An investigation of the situated learnability effects of single- and dual-modal systems in education: a report of music-oriented learning environment and science computer-assisted teaching studies

The evolution of the World Wide Web has encouraged a huge surfacing of e‐learning technologies over recent years. Often, such technology is rolled out devoid of consideration towards the way in which students process and assimilate information. To date, there exists inconclusive and contradictory evidence concerning learnability effects of single‐ and dual‐model systems in education. To overcome this, we advocate that the design of e‐learning systems requires a managed mix of elements grounded in cognitive psychology. In this paper, we report the results of a study concerned with determining an effective mix of multimedia elements. This is with regard to the situated learnability effects of single‐ and dual‐modal systems tested via ‘text only’ and ‘text and auditory–verbal’ conditions. We report on these experiments using science computer‐assisted teaching and music‐oriented learning environment, e‐learning environments developed to act as test platforms for this research. The results indicated that simultaneous presentation of identical information via text and narration was associated with enhanced learnability.     

Students as partners in evaluation: student and teacher perspectives

Most course evaluation in higher education is designed and conducted by university staff and rarely are students given central responsibility for planning and implementing an evaluation. Involving students as partners in educational evaluation may offer them authentic ways to develop professional skills. We describe an ‘education option’ that involved five students in designing and conducting an evaluation of the Virtual Anatomy Tutor (VAT), an online learning resource for medical students, and report both student and staff reflections on the process. The experience gained by the five students can be transferred to other settings which provide opportunities for student designed and conducted evaluation of learning resources.     

Managing the Process of International Collaboration in Online Course Development: A Case-Example Involving Higher Education Institutions in Ireland,Switzerland, Austria,and the United Kingdom

There has been significant growth recently in online learning and joint programmes of education involving collaborative partnerships between and among higher education institutions in different jurisdictions. Utilising an interdisciplinary team model (Care and Scanlan 2001), we describe in this article the process of collaboration among four European institutions in Austria, Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom in order to develop and deliver an accredited online course on the management of work-related stress for health and social care workers. This course was also one of the first to pilot a system of equivalency between two European vocational and higher education credit schemes to promote learner mobility and recognition of a new international qualification. Although this process of collaboration occurred within a pan-European context, important lessons may be drawn from this explanation that are of potential interest to the wider international audience.     

Examining student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link in initial teacher education

The theory-practice debate has been a perennial issue in initial teacher education (ITE). By reporting a mixed-methods study in an ITE programme characterized by a university-based ‘theory-first’ approach in Hong Kong, this study offers useful empirical evidence to analyse the theory-practice issue. 346 student teachers of a BEd Programme participated in the quantitative survey, 15 of whom were interviewed. The quantitative findings showed significant positive correlations between three types of perceived professional competence and two aspects of student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link. The qualitative findings offered an in-depth understanding of the ways in which student teachers connected theoretical knowledge learned in ITE coursework and practical experience in ITE fieldwork in developing their professional competence: (1) theoretical knowledge as a guide for professional decisions and a tool for reflection on practice; (2) practicalizing theoretical knowledge: adapting theoretical knowledge to practice situations. In the process of engagement, theoretical knowledge was transformed and adapted to practice situations when student teachers coped with the challenges of the teaching contexts in their ITE fieldwork. While affirming the value of student teachers’ engagement with the theory-practice link, the findings of the study shed light on ITE practices for preparing student teachers for such engagement.     

Predicting reading success in a multilevel schoolwide reading model: a retrospective analysis

Despite recent research findings that implicate a long list of student variables that predict reading success or failure, these predictor variables have not been considered in the context of contemporary models of multitiered schoolwide reading intervention. This longitudinal, retrospective study follows 668 kindergarten and first-grade students identified as at risk for later reading difficulties through third grade. Key predictor variables were examined to determine their validity for predicting initial status and growth on oral reading fluency, third-grade oral reading fluency, and third-grade performance on a standardized test of reading. Results are provided in light of the instructional model provided. Implications for instruction and assessment are discussed.     

