http://hdl.handle.net/2428/47953 Wed, 22 May 2013 17:18:54 GMT 2013-05-22T17:18:54Z http://hdl.handle.net/2428/49038 Title: Educational neuroscience and neuroscientific education: in search of a mutual middle-way Authors: Geake, J Description: Cognitive neuroscientific research into learning, especially literacy and numeracy, is well into its second decade. The potential benefits to education, particularly for SEN, were also noted many years ago (Byrnes & Fox, 1998), viz that cognitive neuroscience might offer new data and a fresh perspective on some hitherto intractable educational problems, for example, why do some children not learn to read as easily as most; why doesn’t every child ‘get’ fractions (O’Boyle & Gill, 1998)? The responses of the education profession, especially in the UK, have been mixed. On the one hand, there are those ageing education academics who, after a lifetime of not understanding and disparaging all science, see no need to change their ways now. On the other hand, there are the ‘brain-based’ enthusiasts who hope that the current fads of left-right thinking, brain gym, etc., will address the complexities and daily challenges of the mixed-ability classroom (Goswami, 2004). A middle-way would seem to involve neuroscientific education for both groups so that education can shape a professionally informative educational neuroscience research agenda of the future. This paper discusses five arguments (Geake, 1998) in favour of the development of an educational neuroscience. Mon, 01 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2428/49038 2005-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48654 Title: Learning the 'lingo': the social construction of pedagogy in the teaching, learning and assessment of adult literacy and numeracy in the North East of England Authors: Gregson, M; Nixon, L; Coffield, F; Edward, S Description: This paper presents an analysis of themes emerging from the first round of visits to 12 learning sites in the North East of England. These were conducted as part of a larger ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) project which aimed to evaluate the impact of policy on teaching, learning and assessment in the Learning and Skills sector. Documentary analysis related to Skills for Life (SfL) policy and data from interviews with 10 basic skills practitioners and managers are drawn upon. These were carried out from November 2004-May 2005. In addition, two ‘user affirmation’ seminars in May and July 2005 were used to trace how the SfL educational policy initiative implemented by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) through their local offices across the UK is impacting upon the teaching, learning and assessment of adult literacy and numeracy. In order to make sense of the large and complex data set emerging from the TLRP project we have taken a multiple perspectives approach to the analysis of educational policy and its impact upon practice. We then apply multiple conceptual frameworks to a single policy case (SfL). The aim of the paper is to show how a unitary perspective has tended to dominate applied policy research and to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of this perspective in the context of SfL practice. We analyse the same case from an alternative perspective to draw attention to the potential of multi-lens approaches to the analysis and evaluation of the impact of policy upon practice. Finally we discuss the implications of our analysis of SfL policy for pedagogy. Thu, 01 Sep 2005 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48654 2005-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48337 Title: Whole class technology for learning mathematics: the case of functions and graphs Authors: Godwin, S; Sutherland, R Description: This paper draws on research being developed within the teaching and learning strand of the Economic and Social Research Council InterActive Education Project, which is examining how new technologies can be used in educational settings to enhance learning. It focuses on the ways in which mathematics teachers can use digital tools for enhancing the learning of functions and graphs within a classroom setting. It includes a comparison of two teachers working with information and communications technology within their own particular contexts and circumstances, and by comparing and contrasting the two situations gives an indication of the complexity of their learning environments. It emphasises the role of the teacher in bringing together the potential disparate possibilities of exploration that ICT might allow for students and concludes that thinking about the effective use of ICT for learning requires an holistic understanding of how ICT is integrated within the classroom milieu as determined by the teacher, environment, software, individual students and collective activity. Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48337 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48320 Title: Pedagogic practices and interweaving narratives in AS Mathematics classrooms Authors: Wake, G; Williams, J; Black, L; Davis, P; Hernandez-Martinez, P; Pampaka, M Description: This paper was presented at the symposium: Opening doors to mathematically-demanding programmes in Higher Education 2. This project, involves both case study research investigating classroom cultures and pedagogic practices and individual students’ narratives of identity together with quantitative analysis of measures of value added to learning outcomes in an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of two different programmes of AS mathematics for post-16 students. These are: GCE A Level Mathematics course, leading to a wide range of university courses, particularly in mathematics, the sciences and technology, and a new programme of study “Use of Mathematics” leads only to AS Level and is designed to focus on modeling and applications of mathematics of assistance to students either in their current or future studies, for example, in sciences, engineering, economics. This course is designed to overcome the traditional A level barrier by appealing to students with relatively limited prior attainment in mathematics. By engaging with computer technology, formative assessment by portfolio and through its emphasis on inquiry, communication and relating mathematics to its applications it is designed to include and keep more students engaged in mathematics for longer. Here we focus on the classroom experiences of students drawing on ethnographic data with video and audio recordings, photographs and researcher notes together with follow-up interviews with students both in small groups and individually and pre- and post- lesson interviews with the teachers involved. We draw on classroom observation data from two of our five case study colleges and explore how we might come to understand the impact that lessons as pedagogic events have on students. We suggest that these experiences within mathematics lessons are crucial to students in their development (whether positive or negative) of their identities as learners of mathematics and consequently their ability to pursue mathematically demanding subjects. Our observations reflect the findings of Boaler & Greeno (2000) that learning environments are crucial in determining the development of students’ development of different cultural models and emerging identities as learners of mathematics (Davis et al, 2007). In contrasting “didactic”, with emphasis on transmissions of rules and procedures with more “sociable” approaches where exploration and connection-making is encouraged, it is suggested that the latter can significantly encourage some students to more positively engage with mathematics. Whilst recognising that different pedagogic practices appear dominant in setting a ‘tone’ for the classrooms of different teachers and clearly impact in a major way on students, we suggest here that perhaps we should look beyond this at another subtle aspect of the totality of students’ mathematical experiences and to do so turn to the construct of narrative. Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2428/48320 2007-09-01T00:00:00Z