University of Cumbria Open Access Journals
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Let’s Go Back in the Time Machine: An Investigation into the Impact of Strategy-Based Reading Interventions on Year 4 Pupils’ Comprehension Skills
Get PDFThis study explored the impact of increased reading interventions (with a focus on strategy-based teaching) on Year 4 pupils’ reading comprehension skills. An experimental group of 9 pupils participated in daily reading interventions from the beginning of January to the end of March to improve their competence in using the following comprehension strategies; inference, prediction, summarisation, and activating prior knowledge (from inside and outside of the text). The findings demonstrated that all pupils made progress in their reading comprehension ages and qualitative responses to reading comprehension questions, compared to 33% of pupils in the control group making progress. Over the course of the interventions, the pupils also demonstrated an increase in explicit use of strategies in their responses to comprehension questions. Although some pupils made more progress than others, the findings yielded from this study support the importance of helping struggling readers through increased reading interventions and explicit tuition
A thematic analysis of a photo elicitation investigating ‘what does it mean to a person to be deaf or hard of hearing?’
Get PDFResearch investigating the experiences of the deaf and hard of hearing population has often found that people have negative experiences, such as social isolation, communication and employment barriers, and barriers to accessing health care due to their deafnessurrent study aimed to investigate individual experiences and perceptions of what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing. The rationale focuses on using inclusive methods and raising awareness of these individual experiences/perceptions, so to hopefully improve the treatment of deaf and hard of hearing people within society and in turn, improve their experiences. Photo elicitation was the chosen research method, with participants (n=2) taking part in an online survey. Three master themes were found, with some emergent themes (1. Aids don’t always aid, 1a. Amplifying the ‘wrong’ sounds, 1b. A visible reminder, 1c. Isolation, 2. It’s not all negative, 3. Relationships, 3a. Workplace relationships, 3b. Familial relationships). The themes that emerged from the current study have some relevance in reference to existing literature, and it can be concluded that although not all aspects of deafness appear to be negative, some aspects of society could better accommodate the deaf and hard of hearing population. Inclusive research like the current study could be replicated on a larger scale, with more participants and a broader range of hearing abilities being involved. Conducting inclusive research such as the current study will allow more members of the deaf and hard of hearing population to share their experiences, and ensure them of the value of their input. Additionally, institutions such as healthcare and education could aim to educate more thoroughly on deafness and its implications, as well as teaching strategies which may reduce communication barriers between the deaf and hearing communities
How female video gamers experience being part of a male dominated community
Get PDFThe video gaming community consists of 1.8 billion gamers, 55% are male and 45% are female, suggesting a male majority in the gaming sector (Statista 2019). The aims of the current study were to; (a) allow women to have their say about their experiences, (b) to improve women’s gaming experiences (c) to improve the way the community perceive female gamers and lastly (d) to fill the gap in research. An online questionnaire consisting of eight open ended questions was conducted. Two master themes were identified: 1. being a female video gamer and 2. the masculine scene. The analysis suggested that although participants disassociate as having a gamer identity, they did feel included within the community: ‘Very included. I have often played other games online and feel that I am able to play just as well if not better’ (Kelsey 207-208). They expressed that gaming is a hobby, however feel a community connection. Furthermore, they mentioned that gender is not linked to gaming, labels such as ‘gamer-girl’ are unnecessary. Moreover, that stereotypes are formed from childhood upbringing: ‘I feel like gaming is male-dominated because of them mostly being in the “male” sections in stores such as the Argos catalogue when I was a child’ (Rebecca 384-386). The reason the community is male dominated is because children are taught what is stereotypically acceptable which carries through to adulthood. Finally, limitations and future directions were discussed
Det hadde vel vært bedre da om jeg hadde hatt venner: En kvalitativ studie av ungdoms vennskaps og medelev relasjoner i skolesamfunnet
Get PDFThis article is trying to grasp three informants\u27 experiences of friendship and peer relationships in the school society, in order to understand more about the mechanisms of friendship and interaction during adolescence. The interviews were conducted through an indirect approach, described as an unstructured interview more like a informal conversation, trying to get answers to questions not asked. The article is produced as part of an Erasmus+ project with partners from Norway, England and Denmark. The data were analyzed through a thematic analysis, and the informants experiences of friendship and fellow student relationships were clustered around three themes: (1) the fight in and about friendship, (2) experiences of roles, (3) in or out the «flock». The narratives show how important friendship and peer relationship are for young people at school, and that these relationships were especially fragile in secondary school. The informants described the struggle for friendship, and that they felt that they possessed a role, from which they could not escape. Some of these fragile relationships eventually led to exclusion or inclusion, and even marginalized some out of the school society.  
