Interpretation and Experience: Two Pedagogical Interventions Observed1     

Olivia Fialho  Sonia Zyngier  David Miall 《English in Education》2011,45(3):236-253

In light of the hard times in which literary education has been finding itself, this paper evaluates the merits of two instructional interventions. It describes an experiment which contrasts interpretive and experiential approaches to reading carried out with 17 Comparative Literature Canadian university students. Two different sets of pre‐reading and reading instructions were prepared. The group working under the control condition followed a set of ‘interpretive instructions’ while the one working under the experimental condition followed ‘experiential instructions’. Participants in both conditions completed four measures: three questionnaires and a response essay. Video‐recording of small group discussions also occurred. Intervention effects were evaluated statistically. No differences were found in any of the measurements except for story‐driven reading, in which the control group scored higher than the experimental one. This means that participants preferred to focus on the plot or story‐line and showed interest for action and compelling conclusions. The video recording, however, indicated higher voluntary participation in the experimental condition. As regards class assessment, the results were rather contradictory and unexpected, leading to the conclusion that interpretation and experiencing may not present us with an either‐or situation but may most productively be regarded as complementary. Ultimately, this study advances the debate on the need to examine instructional interventions in literature classes empirically.  相似文献   

Rowing     

Bruce Elliott  Andrew Lyttle  Olivia Birkett 《Sports biomechanics / International Society of Biomechanics in Sports》2013,12(2):123-134

The purpose of this study was to compare rowing technique on the dynamic RowPerfect ergometer with a single scull. Eight national‐level rowers performed on both the RowPerfect ergometer and in a single scull over 500 m, at rates of 24, 26, and 28 strokes/minute. Blade force and oar angle (on‐water) and handle force and stroke length (on the ergometer) were measured. Both force and stroke angle/length were normalised from 0 to 100 (where 100 was the peak value). Body positions of the subjects at both the catch and finish of each of these rowing strokes were also compared for each stroke rate. The coefficient of multiple determination (CMD) was used to measure the consistency of force curves over a sample of five sequential strokes for each rower. Cross‐correlations were performed between the left‐ and right‐ side on‐water sculling force curves and a mean of these values with the ergometer curve for each rower. Stroke angle/length, which did not vary with rate, was similar for both forms of rowing. The CMDs showed a high consistency across the normalised strokes of each subject (≈0.98). Cross‐correlation values of 0.91, 0.92, and 0.93 were recorded between the force curves from the ergometer and on‐water trials for stroke rates of 24, 26, and 28 strokes/minute, respectively. The mean trunk, thigh and lower leg angles at the catch and finish of the stroke were also similar across the stroke rates as determined by t‐tests. Results indicate that technique used on the RowPerfect ergometer was similar to that for on‐water sculling, thus validating its use in off‐water training.  相似文献   

Anxious provision and discourses of certainty: the sutured subject of mentally ill adult learners     

Olivia Sagan 《International Journal of Lifelong Education》2013,32(5):615-629

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An investigation of prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ conceptual knowledge of and attitudes towards statistics     

Ailish Hannigan  Olivia Gill  Aisling M. Leavy 《Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education》2013,16(6):427-449

The development of statistical literacy is fast becoming the focus of a large part of mathematics instruction at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. This broadening of the mathematics curriculum to encompass a focus on statistics makes considerable demands on teachers. Most mathematics teachers acknowledge the practical importance of statistics and are willing to give more relevance to the teaching of statistics; however, many mathematics teachers do not consider themselves well prepared to teach statistics. The aims of this study were to investigate the conceptual understanding of statistics of prospective secondary mathematics teachers; the nature of their attitudes towards statistics and if there was a relationship between attitude towards statistics and conceptual understanding of statistics. Conceptual understanding was measured using a standard assessment instrument (comprehensive assessment of outcomes in a first statistics course) which allows comparison across other disciplines. Despite being very mathematically able and confident, the prospective mathematics teachers in this study do no better in the assessment than students from other (mostly non-quantitative) disciplines. This, perhaps, gives further evidence that statistical thinking is different from mathematical thinking and that a strong background in mathematics does not necessarily translate to statistical thinking. Conceptual knowledge was poor in some fundamental areas of statistics such as being able to properly describe the distribution of a quantitative variable and data production. The attitudes of these teachers towards statistics were measured using a widely used instrument (survey of attitudes towards statistics). The results indicate generally positive attitudes but an acknowledgement that statistics is not a subject quickly learned by everyone and requires discipline to learn. No strong correlation was found between attitudes and conceptual knowledge. It is recommended that in order to improve teacher knowledge, teacher education programmes must include tailored modules in statistics and highlight the differences between mathematical and statistical thinking.  相似文献   

The Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS): Preliminary reliability and validity of a system for observing preschoolers’ competence in classroom interactions   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Jason T. Downer  Leslie M. Booren  Olivia K. Lima  Amy E. Luckner  Robert C. Pianta 《Early childhood research quarterly》2010

This paper introduces the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System (inCLASS), an observation tool that targets children's interactions in preschool classrooms with teachers, peers, and tasks. In particular, initial evidence is reported of the extent to which the inCLASS meets the following psychometric criteria: inter-rater reliability, normal distributions and adequate range, construct validity, and validity. These initial findings suggest that the inCLASS has the potential to provide an authentic, contextualized assessment of young children's classroom behaviors. Future directions for research with the inCLASS are discussed.  相似文献   

The value of therapeutic reading groups organized by public libraries     

Olivia Walwyn  Jennifer RowleyAuthor vitae 《Library & information science research》2011,33(4):302-312