The montessori preschool: Preparation for writing and reading

Dr. Maria Montessori was a perceptive observer of the learning processes of children, and nowhere is this revealed more clearly than in her approach to language. She viewed reading as the ultimate abstraction of language rather than a specific skill to be taught. Decoding is the skill to be taught. The concept of indirect and direct preparation for learning is of major importance in the rich heritage she gave us. She saw the existence of an epigenesis of intellectual functioning, which implies that the experiential roots of a given schema, or learned behavior, will lie in antecedent activities that may be quite different in structure from the schema to be learned. She used this principle effectively. This article discusses how Montessori’s method and materials address the indirect and direct preparation for learning written language.     

The contribution of non-formal learning in higher education to student teachers’ professional competence

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers’ learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers’ non-formal learning in higher education contributes to their professional competence, an under-researched area in teacher education. A total of 282 student teachers participated in the quantitative survey, 18 of whom were interviewed. Although  Undergraduate Learning Experience: Formal Learning and Non-formal Learning was not the most highly rated factor, multiple regression indicated that it was the only ITE professional learning factor that significantly predicted all dimensions of professional competence. This supports the hypothesis that non-formal learning as a part of learning in higher education makes a significant contribution to student teachers’ professional competence. The qualitative findings showed that non-formal learning provided opportunities for service learning, co-curricular activities, and student exchange programmes with different objects of engagement. Student teachers constructed pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of context through hands-on experiences, professional dialogue with practitioners, and observations of others’ practice. Such knowledge contributed to their competence in classroom teaching and to work in schools. Implications for ITE are discussed.     

Linguistic Differences with Bilingual Parents Who are Immigrants: Words for Dialoguing About Young Children

While partnerships including meaningful, two-way, parent–teacher dialogue about young children during early childhood program and school meetings are critical, linguistic differences between bilingual parents who are immigrants and early educators can impede communication and lead to inequitable services. In this article, we focus on one aspect of linguistic differences for educators and bilingual parents: English-language adjectives used by teachers to describe young children. We highlight aspects of adjectives, their uses, and cultural contexts to illustrate potential misunderstandings that may lead to not only miscommunication but also challenges to partnerships and equitable early childhood service provision. Subsequently, we present recommendations to foster meaningful dialogue and greater understanding between educators and bilingual parents who are immigrants when dialoguing about young children.     

Comparing Pre-Service Teachers’ PCK Through 9E Instructional Practice: A Case of Mathematics and Technology Pre-Service Teachers

Instructional practice plays a significant role in understanding teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The aim of the study reported on was to compare mathematics and technology pre-service teachers’ knowledge of PCK. The study used a case study approach of five mathematics and five technology pre-service teachers with a total of ten. Data was collected in seven public schools around Gauteng province in South Africa. The observation technique was employed in order to understand students’ classroom practice, using a video camera to capture the setting. One lesson of 45 minutes presented by each pre-service teacher, rendering a total of ten lessons, was observed. The study adapted the theoretical framework of PCK (Shulman 1987). The study scrutinised the data based on the qualitative content analysis method and found that most pre-service teachers in both mathematics and technology possess a limited knowledge of PCK. In both subjects, most of the pre-service teachers’ classroom practice did not exhibit comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter or knowledge of the learners. However, the difference is that only mathematics pre-service teachers have some knowledge of assessment. The data also indicate that “9E” instructional practice can be a valuable tool to enhance field-specific PCK within the field of mathematics and technology education subjects. Therefore, the study proposes further investigation of the “9E” instructional model that could be used as field-specific PCK within the fields of mathematics, science and technology.     

Scieszka’s The Stinky Cheese Man : A Tossed Salad of Parodic Re-versions

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith was awarded a Randolph Caldecott Honor Medal in 1993. Scieszka and Smith subvert textual authority through playing “with literary and cultural codes and conventions” (McCallum 1996, p. 400) in their metafictive text. In this article, I discuss the intertextual and parodic nature of The Stinky Cheese Man and explore Grade 5 students’ responses to this postmodern picturebook. Excerpts from students’ written responses and small group peer-led discussions illustrate some of their responses to and interpretations of the re-versions of the tales, the interactive nature of the characters and the obtrusive narrator, and the design of the book. Sylvia Pantaleo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in children’s literature and all areas of the language arts.