Black Boxes in Workplace Mathematics     

Julian Williams  Geoff Wake 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2007,64(3):317-343

We ground Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) in studies of workplace practices from a mathematical point of view. We draw on multiple case study visits by college students and teacher-researchers to workplaces. By asking questions that ‘open boxes’, we ‘outsiders and boundary-crossers’ sought to expose contradictions between College and work, induce breakdowns and identify salient mathematics. Typically, we find that mathematical processes have been historically crystallised in ‘black boxes’ shaped by workplace cultures: its instruments, rules and divisions of labour tending to disguise or hide mathematics. These black boxes are of two kinds, signalling two key processes by which mathematics is put to work. The first involves automation, when the work of mathematics is crystallised in instruments, tools and routines: this process tends to distribute and hide mathematical work, but also evolves a distinct workplace ‘genre’ of mathematical practice. The second process involves sub-units of the community being protected from mathematics by a division of labour supported by communal rules, norms and expectations. These are often regulated by boundary objects that are the object of activity on one side of the boundary but serve as instruments of activity on the other side. We explain contradictions between workplace and College practices in analyses of the contrasting functions of the activity systems that structure them and that consequently provide for different genres and distributions of mathematics, and finally draw inferences for better alignment of College programmes with the needs of students.  相似文献   

Understanding the development of interest and self-efficacy in active-learning undergraduate physics courses     

Remy Dou  Eric Brewe  Geoff Potvin  Justyna P. Zwolak  Zahra Hazari 《International Journal of Science Education》2018,40(13):1587-1605

Modeling Instruction (MI), an active-learning introductory physics curriculum, has been shown to improve student academic success. Peer-to-peer interactions play a salient role in the MI classroom. Their impact on student interest and self-efficacy – preeminent constructs of various career theories – has not been thoroughly explored. Our examination of three undergraduate MI courses (N?=?221) revealed a decrease in students’ physics self-efficacy, physics interest, and general science interest. We found a positive link from physics interest to self-efficacy, and a negative relationship between science interest and self-efficacy. We tested structural equation models confirming that student interactions make positive contributions to self-efficacy. This study frames students’ classroom interactions within broader career theory frameworks and suggests nuanced considerations regarding interest and self-efficacy constructs in the context of undergraduate active-learning science courses.  相似文献   

‘If your only tool is a hammer,any issue will look like a nail’: building conflict resolution and mediation capacity in South African universities     

Geoff Harris 《Higher Education》2008,55(1):93-101

This article commences with an explanation of some of the technical terms in the field of conflict resolution. It then examines the common ways which parties to a conflict use in an effort to deal with it and concludes that, on a number of criteria, collaborative conflict resolution is the superior method. Using some representative examples of conflicts, estimates are made of the direct and indirect costs of typical conflicts in South African universities. Given the magnitude of these costs, a conflict resolution and mediation service is proposed to build a culture of resolving conflict in each university. A cost benefit analysis demonstrates that the benefits of such a service—which result from reduced duration of conflicts and reduced likelihood of escalation of conflicts to more expensive levels—may be three times greater than its costs, making it a highly desirable investment for universities to undertake.  相似文献   

Where are we at? An empirical study of levels and methods of evaluating continuing professional development     

Daniel Muijs  Geoff Lindsay 《British Educational Research Journal》2008,34(2):195-211

Continuing professional development (CPD) is increasingly becoming recognised as important for all professionals in order to maintain and develop their competence. Many professions, especially in the health field, require evidence of CPD in order for professionals to be granted continuing registration as practitioners. Given its accreditation as well as developmental uses, it is important that CPD is evaluated. The present study examines the usefulness of a hierarchical model for the evaluation of CPD for teachers. The data were derived from a sample of 223 CPD coordinators and 416 teachers from a randomly selected sample of 1000 schools in England. Questionnaire data were analysed using Rasch modelling. The results suggest a reasonable fit with the model, with participant satisfaction being the most commonly evaluated outcome while participants' use of new skills and student outcomes were the least likely to be evaluated, together with value for money according to teachers only. The implications for teachers' CPD are discussed.  相似文献   

External knowledge sourcing in different national settings: a comparison of electronics establishments in Britain and France     

Geoff Mason  Jean-Paul Beltramo 《Research Policy》2004,33(1):53-72

In a detailed comparison of matched samples of electronics establishments in Britain and France, this paper finds that the two samples of establishments were operating in distinctively different national labour markets for engineers and scientists, reflecting structural differences in national higher education systems and a far higher level of individual mobility between enterprises in Britain than is found in France. These differences were found to have very little effect on quantitative measures of establishments’ external research interactions which tended to reflect other national-institutional differences such as continued government support for public laboratories in France of a kind which have now been largely privatised in Britain. However, qualitative evidence pointed to a faster rate of development of new external knowledge sourcing and relationship building in Britain which was partly stimulated by the greater mobility of individual engineers and scientists between enterprises and other organisations bringing new personal networks of external contacts with them. These tendencies contrasted with a marked stability in external research linkages in France. The paper suggests that the greater openness of British R&D networks to new ideas and knowledge may be particularly advantageous in fast-changing high-tech industries such as electronics.  相似文献   

