How to improve statistical thinking: Choose the task representation wisely and learn by doing

Attempts to teach statistical thinking usingcorrective feedback or a rule-training approach havebeen only moderately successful. A new trainingapproach is proposed which relies on the assumptionthat the human mind is naturally equipped to solvemany statistical tasks in which the relevantinformation is presented in terms of absolutefrequencies instead of probabilities. In aninvestigation of this approach, people were trained tosolve tasks involving conjunctive and conditionalprobabilities using a frequency grid to representprobability information. It is suggested that learningby doing, whose importance was largely neglected inprior training studies, has played a major role in thecurrent training. Study 1 showed that training thatcombines external pictorial representations andlearning by doing has a large and lasting effect onhow well people can solve conjunctive probabilitytasks. A ceiling effect prevented comparison of thefrequency grid and a conventional pictorialrepresentation (Venn diagrams) with respect toeffectiveness. However, the grid representation wasfound to be more effective in Study 2, which dealtwith the more difficult topic of conditionalprobabilities. These results suggest methods tooptimize the teaching of statistical thinking and thepresentation of statistical information in themedia.     

An investigation of the semantic meaning assigned to concepts affiliated with sts education and of STS instructional practices among a sample of exemplary science teachers

The semantic meaning assigned to concepts associated with science-technology-society (STS) education, the percentage of science course time allotted to STS instruction, the categories of STS issues infused into sciences courses, and the instructional procedures used to do so, were examined among a sample of 65 exemplary secondary-level science teachers. The teachers were volunteers from the 87 science teachers from a Midwestern state locally nominated for the Presidential Awards Program. Data were collected using the Science Teaching Issue Opinionnaire (STIO) and a questionnaire, both developed and validated by the investigator. The STIO used a semantic differential format; it was composed of 23 STS education affiliated concepts (e.g., science; technology; students' need to understand the interrelationships among science, technology, and society; my ability to teach …), each followed by 13 seven-point bipolar adjective scales (alpha reliability = 0.97). The instruments were distributed and returned by mail. The exemplary science teachers were found to hold positive opinions of (1) science, (2) technology, (3) their understanding of science, and (4) their ability to teach science. The teachers expressed slightly positive opinions of (1) students' understanding of STS, (2) students' need to understand STS, (3) their own understanding of STS interrelationships, and (4) their ability to teach STS. The teachers suggested that 15% of secondary science course instructional time be dedicated to STS, but did not appear to dedicate near that amount of time to STS. “Pollution” headed a brief and rather predictable list of STS issues infused into science courses. On average a teacher infused 2.5 STS issues into a science course. The discussion, lecture, and a combination of these dominated the list of 35 instructional procedures which are not unique to or necessarily appropriate for STS instruction.     

A Trial of the Five Es: A Referent Model for Constructivist Teaching and Learning

The science and technology education literature indicates that teaching within a constructivist paradigm is an effective way to promote student learning. Despite this, most primary school teachers do not use constructivist theoretical approaches because they are perceived as difficult and impractical to implement. To promote constructivist teaching and learning approaches in schools, teachers need access to models and strategies they can implement effectively and with relative ease. A unit of work was developed, based on the Five Es model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation), and taught to a year 3 class. Ten students were participants in the study and became the sample. Data were analysed using two different methods to compare and validate findings. The unit of work, based on the Five Es model, was found to be interesting and fun by students, and motivated student learning and promoted student higher-order thinking.     

The future of the humanities in primary schools – reflections in troubled times

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on the implications for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers of the future of the humanities in primary schools in the light of the challenges facing future generations. There is wide divergence in the four jurisdictions of the UK. The humanities are perceived as important, in principle, though curriculum frameworks differ. However, the status of the humanities is often uncertain, in practice, given the current emphasis on outcomes in literacy and numeracy. There is a lack of robust research on how, and by whom, the humanities are taught. The more theoretical articles suggest that the humanities, broadly conceived, are an essential aspect of young children’s education – to enable a deeper understanding of human culture and identity, and to develop the qualities and values needed in a diverse world. Additionally, curricular breadth is required alongside a realisation that narrowly focusing on propositional knowledge is limiting. While this has implications for the whole curriculum, History, Geography and Religious Education have key roles in meeting these aims and in engaging and motivating young children. A stronger policy steer is called for, to ensure that schools give more priority to humanities education, with greater investment in professional development in Initial Teacher Education and beyond.     

彰显独特十法则

你认为自己是独一无二的吗？世上每一个人都是独特的,都拥有区别于别人的特点。让我们把自己的独特完全释放,给别人一个完全不同的自己。     

Theoretical notes on a relational approach to principals’ time use

ABSTRACT

Principals’ time use has emerged as a serious policy problem in an era of reported decline in school outcomes – both organisational and individual student – and with difficulties in attracting quality candidates for vacancies. The contemporary crisis of the principalship is centred on an ever increasing workload (volume and complexity) and a deficit of time for instructional leadership. Units of the clock are the orthodox version of time in modern Western society. This however is not a universal and is based on an external measure of practice. This paper presents a theoretical intervention for the field by proposing an alternate conceptualisation of temporality built on relational theorising that sees practice not as having time but generating time and space. It does not assume a single version of time and instead opens a fruitful scholarly direction for recasting principals’ time use literatures.