“Tell me about”: a logbook of teachers’ changes from face-to-face to distance mathematics education

Educational Studies in Mathematics - In 2020, the emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought a drastic and sudden change in teaching practices, from the physical space of the classrooms to the...     

Relations between intelligence and the development of metaconceptual knowledge

Across two studies, we developed and tested a declarative metacognitive interview to investigate the effects of developmental level and verbal intelligence on children's metaconceptual understanding of processes related to concept use and object categorization. Metaconceptual knowledge developed throughout elementary school, with near ceiling scores for adults. IQ scores correlated positively with metaconceptual interview scores for all groups of children. Study 2 confirmed a relationship between scores on the metaconceptual interview and performance on a Twenty Questions task for which strategic performance was presumed to depend on such knowledge, though metaconceptual knowledge was most important when IQ was lower. Implications for theory development and hypotheses about how metaconceptual knowledge develops are discussed.     

Attitude items and low ability students: the need for a cautious approach to interpretation

The results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2001) were published in 2003. In addition to data about the reading achievements of 10‐year‐olds in 35 countries, PIRLS 2001 also collected questionnaire information from children, their teachers, headteachers and parents. The results showed not just how well students can perform in various reading tasks, but also the relationship between reading abilities and other characteristics, including the characteristics of their homes and schools, the students' attitudes to reading, reading enjoyment, self‐confidence, engagement and perceptions of their reading abilities. Surprisingly enough, children in England were reported as having poor attitudes to reading, compared to children in many other countries, despite high achievement on the reading tests. This paper raises some concerns about the interpretation of results from the study, suggesting a more complex picture than that presented in the summary index published in 2003. Our secondary analysis of the attitude and achievement data from PIRLS shows that pupils with low ability levels have misunderstood the questions which tested their attitudes towards reading. The authors point out that caution is needed when making cross‐country comparisons to avoid naïve approaches to interpretation.     

Being Labeled Nerd: Factors That Influence the Social Acceptance of High-Achieving Students

The present investigation addresses the question of whether certain factors can protect high-achieving students at risk for being labeled a nerd against devaluation. In 2 studies, 125 and 317 students from Grade 8 evaluated vignettes describing average students and students who were called “nerds.” Results indicate that being modest about good grades, being engaged in sports, and being sociable led to higher liking. In students who were labeled nerds, but not in average students, display of effort led to less favorable evaluations. The effects of the aforementioned factors were moderated by the gender of the perceivers and targets. Findings are discussed with respect to gender-role stereotypes and the self presentation of high-achieving students.     

Anagram solving and reading abilities in children

The relationship between anagram solving and reading aloud proficiency was studied in Italian and French 6th grade children. Whereas a statistically significant relation was found in Italian, the link was not so direct in French. French children's ability in solving anagram problems seemed to benefit from their capacity in recognising written word-forms (lexical decision) and using the direct lexical reading route. Statistical properties concerning lexical entries appeared to be in an intermediate stage of computation. It is thus concluded that anagram solving may highlight some developmental stages and processing strategies in the acquisition and elaboration of written language.     

Rocking of a rigid block freestanding on a flat pedestal

The seismic protection of objects contained within museums is a topic of great interest, especially with reference to how they are displayed or stored. This problem is the same as that of a large class of non-structural components, such as mechanical and electrical hospital and laboratory equipment that could lose their functionality because of earthquakes. Statues and ceramics simply supported on the floor represent a significant set of case. In some cases, like the Bronzes of Riace, isolation systems have been developed. However, in general museum exhibits are not equipped with devices capable of mitigating the oscillations induced by possible earthquakes. The case study of a marble statue placed on a freestanding squat rigid pedestal is examined. The system of algebraic differential equations governing the problem has been derived and included in an ad-hoc numerical procedure. It is shown that the insertion of a squat rigid body with low frictional resistance at the lower interface with the floor, and high frictional resistance at the upper interface with the artifact significantly reduces the amplitude of the rocking response. As a result the artifact rocks without sliding on the rigid base that slides without rocking with respect to the floor. The numerical analysis performed can be a tool to help in the choice of the optimal friction values in the surfaces of the flat block, designed as a simple isolation system.