This research examines the benefits of therapeutic reading groups that are run by public libraries, and explores their value from the perspective of the participants. Narrative interviews were conducted with 14 members of one of three therapeutic reading groups in order to gather empirical evidence on their experiences in the groups and to develop an understanding of their perceptions of its benefits. Participants were very positive about the value of the groups and the way that they were facilitated. The 11 benefits they discussed were clustered into two groups associated with reading and access to books, and group interaction. Many of these benefits had a positive impact on participants’ individual assurance and self-esteem; the groups also had positive consequences for social inclusion and involvement in the local community and economic activity. Benefits were shown to stem from the social nature of the groups, the texts read, and from the unique experience of shared reading as a creative, collaborative, and interpretive act. This is the first study to gather evidence from the participants of therapeutic reading groups on their perceptions of benefits. The findings support the value of therapeutic reading groups, and support the case for the further development of these groups, and further studies into their benefits.  相似文献   

Age Differences in Adaptive Decision Making: The Role of Numeracy     

Yiwei Chen  Jiaxi Wang  Robert M. Kirk  Olivia L. Pethtel  Allison E. Kiefner 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(11):825-833

The primary purposes of the present study were to examine age differences in adaptive decision making and to evaluate the role of numeracy in mediating the relationship between age and adaptive decision making. Adaptive decision making was assessed by the Cups task (Levin, Weller, Pederson, & Harshman, 2007 Levin , I. P. , Weller , J. A. , Pederson , A. A. , & Harshman , L. A. ( 2007 ). Age-related differences in adaptive decision making: Sensitivity to expect value in risky choice . Judgement and Decision Making , 2 ( 4 ), 225 – 233 .[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Forty-six younger (18 to 24 years old) and 37 older adults (61 to 89 years old) completed the Cups task. In addition, the Numeracy Scale (Lipkus, Samsa, & Rimer, 2001 Lipkus , I. M ., Samsa , G. , & Rimer , B. K. ( 2001 ). General performance on a numeracy scale among highly educated samples . Medical Decision Making , 21 ( 1 ), 37 – 44 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) was used to measure individual numeric ability. Adaptive decision making was operationalized by the Expected Value sensitivity (i.e., the product of probability and outcome magnitudes) across the gain and the loss domains. Older adults had significantly lower Expected Value sensitivity than young adults. In addition, older adults demonstrated significantly lower numeracy than younger adults. Finally, numeracy partially mediated the relationship between age and adaptive decision making. It is suggested that older adults’ declined decision making may be partially due to their declined numeric abilities. Implications were discussed in numeracy education and public policies concerning older adults.  相似文献   

Age Differences in Goal Concordance,Time Use,and Well-Being     

Yiwei Chen  Yue-Ting Lee  Olivia L. Pethtel  Michael S. Gutowitz  Robert M. Kirk 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(11):742-752

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate age differences in goal concordance, time use, and Well-Being. Past research has found that despite age-related decline in life circumstances (e.g., health), the Well-Being of older adults is as high as young adults. The present study used a novel approach to explore the Paradox of Well-Being. One hundred and seventy-seven adults participated in the study. They first generated their three most important personal strivings and rated levels of goal concordance for external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic reasons. Then, they reported their actual and ideal time use in 10 categories of activities in the past 24 hours. Finally, Well-Being was assessed by the Flourishing Scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener, Wirtz, et al., 2010). Older adults did not differ from young adults in overall Well-Being. However, they held higher levels of goal concordance and were more likely to spend time in spirituality and religion-related activities than young adults. The relationships between goal concordance, time use, and Well-Being were examined separately for young and older adults. Implications were discussed to improve Well-Being for young and older adults.  相似文献   

Considering teaching in higher education as a practice     

Marian Fitzmaurice 《Teaching in Higher Education》2013,18(1):45-55

At a time when learning and teaching in higher education have become the focus of increasing attention and high priority is being accorded to the attainment of excellence in teaching there is a growing concern that teaching is being reduced to the acquisition of a set of competencies. This paper will draw on the work of Alasdair MacIntyre to explore the nature of a practice and of teaching as a practice, and then draw on a case study of teachers in a higher education institute in Ireland to gain some insights into the realities of practice. While acknowledging that this knowledge is unequivocally contextual, this case study has the potential to contribute to our understanding of teaching by affording insights into how teachers respond to the challenges of practice. The paper will argue that to conceive of teaching as a practice, in the manner in which practice is explained and elaborated by MacIntyre, moves us beyond a narrow and mechanistic view of teaching built around the adoption of effective strategies to one that is broader in scope and takes into account notions of internal standards of excellence, complexity and integrity.  相似文献   

School-based racial microaggressions and depression among Indigenous young adults     

Olivia G. Holter  Anisa N. Goforth  Kristen Pyke-Pierce  Lisa N. Aguilar  Annie Belcourt 《Psychology in the schools》2023,60(1):255-274

Previous research on the risk factors for the development of mental health disorders among Indigenous Peoples in the United States suggest that experiencing prejudice is correlated with the development of psychopathology. However, the relation between school-based prejudice, including microaggressions, and the development of depression remains unexamined. As such, the current study is an exploratory analysis among a small sample (N = 47) of age 18–25 Indigenous young adults from the American Northwest examining the predictive relation between their retrospective recall of school-based racial microaggressions as measured by the School-Based Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Subscale and their current levels of depressive symptoms in adulthood as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. There was a statistically significant predictive relation found between participant's retrospective recall of microaggressions and their current levels of depression as young adults. As such, the practice and policy implications for school-based professionals are discussed.  相似文献