Implicit sequence learning in dyslexia: a within-sequence comparison of first- and higher-order information

The present study examines implicit sequence learning in adult dyslexics with a focus on comparing sequence transitions with different statistical complexities. Learning of a 12-item deterministic sequence was assessed in 12 dyslexic and 12 non-dyslexic university students. Both groups showed equivalent standard reaction time increments when the sequence was unexpectedly changed, suggesting that learning of the sequence took place. However, a novel analysis comparing transitions of differing complexity within the learning blocks indicated that dyslexic participants were impaired only for higher-order but not first-order sequence learning. No difference was found in the explicit awareness contribution between the two groups and this was found not to correlate with reaction time performance. This result suggests that statistical complexity of the sequence may account for intact and impaired learning performance in dyslexia.     

The Research Mentoring Program: Serving the Needs of Graduate and Undergraduate Researchers

Many institutions of higher education confront seemingly unrelated needs of graduate students, who need not only to complete their dissertations but also to learn how to become proficient mentors for undergraduates as they move on to faculty roles. The graduate students are increasingly searching out high-impact learning experiences such as involvement with undergraduate research. The program we describe in this article offers a solution to these issues by pairing undergraduates with graduate students to work on their dissertation research. Undergraduates undertake hands-on research while learning about graduate school, and the graduate students learn about the mentoring process while receiving assistance that allows them to keep their dissertations moving toward completion.     

Professional attitudes to the use of pupil performance data in English secondary schools

This paper presents findings from an exploratory survey of teachers' perceptions, understanding, and use of pupil performance data in English secondary schools and examines the extent to which these are associated with school-level performance and a range of factors, including teachers' positions of responsibility. The survey was supplemented by a series of in-depth interviews. Use and availability of pupil performance data was found to be widespread, but classroom teachers reported significantly lower levels of use and understanding. The research also reveals a data-use hierarchy in schools, with many indicating that some data are accessible only to school leaders or provided pre-interpreted. Most teachers make regular use of their own sources of pupil data, which is seen as at least as useful as “official” data, which poses challenges for policymakers in raising levels of use and creating a “mixed economy” of sources.     

On Food,Farming and Land Management: Towards a research agenda to reconnect urban and rural lives

Science education has a key role to play in helping people to develop their understanding of the local and global dimensions of food, farming and land management. Based on a review of the literature on what is known about young people’s (3–19) views towards and learning about these topics, a research agenda is outlined for consideration by the science education research community.     

Multi-level Discourse Analysis in a Physics Teaching Methods Course from the Psychological Perspective of Activity Theory

In this paper, we present and apply a multi-level method for discourse analysis in science classrooms. This method is based on the structure of human activity (activity, actions, and operations) and it was applied to study a pre-service physics teacher methods course. We argue that such an approach, based on a cultural psychological perspective, affords opportunities for analysts to perform a theoretically based detailed analysis of discourse events. Along with the presentation of analysis, we show and discuss how the articulation of different levels offers interpretative criteria for analyzing instructional conversations. We synthesize the results into a model for a teacher's practice and discuss the implications and possibilities of this approach for the field of discourse analysis in science classrooms. Finally, we reflect on how the development of teachers' understanding of their activity structures can contribute to forms of progressive discourse of science education.     

A comparative study on student perceptions of their learning outcomes in undergraduate science degree programmes with differing curriculum models

ABSTRACT

This study investigated students’ perceptions of their graduate learning outcomes including content knowledge, communication, writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking in two Australian universities. One university has a traditional discipline-orientated curriculum and the other, an interdisciplinary curriculum in the entry semester of first year. The Science Students Skills Inventory asked students (n?=?613) in first and final years to rate their perceptions of the importance of developing graduate learning outcomes within the programme; how much they improved their graduate learning outcomes throughout their undergraduate science programme; how much they saw learning outcomes included in the programme; and how confident they were about their learning outcomes. A framework of progressive curriculum development was adopted to interpret results. Students in the discipline-oriented degree programme reported higher perceptions of scientific content knowledge and ethical thinking while students from the interdisciplinary curriculum indicated higher perceptions of oral communication and teamwork. Implications for curriculum development include ensuring progressive development from first to third years, a need for enhanced focus on scientific ethics, and career opportunities from first year onwards.     

Feynman Diagrams,Problem Spaces,and the Kuhnian Revolution to Come in Teacher Education

A blue‐ribbon panel convened by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) concluded in 2010 that teacher education in the United States must be “turned upside down,” with practical experience at its center and academic content woven around the practical. It might seem that the new clinical model based on medical education, which has been adopted by eight states, would be well‐aligned with a Deweyan inquiry‐based pedagogy. Dewey himself recognized a paradox, however: preparation for the combination of rigor and flexibility needed for inquiry‐based pedagogical skills absolutely requires immersion in clinical settings, even as immersion in the teaching environment that prevails in U.S. public schools systematically socializes new teachers to a very different set of skills than those needed for this model of effective pedagogy. Recent scholarship by Kuhnian scholars provides practical guidance for an alternative understanding of how changes in practice occur and may be transmitted to future generations.     

Learning from Non-Reported Data: Interpreting Missing Body Mass Index Values in Young Children

The objective of this study was to examine the pattern of relations between missing weight and height (BMI) data and a range of demographic, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and academic measures in a young sample of elementary school children. A secondary analysis of a large cross-sectional study, PLAY-On, was conducted using self-reported data from a convenience sample of fifth- to eighth-grade students (9–14 years) attending 30 elementary schools in Ontario, Canada. Items assessed related to demographics (age, gender, and ethnicity), physical activity (energy expenditure, location, and sport participation), sedentary behavior (communication and screen-time), and academics. Of the 2,111 children who were included in the analyses, 960 (45.5%) were missing BMI data. Children without BMI data were more likely to be younger, female, of non-white ethnicity, have lower daily energy expenditure values, not participate in school sports, and have lower-rated academic standing than those children with BMI data. Overall, this study demonstrates characteristics of children who fail to self-report their height or weight. The trend for younger children to be more likely to fail to report BMI suggests that some children may be unmotivated non-responders. Meanwhile, the trend for girls to be more likely to fail to report weight than boys indicates that some girls may be motivated non-responders. Self-report BMI might include too much missing data to be effective for determining children's progress toward previously established targets for intervention and surveillance efforts.     

Habituation of 10-year-old hockey players to treadmill skating

This study assessed changes in selected physiological and kinematic variables over 6 weeks of treadmill skating in an effort to understand the process of habituation to this novel training modality. Seven male, Atom-A hockey players who were injury-free and had no previous treadmill skating experience participated in the study. Players performed four 1-min skating bouts at progressively increasing speeds, each week, for 6 weeks. One speed (10.5 km/h) was repeated weekly to allow for assessment of the habituation process. Our criteria for habituation were: a decrease in stride rate, heart rate and rating of perceived exertion, and an increase in stride length, trunk angle and vertical movement of the centre of mass, leading to a plateau, over the course of the 6-week study. Significant decreases were seen in stride rate, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion, and significant increases were found in stride length. Some of these changes were evident after only one week of training and all were present by week 4. After 6 weeks (24 min) of exposure to treadmill skating, all participants displayed a visibly more efficient skating style.