Vol 14 no 1 november 2015 by ijlter.org

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching And Educational Research

Vol.14 No.1

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research

The International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research is an open-access journal which has been established for the disChief Editor Dr. Antonio Silva Sprock, Universidad Central de semination of state-of-the-art knowledge in the Venezuela, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of field of education, learning and teaching. IJLTER welcomes research articles from academics, edEditorial Board ucators, teachers, trainers and other practitionProf. Cecilia Junio Sabio ers on all aspects of education to publish high Prof. Judith Serah K. Achoka quality peer-reviewed papers. Papers for publiProf. Mojeed Kolawole Akinsola Dr Jonathan Glazzard cation in the International Journal of Learning, Dr Marius Costel Esi Teaching and Educational Research are selected Dr Katarzyna Peoples through precise peer-review to ensure quality, Dr Christopher David Thompson originality, appropriateness, significance and Dr Arif Sikander readability. Authors are solicited to contribute Dr Jelena Zascerinska to this journal by submitting articles that illusDr Gabor Kiss trate research results, projects, original surveys Dr Trish Julie Rooney Dr Esteban Vázquez-Cano and case studies that describe significant adDr Barry Chametzky vances in the fields of education, training, eDr Giorgio Poletti learning, etc. Authors are invited to submit paDr Chi Man Tsui pers to this journal through the ONLINE submisDr Alexander Franco sion system. Submissions must be original and Dr Habil Beata Stachowiak should not have been published previously or Dr Afsaneh Sharif be under consideration for publication while Dr Ronel Callaghan Dr Haim Shaked being evaluated by IJLTER. Dr Edith Uzoma Umeh Dr Amel Thafer Alshehry Dr Gail Dianna Caruth Dr Menelaos Emmanouel Sarris Dr Anabelie Villa Valdez Dr Özcan Özyurt Assistant Professor Dr Selma Kara Associate Professor Dr Habila Elisha Zuya

VOLUME 14

NUMBER 1

November 2015

Table of Contents Head Start Pedagogy in an Era of Accountability .............................................................................................................. 1 Reva M. Fish, Ph.D., Laura Klenk, Ph.D., Julie Mazur, B.S. and Adena Sexton, Ph.D. A Grounded Theory Study of Learning Patterns of Asian Students in Higher Education ......................................... 20 Abu Bakar Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury: A Mixed Study Evaluation of eLearning Modules Designed for Family Physicians ................................................................................................................................................................ 39 Dr. Colla J. MacDonald, Dr. Jamie Milligan, Dr. Tara Jeji, Kaitlin Mathias, Dr. Hugh Kellam and Jane Gaffney Saxon Math in the Middle Grades: A Content Analysis ................................................................................................. 63 Emma P. Bullock and M. Jill Ashby, Britney Spencer, Kaylee Manderino and Katy Myers The Admiralty Code: A Cognitive Tool for Self-Directed Learning ............................................................................. 97 James M. Hanson Investigating the way 5-years old children distinguish the concepts „object‟ and „material‟ Is the „material‟ overshadowed by the „object‟?......................................................................................................................................... 116 Evmorfia Malkopoulou, George Papageorgiou and Anastasia Dimitriou

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 1-19, November 2015

Head Start Pedagogy in an Era of Accountability Reva M. Fish, Ph.D., Laura Klenk, Ph.D., Julie Mazur, B.S. and Adena Sexton, Ph.D. School of Education SUNY Buffalo State Abstract. Head Start teachers were interviewed to determine their approaches to teaching in the current early childhood education climate where there is an increased emphasis on academic instruction to meet learning standards. The grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis was used for this study. The core category and basic social psychological process that emerged from the data was ―facilitating learning‖ and was carried out by teachers in four ways: free choice play, incidental teaching opportunities, play-like activities, and direct instruction. The process included three other categories: ―choosing a setting,‖ ―deciding content,‖ and ―addressing other viewpoints‖ and explains the pedagogical approaches Head Start preschool teachers use to meet increasingly rigorous curriculum requirements and higher expectations for student learning. The findings and their educational implications are discussed. Keywords: Head Start; preschool; accountability; pedagogy

Introduction Preschool teachers face a push to increase academic rigor in their classrooms (Brown, 2010). This is a result of both the No Child Left Behind Act’s press for greater achievement across all grades and the ongoing shift of curricular content to earlier grades. It has been intensified by the more recent Race to the Top and Common Core Standards initiatives. Frost (2007) warned that we are facing the ―perfect storm‖ in early childhood education with ―1) the standardization of education; 2) the dissolution of traditional spontaneous play; and 3) the growing specter of poverty in the United States and around the world.‖ (p. 225). This study seeks to understand the nature of early childhood pedagogy in Head Start classrooms subsequent to the implementation of these education reform initiatives.

Literature Review Head Start When looking at the pedagogical approaches used by Head Start teachers, it is important to understand the goals of Head Start preschools. Head Start is a United States government-funded preschool program for children from lowsocioeconomic-status families. It was implemented in 1965 to help alleviate social problems associated with people living in poverty and has since evolved to be considered a program that provides school readiness skills to children in the areas of cognitive and social/emotional development (Nemeth, 2011; Office of Head Start, 2010). The Head Start learning framework provided to grantees is comprised of eleven domains. The eight original domains were social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language development, literacy knowledge and skills, mathematics knowledge and skills, science knowledge and skills, physical development and health, and creative arts expression. In 2011, three domains were added: logic and reasoning, social studies knowledge and skills, and English language development. The latter applies only to students who are dual language learners and who speak a language other than English at home. Grantees are expected to use the learning framework in developing curriculum and assessments. While the emphasis is on school readiness, the Department of Health and Human Services also requires that Head Start programs use developmentally appropriate activities and that teachers consider the needs of individual students in their classrooms when planning instruction (Office of Head Start, 2010). Clearly, Head Start preschool teachers face a particularly difficult challenge in the current standards-driven climate because they are responsible for the learning of children who are economically disadvantaged. Their students may come from homes where parents can provide fewer educational resources, and, as a result, the children start preschool with fewer academic skills than those from more advantaged backgrounds. Further, Head Start students are likely to thrive in an educational environment that is initially socially/emotionallysupportive rather than academically-demanding (Ginsburg, 2007). They benefit from time to adapt to the education setting and from positive educational experiences that help them become confident learners who enjoy attending school (Emfinger, 2009; Fantuzzo, Sekino & Cohen, 2004; Miller & Almon, 2009). Head Start teachers also must be cognizant of the ongoing debate regarding the amount of time children spend in play and playful activities versus teacher-led instruction, and the types of teacher-led instruction that are developmentally appropriate in early childhood (Gewertz, 2010; Graue, 2009; Nicolopoulou, 2010). When learning standards and the movement to increase rigor in the classroom reached the early childhood grades, concerns were raised about how teachers would meet the standards and still maintain methods of instruction that are appropriate for the children they teach.

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction Developmentally appropriate instruction is an approach to teaching based on professional standards that guide pedagogical practices in early childhood classrooms (Coppel & Bredekamp, 2009). These standards address the importance of research-based pedagogy that meets the individual needs of young children and encourages intellectual growth. There is concern that current early childhood curriculum and materials do not allow for the students to have the open engagement with their environment that is needed for them to develop an interest in learning (Armstrong, 2007). Time for these child-led activities is often reduced when teachers are focused on meeting academic standards and it is the activities chosen by the child that help them develop selfregulation skills as they create and follow their own rules of play (Elias & Berk, 2002). Parents and school administrators, in particular, may not understand the importance of play in developing skills that can lead to later success in school (Graue, 2009). They generally worry about children passing tests rather than having opportunities to learn skills. However, Head Start teachers report understanding that social-emotional development is essential for academic learning (Powell, Diamond, Bojczyk, & Gerde, 2008). Some research conducted prior to the 1990s provided support for direct instruction in preschool classrooms (Camilli, Vargas, Ryan, & Barnett, 2010). However, there are few recent studies of direct instruction because the movement for developmentally appropriate instruction in early childhood in the 1990s changed pedagogical practices. Camilli et al. (2010) report that researchers have found that inquiry-based activities where children construct knowledge with the guidance of a teacher result in greater learning than the use of direct instruction where the teacher drills basic concepts until the students remember them. Their meta-analysis also found that children who received instruction individually or in small groups showed greater learning. This study fills a gap in the existing literature by exploring the pedagogical approaches Head Start preschool teachers use to meet increasingly rigorous curriculum requirements and higher expectations for student learning. This was accomplished through interviews with teachers to determine how they reconcile adherence to developmentally appropriate classroom practices and the need to meet established standards.

Method The grounded theory approach to data collection and analysis was used for this study. Grounded theory is one of several qualitative research methods that seek to understand the nature of human actions and interactions through nonnumeric organization and interpretation of data (Glaser, 1978; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The purpose of the grounded theory method is construction or extension of theory through exploration and description of data using principles of symbolic

interactionism. This theoretical perspective assumes that people respond to events based on their individual and socially-constructed shared meanings.

Investigators and Participants The authors are members of a school of education at a large urban campus in the Northeast United States. Our college, and in particular the School of Education, is vitally interested in outreach to the urban community, especially to schools and teachers who provide services to minority and disadvantaged children. Further, recruitment of minority students into our programs has long been a priority. Recently, an initiative was undertaken by the college to accommodate Head Start teachers who, for the first time, are facing stricter degree requirements to stay in their jobs. These teachers are generally unable to attend college courses scheduled during the day because of their full-time teaching positions, so the college added evening, weekend, and summer sections of courses to enable these teachers to continue working while they pursue a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in early childhood education. The eight teachers interviewed for this study had from four to eighteen years of experience in early childhood education, with an average of about ten years of experience across the group. Five of the teachers reported having a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and four of them had an associateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree. All of the teachers interviewed were female, were enrolled in the early childhood education program at the college, and worked in local Head Start programs. Theoretical sensitivity of the investigators has been developed through review of current and historical literature, classroom observations, conversations with early childhood stakeholders, previous research experiences, and our teaching experiences.

