Group Assessment in Systems Analysis and Design: a comparison of the performance of streamed and mixed‐ability groups

The results from a controlled experiment in methods of group formation for a group assessment exercise on a second‐year systems analysis and design module are presented. The experiment was undertaken in response to analysis of module results from the previous 3 years. In the group assessments the members of each group received the same group grade. The experiment compared the performance of streamed and mixed‐ability groups. The results are analysed and discussed. It shows that high ability students obtain considerably lower grades in mixed‐ability groups than in streamed groups whereas the reverse is the case for students at the lower end of the ability range. The study also indicates that lower ability students do better in subsequent examinations after having worked in mixed‐ability groups than those in streamed groups whereas the reverse is the case for higher ability students. The implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Relations between teachers' approaches to teaching and students' approaches to learning

This paper reports on an empirical study which shows that qualitatively different approaches to teaching are associated with qualitatively different approaches to learning. More specifically, the results indicate that in the classes where teachers describe their approach to teaching as having a focus on what they do and on transmitting knowledge, students are more likely to report that they adopt a surface approach to the learning of that subject. Conversely, but less strongly, in the classes where students report adopting significantly deeper approaches to learning, teaching staff report adopting approaches to teaching that are more oriented towards students and to changing the students conceptions. The study made use of a teaching approach inventory derived from interviews with academic staff, and a modified approach to learning questionnaire. These conclusions are derived from a factor and cluster analysis of 48 classes (involving 46 science teachers and 3956 science students) in Australian universities. The results complete a chain of relations from teacher thinking to the outcomes of student learning. Previous studies have shown relations between teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning and their approaches to teaching. Numerous studies have shown correlations between students' deeper approaches to learning and higher quality learning outcomes. The results reported here link these two sets of studies. They also highlight the importance, in attempts to improve the quality of student learning, of discouraging teacher-focused transmission teaching and encouraging higher quality, conceptual change/student-focused approaches to teaching.     

FORECASTING CREDIT HOURS

This paper employs Tobit to estimate retentionprobabilities and credit hours at two universities. Theinnovation is that this technique examines credit-hourchoice with the decision to depart the university treated as the choice of zero credit hours.Tobit is appropriate for this problem because itrecognizes the lower bound of zero on credit hours andincorporates this bound into the parameter estimates and forecasts. Models are estimated for credithours in a single year and cumulative hours over asix-year horizon.     

Not Your Usual Maths Course: critical mathematics education for adults

This article describes an action research project that investigated which features of critical theory were useful for teaching everyday mathematics in an evening course for adults. Paulo Freire's philosophy of education and Jürgen Habermas’ theory of knowledge interests are among the main influences on exponents of critical mathematics education such as Ole Skovsmose and Marilyn Frankenstein. Through the use of dialogical processes and critical reflection, students engage in social and political issues in their lives or communities and, as a result of their increased consciousness and mathematical learning, take “transforming action”. This study highlights the value of learning in a positive environment, through dialogical processes and critical questioning. Participants of the study were able to overcome barriers to learning mathematics; engage in everyday issues involving mathematics; and make changes to the way they dealt with mathematics, as a result of increased critical consciousness.     

Editorial

Science &; Education -     

Prenatal Risk Predicts Preschooler Executive Function: A Cascade Model

Little research has considered whether prenatal experience contributes to executive function (EF) development above and beyond postnatal experience. This study tests direct, mediated, and moderated associations between prenatal risk factors and preschool EF and IQ in a longitudinal sample of 1,292 children from the Family Life Project. A composite of prenatal risk factors (i.e., low birth weight, prematurity, maternal emotional problems, maternal prepregnancy obesity, and obstetric complications) significantly predicted EF and IQ at age 3, above quality of the postnatal environment. This relationship was indirect, mediated through infant general cognitive abilities. Quality of the postnatal home and child-care environments did not moderate the cascade model. These findings highlight the role of prenatal experience as a contributor to individual differences in cognitive development.     

Temperamental Emotionality Attributes as Antecedents of Children's Social Information Processing

This study examined temperament dimensions of emotion as precursors of children's social information processing (SIP) of stressful peer events. Two hundred and forty-three preschool children (M = 4.60 years) and their primary caregivers participated in two measurement occasions spaced 2 years apart. Observations of temperamental anger, fearful distress, positive affect, and effortful control were assessed in multiple laboratory tasks across two visits at Wave 1. SIP assessments from vignettes of peer challenges were repeated across two waves and included: eye tracking measures of attention to peer emotion displays, hostile attribution bias, hostile solutions, and subjective distress. Findings from structural equation models with inclusion of autoregressive controls indicated that effortful control, fear, and anger predicted subsequent changes in specific SIP dimensions.     

An alternative to fortified schools: Using crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to balance student safety and psychological well-being

In response to tragic school shootings, heightened attention has been devoted to making schools safer through the implementation of security features. However, excessive security measures have a negative impact on school climate, student functioning, and academic achievement. Therefore, there is a critical need to design schools that are safe and secure, yet also welcoming and comfortable. As a promising approach in this regard, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is an architectural philosophy that aims to deter criminal or antisocial behavior through environmental design, and it includes a focus on natural surveillance, access control, and territorial reinforcement. This review discusses pertinent effects of the school environment on student outcomes, extant research on the impact of visible security measures, the relationship between students’ perceptions of safety and academic functioning, and how using CPTED could concomitantly address the physical safety and psychological comfort of students at school.