Burrowing and becoming: teaching writing in uncertain times

What happens when teachers perceive a growing rift between their pedagogical practice and their students’ lived experiences? How do teachers respond to the uncertainty that such a “relevance gap” can create? In a climate in which literacy research is often pressed to address the achievement gap and to contribute to a sense of certainty, this study explored the relevance gap experienced by teachers in their teaching of writing and the ways that teaching with uncertainty contributed to their practice. Situated in theories of curriculum as currere, local knowledge of practice, and pedagogy as assemblage, the article focuses on the theory and practice of four educators who teach writing in very different and diverse contexts. The rhizo-textual analysis of the data inspired a process of making assemblages to explore context, positionality, and power in teachers’ identities as writers and teachers of writing. Two such assemblages are described, one exploring struggle and the other possibility. In the struggles and uncertainties they experienced, each teacher found new possibilities in different places: in the land, in slam poetry, in story, and in film. Our mappings and analyses suggest that teachers can create new pedagogies of becoming for them and their students by burrowing into uncertainty, process, and social critique.     

The effect of towing a range of relative resistances on sprint performance

The aim of this study was to compare sprint performance over 10 and 20 m when participants ran while towing resistances, weighing between 0 and 30% of body mass. The sample of 33 participants consisted of male rugby and soccer players (age 21.1 +/- 1.8 years, body mass 83.6 +/- 13.1 kg, height 1.82 +/- 0.1 m; mean +/- s). Each participant performed two sets of seven sprints over 20 m using a Latin rectangular design. The times were recorded at 10 and 20 m using electronic speed gates. The sprints of 13 players were video-recorded to allow calculation of stride length and frequency. For both sprints, a quadratic relationship was observed between sprint time and resistance as sprint time increased from 2.94 s to 3.80 s from 0 to 30% resistance. This relationship was statistically significant but considered not to be meaningful for performance because, over the range of resistances used in this study, the quadratic model was never more than 1% (in terms of sprint time) from the linear model. As resistance increased, the stride length shortened, with mean values of 1.63 +/- 0.13 m at 0% body mass and 1.33 +/- 0.13 m at 30% of body mass. There was no significant change in stride frequency with increasing resistance. The results show that in general there is an increase in sprint time with an increase in resistance. No particular resistance in the range tested (0 - 30%) can be recommended for practice.     

An analysis of teacher questioning behaviour in constructivist primary science education using a modification of a descriptive system designed by Barnes and Todd (1977)

An analytical framework was developed (after Barnes and Todd 1977) to enable both the cognitive and social aspects of teacher questioning in constructivist primary science education to be explored. The data categorized within this framework were collected both before and after a period of questioning INSET in the forms of audio‐taped discussions between teacher and children; audio‐taped, focused interviews between teacher and researcher; and reflective written assignments. The categories used within the framework enabled distinctive individual profiles to be identified for the participating teachers, and the manner in which these profiles changed over time could be charted. The potential for developing the usefulness of this framework for future work is considered in terms of refining some categories and improving the research design. It is suggested that the framework could be a useful diagnostic tool to help teachers develop their use of a child‐centred, constructivist teaching philosophy in primary science education.     

Teacher Research,Action Research: the Logo Action Research Collaborative

Action research is a form of professional inquiry in which the teacher's role is seen as key to educational improvement. This paper describes methodologies developed by the Logo Action Research Collaborative – a national network linking 100 teachers at nine sites – that facilitate and support collaborative inquiry by teachers into their own teaching practices, in order to understand, improve, develop, and incorporate new forms of student assessment, teaching methods, and curriculum. The project focused on the Logo computer language, a powerful learning environment for problem‐solving and mathematical inquiry. The authors provide background information on action research as an evolving discipline. They identify three phases of a year‐long action research cycle, and describe key strategies developed by the project to support teachers in taking on a research frame of mind, identifying areas of concern, and undertaking and completing action research projects. The paper includes several illustrative examples of action research investigations undertaken by teachers, and demonstrates the benefits to the students and teachers involved. It closes by making a case for the potential contribution of action research to current educational reform initiatives and school restructuring.     

Staff development for raising attainment: a practitioner's view of what works

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a practitioner's view of how continuing professional development (CPD) can help raise achievement in schools. It is one of four papers in this issue linked to a research project in Stoke-on-Trent seeking to raise attainment in schools in deprived communicates. Based on over 20 years’ experience working in and with different schools in the UK, this paper frames a head teacher's perspective, outlining seven strategies she believes are key to improving school performance. These strategies are providing CPD opportunities to all staff rather than just those involved in teaching, planning CPD activities in the light of school development priorities, mentoring and coaching between staff, forming inter-school networks and partnerships, team teaching, peer review and continual assessment of CPD impact.     

Effectiveness of bilingual education in Cambodia: a longitudinal comparative case study of ethnic minority children in bilingual and monolingual schools

There is little research in the developing countries of South East Asia on the effectiveness of bilingual education programmes that use first language instruction for ethnic minority children. This study investigated the effectiveness of a bilingual education programme involving ethnic minority children in Cambodia by comparing their performance in mathematics, Khmer literacy and oral Khmer to their ethnic minority peers whose education is in the national language only. The findings show that students in the bilingual schools performed better in mathematics than their peers in the monolingual schools, but the differences in Khmer literacy and oral Khmer test scores were statistically insignificant. The study suggests that bilingual education using first language instruction could benefit academic development among ethnic minority students in Cambodia, at least in terms of mathematics achievement.     

Effect of suspension systems on the physiological and psychological responses to sub-maximal biking on simulated smoothand bumpy tracks

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological responses of cyclists riding on a hard tail bicycle and on a full suspension bicycle. Twenty males participated in two series of tests. A test rig held the front axle of the bicycle steady while the rear wheel rotated against a heavy roller with bumps (or no bumps) on its surface. In the first series of tests, eight participants (age 19-27 years, body mass 65-82 kg) were tested on both the full suspension and hard tail bicycles with and without bumps fitted to the roller. The second series of test repeated the bump tests with a further six participants (age 22-31 years, body mass 74-94 kg) and also involved an investigation of familiarization effects with the final six participants (age 21-30 years, body mass 64-80 kg). Heart rate, oxygen consumption (VO(2)), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and comfort were recorded during 10 min sub-maximal tests. Combined data for the bumps tests show that the full suspension bicycle was significantly different (P < 0.001) from the hard tail bicycle on all four measures. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and RPE were lower on average by 8.7 (s = 3.6) ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), 32.1 (s = 12.1) beats . min(-1) and 2.6 (s = 2.0) units, respectively. Comfort scores were higher (better) on average by 1.9 (s = 0.8) units. For the no bumps tests, the only statistically significant difference (P = 0.008) was in VO(2), which was lower for the hard tail bicycle by 2.2 (s = 1.7) ml . kg(-1) . min(-1). The results indicate that the full suspension bicycle provides a physiological and psychological advantage over the hard tail bicycle during simulated sub-maximal exercise on bumps.