Data Collection For this study, semi-structured interviews lasting about one hour each were conducted to explore how Head Start teachers teach their preschool students. Specifically, we were interested in how they choose pedagogical methods that are developmentally appropriate and would facilitate the type of learning expected by established standards. We started the interview by asking questions such as: Tell us about your classroom. Tell us about the classroom schedule on a typical day. What activities take place in your classroom? Which of those activities do you find the children enjoy most? We then asked follow-up probing questions based on their responses. In addition to the interview, each teacher was asked to complete a questionnaire asking for contact information, the number of years of experience at Head Start, and credentials the teacher has earned.

Approval to conduct this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board. A consent form was signed by each teacher interviewed. It stated that participation in the study was voluntary, the teacher could refuse to answer any interview question, and that participation in the study could be discontinued at any point.

Data Analysis In the grounded theory approach, data analysis is performed by breaking down and reassembling verbatim data through constant comparison in order to describe a human process. This is accomplished by linking the key concepts present in the data according to the properties and dimensions that exist in discrete categories. This results in a collection of categories which are described through statements of their relationships. The relationships explain who, what, when, where, and how the process would be manifested. The final product is a theoretical whole that explains and predicts how people solve the problem addressed in the study—a grounded theory. The theory is not considered to be a definitive explanation of human behavior, but is instead a modifiable tool available for use in future research. All the interviews in this study were recorded and then fully transcribed, verbatim. The transcriptions were reviewed for accuracy. During substantive coding a systematic line-by-line review of the full transcriptions was conducted using constant comparison to assign codes, develop conceptual categories, and identify a core variable. Substantive coding was followed by theoretical coding using coding families to relate substantive codes to each other in terms of their properties and dimensions – including strategies used by teachers, types of instructional activities, classroom organization, instructional goals, and conflicts teachers faced about their instructional practices. Memos were written throughout the analysis process for later theoretical sorting. Findings from the analysis of the interview data were confirmed in two ways. First, the authors reviewed the identified codes and categories independently to confirm that they had similar findings. Second, the authors invited the participants to meet to discuss the findings. Three of the teachers attended the meeting and agreed that the findings accurately explained their approaches to instruction in their classrooms.

Findings The initial conceptual categories identified during substantive coding included Planning, Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, Play, Teacher’s role, Students, Parent input, Administrator input, and Teacher Training. These preliminary categories had clear connections to the topics addressed in the interview questions. During theoretical coding, the core category and basic social psychological process ―facilitating learning‖ emerged. The process included three other categories: ―choosing a setting,‖ ―deciding content,‖ and ―addressing other

viewpoints‖ and explains the pedagogical approaches Head Start preschool teachers use to meet increasingly rigorous curriculum requirements and higher expectations for student learning. Coding families were utilized to develop the properties and dimensions of the categories and the connections between them. Through a careful theoretical sorting of the memos, a rich non-linear integration of the categories was achieved for this report of the research. The following sections describe the findings, by category, and discuss the relationships among them. Facilitating Learning The Head Start teachers facilitated learning in four ways: free-choice play, incidental teaching opportunities, play-like activities, and direct instruction. These can be viewed along a continuum based on the degree of control the students have in the activity and the amount of effort on the part of the teacher to facilitate learning. The students had the greatest amount of control in freechoice play and the effort by the teacher was limited to providing appropriate and engaging materials. At the other end of the continuum, the students had little control, if any, during direct instruction and it required the greatest effort by the teacher who had to plan the activity, create any materials needed, and lead the instruction. Between those extremes were incidental teaching opportunities and play-like activities. Incidental teaching opportunities were spontaneous occasions for instruction that were generally unplanned by the teacher and during which students typically had little control over the activity, but were willing to participate. The students also had little control over, but were willing to participate in, the play-like activities. The play-like activities required effort by the teacher in creating materials and planning the action that would take place during the activity. Free-choice play. In free-choice play the children were generally able to move around the classroom, choosing the area of the room in which they played, the classmates with whom they would play, and the classroom materials they used. Teachers reported three ways that they used free-choice play to facilitate learning: to observe students’ skills, develop attachments with students, and allow students to learn independently. First, teachers observed the children during free-choice play to determine their knowledge and skills in all areas of development to help design future instructional activities. In this way, the teachers identified curriculum content that the child was ready to learn or areas where she felt the child seemed to be behind and could benefit from activities to move that development forward: I stand off to the side and write down what I see and what I hear to find out where their skill is and where their level of skill is. [Later] I teach only through the small group. Now I sit back and let them play in different areas and I’ll just jot down what I see.

Another way the teachers used observation of free-choice play was to determine whether students had gained understandings from prior instruction: Their play to me is just as important as their play to them because, again, it allows me to see where they are, if any growth has taken place from what I’ve said to them as far as introducing things to them. The second way that teachers reported using free-choice play to facilitate learning was to play with the children to develop an emotional attachment and sense of trust. Teachers believed that because of this bond, students would be more willing to do the classroom activities that they enjoyed less, such as direct instruction: So I think that bonding through play with your children is… once you bond with them you can get them to learn whatever you want them to learn because they trust you even when they don’t want to sit there and don’t want to do numbers. But if they trust you and you bring them over to your small group and you make it like a game they are going to learn from whatever you’re putting in front of them. The third way teachers used free-choice play to facilitate learning was based on their belief that children can learn during independent activities without any planning or control by the teacher: When they’re playing, they’re learning so many other things. They’re learning to sort, they’re learning to put things in order, they’re learning one-to-one correspondence. They learn to put pegs in, make patterns. They learn a lot through playing. Incidental teaching opportunities. During incidental teaching opportunities, the Head Start teachers facilitated learning by integrating instruction into other activities in the classroom. This was generally not planned ahead by the teacher, but through her knowledge of the curriculum she could engage the child in learning if the opportunity did arise. Teachers sometimes chose to use a play activity they observed to teach a concept. In this way, they changed free-choice play into an incidental teaching opportunity – as control moved from the child to the teacher. If I was in the kitchen cooking I would be sitting at the table with them and as they were cooking I would be talking about the color of the food, the type of food we are eating. Or if I was in the math center with them I would be counting with them or talking about what it is that they have. If they had a snake I’d be asking questions. What is a snake? How does a snake crawl or walk? Does a snake have legs? Incidental learning may also take place during day-to-day classroom procedures. One teacher described an opportunity she had to practice counting while putting materials away with one of the students: We were putting the stuff from dramatic play away and he was putting the bottles away. I go, ―Wait a second, how many do we have?‖

Incidental instruction required that teachers have both an awareness of the concepts in the curriculum and knowledge of topics which individual students may be interested in learning more about: They made a garage with the cars and everything, so we talked about how an engine works, which way tires spin, how many tires are on a car, how many tires are on an 18-wheeler. Play-like activities. Play-like activities were used by the teachers to engage children in learning in ways the teacher assumed the children would enjoy. Play-like activities were different from free-choice play because they were planned by the teacher to teach specific concepts and the student was not free to choose how the action unfolded during the activity. No, we don’t do dittos, don’t do worksheets. No, it’s all fun through games. I might make a game out of the animals. Say I had the animals; I would put it on a file folder game and the children will match those animals. We would sit at a table with all the friends and say, ―Well what kind of animal is this?‖ Teachers also used the planned play-like activities to assess student skills so they could plan future instruction for the child in concepts or skills they lacked: Some children have problems even in skipping and we want to allow the children to be able to do all the physical things that they are supposed to be doing at a certain age. So we will play a game just to see if the children are able to skip, not with pulling them out and just saying, ―Can you skip for me?‖ because a lot of the children don’t even know what skipping is. But you know we will put on a song, a CD, if we want to see if the kids are capable of doing this. Skip to my Lou, we will play that game. And the children, they just think it’s a game, but we’re analyzing and observing those children and we are looking at them to see what they can do at this age. The teachers found that the children enjoyed learning through the play-like activities more than through direct instruction. I put five or six sight words across the table and I’ll say a sentence and we have fly swatters that I put little characters on and I’ll say when you hear that word you need to swat that word and they love that one. So we do that most often because I know that’s what they love. But if I just say come over, like we learned farm words this week so it was farm, cow, there was chicken, and I wrote a list of it and we talked about the letters and they just kind of sat there and I said we are going to see these tomorrow. And they were like, ―Whatever.‖ Teachers viewed these play-like activities as a way to lead children to focus on having fun while they were also learning. We have this awesome game this year and its shapes and colors and we have them sorting and they don’t understand that they are learning their shapes and their colors; they’re just playing a game.

Direct instruction. In direct instruction, fully planned teacher-led activities were used to facilitate learning. In these activities, the teachers controlled the students’ actions and students had little choice in how they engaged in the activity: Sometimes you just need them to sit down and learn something that they can’t learn through play. If they just played all day long they’d be running wild and, yes, they are learning through play, but they also need to sit and listen to the teacher. Teachers often used direct instruction to teach specific skills to students who they had identified as lacking those skills: I do call certain kids over. For the most part, I say, ―Okay this is what I’m doing in this small group today.‖ Then I’ll say, ―My first group – I’d like to have this one, this one, and this one. So when you’re done with what you’re doing over there will you please come over to my table?‖ At the beginning of the year if I want to work on a certain group with certain skills it was more, ―Okay you have five minutes then you need to come over.‖ At this point they know they have their time to play and then they are going to come over. Direct instruction was more often used to teach the older students in the class. The teachers reported that four year old students should know more than the three year old students, particularly because they would soon be entering kindergarten: I concentrate more on the cognitive development for my four year olds than for my three year olds. Like I said, I always expose it to them but I expect more out of my four year olds than I did my three year olds this year. I do believe there should be some structure to get them ready for kindergarten. They have to know to start sitting; that they can’t just get up and go all the time. Teachers reported that the students did not enjoy direct instruction as much as the other methods used to facilitate instruction during which the students had more control, so they avoided forcing them to participate in direct instruction activities: If they turn it off, I usually just let them go. I’m not going to force them because if you force them, the next time you try again to do it they’re going to turn it off. Choosing Setting The Head Start teachers facilitated learning by choosing the setting in which instruction would take place in their classrooms. They had to decide whether learning would be optimized by doing an activity with individual students, a small group of students, or the whole class. Choosing the setting for instruction primarily applied to play-like activities and direct instruction. Individual instruction. In individual one-to-one instruction, the teacher, or the classroom aide under the teacher’s direction, worked with one student. This approach to teaching was most commonly used when a student had an

