The role of school-based research champions in a school–university partnership

The value of teachers’ engagement in and with research is long recognised and it is acknowledged that school–university research partnerships are one way of enabling such engagement. But we know little about how research-based knowledge is negotiated into school practices. Here we draw on data from nine ‘research champions’, who are teachers in schools which are part of the Oxford Education Deanery, a research partnership with a university department. Taking a cultural/historical approach, the study examined the strategic intentions and actions in the activities of the champions as they negotiated research-based knowledge into their schools. Data comprised 59 completed templates that described what they did and why. Findings revealed differences between those with close links with senior leaders—who could take a whole-school approach—and those whose reach was restricted by their position in school practices. Nonetheless, all the champions carefully selected and targeted research in ways that reflected their knowledge of local contexts. The findings point to the need to incorporate the champion role into school systems and for universities to value the role as they develop their own research agenda.     

Debt: the reality of student life

During the 1980s, a political consensus developed concerning the need to increase participation in higher education (Walker and Wright, 1990). How to finance this increase, however, was a matter of contention. While successive Conservative governments demonstrated a commitment to increasing the number of students, this aim was subordinate to their central concern of controlling public expenditure, which meant they were not prepared to meet the cost of expansion totally from the public purse. As a consequence, alternative ways of financing students were introduced which, as this paper will demonstrate, have led to a higher education system subsidized by student debt.     

Oral reading fluency as a screening tool with English learners: A systematic review

Students learning to read in more than one language are a growing population in schools. Early screening and identification of reading difficulties may lead to better outcomes for all students. Oral reading fluency (ORF) is one tool shown to be both a reliable measure of reading and an accurate method to identify students at risk for poor reading outcomes. This study synthesized available validity evidence for ORF with biliterates. All included studies (n = 31) were conducted with English language learners in grades K–8. Results suggested that although ORF is correlated with reading outcomes, the accuracy of ORF to identify English learners at risk of poor reading outcomes does not meet criteria. The strength of validity evidence differed by language proficiency of participants. Finally, the quality of the reviewed studies was low in critical areas.     

Comments on Holmes

Certain basic moral propositions are unlike basic religious propositions in that it is incoherent to deny them. A community needs a shared set of moral beliefs in a way that it does not need a shared set of religious beliefs. The cultivation of certain types of behaviour is necessary in a community. For these three reasons, bringing up children to adhere to certain basic moral principles is justified in a way that bringing them up to accept basic religious tenets is not.Simon Fraser University     

Theoretical Frameworks of Performance‐Based Models

The purpose of this article is to highlight theories that support the functions of performance‐based design models and to discuss the implications of integrating divergent models into the system‐oriented human performance technology (HPT) and performance improvement (PI) disciplines. HPT, PI, and instructional systems design (ISD) share a systems framework, along with the influence of common theories such as performance theory, learning theory, adult learning, cognitive psychology, and behavioral psychology (Foshay, Villachica, & Stepich, 2014). This article focuses on the role of theory as a tool in the practitioner's toolbox and as a connection point when working with teams and organizations that have different theoretical orientations. Performance‐based ISD models are discussed, including Robinson and Robinson's (1989) Training for Impact, Brethower and Smalley's (1998) Performance‐Based Instruction, and Bradford and Boler's (2015) Horizon Model. Allen and Sites's (2012) successive approximation model (SAM) retains elements of ADDIE as a process, but the model is iterative rather than systematic in design.     

Dynamic and static assessment of phonological awareness in preschool: a behavior-genetic study

The genetic and environmental overlap between static and dynamic measures of preschool phonological awareness (PA) and their relation to preschool letter knowledge (LK) and kindergarten reading were examined using monozygotic and dizygotic twin children (maximum N = 1,988). The static tests were those typically used to assess a child's current level of PA such as blending and elision, and the dynamic test included instruction in phoneme identity to assess the child's ability to respond to this instruction. Both forms were influenced by genes and by shared and nonshared environment. The static and dynamic versions were influenced by the same genes, and part of the total genetic influence was shared with LK. They were subject to both overlapping and independent shared environment influences, with the component in common also affecting LK. Nonshared environment influences were mostly independent. Scores from dynamic assessment added only minimally to variance explained in kindergarten reading after LK and static assessment had been factored in. Although one of the genetic factors that influenced both forms of PA also affected kindergarten reading, it was only the one shared with LK. The authors conclude that dynamic assessment of PA in preschool offers little advantage over the more commonly used static forms, especially if LK scores are available, although they acknowledge its potential in cases of preschool educational disadvantage.     

Being constructive: An alternative approach to the teaching of introductory ideas in electricity

This paper reports on the development and implementation of an introductory course on electric circuits based on a constructivist model of curriculum development and teaching. Pupil interviews before instruction explored and clarified the range of children's existing ideas and conceptions. A teaching sequence was designed to elicit pupils’ ideas, to challenge these experimentally where they differed from accepted scientific ideas and to encourage discussion and reformulation of ideas. Post‐instruction interviews showed improved pupil understanding of several important basic concepts. The constructivist approach appeared to provide a viable and satisfactory basis for teachers’ classroom decision‐making and for the structuring and sequencing of activities as the course progressed.     

Children's ideas about the reliability of experimental data

This paper reports some of the findings of the Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge in Science (PACKS) project. It documents children's ides about the reliability of experimental data, an important element of their understanding of science procedures. These ideas were elicited using a written survey instrument completed by over 1000 students aged 11, 14 and 16, chosen to be representative of the full ability range. The results show progression with age in understanding of empirical data. A range of ideas about the function of repeat measurements, how to handle repeat measurements and anomalous readings, and the significance of the spread of a set of repeated measurements emerge and are discussed.