Exploring the relationship between homework task difficulty,student engagement and performance     

Raymond Lynch  Adrian Hurley  Olivia Cumiskey  Brian Nolan  Bridgeen McGlynn 《Irish Educational Studies》2019,38(1):89-103

This article considers the relationship between differential homework task difficulty, student engagement and performance across four Irish post-primary school sites. A total of 236 participants completed all elements of this study. All participants were junior cycle students, aged between 12 and 16 years. The study employed a standardised test–retest approach, with a one week interval between tests. Between testing, participants were randomly subdivided into three cohorts. Each cohort received homework questions of different difficulty levels to complete for one week. The results of this study found that Cohort A, who received the least difficult homework tasks, completed the most non-compulsory questions. Although Cohort A demonstrated higher levels of engagement, no statistically significant difference was found in the change in performance scores of the three cohorts. The results highlight the negative impact of increased task difficulty on student engagement with independent homework tasks. The findings suggest that in order to support student engagement it is important that teachers afford ample opportunity for student success when designing self-directed tasks such as homework.  相似文献   

‘Left with a title but nothing else’: the challenges of embedding professional recognition schemes for teachers within higher education institutions     

Lucy Spowart  Jennie Winter  Rebecca Turner  Penny Burden  Kathryn Ann Botham  Reema Muneer 《高等教育研究与发展》2019,38(6):1299-1312

ABSTRACT

With increasing moves globally towards the professionalisation of teaching in Higher Education, there is growing interest in the role of accredited professional recognition schemes that provide professional development for established university teaching staff. In the UK, There are now over 120 professional recognition schemes, resulting in institutionally focused evaluation studies examining their impact. This article contributes to this emerging body of work; it draws on cross-institutional data and Foucauldian theorising to address two important questions. In what ways does engagement with an institutional professional recognition scheme impact on participants’ teaching development, and how does institutional culture influence that engagement? The data illustrate that whilst institutional culture drives engagement, it did little to promote teaching development. Across the case-study institutions, neo-liberalism agendas were apparent. Some staff felt pushed to achieve professional recognition in response to the increasing use of metrics to measure the student experience and to inform institutional standing in league tables. Whilst evidence shows the process of seeking accreditation can lead to an enhancement in teaching practices, caution must be taken to ensure that the professional development opportunities offered by accreditation schemes are fully realised.  相似文献   

The pedagogical value and the interdisciplinary nature of inductive processes in forming generalizations: Reflections from the classroom     

Bharath Sriraman  Harry Adrian 《Interchange》2004,35(4):407-422

The tendency to generalize from specific experiences leading to new, more abstract concepts is a natural aspect of human thought. Generalizations are the end result of an inductive process that begins with the identification of similarities in seemingly disparate situations. It is the existence of such generalizations that makes it possible for us to understand each other and the world around us. It is pedagogically weak to present generalizations to students and expect them to know how and when to apply them. On the other hand if students experience the inductive process in classrooms and discover generalizations, they are likely to remember and use this process when tackling other problems. The authors illustrate the pedagogical value of such an approach and the interdisciplinary nature of the inductive process by reflecting on teaching practices in English literature and mathematics in a high school classroom. In particular the authors reflect on how the inductive process was applied to four short stories and four problem-solving situations, which resulted in high school students arriving at generalizations that characterized the stories and the problems. A conceptual model that illustrates how inductive processes facilitate generalizations in the classroom is presented.  相似文献   

What's in a name? Students with dyslexia: their use of metaphor in making sense of their disability   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Robert Burden  Julia Burdett 《British Journal of Special Education》2007,34(2):77-82

Research and practice involving children and adults with dyslexia has tended to focus on identifying difficulties in developing literacy skills and associated cognitive variables. Comparatively few investigations have focused on affective factors or on finding ways of enabling those with dyslexia to express their own attitudes, thoughts and feelings about these difficulties. As part of an intensive investigation into the self-concepts of pupils attending a residential special school for boys with dyslexia, Robert Burden, Professor of Applied Educational Psychology at the University of Exeter, together with his research assistant, Julia Burdett, carried out semi-structured interviews with 50 boys. One element of the interview was a request to each interviewee to construct a mind picture or image of what dyslexia represented to him. The results revealed a number of powerful images illustrating both surmountable and insurmountable barriers to learning, together with feelings of confusion and inadequacy. The conclusion is drawn that metaphors provide a potentially helpful means of exploring the deep-rooted thoughts and feelings of children and young people diagnosed with dyslexia. The authors conclude by discussing some possible implications of this form of investigation for future research and intervention with those experiencing dyslexia and a wide range of other disabilities.  相似文献   

