Progression paths in children’s problem solving: The influence of dynamic testing, initial variability, and working memory

The current study investigated developmental trajectories of analogical reasoning performance of 104 7- and 8-year-old children. We employed a microgenetic research method and multilevel analysis to examine the influence of several background variables and experimental treatment on the children’s developmental trajectories. Our participants were divided into two treatment groups: repeated practice alone and repeated practice with training. Each child received an initial working memory assessment and was subsequently asked to solve figural analogies on each of several sessions. We examined children’s analogical problem-solving behavior and their subsequent verbal accounts of their employed solving processes. We also investigated the influence of verbal and visual–spatial working memory capacity and initial variability in strategy use on analogical reasoning development. Results indicated that children in both treatment groups improved but that gains were greater for those who had received training. Training also reduced the influence of children’s initial variability in the use of analogical strategies with the degree of improvement in reasoning largely unrelated to working memory capacity. Findings from this study demonstrate the value of a microgenetic research method and the use of multilevel analysis to examine inter- and intra-individual change in problem-solving processes

Understanding transfer from a dynamic system approach:Two studies of children using problem-solving tasks

Transfer is not static but a dynamic process of learning. In this article, the concept of transfer and the implications of its study are reconsidered from the theoretical basis of the complex dynamic system approach. We describe “transfer” as an emergent process that implies not a copy of knowledge applied to a new situation, but a new configuration of knowledge to solve new situations. Therefore, we discussed the concept of transfer based on the following dynamic principles: soft-assembly, multi causality, variability, self-organization, and iteration. To reconsider the concept of transfer, we provide empirical evidence, illustrating these principles by discussing two studies of transfer carried out with preschoolers. The participants were 34 children of 4 years old (M = 4,6), and 8 children of 4 to 6 years old (M = 5,2). Using repeated measure designs (3 weeks and 6 months, respectively), participants worked on sets of problem-solving situations in the domain of physics (i.e. Archimedes’ principle and Air pressure). By using time-series graphs we identified the relevant elements of the tasks used by the children during the problem-solving process to analyze how this process changes over time. Results show transfer as a self-organized and context-related process in which the information is not static but in constant transformation

Analysis of pupil - pupil talk during game playing :a tool in the formative assessment of bilingual pupils

PhD ThesisThere is currently much debate amongst EAL specialist teachers in the U. K. regarding the assessment of bilingual pupils. Several studies, including inspection evidence, highlight the consistent failure of some groups of minority ethnic and bilingual pupils within the current summative assessment arrangements. This study is an attempt to refocus concern back to the processes of teaching and learning and hence the formative assessment of bilingual pupils. More specifically, this study investigates whether analysis of pupil-pupil talk during game playing can reveal information about how bilingual pupils are learning English as an additional language in the context of U. K. classrooms, and whether this information can be used by teachers to promote such learning (i. e. as a formative assessment). The fieldwork was undertaken in four schools across Newcastle Upon Tyne, three of which have large and diverse bilingual and minority ethnic pupil populations. The investigation was achieved by video recording small groups of bilingual pupils working and talking together whilst playing specially designed board games which focus on aspects of English language learning in accord with the National Literacy Strategy. Each group interaction was then transcribed and analysed using a discourse analysis system designed to reflect the behaviour of pupils playing the games. This initial analysis was then used to facilitate a deeper, more qualitative and interpretive analysis informed by sociocultural theory where learning is viewed as a socially situated activity mediated by language. This theoretical structure provided both a conceptual framework in which to understand the role of language and collaborative interaction in learning, and an analytic framework through which to observe and interpret such learning. As such, an holistic and essentially qualitative approach was adopted. The resulting information about pupils' learning was then fed back to the class and EAL specialist teachers. The results clearly demonstrate that specially designed board games are an accessible and empowering context for bilingual pupils' learning of English in U. K. classrooms. Moreover, the analysis of pupils' interactive behaviour whilst playing such games reveals constructive information about how bilingual pupils are learning English, their motivation and confidence in approaching this learning, as well as what they have already learnt or are in the process of learning. This thesis exposes the exact nature of such learning. The results also reveal that, although time consuming, the information resulting from such analyses can help guide teaching and learning needs, and is especially useful for those bilingual pupils most reticent to talk in front of adults in the classroom. The results of this study broaden our understanding of the nature of L2 language learning as a socially situated interactive activity from both a theoretical and pedagogical perspective. In particular, by hybridising the process of sociocultural analysis with the pedagogic process of formative assessment, this research has profitably extended the scope of application of sociocultural theory. Furthermore, it raises some interesting policy implications in regard to the purpose and form of the assessment of bilingual pupils in the U. K

