Selecting Socio-scientific Issues for Teaching

Science & Education - Currently there is little guidance given to teachers in selecting focal issues for socio-scientific issues (SSI)-based teaching and learning. As a majority of teachers...     

Early childhood practice and refrains of complexity

Early childhood practice has often been described as complex in both policy documents and research literature; however, less attention has been given to exploring the nature and consequences of complexity in early childhood practice. At a time of intense policy attention in many national contexts, there is the potential for closing down, as well as for opening up conceptualisations of early childhood practice. To help keep possibilities open for multiple conceptualisations of practice, in this paper, we explore how complexity works and what it produces in early childhood practice assemblages. To do this, we draw on data fragments from research with 10 early childhood educators in NSW, Australia, and read these data with concepts from Deleuze and Guattari. We suggest four ways that our readings help articulate, and contribute to understandings of the complexity of early childhood practice.     

Improved Processing Speed: Online Computer-based Cognitive Training in Older Adults

In an increasingly aging population, a number of adults are concerned about declines in their cognitive abilities. Online computer-based cognitive training programs have been proposed as an accessible means by which the elderly may improve their cognitive abilities; yet, more research is needed in order to assess the efficacy of these programs. In the current study, a commercially available 21-day online computer-based cognitive training intervention was administered to 34 individuals aged between 53 and 75 years. The intervention consisted of computerized training in reaction time, inspection time, short-term memory for words, executive function, visual spatial acuity, arithmetic, visual spatial memory, visual scanning/discrimination, and n-back working memory. An active solitaire control group was also included. Participants were tested at baseline, posttraining and at three-weeks follow-up using a battery of neuropsychological outcome measures. These consisted of simple reaction time, complex reaction time, digit forwards and backwards, spatial working memory, digit symbol substitution, RAVLT, and trail making. Significant improvement in simple reaction time and choice reaction time task was found in the cognitive training group both posttraining and at three-weeks follow-up. However, no significant improvements on the other cognitive tasks were found. The training program was found to be successful in achieving transfer of trained cognitive abilities in speed of processing to similar untrained tasks.     

Teachers Unions in Turbulent Times: Maintaining Their Niche

Drawing on niche theory, I describe the resource dimensions that compose teachers unions’ niche and explain how aspects of the current political landscape buttress or undermine teachers unions’ realization of those resources. I also discuss teachers unions’ strategies to oppose any threats that undermine the realization of the resource arrays that make up their niche and contend that by not only resisting reforms, but also by adapting to some initiatives and collaborating with reformers to reshape other reforms, teachers unions, in all likelihood, will continue to be a powerful force in the politics of education.     

Predictors and outcomes of early versus later English language proficiency among English language learners

The development of English language learners (ELLs) was explored from kindergarten through eighth grade within a nationally representative sample of first-time kindergartners (N = 19,890). Growth curve analyses indicated that, compared to native English speakers, ELLs were rated by teachers more favorably on approaches to learning, self-control, and externalizing behaviors in kindergarten and generally continued to grow in a positive direction on these social/behavioral outcomes at a steeper rate compared to their native English-speaking peers, holding other factors constant. Differences in reading and math achievement between ELLs and native English speakers varied based on the grade at which English proficiency is attained. Specifically, ELLs who were proficient in English by kindergarten entry kept pace with native English speakers in both reading and math initially and over time; ELLs who were proficient by first grade had modest gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native English speakers that closed narrowly or persisted over time; and ELLs who were not proficient by first grade had the largest initial gaps in reading and math achievement compared to native speakers but the gap narrowed over time in reading and grew over time in math. Among those whose home language is not English, acquiring English proficiency by kindergarten entry was associated with better cognitive and behavioral outcomes through eighth grade compared to taking longer to achieve proficiency. Multinomial regression analyses indicated that child, family, and school characteristics predict achieving English proficiency by kindergarten entry compared to achieving proficiency later. Results are discussed in terms of policies and practices that can support ELL children's growth and development.     

Accurately detecting students’ lies regarding relational aggression by correctional instructions

This study investigates the effect of correctional instructions when detecting lies about relational aggression. Based on models from the field of social psychology, we predict that correctional instruction will lead to a less pronounced lie bias and to more accurate lie detection. Seventy-five teachers received videotapes of students’ true denial messages (e.g., students were innocent) and untrue denial messages (students were involved in relational aggression). A random half of the teachers were either given no further instructions or were told not to use stereotypical non-verbal cues when forming judgements (correctional instruction condition). As predicted, teachers in the correctional instruction condition were slightly better at detecting true than invented stories.     

Instructional Efficiency: Revisiting the Original Construct in Educational Research

This article revisits Paas and Van Merriënboer's (1993) Paas, F. and Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. 1993. The efficiency of instructional conditions: An approach to combine mental effort and performance measures. Human Factors., 35: 737–743. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] measure of instructional efficiency, which can be applied by educational researchers to compare the effects of different instructional conditions on learning. This measure relied on performance and mental effort on the test, and as such gave an indication of the quality of learning outcomes. The acquisition of more (less) efficient cognitive schemata is indicated by combinations of high (low) performance and low (high) mental effort. This instructional efficiency measure has become widely adopted, but in an adapted form that incorporates mental effort invested in the learning phase instead of the test phase. This article demonstrates that the adaptation has important consequences for the construct of instructional efficiency and for the type of conclusions that can be drawn. Examples are given to illustrate the various implications of different combinations of mental effort and performance measures in the light of more contemporary developments in educational research.