Collaborative Epistemic Discourse in Classroom Information Seeking Tasks

We discuss the relationship between information seeking, and epistemic beliefs – beliefs about the source, structure, complexity, and stability of knowledge – in the context of collaborative information seeking discourses. We further suggest that both information seeking, and epistemic cognition research agendas have suffered from a lack of attention to how information seeking as a collaborative activity is mediated by talk between partners – an area we seek to address in this paper. A small-scale observational study using sociocultural discourse analysis was conducted with eight eleven year old pupils who carried out search engine tasks in small groups. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed on their discussions using sociocultural discourse analytic techniques. Extracts of the dialogue are reported, informed by concordance analysis and quantitative coding of dialogue duration. We find that 1) discourse which could be characterised as ‘epistemic’ is identifiable in student talk, 2) that it is possible to identify talk which is more or less productive, and 3) that epistemic talk is associated with positive learning outcomes

Neutrophil L-plastin controls ocular paucibacteriality and susceptibility to keratitis

Why ocular mucosa is paucibacterial is unknown. Many different mechanisms have been suggested but the comprehensive experimental studies are sparse. We found that a deficiency in L-plastin (LCP1), an actin bundling protein, resulted in an ocular commensal overgrowth, characterized with increased presence of conjunctiva

The negotiation and co-construction of meaning and understanding within a postgraduate online learning community

There is an increasing development of courses and course components taught through teaching and learning dialogues online yet there is little secure knowledge regarding the educational quality and outcomes of these dialogues. Drawing on contemporary socio-cultural research, this paper adapts a well-established analytical framework (see Mercer, 1995) that has been developed to understand face to face educational dialogues to the new context of asynchronous electronic conferencing. The work reported is derived from an in-depth case study of a tutorial group of 11 students enrolled on a course within the Open University's MA in Open and Distance Learning. The course was taught on-line to an international cohort of students from wide-ranging academic backgrounds. The analyses of electronic conference archives presented here focus on understanding the students’ on-line collaborative work and the ways in which they constructed meaning, negotiated shared understanding and supported each other in the process of learning at a distance. The implications of the findings for educational practice are considered

Combining sociocultural discourse analysis and multimodal analysis to explore teachers' and pupils' meaning making

This paper explores a common educational dilemma, namely that of how to resource meaningful teaching and learning experiences, and the research challenge of how to represent the multimodal complexity of pedagogic intentions and instantiations. We share the sociocultural view of talk as a central tool in meaning making, aligned with attention to how teaching and learning conversations are mediated by communicative cues and interactions orchestrated across modes. We present extracts to exemplify the benefits of combining sociocultural discourse analysis (SCDA) and multimodal analysis, to explore classroom data at different levels of detail and temporal range. The context for the data collection was a series of lessons on the Great Fire of London with a Year 2 class (6–7 years). Lessons were part of a project using dance and interactive technologies to support understanding. We highlight the purposeful use of different analytic foci, enabled by SCDA and multimodal analysis, and explore what this can add to researchers' understanding of the contextualised nature of meaning making, building and weaving over time, in often unexpected ways. The original contribution of this paper is in offering an innovative mixed-methods approach to explore the complex detail, development and multimodal array of educational interaction

Learning and interaction in groups with computers: when do ability and gender matter?

In the research reported in this paper, we attempt to identify the background and process factors influencing the effectiveness of groupwork with computers in terms of mathematics learning. The research used a multi-site case study design in six schools and involved eight groups of six mixed-sex, mixed-ability pupils (aged 9-12) undertaking three research tasks – two using Logo and one a database. Our findings suggest that, contrary to other recent research, the pupil characteristics of gender and ability have no direct influence on progress in group tasks with computers. However, status effects – pupils' perceptions of gender and ability – do have an effect on the functioning of the group, which in turn can impede progress for all pupils concerned

Metastatic progression and gene expression between breast cancer cell lines from African American and Caucasian women

African American (AA) women have a lower overall incidence of breast cancer than do Caucasian (CAU) women, but a higher overall mortality. Little is known as to why the incidence of breast cancer is lower yet mortality is higher in AA women. Many studies speculate that this is only a socio-economical problem. This investigation suggests the possibility that molecular mechanisms contribute to the increased mortality of AA women with breast cancer. This study investigates the expression of 14 genes which have been shown to play a role in cancer metastasis. Cell lines derived from AA and CAU patients were analyzed to demonstrate alterations in the transcription of genes known to be involved in cancer and the metastatic process. Total RNA was isolated from cell lines and analyzed by RT-PCR analysis. Differential expression of the 14 targeted genes between a spectrum model (6 breast cancer cell lines and 2 non-cancer breast cell lines) and a metastasis model (12 metastatic breast cancer cell lines) were demonstrated. Additionally, an in vitro comparison of the expression established differences in 5 of the 14 biomarker genes between African American and Caucasian breast cell lines. Results from this study indicates that altered expression of the genes Atp1b1, CARD 10, KLF4, Spint2, and Acly may play a role in the aggressive phenotype seen in breast cancer in African American women

Developing a coding scheme for analysing classroom dialogue across d educational contexts.