The governance of sustainable socio-technical transitions   总被引：8，自引：2，他引：8  

Adrian Smith  Andy Stirling  Frans Berkhout   《Research Policy》2005,34(10):1491-1510

A quasi-evolutionary model of socio-technical transitions is described in which regimes face selection pressures continuously. Differentiated transition contexts determine the form and direction of regime change in response to these pressures. The articulation of pressures, and the degree to which responses are coordinated and based on resources available within the regime, define the transition context. Four alternative contexts are described: endogenous renewal; re-orientation of trajectories; emergent transformation and purposive transitions. Agency and power in the governance of regime transformation are analysed. Power to affect change depends on regime membership, the distribution of resources for change and expectations.  相似文献   

Grief – The Expression of Romanian Artistic Spirituality     

Adrian Dragut 《The International Journal of Art & Design Education》1999,18(2):213-216

This paper expresses a personal point of view of the main features of Romanian artistic spirituality based on the writings of Romanian philosopher, Emil Corian, on personal knowledge of Romanian folk art, of the art of the initiated, and on teaching and art-making experience.  相似文献   

Thinking goes to school     

Robert Burden 《Thinking Skills and Creativity》2009,4(3):147-148

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Primary school children's reflections on Physical Education lessons: An attributional analysis and possible implications for teacher action     

Susan Chedzoy  Robert Burden 《Thinking Skills and Creativity》2009,4(3):185-193

The thoughts and feelings of preadolescent children attending three primary schools in the West of England about reasons for doing well or not doing well in Physical Education lessons were explored by means of an open-ended set of questions drawn from attribution theory. A further aim was to seek suggestions from the children of ways in which Physical Education (PE) lessons could be improved and refer these to the attention of teachers. Striking differences were found in the attitudes and attributions of girls and boys, with the latter more likely than the former to identify success in terms of some form of physical demonstration of ability. Whilst both sexes identified a positive attitude as associated with success, boys were more likely to look for signs of health or physical fitness, whereas girls were more impressed by effort and evidence of a learning orientation. These attributions held also for perceived lack of success. However, the notion of effort itself seems likely to hold different meanings for boys and girls. Although lesson enjoyment was seen by a significant number of children as a key factor leading to success, the pupils, on the whole, tended to attribute both success and failure to internal, changeable, controllable factors.  相似文献   

Intelligence,general knowledge and personality as predictors of creativity     

Mark Batey  Adrian Furnham  Xeniya Safiullina 《Learning and individual differences》2010,20(5):532-535

This study sought to examine the contribution of fluid intelligence, general knowledge and Big Five personality traits in predicting four indices of creativity: Divergent Thinking (DT) fluency, Rated DT, Creative Achievement and Self-Rated creativity and a combined Total Creativity variable. When creativity was assessed by DT test, the consistent predictor was fluid intelligence. When creativity was assessed in terms of achievement or self-rating, personality variables were consistently predictive.  相似文献   

Proofreading as an index of crystallised intelligence     

Adrian Furnham 《教育心理学》2010,30(6):735-754

This paper reports on four studies that were all concerned with cognitive and non‐cognitive correlates of proofreading (PR) ability. A new, five‐minute PR test was devised and piloted. In the first pilot study (N = 191) it was correlated with a verbal reasoning test. In the second study (N = 103) PR scores were regressed onto measures of personality: approach to learning, general and fluid intelligence (verbal reasoning) as well as a test of general knowledge. All three cognitive ability measures were significant predictors of PR but when entered together, general knowledge alone remained significant and accounted for a third of the variance. The third study (N = 95) was similar, except it also included a measure of typical intellectual engagement. Fluid intelligence (verbal reasoning) and openness were the only significant predictors of PR. In the fourth study (N = 249) participants completed four tests: PR, fluid intelligence (verbal reasoning), vocabulary and spelling. PR was consistently correlated with verbal reasoning but more strongly correlated with measures of crystallised intelligence, namely general knowledge and vocabulary. Implications and limitations are considered.  相似文献