The impact of Covid-19 on the English education teaching and learning environment and how this relates to sustaining and developing creativity, creative thinking and teaching for creativity - A literature review

The following literature review has been produced to inform and contribute to Arts Council England’s (ACE) interim report on the progress of the implementation of the recommendations made in the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education report. The review seeks to answer three research questions: Research Question 1: In what ways has Covid-19 impacted on the education environment and schooling context for children and young people between the age of 4 and 18 in England? Research Question 2: What does current research tell us about the educational priorities of education leaders (including policy makers and school leaders) since March 2020? Research Question 3: How have these changes impacted on factors which are important for fostering creativity and creative thinking, and on schools’ and other organisations’ ability to “teach for creativity”

Multilevel 3 Bit-per-cell Magnetic Random Access Memory Concepts and Their Associated Control Circuit Architectures

Designs for two novel multilevel magnetic random access memory (MRAM) concepts are presented in this paper along with their associated control circuit architectures. Both the ChiralMEM and 3-D-MRAM concepts contain eight states with distinct electrical resistances, giving a 3 bit-per-cell capacity. Operation of the two memory concepts are presented along with designs for the circuitry in particular focusing on the conversion of three conventional binary bits to octal encoded data and the required sequence for writing eight states per cell using current-driven magnetic fields. Discrimination and subsequent conversion of the eight readout resistance levels back to three conventional binary bits are discussed along with the write sequence for controlling arrays of multibit memory cells

Name writing ability not length of name is predictive of future academic attainment

Background: The Performance Indicators in Primary Schools On Entry Baseline assessment for pupils starting school includes an item which aims to assess how well a pupil writes his or her own name. There is some debate regarding the utility of this measure, on the grounds that name length may constitute bias. Purpose, method and design: The predictive validity of this item and its link to name length was investigated with a view to using this item in further assessments. Previous modest scale work from the USA, suggests that name writing ability is a robust indicator which correlates substantively with other known indicators of later reading whilst remaining independent of name length. This paper greatly expanded the sample size and geographical coverage and, rather than concurrent measures, the predictive validity of the item is assessed. The sample includes children from England, Scotland and Australia (N = 14932), assessed between 2011 and 2013. Potential confounding factors that are analysed include age, geographical region and ethnicity. Findings and conclusions: The evidence suggests that the name writing item is a robust measure, with good predictive validity to future academic outcomes in early reading, phonological awareness and mathematics. The length was not related to the ability to write one’s own name nor was it predictive of future outcomes

Controlling Anisotropy of NiFe Thin Films During Deposition for Device Applications

Thin film permalloy (with compositions around Ni80Fe20 continues to be an important ferromagnetic material for a range of applications including sensors, inductors and spintronic devices. Very weak magnetostriction and magnetocrystalline anisotropy are key attributes contributing to the favorable magnetic properties required in many such applications. Also in applications the anisotropy of the permalloy is controlled, usually by field-induced anisotropy or lithographic patterning. This work describes the control of anisotropy and the magnetization behavior in Permalloy thin-films by controlling the angle of the substrate with respect to the source during thin-film deposition. Film thicknesses from 5 nm up to 40 nm were investigated and all showed the development of a significant anisotropy and coercivity enhancement as the angle of the substrate was increased. Although this approach produces a well-defined in-plane easy axis, the orthogonal magnetization can be more complex than that of simple hard axis behavior. Deposition induced anisotropy effects were apparent even for a substrate tilt of only ten degrees. The control of anisotropy using this depositional effect was demonstrated for applications with examples showing control of magnetoresistance and via the competition between the deposition anisotropy and shape anisotropy in controlling the magnetization behavior of lithographically patterned structures

Number Identification: A Unique Developmental Pathway in Mathematics?

