The computation choices made by students in years 5 to 7

This study was designed to explore the computation choices made by 78 students in Years 5 to 7. The ability to choose and use a repertoire of computation methods is an important goal of mathematics education. While one might expect to find a great deal of research outlining the computation choices students make and why they make them, this was not the case; and as such it was decided to explore what computation choices students make and why they make them

A comparison of mental strategies used by skilled and unskilled mental calculators

The purpose of this study was to investigate the various strategies used by year seven students when carrying out division computations mentally. A comparison was made between the strategies used by high and low performing mental calculators. A number of high and low performing mental calculators were chosen as a result of their performances on twelve interview items. Both groups of students were given a set of division problems to complete mentally. After solving each problem the students were asked on a one-to-one basis to reflect on the strategy or method they used to solve the problem. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and coded. Non verbal behaviour was recorded on a separate sheet during the interview. The data were analysed to determine what differences existed between high and low performing mental calculators in relation to the strategies they used to solve division computations mentally. The diversity and range of strategies used by each group were compared. Commonly used strategies were noted together with those which hindered the mental solution of problems. It is hoped that the results of this investigation can be used to aid teachers to improve the teaching of mental calculation in ordinary classrooms. The results may also be helpful to those working in remedial mathematics. Further it is hoped that a follow up study may be carried out to determine the best way of improving the performance of both skilled and unskilled mental calculators

Calculator use in Western Australian primary schools

There are very few issues in mathematics teaching over the past twenty five years which have caused so much debate among teachers, parents and the community than the use of calculators in primary schools. Letters to newspapers, magazine articles and public comment often express the opinion that the apparent decline in the ability of young people to calculate, even simple computations, is a direct result of the use of calculators in schools. Anecdotal evidence in the form of reports from teaching practice students, personal observation in schools and comments from teachers suggests there is, in fact, very little calculator use in primary classrooms. Where a calculator is used it is for checkil1.g work- an electronic answer book - or for trivial activities, for example to make words appear on the display. No concerted, planned, integrated use as outlined by the Statement on the Use of Calculators and Computers for Mathematics in Australian Schools (AAMT, 1996) or the previous National statement on the use of calculators for mathematics in Australian schools (AAMT, 1987) has been observed at this anecdotal level. So if there is little or no calculator use in primary mathematics classes, what is the cause of this so-called decline in numeracy standards? Debate on this is left to another time

Mathematics games: Time wasters or time well spent?

Globally education authorities are placing increasing emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy in primary schools. This paper reports on research designed to assist teachers to improve the numeracy of their students by making the use of mathematics games a more focused aspect of the teaching and learning experience in mathematics. Classroom experience and anecdotal evidence suggest that games are often used without really focussing on the mathematics involved in playing the game,and are justified simply on the basis of children having ‘fun’. In this paper we report on the use of one game, Numero and how teachers made use of the game and the impact on the children’s learning when using the game

Insights into number: Developing flexible mental mathematics

The ability to use flexible strategies when faced with a calculation to do ‘in the head’ is important to acquire. Many children who rely on remembered facts and standard procedures are limited in their approaches to mental computation. Teaching that develops insights, awareness, and connections appears to give this important flexibility and enable children to make sensible and effective choices of calculating strategies

Developing a model for e-prints and open access journal content in UK further and higher education

In this article we describe a delivery, management and access model for eprints and open access journal content for UK further and higher education commissioned by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The target content is (i) e-prints � digital copies of academic research articles published in subscription-based journals that are made available online to permit increased access; and (ii) articles published in open access journals. The proposed service would provide immediate and maximal access to scholarly research, supplementing the more limited access provided by subscription-based journals, in turn maximizing the impact of research. This record was migrated from the OpenDepot repository service in June, 2017 before shutting down

Developing a model for e-prints and open access journal content in UK further and higher education

A study carried out for the UK Joint Information Systems Committee examined models for the provision of access to material in institutional and subject-based archives and in open access journals. Their relative merits were considered, addressing not only technical concerns but also how e-print provision (by authors) can be achieved – an essential factor for an effective e-print delivery service (for users). A "harvesting" model is recommended, where the metadata of articles deposited in distributed archives are harvested, stored and enhanced by a national service. This model has major advantages over the alternatives of a national centralized service or a completely decentralized one. Options for the implementation of a service based on the harvesting model are presented

State making or state breaking?’ : Crisis, COVID-19 and the constitution in Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and thoughtful comments. We also acknowledge the UACES-JMCT ‘Reimagining Territorial Politics in Times of Crisis’ Research Network for hosting the workshop that led to this article, with particular thanks to Dr. Anwen Elias for encouraging our collaboration..Peer reviewe

Modelling of fibre-diameter-dependent light scattering to determine diameter corrections for colour measurement of wool

In this paper, fibre-diameter-dependent light scattering during measurement of wool colour was quantified using the extended multiplicative signal correction technique. Furthermore, a simple-to-apply model has been developed to correct each of the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) X, Y and Z values obtained from colour measurement of fibrous masses. The model was successfully applied to both polypropylene (PP) and wool fibres, though different parameter values were used in each case, indicating different patterns of internal light scattering between PP and wool fibres. After the model corrections, the diameter dependence of measured wool yellowness (Y - Z) was either eliminated or significantly reduced for each of seven sheep flocks distributed widely over the wool-growing regions of Australia

Tuning into Podcasts: Collaborative Research into the Value Adding Nature of Podcasts in Teacher Education

Digital pedagogy has become an increasingly viable, popular and effective component of higher education teaching and learning at Edith Cowan University and elsewhere. Components of digital pedagogy are diverse with new examples, such as podcasts, regularly being created, released for use and adopted in educational, recreational and business contexts. Consequently, university students use much of this technology both in their employment and recreational lives. This study explored processes of using and developing the students’ existing technological skills within their university studies. This paper documents the processes and findings of a collaborative research project that was implemented across six units of study during two semesters in an undergraduate teacher education course. During this period, podcasts were produced and broadcast to purposely increase student reflection and involvement in their own learning processes. These podcasts included question and answer sessions, teacher-student and student-student conversations, lecture presentations, summaries and reviews. Students were provided with opportunities to contribute to and nominate the content of these podcasts. Data was gathered and analysed from both the students’ and the teachers’ perspective about the perceived effectiveness of podcasts. Findings from this data were considered especially in terms of the value-adding nature of podcasts in undergraduate courses to better engage students. Finally, the research study’s results will be compared with findings from other recent studies using podcasts for educational purposes