UKRI open access review : consultation analysis

In August 2021, UKRI announced a new open access policy for publications that acknowledge funding from UKRI or any of its councils. UKRI held a public consultation on a draft open access policy in 2020. This report is the analysis of the responses, carried out by CFE Research

Teaching modern foreign languages in multilingual classrooms: an examination of Key Stage 2 teachers’ experiences

The statutory inclusion of modern foreign languages (MFL) into the Key Stage 2 curriculum in England in 2014 aimed to raise the language skills of younger learners in preparation for their secondary education. This change to the curriculum has occurred at a time in which the linguistic diversity within primary schools across the country has been consistently increasing. This study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to qualitatively examine the impact of the curriculum change on teachers implementing it in multilingual classrooms in Greater Manchester. Six teachers with varying experience in teaching MFL participated in semistructured interviews focussing on different aspects of the curriculum change. This paper focuses on the teaching of MFL, as well as on teachers’ perceptions of English as an Additional Language (EAL) pupils’ aptitude for language learning in comparison to their monolingual peers. The superordinate themes identified from the data included the inconsistent delivery of MFL in primary schools, and the role of multilingual classrooms as opportunities for augmented MFL provision. The findings from this study will have implications for teachers, head teachers, and policy-makers regarding the effectiveness of the initial implementation of MFL into the primary curriculum, with specific reference to the EAL school population

Abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017

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A Method for Growth and Immobilization of Streptococcus-Faecalis Var Zymogenes in Bioreactors Containing Hollow-Fiber, Ceramic, Metallic or Glass-Fiber Membranes

Details are given for the design, construction, operation, analysis, monitoring and control of microbial bioreactors fabricated from a variety of artificial membranes. The types of membranes used were polysulphone or glass hollow fibres and ceramic or metallic tubular constructs. Growth of Streptococcus faecalis var. zymogenes and the level of formation of the major metabolic end products (lactate and acetate) are reported for each bioreactor type. Satisfactory growth was obtained in each system. There was less end-product formation and growth in the bioreactor constructed from glass-fibres than in the other systems. The ratio of lactate:acetate produced suggested that the bacteria were growing largely in an oxygen limited environment in the matrices of all the membrane systems. Variation in the level of aeration in the feed to the polysulphone hollow-fibre and tubular ceramic bioreactors confirmed that there was poor mass transfer of gas to the dense cultures of bacteria in all the membrane matrices

Studies in gall induction with special reference to the pontania-salix system

An investigation was conducted into gall induction in the leaves of Salix fragilis L. var. russelliana (Sm.) Koch by Pontania proxima (Lepeletier) (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae). The work was divided into four parts:- a) Reviews of the available literature were undertaken on: hypotheses concerning cecidogenesis of galls initiated by insects, the history of cecidology as it related to galls formed by insects, the ontogeny and morphology of galls produced by sawflies, ecological aspects of gall biology and the effects of galling on the host plant. b) Methods of rearing both insect and host were established; these resulted in an extension of the insect's flight period from five to eight months with three broods per year instead of the usual two. Further work established the topological specificity of oviposition. Preliminary studies were completed on the tissue culture of Salix leaf-disc explants and the fusion of protoplasts released from normal and galled tissue. c) Using light and electron microscopy, a study was made of the reproductive system and associated glands of Pontania proxima females, together with the first stages of the procecidium they initiated. Using these techniques, no microorganisms, viral or otherwise, were observed in the gall, in the lumina of the reproductive system and associated glands or in surrounding tissues of the insect. Evidence for a secretory role for the lateral oviducts was found. A structure termed the vaginal valve was described and it was hypothesized that this functioned to separate the fluids produced by the accessory glands from the contents of the oviduct, until oviposition. In the plant, it was observed that the gall effect was limited and that the presence of an egg or larva was not required for the formation of a procecidium. Gall growth was mainly due to periclinal divisions of the provascular tissues of the leaf. d) A bioassay, based on microinjection techniques, was developed .This demonstrated that the cecidogen was contained in the colleterial fluid produced by the accessory glands. Further analysis showed that the cecidogen had a molecular weight of less that 3 kDa.</p

What are the characteristics of teacher professional development that increase pupil achievement? Protocol for a systematic review

