Connecting education and practice in an instructional design graduate program

This paper reports on a curriculum project in which principles of instructional design are integrated with real-world experiences in a corporate environment. Working in design teams, graduate students served as instructional developers in a corporate environment. The course instructor acted as project leader. Initially, both the client organization and design teams expressed confusion concerning their roles in relation to the course instructor. Design teams initially used technical language not readily understood by the client. The lack of guidance in instructional models on the development of appropriate instructional strategies was noted by all teams. Design teams concluded that knowledge of instructional design principles is a necessary but not sufficient preparation for professional activity as instructional developers. By the end of the three-month project, both the client organization and the design teams expressed strong satisfaction with the process and the outcome.     

Knowledge Restructuring in Biology: Testing a Punctuated Model of Conceptual Change

Emerging from a human constructivist view of learning and a punctuated model of conceptual change, these studies explored differences in the structural complexity and content validity of knowledge about prehistoric life depicted in concept maps by learners ranging in age from approximately 10 to 20 years. Study 1 (cross-age) explored the frequencies of concepts, relationships, levels of hierarchy, branching, and cross-links in concept maps drawn by students in grades 5, 8, 11, 13, and 14. The results provide some support for a punctuated model of conceptual change. Study 2 (longitudinal) explored the same frequencies on repeated occasions among students enrolled in a college course on prehistoric life, and documented the shift in frequencies of “novice” and “expert” concepts occurring during the semester. The results suggest that college students engage in much restructuring of their knowledge frameworks during the period of a semester. Together, the two studies raise questions about common classroom practices that encourage the rote learning of biology and geology concepts at all levels.     

Investigating Probabilistic Intuitions

This article explores the intuitions of secondary education majors regarding probability. This is accomplished by administering a two‐question instrument to 113 participants. Their responses to these questions, and more importantly the explanations they provide for these answers, are analysed. The conclusions drawn may be informative to teachers of probability and statistics as they attempt to remediate common probabilistic misconceptions and devise more effective teaching strategies.     

Pedagogy for fostering criticality,reflectivity and praxis in a course on teaching for lecturers

Using the concepts of criticality, reflectivity and praxis, the paper presents an analysis of our reflections on participants’ responses to the assessment requirements for a course for lecturers on teaching. The context in which the course is being taught has changed considerably in the last few years in terms of the mode of delivery, as well as the number and diversity of participants. Our analysis has generated insights into ways in which the course is not meeting all the learning needs of the participants, nor preparing them adequately to demonstrate, in writing, their learning. Using insights gained, we suggest pedagogic processes and strategies for ensuring that the course focuses on both writing to learn and learning to write; and for assisting participants to acquire the practices to demonstrate their learning in written assessment tasks, using the requisite literacy including criticality, reflectivity and praxis.     

Developmental Relations Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension: A Latent Change Score Modeling Study

The present study followed a sample of first‐grade (N = 316, M_age = 7.05 at first test) through fourth‐grade students to evaluate dynamic developmental relations between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Using latent change score modeling, competing models were fit to the repeated measurements of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension to test for the presence of leading and lagging influences. Univariate models indicated growth in vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension was determined by two parts: constant yearly change and change proportional to the previous level of the variable. Bivariate models indicated previous levels of vocabulary knowledge acted as leading indicators of reading comprehension growth, but the reverse relation was not found. Implications for theories of developmental relations between vocabulary and reading comprehension are discussed.     

Exploring alternative assessments for signing deaf candidates

Attitudes to sign languages or language policies are often not overtly discussed or recorded but they influence deaf young people's educational opportunities and outcomes. Two qualitative studies from Scotland investigate the provision of British Sign Language as accommodation in public examinations. The first explores the views of deaf pupils and staff about the official system for face-to-face interpretation of exam papers. The second investigates a centrally translated digital paper with embedded video questions. Discussion focuses on contrasts between the USA and UK approaches to accommodations, raising issues of standardized technical terms in signed languages, the right to respond in sign, and candidate choice.     

Promoting Early Writing Skills through Morning Meeting Routines: Guidelines for Best Practices

Observational studies suggest that early writing instruction rarely occurs in early childhood classrooms, despite the importance of supporting young children’s writing development. Morning Meeting Time (MMT) routine is a typically occurring large group activity in early childhood classrooms that is interactive and familiar to teachers and children. Because it is interactive, occurs daily in most preschool classrooms, and is comprised of regular routines that can easily be modified, MMT provides a meaningful context for promoting young children’s writing development. This article describes the characteristics of MMT, discusses the rationales for infusing interactive writing instruction into MMT, and provides seven research-based guidelines for adding writing to MMT in early childhood classroom environments.     

Parents as partners: parents' perceptions of partnership in Northeren Ireland

The introduction of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs in Northern Ireland has brought to the foreground the issue of parents as partners. Twenty parents of children attending two schools in Belfast for children experiencing learning difficulties were interviewed to determine their perceptions of their role during the process of Stages 4 and 5 of the implementation of the Code. The parents emphasised a sense of anger, frustration and isolation.     

Protecting seriously mistreated children: time delays in a court sample.

The study examined the progress through the child protective system of a sample of 206 severely abused and/or neglected children brought before the Boston Juvenile Court (BJC) on Care and Protection (C & P) petitions. Overall, children were in the system an average of 5 years from the filing of the first official report of mistreatment to the resolution of their cases. The families had been known to the state child protective service agency for an average of more than 2.5 years before the current court involvement. Once arraigned in juvenile court on the C & P, the average case took almost 1.5 years to reach a disposition. After disposition, children permanently removed from parental custody required, on average, an additional year and a half in Probate Court to reach a permanent placement. Of the more than twenty variables examined, including severity of mistreatment, protective service history, and parental mental illness, no meaningful pattern emerged which could predict delays. Our findings characterize the delays experienced by many abused and neglected children, and highlight the necessity of closer monitoring of the progress of cases through the protective and court systems.