An Investigation of Personalised Learning Approaches used by Schools
This resource is a 2007 research report, undertaken by researchers from the University of Sussex, the University of Cambridge, and the London Institute of Education. The report was commissioned by the then DfES to investigate the approaches to personalised learning used by schools in England. The resource consists of an analysis of the current literature, an introduction to the methodological process, a survey of primary, secondary and special schools and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), an analysis
School Report Cards: Review of the use of school report cards internationally
One of the proposals within the recent white paper, 'Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system', is the introduction of a School Report Card to measure school progress. This resource is a report of a small research project conducted by NFER into how these are used in other countries, and is intended to complement the work already undertaken in this area by the DCSF.
Sci-tutors: Active Learning
This Sci-tutors article provides an insight into a constructivist approach to learning and teaching; the teacher is a very important facilitator of the learning process. A framework of learning through talking and doing, through reading and through writing is provided, together with suggestions for assignment activities for trainee teachers that could be adapted for use in particular contexts. In addition, there is a brief introduction to learning theory including the work of Ausubel and Bruner.
Mapping Education Research in the United Kingdom/The Social Organisation of Education Research in En
These two articles are from a European peer-reviewed education journal, European Educational Research Journal (2007). This particular issue maps education research in the UK. The first, Mapping Education Research in the United Kingdom, provides an introduction to the issue, relating the educational research in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The second, The Social Organisation of Educational Research in England, considers the “structural, historical and educational factors” wh
The DCSF Research Conference 2010
The DCSF Research Conference 2010, The Use of Evidence in Policy Development and Delivery, took place at the QEII Conference Centre in London on 9 February. The day consisted of a series of addresses, followed by two workshop sessions, and a panel discussion in the afternoon. Carole Willis, Director of Research and Analysis at the DCSF, welcomed delegates, and spoke of the need to make decisions to use money for the best impact in terms of delivering better outcomes, based on evidence. A central
Sci-tutors: Materials and their Properties: Patterns of Behaviour
This unit on the Sci-tutors website extends the ideas covered in the first two ‘materials' units and is specifically aimed for teachers engaged with teaching chemistry at KS5 (A-level) although there is relevance at KS4 too (as well as for teachers' personal knowledge development). The introduction touches upon the natures of science and then focuses upon the patterns of ideas involved in modelling atomic structure and the Periodic Table of the elements and chemical bonding. This is followed b
Methods: Observation
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on observation from 'Research Methods in Early Childhood Education' by Mukherji and Albon. This chapter provides a helpful introduction to the use of observation, its historical background, different types of observation and some of the problematic issues involved in doing it - such as recording, reporting and the avoidance of bias.
Mixed Methods Research
Professor Jerry Wellington provides a commentary on a sample chapter on mixed methods research from 'Introduction to Research Methods in Education' by Keith Punch. Most research projects into an aspect of teaching and learning (i.e. educational research) will quite rightly employ a mixture of methods. Indeed, the very nature of most important research questions in education (usually what, how or why questions when it comes down to it) actually demands that a range of methodologies and methods wi
Sci-tutors: Ethnicity and Gender Issues in Science
This article on the Sci-tutors website stresses the importance of ensuring that trainees have access to appropriate ideas and resources to enable them to engage with ethnicity and gender issues. An introduction to the legal framework is provided together with examples of course related activities and resources. These have been used in both primary and secondary training programmes.
What is the Weather Song
This simple song and video poses the question "What is the Weather Today?". The song is sung two times accompanied by images of various types of weather. It is extremely short, but could be useful in an early childhood classroom as an introduction to discussing weather each day.
On the Trail of African Elephants
Elephants are among the most visible of endangered species, and are one of the key ‘flagship’ species for conservation. The African elephant has attracted renewed interest recently because of the suggestion that there are actually two distinct species: the better-known savannah elephant of East and Southern Africa, and the less-studied, smaller, forest elephant
of the Central and West African rainforests. This lecture will describe an expedition I led to Ghana, an area where the two forms m
Le Corbusier: Modernist Originality or Copying?
While describing the genius of his originality and his ‘intuitive flashes of insight’, Le Corbusier systematically obliterated unwanted references from the works of his biographers and set up a carefully vetted archive called the Le Corbusier Foundation.
This lecture considers the discovery of a recently discovered handwritten entry in a ‘lost’ (ie thrown away) Le Corbusier notebook, which indicates that he found (more than) inspiration in the work of a relatively forgotten modernist ar
Differences in the neural basis of Chinese and English reading
Introduction: Previous functional imaging studies comparing Chinese and English reading have reported that a left middle frontal region is more activated by Chinese reading and the left superior temporal cortex is more activated by English reading (Tan et al. 2001; 2003). We investigated this finding and its interpretation by conducting a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of reading in China and England using monolingual adolescents who spoke Mandarin or English respectively. Ou
Early and traditional copper metallurgy in western China
Copper underpins the technology and economy of most societies of the last four thousand years, and ancient China is no exception. It relies heavily on copper for the production of bronze objects, such as weapons, tools and vessels, but also for its coinage and other monetary instruments. The artistic expression preserved in highly decorated and intricately cast bronze objects is rightly admired, and has attracted much scientific and art historical attention. Little, however, is known about the p
Differences in the neural basis of Chinese and English reading
Introduction: Previous functional imaging studies comparing Chinese and English reading have reported that a left middle frontal region is more activated by Chinese reading and the left superior temporal cortex is more activated by English reading (Tan et al. 2001; 2003). We investigated this finding and its interpretation by conducting a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of reading in China and England using monolingual adolescents who spoke Mandarin or English respectively. Ou
Early and traditional copper metallurgy in western China
Copper underpins the technology and economy of most societies of the last four thousand years, and ancient China is no exception. It relies heavily on copper for the production of bronze objects, such as weapons, tools and vessels, but also for its coinage and other monetary instruments. The artistic expression preserved in highly decorated and intricately cast bronze objects is rightly admired, and has attracted much scientific and art historical attention. Little, however, is known about the p
City history and multi-scale spatial master-planning
The UK and Chinese Governments have agreed at the highest level to collaborate through the China-UK Sustainable Development Dialogue on research and knowledge exchange to help ensure that the way we develop our cities will become truly sustainable. As a part of that initiative a group of related networks has been funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, inspired by the Dongtan Eco-city development north of Shanghai.
The specific network which is the subject of th
UCJC 2007: Beyond Biology
Daniel Medwed gives the conference introduction. Katie Monroe speaks about the work of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center in regard to the exoneration and assistance bill in Utah.
UCJC 2007: Beyond Biology
Daniel Medwed gives the conference introduction. Katie Monroe speaks about the work of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center in regard to the exoneration and assistance bill in Utah.
2008.09.10-iPhone Programming Association (Video)
Introduction to Objective-C