Individualized Education Program (IEP), which required that specific goals be reached with that student, or when a student had a unique gap in knowledge or skills. The teachers reported minimizing individual instruction, when possible, because other students might judge that individual as being less capable than the rest of the class: I don’t like to do one-on-one unless I absolutely have to because everybody knows why so and so is sitting over with the teacher. What don’t they know? The older kids know that if you’re one on one, that the child isn’t understanding something. One teacher said she chose a small group setting for instruction instead, whenever possible, so that the individual child who has been identified as needing the instruction did not feel singled out. I do know that some of our children do need the one-on-one but if they are comfortable with another child playing or interacting with them I would prefer to do it like that because I don’t really like putting children on the spot, making them feel like this is something they have to do. But again I do feel that children learn on different levels and I just think we just have to pick and choose to do what is best for that child. Small group instruction. The most common setting for facilitating learning in the Head Start classrooms was small group instruction. Teachers often used playlike activities with a small group of selected students, often chosen because there was a concept that the teacher believed they all needed to learn. Some things are better in small groups, some things aren’t. It just depends on what it is. If the child is struggling, I find sometimes small groups are a little bit better. If I have three kids that are struggling with recognizing the color blue I find that if during play time I bring a small group over and do an activity that concentrates around blue; then sometimes that’s a little bit better. Teachers often reported conducting direct instruction in a small group setting because it allowed them to confirm the students were learning something new each day. Each teacher will take a group and on a daily basis each teacher is working with a small group of kids but one may be working with math skills, another may be working with reading skills and so forth. We are all working with different skills so in the run of the day we know that those children have gotten more out of their day than just sitting on a rug playing or going outside. Whole class instruction. Learning was facilitated in the Head Start classrooms through whole class activities such as circle time and reading to the children. The teachers reported that circle time was an opportunity to share news with the class, to supervise the development of social skills, and to review concepts: In circle time we sing good morning to everybody, everybody says their names. I have the Number Rock [song] which is kind of jazzy and fun and I have a big chart and as they are all singing I’m pointing to the

numbers going from 1 to 20, and I have a couple parents there singing along with us. Teachers reported limiting the length of circle time to accommodate the developmental needs of the young children. That is about fifteen minutes. I cannot have a circle longer than fifteen minutes. The children are too young; they get too antsy. Teachers generally did not expect students to gain much knowledge during the whole class activities, but they saw it as an efficient way to introduce concepts that would be learned in more depth in a small group activity at another time: We will touch on something in a large group circle and especially for the ones that we see we will intervene with all the children in small group. Deciding Content Head Start teachers facilitated student learning by designing instruction to address specific content. They used three sources of information to determine the concepts they would teach the children. These include the Head Start Creative Curriculum, their understanding of the child’s current knowledge, and the contents of the kindergarten readiness test that students typically take at the end of their last year in preschool. Creative Curriculum. The curriculum provided by Head Start gives teachers very specific information about the concepts and skills the students should be learning: We have the Creative Curriculum and the Creative Curriculum has fifty goals in there, and in those fifty goals there is three stages and its step one, two, and three. Step one is the beginner, and that’s usually when they’re first starting out. If the child is coming in for the second or third year then they would naturally be not at the beginning stages; they would be at the more or less that second stage or the accomplished stage. Teachers saw the Creative Curriculum as a resource to create developmentally appropriate activities, rather than using direct instruction. At the same time, they saw it as limiting their options to facilitate learning through means they would like to use: Creative Curriculum is only play, you don’t instruct them, you don’t question, you don’t ask them like ―Let’s count to ten.‖ With Creative Curriculum I guess you’re not really supposed to do that. We are not supposed to teach them how to write their name by just giving them a piece of paper and saying ―Okay write your name.‖ But you never show them the letters on how to write their names because we’re not really supposed to teach them the alphabet. The curriculum included assessments that teachers could use to identify the specific skills to work on with each child. We have progress and planning reports and we mark them on the computer and we mark what stage they are and if they have not accomplished the first stage then there is another set that’s the forerunners. We do ESI’s through the year. It’s called an Early Screening

Inventory. I would take you in the room and it’s a fifteen minute inventory. We would do the ESI on them and see the progress they’ve made. We see where they are and things we can work on the next time with them. Child’s current knowledge. Teachers did not rely entirely on the Creative Curriculum to choose the concepts and skills the students should learn. Their estimation of the child’s current knowledge was also important in facilitating learning in their classrooms: We have the opportunity to pick and choose our activities. Sometimes the activities that are given in the Creative Curriculum, sometimes our children are past that and we have to be creative to kind of use that same curriculum, but in a more advanced way to meet the needs of our children. The teacher’s knowledge of child development, in general, was combined with their understanding of each child’s individual ability when facilitating learning. In particular, the teachers mentioned adjusting the instruction based on the needs they perceived of different aged groups of students. I think this curriculum is awesome for the twos and early threes, but when you’re talking about kids at four they need more structure and more to challenge them. You can’t challenge them if they’re just playing and then they start to get bored and then you get behaviors. When asked whether the expectations of the Creative Curriculum were appropriate for her students, another teacher described how she uses her familiarity with a child to individualize the curriculum: Sometimes I think they’re a little bit too much. For a two year, nine month I think it is a little bit high, but we have two year, nine months that are Einsteins, so, I mean, I think it depends on the child. Okay, I think you actually just individualize for the child and then give them a chance. We’re the teachers that are with them every day and even if something in their assessments say we’ll bring them to this level, I know if they’re ready to go there or not. You know what I mean? And if they’re not, I’m not going to push them to something that’s going to frustrate them. Kindergarten readiness goals. The teachers were particularly concerned about preparing their four year old students for kindergarten and reported that they believed a student’s performance on a kindergarten readiness assessment was a reflection of the quality of their teaching. This influenced the ways they facilitated learning with their students: So I always feel pressured because I make sure they learn what they are supposed to learn. I ask every parent every year, ―How did they screen? Did they screen higher?‖ And if they did screen a little lower I worry -Oh my God did I not teach them that? Did they not get it from me? I really do think it is a reflection of my teaching.

They used their understanding of the current expectations of students in kindergarten classrooms to guide instruction of the older students in their classroom. One teacher reported: I’ve developed my teaching the way that I know that they are going to get the skills that they need for kindergarten. I know they are going to know their ABC’s, I know they are going to know their numbers, I know they are going to see sight words and know how to read it because I have my certain ways that I do that. I’m hoping it sticks with them. And when I have my parent-teacher conferences I tell them what I do and I give them ideas, ―Here do this with them at home.‖ Another teacher said: I am big on literacy and I know that literacy is big in the standards and school now so I really want my kids to go to kindergarten with a big variety of literacy skills. Preparing the students for kindergarten resulted in the teachers separating the younger students from the older students, so that those who would be entering kindergarten could receive instruction in the specific skills they would need: Sometimes we have three and four year olds, so we know the four year olds are going to kindergarten so we try to do activities that gear the kids to get to kindergarten separate. Then we do the other activities also, but we don’t do them all at once because the kids that are going to kindergarten, they need to know how to write their name.

Addressing Other Viewpoints The Head Start teachers reported that they consider the viewpoints of the administrators of their Head Start center and the parents of their students when they choose how they will facilitate learning in their classrooms. During the interviews, several of the teachers mentioned receiving feedback from others about their methods of teaching. Most frequently they mentioned differing viewpoints about whether activities in a preschool classroom should focus primarily on direct academic instruction or learning through free-choice play. Administrators. Several teachers stated that their understanding about the likelihood that children could learn through free-choice play differed from their administrators’ viewpoint. Most of the teachers believed they valued learning through play more than the administrators at their center. I listen to what they have to say and then I explain my reasoning after as to why I believe they should play. Then, honestly, when they leave I do what I want, within reason obviously. A lot of times they say there is too much but it fits into my routine, fits into the rules so… I listen and I try to explain and sometimes they are understanding and sometimes the administrators, they don’t understand and they come with their philosophy and we just agree to disagree a lot of times.

There were some teachers who reported their administrators encouraged them to use more free-choice play, but they preferred to facilitate learning through play-like activities or direct instruction: They just think it is over their head, it is too much. But I don’t think it is because, you know, they are getting familiar with the days of the week. We have songs for that, and okay maybe they are not grasping the concept, but they are learning something. You know I am pointing and they are getting familiar with the letters and the numbers. A few of the teachers reported that due to a Head Start policy change, they were discouraged from using the calendar as an instructional tool during circle time, as they had in the past, because it was too abstract for the students and, therefore, developmentally inappropriate: Two years ago we got a thing in our mailbox explaining why you shouldn’t do calendar. One of the supervisors doesn’t like it. They haven’t ended it, but they don’t like it. Our supervisors don’t and they put a thing in there claiming that the kids don’t understand yesterday, they don’t understand today, and that some kids actually have a fear when you get to the end of the numbers that there is no more. I guess there have been studies on it – that once they see the last number on the calendar they get scared. They get confused because they don’t understand that there is actually another month and there is more numbers. We actually got this pretty good article on it but… Parents. While parents do not set policies for Head Start classrooms, the teachers felt obligated to address any concerns the parents raised. Unlike students in other school settings, preschool students are brought to their classroom each day by a caregiver, increasing the interaction between parents and teachers and, thereby, the influence of parents on classroom practices. Many of the teachers mentioned that parents wanted greater emphasis on direct instruction than the teachers would generally include in their facilitation of learning. Parents don’t like when kids go home and they ask their kids ―What did you do all day?‖ and the kids say ―Play.‖ Parents are like ―All they do is play in here all day.‖ You know what -- for a good part of the day, yes, they do just play. Because the parents don’t understand that kids learn, they learn from play, they learn everything, every area that I told you that we have to develop with them they learn during play. They learn it from each other they learn it by themselves. They learn problem solving. These are all steps towards higher skills and parents just don’t understand. Teachers reported appeasing parents and attempting to increase the parents’ engagement in the children’s education by providing them with worksheets to use at home, even though they would not use them in the classroom. The agency or administrators, they would prefer if we not even use a worksheet. We want the child’s idea and mainly that’s what we do in the classroom. It’s just that sometimes the parents don’t understand that we allow the children to be creative because the parents are looking for that more instructional activity thing. So we do it to kind of meet the needs of

the parents and make them feel like they are getting involved. But what we do in the classroom is based upon that child’s creativity. It is really based on the creativity of the child and really to tell you the truth the worksheets are something we do just to get the parents involved. Some teachers reported that parents pushed for more academic learning because they were concerned about the children being prepared for kindergarten. Parents today very much worry because school is hard now and the standards in school are harder and they’re higher so they want their kids going to kindergarten reading. Teachers did not always meet parents’ requests for more emphasis on direct instruction. Instead they explained to parents that some forms of instruction, such as traditional worksheets which require specific answers, are not developmentally appropriate. I know we have a very difficult time explaining to the parents why we do not do dittos. They want them to do dittos; they want them to sit down and do more structure and we try to explain to them that you don’t need a ditto to know how to write your name, you don’t need a ditto to know your numbers and colors.

