Teaching and cognitive outcomes in A-levels and Advanced GNVQ's: Case studies from Science and Business Studies Classrooms

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how a research diary methodology, designed to analyse A-level and GNVQ classrooms, can be a powerful tool for examining pedagogy and quality of learning at the level of case study. Two subject areas, science and business studies, are presented as cases. Twelve teachers and thirty-four students were studied over a four-week period in May 1997 and contrasts were drawn between lessons from three A-level physics teachers/three Advanced GNVQ science teachers and two A-level business/economics teachers/four Advanced GNVQ business teachers. Lessons were analysed within a cognitive framework which distinguishes between conceptual and procedural learning and emphasizes the importance of metacognition and epistemological beliefs. Two dimensions of lessons were identified: pedagogical activities (e.g. teacher-led explanation, teacher-led guidance on a task, question/answer sessions, group discussions, working with IT) and cognitive outcomes (e.g. structuring and memorizing facts, understanding concepts and arguments, critical thinking, problem-solving, learning core skills, identifying values). Immediately after each lesson, teachers and students (three per class) completed structured research diaries with respect to the above dimensions. Data from the diaries reveal general and unique features of the lessons. Time-ofyear effects were evident (examinations pending in May), particularly in A-level classrooms. Students in business studies classes reported a wider range of learning activities and greater variety in cognitive outcomes than did students in science classes. Science students self-rating of their ability to manage and direct their own learning was generally low. The phenomenological aspects of the classrooms were consistently linked to teachers' lesson plans and what their teaching objectives were for those particular students at that particular time of the year.

The causal attributions of nursing students towards adolescent survivors of brain injury

Background: The hidden nature of brain injury means that it is often difficult for people to understand the sometimes challenging behaviors that individuals exhibit. The misattribution of these behaviors may lead to a lack of consideration and public censure if the individual is seen as simply misbehaving.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of visual cues indicating the presence or absence of brain injury on prejudice, desire for social interaction, and causal attributions of nursing and computing science students.

Method: An independent-groups design was employed in this research, which recruited 190 first-year nursing students and 194 first-year computing science students from a major university in Belfast, UK. A short passage describing an adolescent’s behavior after a brain injury, together with one of three images portraying a young adolescent with a scar, a head dressing, or neither of these, was given to participants. They were then asked to answer questions relating to prejudice, social interaction, locus of control, and causal attributions. The attributional statements suggested that the character’s behavior could be the result of brain injury or adolescence.

Results: Analysis of variance demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the student groups, where nursing students (M = 45.17, SD = 4.69) desired more social interaction with the fictional adolescent than their computer science peers (M = 38.64, SD = 7.69). Further, analysis of variance showed a main effect of image on the attributional statement that described adolescence as a suitable explanation for the character’s lack of self-confidence.

Discussion: Attributions of brain injury were influenced by the presence of a visible but potentially specious indicator of injury. This suggests that survivors of brain injury who do not display any outward indicator may receive less care and face expectations to behave in a manner consistent with the norms of society. If their injury does not allow them to meet with these expectations, they may face public censure and discrimination.

Developing mathematics support for first-year engineering students with non-traditional mathematics backgrounds

A maths support system for first-year engineering students with non-traditional entry qualifications has involved students working through practice questions structured to correspond with the maths module which runs in parallel. The setting was informal and there was significant one-to-one assistance. The non-traditional students (who are known to be less well prepared mathematically) were explicitly contacted in the first week of their university studies regarding the maths support and they generally seemed keen to participate. However, attendance at support classes was relatively low, on average, but varied greatly between students. Students appreciated the personal help and having time to ask questions. It seemed that having a small group of friends within the class promoted attendance – perhaps the mutual support or comfort that they all had similar mathematical difficulties was a factor. The classes helped develop confidence. Attendance was hindered by the class being timetabled too soon after the relevant lecture and students were reluctant to come with no work done beforehand. Although students at risk due to their mathematical unpreparedness can easily be identified at an early stage of their university career, encouraging them to partake of the maths support is an ongoing, major problem.

Mathematics Learning Support in Ireland in 2015

The provision of mathematics learning support in higher-level institutions on the island of Ireland has developed rapidly in recent times with the number of institutions providing some form of support doubling in the past seven years. The Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network aims to inform all mathematics support practitioners in Ireland on relevant issues. Consequently it was decided that a detailed picture of current provision was necessary. A comprehensive online survey was conducted to amass the necessary data. The ultimate aim of the survey is to benefit all mathematics support practitioners in Ireland, in particular those in third-level institutions who require further support to enhance the mathematical learning experience of their students. The survey reveals that the majority of Irish higher-level institutions provide mathematics learning support to some extent, with 65% doing so through a support centre. Learners of service mathematics are the primary users: first-year science, engineering and business undergraduates, with non-traditional students being a sizeable element. Despite the growing recognition for the need to offer mathematics learning support almost half of the centres are subject to annual review. Further, less than half the support offerings have a dedicated full-time manager, while 60% operate with a staff of five or fewer. The elevation of mathematics support as a viable and worthwhile career in order to attract and retain high quality staff is seen by many respondents as the crucial next phase of development.

