Examining learning in relation to the contexts of use of ICT

Although ICT resources are commonly expected to produce uniform benefits, they are necessarily employed within pre-existing contexts of educational and social activity, and the outcome in terms of both pattern of use and learning depends on how they fit in with these. As a result, the same technology or software may have unexpectedly diverse effects, according to specific setting. If the object is to exercise control over outcome, then the conditions of use need to be planned for within the design and implementation of the technology. In order to do this, it is crucial that research gathers data on how outcomes are affected by the interplay between technology and context. This raises questions about the methods that would be appropriate for the conduct and dissemination of such research. These points are discussed in relation to three studies, one each at primary, secondary and university levels of education

Beyond translation: Adapting a performance-task-based assessment of critical thinking ability for use in Rwanda

Critical thinking is frequently proposed as one of the most important learning outcomes of a university education. However, to date, it has been difficult to ascertain whether university students in low-income contexts are improving in their critical thinking skills, because the limited studies in this domain have relied on instruments developed in Western contexts, despite the clear dangers of such an approach. Cultural bias in assessment can best be overcome by explicitly developing tests for use in specific contexts. However, resource constraints often prevent this possibility. An alternative strategy is to adapt an existing instrument for use in a particular context. Although adaptation is the norm for high-stakes cross-cultural assessments, it is often not attempted for single country research studies. This may be due to an assumption that adaptation is excessively technical or will add significantly to a study timeline. In this article, which relies on data from a recent study in Rwanda, we present a methodology for adapting a performance-task-based assessment of critical thinking. Our experience with this methodology suggests that small teams can adapt instruments in a relatively short time frame, and that the benefits of doing so far outweigh any cost

Lees- en spellingagterstande van leerders met serebrale gestremdhede: Interaksie van werkgeheue, fonologiese prosessering en visueel-ruimtelike aspekte tot leer

The causes and characteristics of the reading and spelling deficits of learners with cerebral palsy (CP), as well as the working memory processing are discussed. Due to the vision, hearing and speech disabilities of these learners, the phonological loop in the working memory receives and rejects an unclear message, because the sub-vocal repetition store in the phonological loop does not know how to process it. Thus the phonological loop is interrupted and these learners cannot develop the phonological awareness needed for reading and spelling skills. Therefore, traditional teaching strategies are of no value to teach these learners. However, the plight of these children is that many teachers in South Africa are not trained to support this language-processing problem in these learners. Possible intervention strategies for supporting the phonological loop of CP learners are discussed. Visual imagery and the Davis strategies have been identified as suitable intervention strategies for supporting the reading and spelling deficits of learners with CP. The value of this theoretical paper is that it could provide teachers who have no training to support the language-based problems of children with CP early in their lives with some information about intervention strategies.Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Reading and Spelling Deficits, Phonologica

Nonverbal Ability and Scientific Vocabulary Predict Children's Causal Reasoning in Science Better than Generic Language

Verbal and nonverbal forms of thinking exhibit widespread dissociation at neural and behavioral level. The importance of this for children's causal thinking and its implications for school science are largely unknown. Assessing 5‐ to 10‐year‐olds' responses (N = 231), verbal ability predicted causal reasoning, but only at lower levels, while nonverbal ability was the strongest predictor at higher levels of causal inference. We also distinguished between generic and scientific vocabulary use (n = 101). The results showed that use of scientific vocabulary predicted causal reasoning beyond generic, and connected more to nonverbal thinking. The findings highlighted the importance of elementary school science activities supporting application of nonverbal ability in thinking about causal processes; the benefits of linking nonverbal imagery to scientific vocabulary; and shortcomings in understanding of the forms/sources of nonverbal ability and their role in learning

A short-term intervention improved children's insights into causal processes

Understanding of causal mechanisms has largely been ignored in past work on science learning, with studies typically assessing multiple aspects of children’s knowledge or focusing on their explanations without differentiating between accounts of factors, variables and mechanisms. Recent evidence suggests that grasp of mechanisms is in fact a crucial predictor of children’s science achievement; and that spatial-temporal ability is a key driver of this grasp, helping children to envisage the transformations involved in the continuous causal processes they encounter in science lessons. The present research tested the impact of a short-term intervention designed to promote spatial-temporal thinking with regard to one such process, sinking. Children across Years one to three from a school in a disadvantaged area (5 to 8 year-olds, six classes, N=171) were taken through a three-stage classroom exercise: Making initial predictions and observations; engaging in an imaginative game to explore the interactions between objects and water; and then testing further predictions supported by the introduction of scientific terminology. These stages modelled on a scientific investigation, targeting five key steps: (1) perception; (2) representation; (3) analysis; (4) mental imagery; and (5) use of feedback. The exercise produced substantial improvements in children’s performance, regardless of age; better observation and more accurate prediction; more coordinated representations; greater incidence of imagery and mechanism-related analysis; better sensitivity to feedback and increased use of scientific terminology. The data suggest that the ability to utilise spatial-temporal elements in causal inference is highly malleable and that giving children space to think and talk imaginatively about mechanisms is central to their progress. At present, science lessons typically focus on the ‘what’ rather than the ‘why’, and do not actively support such thinking about causal processes

The Development of Spatial-Temporal, Probability, and Covariation Information to Infer Continuous Causal Processes