Discussion We interviewed Head Start teachers to determine the approaches to teaching they used in their classrooms. We wanted to know how they helped their students learn in the current early childhood education climate where there is an increased emphasis on academic instruction to meet learning standards. The core category and basic social psychological process that emerged from the data was facilitating learning. We found that the primary goal of all the teachers was to make sure their students were learning the skills and concepts they were expected to gain in preschool. They used free-choice play, incidental teaching opportunities, play-like activities, and direct instruction in their classrooms to help the children learn. In the play-like activities and direct instruction, the teachers conducted planned lessons with individual students, small groups of students, or the whole class. They chose the concepts and skills to teach the students using Head Start’s Creative Curriculum and their familiarity with the gaps in the students’ knowledge and skills. The teachers’ facilitation of learning was also influenced by the expectations of their Head Start center administrators and the parents of their students. In general, the findings from this study show that the teachers interviewed used empirically and professionally recommended practices (Ashiabi, 2007; Hanley, Tiger & Ingvarsson, 2009; Lee, 2006). For most instruction, teachers planned lessons that used play-like activities. Occasionally they facilitated learning during children’s free-choice play, changing those child directed activities to incidental teaching opportunities. These approaches to teaching are appropriate because they allow preschool students to engage in activities they enjoy as they construct knowledge (Gronlund, 2001).

Implications Utilizing play and play-like activities as the primary means of preschool instruction can provide more enjoyable learning experiences for the students. In order to do that, and avoid resorting to didactic methods, the teachers must feel confident that this approach provides children with everything they need to learn and teachers must have the pedagogical skills to implement learning though play (Nicolopoulou, 2010; Trawick-Smith & Dziurgot , 2010). Further, while all of the Head Start teachers reported valuing developmentally appropriate classroom practices, they did not always feel they had the option to structure classroom activities exactly in the way they believed best served the developmental needs of their students. Their own concerns about their students’ performance on kindergarten readiness assessments, along with comments from parents and directives from supervisors, pushed them to include direct instruction of academic skills rather than allowing learning to unfold through the mechanism most natural to the children they teach – play (Brooker, 2011; Emfinger, 2009; Ginsburg, 2007; Miller & Almon, 2009). Research about the influence of administrators and parents on Head Start teachers’ classroom pedagogical practices is clearly an important next step. Studying the conflicts among preschool stakeholders about what are appropriate instructional methods for young children can reveal the reasons behind them and lead to effective ways to address them. It may be found that administrators and parents are less aware of appropriate preschool teaching methods (Stephen, 2010) and may need information about best practices with young children so that they can provide more informed feedback to teachers and influence instruction in ways that support children’s enjoyment of learning. This is particularly critical as children start their formal education. Overall the findings from this study may not be unexpected, but they are important. This study, uniquely, looked at Head Start teachers perspectives on instruction across the Head Start learning framework. While it was not the intent of this study to develop a typology of Head Start classroom activities, the findings can provide teachers with some guidance in designing instruction. Figure 1 provides a conceptual construct based on our findings that summaries the strategies teachers can consider as they organize learning opportunities in their classrooms. Teachers are provided with a framework for planning instruction that includes facilitating learning, choosing instructional settings, and deciding lesson content. As they identify the skills and knowledge they want their students to gain, they can consider the types of activities and settings that would be most effective to meet those goals. Should a particular skill be gained through discovery within free play or through a teacher-led play-like activity? Should small groups be used for instruction? If so, how should those groups be formed, and, specifically, which students should work together? This type of planning exemplifies intentional teaching, a current movement in education which encourages early childhood teachers to share responsibility for learning with their young students and to both plan for organized learning experiences and recognize unplanned opportunities for teaching in their

classrooms (Epstein, 2014). Through this mindful planning, teachers can develop effective, fun, and developmentally appropriate instruction that addresses the needs of individual students and prepares them for the classroom structure and instruction they will encounter in later grades. Finally, it is important to note that although the teachers interviewed for this study typically used professionally recommended practices, some of them revealed a lack of awareness of the subtle ways learning changes as children move from free-choice play, where the children have control of their activities, to incidental teaching led by the teacher, and then to play-like activities entirely planned by the teacher. While the teachers recognized that most students do not like direct instruction, some of them assumed that children were not bothered by the interruptions of their free-choice play for incidental instruction as well as the play-like activities. Even though these are designed by teachers to be fun and play-like, they must be sensitive to studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reactions to teacher-imposed activities. If they are not, student degree of engagement, and thereby the amount of learning, is reduced. Teachers must consider whether children can learn more by being immersed in uninterrupted free-choice play instead (Gray, 2013).

FACILITATING LEARNING Basic Social Psychological Process Greater student influence on activity

1. Free-Choice Play 2. Incidental Teaching Opportunities 3. Play-Like Activities 4. Direct Instruction

Greater teacher effort to plan activity

CHOOSING A SETTING How does the teacher decide how the students will learn? Individual Student Small Group Whole Class

ADDRESSING OTHER VIEWPOINTS Who influences the teacher’s choices? Administrators Parents

Figure 1. Approaches to teaching used in Head Start classrooms.

Relevance and Limitation of Findings Head Start policies, curricula, teacher training, and the role of parents are generally uniform across the country, so interviews of other groups of Head Start teachers may have findings similar to those from this study. While our participants were enrolled in a teacher preparation program at our institution, they had a number of years teaching experience and had established beliefs about effective instruction of their own. Also, they volunteered to participate in this study and were not chosen based on their philosophies about teaching in their classrooms.

References Armstrong, T. (2007). The curriculum superhighway. Educational Leadership, 64(8), 16-20. Ashiabi, G. (2007). Play in the preschool classroom: Its socioemotional significance and the teacher’s role in play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(2), 199-207. Brooker, L. (2011). Taking children seriously: An alternative agenda for research? Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(2), 137-149. Brown, C. P. (2010). Balancing the readiness equation in early childhood education reform. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 8(2), 133-160. Camilli, G., Vargas, S., Ryan, S., & Barnett, W. S. (2010). Meta-analysis of the effects of early education interventions on cognitive and social development. The Teachers College Record, 112(3): 579–620. Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2009). Basics of developmentally appropriate practice: An introduction for teachers of children 3 to 6. Washington, D.C.: NAEYC. Elias, C. L., & Berk, L. E. (2002). Self-regulation in young children: Is there a role for sociodramatic play? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17(2), 216-238. Emfinger, K. (2009). Numerical conceptions reflected during multiage child-initiated pretend play. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 36(4), 326-334. Epstein, A.S. (2014). The intentional teacher: Choosing the best strategies for young children’s learning. Washington, D.C.:National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Fantuzzo, J., Sekino, Y., & Cohen, H. L. (2004). An examination of the contributions of interactive peer play to salient classroom competencies for urban Head Start children. Psychology in the Schools, 41(3), 323-336. Frost, J. (2007). The changing culture of childhood: A perfect storm. Childhood Education, 83(5), 225-230. Gewertz, C. (2010). Potential for both value and harm seen in K-3 common standards. Education Week, 29(28), 1-20. Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics 119(1), 182-191. Glaser, B. G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity. Mill Valley, CA: The Sociology Press. Graue, E. (2009). Reimagining kindergarten. School Administrator, 66(10), 10-15. Gray, P. (2013). The play deficit. Aeon Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/children-today-are-suffering-asevere-deficit-of-play/ Gronlund, G. (2001). Rigorous academics in preschool and kindergarten? Yes! Let me tell you how. Young Children, 56, 42-43. Hanley, G. P., Tiger, J. H., Ingvarsson E.T., & Cammilleri, A.P. (2009). Influencing preschoolers’ free-play activity preferences: An evaluation of satiation and embedded reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 33-41. Lee, J. S. (2006). Preschool teachers’ shared beliefs about appropriate pedagogy for 4year-olds. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 433-441. Miller, E. & Almon J. (2009). Crisis in the kindergarten: Why children need to play in school. College Park, Maryland: Alliance for Childhood. Nemeth, K. (2011). Head Start’s revised framework and resources. Teaching Young Children, 4(4), Nicolopoulou, A. (2010). The alarming disappearance of play from early childhood education Human Development, 53, 1–4. Office of Head Start. (2010). Head Start development and early learning framework: Promoting positive outcomes in early childhood programs serving children 3-5 years old. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved from: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/eecd/Assessment/Chil d%20Outcomes/HS_Revised_Child_Outcomes_Framework(rev-Sept2011).pdf Powell, D. R., Diamond, K. E., Bojczyk, K. E., & Gerde, H. G. (2008). Head Start teachers' perspectives on early literacy. Journal of Literacy Research, 40, 422-460. Stephen, C. (2010). Pedagogy: the silent partner in early years learning. Early Years 30(1), 15-28. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory, procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Trawick-Smith, J & Dziurgot, T. (2010). Untangling teacher–child play interactions: Do teacher education and experience influence ―good-fit‖ responses to children’s play? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 32, 106-128.

