The mythology of feedback

Much of the general education and discipline-specific literature on feedback suggests that it is a central and important element of student learning. This paper examines feedback from a social process perspective and suggests that feedback is best understood through an analysis of the interactions between academics and students. The paper argues that these two groups will have their own mythology of feedback and that this will inform their beliefs, attitudes and behaviours in the feedback process. Where there are different mythologies, the outcome will be dissonance. The paper reports on a study in which a 15-item questionnaire was distributed to academics and students in a School of Law and a School of Management. Responses were received from 91 academics and 1197 students. The data suggests that academics and students have different perceptions of feedback and this creates dissonance as the two groups offer different interpretations of the same feedback events.     

Conceptualising the role of information and communication technologies in the design of higher education teaching models used in the UK

Despite the widespread availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and some research into specific pedagogical practices using them, there has been little research on the role of these technologies in shaping broader pedagogical approaches in higher education (HE). Increased experimentation in using ICTs raises questions about their pedagogical role in teaching, learning and assessment provision, and in creating innovative pedagogies. An accepted approach is needed to compare the different ways ICTs and rich media are used in HE teaching models. Within the SusTEACH HE sustainability research project this was needed to support the carbon‐based environmental assessment of HE courses using ICTs. Building on a review of learning design theories and models, and ICTs used for pedagogical purposes, this paper considers several approaches to conceptualising the role of ICTs in HE courses, leading to the development of the Teaching Models Rating Tool designed to examine the role of ICTs in course provision. This tool characterises courses as using Face‐to‐Face Teaching Models, Distance Teaching Models, ICT‐Enhanced Blended Teaching Models or Online Teaching Models. Whilst this tool was designed to support research on sustainable HE teaching models in the UK, it has wider applications to support comparative assessments of pedagogical and economic impacts. Further developments will be informed by the complex and evolving role of ICTs in HE teaching models.     

Increasing Student Engagement,Self-Efficacy,and Meta-Cognitive Self-Regulation in the High School Geometry Classroom: Do iPads Help?

Teachers are increasingly integrating mobile digital technology into the classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of incorporating iPads in a secondary-level geometry course on academic achievement, student engagement, self-efficacy, and meta-cognitive self-regulation. Students in the iPad-using classroom experienced lower levels of geometry proficiency scores, higher levels of off-task behaviors, and similar levels of self-efficacy and meta-cognitive self-regulation compared to the non-iPad group. However, the results may have been affected by several latent variables that can be controlled for in future research.     

Body composition assessment of English Premier League soccer players: a comparative DXA analysis of first team,U21 and U18 squads

Professional soccer players from the first team (1st team, n = 27), under twenty-one (U21, n = 21) and under eighteen (U18, n = 35) squads of an English Premier League soccer team were assessed for whole body and regional estimates of body composition using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Per cent body fat was lower in 1st team (10.0 ± 1.6) compared with both U21 (11.6 ± 2.5, P = 0.02) and U18 (11.4 ± 2.6, P = 0.01) players. However, this difference was not due to variations (P = 0.23) in fat mass between squads (7.8 ± 1.6 v 8.8 ± 2.1 v 8.2 ± 2.4 kg, respectively) but rather the presence of more lean mass in 1st team (66.9 ± 7.1 kg, P < 0.01) and U21 (64.6 ± 6.5 kg, P = 0.02) compared with U18 (60.6 ± 6.3 kg) players. Accordingly, fat mass index was not different (P = 0.138) between squads, whereas lean mass index was greater (P < 0.01) in 1st team players (20.0 ± 1.1 kg · m^?2) compared with U18 players (18.8 ± 1.4 kg · m^?2). Differences in lean mass were also reflective of higher lean tissue mass in all regions, for example, upper limbs/lower limbs and trunk. Data suggest that training and nutritional interventions for younger players should therefore be targeted to lean mass growth as opposed to body fat loss.     

A New Way of Working

本专栏由英国大使馆文化处提供稿件，旨在让读者从中学习地道英文，体悟英伦百味。本期介绍了一种新的工作模式——在家办公。越来越多的英国人在家办公，既可省去路上耗费的时间，又有利于提高工作效率、节约能源，一举多得。     

Cultural dimensions of decisions about educational participation among 14‐ to 19‐year‐olds: the parts that Tomlinson doesn't reach

The continued increase in levels of educational participation and patterns of attainment among young people from less advantaged social backgrounds suggests that class cultures can no longer be seen as providing significant barriers to educational progression. Indeed, it can be argued that this increase in educational participation has been facilitated by a processes of cultural convergence in which the benefits derived from qualifications are more or less universally acknowledged. At the same time, it is clear that some young people are put in positions at school that effectively promote processes of cultural resistance as survival strategies.

This paper provides an overview of some of the ways in which class cultures impact on patterns of educational participation. It draws on three recent studies in an attempt to differentiate barriers to educational progress that can be tackled through school reforms from those that originate or are constantly reinforced in the community. In the light of these observations of the cultural dimensions of the educational decisions of 14‐ to 19‐year‐olds, a brief assessment is made of the likely impact of the Tomlinson proposals.