An evaluation of the Socrative (personal response system) app for increasing student engagement and learning in an undergraduate psychology curriculum.

Personal response systems using hardware such as 'clickers' have been around for some time, however their use is often restricted to multiple choice questions (MCQs) and they are therefore used as a summative assessment tool for the individual student. More recent innovations such as 'Socrative' have removed the need for specialist hardware, instead utilising web-based technology and devices common to students, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. While improving the potential for use in larger classrooms, this also creates the opportunity to pose more engaging open-response questions to students who can 'text in' their thoughts on questions posed in class. This poster will present two applications of the Socrative system in an undergraduate psychology curriculum which aimed to encourage interactive engagement with course content using real-time student responses and lecturer feedback. Data is currently being collected and result will be presented at the conference.
The first application used Socrative to pose MCQs at the end of two modules (a level one Statistics module and level two Individual Differences Psychology module, class size N≈100), with the intention of helping students assess their knowledge of the course. They were asked to rate their self-perceived knowledge of the course on a five-point Likert scale before and after completing the MCQs, as well as their views on the value of the revision session and any issues that had with using the app. The online MCQs remained open between the lecture and the exam, allowing students to revisit the questions at any time during their revision.
This poster will present data regarding the usefulness of the revision MCQs, the metacognitive effect of the MCQs on student's judgements of learning (pre vs post MCQ testing), as well as student engagement with the MCQs between the revision session and the examination. Student opinions on the use of the Socrative system in class will also be discussed.
The second application used Socrative to facilitate a flipped classroom lecture on a level two 'Conceptual Issues in Psychology' module, class size N≈100). The content of this module requires students to think critically about historical and contemporary conceptual issues in psychology and the philosophy of science. Students traditionally struggle with this module due to the emphasis on critical thinking skills, rather than simply the retention of concrete knowledge. To prepare students for the written examination, a flipped classroom lecture was held at the end of the semester. Students were asked to revise their knowledge of a particular area of Psychology by assigned reading, and were told that the flipped lecture would involve them thinking critically about the conceptual issues found in this area. They were informed that questions would be posed by the lecturer in class, and that they would be asked to post their thoughts using the Socrative app for a class discussion. The level of preparation students engaged in for the flipped lecture was measured, as well as qualitative opinions on the usefulness of the session. This poster will discuss the level of student engagement with the flipped lecture, both in terms of preparation for the lecture, and engagement with questions posed during the lecture, as well as the lecturer's experience in facilitating the flipped classroom using the Socrative platform.

Developing students’ ability to engage critically with science in the news: identifying elements of the ‘media awareness’ dimension

Worldwide, science education reform movements are stressing the need to promote ‘scienti?c literacy’ among young people. Increasingly, this is taken to include empowering students to engage critically with science-related news reporting. Despite this requirement now featuring in statutory curricula throughout the UK, there has, to date, been a dearth of research-informed advice to assist science teachers as they identify appropriate instructional objectives in this regard and design relevant learning activities through which these might be achieved. In this study, prominent science communication
scholars, science journalists, science educators and media educators were interviewed to determine what knowledge, skills and habits of mind they judged valuable for individuals reading science-related news stories. Teachers of science and of English from nine secondary schools in Northern Ireland addressed the same issue. A striking – and signi?cant – ?nding of the study was the very substantial number of statements of knowledge, skill and disposition o?ered by participants that relate to ‘media awareness’, an issue largely overlooked in the science education literature. The school-focused phase of the research suggests that cross-curricular approaches involving teachers of science collaborating with those of English/media education or media studies may best serve to address this important curricular goal.

Encouraging and equipping students to engage critically with science in the news: what can we learn from the literature?

Many educational reforms have as one of their key goals the promotion of scientific literacy and they encourage engagement with science in the news as one aspect of this. The research indicates teachers using the news do so for a variety of reasons, sometimes with tangential links to the promotion of scientific literacy. Demonstrating the relevance of science to the world beyond the classroom or making links to socio-scientific issues and promoting discussion on ethical dilemmas are all seen as potential reasons for engaging with science–related news. However, media related issues are often not addressed. Increasingly the need for a more comprehensive approach, including, for example, teaching about media awareness in the context of science reporting, is highlighted. The steady growth of literature describing the use of science-related news along with research studies charting students’ responses to science news media has stimulated discussion and study of pedagogical issues and prompted this review. Key literature relevant to students’ engagement with science-related news reports has been contextualised and reviewed to identify core issues for teachers, teacher educators and curriculum planners. These are listed under the headings of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, the implications are considered and directions for further research suggested.

A Preliminary Evaluation of a New Life Science Module for Year One Nursing and Midwifery Students

This report outlines the rationale for the design and implementation of a new life sciences module for year one nursing and midwifery students. It describes our experience to date in running the new module and presents some preliminary results which describe an improved student performance compared to our previous year one bioscience module.

Using Cooperative Learning to Engage Students in Science

Cooperative learning can actively engage students in school science, stimulating curiosity and improving attitudes and motivation. Allen Thurston discusses the roles teachers and students can play to maximize its potential.