with two or more fluids is commonly encountered in various microfluidics applications. However, no investigation has hitherto been conducted to investigate the hysteretic or flow direction-dependent behavior during the displacement flow of solutions with dissimilar ionic species. In this investigation, electroosmotic displacement flow involving dissimilar ionic solutions was studied experimentally through a current monitoring method and numerically through finite element simulations. The flow hysteresis can be characterized by the turning and displacement times; turning time refers to the abrupt gradient change of current-time curve while displacement time is the time for one solution to completely displace the other solution. Both experimental and simulation results illustrate that the turning and displacement times for a particular solution pair can be directional-dependent, indicating that the flow conditions in the microchannel are not the same in the two different flow directions. The mechanics of EOF hysteresis was elucidated through the theoretical model which includes the ionic mobility of each species, a major governing parameter. Two distinct mechanics have been identified as the causes for the EOF hysteresis involving dissimilar ionic solutions: the widening/sharpening effect of interfacial region between the two solutions and the difference in ion concentration distributions (and thus average zeta potentials) in different flow directions. The outcome of this investigation contributes to the fundamental understanding of flow behavior in microfluidic systems involving solution pair with dissimilar ionic species.     

The Sporting Lives of Sir Shenton Thomas and the Male European Internees at Changi Prison Camp During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, 1942–1945

During the Japanese occupation of British Malaya and Southeast Asia from the years 1942 to 1945 there were reports of POWs being allowed to play cricket, football, rugby and basketball, as told by Kevin Blackburn in The Sportsmen of Changi published in 2012. This research about the sporting lives of a Governor and male European internees at Singapore's Changi prison is likely to be first detailed research on this topic. The authors depended mainly on four published diaries and 262 issues of the men's camp newspaper, Changi Guardian, to account for the male internees' casual and competitive cricket, football, hockey, volleyball, badminton, tennis and boxing matches that were played during internment. The Japanese Military Administration allowed the male internees to organize their daily lives and play games that they indulged in during the pre-War period as the British dominated the Singapore Cricket Club, Penang Cricket Club and Perak Club. The internees were able to play the various games and matches in spite of the limited food and sparse facilities. Many of the cricket and football games that were played were organized as inter-state, inter-club or league matches. These games were played with improvized equipment and rules.     

The changing role of school/media resource libraries in secondary schools in Singapore and the need to implement mandatory standards, 1946–2010: Issues, challenges and opportunities

The aim of this paper is to study the development and evolution of secondary school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) in Singapore after the Second World War and the rationale to have mandatory school library standards. It is an historical survey analysing published data about the linkages of libraries and librarianship, school library standards, education and school reforms in Singapore. It analyses historical and current documents on the roles played by stakeholders like the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the introduction and development of school library standards. The need for school libraries standards was first discussed when the Malayan Library Group (MLG) organised the first course on librarianship for school teachers in 1955, but, with no follow through. The need for school libraries standards was also mentioned by the LAS in 1962 in a memorandum to the Commission of Enquiry into Education to train teacher librarians and adopt school library standards. However, this was left out in the final report of the Commission published in 1964. The need for school library standards was discussed in a school library seminar for 150 teacher librarians in 1970. The first Recommended Minimum Standards for Secondary School Libraries was published two years later by the Standing Committee on Libraries set up by the MOE, but it was not mandatory for schools to adopt the standards. In 1997 the MOE launched its “Thinking School Learning Nation” vision to teach thinking skills. Students were expected to do multidisciplinary project work and be independent users of information. The MOE began to convert school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) with print and non-print materials. However, a survey conducted in 2001 on the roles and competencies of 112 Library Coordinators (LCs) or teacher librarians revealed that they lack the skills and knowledge to manage MRLs effectively. This is because subsequent school library standards published in 1983 and 2002 did not require trained and full-time teacher librarians to manage the MRLs. Furthermore, it is essential for the standards to be periodically updated with regards to professional staff, collection development, facilities, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and school library programs. Otherwise, MRLs risk being “hollow shells still considered on the periphery of core educational requirements, and are run by teachers not professionally prepared to do the work” (Hart, 2001, p. 25). The national standards published in the United States from 1918 to 2008 are well researched and provide substantive guidelines to develop school libraries. Therefore, it is essential for the MOE to formulate MRL standards by doing comparative studies of school library standards in other countries. These standards have to be mandatory and fully adopted by the schools. It provides opportunities for stakeholders like the LAS, National Library Board (NLB), the National Institute of Education (NIE), and the Singapore Teachers’ Union, to collaborate in the formulation of these standards and take collective ownership to implement them.     