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 20-38, November 2015

A Grounded Theory Study of Learning Patterns of Asian Students in Higher Education Abu Bakar Institute of Education, University of Worcester, United Kingdom Abstract. A large chunk of studies has focused on variations in students‟ learning approaches and issues in higher education (HE). The issues to learning in HE have been extensively investigated from perspective of Chinese students. However, the question is to what extent studies exist which can identify the patterns in which other Asian students alongside those with a Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) find themselves comfortable when learning in HE in the United Kingdom (UK). The current study examines the learning patterns of Chinese (CHC), Indian and Pakistani (non-CHC) students from their prior learning (PL) experiences, the major academic issues they face, and how differently they consider the very process of learning in the UK. Data was collected through 3 phases of semi-structured in-depth interviews (and interpreted with personal narratives) from 24 students from the three sample countries, currently studying in the UK. Qualitative-narrative analysis of data using Grounded Theory (GT) revealed that Indian and Pakistani students along with other Chinese face similar challenges in coping with learning (patterns) independently in the UK. Similarly they equally feel the need towards lingual inadequacy and lack of academic writing support, surrounding their learning patterns. Asian students also consider HE learning as part of a process that require essential teaching. The key to the study is based on students‟ own perceptions of the learning patterns they find significant in HE in order to promote the process of learning. Keywords: Confucian; higher education; language; independent learning; learning patterns.

Significance A record number of international students have entered the UK to study in the past few years (Coughlan, 2011). An overwhelming number of these international students arrived from Asian countries (HESA, 2010) where Chinese, Indian and Pakistani form the overall majority of Non-EU students (2011). The HESA statistics (2011) indicate that during the year 2009/10, the number of Chinese students in the UK was 56,990 and increased to 67,325 in © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

2010/11, while the number of Indian students was 56,990 and increased to 67,325 in 2010/11. At the same time, the number of Pakistani students was 9,815 in 2009/10 which increased to 10,185 in 2010/11. Hence this proportion made a total of Asian students‟ population of 105,305 in 2009/10 out of 280,760 and 116,600 out of 298,110 non-EU students (39.11%) in 2010/11. With these figures in perspective, the identification of learning patterns among Asian students and their PL history is significant in relation to their learning experiences in the UK. Although most recently, research studies mainly focused on Chinese and East Asian students of Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) (Wu, 2008; Tian, 2008; (McMahon, 2011)), it is increasingly becoming vital to bridge the gap in CHC and non-CHC Asian students‟ patterns of learning in the UK. Indeed, various factors (Fleming, 2007; Tian, 2008) and issues (Caruana & Spurling, 2007; Spronk, 2004) influence the way overseas students learn in HE, however the question about Asian students as one identity is yet unclear in literature. In the past decade, institutions in the UK have consistently struggled to recruit students with adequate language and learning skills. This was because many of the arriving students were initially facing language and learning issues. In response to these difficulties, United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) moved to tighten the immigration rules for overseas students (Home Office, 2011), even establishing rules to refuse entry to students with inadequate language skills at airports (Lotbiniere, 2012). These efforts coincided with a period of major funding cuts for universities by the UK Government. However, in order to attract overseas students, universities had to loosen the English language requirements and even set English language scores below the recommended standards (Mathews, 2012). Clearly there is/was tension between the need for universities to compensate for funding cuts and the need of students who value British HE to cope with the demand for academic rigour (Brooks & Walters, 2009). Instead of raising the entry standard to enable students to cope better with learning, the reverse has actually happened and the problem is likely to grow rather than decline. The current study adds to assess this issue by providing a better understanding of the students‟ learning patterns in the UK higher Education.

The Context The platitude, that quality education is essentially designed to generate learners who can promote theirs‟ learning experiences, begs the question about the quality of that education and the support those being educated receive to enable them to gain maximum benefit from education. Universities in the UK benefit in many ways, not least financially, from the presence of students from many countries, with a majority from Asian countries (HESA, 2011). However, studies largely report the learning experiences of Asian students without seeking students‟ perceptions to build a consensus on how they benefit from the learning experiences in the UK. To enable students to benefit more from quality © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

education also begs the question whether the nature and extent of the learning process is felt different among CHC students than Pakistani and Indian (nonCHC) students and what issues are of utmost importance which can support their process of learning in the UK. Identifying learning issues among overall Asian students who have been generalised as surface and rote learners in HE (Li, 2004: p.12; Huang, 2008) requires a research setting, involving both CHC and Non-CHC student where students‟ perceptions are heard in informal settings. The way to involve the practicing (learners) and the practiced (learning patterns) would add more value to the current research questions. A similar idea has narrowly been looked at in numerous studies. The majority of such studies have sampled Chinese and other east-Asian students (Wu, 2008; Tian, 2008; McMahon, 2011) ignoring perceptions of South Asian (non-CHC) students. Sovic‟s (2008) suggestion, that learners must be looked at from educational backgrounds in order to minimise the risk of arising misunderstanding, fits in context of the current study. This study adopts a generic approach to identify students‟ perceptions as “what they say” about the learning issues they find in context of studying in British HE and what lesson/s can be learnt from CHC and Non-CHC students history of PL in order to facilitate the learning process for those students at need. Taking the above studies in context, a better understanding of students‟ perceptions would help to explore their learning patterns in a diverse learning environment in the UK and reflect on a framework that will help in the development of a learning process.

Aims The aims of the study were two-fold in nature. First to explore how CHC and Non-CHC students consider learning in the UK and prior HE learning, and the issues of major concern in relation to aspects of academic and cultural settings; and secondly to identify a common ground for students issues of major concern to facilitate the learning process in which they are currently involved.

Literature Review The existence of learning issues stands in contrast to some studies that indicate the majority of Asian students are deep learners (Bilgin & Crowe, 2008) who prefer a student-centred approach to learning. In relation to a style of learning Kolb and Kolb (2005) illustrate that students can easily adopt their independent style within the initial two to three month period of their studying in an alien learning environment. While the common perception, that Asian students are more rote and passive learners, is also controversial (Exley, 2005; Hall, 2008; Siddiqui, 2006; Valiente, 2008), and has been disputed by many researchers including Biggs (1999 & 2003) and Tian (2008) etc. Cooper (2004) generalises the issue of a process of learning development to overall students in universities. Given these views, the increasing demand of testimony of students might convey a variety of messages about themselves; it might even suggest that the real problems have not yet been correctly explored or else have been © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

particularised to a specific group of students from CHC (Biggs, 1999); or else Asian students have been branded “surface learners” on the basis of their identities or else do not consider learning a process at all because learning is fed to them rather than taking the spoon to feed themselves (Smith, 2008). Whilst previous studies have looked narrowly at „learning issues‟ in relation to overall Asian (Pakistani, Chinese and Indian) students studying in the West (Adeeb, 1986; Carroll & Ryan, 2005). Some studies have only listed particular problems of overseas students in the UK (Merrick & Robinson, 2006; UKCOSA, 2006); others have only investigated similar challenges of East Asian students in another English-speaking country (Wu, 2008; Tian, 2008). Similarly HeijnePenninga et al. (2008) and Valiente (2008) have narrowly looked at coping issues among overseas students in western countries. The extent to which studies might exist with reference to learning patterns, one might argue that they have not previously been studied in relation to the current sample in UK-based institutions. Some genuine attempts have been made by Tian (2008), Wu (2008), McMahon (2011), Siddiqui (2006), Pritchard (2008), Prosser and Trigwell (1999), and Felder and Brent (2005) and many others. However the literature is still scattered in respect of identifying the core issues which undermine the very process of learning development among overall Asian students. Although teaching and learning (both) have considerable influence on the way in which students start and develop learning in HE (Kember et al., 2008; Reid et al., 2005 cited by Pritchard, 2008), there is a general agreement that different students adopt different ways of learning in different learning environments (Musa & Wood, 2003; Zeegers, 2004) and use different learning styles (Houghton, 2004) or else have different interpretations of the learning in different learning environments. However the perception that Asian students are highly influenced by a prior history of education is rooted in the conception of learning paradigms they inherit from their previous education settings (Mukhtar et al., 2011). Hence, adaptations of a certain learning style might arise as a result of PL patterns which could be encompassed by many other aspects. For example, Kolb and Kolb (2005) note; that “Many students enter higher education conditioned by their previous educational experiences to be passive recipients of what they are taught” (p.209). The understanding students‟ having about a different learning environment, as claimed in numerous prior studies (Kember et al., 2008; Entwistle & Smith, 2013; World Bank, 2000), may also have different connections in context of those students who find similar prior educational challenges (Wakeling, 2008). Such significance may be rooted in Liu‟s (2012) findings who claim that the aims of HE are not only to meet the assessment requirements but to learn and process information more effectively (Brownlee et al., 2009); and are bound to be studied from other social and educational aspects of other Asian students. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

The context of academic issues, i.e. lingual incompetence, PL patterns, and dependence on teachers, can be surpassed by the ways in which students approach their learning. For example, Barron et al. (2007) found lingual incompetence as a major factor in international students‟ discontinuation with their studies. Forland (2008) explains to the point that “that many studies outline that educational differences, cultural, lingual and social of international students must be looked at in order to enable them to gain maximum benefits from their achievement” (p.205) but very few studies come up with what needs to be done to end the gap in students prior history of learning and current education to promote learning as a process in HE. One way to start with the academic aspects may be to identify how students approach their learning in contrast to what style they adopt, and what they see as “issues” in HE. This debate, over learning approaches/styles, has been active for the last forty years where Kolb (1984), and Honey and Mumford (1992) tend to dominate. While some authors use them interchangeably, as Hinkel (2011) uses reading and literary with respect to the way students‟ learn, others are more specific as Franzoni & Assar (2009) specify learning styles to subjectspecific courses like linguistics and physics. Similarly Nicholls (2002) point out certain skills and mentions that students‟ approaches to learning encompasses intellectual skills (knowing how rather than knowing what); verbal skills (communication); cognitive skills (thinking and memorising); attitudes (concerned with emotions, social and cultural approaches to learning); and motor skills (required for physical tasks of learning) (pp.22-23). The case of CHC (in this case Chinese) with regard to such skills, on the ground of common practice in UK universities, is too vague (Edwards & Ran, 2006: p.4). Similarly the scenario of other Asian students (non-CHC type) is not viewed differently. As a result, a common perception that “Asian students as rote learners” has widely prevailed. This perception has jeopardised the learning process undertaken by overall Asian students, despite the notion of a high ratio of successful completion of studies by Asian students (Wakeling, 2008). Although the perception of „surface learners‟ is in itself widely controversial. For example, Gordon & Debus (2002) suggest that change in the current teaching and assessment methods will result in students acquiring deeper understanding of learning. This would mean that even surface learners can soon become deep learners, by gaining adequate English and study skills, enhancing the learning experiences of students (UKCOSA, 2006), through some institutional changes. The lack of lingual and other issues concerning less-developed study skills (academic aspects) are likely a result of alienness towards the requisite of language skills and cultural understanding (Sovic, 2008; Tan, 2011). However, similar problems originate from historical education of PL (Yorke & Longden, 2008) where students, according to Valiente (2008), simply accept the teacher‟ authority and knowledge. Teacher‟s authority may also dominate the traditional conception of teacher as „a hub of knowledge‟, often practiced in the form of spoon-feeding (Smith, 2008), and the result of such spoon-feeding „teacher© 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

