“Science of the singular”: an explanatory single case study of whole school guidance counselling in Ireland

This article will discuss the findings of a single explanatory case study on the model of whole school guidance counselling in the Irish secondary school system, which was carried out during a turbulent period of policy and practice changes in the delivery of guidance counselling services to students from 2012 onwards. Although the case study is positioned within a single voluntary school, the findings may be typical of similar secondary schools settings in Ireland and abroad. Particular focus is given to explicating the key findings of the case study through the specific themes of: concepts of whole school guidance counselling, the Irish integrated model of guidance counselling, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, and the effect of resource re-allocations by policy makers funding guidance school services.     

Deconstructing deep and surface: Towards a critique of phenomenography

The notion of 'deep' and 'surface' approaches to learning is critiquedalong with phenomenography, the associated methodology and theory ofknowledge. A number of reasons are suggested to explain why the deep/surfacenotion has attained what is tantamount to foundational status within highereducation research, practice and development. These include its ability toboth cohere with the past while at the same time enabling a new generation ofresearchers to rise within the discourse; the contemporaneous growth ofeducational development centres and staff developers within higher educationinstitutions; the simplicity, universality and power of the metaphor.Some elements of a critique of phenomenography are suggested followingboth postmodern and philosophy of science objections regarding theobservational and interpretive neutrality of the researcher. These point tothe importance of the understandings of researchers in the construction ofresults. It is also suggested that the 'qualitative' nat ure of the researchis undeveloped and does not exhibit the hermeneutical values usuallyassociated with 'human' as opposed to positivist science.The idea of deconstruction is then introduced and the deep/surfacemetaphor discussed in terms of the post-structural critique of binaries.Finally, the question of power within the higher education developmentdiscourse is raised.     

Can narrative cutscenes improve home learning from a math game? An experimental study with children

Little is known about the instructional effects of narrative framing elements in child learning games. In this study, second and third graders (M_age = 8.24) played one of two versions of a successful, commercial mathematical learning game at home for 2 weeks (N = 95; between-subject design). The versions differed in the presence/absence of a background story conveyed through comic cutscenes at the beginning and the end of the game. Results showed that children played the game intensively in both conditions: despite not being forced to do so. Plus, they also learned from the game. As expected, children assigned to the cutscenes condition interfaced with the cutscenes. However, no between-group difference was detected in pre-post learning gains, parent-reported engagement, self-reported enjoyment, time spent with the game and the number of solved in-game tasks (all |ds| < 0.29). Altogether, no advantage or disadvantage from the narrative comic cutscenes was revealed.     

Audio-video correspondence and its role in attention and memory

This study measured the effect of audio-video channel correspondence on attention and memory. Three versions of four TV news stories were the stimuli. The high-correspondence version employed a specific audio-video semantic match, the medium-correspondence version a less specific match, and the no-correspondence version no match. High channel correspondence promoted the most efficient division of attention and the best memory scores on visual and factual recognition measures. The medium-correspondence version yielded significantly worse visual memory and attention scores, but factual attention and memory scores equal to those for the high-correspondence version. The no-correspondence version yielded high visual recognition scores, but the worst visual attention scores, suggesting that attentional capacity boundaries were overwhelmed by the stimulus. The results across all conditions suggest that when attentional capacity is exceeded, memory of the overall story is degraded.     

Index of science reading awareness: An interactive-constructive model,test verification,and grades 4–8 results

The purpose of this study was to develop and verify the Index of Science Reading Awareness (ISRA) based on a model of an efficient, successful interactive-constructive science reader and three independent metacognitive awareness domains. Several researchers have noted the need for efficient, reliable, and valid measures of metacognition. ISRA data collected on 532 students (Grades 4–8) were analyzed using factor analyses, linear structural modeling, and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to help verify the model and the test. The factor analyses and linear structural modeling indicated that these data did not support the assumption about the three independent metacognitive awareness domains, but suggested that the model and the test were structured around the design features of science reading, science text, and science reading strategies. One-way ANOVAs indicated significant, predicted reading ability and gender differences but unexpected grade-level differences. The composite metacognitive awareness data indicated that most Grade 4–8 students have surface knowledge about science reading, science text, and science reading strategies, and indicated specific targets for explicit science reading instruction. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 27-51, 1998.