Model Switching in a Learning Environment based on Multiple Models

The introduction of qualitative modelling techniques into learning environments, and intelligent training systems, requires not just the development of tools and techniques for modelling and simulation but also some guidance on how to use qualitative models in learning environments. This paper describes the rationale behind the design of a simulation based learning environment, the Model Switching PROcess rig Demonstration System (MS‐PRODS). Three qualitative and three quantitative simulations of the behavior of the physical system have been implemented using the ITSIE tools (Scott et al, 1990). The design of the learning environment is presented from the point of view of instruction and how the models are to be used to promote learning, in particular examining the model switching mechanism. This mechanism determines how to select and sequence the presentation of models to the learner during guided explorations of the domain. A knowledge based an alysis of the domain knowledge is combined with principles derived from Cognitive Flexibility Theory (Spiro 6 Jehng, 1990) to produce a generic design for a learning environment based on multiple models. The design and implementation of the learning environment is illustrated and a sample sequence of models presented. Finally, related work such as White & Frederiksen (1990) on model progression is discussed.     

Formative assessment for all: a whole-school approach to pedagogic change

Scotland's Assessment is for Learning initiative (AifL) seeks to introduce a co-ordinated national system for assessment in schools. Formative assessment is a major plank in this. The initiative has moved beyond its pilot phase and it is intended that it will be adopted by all Scottish schools by 2007. This article draws upon the case-study of a primary school that has adopted a whole-school approach to enacting the formative assessment principles of AifL since 2004. It utilizes Margaret Archer's social theory to analyse and explain the processes of change that have underpinned the development of formative assessment in the school. The article argues that meaningful change in schools can be stimulated by encouraging socio-cultural interaction among practitioners, via the impetus provided by a central initiative combined with the creation of spaces for dialogue and the extension of professional trust and autonomy.     

Authoring and GTE

This paper examines GTE from an authoring perspective. It describes how GTE may be used to create a piece of courseware and reviews the potential difficulties that authors face when using such a tool. It summarises two studies that were carried out to investigate how GTE is used by actual authors, and concludes that GTE designs are hard for authors to test and evaluate because of the complexity of such designs. It finishes by arguing that authoring tool developers should give greater consideration to supporting the task of authoring, and that such consideration should occur at all stages of a new tool's development.     

‘You want the best for your kids’: improving educational outcomes for children living in poverty through parental engagement

Background: Existing evidence suggests a relationship between family social contexts, family relationships and interactions, children’s social and cognitive development and educational outcomes. Interventions that assist families in relation to parenting and supporting children’s development can have positive effects on both parents’ skills and the educational progress of their children.

Purpose: This article reports on a study conducted in an area with high levels of social and economic deprivation in Scotland, which aimed to investigate the nature and effectiveness of the services in place to support poor families. The project focused on capturing the experiences of parents and what they perceived as effective support from the nursery and school staff in terms of getting them more involved in their children’s learning.

Sample: There was a particular focus on the four-to-seven-year age group, thus covering the crucial transition from pre-school (or non-school) provision to primary school. A sample of three Early Education & Childcare Centres (EECCs) and three schools were selected. The schools and EECCs were all from areas of high social deprivation and had a high proportion of children on free school meals.

Design and methods: The study was qualitative in design and included in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 service managers and practitioners, six focus groups with parents and six activity groups with children. Data were analysed using both pre-determined and emerging codes.

Results: While all parents recognised the value of education for their children’s social mobility and opportunities and were keen to engage in activities, they remained aware of the limited resources they could draw upon, mainly in terms of their restricted academic competencies, specialist knowledge and qualifications. The desire to help their children overcome their families’ economic circumstances was also hampered by the absence of strong social and kinship networks that they could draw upon.

Conclusions: We draw on concepts of social and cultural capital to examine parents’ positioning in relation to their children’s education. The conclusion highlights parents’ strategic orientation to school/nurseries, often seen as a resource of cultural capital, and calls for a more positive discourse of parental engagement in relation to disadvantaged groups.     

‘It’s good enough that our children are accepted’: Roma mothers’ views of children’s education post migration

The discrimination of Roma groups across Europe has been highlighted by several international organisations. For many, poverty, racism and their children’s systematic exclusion from education are ‘push’ factors when deciding to migrate. This study explores Roma mothers’ views of their children’s education post migration and their attitudes to education more broadly, by adopting an intersectional framework and examining issues of difference and belonging as experienced by Roma mothers and their children. While Roma mothers recognised the value of education for social mobility, they remained aware of the limited resources they could draw upon, in the absence of desirable economic and cultural capitals, and as a result of their ethnicity, social class, gender and ‘undesirable migrant’ status. There was a perceived hopelessness in relation to the chances that Roma children have to overcome their marginalisation through schooling, pointing to the need for dedicated policy interventions when working with Roma families.