Grade 10 teachers’ perceptions of their application of socio-cultural and multiple intelligences on English second language learners

In multilingual or multi-cultural settings, teachers must be sensitive to the diverse intelligence of learners for teaching and learning to have impact and be beneficial to them. Low performance and the resultant academic failure among high school learners specifically in South Africa, and inability to manage diverse learning abilities have necessitated the search for a unique way to accommodate the learning differences found in the classroom. The study focused on learners’ differences and supports implementation of differentiated instruction. Fewer studies exist on English Second Language (ESL) rural high school teachers’ perceptions of the application of socio-cultural and multiple intelligences, and on the diverse ESL learners taught to ascertain the scope of the need for teacher training in differentiated instruction in rural South Africa. Data were drawn from fifty teachers in grade ten using a questionnaire. The study revealed that it is challenging for teachers to determine learners’ intelligences and emotional needs. Sixty-six percent (n=33) of the teachers agreed to accommodate students of different learning abilities, 34% (n=17) considered learners' gender differences, and 62% (n=31) considered learners’ cultural backgrounds and adopted group learning. The study mainly recommends training and supervision on the strategies for gender differences and accommodation for diverse learning abilities

Grade 10 teachers’ perceptions of their application of socio-cultural and multiple intelligences on English second language learners

In  multilingual or multi-cultural settings, teachers must be sensitive to the diverse intelligence of learners for teaching and learning to have impact and be beneficial to them.  Low performance and the resultant academic failure among high school learners specifically in South Africa, and inability to manage diverse learning abilities have necessitated the search for a unique way to accommodate the learning differences found in the classroom. The study focused on learners’ differences and supports implementation of differentiated instruction.  Fewer studies exist on English Second Language (ESL) rural high school teachers’ perceptions of the application of socio-cultural and multiple intelligences, and on the diverse ESL learners taught to ascertain the scope of the need for teacher training in differentiated instruction in rural South Africa. Data were drawn from fifty teachers in grade ten using a questionnaire.  The study revealed that it is challenging for teachers to determine learners’ intelligences and emotional needs.  66% (n=33) of the teachers agreed to accommodate students of different learning abilities, 34% (n=17) considered learners' gender differences, and 62% (n=31) considered learners’ cultural backgrounds and adopted group learning. The study mainly recommends training and supervision on the strategies for gender differences and accommodation for diverse learning abilities

An Investigation Of Gender\u27s Role In Three- And Four-Year-Old Children\u27s Musical Play

Young children engage in many activities, with play being the most prominent. Musical play occurs when children freely investigate sound through vocal, instrumental, or other means. Identifying the extent of musical play - and the role that gender plays in musical play - may provide important information about children\u27s natural tendencies. The purpose of this study was to investigate gender\u27s role in three- and four-year-old children\u27s musical play, and to investigate further the general nature of musical play. A grounded theory methodology was used, and data was gathered from field and individual child observations, and parent and preschool teacher surveys. A total of seven preschools in a Midwestern city participated, which included 111 children (48.05% response rate) and 40 preschool teachers (75.47% response rate). Statistically significant differences were found between the children\u27s musical play and children\u27s age, sex, masculine and feminine play gender, and strong masculine and feminine play gender. No differences existed between the musical play of those having an androgynous play gender and the musical play of those having a strong masculine play gender, those having a strong feminine play gender, and those having strong play genders (combined). The play environment provided by the teachers did not affect musical play frequency. Children who attended family music classes moved to music more during play. No differences were found between musical play and exposure to music at home, parents\u27 self-reported musicality in the home, and the parent\u27s musical background. The children engaged in musical play for almost a quarter of the total free play time. The children used their voices the most (87.39%), followed by playing instruments and found objects (6.91%), and moving to music (5.70%). Vocally, the children engaged in vocal exploration the most (60.61%) and sang familiar songs the least (4.24%). The type of play materials, group and solitary play, and some forms of teacher interaction enhanced children\u27s musical play. Teacher interaction, however, was the most prominent factor in extinguishing musical play. Intense concentration and some instances of group play also extinguished musical play

Design For Auditory Displays: Identifying Temporal And Spatial Information Conveyance Principles