centeredness‟ is seen in the shape of variant issues hindering the learning process among Asian students. Wakeling (2008) questioning the surface-learner label, during a study, found that overseas students were more critical than UK students in their first year of study, leaving a gap for further research to identify similarities, differences and educational background across intercultural group of students. It is vital that the overall number of students, in the first year, consider learning as a process of creating links with prior learning (Brownlee, et al., 2009) which, in the context of Asian students as „teacher-centeredness‟ (Valiente, 2008; Huang, 2008), is still disputed in the literature. Similarly, Cooper (2004), exploring the learning perceptions of Chinese students and Australian students, mentioned that Chinese students come from different educational and social environment and hence they cannot be expected to show similar patterns of learning (p.295) as western students. Cooper found that there are clear differences among Chinese students on their educational backgrounds (p.296). These differences may be similar to those of other non-CHC backgrounds. To understand this phenomenon of CHC and non-CHC on the grounds of PL history, it is vital to seek students‟ voices about the learning process development through the lens of issues and history of learning when studying in the UK.

Theoretical Framework A grounded theory approach was used in this study, and a constructivist framework (Charmaz, 2006) informs our findings as data was coded, analysed and themised (refer to Glaser & Strauss, 1967). A number of studies have drawn insights about the way Chinese students learn in HE (e.g. Tian, 2008; Wu, 2008 etc.), however there is no existence of grounding the data to locate a sample of diverse Asian, CHC and non-CHC, students studying in British HE institutions. This as a matter of conceptual categorisation did allow us to apply coded data to sensitise the emerging concepts underlying Asian (students) specific understandings of learning habits and coping mechanism of the learning issues. Given this, Charmaz (2006) points out that “Coding is the pivotal link between collecting data and developing an emergent theory to explain these data and define what is happening in the data and begin to grapple with what it means” (p.46). In this way the emerging theory, in this study, is grounded in the data when theoretical sampling reached a point of saturation resulting from reflection and revisiting the theory and thus refining it. The transcription of data was coded through NVIVO software which gave rise to further categories (see A.2) and concepts (again revisited in further phases), leading to a formation of theory. A brief graphical representation of process is shown below.

Diagram 1.1: Process of Grounded Theory used in the current study

Given our Grounded Theory approach, this study constructs the reality from within the data obtained from learnersâ&#x20AC;&#x; own understandings of learning and relevant academic issues.

Sample Chinese, Indian and Pakistani students were recruited, based on convenience sampling, in three British universities studying different programmes at undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) levels. The overall number of students, who were interviewed in the first phase, studying at University of Worcester, University of Edinburgh, and University College Birmingham, is shown in the following table 1.1. Table 1.1: List of interviewees with level of study in the UK Origin

Male

Female

Male

Female

Male

Female

Total

(UG)

(PG)

(Research)

India

China

Pakistan

Total

In phase-two, a total of 8 students were probed from the above sample and were selected based on their availability. While in the last phase-three, only 6 participants from the above table were interviewed for the purpose of clarification of issues identified in first and second phases.

Method In accordance with the sample, this study draws on qualitative data obtained from studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x; perceptions of learning in the UK which combines semistructured in-depth interviews with a three phase formula (Kvale, 2007), and personal narratives (Elliott, 2006) using a grounded approach, originally used by Glaser and Strauss whilst locating its sphere within its constructivist version ÂŠ 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

(Charmaz, 2006). This multi-method was designed to help the researcher combine personal experiences with those obtained from students‟ opinions. To obtain a portion of preliminary understanding of students‟ views about learning issues some generic questions were designed as an effective and useful way of data collection (Twigg, 2006: p.45). From this point the interviews sessions revolved around broader academic and learning aspects of studying in the UK. All interviewees consented voluntarily for all three phases of interviews. Phase-one was aimed to establish a consensus of how Asian students view learning in HE and the issues they encounter during a transitional period. This was then followed by two more phases of interviews designed to explore the emerging theory (Corbin & Straus, 1990) to gain a fuller picture of the issues in order to explore the nature of learning, seen as a process, and issues in CHC and Non-CHC students, if they exited. The original principle of this study was based on evaluating the data obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews through the help of personal narratives, to develop, refine and present a basis of learning development (theory) and the major concerns the sample students encounter during this process development. In this context-based setting, qualitative methods of interviews and personal narratives seem realistically closer in a naturalist paradigm. Grounded theory research was thus used which allowed construction of knowledge rather than relying on pre-existing ideas (Strauss & Corbin, 1998: pp.12-15). The use of personal narratives allowed reflecting on the issues faced by sample students.

The Process Previous studies have merely looked at the academic dimensions directly affecting the learning behaviours of Chinese students (i.e. Tian, 2008) and adjustment and language issues of East Asian students studying in a single university in the UK (i.e. Wu, 2008; Tian, 2008 etc.). Hence, the current study looked at a bigger picture of issues undermining an overall population of Asian students‟ learning and the key issues by linking theirs‟ PL experiences to those in the UK and focusing not only on academic issues but also those aspects hindering students‟ approaches to learning and the very process of learning. In this study, for the purpose of identifying similarities and differences, all codes were constantly compared with each other. As a result, themes started to emerge from the combination of data, codes, categories and sub-categories. Initially, there were 120 refined codes, which decreased to 44 codes when integrated into common categories (see A.1 & A.2). This paved the way for the later development of 12 axial codes (see A.1). Each emerging concept was coded and each code was constantly compared with overlapping codes to identify similarities and differences. The emergent themes from the coding process facilitated making logical connections with the research aims. The emerging themes were gradually moved from a low level to more sophisticated categories © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

which were based on selective coding, providing support for the evidence of the literature review, the stage when theoretical composition, saturation (Charmaz, 2006), was complete.

Analysis and Discussion A constructivist tradition of Grounded Theory approach was used to develop codes, categories and learning patterns across sample students‟ transitional and later period of learning experiences. This study used some pre-planned questions during interviews to probe the issues in generic way and then develop and probe the questions further on the basis of initial data. After coding the data (open coding), that lead to the thematic codes, axial coding was conducted to combine some overlapping codes. As a result the core categories emerged through analytical process. The core categories were further regrouped, compared and refined on the basis of central point “IL development”. Throughout this process, writing memos, and conducting a constant comparison of data, codes and categories was key to constructing the reality from within the data (Charmaz, 2006). During three consecutive sessions of interviews with the current sample students, I developed a sense of cultural sensitivity which helped in sensitising concepts during the data analysis process. My experience with Asian students helped me to establish a trustworthiness of data obtained. First, I ensured to get access to those Asian students who were keen to discuss their learning experiences and issues. This gave me more confidence to draw upon a convenient pattern of discussion than structured interview. Second, as a result, confidence building measures were developed to revisit the same students for further clarification that would establish authenticity (Cousin, 2009). Last, the timing of each interview was set not to exceed an hour. In phase-one the study attempted to explore academic issues in detail from both CHC and non-CHC students. In phase one, the analysis of the data identified the existence of some issues in common with those identified in the literature review (see Tian, 2008, Wu, 2008; Edwards & Ran, 2006; Ahmed, 2011). As a result of the analysis of the data at phase-one, students found it difficult to cope within the learning culture in the UK at early stages of learning. The reasons for this difficulty were language barriers, lack of IL skills, difficulty in social adjustment, and dependency in learning as a result of prior educational history. The expression of students‟ concerns about the lack of IL skills – which was identified as an issue of prior educational learning (students were found to be too dependent on their teachers) – is an early indicator of learning dependency. Therefore the assumption that IL patterns are significant among students in HE was noted for further elaboration because it also matched the researcher‟s initial experience in studying in the UK. The theme of dependent approach to learning was identified among overall students for further exploration and clarification, though its nature was differently experienced by the researcher itself.

In addition to the issue of learning dependency, students‟ views about learning experiences in the UK revealed certain interconnected issues, including language issue as a source of difficulty in adaptation to a different learning environment. Linking the issues in learning in both prior and UK-based learning, two major codes, „likes and dislikes‟, (as used in NVIVO 9) were identified. In relation to likes and dislikes, students expressed their liking for IL and the availability of learning resources, particularly libraries, IT facilities, and internet speed and availability in the UK. They also expressed their dislike for less support from teachers; whilst in the case of their home country; students liked the extra support from teachers but disliked dependency and the lack of resources. The study also noted the significance of dislike for dependency in the home country as a shift in educational approach among selected students. A clear dichotomy was apparent in both prior and UK learning experiences and in that of the researcher‟s one. Differences in views about preference for learning patterns, i.e. from dependent (prior) to IL (current), were noticed as a clear change in approaches to learning from dependent (traditional) to independent (nontraditional) and may lead to the development of successful independent learners. A question as to whether support is vitally important in HE in the UK and whether support is required for certain subjects was sought for further clarification. In comparison to the previous comments in phase-one and comments made by students in phase-two, there was a clear inclination, among students, towards the possibility of impact of language over IL. Given that language issue exists in multiple shapes, the analysis shows that academic writing (AW) and communication skills, at level of competence to convey and receive ideas effectively, are two major lingual problems. Both academic writing and oral communication – the level of oral skills required for learning, were probed to examine the extent of lingual issues among students in HE. Although the researcher experienced a different form of lingual incompetence than the sample students but as theirs‟ perceptions were central to this study, it emerged from data that these students consider English language skills crucial to becoming independent learners. Students also viewed support as a key requirement, vital for kick-starting the process of learning in HE at the initial stages of their studies, confirming previous findings (see McMahon, 2011; Wu, 2008) and it matches the researcher‟s own experience of starting the learning process. Questions arise whether the importance of language skills to students is limited to competence in interactive speaking and academic writing abilities, and whether the same language skills are required for all students or whether language expertise is required for certain subject areas (subject-specific). Given that language issue have other dimensions, the issues examined related to IL and the effects of dependency on IL, and the features students liked and disliked in both their prior and current learning were explored further. When themes of „likes‟ and „dislikes‟ were compared in both prior and UK learning, it © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

