645 research outputs found
Grading in practice: can we reliably address grade inflation? Results of implementing a statistical tool to reliably measure performance in practice
No full textCan the grading of practice reliably contribute to the assessment of competence and promote core nursing values? the use of a statistical modelling tool.
No full textEducational effectivenes: the development of the discipline, the critiques, the defence and the present debate
No full textEducational effectiveness research (EER) has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the characteristics and processes associated with more and less effective schools in a diverse range of contexts. However, this remains a contested field of inquiry and has been subjected to significant critique. This paper examines the origins and development of EER and summarises the key critiques and defences of the field during the past 30 years. It then moves on to examine the recent critique of the field by Stephen Gorard in the UK and responds by highlighting statistical errors and simplistic claims made by Gorard about the field's involvement with the development of national value-added systems and interaction with policy-making in his recent paper
A potential library for primary MFL pedagogy: the case of Young Pathfinders
No full textAs readers of this journal will know very well, 2010 will see all KS2 (ages 7-11) pupils in England entitled to learn a modern foreign language in normal curriculum time. This development of the commitment to primary language learning should provide an excellent opportunity and experience for pupils, whilst at the same time requiring some radical changes for many teachers, schools and much of the wider language learning community.
Recent research has indicated general trends suggesting an increase in primary languages already, in anticipation of this development and even beforehand. One of the most recent studies indicates that 43% of primary children currently learn a foreign language at KS2, either in class or as an extra-curricular activity, although the extent of this learning varies considerably (Driscoll, Jones and Macrory, 2004). It has also been suggested (Muijs et al, 2005) that there are certain aspects of the process that will be particularly demanding if the challenge of providing this entitlement are to be met
A personal leadership statement
No full textStudies have demonstrated the positive effects that leadership can have on schools (Adams, Kutty & Zabidi, 2017; Jones, et. al., 2015; Harris, et. al., 2017; Perera, Adams, & Muniandy, 2015). Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom (2004) reiterated that “Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school” (p. 5). The school effectiveness and improvement field face a new and pervasive challenge (Harris, et. al, 2015). The past few decades have seen teacher leadership emerge as an important aspect of school leadership (Wenner & Campbell, 2017). Teacher leadership is no longer optional, teachers have developed an increasingly important role in their schools. Teacher leadership is now the significant means to inspire the enhancement of teaching (Muijs & Harris, 2006). In the current stage of instructional development, teachers’ routines are no longer restricted within classroom boundaries (Grant, 2006). Teachers are in a unique position to promote change within schools (Mangin & Stoelinga, 2010), by leading the spread of best practices through teacher collaboration, encouraging teacher professional learning and focus on content-specific issues due to their familiarity with the complexities involved in teaching (Wenner & Campbell, 2017; Curtis, 2013; Muijs & Harris, 2006).I. EPIGRAPHII. INTRODUCTIONIII. ASSUMPTIONSIV. LEADERSHIP EMPOWERMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTUREV. CONCLUSIONVI. REFERENCESMonografiaPregradoLicenciado(a) en Lenguas Extranjeras con Énfasis en Inglé
Near‐surface seismic properties for elastic wavefield decomposition: Estimates based on multicomponent land and seabed recordings
No full textAccurate knowledge of the seismic material properties in the immediate vicinity of the receivers represents a prerequisite for elastic wavefield decomposition. We present strategies for estimating the elastic material properties for both land and seabed multicomponent seismic data. The proposed scheme for land data requires dense multicomponent geophone configurations, which allow spatial wavefield derivatives to be explicitly calculated. The required information can be obtained with four three‐component surface geophones positioned at the corners of a square, and a fifth geophone buried at a shallow depth below the center of the square. The technique yields local estimates of the near‐surface P‐ and S‐wave velocities, but the density cannot be constrained. Using a similar approach for four‐component (three orthogonal components of particle velocity plus pressure) seabed recordings allows the P‐ and S‐wave velocities as well as the density of the seafloor to be estimated. In this case, the proposed scheme does not require buried geophones, and it is applicable to multicomponent data recorded in routine seabed surveys. Compared to existing techniques, the new method allows the elastic sea‐floor properties to be more accurately determined, and it does not rely critically on the inclusion of large‐offset data. Numerical tests indicate that the proposed schemes are robust and yield accurate results, provided that the signal used for the inversion contains sufficient horizontal energy and can be clearly identified and separated from other signals. Although the schemes are designed for application on the first arrivals, they are, in principle, applicable to any data window containing isolated P‐ or S‐arrivals. The proposed scheme is successfully applied to a seabed data set acquired in the North Sea. In contrast, the application on a multicomponent land data set was unsuccessful, because of strong receiver‐to‐receiver variations in amplitude and phase, probably caused by differences in coupling and instrument response
Subsonic near-surface P-velocity and low S-velocity observations using propagator inversion