Identifying and selecting able students for the NAGTY summer school: emerging issues and future considerations     

Dimitra Hartas  Geoff Lindsay  Daniel Muijs 《High Ability Studies》2008,19(1):5-18

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition that the educational needs of able students were not being adequately met in British schools resulting in a series of governmental educational initiatives aiming at improving the education of able students. The establishment of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) at the University of Warwick was a development aimed at enhancing able students' educational provision. An evaluation of the first summer school, established under the auspices of NAGTY, took place to address issues of identifying and selecting able students, exploring the relative value of different sources of evidence for determining eligibility, and looking at the overall effectiveness of the selection process. Qualitative methods (i.e., interviews, observations, document analysis) were employed to collect data on the process of identifying and selecting able students. The evaluation yielded interesting results with regard to the criteria/eligibility for selection, decisions about what counts as evidence of giftedness and its relative value.  相似文献   

林火碳排放的影响与减缓对策          下载免费PDF全文

刘志华  贺红士  徐文茹  梁宇  朱教君  王高峰  魏伟  王自发  韩永明 《中国科学院院刊》2023,38(10):1552-1560

2002—2020年,全球野火每年约排放73.2亿吨二氧化碳（CO₂）,为化石燃料排放CO₂的18.5%;其中,林火碳排放约占野火碳排放20%左右（15亿吨CO₂）。近年来,随着气候变化和人类活动加剧,林火释放的CO₂呈增加趋势。例如,2023年5月以来的加拿大林火,截至8月29日已累计排放12.68亿吨CO₂。我国在实现森林面积和蓄积量“双增长”的背景下,自2010年以来林火发生次数和面积显著减小,为减少林火碳排放、应对全球气候变化作出了重要贡献。鉴于林火已成为不可忽视的温室气体排放源,需要建立全面、客观、公正的碳排放监测与计量系统,兼顾人类活动（如化石燃料排放、工业排放）和自然林火碳排放;特别是通过采取减少林火发生频率、降低火灾强度等有效手段,降低林火碳排放。针对极端林火预测和防控的世界性难题,急需构建林火风险识别、预警-预测和防控技术体系,并加强林火过程碳排放研究,建立更加科学、全面、自主可控的碳核算体系。  相似文献   

‘Let Them Eat Caviar’: Alternative pathways for university students attending to ‘unfinished business’     

Geoff Munns  Phil Nanlohy  Margaret Thomas 《Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education》2000,28(2):165-177

This paper reports on a study into the educational experiences of a group of students who are accessing tertiary education through alternative entry programmes. There were three purposes for the study. The first was to identify why the students either did not finish school or go to university after school. The second was to explore the students' stated reasons for returning to university later in their lives. The third was to share the students' secondchance experiences in their first semester as university students. The study drew on theoretical ideas surrounding how students who reject school, or who have been rejected by school, may come to view education as unfinished business in their lives. Reconnection with education coincides with wider processes of individuals defining and redefining educational identities.  相似文献   

Social trajectories or disrupted identities? Changing and competing models of teacher professionalism under New Labour   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Sandra Leaton Gray  Geoff Whitty 《Cambridge Journal of Education》2010,40(1):5-23

Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, the teacher’s role in England has changed in many ways, a process which intensified under New Labour after 1997. Conceptions of teacher professionalism have become more structured and formalized, often heavily influenced by government policy objectives. Career paths have become more diverse and specialised. In this article, three post‐1997 professional roles are given consideration as examples of these new specialised career paths: Higher Level Teaching Assistants, Teach First trainees and Advanced Skills Teachers. The article goes on to examine such developments within teaching, using Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to inform the analysis, as well as Bernstein’s theories of knowledge and identity. The article concludes that there has been considerable specialization and subsequent fragmentation of roles within the teaching profession, as part of workforce remodelling initiatives. However, there is still further scope for developing a greater sense of professional cohesion through social activism initiatives, such as the children’s agenda. This may produce more stable professional identities in the future as the role of teachers within the wider children’s workforce is clarified.  相似文献   

The role of the Connexions service in supporting the transition from school to post-16 education, employment training and work for young people with a history of specific speech and language difficulties or learning difficulties     

Mairi Ann Cullen  Geoff Lindsay  Julie E. Dockrell 《Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs》2009,9(2):100-112

The transition from school to the world of post-compulsory education is a major landmark in the lives of young people with special educational needs (SEN). In England the Connexions service set up to support young people during transition was planned to provide both a universal service and one that provided special support to vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET). The present paper reports the findings of a study of 46 Connexions personal advisers (PAs) who were supporting young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) or general learning difficulties, as part of a longitudinal study of these young people's development. Interviews were held with the PAs to identify patterns of organisation, the nature of services delivered to these young people and the factors that influenced successful support. The findings highlight the diversity among Connexions services, the limited expertise with young people with SEN and the structural barriers that may limit effectiveness. In addition, the Assessment, Planning, Implementation and Review Framework was not consistently used. The Connexions service has the potential to provide important support to young people with SEN at this key transition point but our study indicates the need for modifications to its operation.  相似文献