Analysis of pupil - pupil talk during game playing : a tool in the formative assessment of bilingual pupils

There is currently much debate amongst EAL specialist teachers in the U. K. regarding the assessment of bilingual pupils. Several studies, including inspection evidence, highlight the consistent failure of some groups of minority ethnic and bilingual pupils within the current summative assessment arrangements. This study is an attempt to refocus concern back to the processes of teaching and learning and hence the formative assessment of bilingual pupils. More specifically, this study investigates whether analysis of pupil-pupil talk during game playing can reveal information about how bilingual pupils are learning English as an additional language in the context of U. K. classrooms, and whether this information can be used by teachers to promote such learning (i. e. as a formative assessment). The fieldwork was undertaken in four schools across Newcastle Upon Tyne, three of which have large and diverse bilingual and minority ethnic pupil populations. The investigation was achieved by video recording small groups of bilingual pupils working and talking together whilst playing specially designed board games which focus on aspects of English language learning in accord with the National Literacy Strategy. Each group interaction was then transcribed and analysed using a discourse analysis system designed to reflect the behaviour of pupils playing the games. This initial analysis was then used to facilitate a deeper, more qualitative and interpretive analysis informed by sociocultural theory where learning is viewed as a socially situated activity mediated by language. This theoretical structure provided both a conceptual framework in which to understand the role of language and collaborative interaction in learning, and an analytic framework through which to observe and interpret such learning. As such, an holistic and essentially qualitative approach was adopted. The resulting information about pupils' learning was then fed back to the class and EAL specialist teachers. The results clearly demonstrate that specially designed board games are an accessible and empowering context for bilingual pupils' learning of English in U. K. classrooms. Moreover, the analysis of pupils' interactive behaviour whilst playing such games reveals constructive information about how bilingual pupils are learning English, their motivation and confidence in approaching this learning, as well as what they have already learnt or are in the process of learning. This thesis exposes the exact nature of such learning. The results also reveal that, although time consuming, the information resulting from such analyses can help guide teaching and learning needs, and is especially useful for those bilingual pupils most reticent to talk in front of adults in the classroom. The results of this study broaden our understanding of the nature of L2 language learning as a socially situated interactive activity from both a theoretical and pedagogical perspective. In particular, by hybridising the process of sociocultural analysis with the pedagogic process of formative assessment, this research has profitably extended the scope of application of sociocultural theory. Furthermore, it raises some interesting policy implications in regard to the purpose and form of the assessment of bilingual pupils in the U. K.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Embodied language performance: Mediational affordances of dramatic activity for second language learning

