Pictorial Socratic dialogue and conceptual change

Counter-examples used in a Socratic dialogue aim to provoke reflection to effect conceptual changes. However, natural language forms of Socratic dialogues have their limitations. To address this problem, we propose an alternative form of Socratic dialogue called the pictorial Socratic dialogue. A Spring Balance System has been designed to provide a platform for the investigation of the effects of this pedagogy on conceptual changes. This system allows learners to run and observe an experiment. Qualitative Cartesian graphs are employed for learners to represent their solutions. Indirect and intelligent feedback is prescribed through two approaches in the pictorial Socratic dialogue which aim to provoke learners probe through the perceptual structural features of the problem and solution, into the deeper level of the simulation where Archimedes’ Principle governs

An evaluation of constructivism for learners with ADHD: Development of a constructivist pedagogy for special needs

We examine whether constructivist eLearning tools can be used to help learners cope with special educational needs, such as difficulties with attention and concentration. Preliminary work is reported here, in which we seek to determine the reasons why a constructivist approach is difficult for learners with ADHD. This work is intended to lead to recommendations of how learners with ADHD could benefit from constructivist eLearning systems, e.g. through the managed use of multimedia technology. A preliminary model has been developed that illustrates the areas in which constructivist pedagogies need to address the limitations of ADHD learners. Further work will expand this model and eventually test it in a real environment (e.g. in a school with ADHD learners). The outcome will encourage a reconsideration of existing multimedia theories as they relate to learners with special needs, and provide new directions in order to support learners with ADHD

New development and trends in mathematics education at pre-school and primary level

TSG 1 had a broad focus, calling for papers that examined contemporary developments in mathematics education at the preschool and primary level (approximately ages 0 through 12 years). This provided an exciting opportunity to explore issues across the early childhood and school sectors and the team quickly decided to integrate early childhood and school presenters, with sessions organized around common themes, rather than by sector. The range of nationalities of the presenters and the participants in this group also allowed the ideas to be considered as they applied in a number of different contexts. This report highlights the themes that were considered, describes the papers that were presented, and summarises some of the key ideas and issues that arose in the group’s discussions

Developing algebraic and didactical knowledge in pre-service primary teacher education

This study analyzes the contribution of a teaching experiment for the development of prospective primary teachers regarding knowledge of algebra and of algebra teaching as well as their professional identity. The case study of a prospective teachersuggests that an exploratory approach combining content and pedagogy supports this development, especially in the need to propose challenging tasks, to provide opportunity for students’ autonomous work and collective discussions and to be attentive to children’s representations and strategies in order to promote algebraic thinking

Becoming curious about cats: A collaborative writing project

Students’ interests and achievement in writing are often debated and located in theoretical and pedagogical arguments. These issues can polarise understandings of effective teaching practice. This article describes one teacher’s classroom practice in a New Zealand primary school. It outlines a collaborative project between a local teacher and a university lecturer. The two educators were concerned about political and educational changes and the influence this had on teachers’ writing pedagogy. They were concerned about the differences between the children’s reading and writing achievement evident in this year three classroom. As researchers they were keen to explore the ‘power of literature’ as a way of enriching children’s oral and written language experiences. The writers argue that by using quality literature in the classroom, with an explicit focus on authors’ literary techniques, students develop an awareness of how authors craft and construct texts. The young writers were apprenticed to experts and developed a metalanguage, which enhanced their own writing skills

Designing for Ballet Classes: Identifying and Mitigating Communication Challenges Between Dancers and Teachers

Dancer-teacher communication in a ballet class can be challenging: ballet is one of the most complex forms of movements, and learning happens through multi-faceted interactions with studio tools (mirror, barre, and floor) and the teacher. We conducted an interview-based qualitative study with seven ballet teachers and six dancers followed by an open-coded analysis to explore the communication challenges that arise while teaching and learning in the ballet studio. We identified key communication issues, including adapting to multi-level dancer expertise, transmitting and realigning development goals, providing personalized corrections and feedback, maintaining the state of flow, and communicating how to properly use tools in the environment. We discuss design implications for crafting technological interventions aimed at mitigating these communication challenges

