Reviewing the Impact of the National Strategies Design and Technology Framework for Key Stage Three: A small-­‐scale evaluation of the Design and Technology Framework in England

Since the beginning of Design and Technology (D&T) in the English secondary school curriculum, the teaching of design has been identified as less effective than that of making. Research Questions: What are the experiences of pupils between the ages of 12 and 14 of design learning? Purpose of Study: In 2004 as part of the National Strategies, the D&T framework was launched, aiming to support the teaching of design skills. This is a small-­‐scale study, which begins to explore the experiences of pupils and teachers in four schools in the Northwest of England. Research Methods: The study used a mixed methods approach, gathering quantitative and qualitative data in a questionnaire with a convenience sample of school pupils. The questionnaire responses are analysed alongside qualitative interviews with D&T teachers from the schools. Findings: The findings indicate that many pupils had a clear understanding of the role of designing. However, some common assumptions of the nature of design activity centering on the act of sketching or drawing were evident. The majority of pupils were unable to accurately identify the names of many of the design activities introduced as part of the framework. Conclusions: Whilst some progress has been made in the teaching of design, through the use of design activities introduced in the D&T Framework, the support experienced by teachers was limited and were not sustained beyond the initial training. There are implications for initial teacher educators in supporting beginning teachers and balancing the tensions trainees experience whilst on placements in school. Key Words: Design, designing, pedagogy, teacher educatio

Eliciting Mathematical Thinking of Students Through Realistic Mathematics Eucation

This paper focuses on an implementation a sequence of instructional activities about addition of fractions that has been developed and implemented in grade four of primary school in Surabaya, Indonesia. The theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) has been applied in the sequence, which aims to assist low attaining learners in supporting students' thinking in the addition of fractions. Based on the premise that eliciting and addressing learners' alternative conceptions in mathematics is beneficial in assisting them to improve their understanding, the paper seeks to explore the role that RME plays pertaining to this particular supposition. The paper presents and discusses examples of learners' responses to contextual problems given to them during the course of the instructional activities

Appendices: Failures, errors and mistakes: A systematic review of the literature

Terms such as failure, mistakes, errors, obstacles, and struggle are used interchangeably, but each carry different connotations and discipline-specific meanings. Reactions to experiencing a failure can range as well, from being seen as having educative value to be debilitating. These reactions are based on criteria like environment, prior experiences and individual characteristics, to name a few. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize and clarify how these terms are articulated and utilized in research studies and commentaries published between 1970 and 2017. Through a systematic literature review, we will discuss similarities and differences in how researchers defined these terms, as well as how these definitions differ by cultural context, discipline, and age of participants. Next, we briefly highlight how our research findings on failure within making and tinkering contexts contribute to our current thinking on failure, mistakes, and errors. Our research included approximately 500 youths and 150 educators situated in a variety of settings that implement making and tinkering programs and/or activities including an informal educational setting (i.e., museum), a formal educational setting (i.e., public middle school), and a hybrid setting (i.e., science center running after-school programming at local school sites). We conclude with open questions and recommendations for the field to consider when conducting research around failures, errors, and mistakes in educational contexts

Eliciting Mathematical Thinking of Students through Realistic Mathematics Eucation

This paper focuses on an implementation a sequence of instructional activities about addition of fractions  that has been developed and implemented in grade four of primary school in Surabaya, Indonesia. The theory of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) has been applied in  the  sequence, which aims to assist low attaining learners in supporting students’ thinking in the addition of fractions. Based on the premise that eliciting and addressing learners’ alternative conceptions in mathematics is beneficial in  assisting them to improve their understanding, the paper seeks to explore the role that RME plays pertaining to this particular supposition. The paper presents and discusses examples of learners’ responses to contextual problems given to them during the course of the instructional activities. Keywords: Realistic Mathematics Education, mathematical thinking, a sequence of instructional activities DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.3.1.620.55-7

Reasoning skills, problem solving ability and academic ability: implications for study programme and career choice in the context of higher education in Thailand.

This thesis examines reasoning skills, problem solving ability, and academic ability from a cohort of final year university students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influences of academic ability on reasoning skills, and problem solving ability, and vice versa, and to examine whether students from different programmes displayed significant different levels of reasoning skills and problem solving skills. In order to choose which academic programmes to use for the study Holland’s theory of ‘career personality’ was used. This research used primarily quantitative data with an additional qualitative to provide an element of a mixed methods design. The data has been collected from 333 final year students in one university in Thailand with participants following seven programmes related to Holland’s theory. The reasoning skills test was adopted from Jittachaun’s test, and the problem solving ability test was adopted from real life problems and logical problems. The content validity, construct validity, and discriminant validity were reported, and reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha, was .633. The academic ability was taken from the students’ grade point average. The most important finding is reasoning skills, and problem solving ability have some influences on each other approximately 30 percent; however, academic ability did not show much influence on the reasoning skills, and problem solving ability. This shows that academic achievement in university students in Thailand is not a good predictor of high levels of reasoning and problem solving ability. The other findings confirm the differences in those skills between students from different programmes and strengthen the case for using admission tests in Thailand for university admission. The thesis findings also reinforce the view that teaching and assessment in the Thai education system should be more involved with increasing/testing reasoning skills, and problem solving ability. In addition, the new admission system which requires different skills for different programmes is supported by this research result that different categories of programme and career need different skills

Problem-Solving Versus Solving Problems From the ESL Math Teachers’ Point of View

Krulik and Rudnick (1996) defined problem-solving as explaining how math tasks contain the potential to provide intellectual challenges to enhance the mathematical mindset and development. English as a Second Language (ESL) students must learn math, increase their English language use, and grow literacy skills all in one setting. ESL teachers must examine how ESL students solve, make real-world connections, and build upon learned behavior with rigor. The purpose of this qualitative study was to comprehend how math teachers of ESL students apply problem-solving to benefit the overall educational experience of these students. The research question guiding this study asked: What are the experiences of ESL math teachers who are embedding the problem-solving structure in the middle school bracket? A homogenous sample of nine middle school ESL math teachers was purposively selected from the same school district. Data collection consisted of face-to-face interviews, personal narratives, and member checking. Inductive analysis was used with the collected data, starting with initial coding and proceeding to axial coding to identify codes, create collapsed codes, and form emergent themes. Key findings of this study were that participants understood that demographic awareness, math discourse and multiple strategies, educational struggle, and motivational input were vital aspects in the problem-solving process for ESL students