Teaching with student response systems in elementary and secondary education settings: A survey study

This study examined how 498 elementary and secondary educators use student response systems in their instruction. The teachers all completed an online questionnaire designed to learn about their goals for using response systems, the instructional strategies they employ when using the system, and the perceived effects of response systems. Participants in the study tended to use similar instructional strategies when using the technology as have been reported in higher education. These include posing questions to check for student understanding and diagnose student difficulties, sharing a display of student responses for all to see, asking students to discuss or rethink answers, and using feedback from responses to adjust instruction. A latent class analysis of the data yielded four profiles of teacher use based on frequency of use and breadth of instructional strategies employed. Teachers who used the technology most frequently and who employed broadest array of strategies were more likely to have received professional development in instructional strategies and to perceive the technology as more effective with students.     

Sociocultural Perspectives on Transition to School from Pacific Islands Early Childhood Centres

Sociocultural theories of learning and development underpin a number of studies of young children's experiences as they move from early childhood education centres to school settings. This paper summarises research designed to investigate children's transition to primary school from Pacific early childhood centres in New Zealand. The study records experiences of transition to school of families from each of five Pacific groups (Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, and Tonga). The emphasis is on language and children's other experiences as they move from Pacific Islands early childhood centres into English-language primary schools. Findings from in-depth interviews with children, parents, early childhood teachers, and school teachers are summarised, and brief reference is also made to analyses of the content of the 19 participating schools' charters. The paper draws on sociocultural perspectives to comment on aspects of facilitating transition. Les the´ories socioculturelles d'apprentissage et de de´veloppement soutiennent un certain nombre d'e´tudes sur les expe´riences des petits enfants pendant qu'ils se de´placent des centres d'e´ducation de la petite enfance a ¤ un cadre d'e´cole. Cet article re´sume la recherche conc¸ue pour e´tudier la transition des enfants a ¤ l'e´cole primaire des centres d'e´ducation de la petite enfance d'iles Pacifiques en Nouvelle-Ze´lande. Cette e´tude enregistre des expe´riences de transition a ¤ l'e´cole des familles de chacun de cinq groupes Pacifiques (iles Cook, Nioue´, Samoa, Toke´lao, et Tonga). L'emphase est sur la langue et les autres expe´riences des enfants pendant qu'ils se de´placent des centres d'e´ducation de la petite enfance d'iles Pacifiques dans les e´coles primaires de langue anglaise. Des re´sultats des entrevues de´taille´es avec des enfants, avec des parents, avec des enseignants spe´cialise´s dans l'e´tude la petite enfance, et des enseignants d'e´cole sont re´sume´s, et on fait une re´fe´rence bre ¤ ve aux analyses du contenu des chartes des 19 e´coles qui participent. L'article tire sur des perspectives socioculturelles pour faire des observations sur des aspects de la facilitation de la transition. Las teori´as socio-culturales del aprendizaje y el desarrollo apuntalan un nu´mero de estudios sobre las experiencias de nin ¨ os pequen ¨ os cuando pasan de los centros de educacio´n para la primera infancia al medio de la escuela. Este ensayo resume la investigacio ´n disen ¨ ada para investigar la transicio´n de los nin ¨ os a la escuela primaria de centros preescolares del Paci´fico en Nueva Zelanda. El estudio registra experiencias de la transicio´n a la escuela de familias de cada uno de cinco grupos del Paci´fico (islas Cook, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, y Tonga). El e´nfasis esta´ en el lenguaje y las otras experiencias por las que pasan los nin ¨ os al desplazarse de los centros pre-escolares de las Islas del Paci´fico a las escuelas primarias de lengua inglesa. Se resumen aqui´ los resultados de entrevistas detalladas con los nin ¨ os, los padres, los maestros de la primera infancia, los ensen ¨ antes de escuela y se hace breve referencia a los ana´lisis del contenido de los estatutos de las 19 escuelas que participan. El ensayo utiliza las perspectivas socioculturales para comentar sobre los aspectos de la facilitacio´n de esta transicio´n.     

肝片吸虫感染对山羊机体无机盐含量的影响

选择 9只 6 - 10月龄的健康雄性白山羊 ,经粪便检查和DotBLISA检测 ,确认无肝片吸虫感染 ,随机分成感染组 (n =5 )和对照组 (n =4 ) ,试验组每只一次口服接种 15 0个肝片吸虫囊蚴。每周定时从颈静脉采集感染前 0周和感染后 14周血液一次 ,分离血清 ,测定血清中的钾、钙、钠、镁、磷、氯等无机盐的含量 ,旨在研究感染肝片吸虫对山羊机体无机盐含量的影响。结果表明感染后山羊血清中的钾、钠、钙、镁、磷、氯的含量均成波动变化 ,说明肝片吸虫感染后机体无机盐含量发生了不同程度的变化 ,这与虫体感染后机体的代谢发生改变有关。     

The adjustment of goldfish to reduction in magnitude of reward in massed trials

For a group of goldfish trained in a runway under conditions of highly massed practice, reduction in magnitude of reward produced a gradual decline in performance to the level of a small-reward control group but no suggestion of negative successive contrast. These results are consistent with the suggestion that reward plays a somewhat different role in the learning of fish and rats. They also serve to extend the range of conditions under which the stimulus aftereffects of reward come to control the instrumental behavior of fish.     

Spanish and English Early Literacy Profiles of Preschool Latino English Language Learner Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine within-group individual differences in the code-related and oral language abilities of an economically stressed Spanish-speaking English language learner (ELL) preschool sample and to evaluate the predictive relationship of these differences to later listening comprehension. Latent class analysis was used to identify similarities in both the latent and outcome variables to form classes of students with similar profiles on the measured variables. Our 1st finding confirmed the existence of 4 distinct psychometrically validated profiles: (a) Low English Language, Average Spanish Language, Mixed Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 19.4%); (b) Average English Language, Strengths in Spanish Language and Spanish Code-Related (24.2%); (c) Mixed English and Spanish Language, Low Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 34%); and (d) High English Language, Average Spanish Language, Mixed Spanish Code-Related (prevalence 22%). The resulting profiles demonstrated that English and Spanish code- and language-related domains of emergent literacy developed unevenly across the Spanish-speaking ELL preschoolers. Relative strengths and weaknesses in code- and language-related skills were also found to be meaningfully related to end-of-year listening comprehension—a precursor to reading comprehension. Finally, profiles yielded meaningful variability along sociodemographic variables. Practice or Policy: Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Shifting the blame in higher education – social inclusion and deficit discourses

The principles of social inclusion have been embraced by institutions across the higher education sector but their translation into practice through pedagogy is not readily apparent. This paper examines perceptions of social inclusion and inclusive pedagogies held by academic staff at an Australian university. Of specific interest were the perceptions of teaching staff with regard to diverse student populations, particularly students from low socio-economic (LSES) backgrounds, given the institution's reasonably high proportion of LSES student enrolment (14%). A mixed-method approach was utilised: (i) in-depth interviews with a representative sample of academic staff and (ii) an online survey targeting all academic staff across the institution. The results point to the dual responsibilities of students and institutions in enacting inclusivity in order to move beyond reductive standpoints that simply apportion blame.