Comparing the cognitive profile of the HCI professional and the HCI educator

Previous research into Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) education has focussed mainly on the curriculum, pedagogy and the gap between education, and little is known about the cognitive profile of the HCI practitioner or educator, or how their individual differences impact upon practice in the field or the classroom. This research intends to address this gap by investigating the cognitive style of HCI practitioners, educators, and those with both roles. 315 professionals responded to a global online survey which captured their individual cognitive style using the Allinson and Hayes Cognitive Style Index (CSI) which tests whether the subject tends more towards an intuitivist or analyst, and the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ) which suggests a three dimensional model of cognitive style – object imagers who prefer to construct pictorial images, spatial imagers who prefer schematic representations and verbalizers who prefer to use verbal-analytical tools. Together, these two instruments provide a profile that matches the skills required to work within the field of HCI. The respondents included practitioners in the field (N=179), educators (N=61), and some who were both practitioner and educator (N=75). A one-way between-groups ANOVA and MANOVA was performed to investigate differences in the role of the professional, and the CSI and OSIVQ profiles respectively, followed by the Welch t-test to compare their OSIVQ scores with the published normative values. The ANOVA comparing the CSI scores for each of the groups revealed a statistically significant difference of F(2, 312) = 3.35, p= 0.38 and post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for the educators was significantly different from that of the ‘both’ group. The practitioners did not differ significantly from either the educators or ‘both’. This may in some part be explained by the fact that very often HCI is taught by an academic with a computer science background rather than an HCI specialist, but further investigation is needed in this area. The MANOVA used the three constructs of the OSIVQ as dependent variables. No significant difference was found between the groups. However, the t-tests comparing the professional against the normative data revealed that whilst there was no significant difference between the object imager score of the HCI professional and the scientist, there was a difference between the spatial imager score of the HCI professional and the visual artist, perhaps again reflecting the computer science background of many professionals. 24 survey respondents have been interviewed and the resulting data will form the basis of a thematic analysis to extend the cognitive profile, and to identify the predominant technological frames of operation. Applying this concept of technological frames to the domain of HCI, will help to make sense of the adoption and application of knowledge, tools and techniques amongst this community. In order for the curriculum to meet the needs of the market, the educator needs to understand the practitioner in order to produce graduates equipped for the role. Finally, as HCI is delivered in a multidisciplinary environment, should it not also be taught by a multidisciplinary team

A teaching experiment to foster the conceptual understanding of multiplication based on children's literature to facilitate dialogic learning

The importance of conceptual understanding as opposed to low-level procedural knowledge in mathematics has been well documented (Hiebert & Carpenter, 1992). Development of conceptual understanding of multiplication is fostered when students recognise the equal group structure that is common in all multiplicative problems (Mulligan & Mitchelmore, 1996). This paper reports on the theoretical development of a transformative teaching experiment based on conjecture-driven research design (Confrey & Lachance, 1999) that aims to enhance Year 3 students’ conceptual understanding of multiplication. The teaching experiment employs children’s literature as a motivational catalyst and mediational tool for students to explore and engage in multiplication activities and dialogue. The SOLO taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1989) is used to both frame the novel teaching and learning activities, as well as assess the level of students’ conceptual understanding of multiplication as displayed in the products derived from the experiment. Further, student’s group interactions will be analysed in order to investigate the social processes that may contribute positively to learning

Validity of a pictorial perceived exertion scale for effort estimation and effort production during stepping exercise in adolescent children

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in European Physical Education Review ©2002. The definitive version is available at http://epe.sagepub.com.Recent developments in the study of paediatric effort perception have continued to emphasise the importance of child-specific rating scales. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of an illustrated 1 – 10 perceived exertion scale; the Pictorial Children’s Effort Rating Table (PCERT). 4 class groups comprising 104 children; 27 boys and 29 girls, aged 12.1±0.3 years and 26 boys, 22 girls, aged 15.3±0.2 years were selected from two schools and participated in the initial development of the PCERT. Subsequently, 48 of these children, 12 boys and 12 girls from each age group were randomly selected to participate in the PCERT validation study. Exercise trials were divided into 2 phases and took place 7 to 10 days apart. During phase 1, children completed 5 x 3-minute incremental stepping exercise bouts interspersed with 2-minute recovery periods. Heart rate (HR) and ratings of exertion were recorded during the final 15 s of each exercise bout. In phase 2 the children were asked to regulate their exercising effort during 4 x 4-minute bouts of stepping so that it matched randomly prescribed PCERT levels (3, 5, 7 and 9). Analysis of data from Phase 1 yielded significant (P<0.01) relationships between perceived and objective (HR) effort measures for girls. In addition, the main effects of exercise intensity on perceived exertion and HR were significant (P<0.01); perceived exertion increased as exercise intensity increased and this was reflected in simultaneous significant rises in HR. During phase 2, HR and estimated power output (POapprox) produced at each of the four prescribed effort levels were significantly different (P<0.01). The children in this study were able to discriminate between 4 different exercise intensities and regulate their exercise intensity according to 4 prescribed levels of perceived exertion. In seeking to contribute towards children’s recommended physical activity levels and helping them understand how to self-regulate their activity, the application of the PCERT within the context of physical education is a desirable direction for future research