Galileo and pendulum motion: A case for history and philosophy in the science classroom

There are encouraging signs that the history and philosophy of science are becoming more important in the teaching of science and in the preparation of science teachers. This tendency is supported here by looking at the widespread treatment of Galileo's account of pendulum motion in science texts and classrooms, indicating that it is a less than adequate account of the historical facts, and suggesting that the teaching of this commonplace topic can be considerably enhanced if science teachers have some familiarity with basic research in the history and philosophy of science.     

The Chronicles of Homeschooling Gifted Learners

Homeschooling only has become a choice for many families of gifted children during the last two decades, as the number of gifted families has grown steadily along with the general homeschool population (Lubienski, Puckett, & Brewer, 2013). The current study examines a group of homeschooling mothers of gifted children who publish and maintain publically available blogs about their homeschooling experiences. In this qualitative study, four themes emerged (a) unintentional homeschoolers, (b) curriculum pivoting, (c) reflection as progress, and (d) reaching forward and back. In the current study we have identified some interesting but preliminary findings about families who homeschool their gifted child or children. We should continue working to understand the phenomenon of gifted homeschooling and its implications for schools and for society.     

Mine the process: investigating the cyclical nature of upper primary school students’ self-regulated learning

The present study investigates primary school students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) process by exploring the sequence in which SRL activities are conducted during learning. The aims of this study are twofold: investigating the presence of the theoretically hypothesized cyclical nature in students’ SRL process, as well as potential differences herein for high, average, and low achievers. Think-aloud data of 104 upper primary school students were analysed by means of process mining analysis. The results indicate that students commonly adopt a cyclical approach to learning by implementing preparatory, performance, and appraisal activities during learning. However, the results indicate clear differences in the quality of students’ SRL process. High achievers, compared to low and average achievers, show a more strategic and adaptive approach to learning during all phases of their learning process. They more strategically and effectively orient on and plan assignments, combine different cognitive strategies, and adopt self-evaluation to regulate their learning process.

     

Toward theories of partnership praxis: an analysis of interpretive framing in literature on students as partners in teaching and learning

ABSTRACT

A body of literature on students as partners (SaP) in higher education has emerged over the last decade that documents, shares, and evaluates SaP approaches. As is typical in emerging fields of inquiry, scholars differ regarding how they see the relationship between the developments in SaP practices and the theoretical explanations that guide, illuminate, and situate such practices. In this article we explore the relationship between theory and practice in SaP work through an analysis of interpretive framing employed in scholarship of SaP in teaching and learning in higher education. Through a conceptual review of selected publications, we describe three ways of framing partnership that represent distinct but related analytical approaches: building on concepts; drawing on constructs; and imagining through metaphors. We both affirm the expansive and creative theorising in scholarship of SaP in university teaching and learning and encourage further deliberate use and thoughtful development of interpretive framings that take seriously the disruptive ethos and messy human relational processes of partnership. We argue that these developmental processes move us toward formulating theories of partnership praxis.     

Child-initiated play and professional creativity: Enabling four-year-olds’ possibility thinking

Given enormous global challenges, alongside nurturing children's creativity, professional creativity has perhaps never been more vital ( [Craft, 2011a] and [Moss, 2010]). This paper considers how a small, qualitative, co-participative study in an inner city children's centre, explored practitioner perspectives and practice related to creativity understood as possibility thinking. This research builds on previous studies that have documented possibility thinking and analyses the nature of possibility thinking manifest in child-initiated immersive play triggered by practitioner-placed provocations, and pedagogical strategies which foster this.     

Marital conflict and disruption of children's sleep

Marital conflict was examined as a predictor of the quality and quantity of sleep in a sample of healthy 8- to 9-year-olds. Parents and children reported on marital conflict, the quantity and quality of children's sleep were examined through an actigraph worn for 7 consecutive nights, and child sleepiness was derived from child and mother reports. Increased marital conflict was associated with disruptions in the quantity and quality of children's sleep as well as subjective sleepiness, even after controlling for child age, ethnic group membership, socioeconomic status, sex, and body mass index. The results support the sensitization hypothesis in that exposure to marital conflict may influence an important facet of children's biological regulation, namely sleep.     

Student victimization by educational staff in Israel

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the relationships between physical, emotional, and sexual victimization of school students by educational staff with a number of variables describing the student (gender, age, and relationship with teachers) and the school (the socioeconomic status (SES) of the students' families and school's neighborhood, school level, and ethnic affiliation). METHOD: The study is based on a nationally representative sample of 17,465 students in grades 4-11 in 319 schools across Israel, who completed questionnaires during class. In addition, data were obtained on SES of students' families and the school's neighborhood. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine the relationships. RESULTS: Almost a third of the students reported being emotionally maltreated by school staff, and almost a quarter of primary and junior high students and a fifth of high school students were physically victimized by school staff. Almost 8% of secondary school students reported being sexually maltreated by school staff. The most vulnerable students were boys, Arab children, and children in schools in low SES neighborhoods. CONCLUSION: The study shows that students in Israel are exposed to high levels of maltreatment by educational staff, but not all students are equally likely to be victimized by school staff.     

Self-regulatory and demographic predictors of grades in online and face-to-face university cohorts: A multi-group path analysis

Predictors of academic success at university are of great interest to educators, researchers and policymakers. With more students studying online, it is important to understand whether traditional predictors of academic outcomes in face-to-face settings are relevant to online learning. This study modelled self-regulatory and demographic predictors of subject grades in 84 online and 80 face-to-face undergraduate students. Predictors were effort regulation, grade goal, academic self-efficacy, performance self-efficacy, age, sex, socio-economic status (SES) and first-in-family status. A multi-group path analysis indicated that the models were significantly different across learning modalities. For face-to-face students, none of the model variables significantly predicted grades. For online students, only performance self-efficacy significantly predicted grades (small effect). Findings suggest that learner characteristics may not function in the same way across learning modes. Further factor analytic and hierarchical research is needed to determine whether self-regulatory predictors of academic success continue to be relevant to modern student cohorts.

Practitioner Notes

What is already known about this topic

• Self-regulatory and demographic variables are important predictors of university outcomes like grades.
• It is unclear whether the relationships between predictor variables and outcomes are the same across learning modalities, as research findings are mixed.

What this paper adds

• Models predicting university students' grades by demographic and self-regulatory predictors differed significantly between face-to-face and online learning modalities.
• Performance self-efficacy significantly predicted grades for online students.
• No self-regulatory variables significantly predicted grades for face-to-face students, and no demographic variables significantly predicted grades in either cohort.
• Overall, traditional predictors of grades showed no/small unique effects in both cohorts.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• The learner characteristics that predict success may not be the same across learning modalities.
• Approaches to enhancing success in face-to-face settings are not automatically applicable to online settings.
• Self-regulatory variables may not predict university outcomes as strongly as previously believed, and more research is needed.

     

Higher education strategy in digital transformation

Education and Information Technologies - Digital transformation in the global higher education industry determines the future roadmap to a sustainable education management strategy. This research...