Classroom studies into cognitive style in mathematics for pupils with dyslexia in special education in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK

The project reported here was designed to explore the cognitive style used by pupils with dyslexia when answering a range of mathematical questions. The research involved 132 pupils aged between 9 and 13 years, including 66 pupils in mainstream and 66 pupils in specialist schools, in three countries in Europe.
Detailed studies of the methods used by pupils attempting the given questions on a test of cognitive style suggested that they fell into two main categories. These pupils were observed when completing the test and their responses were categorised accordingly. The resulting numerical data were then analysed for differences between pupils within each country and between their non-dyslexic counterparts.
The results showed significant differences in the balance of cognitive styles employed by pupils with dyslexia as opposed to their non-dyslexic counterparts. Also there were interesting differences occurring between the pupils with dyslexia within the three countries on initial testing. Further differences were established after a six-month intervention period, suggesting that the characteristics of different curriculum models do have an impact upon pupils' flexibility as learners.     

A case study of the development of WebPA: An online peer-moderated marking tool

Peer moderation of group work in higher education is rapidly advancing through the use of technological developments and is increasingly being informed by pedagogical research. The highly successful WebPA online assessment system has gone through a number of development phases over its 15-year history and has now evolved into a relatively mature and flexible tool for facilitating group work. This paper presents a case study of the approaches that have been used in the system's development from the technical perspective, and describes how the scope of the project has massively expanded and that the development has been continually backed by a sound and wide-ranging pedagogy. The benefits of using the online system are shown to be underpinned throughout by examples of good practice in the supervision of academic group work. A critical evaluation of the tool and surrounding pedagogical practices highlight future areas for technical expansion.     

Using wikis to promote quality learning in teacher training

This paper discusses writing as a social practice and speculates on how wikis might be used to promote higher quality academic writing and support collaborative learning. This study of undergraduate teacher trainees’ online learning activities focuses on how shared spaces – wikis – might be used to communicate ideas and generate course‐specific content. The study also explored how students, through such activities, were able to improve their academic writing skills and engage more critically in learning. Data captured from student discussion boards and a post‐module email questionnaire (n = 35) were used to map student perceptions of the usefulness of wikis in support of their academic studies. The data indicate that most students raised their skill level in writing directly to the publicly viewable wiki space, in sharp contrast to the more informal content they posted on the discussion boards. The scope of collaborative writing was limited due to students’ reluctance to edit each others’ work, but students appreciated the shared environment as a means of discussing their work and the content of the course. Students reported that their academic writing skills had improved through their formal participation in the wiki.     

Bayes not Bust! Why Simplicity is no Problem for Bayesians

The advent of formal definitions of the simplicity of a theoryhas important implications for model selection. But what isthe best way to define simplicity? Forster and Sober ([1994])advocate the use of Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), anon-Bayesian formalisation of the notion of simplicity. Thisforms an important part of their wider attack on Bayesianismin the philosophy of science. We defend a Bayesian alternative:the simplicity of a theory is to be characterised in terms ofWallace's Minimum Message Length (MML). We show that AIC isinadequate for many statistical problems where MML performswell. Whereas MML is always defined, AIC can be undefined. WhereasMML is not known ever to be statistically inconsistent, AICcan be. Even when defined and consistent, AIC performs worsethan MML on small sample sizes. MML is statistically invariantunder 1-to-1 re-parametrisation, thus avoiding a common criticismof Bayesian approaches. We also show that MML provides answersto many of Forster's objections to Bayesianism. Hence an importantpart of the attack on Bayesianism fails.

1. Introduction
2. TheCurve Fitting Problem

   2.1 Curves and families of curves

   2.2 Noise

   2.3 Themethod of Maximum Likelihood

   2.4 ML and over-fitting

3. Akaike's Information Criterion(AIC)
4. The Predictive Accuracy Framework
5. The Minimum MessageLength (MML) Principle

   5.1 The Strict MML estimator

   5.2 Anexample: Thebinomial distribution

   5.3 Properties ofthe SMML estimator

   5.3.1  Bayesianism

   5.3.2  Languageinvariance

   5.3.3Generality

   5.3.4  Consistencyand efficiency

   5.4 Similarity to false oracles

   5.5 Approximationsto SMML

6. Criticisms of AIC

   6.1 Problems with ML

   6.1.1  Smallsample biasin a Gaussian distribution

   6.1.2  Thevon Misescircular and von Mises—Fisherspherical distributions

   6.1.3  The Neyman–Scottproblem

   6.1.4  Neyman–Scott,predictive accuracyandminimum expected KL distance

   6.2 Otherproblems with AIC

   6.2.1  Univariate polynomial regression

   6.2.2  Autoregressiveeconometric time series

   6.2.3  Multivariatesecond-orderpolynomial modelselection

   6.2.4  Gapor no gap:a clustering-like problem forAIC

   6.3 Conclusionsfrom the comparison of MML and AIC

7. Meeting Forster's objectionsto Bayesianism

   7.1 The sub-family problem

   7.2 Theproblem of approximation,or, which framework forstatistics?

8. Conclusion

1. Details of the derivation of the Strict MMLestimator
2. MML, AIC and the Gap vs. No Gap Problem

   B.1 Expectedsize of the largest gap

   B.2 Performanceof AIC on thegap vs. no gap problem

   B.3 Performanceof MML in thegap vs. no gap problem

     

Breadth and Balance? The Impact of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies on Art in the Primary School

This paper presents the findings of a small-scale qualitative research enquiry into some of the effects on the primary school art curriculum of the introduction of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in 1988 and 1999. Five art curriculum co-ordinators and an additional part time specialist art teacher, drawn from five inner city primary schools in two London boroughs, were the subject of a semi-structured interview designed to elicit data on the broad changes in primary art education. Key external factors were the introduction of the Art National Curriculum in 1992, its subsequent development and its current condition during a period of ‘relaxation’ of the Orders, following the government's introduction of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. Little official attention has been given to other, perhaps unintended, outcomes of the latter strategy across the curriculum. This study gives an insight into the experience and perceptions of some of those carrying the responsibility for leadership of art in school in the primary phase.