became apparent that students liked IL patterns because there were enough resources in the UK in contrast to the ones in their PL and they were in a sense forced to adapt to IL patterns, a sense of behavioural approach (refer to Pavlov & Skinner) to teaching learning interaction was found. The level of studying support was appreciated in PL in contrast to concern for lack of available support in the UK. In other words, we can assume that behavioural approach to learning existed in the UK, and not in PL. Therefore, liking for support in PL while liking for availability of resources and use of IL skills in the UK were noted as the main themes. Dislike of a lack of resources dependency on prior learning, and the level of support provided in the UK were categorised as themes. The overall population of students consider support vitally important for IL skills and the same practice was felt by the researcher during a doctorate degree. It appears, from students perceptions in phase-two, support is mainly felt only in certain fields of study and the amount of support tends to vary according to a field of study, for example the one which was noted in students of petroleum engineering. Students also considered IL difficult to acquire at the beginning but possible through support, and difficulties only vanished gradually. A different view, in comparison to the one in phase-one, emerged „as a result of the importance of support for learning in HE and students‟ differentiations in between the teachers in the UK and those in their home countries in terms of the support they provide. An example of such support might be that teachers provide more intensive support in theirs‟ home countries than in the UK. Hence, there is a clear gap of understanding among students when they judge teachers, both in the home countries and UK, on the basis of the nature of support teachers provide. At first it appeared that all students desired greater support but differences emerged as a result of in-depth probing. Chinese students indicated more openness towards discussion about the importance of support while Indian and Pakistani students refrained from doing so despite their tendency towards learning support. As explored in detail, the emerging theory was built upon the core indicators derived from categories and included both academic (language – writing and expert communication; learning support – impact of support on IL; likes and dislikes, and IL – from exam-oriented learning to IL) and adjustment issue. It is noted that language skills as a whole influence IL in contrast to previous understanding which shows that IL influence language skills (see Tian, 2008; Tan, 2011). Alongside, learning support influences both language and IL skills. This present a cyclical process of learning competency and the key for gradual change lies with the nature of learning support that steers the learning process as a whole. In the course of investigating the impact of language skills on IL, it was found that students‟ initial enthusiasm towards their studies in the UK mislead them at the point of assessment, when they found themselves trapped in a learning © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

culture beyond their comprehension at the early phases, as they realised at later phases of their studies. Another indication given by students is about the need for support towards learning patterns that arise from a lack of knowledge about the practicing learning patterns in the UK. Students find out about learning patterns in the UK only upon their arrival in the UK. Students indicated that additional generic learning support has a positive impact on their learning in the UK. The student perceptions also indicated that liking in prior and UK-based learning for support and liking for IL and availability of resources in the UK lead to successful adjustment in the academic environment in the UK, which is considered by students as a guarantee for successful learning development. This is often called „widening participation‟ which the researchers realised at later stage of studies. Students‟ perceptions also revealed that upon abandoning the mono-ethnic concept of communication (see Brown, 2008) and students‟ restricted access to a wider community, in which English is spoken in daily life, the process of adjustment could be achieved. In other words the wider use of English and the emancipation from the mode of translation – a mode in which students try to translate ideas from their 1st language (L1) to English - to a more natural use of spoken English would facilitate the adjustment process, which also leads to successful learning in the UK – developing IL patterns. Important to note that the impact of the issues is equally found among both CHC and non-CHC students.

Conclusions Reiterating that students‟ perceptions were central to this study, the Grounded Theory process explored students‟ voices, additive to the researcher‟s personal narrative, which are likely to replace some of the existing perceptions about CHC and non-CHC students in relation to their learning patterns, the adaptation issues they find in the UK, and the variance in issues among theirs‟ learning experiences. The process involved in developing ideas from already prevailed perceptions to more fundamental ideas forms the basis of issues of urgent need and the differences between these students, relevant to learning encounters. Though, the literature highlights that cultural and social differences are most evident among Asian and Western students (Twigg, 2006) because different students have different cultural and social needs (Wu, 2008). This current study negates previously held perceptions about Asian students on the basis of sociocultural understanding and learning experiences. Students with educational ambitions are less prone to socio-cultural habits and aspirations; and their sociocultural values are only liable to represent their history of prior social backgrounds; which might be the only way to see diversity in HE (Ahmed, 2011; Spronk, 2004), this has nothing to do with their academic journey in the UK but it does provide us more freedom to explore their learning adaptations and learning abilities. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

One example might be worth mentioning that Asian students expressed that they are the ones respecting their teachers and not their western counterparts. This does not mean that western students do not respect their teachers but it is simply a matter of how one culturally perceives the kind of respect. The way Asian students perceive respect may be differently perceived by western students (Bakar, 2013). These socio-cultural perceptions are similarly found among CHC (Tian, 2008) and non-CHC students (Ahmed, 2011) which means that Asian students as whole, from both CHC and non-CHC backgrounds, share a range of socio-cultural similarities. Crucially important is the students‟ socio-cultural aspects that integrate them into one single Asian identity which informs us to formulate similar teaching and learning strategies for them. Hence the label of CHC and non-CHC students is not relevant anymore, and we find no difference in Asians‟ socio-cultural understandings; a strength that may be used to explore the needs of Asian students under one „cultural‟ umbrella. Thus a dichotomy in CHC and non-CHC students apparently does not exist. On a similar note, steering academic aspects are the ones to sustain the basis of students‟ academic journeys. For example, student revelations, about IL as a solid learning approach, will encourage and ease formulating „teaching strategies‟ but what really constitutes and sustains this approach is also important. For one to continue IL, it appears vital to have adequate language skills, in particular academic writing and expert level of oral skills through which students enable themselves to transmit ideas more effectively (Bakar, 2013). The level of incompetent language skill (particularly written) originates as a result of different interpretation students‟ conceive and convey. Indeed students with inadequate language skills are less likely to demonstrate coherent argumentations during demonstrations and presentations etc. Similarly, the ability of coherent analytical approach to argumentation in particular might be important in „academic writing skills‟ for all students in some subject studies while oral communication skills are already acknowledged as different among Asian students on the basis of different subject studies (see Entwistle, 2005). The reason for difference in communication skills requirement in different subject studies might be that some subject areas do not require competency in speaking. Hence, the level of required competency in spoken language varies from discipline to discipline because some subject areas may require intensive spoken skills for the purpose of demonstration while others don‟t, and this trend may not be limited to Asian students. Hence, language skills in respect of academic disciplines force students to seek alternatives to meet the demand of academic language skills. Currently students‟ perceptions have revealed the implications of support from within the learning environment, i.e. from teachers and this was seen a facilitating factor to overcoming language issues in general. However it is vital to note that students‟ both multi-ethnic approach to learning and language enable them to experience a successful transition. This is seen to turn the trend towards IL skills. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

Theory into Practice As previously noted, it was suggested that raising the required level of English language competence (i.e. IELTS scores) would be necessary to meet the growing demands of internationalisation (Quality Assurance Agency, 2012), in which language was picked as a major constraint (Hinkel, 2011). It was also suggested that in this way, universities would be able to recruit competent students (BIS, 2010) even if English language ability remains one of the major problems among students in higher education (Dees et al., 2007; UKCOSA, 2006). At large, to continue recruiting Asian students, they would need to be made aware of the need for early stage-preparation as well as intermingling in multicultural learning environment. This practice is vital as students are often missold a dream of British qualification whilst they have not aware of the implications of ‟IL‟ in the real sense. If universities are really serious about educating these students, then they need to act in collaboration to ensure a range of learning support is available for them so that they can make successful transition to UK‟s institutions. Similarly, the levels of English measured through IELTs etc. cannot be considered the only criteria because it gives a very crude picture of the student‟s capability of learning adaptation. Preparation for IL in the UK is currently underdeveloped and very worrying (see Cartwright, 2007; Nieto, Dimitriadou & Davy, 2008), causing anxiety (Coutu, 2002) and sometimes failure and discontinuation (see Biggs, 2003). Unless different structured approaches to preparation for IL (perhaps in the home country as well) are not considered, it would be unenlightened to expect a successful process of learning in the UK, leave alone a successful IL experience.

Limitations As a common practice of research not every issue can be probed in a single study, nor all aspects of an issue, but those which affect participants more can realistically be explored (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Hence in the current study, it was thought necessary to identify perceptions of both CHC and non-CHC student in relation to issues they face. It is possible that multiple issues may exist among sample students, as Tian (2008) and Wu (2008) found among Chinese students but this study only focused on how different Asian students consider learning as a process in HE and the related issues they encounter during this time. Thus the current study forms the basis for HE learning in the UK, extending the nature of inquiry from Chinese towards Indian and Pakistani students. The sample was not cohesive in number but was sufficient for the three-phase interviews, supported by the researcher personal narratives. The study did not consider concerns other than academic nor sought identify in broad national (identity) interpretation. Similarly students‟ perceptions regarding different subject-studies in relation to learning issues were not explored in detail as it would not have been feasible in a single study, leaving a © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

gap for further investigation using different analytical and data collection methods.

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Categories Name Teacher Centeredness Likes Dislikes Independent Learning Translation Period Interactive Learning Multi-ethnic Approach Learning Support Learning Guidance

References 37 19 11 19 57 56 52 47 29 35 43 32

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 39-62, November 2015

Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury: A Mixed Study Evaluation of eLearning Modules Designed for Family Physicians Dr. Colla J. MacDonald Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Dr. Jamie Milligan The Centre for Family Medicine FHT Kitchener-Waterloo, Faculty of Medicine, McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Dr. Tara Jeji SCI Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kaitlin Mathias The Centre for Family Medicine FHT Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Dr. Hugh Kellam Telemedicine Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Jane Gaffney M.Ed Student, University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Abstract. Family physicians often do not feel comfortable or have the knowledge or experience to adequately treat and manage the needs of persons with Spinal Cord Injury. An eLearning resource was designed to provide family physicians with accessible information to facilitate their treatment of persons with Spinal Cord Injury. Methods: This study evaluated the effectiveness of eLearning modules with regard to meeting the learning needs of family medicine residents treating individuals with spinal cord injury. A mixed methods approach, involved collecting and analyzing data from post module quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews. The constructs of the W(e)Learn framework guided data analysis. Findings: Family medicine residents reported they enjoyed the learning experience, learned new information

and raised their awareness of specific health care needs with regard to treating and managing persons with spinal cord injury. Residents confirmed designing the resource to be accessed anytime and anywhere will enable them to retrieve information on a need to know basis. A few residents provided examples of how they applied information they learned as a result of completing the resource. Conclusion: Effectively designed eLearning modules that address learner needs can be a viable approach to providing information to physicians regarding treating and managing persons with spinal cord injury. Keywords: spinal cord injury; eLearning; family medicine; residents; curriculum * This research was funded with a grant from the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and the Rick Hansen Institute. The authors would like to thank them for their support.

