Computing in the curriculum: Challenges and strategies from a teacher’s perspective

Computing is being introduced into the curriculum in many countries. Teachers’ perspectives enable us to discover what challenges this presents, and also the strategies teachers claim to be using successfully in teaching the subject across primary and secondary education. The study described in this paper was carried out in the UK in 2014 where teachers were preparing for the mandatory inclusion of Computing into the curriculum. A survey was conducted of over 300 teachers who were currently teaching Computing to elicit their perspectives on challenges and strategies. From the analysis of the data, extrinsic and intrinsic challenges were identified for both teachers and students. In addition, a variety of pedagogical strategies were recommended by teachers from their own practice. In categorising approaches taken by teaching to support students five key themes emerged: unplugged type activities, contextualisation of tasks, collaborative learning, developing computational thinking, and scaffolding programming tasks. Further investigation could support whether these strategies can alleviate the challenges of teaching and learning of Computing for students and teachers. In particular developing student resilience in Computing is seen as a challenge while not many strategies are suggested. The results of this study will be useful for teachers who are new to the teaching of Computing.     

Accuracy in identifying students’ miscues during oral reading: a taxonomy of scorers’ mismarkings

Reading and Writing - Informal reading inventories (IRI) and curriculum-based measures of reading (CBM-R) have continued importance in instructional planning, but raters have exhibited difficulty...     

Meta-Analysis and Meta-Synthesis Methodologies: Rigorously Piecing Together Research

For a variety of reasons, education research can be difficult to summarize. Varying contexts, designs, levels of quality, measurement challenges, definition of underlying constructs, and treatments as well as the complexity of research subjects themselves can result in variability. Education research is voluminous and draws on multiple methods including quantitative, as well as, qualitative approaches to answer key research questions. With increased numbers of empirical research in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT), using various synthesis methods can provide a means to more deeply understand trends and patterns in research findings across multiple studies. The purpose of this article is to illustrate structured review or meta-synthesis procedures for qualitative research, as well as, novel meta-analysis procedures for the kinds of multiple treatment designs common to IDT settings. Sample analyses are used to discuss key methodological ideas as a way to introduce researchers to these techniques.     

Textbook treatments and students' understanding of acceleration

This paper has been accepted for publication in theJournal of Research in Science Teaching. Copies are available from Gloria Dall'Alba, ERADU, RMIT, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne. Vic. 3001.     

Gender Differences in Introductory Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Exams: Multiple Choice Versus Constructed Response Questions

An analysis of 295 male and 194 female examinations from introductory atmospheric and oceanic science courses is conducted to determine whether or not there exists gender differences in the performance on multiple choice versus constructed response sections of the exams. The difference in the mean performance of males and females on constructed response relative to multiple choice sections of final exams, even in years where the females performed better than or worse than the males on both sections, is on average 5% that is significant at the 0.1% level. Gender differences on time-limited midterm exams are not significant. It is further shown that final exam performance is not significantly related to whether or not the exam starts with a multiple choice versus constructed response set of questions. While our analysis is unable to differentiate between the possibilities that multiple choice questions favor male students and the competing hypothesis that constructed response questions favor female students, existing literature is reviewed to suggest that a combination of both is possible. Nevertheless, from the analysis of our examination results, we can conclude that an exam of introductory atmospheric or oceanic science curricula, which is made up of 60% multiple choice questions and 40% constructed response questions, would not be skewed to favor any particular gender.     

The Great God of the Future: the Views of Current and Future English Teachers on the Place of IT in Literacy

Based on a small but representative study it appears that, in contrast to the past and to some current perceptions, the majority of student teachers and about half of serving teachers of English now welcome information technology (IT) in English and see it as central to the literacy of all pupils. Some current teachers of English remain ambivalent about IT but the general trend is toward a broader definition of literacy in English that gives significant, if not yet equal, value to electronic text alongside the printed word.     

A survey of sensor devices: use in sports biomechanics

This paper examines the use of sensor devices in sports biomechanics, focusing on current frequency of use of Electromyography (EMG) device preferences. Researchers in the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports were invited to participate in an online survey. Responses on multiple sensor devices highlighting frequency of use, device features and improvements researchers sought in acquisition and analysis methods were obtained via an online questionnaire. Results of the investigation showed that the force platform is the most frequently used device, with inertial measurement units and EMG devices growing in popularity. Wireless functionality and ease of use for both the participant and the practitioner proved to be important features. The main findings of the survey demonstrated need for a simple, low power, multi-channel device which incorporates the various sensors into one single device. Biomechanists showed they were looking for more availability of wireless sensor devices with acquisition and analysis features. The study found there is a need to develop software analysis tools to accompany the multi-channel device, providing all the basic functions while maintaining compatibility with existing systems.     

Violence and masculinity amongst left-wing ultras in post-Yugoslav space

In this article, I discuss confrontations involving violence and discourses of masculinity in a left-wing ultras group – White Angels Zagreb – on the basis of observations made as a group member involved in a number of overlapping antifascist activist engagements in Serbia and Croatia. Building my argument up from an ethnographic vignette, I discuss the historical context underlying the production of masculinities and heteropatriarchy in the post-Yugoslav context. I then examine material concerning violence and masculinities gained through participant observation. I argue that whilst not initiating violence against other groups, talk about violent incidents with other groups plays a similar role to that documented in right wing groups in cementing collective identifications, and that group concepts of masculinity are embedded within dominant discursive hegemonies established in post-Yugoslav space, whilst simultaneously rejecting enforced ‘hard’ masculinity, an important observation which differentiates them from many right-wing ultras in the region.