This qualitative study examines the unique mediational affordances a drama based approach to second language learning provides. From the perspective of Sociocultural theory, the nature of learning is greatly determined by the mediational means employed and this study revealed the importance of modeling and imitation and multiple perspective taking that arose from the recursive process of rehearsal to be instrumental in the students\u27 understanding and growing mastery of English. This recursion process occurs within instructional conversations which serve to level the relations of power between teacher and learner, resulting in a more authentic learning environment. In short, drama introduces alterity into the learning environment in ways that serve to encourage autonomy for the learners as they slowly move from other regulated activity to self regulation; The study examines how the participants interacted within the unique learning environment created by the drama workshops and the activities. Activity theory posits that each participant arrives with a unique set of motives and goals and this study discusses how drama creates a learning environment and types of activity systems that accommodate these varying goals and facilitates an authentic dialogic interplay between everyone involved. Dramatic activity affords the co-construction of meaning between participants as they engage in language performance; The study further examines the pedagogical implications for utilizing drama in second language learning. Arguing that learning is first and foremost an activity, language learning will be examined as performance. Viewing language as performance serves to demonstrate how language is highly contextual to sociocultural and institutional circumstances. The role of the language teacher is crucial to provide the necessary interventions and the learning environments that foster and extend the learners use of the target language. A drama approach to second language learning provides a number of highly unique mediational affordances which can be actively manipulated in a seemingly endless variety of ways. It is argued that viewing teaching and learning from the perspective of social activity opens a space for drama based learning in which language performance and language learning become a dialectical interplay that cannot be separated. Language learning is embodied as the learner enacting a scenario becomes a subject within a contextually situated activity system in pursuit of specific goals. This results in a highly authentic use of language for communicative purposes which in turn enhance language acquisition

The Role of Computer Mediation in the Instruction and Development of L2 Pragmatic Competence

This article submitted to IUPUI ScholarWorks as part of the OASIS Project. Article reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission granted through posted policies on copyright owner’s website or through direct contact with copyright owner.This article provides a selective review of the role of computer mediation in the instruction and development of second language (L2) or interlanguage pragmatic competence within foreign and second language education. Both researchers and practitioners have noted consistently that several aspects of the teaching and tutored learning of L2 pragmatics have been reported as problematic and/or underexplored in the published knowledge base to date, including the availability and authenticity of instructional materials, the provision of opportunities for the performance and practice of L2 pragmatic competence in meaningful interactions, the relative lack of developmental data documenting the precise (and varied) pathways of L2 pragmatic competence over time, and the efficacy of particular pedagogical interventions in classroom-based L2 pragmatics instruction. The role of computer mediation in each of these underexplored areas is examined with a special emphasis on the teaching and learning of L2 pragmatics in Internet-mediated partnerships and on the use of (learner) corpora in L2 pragmatics instruction and research

Brief, embedded, spontaneous metacognitive talk indicates thinking like a physicist

Citation: Sayre, E. C., & Irving, P. W. (2015). Brief, embedded, spontaneous metacognitive talk indicates thinking like a physicist. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 11(2), 17. doi:10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020121[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] Instructors and researchers think "thinking like a physicist" is important for students' professional development. However, precise definitions and observational markers remain elusive. We reinterpret popular beliefs inventories in physics to indicate what physicists think thinking like a physicist entails. Through discourse analysis of upper-division students' speech in natural settings, we show that students may appropriate or resist these elements. We identify a new element in the physicist speech genre: brief, embedded, spontaneous metacognitive talk (BESM talk). BESM talk communicates students' in-the-moment enacted expectations about physics as a technical field and a cultural endeavor. Students use BESM talk to position themselves as physicists or nonphysicists. Students also use BESM talk to communicate their expectations in four ways: understanding, confusion, spotting inconsistencies, and generalized expectations

Visualizing second language learning: a microgenetic case study using pantomime comics for adult ESL students

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012Comics are regularly used in language classrooms. Most language teachers and researchers in applied linguistics justify the use of comics through individual characteristics such as motivation, humor, and aiding comprehension. Some studies use comics in social settings, but do not consider the images as a significant factor in language development. This study investigates the effectiveness of instruction using pantomime comics on both language acquisition and language development for adult English as second language (ESL) students. A mixed methods approach is employed to investigate individual acquisition and language development during a collaborative task. Analyses of written tests, transcriptions, and audio/video data using analytical foci, deixis, and transcription conventions following conversation analysis ascertains how comic images affect individual learners and contribute to language development between learners. Results suggest that comics can benefit the language learner individually and act as a powerful, mediational tool for language development and co-construction of knowledge between peers