This paper considers how 5- to 11-year-olds’ verbal reasoning about the causality underlying extended, dynamic natural processes links to various facets of their statistical thinking. Such continuous processes typically do not provide perceptually distinct causes and effect, and previous work suggests that spatial–temporal analysis, the ability to analyze spatial configurations that change over time, is a crucial predictor of reasoning about causal mechanism in such situations. Work in the Humean tradition to causality has long emphasized on the importance of statistical thinking for inferring causal links between distinct cause and effect events, but here we assess whether this is also viable for causal thinking about continuous processes. Controlling for verbal and non-verbal ability, two studies (N = 107; N = 124) administered a battery of covariation, probability, spatial–temporal, and causal measures. Results indicated that spatial–temporal analysis was the best predictor of causal thinking across both studies, but statistical thinking supported and informed spatial–temporal analysis: covariation assessment potentially assists with the identification of variables, while simple probability judgment potentially assists with thinking about unseen mechanisms. We conclude that the ability to find out patterns in data is even more widely important for causal analysis than commonly assumed, from childhood, having a role to play not just when causally linking already distinct events but also when analyzing the causal process underlying extended dynamic events without perceptually distinct components

Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome: Insights from eye movements

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mathematical difficulties in individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) and in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are well-established. Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing are domain-specific precursors of mathematical achievement in typically developing (TD) population. This study employed, for the first time, eye-tracking methodology to investigate subitizing abilities in WS and DS. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twenty-five participants with WS and 24 participants with DS were compared to a younger group of TD children (n = 25) matched for mental age. Participants were asked to enumerate one to six dots arranged either in a dice or a random pattern. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Accuracy rates and analyses of reaction time showed no significant differences between the clinical groups (WS and DS) and the control group, suggesting that all participants used the same processes to perform the enumeration task in the different experimental conditions. Analyses of the eye movements showed that both individuals with WS and individuals with DS were using inefficient scanning strategies when counting. Moreover, analyses of the eye movements showed significantly shorter fixation duration in participants with DS compared to the control group in all the experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The current study provides evidence that individuals with WS and individuals with DS perform both perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing. Moreover, our results suggest a fixation instability in DS group that does not affect their performance when subitizing but might explain their low accuracy rates when counting. Findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact for intervention programmes to improve counting and symbolic mathematical abilities in these populations

The home learning environment of primary school children with down syndrome and those with williams syndrome

Background and aims: Research on typically developing (TD) populations has shown that the home learning environment plays a significant role in cognitive development and learning, but very little is known about the home learning environment of children with Down syndrome (DS) or children with Williams syndrome (WS). The present study examined and compared, for the first time, the home learning environment of children diagnosed with DS and children diagnosed with WS to investigate whether different cognitive profiles were reflected in their home literacy and number experiences. Methods and procedures: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a web-based survey from 58 parents and one foster parent of primary school children with DS (n = 35) and WS (n = 24) mostly based in the UK. The survey targeted the children’s general level of functioning and academic skills; type, format, and frequency of home learning activities; parents’ expectations for their child’s academic outcomes; parents’ attitudes towards literacy and mathematics; children’s interest towards mathematics; and the use of technology to support home learning activities. Outcomes and results: Our results showed that, overall, the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS were similar but changed based on the child’s cognitive profile. Comparative analyses showed that parents of children with DS engaged more often in activities supporting counting than parents of children with WS, despite both groups reporting difficulties with this skill. Moreover, our results indicated that literacy-based activities occurred more often than mathematics-based activities and that the home numeracy environment was characterized by activities supporting different mathematical skills such as counting, arithmetic, and numeracy. Parents in both groups engaged with their child in both formal and informal literacy and mathematics-based activities, but informal activities occurred more often when supporting counting and number recognition skills. Conclusions and implications: The current study provides evidence that the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS include different literacy-and mathematics-based activities and that the home learning environment changes on the basis of the child’s strengths and weaknesses. The findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact on parental interventions

What can the study of genetics offer to educators? Mind, Brain, and Education

This article explores the potential contribution of modern genetic methods and findings to education. It is familiar to hear that the ‘gene’ for this or that behavior has been discovered, or that certain skills are ‘highly heritable’. Can this help educators? To explore this, we describe the methods used to relate genetic variation to individual differences in high-level behaviors such as academic skills and educational achievement. These methods include twin studies and genome-wide association studies. We address the key question of what genetic data imply about the ability of educators to optimize educational outcomes for children across the range of abilities

Effects of continuing professional development on group work practices in Scottish primary schools

This study investigated the effects of a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative that provided collaborative group work skills training for primary school teachers. The study collected data from 24 primary school classrooms in different schools in a variety of urban and rural settings. The sample was composed of 332 pupils aged 9-12 years old, and 24 primary school teachers. Results indicated the CPD initiative had a significant impact on the attainment of pupils in science. In addition data indicated that the CPD promoted effective discourse and pupil dialogue during science lessons. Pre-post test observation scores were significantly different in terms of children giving of suggestions or courses of actions, offering of explanations, and telling someone to say something or carry out an action . Increases in effective dialogue were significantly correlated to increased science attainment and teacher evaluations of the impact of the CPD were positive. Significant correlations were found between teacher evaluation of impact upon pupil learning and increased attainment in science. The design and structure of CPD initiatives and the implications for practice, policy and future research are explored