Teaching Integration: How Certain Instructional Moves May Undermine the Potential Conceptual Value of the Riemann Sum and the Riemann Integral

Past research in calculus education has shown that Riemann sum-based conceptions of the definite integral, such as the multiplicatively based summation (MBS) conception, can have important value in interpreting and making sense of certain types of definite integral expressions. However, additional research has shown that students tend to not draw on the MBS conception, even in situations where it would be advantageous to do so. In this study we examine how introductory instruction on integration, in which explicit attention is given to the Riemann sum and Riemann integral, may be related to students’ tendency to not use the MBS conception. In particular, it appears that some calculus instructors may make instructional moves in their classrooms that directly undermine the time the instructors had spent developing the Riemann sum and Riemann integral concepts. In doing so, students may perceive these concepts only as calculational procedures, rather than as a potential source of conceptual meaning.     

Reading and spelling gains following one year of Orton‐Gillingham intervention in Singaporean students with dyslexia

Despite the widespread use of Orton‐Gillingham (OG) based approaches to dyslexia remediation, empirical support documenting its effectiveness is lacking. Recently, Chia and Houghton demonstrated the effectiveness of the OG approach for remediation of dyslexia in Singapore. As a conceptual replication and extension of that research, we report results of 39 students with dyslexia aged between six and 14 years enrolled in an OG intervention programme over a period of one year in a single‐subject research (pre‐test/post‐test) design. Analyses of variance showed that students significantly improved in standardised tests of reading and spelling with moderate effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.52–0.58). Additionally, an inverse relationship was found between students' ages when they began intervention and gains made during the intervention. Results thus indicate the effectiveness of an OG approach in remediating literacy difficulties in students with dyslexia and, taken together with previous studies, further suggest the importance of early identification and intervention.     

A longitudinal study of children’s social behaviors and their causal relationship to reading growth

This paper aims at investigating the causal effects of social behaviors on subsequent reading growth in elementary school, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten (ECLS-K) data. The sample was 8,869 subjects who provided longitudinal measures of reading IRT scores from kindergarten (1998–1999) to fifth grades (2003–2004) in the United States. To examine the causal relationship, propensity score methods were used to match higher and lower groups in four social behavior domains such as Approaches to learning, Interpersonal skills, Internalizing problem behavior and Externalizing problem behavior. Results showed that the matched sample achieved sufficient pretreatment balance between the two groups. To examine the effects of social behaviors on the reading growth, multilevel growth model (MGM) was employed. Comparisons of the matched samples showed that children in the high groups of pro-social behavior or in the low groups of problem behavior at kindergarten entrance started with higher reading skills and developed reading achievement faster than those who were not. This study suggests that children’s early social behavior is crucial in reading development. Practical implication and direction of future research are also discussed.     

Practicum teachers’ use of mobile technology as measured by the technology acceptance model

ABSTRACT

This study utilized the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine practicum teachers’ current use of mobile technology and their intentions of use in the future. A survey was conducted to better understand the relationship between practicum teachers and their potential assimilation of technology into classroom practice. The survey questionnaire was administered to 100 undergraduate students at [institute withheld], [country withheld]’s teacher preparatory university. The following four key constructs of the TAM were assessed: perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), subjective norm (SN), and behavioural intention to use (BIU). The impact of practicum teachers’ gender and academic subjects on their acceptance of technology were also investigated. The present study found strong links between PEU and PU. While practicum teachers perceived mobile technology as being useful and intended to use it in their classrooms, BIU was not significantly impacted by PEU, PU, or SN. The data also suggested that gender did not affect BIU while practicum teachers’ academic subjects might be an indicator of their future intentions to use mobile technology. With these findings, recommendations are made to further improve the integration of mobile technology in classroom practice.