Science and Mathematics Instruction of Beginning Elementary Teachers

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

The democratic argument for science curriculum reform in Britain and Australia: 1935–1945

The dominance of “academicism” in science education can be shown over the last century. However in the period of this study, when access to a universal secondary education was the main thrust of social reconstruction in Britain and Australia, a key struggle was for a socially-centred general science. The struggle, concerned the terms on which “the spirit of Science alive in the world”, could enter and transform education in schools to meet human needs. The epistemological arguments of the reformers were pragmatic. This study, set initially in an earlier period of depressive capitalism, is an account of how curriculum and cultural change was mediated by educational actors, employing pragmatic arguments for reform which drew on the metaphoric power of a scientific achievements which emanated from their society, to pursue democratic agendas within their workplace and locality.     

Analysing the experiences of casual relief teachers in Australian primary schools using practice architecture theory

This study examines the professional experiences of casual relief teachers (CRTs) and some of the challenges they face through the lens of practice architecture theory. Practice architecture theory considers human activity through the multi-layered lens of sayings, doings and relatings. A survey was used to collect responses from 104 CRTs who are teaching or have previously taught in Australian primary schools. The responses were examined using thematic content analysis to gain insights into their experiences of professional practice. In addition, the demographic information from the survey identified three main categories of CRTs which contributed to better understanding of distinct needs and experiences of each type of CRT. Results indicate that many participants saw casual teaching as a negative and alienating experience due to lack of access to school information, lack of support for accreditation and feelings of exclusion from school communities. The need for greater access to information about professional learning was also highlighted. However, others enjoyed the flexibility and sense of belonging they experienced as CRTs. The present study contributes to CRT research by identifying similarities and differences across the three CRT groups and applying practice architectures as a new theoretical lens through which to analyse their professional experiences.     

International student flows for university education and the bilateral market integration of Australia

Study at a foreign university can be an important way of developing international human capital. We investigate factors affecting international student flows for higher education and their consequences for bilateral market integration in Australia. Estimation results demonstrate that income, cost competitiveness, migration network effects and other education pathways increase the demand for tertiary education. Our results show that university study, inter alia, is an important determinant of bilateral trade between Australia and the student’s home country.     

Variability in Measurement of Swimming Forces

An analysis was conducted to identify sources of true and error variance in measuring swimming drag force to draw valid conclusions about performance factor effects. Passive drag studies were grouped according to methodological differences: tow line in pool, tow line in flume, and carriage in tow tank. Active drag studies were grouped according to the theoretical basis: added and/or subtracted drag (AAS), added drag with equal power assumption (AAE), and no added drag (ANA). Data from 36 studies were examined using frequency distributions and meta-analytic procedures. It was concluded that two active methods (AAE and ANA) had sources of systematic error and that one active method (AAS) measured an effect that was different from that measured by passive methods. Consistency in drag coefficient (Cd) values across all three passive methods made it possible to determine the effects of performance factors.     

Peer assessment of oral presentations: effects of student gender,university affiliation and participation in the development of assessment criteria

Peer assessment provides a useful mechanism to develop many positive qualities in students studying in higher education (HE). Potential influences on peer‐awarded marks include student qualities such as gender, HE background (e.g. university affiliation) and participation in the development of the assessment criteria. Many studies that have investigated peer assessment have placed great emphasis on marks from a single tutor, or very few tutors, from a single university. This study examined grades awarded by 11 tutors (affiliated with four universities) to oral presentations delivered on a residential field course by second‐year undergraduate students from two universities studying environmental or biological disciplines. Student assessors awarded marks of fairly high precision (correlating strongly with tutor grades) but averaged 5% higher than their tutors (i.e. of only moderate accuracy). Marginally higher marks (circa 1.6%) were awarded by student assessors to speakers studying at the same university. Gender influences were detected as males tended to grade other male speakers very slightly more highly than female speakers. Marks from females were unaffected by speaker gender. Students who participated in the development of the assessment criteria did not achieve higher grades for their presentations. However, when these ‘participants’ were assessing, they awarded lower marks than their peers (i.e. closer to, but not as low as, those awarded by tutors). Lower marks were also awarded during the middle of sessions, possibly resulting from factors associated with motivation and attention of speakers and markers. Overall, the potential biases in marking by naive assessors examined in this study may influence the validity of marks generated by peer assessment schemes, but the experience of this type of assessment had positive effects on those involved.     

An Analysis of an Interactive Videodisc System for Teaching Language Skills to Deaf Students

An interactive videodisc system designed to teach language concepts to deaf students was evaluated in a classroom trial. An experimental group of 18 students spent 60 twenty‐minute sessions over a five‐month period learning language concepts by interacting with the system while a control group of 16 students learned the same concepts in their regular classroom setting. Both groups made significant progress from pre‐ to post‐test on two criterion‐referenced testsdeveloped by project staff. Experimental students were enthusiastic about the videodisc, felt that their language skills had improved, and were anxious to continue working with the system.     

Student teachers' subject matter knowledge within the domain of area measurement

This paper describes a research project whose major aim was to evaluate first-year teacher education students' understanding of subject matter knowledge in the domain of area measurement. In contrast to many previous approaches to evaluating teacher education students' subject matter knowledge, the approach adopted in this study not only focused on the student teachers' substantive knowledge but also on their knowledge about the nature and discourse of mathematics, their knowledge about mathematics in society and their dispositions towards mathematics. To this end, each student was clinically interviewed whilst engaged on a set of eight tasks that were developed for the study. The development of the tasks was a major component of the study and this is described in detail. The results of the tasks are given and the paper concludes with a discussion of the findings. This discussion focuses primarily on the implications that these results have for preservice mathematics education courses.