Probability with Roulette

This article describes how roulette can be used to teach basic concepts of probability. Various bets are used to illustrate the computation of expected value. A betting system shows variations in patterns that often appear in random events.     

Bridge21: teamwork,technology and learning. A pragmatic model for effective twenty-first-century team-based learning

There have been calls for decades by many educational writers and commentators for a new model of learning to facilitate what is generally described as twenty-first-century learning. Central to this challenge is the required shift in responsibility for who leads and owns the learning – from teacher to student. Such a shift requires a pragmatic pedagogical model to facilitate the transfer of control and ownership of learning. Vygotsky’s ‘more able other’ identified the peer as a key figure in learning. Teamwork facilitates project-based learning and, when mediated with technology, proves an effective partner in creating an engaging and autonomous learning experience. This paper describes the rationale for the design of a team-based model of twenty-first-century learning, particularly drawing upon the team-based learning model of the World Scout Movement. Results from a year-long study of the implementation of the model in an out-of-school context with 288 second-level students are presented. The authors argue that Bridge21 is a candidate learning model for effective, implementable, twenty-first-century, team-based learning.     

Examination of a learning style topology

This study provides an initial examination of a learning style topology through the comparison of information processing and instructional preference toponymies. It was hypothesized that learning style modes would be discernible within each of these toponymies and that the toponymies would demonstrate orthogonality. Data analyzed for 429 university students supported these hypotheses.     

The impact of training students how to write introductions for academic essays: an exploratory,longitudinal study

Successful academic writing requires strong command of the rhetorical moves that orient the reader to the theme and substantive material of an academic essay. Effective control of the introduction leads to better overall writing. The goal of this study was to devise and evaluate a pedagogy for teaching the writing of academic essay introductions. The study employed a pre-, post-, and delayed post-test design in a single university student learning site. Student writing was scored on eight aspects related to (1) structure and content and (2) style. Confirmatory factor analysis reduced the eight scores aggregated into the two scales. A single two-hour workshop increased the participants’ (n = 87) performance in the rhetorical structure and content of their introductions, but not the style. A longitudinal model (n = 20) using three sets of parcelled scores showed that the structure and content of the introduction positively predicted the grade awarded by the student’s faculty. Direct instruction in writing introductions, through a relatively short, low-cost, genre-based training programme, appears to achieve significant student learning.     

An Informed Look at Doctoral Vivas (Oral Examinations) in the Preparation of Counselor Educators

Viva voce is the Latin expression traditionally used to refer to doctoral oral examinations. Viva voce, or simply viva, examinations are a standard requirement for doctoral candidacy and degree completion in many counselor education programs. Despite the prevalent use of vivas as an assessment and learning tool, the counselor education literature is scant on information about their rationale, method, and impact. Current trends toward transparency and accountability in higher education now require that counselor educators and researchers take steps to ensure that the use of vivas is justified beyond tradition alone.     

Beyond a Rule‐Following Model of Skillful Practice in Teacher Development

Both contemporary popular and scholarly discourse on teacher development and evaluation assumes the truth of a certain view of normative human behavior, one that holds that skill in a given domain is predicated upon the application of maxims, rules, or principles in a given situation. Such a view would allow one to isolate behaviors associated with expert practice, distill the rules that give rise to them, and both develop new teachers and evaluate practicing teachers on the basis of such maxims. In this essay, Derek Gottlieb argues that the phenomenon of skillful teaching, and studies thereof, expose the inconsistencies and confusion underlying this model, encouraging the field generally to consider alternative holistic accounts of expert teacher practice as we seek to train and appraise great teachers.     

Navigating the Religious Landscape in Schools: Towards Inclusive Leadership

This article identifies historical and contemporary influences of religion in US public schooling. It provides analytical questions that social justice leaders can use to evaluate the practices embedded in their own schools, including an equity audit.     

Exploring the ethical implications of MOOCs

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) represent a potentially exciting opportunity to use technology to realise many of the long-promised benefits of universal higher education. While there are many positive aspects to the MOOCs on offer and in development, there are also significant ethical concerns arising from various initiatives. These include the academic duties of care and integrity, commercial exploitation of learners, as well as research ethics concerns arising from the analytical and other work being done by academics and institutions. These issues are explored and a set of heuristics for individuals and institutions provided as a starting point for ethical analysis of MOOCs and associated activities.     

Perceptions of Barriers to the Evaluation of Workplace Learning Programs

The need to evaluate training programs is indisputable. Measurement can serve a range of purposes, from informing improvements to shaping existing and future courses, to determining the return on training investments. Yet research suggests that evaluation, when accomplished, is most often used to solicit participant reactions. This study examined barriers faced by learning and performance professionals when they attempt to conduct evaluation in their organizations. Lack of access to data in the workplace and reporting data in meaningful and actionable ways are two of the most prominent barriers identified by practitioners. Recommendations for addressing key barriers in the workplace are presented.