On average, teachers spend 10.5 days per year attending courses, workshops, conferences, seminars, observation visits, or other in-service training (Sellen, 2016). The rationale for this substantial investment in professional development (PD) is clear: meta-analyses find that teacher PD programmes tend to improve pupil academic achievement (Fletcher-Wood & Zuccollo, 2019; Lynch et al., 2019). How this PD should be designed is, however, somewhat less clear. While research has identified some programmes or interventions for which there is persuasive evidence of impact on pupil achievement (e.g., Allen et al., 2011, 2015), many schools do not have access to such programmes, due to either cost or location. School leaders and teacher educators instead need to know which characteristics of PD matter to help them design or commission effective PD (Hill et al., 2013). Several reviews have attempted to identify the characteristics of effective PD (Desimone, 2009; Kennedy, 2016; Timperley et al., 2007; Walter & Briggs, 2012; Wei et al., 2009; Yoon et al., 2007). Indeed, many of these reviews have themselves been summarised in two meta-reviews (Cordingley et al., 2015; Dunst et al., 2015). However, these (meta-)reviews have either been inconclusive or have important methodological limitations (Sims & Fletcher-Wood, 2020). In particular, existing reviews have no way of distinguishing causally redundant components of interventions from the ‘active ingredients’ that lead to improved teaching and learning (Sims & Fletcher-Wood, 2020). A new synthesis of this literature, using improved methods, is therefore required. Previous reviews have not used a consistent definition of PD. Indeed, several proceed without offering any explicit definition (Lynch et al., 2019, Cordingley et al., 2015, Dunst et al., 2015, Kennedy, 2016), with one stating only that professional development is “hard to define by aggregation and generalities” (Opfer and Pedder, 2011, p. 379). A recent review adopted a relatively broad multi-part definition, which can be summarised as: facilitated learning opportunities for qualified professionals that aim to enhance the professionals’ knowledge and skills in ways that are relevant for application in practice, that is, to serve ultimate beneficiaries (students) (Filges et al., 2019). This is a useful starting point, however, the breadth of this definition seems problematic for our purposes. For example, it would seem to include programmes that introduce some new educational technology and incorporate a short training session to familiarise teachers with the software (e.g. Campuzano et al., 2009). Similarly, it would appear to include so-called ‘out of the box’ curriculum packages, that are accompanied by token training to introduce the teacher to the new curriculum materials (e.g. Miller et al., 2007). Intuitively, we believe that both researchers and teachers would recognise these as educational technology and curriculum programmes, respectively, rather than PD. Our approach therefore builds on this broad definition, while also seeking to refine it slightly. We define teacher PD as structured, facilitated activity for teachers intended to increase their teaching ability. The focus on teaching ability is intended to include a broad range of skills including classroom management, assessment, and lesson planning. At the same time, it is intended to exclude educational technology programmes with a token training element (e.g. Campuzano et al., 2009). The focus on teaching ability, rather than merely knowledge, is intended to distinguish PD from new curriculum programmes with a token training element (e.g. Miller et al., 2007). Furthermore, this will help distinguish PD from activity focused on simply providing teachers with general updates about school business. We acknowledge that our definition will still require a degree of inference on the part of the reviewers, but we submit that this definition is tighter and more transparent than those used – or indeed not used – in previous reviews. This review will employ a systematic search of the literature evaluating teacher PD. This will be used to develop a map of the relevant literature, which will inform the development of the final inclusion criteria. Results will then be extracted from each of the included studies. Crucially, each of the interventions in each of the included studies will also be coded based on the ‘mechanisms’ they incorporate, defined as “entities and activities organized in such a way that they are responsible for the phenomenon” (Illari & Williamson, 2012, p14; see also Sims & Fletcher-Wood, 2019). In the social sciences, mechanisms can be thought of as domain-general empirical regularities related to what motivates individuals, how they learn, and why they act in certain ways. Coding for such mechanisms helps distinguish the causally active from the causally redundant components of the interventions, in a way that previous reviews have not. Meta-analysis and qualitative comparative analysis will then be used to investigate the relationships between (groups of) mechanisms and the impact of the interventions on pupil achievement. The results of this analysis will directly inform the development of recommendations for a subsequent EEF guidance report on the characteristics of effective PD