Understanding the experience of non contributory online participants (readers) in National College for School Leadership online communities

This study explored the range of participation taking place in the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) online communities and focussed on participants who defined themselves as not actively contributing to the online discussion. We called these non-contributory participants “readers” Whilst we recognised that an individual community member’s degree of participation might simply reflect their choice, we wanted to ensure that where fuller active participation was sought, there were no system or personal barriers to prevent it. A literature review with a dual focus was therefore made, the first element being factors in the online environment that might affect participation, and the second being personal motivation where we drew especially on dynamic motivation theory. A questionnaire was constructed based on this dual review. This had questions that generated both numerical and text based responses. After a pilot study, alterations in the questionnaire were made and the revised version was sent to 2,600 recently active community members. Over 750 replies were received yielding qualitative and quantitative data. Of these, 587 identified themselves as “readers” and only their responses were analysed for this paper. Analysis produced a very rich picture of motivational factors affecting participation in online communities. Benefits of various types of online interaction were put forward and suggestions about barriers to online interaction were made. This paper suggests that online participation may be seen as a continuum and that non contributory online participants (readers) are a far from homogeneous group ranging from those who experience technical and personal barriers to those who value and gain much from readership. Suggestions are made to assist readers who would like to take further scaffolded steps towards the role of contributor     

Activity Theory to Investigate the Implementation of ICTE

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine how one primary school implements Information and Communication Technologies in Education (ICTE). The principal, IT coordinator and two class teachers were interviewed to determine their views of how ICTE was being implemented. Activity theory was used as a means of analysing the data. The findings suggest a range of views about ICTE existed within the school. The implications suggest it is important for schools to recognise the different views of ICTE existing in their communities and to take cognisance of this when, for example, planning professional development. The study also suggests that more sensitive analytical approaches need to be developed to enable more critical evaluations of ICTE's implementation within schools to be made.     

Active Learning and Teaching through Digital Technology and Live Performance: ‘Choreographic Thinking’ as Art Practice in the Tertiary Sector

This article is an interdisciplinary reflective response to an intensive studio learning and teaching experience involving artists, academics and postgraduate students. The authors of this article teach, research and practise in coding, digital design, dance, and virtual and live performance. As lecturers and students we reflect upon and propose future approaches to art practice in tertiary education informed by live performance, performance capture and studio‐based responses to digital and virtual platforms. We reflect on an innovative contribution to the field of research–teaching nexus as informed by digital and virtual data capture identifying the key element of immediacy in live performance and choreographic improvisation with systems. We reflect on practice‐based inquiry via the Choreographic Coding Lab (CCL) model – a dialogical negotiation between capture technology and interdisciplinary artists in industry and academia. How can we encourage potential studio inquiry as an adapted model in tertiary learning and teaching? Our interdisciplinary voices, presented as authors’ reflections, provide suggestions for future studio‐based, active learning contexts.     

Touching the screen: issues related to the use of touchscreen technology in early childhood education

This paper reports on a research project that investigated the use of touchscreens by children in early childhood and junior primary settings by introducing touchscreens in five classrooms in Melbourne. Several methods to obtain information about how children interacted with the touchscreens were used including observation, journals and field notes, and interviews. The research identified five key themes, relating to developmental issues, input device preference, technical issues, individual differences in children's use of the touchscreen and issues of collaboration.     

A Successful Physics Course Within a Traditional Medical Program

The problem of teaching physics to students in the early years of a traditional medical course, while not well covered in the recent literature, is a difficult one. Here we describe one medical school's attempts over a period of more than ten years to do so successfully. The final, successful, attempt is explained in some detail. In the process of investigation it was found that there is a minimal correlation between students' avowed level of interest in a subject and their perceptions of its difficulty (about ‐0.4), but a strong correlation between their perceptions of a subject's relevance to clinical studies and their avowed interest in the subject (about 0.95). Anecdotal evidence and comments written on evaluation questionnaires suggest that this correlation may well reflect a causal chain, a conclusion of considerable importance for course designers     

Bernstein and the Middle Class

This paper explores Basil Bernstein's insights into education and social class, and in particular the relevance of his work for understanding the British middle class. Bernstein is one of the few sociologists of education to recognise and explore differences and tensions within the middle class. We begin by exploring some of the influences of Bernstein's theorisation of social class in general, and outline his main ideas on the relationship between the middle class and education in particular. We then examine the relevance of his work for research on education and middle-class differentiation through drawing on data from our 'Destined for Success' project. This project traced the educational biographies of 300 young men and women from the beginning of their promising educational secondary school career to their mid-twenties. We argue that the distinctive dispositions and orientations of the 'new' and 'old' middle class proposed by Bernstein are evident within parental preferences for types of school, processes of student engagement and, ultimately, differentiated middle-class identities.     

The inclusion of pseudowords within the year one phonics ‘Screening Check’ in English primary schools

The paper highlights problems surrounding the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check that has accompanied the legislative framework for synthetic phonics in English primary schools. It investigates the inclusion of pseudowords and raises questions regarding their generation and categorization, the rationale for their inclusion and the assumption that the early ability to read pseudowords is associated with later success in reading. It draws upon evidence from comparative European orthographic studies employing pseudowords that have implications for the way English pupils learn to read.