The research reported sought to develop a framework for systematically analysing classroom dialogue for application across a range of educational settings. The paper outlines the development and refinement of a coding scheme that attempts to represent and operationalise commonalities amongst some key theorists in the field concerning productive forms of educational dialogue. The team has tested it using video recordings from classroom settings in the UK and Mexico, across age phases, subject areas, and different interactional contexts including whole class, group and paired work. Our Scheme for Educational Dialogue Analysis (SEDA) is situated within a sociocultural paradigm, and draws on Hymes' Ethnography of Communication to highlight the importance of context. We examined how such a tool could be used in practice. We found that concentrating on the ‘communicative act’ to explore dialogue between participants was an appropriate level of granularity, while clustering the 33 resulting codes according to function of the acts helped to highlight dialogic sequences within lessons. We report on the application of the scheme in two different learning contexts and reflect on its fitness for purpose, including perceived limitations. Development of specialised sub-schemes and a version for teachers is underway.This collaborative work was carried out for a project entitled “A Tool for Analysing Dialogic Interactions in Classrooms” (http://tinyurl.com/BAdialogue) funded through the British Academy International Partnership and Mobility Scheme (ref. RG66509), between January 2013 - December 2015. We are most grateful to colleagues on the project teams who made significant contributions and helpful input during development and testing of the scheme and preparation of the manuscript, including Farah Ahmed, Riikka Hofmann, Christine Howe, Ruth Kershner, Fiona Jackson, Karen Littleton, Neil Mercer, Paul Warwick (UK team); Mariana Alarcón, Nube Estrada, Erika Gil, Kissy Guzmán, Flora Hernández, José Hernández, Haydeé Pedraza, Ana Luisa Rubio, Brenda Itzel Sánchez, Ana Laura Trigo, Maricela Velez (Mexico team). We also thank all of the teachers (especially Lloyd and Tania) and students who participated in our previous research from which examples were taken. We appreciate the support of the Economic and Social Research Council, sponsor of most of the UK team’s work in this area over the years

Test-Retest Reliability of a Computerized Concussion Test: CNS Vital Signs

Neurocognitive testing is an important concussion evaluation tool, but for neurocognitive tests to be useful, their psychometric properties must be well established. Test-retest reliability of computerized neurocognitive tests can influence their clinical utility. The reliability for a commonly used computerized neurocognitive test, CNS Vital Signs, is not well established. The purpose of this study was to examine test-retest reliability and reliable change indices for CNS Vital Signs in a healthy, physically active college population

Teacher interventions in small group work in secondary mathematics and science lessons

Collaborative problem solving, when students work in pairs or small groups on a curriculum-related task, has become an increasingly common feature of classroom education. This paper reports a study of a topic which has received relatively little attention: how teachers can most usefully intervene when students are working in a group, but have encountered some sort of problem. The data used comes from a large scale interventional study of mathematics and science teaching in secondary schools in south east England, in which interactions between teachers and students were recorded in their usual classrooms. We identify the typical problem situations which lead to teachers’ interventions, and describe the different ways teachers were observed to intervene. We examine the different types of intervention, and consider how effective they are in helping group work proceed in a productive manner. Finally, we offer some conclusions about the practical implications of these findings.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2015.112536

Employing culturally responsive pedagogy to foster literacy learning in schools

 In recent years it has become increasingly obvious that, to enable students in schools from an increasingly diverse range of cultural backgrounds to acquire literacy to a standard that will support them to achieve academically, it is important to adopt pedagogy that is responsive to, and respectful of, them as culturally situated. What largely has been omitted from the literature, however, is discussion of a relevant model of learning to underpin this approach. For this reason this paper adopts a socio-cultural lens (Vygotsky, 1978) through which to view such pedagogy and refers to a number of seminal texts to justify of its relevance. Use of this lens is seen as having a particular rationale. It forces a focus on the agency of the teacher as a mediator of learning who needs to acknowledge the learner’s cultural situatedness (Kozulin, 2003) if school literacy learning for all students is to be as successful as it might be. It also focuses attention on the predominant value systems and social practices that characterize the school settings in which students’ literacy learning is acquired. The paper discusses implications for policy and practice at whole-school, classroom and individual student levels of culturally-responsive pedagogy that is based on a socio-cultural model of learning. In doing so it draws on illustrations from the work of a number of researchers, including that of the author