Towards Inclusive Teacher Education: Sensitising individuals to how they learn

Higher education has struggled to acknowledge and translate into better teaching and learning practices that sizeable literature base suggesting a link between cognitive style, learning preferences, and performance. Research is reported in which 80 undergraduate students on a primary education degree were studied to examine the relationship between their cognitive style, their learning preferences, and perceived impact on their teaching practices. All students completed the CSA measure of cognitive style, the ASSIST, two further questionnaires exploring learning preferences and perception of good teaching during the course, and an evaluation at the end of the teaching unit. Significant differences were found between the three cognitive styles investigated: wholist, intermediate, and analytic. In terms of learning preferences, using ANOVA statistically significant differences were found between the three styles with wholists being most concerned about speed of delivery and least liking computer‐assisted learning. In addition, wholists preferred less structure than analytics in their teaching and claimed to use more images while analytics claimed to use more speech in their teaching. Intermediates demonstrated a greater preference for tangential approaches to teaching and were least happy with the nature of the teaching they had received while at university. Many of the differences reported in the literature between the different cognitive styles were not evident in this study. However, the interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics of wholists and analytics, respectively, were evident and perceived to impact on planning and delivery in the classroom. While further school‐based research involving greater numbers is required, interest in learning styles remains especially relevant if one intends to offer a truly inclusive education for all learners.     

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN FOSTER CARE: IMPEDED OR IMPROVED?

Foster care's impact on academic development was investigated for 392 students reentering foster care. Psychoeducational evaluation was performed at initial and return placements. Average achievement increased .22 points between placements. Students reentering care did not show differences in achievement or IQ compared to control students with a single placement. Although average achievement showed a small increase between placements, some students showed large changes. Declining achievement was directly related to above‐average initial achievement ( p < .001), and indirectly related to not being in special education ( p < .001) and nonminority race ( p < .02). Results provide evidence that overall academic development appears neither enhanced nor hindered by foster care placement, but specific groups may be at risk for poor gains. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 527–535, 2004.     

Some Guideline Proposals for Teacher Education

This paper has been based closely on an address presented at the Institute of Education, Singapore, in February 1985.     

The relationship between dyslexia and Meares‐Irlen Syndrome

Meares‐Irlen Syndrome (MIS) is characterised by symptoms of visual stress and visual perceptual distortions that are alleviated by using individually prescribed coloured filters. Coloured overlays (sheets of transparent plastic that are placed upon the page) are used to screen for the condition. MIS is diagnosed on the basis of either the sustained voluntary use of an overlay or an immediate improvement (typically of more than 5%) on the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test (WRRT). Various studies are reviewed suggesting a prevalence of 20–34% using these criteria. Stricter criteria give a lower prevalence: for example, 5% of the population read more than 25% faster with an overlay. It has been alleged that MIS is more common in dyslexia, but this has not been systematically investigated. We compared a group of 32 dyslexic with 32 control children aged 7–12 years, matched for age, gender and socio‐economic background. Participants were tested with Intuitive Overlays, and those demonstrating a preference had their rate of reading tested using the WRRT with and without their preferred overlay. Both groups read faster with the overlay, and more so in the dyslexic group. ANOVA revealed no significant effect of group, but a significant improvement in WRRT with overlay (p=0.009) and a significant interaction between group and overlay (p=0.031). We found a similar prevalence of MIS in the general population to that in previous studies and a prevalence in the dyslexic group that was a little higher (odds ratio for >5% criterion: 2.6, 95% confidence limit 0.9–7.3). The difference in prevalence in the two groups did not reach statistical significance. We conclude that MIS is prevalent in the general population and possibly a little more common in dyslexia. Children with dyslexia seem to benefit more from coloured overlays than non‐dyslexic children. MIS and dyslexia are separate entities and are detected and treated in different ways. If a child has both problems then they are likely to be markedly disadvantaged and they should receive prompt treatments appropriate to the two conditions. It is recommended that education professionals as well as eye‐care professionals are alert to the symptoms of MIS and that children are screened for this condition, as well as for other visual anomalies.     

Behavioral momentum in academics: Using embedded high‐p sequences to increase academic productivity

The use of high‐probability (high‐p) request sequences has enjoyed support in the applied behavioral literature as a method to increase compliance. Based on the theory of behavioral momentum, high‐probability sequences increase the rate of responding, and subsequent rate of reinforcement, within a response class. This increase in density of reinforcement results in increased responding for the response class as a whole. Early research in this area had focused mainly on compliance issues for individuals with developmental disabilities. However, more recently the utility of high‐p sequences has been examined within the context of academics. The purpose of these two experiments was to examine the use of high‐p sequences with two academic tasks—letter‐writing and mathematics problem completion. The results of these studies suggest that high‐p sequences can be used to increase academic productivity. Moreover, the addition of experimenter‐delivered reinforcers to existing high‐p sequences enhances overall behavioral persistence. Theoretical and applied implications of persistence and behavioral momentum are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 789–801, 2004.     

