The Access Course Route to Higher Education

Nowadays access has become probably the most fashionable word in the world of higher education. Its popularity owes much to demographic desperation, but something also to the success of Access entrants in higher education. In the current climate, Access Courses, so recently labelled a threat to quality, have apparently come in from the cold, and are now identified as one of, ‘three recognized routes to higher education’. Yet, by comparison with the other two routes (‘A’ levels and vocational qualifications) very little is known about these courses and Access students are still classified as ‘non-standard’ entrants. This paper offers a basic guide to Access Courses, predicts their future in a post-Reform Bill world and considers whether the, present a lifeline or a threat to conventional departments, as the focus of debate begins to shift from the quality of the entrant to the quality of the higher education curriculum, and the question is not only who higher education is for but increasingly what is it for?     

Making Meaningful Choices: an investigation into young children's intonation patterns in storytelling

Abstract This paper investigates the meaningful choices in intonation made by young children. A category system for classifying choices is outlined and an experiment is reported in which randomly selected groups of 41/2‐5 year‐olds heard and retold stories in different situations. Results indicate that all groups distinguished narrative from other forms of discourse and drew upon intonation resources appropriately. Differences were found between recalling a story with pictures and one without, suggesting that these are different cognitive tasks and that children make different selections from choices available to them.     

Science masterclasses for able children in year 2

A series of science Masterclasses for six year old able children was used as the basis of this small scale research project. Strategies for challenging this group of children were developed and analysed in terms of their use of higher order thinking. The identification of able scientists at such a young age was also considered. It was found that problem solving in science and Sc 1, Scientific Enquiry, are particularly suited to provide challenge for scientifically able children.     

Video game discourses and implications for game-based education

Increasingly prevalent educational discourses promote the use of video games in schools and universities. At the same time, populist discourses persist, particularly in print media, which condemn video games because of putative negative effects on behaviour and socialisation. These contested discourses, we suggest, influence the acceptability of games and limit critical analysis of their effectiveness as pedagogic tools. This article focuses on the representation of video games in media discourse. We present insights from a small-scale study of the construction of video game discourses in the UK print media in 2013, and discuss three areas that emerged. First, the assumptions inherent in the representation of the ‘video game’; second, the implied lack of agency in the behaviour of ‘the gamer’; and third, the way in which blame is manipulated. Finally, we consider the implications for game-based education.     

From discrete intervention to engage marginalised students to whole-school initiative to engage all students

An enduring educational dilemma is that young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds do not have their needs met in conventional schooling. As a result, many have left school by Year 11. To counter this trend, some schools in disadvantaged areas introduce targeted in-school interventions before Year 11 to meet the needs of their students. Many of these interventions, which are highly successful in engaging students and supporting them to achieve, have insights to offer schools, but they remain on the margins as programmes for particular young people. However, a government secondary school in Victoria, Australia has been an exception. It was inspired to apply aspects of a successful intervention, Hands On Learning, to a whole-school initiative to enhance the engagement of all of its students. I used a case-study approach to investigate the initiative’s first year of implementation. Findings revealed that the majority of students did report engagement. However, economically disadvantaged students faced barriers to full participation that negatively impacted their learning experiences. The inequitable distribution of educational benefits demonstrated that whole-school adaptation of an intervention is not straightforward and unless the needs of disadvantaged students are targeted in the whole-school initiative, they are likely to experience educational disadvantage.     

Evidence-based diagnosis and treatment for specific learning disabilities involving impairments in written and/or oral language

Programmatic, multidisciplinary research provided converging brain, genetic, and developmental support for evidence-based diagnoses of three specific learning disabilities based on hallmark phenotypes (behavioral expression of underlying genotypes) with treatment relevance: dysgraphia (impaired legible automatic letter writing, orthographic coding, and finger sequencing), dyslexia (impaired pseudoword reading, spelling, phonological and orthographic coding, rapid automatic naming, and executive functions; inhibition and rapid automatic switching), and oral and written language learning disability (same impairments as dyslexia plus morphological and syntactic coding and comprehension). Two case studies illustrate how these differential diagnoses can be made within a conceptual framework of a working memory architecture and generate treatment plans that transformed treatment nonresponders into treatment responders. Findings are discussed in reference to the importance of (a) considering individual differences (diagnosis of impaired hallmark phenotypes) in planning and evaluating response to instruction and modifying instruction when a student is not responding; (b) recognizing that teaching may change epigenetic gene expression at one stage of schooling, but not the underlying gene sequences that render individuals still vulnerable as curriculum requirements increase in nature, complexity, and volume in the upper grades; and (c) using evidence-based diagnoses of specific learning disabilities that are consistent across states for free and appropriate education K to 12 and for accommodations throughout higher education and professional credentialing.     

A Bayesian performance prediction model for mathematics education: A prototypical approach for effective group composition

This research work presents a Bayesian Performance Prediction Model that was created in order to determine the strength of personality traits in predicting the level of mathematics performance of high school students in Addis Ababa. It is an automated tool that can be used to collect information from students for the purpose of effective group composition. During the study, attributes that affect performance in mathematics were identified and the sources of the data were analysed. Based on collected data, a predictive tool was developed and a 70.9% prediction accuracy was achieved vis‐à‐vis actual exam results. Further work and modification of the prediction model increased the level of prediction accuracy to 78.4%. The findings of this research provide an insight into the possible applications of uncertainty management techniques, particularly to address some of the conflicting results relating to the significance of factors affecting student performance of the mathematics subject. This has implications regarding methods of grouping learners for optimum performance. Future research may include a deeper exploration of factors related to performance and more specifically how the Bayesian predictive model can be incorporated for effective group formation. Furthermore, researchers might be able to extend the application of similar performance prediction models for other academic subjects.