We make a prima facie case for identifying a single pathway in the learning of Hindu-Arabic numerical symbols and discuss why this ability may be a critical gateway concept in developing mathematical competencies. A representative sample of English and Scottish children was assessed using a number symbol identification paradigm in the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) Baseline assessment at the beginning and end of their first school year. Through a Rasch analysis of real and simulated data, we show that: (1) there appears to be a single, unidimensional pathway in learning to identify number symbols with discrete difficulty stages, (2) on examination of differential item functioning, this pathway is invariant across gender, country, socio-economic background, first language and across the first year of schooling and (3) almost all children make progress along the pathway during the year. A number identification scale may thus be a universal ruler by which all pupils could be assessed

Chirality-dependent domain wall pinning in a multinotched planar nanowire and chirality preservation using transverse magnetic fields

Chirality-dependent pinning of magnetic domain walls (DWs) has been observed in a planar Ni81Fe19 nanowire with two spatially separated notches on opposite edges of the wire. Using focused magneto-optical Kerr effectmeasurements of field-driven magnetization reversal we show that several different metastable remanent magnetization states can be formed reproducibly, and that the application of a component of magnetic field transverse to the wire axis maintains the chirality of DW as it interacts with both notches and overcomes the problems of chirality loss due to Walker breakdown

Monitoring practical science in schools and colleges, school data 2016-2017

The Monitoring Practical Science in Schools and Colleges study ran from 2015 to 2017. Data were collected in year 1 of the study in 2015, during reforms to the Scottish National 5 and Higher qualifications and prior to implementation of reformed GCSE and A level science specifications in England. Data collected in year 3 of the study (in 2017), was post implementation of reforms in Scotland and in England was at the point when A level students were completing the reformed qualifications for the first time and progressing to undergraduate study, and GCSE students had completed one year of their reformed programmes. Data is in the form of survey responses and transcripts from focus groups and telephone interviews with heads of science, science teachers and science technicians. This project collected data relating to practical work in science provision in schools and colleges collected in England and Scotland from 2015 - 2017. The project aimed to investigate the quantity and breadth of practical work undertaken and how this changed during the study. The project also sought to identify possible reasons for any observed outcomes. The project also examined how these data illustrate how school- and college-based practical work in science prepares students for laboratory based courses at university. Data were collected in year 1 of the study in 2015, during reforms to the Scottish National 5 and Higher qualifications and prior to implementation of reformed GCSE and A level science specifications in England. Data collected in year 3 of the study (in 2017), was post implementation of reforms in Scotland and in England was at the point when A level students were completing the reformed qualifications for the first time and progressing to undergraduate study, and GCSE students had completed one year of their reformed programmes.</p

Monitoring practical science in schools and colleges, higher education data 2016-2018

The Monitoring Practical Science in Schools and Colleges study ran from 2015 to 2017. Data were collected in year 1 of the study in 2015, during reforms to the Scottish National 5 and Higher qualifications and prior to implementation of reformed GCSE and A level science specifications in England. Data collected in year 3 of the study (in 2017), was post implementation of reforms in Scotland and in England was at the point when A level students were completing the reformed qualifications for the first time and progressing to undergraduate study in higher education institutions, and GCSE students had completed one year of their reformed programmes. Data is in the form of survey responses and transcripts from telephone interviews with higher education staff involved in the teaching of undergraduate laboratories in biological sciences, chemistry and physics. This project collected data relating to practical work in science provision in schools, colleges and higher education collected in England and Scotland from 2015 - 2017. The project aimed to investigate the quantity and breadth of practical work undertaken and how this changed during the study. The project also sought to identify possible reasons for any observed outcomes. The project also examined how these data illustrate how school- and college-based practical work in science prepares students for laboratory based courses at university. Data were collected in year 1 of the study in 2015, during reforms to the Scottish National 5 and Higher qualifications and prior to implementation of reformed GCSE and A level science specifications in England. Data collected in year 3 of the study (in 2017), was post implementation of reforms in Scotland and in England was at the point when A level students were completing the reformed qualifications for the first time and progressing to undergraduate study, and GCSE students had completed one year of their reformed programmes.</p