Guiding reinvention of conventional tools of mathematical logic: students’ reasoning about mathematical disjunctions

Motivated by the observation that formal logic answers questions students have not yet asked, we conducted exploratory teaching experiments with undergraduate students intended to guide their reinvention of truth-functional definitions for basic logical connectives. We intend to reframe the relationship between reasoning and logic by showing how logic emerges within students’ mathematical activity. This activity entails reflecting on and systematizing their own language use across diverse semantic content. We present categories of students’ untrained strategies for assessing the truth-values for mathematical disjunctions. Students’ initial reasoning heavily reflected content-specific and pragmatic factors in ways inconsistent with the norms and conventions of mathematical logic. Despite this, all student groups reinvented the standard truth-functional definition for simple disjunctions. We demonstrate how this learning depended upon particular forms of reasoning about logic. We also contrast various strategies for assessing quantified disjunctions and their different affordances in students’ mathematical activity.     

Study Abroad in Social Work Education: “Citizen of Two Worlds” Faculty

Schools of social work are increasingly offering study abroad courses as a strategy for enhancing future practitioners’ knowledge and skills in serving individuals and families of diverse sociocultural backgrounds. Literature relative to such educational initiatives has focused on the characteristics, motivations, and outcomes for students and faculty; challenges and strategies to address them; different formats of course delivery; and, to a limited degree, faculty who develop and implement the courses. Using a study abroad course about understanding trauma in cultural context, the current article discusses and illustrates pedagogic and logistic benefits of the citizen of two worlds model in faculty leadership of study abroad courses.     

Turning to case studies as a mechanism for learning in action learning

Case studies are a useful means of capturing and sharing experiential knowledge by allowing researchers to explore the social, organisational and political contexts of a specific case. Although accounts of action learning are often reported using a case study approach, it is not common to see individual case studies being used as a learning practice within action learning sets. Drawing on a network action learning (NAL) project, this paper explores how the process of coaching, articulating, authoring, sharing and editing case studies provided a vehicle for learning and research within a NAL set. The intended contribution of this paper to the theory of action learning is to extend the range of learning practices to include the case study within the NAL set. It discusses how case studies act as boundary objects, which are artefacts that can be used to cross boundaries between groups in order to facilitate learning that might not otherwise occur.     

Does First Sex Really “Just Happen?” A Retrospective Exploratory Study of Sexual Debut Among American Adolescents

First sex marks a significant transition for most adolescents, yet teens often report that it was unplanned. Seventy-four college students participated in exploratory focus groups about their first sex. Although initially asked whether their first sex was spontaneous or planned, many participants revealed evidence of forethought or anticipation, signifying a third option, anticipation. This study suggests that the development and timing of sexual health messages should build on the apparent, albeit often unacknowledged, planning and thought that accompany the transition to first sex. Specifically, during the time immediately preceding first sex, young people might be particularly open to such messages.     

The impact of support staff on pupils’ ‘positive approaches to learning’ and their academic progress

In recent years there has been an unprecedented increase in support staff in schools in England and Wales. There were widespread expectations that this will be of benefit to teachers and pupils but there has been little systematic research to address the impact of support staff. This study used a naturalistic longitudinal design to investigate the relationship between the amount of support (measured by teacher estimates and systematic observation) and pupils’ ‘Positive Approaches to Learning’ (PAL) and academic progress. There were over 8000 pupils across two cohorts and seven age groups. Results on PAL were not straightforward by there was a consistent trend for those with most support to make less academic progress than similar pupils with less support, and this was not explained by characteristics of the pupils such as piror attainment or level of special educational need.     

Validation of the audience response system

Audience response systems (ARS) are gaining popularity in multiple areas of education. Although its usefulness has been well reported, no study has investigated the accuracy of the technology. The purpose of this study was to validate ARS by assessing three key aspects: signal transmission from the keypad to the receiver, capture of a proper response by the receiver and association of that response to the proper device. One hundred volunteers were assigned roles of responder or observer. Each responder was given a unique answer combination for a series of five questions. The data was assessed for accuracies and inaccuracies. Average correct response rate was 98% with a confidence interval (CI) ranging from 0.9527 to 0.9928 (CI = 0.95). The 2% incorrect response rate was attributable to failed signal transmission. These failed transmissions originated from different devices. As more institutions utilise ARS and as its use continues to expand into higher calibre arenas, validity of the system becomes of utmost importance. Given the relatively high confidence level of the system function, ARS is a valid and accurate method of response collecting, but one must certainly consider the possible ramifications of failed signal transmission.     

Technology in Support of Collaborative Learning

This paper reviews the research conducted in the last 20 years on the application of technology in support of collaborative learning in higher education. The review focuses primarily on studies that use Internet-based technologies and social interaction analysis. The review provides six sets of observations/recommendations regarding methodology, empirical evidence, and research gaps and issues that may help focus future research in this emerging field of study.