Engaging the 'Xbox generation of learners' in Higher Education

The research project identifies examples of technology used to empower learning of Secondary school pupils that could be used to inform students’ engagement in learning with technology in the Higher Education sector. Research was carried out in five partnership Secondary schools and one associate Secondary school to investigate how pupils learn with technology in lessons and to identify the pedagogy underpinning such learning. Data was collected through individual interviews with pupils, group interviews with members of the schools’ councils, lesson observations, interviews with teachers, pupil surveys, teacher surveys, and a case study of a learning event. In addition, data was collected on students’ learning with technology at the university through group interviews with students and student surveys in the School of Education and Professional Development, and through surveys completed by students across various university departments. University tutors, researchers, academic staff, learning technology advisers, and cross sector partners from the local authority participated in focus group interviews on the challenges facing Higher Education in engaging new generations of students, who have grown up in the digital age, in successful scholarly learning

A study of possible predictive factors in beginning reading.

The possible contribution of the study lies in its reassessment at the Reading Readiness concept, away from traditional pre-reading training programmes towards an emphasis on the acquisition of print-specific concepts and skills within the context of meaningful reading, whereby the beqinner reader appears best served by a combination of holistic and elements appruaches to the teaching of reading

Evolution of nest architecture in tyrant flycatchers and allies

This study was funded by Princeton University, a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (to M.C.S.), AFOSR FA9550-20-1-0161 (to M.C.S.), Eric and Wendy Schmidt by recommendation of the Schmidt Futures Polymaths program (to M.C.S.), and European Research Council Advanced Grant 788203. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Karina Vanadzina for sharing unpublished life-history data and Maria Camila León for providing original artwork. Maria E. Mendiwelso Moreno helped to gather information from the literature for some species and Gates Dupont provided insights about statistical analysis in the earliest stages of the project. Mark Mainwaring and two reviewers provided very insightful comments that have improved our manuscript. Photographs were obtained with permission from Daniel Field, Daniel Perrella, John and Milena Beer, Gustavo Londoño and Juan Felipe León. We are indebted to the many field biologists who described the nests of Tyrannida species.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Effects of Co-operative Learning and Embedded Multimedia on Mathematics Learning in Key Stage 2: Final Report

This large, randomised evaluation of a comprehensive approach to maths teaching in Years 4 and 5 found that teachers in England implemented most elements of co-operative learning with embedded multimedia, and most of them liked it. However, they often did not implement programme elements related to group goals and individual accountability for learning, which previous research has found to be essential to the effectiveness of co-operative learning. Perhaps as a result, the intervention did not make any difference in achievement in comparison to what was seen in the control group. Also, teachers expressed concern about the lack of differentiation in the PowerTeaching Maths intervention

Questioning the rise of gelatinous zooplankton in the World's oceans

During the past several decades, high numbers of gelatinous zooplankton species have been reported in many estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Coupled with media-driven public perception, a paradigm has evolved in which the global ocean ecosystems are thought to be heading toward being dominated by “nuisance” jellyfish. We question this current paradigm by presenting a broad overview of gelatinous zooplankton in a historicalcontext to develop the hypothesis that population changes reflect the human-mediated alteration of global ocean ecosystems. To this end, we synthesize information related to the evolutionary context of contemporary gelatinous zooplankton blooms, the human frame of reference forchanges in gelatinous zooplankton populations, and whether sufficient data are available to have established the paradigm. We conclude that the current paradigm in which it is believed that there has been a global increase in gelatinous zooplankton is unsubstantiated, and we develop a strategy for addressing the critical questions about long-term, human-related changes in the sea as they relate to gelatinous zooplankton blooms

The tyranny of the male preserve

Within this paper I draw on short vignettes and quotes taken from a two-year ethnographic study of boxing to think through the continuing academic merit of the notion of the male preserve. This is an important task due to evidence of shifts in social patterns of gender that have developed since the idea was first proposed in the 1970s. In aligning theoretical contributions from Lefebvre and Butler to discussions of the male preserve, we are able to add nuance to our understanding of how such social spaces are engrained with and produced by the lingering grasp of patriarchal narratives. In particular, by situating the male preserve within shifting social processes, whereby certain men’s power is increasingly undermined, I highlight the production of space within which narratives connecting men to violence, aggression and physical power can be consumed, performed and reified in a relatively unrestricted form. This specific case study contributes to gender theory as an illustration of a way in which we might explore and understand social enclaves where certain people are able to lay claim to space and power. As such, I argue that the notion of the male preserve is still a useful conceptual, theoretical and political device especially when considered as produced by the tyranny of gender power through the dramatic representation and reification of behaviours symbolically linked to patriarchal narrations of manhood

Learner strategies using learning technologies in taught curriculum time

There appears to be little research evidence on learners’ experience of learning with technology in taught curriculum time, how learners are engaged in learning with technology in this learning context, the learning strategies they use and associated learning outcomes. By focussing on learning with technology in taught sessions and the strategies that learners use in this context, the present study aimed to investigate an important dimension of the concept of e-learning, which is often not associated with taught curriculum time, but more with independent self-directed study time (SDST). The focus of the project would seem to be of interest at the present time of substantial investment across the educational sectors in technological provision and capability for computer access, Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and online communication and information systems. In order to meet the continuing challenge of delivering greater educational value from technology and realising significant benefits for learners (Crowne, 2007) the project aimed to identify learners’ strategies when using technology as a cognitive tool in taught curriculum sessions. The intention was that the findings would inform how we can develop more effective learning strategies using technology in taught sessions. It was considered important to identify the continuities and discontinuities that currently occur between the Secondary school, FE and HE sectors in students’ learning with technology in taught curriculum time. Findings would inform support for increased learner engagement with technology in the three educational sectors and would sustain improvement in learner capability as students transfer from Secondary school to FE and into HE on their educational journey