Recurring phases of engaging life pursuits: Functionality,intuitive excellence,conceptual understanding,and self‐transcendence as they relate to teacher education

Abstract

Acquiring teaching competence in teacher preparation programs involves the phases of functionality (the technology of teaching), intuitive excellence (the art of teaching), conceptual understanding (the science of teaching), and self‐transcendence (the spiritual aspect of teaching). These phases are recurring as each task involved in the teaching act is undertaken during the life pursuit of teaching competence.     

RANDOM PROBES OF GSS QUESTIONS

Survey analysts frequently know little about the validity oftheir questions. They often have no direct evidence that respondentsunderstand the questions being posed and that shared understandingexists between the analyst and the respondent. Using the ‘randomprobe’ technique developed by Howard Schuman, about 30questions from the 1984 General Social Survey are examined.Overall there appears to be few validity problems with thesequestions, but some alternative understandings and problemsare examined. The random probes also can be used to gain substantiveinsight into the issue under investigation and their value inthis area is illustrated.     

The bacterium that got infected by a cow!

This article is a commentary on horizontal gene transfer and how it is modifying our understanding of evolution.     

Developing University Managers

This article reports the results of a study of the extent of management development programmes for managers of universities. The method used was a postal survey of all UK universities, which produced a response of over 60 per cent of universities. According to the responses received, about half of UK universities provide some organised management development for their managers with the other half doing nothing to develop their managers in any systematic way. On this basis, universities provide less management development for their managers than most other UK organisations. A few universities have achieved, and some are intending to seek, the Investors in People standard. Personnel managers within the universities are convinced of the need for management development for those who manage our universities. However, lack of resources and lack of commitment from vice-chancellors and other senior academics are the main barriers to the successful implementation of systematic management development.     

Schooling effects on degree performance: A comparison of the predictive validity of aptitude testing and secondary school grades at Oxford University

This article examines the cause of school type effects upon gaining a first class degree at Oxford University, whereby for a given level of secondary school performance, private school students perform less well at degree level. We compare the predictive power of an aptitude test and secondary school grades (GCSEs) for final examination performance, using data from the Oxford Admissions Study. Both metrics are predictive of final degree performance but the school effects are only statistically robust for arts students. Private school students perform less well in final examinations relative to their GCSE results when compared with state school students, but they do not under perform relative to their aptitude test scores or in gross terms. It is therefore argued that teaching effects, associated with private school students, distort secondary school grades as an indicator of academic potential in higher education when compared to state school students.     

An instrument for assessing primary students’ knowledge of information graphics in mathematics

Information graphics have become increasingly important in representing, organising and analysing information in a technological age. In classroom contexts, information graphics are typically associated with graphs, maps and number lines. However, all students need to become competent with the broad range of graphics that they will encounter in mathematical situations. This paper provides a rationale for creating a test to measure students’ knowledge of graphics. This instrument can be used in mass testing and individual (in‐depth) situations. Our analysis of the utility of this instrument informs policy and practice. The results provide an appreciation of the relative difficulty of different information graphics, and provide the capacity to benchmark information about students’ knowledge of graphics. The implications for practice include the need to support the development of students’ knowledge of graphics, the existence of gender differences, the role of cross‐curriculum applications in learning about graphics, and the need to explicate the links among graphics.