Knowing your students in large diverse classes: a phenomenographic case study

The problem which this paper addresses is the difficulty of knowing students in large diverse classes in pedagogically useful ways. The paper discusses how the phenomenographic methodology can be employed to address this problem. It describes how phenomenographic studies and their results can enable teachers to ‘know their students’ at a collective level in terms of a set of qualitatively distinct idealised types rather than at a personal level of individuals with their particular characteristics, and demonstrates the pedagogical utility of this kind of knowing. The means used to describe the approach and to demonstrate its utility when teaching large classes is to present, as a case study, a phenomenographic investigation into the learning practices among students in a large, diverse cohort of entrants to an engineering programme in South Africa. General principles are drawn from the case study and are discussed as they apply to the teaching of large classes.     

Photography

Photography Year: 1977 Edition (Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1977—price not given)

Shirley Glubok's The Art of Photography (New York: Macmillan, 1977—$7.95)

Paul Dickson's Out of this World: American Space Photography (New York: Dell Books, Delta Special, 1977—E9.95, paper)

Garry Winogrand's Public Relations (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1977—$9.95, paper)

Michael Emory's Windows (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1977—$25.00)

Donna-Lee Phillips and Lew Thomas, eds. Eros and Photography: An Exploration of Sexual Imagery and Photographic Practice (Camerawork/NFS Press, P.O. Box 31040, San Francisco, Calif. 94131—$l0.95, paper)     

The Role of Perceptions of Media Bias in General and Issue-Specific Political Participation

Despite a large body of literature documenting factors influencing general political participation, research has lagged in understanding what motivates participation regarding specific issues. Our research fills this gap by examining the interplay of perceptions of media bias, trust in government, and political efficacy on individuals' levels of general and issue-specific political participation. Using survey data with indicators related to general political participation, our results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias overall are negatively related to general political participation. Moreover, this relationship is an indirect one, mediated by trust in government and political efficacy. Using survey data with indicators of issue-specific political participation in the context of stem cell research, our results show that—contrary to the relationship found for general political participation—perceptions of media bias are directly and positively associated with issue-specific participation. Implications for political participation and media bias theories are discussed.     

The Knowledge Gap Hypothesis in Singapore: The Roles of Socioeconomic Status,Mass Media,and Interpersonal Discussion on Public Knowledge of the H1N1 Flu Pandemic

This study applies the knowledge gap hypothesis to examine the direct and interactive influence of socioeconomic status, mass media, and interpersonal discussion on public knowledge of the H1N1 flu pandemic in Singapore. Using a nationally representative random digit-dialing telephone survey of 1,055 adult Singaporeans, results show that attention to newspapers was not associated with a widened knowledge gap about the H1N1 pandemic between the high and low socioeconomic status individuals. Conversely, attention to television news and interpersonal discussion were associated with a narrowed knowledge disparity between the high and low socioeconomic status individuals. Findings suggest that the knowledge gap hypothesis was not supported in this study. Instead, results suggest that attention to television news and interpersonal discussions were associated with a reduced knowledge gap. Household income and risk perceptions were also found to be positively associated with public knowledge about the H1N1 flu pandemic. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Learning to argue: A study of four schools and their attempt to develop the use of argumentation as a common instructional practice and its impact on students

This article reports the outcomes of a project in which teachers' sought to develop their ability to use instructional practices associated with argumentation in the teaching of science—in particular, the use of more dialogic approach based on small group work and the consideration of ideas, evidence, and argument. The project worked with four secondary school science departments over 2 years with the aim of developing a more dialogic approach to the teaching of science as a common instructional practice within the school. To achieve this goal, two lead teachers in each school worked to improve the use of argumentation as an instructional practice by embedding activities in the school science curriculum and to develop their colleague's expertise across the curriculum for 11‐ to 16‐year‐old students. This research sought to identify: (a) whether such an approach using minimal support and professional development could lead to measurable difference in student outcomes, and (b) what changes in teachers' practice were achieved (reported elsewhere). To assess the effects on student learning and engagement, data were collected of students' conceptual understanding, reasoning, and attitudes toward science from both the experimental schools and a comparison sample using a set of standard instruments. Results show that few significant changes were found in students compared to the comparison sample. In this article, we report the findings and discuss what we argue are salient implications for teacher professional development and teacher learning. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50:315–347, 2013     

Looking others in the eye: rights and gender in South African education policy

In this paper we examine relations between education policy and local practice. Situating our work within the literature on the local implementation of education policy, we develop a pedagogical perspective for understanding relations between policy and local practice. We argue that policy‐makers’ attempts to enact policy can be viewed as a form of teaching and that local educators can be seen as learners from policy. This pedagogical perspective provides a theoretical frame for the papers in this volume. We trace the evolution of this pedagogical perspective in our work, and we preview the contribution the papers in this volume make to developing this frame. We also present details of our research methods.

     

VAKing out learning styles—why the notion of ‘learning styles’ is unhelpful to teachers

The notion of learning styles, and the multiple intelligence theory from which some of this derives, has come to be one of the dominant themes in the discourse on learning and teaching. This article argues that much of the language associated with this recent educational phenomenon is misleading for teachers. The author argues that instead of drawing attention to how children learn and the tools and processes of learning, learning style theories have led to pupils being labelled as being particular types of learners. The article argues for a more sustained debate on the notion of learning styles that will encourage teachers to interrogate underlying concepts more deeply.     

TECHNOLOGY AND GREASE: A FORMULA FOR EDUTAINMENT AND EFFICIENCY

Joint planning by Richard Daley College with a high school, the National Center for Education and the Economy, and the Associated Equipment Distributers Foundation produced a technology-based partnership that has motivated students, avoided additional construction, and resulted in an 84% graduation rate, including 32 graduates with 1 year of college and 6 students among the top 100 Hispanic graduates in the nation. The model is under consideration for adoption in Lubbock, Texas, and in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program won an Excellence in Learning-Centered Instruction Award from the Illinois Community College Board in 2000 and the Bellwether Award for Governance, Planning, and Finance at the 2001 Community College Futures Assembly.     

Academics' Strategies and Obstacles in Achieving Collaboration between Universities and SMEs

There is an ongoing debate both in the United States and Europe about the need to develop a broader view of scholarship and the different activities connected with it, including ‘service to the community’. This empirical study reveals that researchers who are engaged in collaboration with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) encounter many hindrances within the academic structure and obstacles due cultural differences that needs to be overcome. But it is also evident that they are creative and learn different strategies in accomplishing their goals and they also bring back useful experiences and knowledge from their cooperation into their research and teaching within the academic organization. We suggest that attention should be paid to the broader and more elaborate view of collaborative knowledge production that we present in the article if university structures are to provide better support for their academic staff to interact profitably with the community, and thereby create a ‘win–win situation’ for everyone involved.