The school-tertiary interface in mathematics: teaching style and assessment practice

Issues arising in the transition from secondary school to tertiary mathematics study are increasingly coming under scrutiny. In this paper, we analyse two practical aspects of the school–tertiary interface: teaching style; and assessment. We present some of the findings arising from a 2-year national project in New Zealand titled “Analysing the Transition from Secondary to Tertiary Education in Mathematics” supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. The results provide evidence of similarities and differences between teachers and lecturers in their preferred teaching approaches and assessment strategies that contribute to a transitional gap between the school and tertiary sectors. The results also show that each group lacks a clear understanding of the issues involved in the transition from the other’s perspective, and there is a need for improved communication between the two sectors

The influence of attention on mathematical knowledge of teachers and lecturers: a comparison

This paper reports on some findings from the project ‘Analysing the Transition from Secondary to Tertiary Education in Mathematics’. One of key variables in the school to university transition is the teacher/lecturer, and here we deal with data analysing secondary teachers’ and tertiary lecturers’ responses to four mathematics questions. Elsewhere we consider knowledge, preparedness and teaching style etc, but this paper tracks the ability to use mathematical procedures. We hypothesise that this is a function of what we pay attention to, as described in Mason’s discipline of noticing. The results reveal that many teachers and lecturers fail to notice the necessary conditions for problems that imply that procedures are not always applicable. Possible reasons for this along with implications for student learning are discussed

PBPK Models for CYP3A4 and P-gp DDI Prediction : A Modeling Network of Rifampicin, Itraconazole, Clarithromycin, Midazolam, Alfentanil, and Digoxin

According to current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidance documents, physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling is a powerful tool to explore and quantitatively predict drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and may offer an alternative to dedicated clinical trials. This study provides whole-body PBPK models of rifampicin, itraconazole, clarithromycin, midazolam, alfentanil, and digoxin within the Open Systems Pharmacology (OSP) Suite. All models were built independently, coupled using reported interaction parameters, and mutually evaluated to verify their predictive performance by simulating published clinical DDI studies. In total, 112 studies were used for model development and 57 studies for DDI prediction. 93% of the predicted area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) ratios and 94% of the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) ratios are within twofold of the observed values. This study lays a cornerstone for the qualification of the OSP platform with regard to reliable PBPK predictions of enzyme-mediated and transportermediated DDIs during model-informed drug development. All presented models are provided open-source and transparently documented

The complex process of scaling the integration of technology enhanced learning in mainstream classrooms

The early optimism for how technology might transform teaching and learning practices in mainstream school classrooms has long faded in many countries around the world. Whilst early research findings suggested that this was due to obvious barriers such as access to the technology itself, more recent attempts to scale student-access have illuminated other factors and provided a more sound theoretical foundation for us to understanding the processes and products of scaling educational technology innovations. This keynote will use findings from key projects and initiatives to highlight what is being learned – and how this might inform future endeavours to realise a more 21st century curriculum

Drawing the answers: Sketching to support free and probed recall by child witnesses and victims with autism spectrum disorder

The success of witness interviews in the criminal justice system depends on the accuracy of information obtained, which is a function of both amount and quality of information. Attempts to enhance witness retrieval such as mental reinstatement of context have been designed with typically developed adults in mind. In this paper, the relative benefits of mental and sketch reinstatement mnemonics are explored with both typically developing children and children with autism. Children watched a crime event video, and their retrieval of event information was examined in free and probed recall phases of a cognitive interview. As expected, typically developing children recalled more correct information of all types than children with autism during free and probed recall phases. Sketching during free recall was more beneficial for both groups in both phases in reducing the amount of incorrect items, but the relative effect of sketching on enhancing retrieval accuracy was greater for children with autism. The results indicate the benefits of choosing retrieval mnemonics that are sensitive to the specific impairments of autistic individuals, and suggest that retrieval accuracy during interviews can be enhanced, in some cases to the same level as that of typically developing individuals

Versatile thinking and the learning of statistical concepts

Statistics was for a long time a domain where calculation dominated to the detriment of statistical thinking. In recent years, the latter concept has come much more to the fore, and is now being both researched and promoted in school and tertiary courses. In this study, we consider the application of the concept of flexible or versatile thinking to statistical inference, as a key attribute of statistical thinking. Whilst this versatility comprises process/object, visuo/analytic and representational versatility, we concentrate here on the last aspect, which includes the ability to work within a representation system (or semiotic register) and to transform seamlessly between the systems for given concepts, as well as to engage in procedural and conceptual interactions with specific representations. To exemplify the theoretical ideas, we consider two examples based on the concepts of relative comparison and sampling variability as cases where representational versatility may be crucial to understanding. We outline the qualitative thinking involved in representations of relative density and sample and population distributions, including mathematical models and their precursor, diagrammatic forms

Teaching with digital technology

In this survey paper, we describe the state of the field of research on teaching mathematics with technology with an emphasis on the secondary school phase. We synthesize themes, questions, results and perspectives emphasized in the articles that appear in this issue alongside the relevant foundations of these ideas within the key journal articles, handbooks and conference papers. Our aim is to give an overview of the field that provides opportunities for readers to gain deeper insights into theoretical, methodological, practical and societal challenges that concern teaching mathematics with technology in its broadest sense. Although this collection of articles was developed prior to the global coronavirus pandemic, we have taken the opportunity to survey the contributing authors to provide some country perspectives on the impact the pandemic has had on mathematics teaching with technology in the period January–July 2020. We conclude the survey paper by identifying some areas for future research in this increasingly relevant topic

One lawyer acting for two clients : Implications arising from an experimental practice model ‘Family Matters’

The legal services market faces unprecedented change following implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Alternative business models and wider use of digital technologies have developed alongside debates about the future of legal practice in family law. Arguments have been made for new hybrid models that combine legal advice with mediation and for solicitors to be enabled to work with two clients. This paper contributes to that debate by highlighting implications for such practice innovations based on new research evidence of solicitors’ experiences of delivering an experimental model of practice: ‘Family Matters Guides’. This model, piloted by Resolution, involved the Guides providing intensive support and legal information (not legal advice) to both separating parents to help them reach agreements. This paper is timely as the professions await the new regulations from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (autumn 2018) making flexible practice models a reality