The Magic Number: Evaluating online provision of detailed assessment data to support tutoring
Get PDFThis discussion outlines the work undertaken by the Electronic Management of Assessment (EMA) Programme at the University of Reading between 2016 and 2018 to provide granular assessment information to support the work of personal tutors and the academic attainment of their students. This work was timely as it coincided with the introduction of a new tutoring structure at the University, the Academic Tutoring System (ATS), which replaced the existing Personal Tutor System, in September 2018.
Before this project began, personal tutors at Reading did not have timely access to their tutees’ detailed assessment data. In consultation with student focus groups, new screens within the online ‘Tutor Card’ were developed by the EMA Programme Team and rolled out in November 2017. This discussion assesses the reported impact on Tutors of assessment data availability and demonstrates the potential value of technology in improving the efficacy of the tutorial system
Supporting Teacher Proving Practices with Three Phases of Proof
Get PDFAlthough reasoning and proof in learning and teaching mathematics is crucial and have gained more presence in school mathematics, both students and their teachers face great difficulties when engaging in proving activities. One potential cause for such difficulties might be due to teachers’ conception of proof. However, to date, there are few, if any, studies that have examined how secondary school in-service mathematics teachers learn justification and proof. This study focuses on secondary school in-service teachers’ engagement in proving activities by providing observational data from a master’s level professional development course that focuses on teaching reasoning and proof. The findings from this work highlight the usefulness of framing proving activities as consisting of three phases: exploration; justification; and evaluation. In addition, we discuss the useful role that generic example-based proofs can play when teachers are proving. We illustrate through a specific vignette of teacher proving activities, and discuss the results in the light of using proof-related tasks to engage learning during proving activities
How does the BTEC level 3 Children’s Play, Learning and Development course prepare students for Higher Education?
Get PDFThe ever-changing world of qualifications for the Early Years workforce depends on a wide range of factors. A dichotomy between the need for industry practice and academic skills is present within the current sector as changes to qualifications continue to develop. This paper explores one route of qualification into Early Years, the BTEC (Business and Technology Education Council) National Extended Diploma Level 3 in Children’s Play, Learning and Development (CPLD) with Early Years Educator status (BTEC, 2015). An investigation into how this BTEC course meets its aims in promoting students’ academic skills ready for Higher Education (HE) highlighted a key difference in expectations of Level three students from Further Education (FE) and HE participants.
Data collected through semi structured interviews from FE teaching staff and documentary analysis of the CPLD specification pose significant differences in their expectations of student ‘academic’ skills as opposed to the expectations of HE teaching staff. Further exploration continued to suggest that the BTEC CPLD specification focuses on more specific academic skills such as referencing than the conflicting finding of HE participants who presented different expectations and skills from Level three students progressing into HE.
Highlighting such a difference is imperative within the sector as it implies there is a need to address this gap of expectations for level three students transitioning into HE to both provide a smoother transition for students’ development and to bridge the gap of qualification expectations of practitioners. This paper summarises with key recommendations for both FE teachers and HE academics as well as addressing the course specification design of the BTEC CPLD qualification.  
How can I make talk related activities more inclusive using the Thinking Together approach?
Get PDFThis article looks at the Thinking Together approach as a way of generating more meaningful discussions in a class. It is the aim that once the Thinking Together approach has been adopted that the language and confidence of the class to speak openly will increase. The benefits should also see the class sharing their own language thus exposing children to other language bases. The action research undertaken was prompted by a number of experiences where clear language difficulties were preventing progression despite the children in question showing abilities that were not given opportunities to be expressed. After the action research had been completed and adopted, the class showed a number of improvements including being able to work as a group with a wider range of class members and being able to hold, develop and conclude discussions more effectively
Children’s Reporters’ Attitudes toward Young Offenders
Get PDFChildren’s reporters are Scottish Government officials. They decide whether a child is in need of compulsory measures of care. Their role is regulated by the Children’s Hearing (Scotland) Act 2011. The present study aimed to explore children’s reporters’ attitudes toward young offenders and whether or not they hold classical views toward the causes, prevention and treatment of crime. The methodology used was based on a quantitative methods design. Two measures, the Attitudes towards Prisoners scale (ATP) and the Attitudes towards Crime scale (ACS) were administered. The responses of a population sample of 102 out of 194 children’s reporters were examined. The analysis involved the use of statistical tests between variables. Three major findings emerged from the analysis: (1) a significant difference was found in relation to children’s reporters’ attitudes towards the prevention of crime by qualification; (2) statistically significant differences were found in relation to children’s reporters’ attitudes towards the prevention and treatment of crime by experience; and (3) years of experience in the job was found to predict children’s reporters’ attitudes towards the prevention of crime. Overall, children’s reporters’ subgroups were found to hold similar attitudes in terms of the scaled variables, which demonstrates that by large, children’s reporters do not hold classical attitudes toward young offenders and crime
