Digital storytelling and the nature of knowledge

While storytelling pedagogy presents novel perspectives and affordances to educators, a fundamental question that bears attention is the match between storytelling pedagogy and the nature of knowledge. Quite simply, the problem may be posed thus: is storytelling the optimum means for teaching all forms of knowledge? While rather obvious matches occur for knowledge in the social science, humanities, languages and literacy education, would storytelling pedagogy ‘work’ for the natural sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics classrooms? If so, what may be optimum means to integrate storytelling instruction in these latter kinds of classrooms? In this study, we report on the results of an implementation of digital storytelling in a grade five science classroom. Using what we termed the ‘edu-tainment’ approach, we asked students to design a digital story that communicated a scientific concept embedded within the narrative structure—characters within the narrative would experience the effects of the concept, the quality of the story being proxy indicators of students’ understanding of the scientific concept. We propose that this pedagogical strategy presents a strong challenge to discern students’ understanding, and we also discuss the effect of knowledge forms on the success of this pedagogy.     

Stereoscopy in Static Scientific Imagery in an Informal Education Setting: Does It Matter?

Stereoscopic technology (3D) is rapidly becoming ubiquitous across research, entertainment and informal educational settings. Children of today may grow up never knowing a time when movies, television and video games were not available stereoscopically. Despite this rapid expansion, the field’s understanding of the impact of stereoscopic visualizations on learning is rather limited. Much of the excitement of stereoscopic technology could be due to a novelty effect, which will wear off over time. This study controlled for the novelty factor using a variety of techniques. On the floor of an urban science center, 261 children were shown 12 photographs and visualizations of highly spatial scientific objects and scenes. The images were randomly shown in either traditional (2D) format or in stereoscopic format. The children were asked two questions of each image—one about a spatial property of the image and one about a real-world application of that property. At the end of the test, the child was asked to draw from memory the last image they saw. Results showed no overall significant difference in response to the questions associated with 2D or 3D images. However, children who saw the final slide only in 3D drew more complex representations of the slide than those who did not. Results are discussed through the lenses of cognitive load theory and the effect of novelty on engagement.     

Use of task-value instructional inductions for facilitating engagement and conceptual change

This study explored the relationship between task values, engagement, and conceptual change. One hundred and sixty-six under graduate students were randomly assigned to one of three task value instructional inductions (utility, attainment, and control) to determine whether induced task values would result in different degrees of engagement and conceptual change when reading a refutation text about the common cold. It was hypothesized that the participants in the utility, attainment, and control conditions would differ in their engagement, and degree of conceptual change.     

Media relations and universities: an assessment of digital newsrooms

Reviews of editorial practices and academic studies have shown that journalists often rely on organization websites—and online newsrooms in particular—to inform news stories. Yet, at a time when many academics are called upon as experts by the media, university newsrooms have been ignored. To fill this gap, this study assesses newsrooms of universities to determine whether they are providing adequate resources to cover the institution or identify experts. Previous research demonstrated higher ranked Fortune 500 companies have more comprehensive newsrooms, potentially putting them at an advantage when it comes to news coverage. To better understand whether disparities exist among the top US institutions, this study features a content analysis of the newsrooms of the top 202 universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Findings show that although higher ranked universities typically feature more comprehensive newsrooms, universities at all levels are missing opportunities to provide journalists with information necessary to cover the university, thus limiting visibility to outside stakeholders. The most common features were internally written news stories and links to social media. Resources specifically for journalists were less common. Assessing newsrooms is valuable because they influence media coverage, which can improve credibility and perceived external prestige.     

Disseminating Standards in Higher Order Learning: Systemically Valid Instruments for Standards-Based Education Reform

A decade of British experience in assessing and reporting higher order learning using a scale of national standards has important lessons for countries currently embarking on programmes of standards-based education reform. The architects of the British National Curriculum envisaged that the reliability of measures of higher order learning could be assured through a comprehensive auditing programme involving expert teachers. However, plans for a national auditing programme in Britain were never realised for financial reasons. This article argues that, in the absence of orthodox auditing procedures, modern information handling techniques have an important role to play in enhancing the technical fidelity of instruments for measuring higher order learning, by making the combined professional wisdom of experienced teachers available to the assessor at the time of marking. The higher order skill of creative writing is used to illustrate the calibration of a systemically valid computerised assessment tool, applicable to any standards-based assessment framework.     

Disconnecting knowledge and understanding from human values: a critique of National Curriculum development

This research was prompted by the developing political discourse proposing the teaching of Britishness and British values in the context of the United Kingdom. This discourse will be reviewed in the first part of the article, in the context of previous work which has sought to assess how Britishness and related concepts might be promoted through education. The second part will be based on questionnaire responses from a sample of students following post-graduate initial teacher training programmes in a number of higher education partnerships. It indicates that, while political discourse and educational policy have sensitised trainee teachers to the agenda, there remains a deep uncertainty and misgiving about this as an educational objective.     

Prestige in American universities

Prestige hierarchies, common to all organizations, are considered for positions at a university. Davis and Moore (1945) have called such stratification in any social system a universal necessity. Using procedures developed to measure prestige of occupations in national surveys, the attribution of prestige attached to university positions was determined. One hundred and eight positions were scaled, and the scale's validity and underlying scaling criteria were evaluated. It appears that university prestige is a microcosm of national prestige, and seems to have a similar socioeconomic base.     

Effect of context and gender on application of Science Investigation Skills

Two parallel versions of a Test of Science Investigation Skills were developed to assess students' application of science investigation skills in biology and physics contexts. Repeated pilot testing and critical appraisal were used to ensure the validity of the tests and their equivalence. Both versions of the test were administered to 112 Year 10 science students. The results indicated a satisfactory level of test reliability, the test set in a physics context proved to be significantly more difficult than the test set in a biology context, and mean scores for male and female students were not significantly different. Specializations: science teacher education, development of problem-solving expertise, concept development and conceptual change, assessment of laboratory work. Specializations: Chemistry education, concept development and conceptual change, effective laboratory teaching.