Designing auditory interfaces is a challenge for current human-systems developers. This is largely due to a lack of theoretical guidance for directing how best to use sounds in today\u27s visually-rich graphical user interfaces. This dissertation provided a framework for guiding the design of audio interfaces to enhance human-systems performance. This doctoral research involved reviewing the literature on conveying temporal and spatial information using audio, using this knowledge to build three theoretical models to aid the design of auditory interfaces, and empirically validating select components of the models. The three models included an audio integration model that outlines an end-to-end process for adding sounds to interactive interfaces, a temporal audio model that provides a framework for guiding the timing for integration of these sounds to meet human performance objectives, and a spatial audio model that provides a framework for adding spatialization cues to interface sounds. Each model is coupled with a set of design guidelines theorized from the literature, thus combined, the developed models put forward a structured process for integrating sounds in interactive interfaces. The developed models were subjected to a three phase validation process that included review by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to assess the face validity of the developed models and two empirical studies. For the SME review, which assessed the utility of the developed models and identified opportunities for improvement, a panel of three audio experts was selected to respond to a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) validation questionnaire. Based on the SWOT analysis, the main strengths of the models included that they provide a systematic approach to auditory display design and that they integrate a wide variety of knowledge sources in a concise manner. The main weaknesses of the models included the lack of a structured process for amending the models with new principles, some branches were not considered parallel or completely distinct, and lack of guidance on selecting interface sounds. The main opportunity identified by the experts was the ability of the models to provide a seminal body of knowledge that can be used for building and validating auditory display designs. The main threats identified by the experts were that users may not know where to start and end with each model, the models may not provide comprehensive coverage of all uses of auditory displays, and the models may act as a restrictive influence on designers or they may be used inappropriately. Based on the SWOT analysis results, several changes were made to the models prior to the empirical studies. Two empirical evaluation studies were conducted to test the theorized design principles derived from the revised models. The first study focused on assessing the utility of audio cues to train a temporal pacing task and the second study combined both temporal (i.e., pace) and spatial audio information, with a focus on examining integration issues. In the pace study, there were four different auditory conditions used for training pace: 1) a metronome, 2) non-spatial auditory earcons, 3) a spatialized auditory earcon, and 4) no audio cues for pace training. Sixty-eight people participated in the study. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The measure used for assessing pace performance was the average deviation from a predetermined desired pace. The results demonstrated that a metronome was not effective in training participants to maintain a desired pace, while, spatial and non-spatial earcons were effective strategies for pace training. Moreover, an examination of post-training performance as compared to pre-training suggested some transfer of learning. Design guidelines were extracted for integrating auditory cues for pace training tasks in virtual environments. In the second empirical study, combined temporal (pacing) and spatial (location of entities within the environment) information were presented. There were three different spatialization conditions used: 1) high fidelity using subjective selection of a best-fit head related transfer function, 2) low fidelity using a generalized head-related transfer function, and 3) no spatialization. A pre- post between subjects experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The performance measures were average deviation from desired pace and time and accuracy to complete the task. The results of the second study demonstrated that temporal, non-spatial auditory cues were effective in influencing pace while other cues were present. On the other hand, spatialized auditory cues did not result in significantly faster task completion. Based on these results, a set of design guidelines was proposed that can be used to direct the integration of spatial and temporal auditory cues for supporting training tasks in virtual environments. Taken together, the developed models and the associated guidelines provided a theoretical foundation from which to direct user-centered design of auditory interfaces

Mathematically gifted and talented learners: Theory and practice

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 40(2), 213-228, 2009, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207390802566907.There is growing recognition of the special needs of mathematically gifted learners. This article reviews policy developments and current research and theory on giftedness in mathematics. It includes a discussion of the nature of mathematical ability as well as the factors that make up giftedness in mathematics. The article is set in the context of current developments in Mathematics Education and Gifted Education in the UK and their implications for Science and Technology. It argues that early identification and appropriate provision for younger mathematically promising pupils capitalizes on an intellectual resource which could provide future mathematicans as well as specialists in Science or Technology. Drawing on a Vygotskian framework, it is suggested that the mathematically gifted require appropriate cognitive challenges as well as attitudinally and motivationally enhancing experiences. In the second half of this article we report on an initiative in which we worked with teachers to identify mathematically gifted pupils and to provide effective enrichment support for them, in a number of London Local Authorities. A number of significant issues are raised relating to the identification of mathematical talent, enrichment provision for students and teachers’ professional development