No full textDetailed knowledge of near-surface P- and S-wave velocities is important for processing and interpreting multicomponent land seismic data because (1) the entire wavefield passes through and is influenced by the near-surface soil conditions, (2) both source repeatability and receiver coupling also depend on these conditions, and (3) near-surface P- and S-wave velocities are required for wavefield decomposition and demultiple methods. However, it is often difficult to measure these velocities with conventional techniques because sensitivity to shallow-wave velocities is low and because of the presence of sharp velocity contrasts or gradients close to the earth's free surface. We demonstrate that these near-surface P- and S-wave velocities can be obtained using a propagator inversion. This approach requires data recorded by at least one multicomponent geophone at the surface and an additional multicomponent geophone at depth. The propagator between them then contains all information on the medium parameters governing wave propagation between the geophones at the surface and at depth. Hence, inverting the propagator gives local estimates for these parameters. This technique has been applied to data acquired in Zeist, the Netherlands. The near-surface sediments at this site are unconsolidated sands with a thin vegetation soil on top, and the sediments considered are located above the groundwater table. A buried geophone was positioned 1.05 m beneath receivers on the surface. Propagator inversion yielded low near-surface velocities, namely, 270 ± 15 m/s for the compressional-wave velocity, which is well below the sound velocity in air, and 150 ± 9 m/s for the shear velocity. Existing methods designed for imaging deeper structures cannot resolve these shallow material properties. Furthermore, velocities usually increase rapidly with depth close to the earth's surface because of increasing confining pressure. We suspect that for this reason, subsonic near-surface P-wave velocities are not commonly observed
Propagator and wave-equation inversion for near-receiver material properties
No full textNear-receiver material properties are required for the separation of the recorded wavefield into upgoing and downgoing P and S waves, and are also important for static time-shift corrections. However, it is difficult, especially in land seismics, to obtain reliable estimates for these local material properties using conventional techniques. We compare three methods for estimating these material properties using a 3-D geophone configuration. The first two methods are based on inversion of the wave equation and can be used on almost all of the recorded wavefield. However, they require that the wavefield is recorded by a dense 3-D receiver group to allow the computation of either spatial wavefield derivatives or interpolants. The third approach is based on the inversion of the vertical wavefield propagator. We present a procedure for estimating this propagator using only two multicomponent geophones, one buried and one positioned at the surface. Propagator estimation and inversion avoids the explicit computation of wavefield derivatives, and is therefore less sensitive to measurement errors than both wave-equation inversion schemes. However, in the form presented it requires the identification of arrivals of incoming waves that are isolated in time, and can only be applied to such data. Noise tests demonstrate that the propagator inversion provides accurate estimates for P- and S-wave velocities of a near-surface low-velocity layer, and is robust with respect to signal-generated near-surface reverberations. In case of a near-surface velocity gradient, velocities are obtained which are consistent with effective medium velocities
The teaching and learning of pupils in low-attainment sets
No full textThis study explored the ways in which schools addressed the needs of pupils in low-attainment class groups, or sets, in the context of multiple and contrary government policy directives and inconclusive research findings about setting. In this article we have focused on school and classroom practices as well as the organisational processes through which low-attaining pupils were identified, grouped and reviewed within schools. The empirical data reported here predominantly refer to case studies involving classroom observations and interviews with teachers, pupils and other staff in 13 schools – both primary and secondary – from four local authorities (LAs).In the latter part of the article, however, we also draw on survey data collected from a larger sample of schools in 12 LAs in England. Although the study found ample evidence of innovative school practices and efforts by individual teachers aimed at optimising the learning opportunities for children in low-attainment class groups, the findings also raise important questions about some of the processes of set allocation, the lack of mobility between sets, and the over-representation of particular social groups in low-attainment classes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for equity and inclusion that moves beyond an emphasis on classroom practice to include questions about the in-school processes of social selection and educational mobility for pupils identified as low-attaining
Definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer: A Delphi consensus study in Europe
No full textBackground: Local treatment improves the outcomes for oligometastatic disease (OMD, i.e. an intermediate state between locoregional and widespread disseminated disease). However, consensus about the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop a multidisciplinary European consensus statement on the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer. Methods: In total, 65 specialists in the multidisciplinary treatment for oesophagogastric cancer from 49 expert centres across 16 European countries were requested to participate in this Delphi study. The consensus finding process consisted of a starting meeting, 2 online Delphi questionnaire rounds and an online consensus meeting. Input for Delphi questionnaires consisted of (1) a systematic review on definitions of oligometastatic oesophagogastric cancer and (2) a discussion of real-life clinical cases by multidisciplinary teams. Experts were asked to score each statement on a 5-point Likert scale. The agreement was scored to be either absent/poor (<50%), fair (50%–75%) or consensus (≥75%). Results: A total of 48 experts participated in the starting meeting, both Delphi rounds, and the consensus meeting (overall response rate: 71%). OMD was considered in patients with metastatic oesophagogastric cancer limited to 1 organ with ≤3 metastases or 1 extra-regional lymph node station (consensus). In addition, OMD was considered in patients without progression at restaging after systemic therapy (consensus). For patients with synchronous or metachronous OMD with a disease-free interval ≤2 years, systemic therapy followed by restaging to consider local treatment was considered as treatment (consensus). For metachronous OMD with a disease-free interval >2 years, either upfront local treatment or systemic treatment followed by restaging was considered as treatment (fair agreement). Conclusion: The OMEC project has resulted in a multidisciplinary European consensus statement for the definition, diagnosis and treatment of oligometastatic oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer. This can be used to standardise inclusion criteria for future clinical trials
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