Learning from Texts and Visual Aids: a Developmental Perspective

The aims of this research were to investigate the ways in which students in primary and secondary schools process texts and accompanying visual aids and to ascertain any developmental patterns. Think-aloud protocols were gathered from 119 Grade 5, Grade 7 and Grade 9 students while they read and studied grade-appropriate History and Science materials which contained both text and visual aids (tables, diagrams). Analyses of the think-aloud protocols yielded over 50 different processes, subsumed under 10 major categories. While the History results showed no reliable grade differences in the 10 think-aloud categories, the Science results showed developmental differences. Older students demonstrated a more diverse array of strategies, and explicit linking of text and visual aid information was not as evident in the younger students. ANOVAs following cluster analyses showed weak relationships between cluster membership and outcomes. Implications for instruction are discussed.     

Can training improve marker accuracy at detecting contract cheating? A multi-disciplinary pre-post study

Contract cheating occurs when students outsource assessed work. In this study, we asked experienced markers from four disciplines to detect contract cheating in a set of 20 discipline-specific assignments. We then conducted a training workshop to improve their detection accuracy, and afterwards asked them to detect contract cheating in 20 new assignments. We analysed the data in terms of sensitivity (the rate at which markers spotted contract cheating) and specificity (the rate at which markers spotted real student work). Pre-workshop marker sensitivity was 58% and specificity was 83%. Post-workshop marker sensitivity was 82% and specificity was 87%. The increase in sensitivity was statistically significant, but the increase in specificity was not. These results indicate that markers can often detect contract cheating when asked to do so, and that training may be helpful in improving their accuracy. We suggest that markers’ suspicions may be crucial in addressing contract cheating.     

Is anyone out there listening? Explaining low reciprocal interactivity during televised lessons in a developing country context

In face‐to‐face teaching, the educator is able to directly mediate learning and gauge the level of the learners’ English proficiency. Teleteaching makes this virtually impossible, as learners are invisible and thus immediate intervention in learning or estimations of proficiency are much more difficult to achieve. TELETUKS Schools1 TUKS is the original name of the university given in 1908 (Transvaal Universiteits Kollege) and the nickname by which the institution is commonly known in popular parlance. View all notes—a community project of the University of ­Pretoria—aims to assist Grade 12 learners prepare for their final examinations via interactive, televised lessons in key subjects. This article seeks to explain why learners refrain from participating during educational transmissions even though technology permits bi‐directional audio links. Understanding why viewers are reluctant to interact during transmissions could help educationists exploit the unique instructional potential of television, especially in remote areas of developing countries or where resources are severely limited. The results of a questionnaire survey conducted during a TELETUKS winter school (2002) suggest that limited language skills and the medium of instruction (English)—compounded by the nature and complexities of the medium—are possible reasons why the anticipated learner‐presenter interaction remains exceptionally low. This exploratory study also shows that further research in the form of in‐depth participant interviews; direct observation of learner participation and content analysis of televised lessons ought to establish the deeper, underlying reasons for low interactivity.     

Letter names, letter sounds and phonological awareness: an examination of kindergarten children across letters and of letters across children

In this study 149 kindergarten children were assessed for knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, phonological awareness, and cognitive abilities. Through this it examined child and letter characteristics influencing the acquisition of alphabetic knowledge in a naturalistic context, the relationship between letter-sound knowledge and letter-name knowledge, and the prediction of Grade 1 phonological awareness and word identification from these variables. Knowledge of letter sounds was better for vowels and for letters with consonant–vowel names than for those with vowel–consonant names or names bearing little relationship to their sounds. However, there were anomalies within each category reflecting characteristics of the individual letters. Structural equation modelling showed that cognitive ability, comprising receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, rapid automatized naming of colours, and phonological memory significantly contributed to alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness. In turn, letter-name knowledge but not phonological awareness predicted letter-sound knowledge and subsequent reading skill.This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author. Thank you is extended to the participating schools and children and to Ian Newby-Clark for his orientation to AMOS. Michelle Bell, Shelly Moretti and Jodi Page have since graduated from the University of Guelph