Investigating the use of student perception data for teacher reflection and classroom improvement

This article reports a study involving: (1) developing and validating a learning environment instrument, (2) investigating whether reflection on feedback generated using the instrument led to improvements in the learning environment and (3) examining how teachers used the feedback. For the new learning environment instrument, validity was supported for a sample of 10,345 secondary students over 3 years (2,042 students in 2008, 4,467 in 2009 and 3,836 in 2010). To investigate whether reflection on feedback from this instrument led to improvements in the learning environment, multivariate analysis of variance and effect sizes were used to examine pre–post differences. Statistically significant improvements in students’ views of the learning environment were found for 8 of the 11 scales. Finally, we examined how teachers used the student feedback. Of the 459 teachers, 45 focus teachers used the feedback as part of a formal action research approach involving entries in reflective journals, written reports, discussions and participation at a forum. These data were analysed to provide an overview of the ways in which the information was used, and to provide a more detailed account of the journey of one of the teachers.     

Foreign Systems

Burton Paulu, Television and Radio in the United Kingdom (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1981---$39.50)

Annual Review of BBC Audience Research Findings, both Numbers 5 (1977/78) and 6 (1978/79) (BBC Broadcasting Research, The Langham, Portalnd Place, London WIA IAA---L1.50 and £5.00 respectively, paper)

Elias Hedinsson, TV, Family and Society: The Social Origins and Effects of Adolescents' TV Use (Almqvist & Wiksell International, Gamla Brogatan 26, P.O. Box 62-5-101, 20 Stockholm, Sweden---125 Swedish kroner)

Nordicom Review of Nordic Mass Communication. Research (Nordic Documentation Center for Mass Communication Research, Department of Political Science, Yniversity of Goteborg, Storgaten 13, S-411 24 Goteborg, Sweden---no price or frequency of issue given)

Copyright Reporter (GPO Box 3793, Sydney 2001---A$90 in Australia/A$120 by air mail outside of Australia for 12 monthly issues)

Media Information Australia (P.O. Box 305, North Ryde, NSW 2113---A$18 per year to overseas readers)

Fixing the News: Critical Perspectives on the Australian Media by Keith and Elizabeth Windschuttle, eds. (Sydney: Cassell Australia, 1981---A$9.95, 321 pp.)

Australia into the 80s by Phillip Bell and Kathe Boeringer, eds.; and Media in Crisis by Kathe Boeringer, et al, eds. (Communication, Technology and Control Foundation, P.O. Box 217, Broadway 2007---A$8.00 and A$5.00 , paper)

The Last New Movie: The Australian Film Revival (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1981-- 4377773, 337 pp.)

Les Langues Modernes, Vol. LXXIV, Nos. 5-6 for 1980 (Association des professeurs de langues vivantes de l'enseignement public, 19 rue de la Glacire, 75013 Paris---price not given, paper)     

PROBLEMS IN MODERN LANGUAGE TEACHING

Research on the psychology of learning suggests that identifying, labelling, and constructing ‘types’ of sentence could help improve children's punctuation and sentence construction. Samples of written work from a primary school were, therefore, analysed into ‘sentences’, and these classified into a manageable number of structural patterns which could be given labels meaningful to young children. The most common pattern was analysed further to yield sub‐patterns which could be arranged into an appropriate teaching sequence. The results showed that an ‘Early Teaching Grammar’ was feasible. The implications of this for practical teaching and for further research, are discussed.     

When policy instruments combine to promote coherence: an analysis of Connecticut’s policies related to teacher quality

This paper explicates the elements of several policy instruments used in Connecticut, the political conditions under which they were chosen, and their intended targets and expected effects on teacher quality and student learning. The purpose of the paper is to explain how the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) were able to implement and sustain a set of integrated policies related to teaching and learning over a 20‐year period from 1985 to 2005. We argue that this occurred for three primary reasons. First, the state legislature combined changes in teacher certification requirements in the 1980s with significant increases in teacher salaries in order to build strong political support among teachers and teacher union leaders for the new requirements. Second, in the 1980s and 1990s, CGA and CSDE repeatedly combined policy instruments in ways that involved multiple stakeholders and strong elements of capacity‐building, thereby increasing their likelihood of success. Third, several policies enacted in Connecticut in the 1990s were directly connected to and strongly reinforced each other.     

Evaluating the Performances of Minority Ethnic Pupils in Secondary Schools

This paper investigates the performances and the progress made by pupils of minority ethnic origin between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 in British secondary schools. The data used in this paper were collected as part of a PhD study by Haque (1999). The paper discusses findings from multilevel modelling analyses carried out on 12 of the 20 schools in the research study. In particular, it reveals that whilst differences exist in the performances and the progress of pupils of minority ethnic background in their Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 examinations, these differences become substantially reduced when background factors (other than ethnic origin) are taken into account. The paper concludes that in order to identify accurately and reduce the nature of disadvantages for pupils from particular minority ethnic groups, policy-makers, schools and teachers need to differentiate these groups beyond their national origin.     

The use of cognitive psychology in the development and evaluation of textbooks

The major memory representations produced by reading a textbook chapter are described. These include (a) single propositions, (b) integrations and elaborations of two or more propositions, and (c) a chapter summary. Research that bears on each of these aspects of memory for textbook information is used to select 15 dimensions for evaluating a textbook's potential for facilitating representations in memory. These dimensions are then quantified for samples from three educational psychology textbooks. The dimensions appear to be useful for evaluating a text's strengths and weaknesses.     

Knowledge Integration in Introductory Programming: CodeProbe and Interactive Case Studies

Abstract

To help introductory programming students gain an integrated, generative understanding of LISP, we designed, implemented, and evaluated the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment (LISP‐KIE). The LISP‐KIE reflected a conceptual framework which featured (a) scaffolding of students as they control their own learning rather than telling students what they should know and (b) activities engaging students in expert problem‐solving practices rather than exercises emphasizing syntax and small problems. We conducted two in‐depth studies and one comparison study to show that the LISP‐KIE fostered knowledge integration. By knowledge integration, we mean linked, organized, and connected information about such aspects of programming as design, testing, specific problem solutions, and self‐monitoring.