1. Introduction Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) face many challenges in maintaining health and wellness. Barriers to health care include environmental factors such as the lack of wheelchair ramps, inaccessible doctor‘s office space to maneuver or transfer to an examination table and lack of appropriate equipment such as height-adjustable examination tables and grab bars (Guilcher, Munce, & Couris, 2010; Hwang, Johnston, & Tulsky, 2009). Additional complications to appropriate health care include physicians and health professionals negative attitudes toward disability (McColl, 2006), limited health professional knowledge regarding care needs (McColl, Forster, & Short, 2008; McMillan et al. 2014) and health system disincentives for providing care to persons with SCI (DeJong, 1997; Marks, & Teasell, 2009). Many primary care physicians are not knowledgeable about SCI and its effects on all body systems and therefore may be reluctant to assume care for SCI patients (Donnelly et al. 2007; SCIRE, 2010). Due to the lack of accessible knowledge and services, the primary care for many individuals with SCI is in the emergency room (Guilcher et al., 2010). Persons with physical disabilities often have many unmet health needs and are a population that may have high health care costs due to complex secondary conditions and higher utilization of emergency departments and hospitals (Guilcher et al., 2010; McColl et al., 2009). Surprisingly, medical school and residency training usually includes little, if any, experiences with physical disability (Long-Bellil, et al, 2011). Some providers are said to lack ―disability literacy‖ or ―disability competence‖ akin to the notion of ―cultural competence‖ when providers do not fully understand the issues at hand or do not relate to the patient in an appropriate manner (Special Interest Group on SCI Model System Innovation, 2010). Access to primary care for those with SCI is vitally important as they are at higher risk for comorbid health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other secondary complications such as pressure ulcers, autonomic dysreflexia, fractures, neurogenic bladder and bowel complications and pain (Krassioukov, Furlan, & Fehlings, 2003). Middleton

(2008) argues that family physicians are well positioned to identify and manage some conditions associated with SCI by systematically reviewing health care concerns and preempting more serious problems this population experiences. Calls for health care reform aimed at improving access to care for individuals with SCI have recommended a coordinated and integrated care model that includes community-based primary care that is patient-focused and ensures capacity building for health care professionals (Hwang et al., 2009; McColl, Shortt, & O'Brien, 2006; Lee, Milligan, Hillier, & McMillan, 2013; Lee, Milligan, Hillier, & McMillan, 2014). There is a critical need to address the lack of awareness and education of resident family physicians with regard to SCI in order to facilitate access to primary care for persons with SCI (SCIRE, 2010). Designing and delivering training in convenient and accessible eLearning modules was proposed to be a viable approach to providing relevant specific information in this small, high need patient population. In previous studies with health care workers, learners recognised and appreciated the flexibility and convenience online learning afforded and found eLearning to be a successful approach in helping them achieve the learning objectives the resource was designed to meet (MacDonald et al., 2011; MacDonald et al., 2010; MacDonald, Stodel, Hall & Weaver, 2009; MacDonald, Stodel & Chambers, 2008; MacDonald, Stodel & Casimiro, 2006; MacDonald, Stodel, & Coulson, 2004). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury eLearning resource and answer the following research question: How effective are eLearning modules with regard to meeting learning outcomes of family medicine resident physicians treating spinal cord injury? 1.1 Context The Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury eLearning resource was designed specifically for family physicians who care for or are considering providing care for, persons with SCI in their practice. Design took place over a 12-month period (December 2011- November 2012) and involved a team of subject matter experts (three family physicians; two physiatrists with expertise in SCI, a psychiatry resident with expertise in SCI, and an advanced practice nurse with expertise in SCI); an instructional designer, a curriculum and evaluation expert, eLearning and medical educational researchers; a computer programmer; a graphic designer; and two administrators in SCI who also are persons with SCI. The completed program was beta tested by six family physicians. Suggestions were incorporated and identified problems were rectified and the program made freely available on the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation Website and at http://eprimarycare.onf.org/. The resources consists of the following six modules identified by SCI content experts to be relevant for family physicians in treating persons with SCI: Module 1 – Autonomic Dysreflexia; Module 2 – Neurogenic Bladder; Module 3 – Neurogenic Bowel; Module 4 – Pressure Ulcers; Module 5 – Respiratory Complications; Module 6 – Health Promotion and Maintenance. Each module includes the following sections: definitions, prevalence, pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, causes, management and recommendations, follow-up and references.

2. Methodology 2.1 W(e)Learn Framework The W(e)Learn framework (MacDonald, Stodel, Thompson & Casimiro, (2009); Casimiro, MacDonald, Thompson & Stodel, 2009) was adopted to guide the evaluation of the six eLearning modules. Developed through collaboration between educators, academics, health care professionals, and industry, W(e)Learn reflects expertise in curriculum design, psychopedagogy, and evaluation methods. W(e)Learn outlines four critical dimensions of online interprofessional education—structure, content, media, and service—and is grounded in socio-constructivist theories and inter-professionalism (see Figure 1). W(e)Learn is intended to elicit four levels of outcome, the pinnacle of which is organizational change and the resulting improvement in care delivery that promotes patient well-being (for an interactive version visit http://www.ennovativesolution.com/WeLearn/).

Figure 1: W(e)Learn Framework

2.2 Mixed Methods A mixed methods design was used to evaluate the eLearning training resource for the reason of combining the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative studies (Pluye, Gagnon, Griffiths, & Johnson-Lafleur, 2009). In this mixed methods approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently to obtain a full understanding of the research questions. This method offset the weaknesses and complements the strengths of the quantitative and qualitative research approaches (Bryman, 2007; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). The mixed methods approach was used as no single

explanation can account for the feasibility of the program (pluralism), as these training modules were established from a complex real-world practice. 2.3 Post Module Survey The W(e)Learn quantitative post module survey was adapted for this project (see Appendix A). Each participant was asked to complete one survey that encompassed their experience in completing all six of the eLearning modules. The survey took approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. 2.4 Semi-Structured Interviews The purpose of the interviews was to gain a greater insight into the personal learning experiences of residents with regards to the eLearning modules. Residents were invited to take part in the semi-structured interviews following the completion of the online modules. Ten residents were interviewed, with the duration of the interviews varying from 10-20 minutes, with an average length of 15 minutes. The interviews were guided by a set of open-ended interview questions based on the W(e)Learn Framework and module learning objectives (see Appendix B for the interview protocol). The interviews were audio recorded (with residents‘ permission) and transcribed verbatim. The interviews took place at a location convenient to the residents on an academic half-day. Lunch and snacks were provided as a sign of our appreciation for participants‘ time and input. 2.5 Data Analysis It was critical for the qualitative researcher to ensure that data analysis accurately corroborates the opinions and experiences of the study participants. Stainback and Stainback (1988) describe corroboration as important since it increases the probability that a study‘s findings will be thought of as important and credible by others. According to O‘Donoghue and Punch (2003), an excellent method to determine corroboration is by utilizing triangulation analysis, which they define as a ―…method of cross-checking data from multiple sources to search for regularities in the research data‖ (p.78). This can provide a more accurate and detailed picture of the situation that is being studied (Altrichter, Posch & Somekh, 1996). Denzin (1978) defines several types of triangulation, one of the most reliable of which is the convergence of multiple sources of data. This involved the collection and comparison of several forms of data at different times during the research process. In order to validate the findings of this study via the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data, results were compared from the post-module survey, and the individual interviews. Inductive and deductive reasoning were used to interpret the interview data. The writing adopted a narrative tone in order to best capture the experiences of the residents, and direct quotations were included when relevant. Ethics approval was attained through McMaster University Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (HiREB).

2.6 Qualitative Analysis Qualitative data analysis was guided by Merriam (2001) and Bogdan and Biklen (1998). The interview transcripts were checked for accuracy by the researcher listening to the audio recording (mp3 file) and comparing them to the transcribed text. Open coding of the text was performed by hand. After a preliminary list of codes was developed, the transcripts were coded a second time to group common codes together to form themes. The coding was reviewed several more times to ensure that no new codes emerge from the data. The data was assigned to categories to provide rich, detailed, and comprehensive information that answered the research questions. A draft report was sent to two additional researchers in this project along with the transcripts to in order to verify the findings. Relevant information from the emerging themes was used to weave a story from the residents‘ perspectives portraying current strengths, practices, barriers, enablers and challenges, with regards to the eLearning modules. Direct quotations were used throughout to allow participants‘ voices to be heard and to obtain objective evidence regarding the residents‘ perceptions of evaluating the eLearning modules. Residents were provided an opportunity to adapt, remove or elaborate on any quote or text that misrepresented their perspective. 2.7 Quantitative Analysis The constructs of the W(e)Learn framework (content, delivery, service, structure and outcomes) guided the data analysis of the Post Module surveys. Descriptive statistics and response frequencies were used to assess the learners‘ experiences with the eLearning modules. The validity of this research was primarily supported by the triangulation of two different forms of data: post-module survey, and individual interviews. Patton (2002) states that triangulation strengthens research by combining different types of methods or data. As well as the triangulation of the data, any disconfirming information was included in the research report in order to confirm validity. 2.8 Recruitment Participants included in this study were family physician residents from the Kitchener-Waterloo campus of the McMaster Department of Family Medicine Program in Ontario, Canada. It is a two-year program and residents from both years were invited. The reason we targeted this audience was twofold. Firstly, family medicine residents likely represent a relatively homogenous group of practitioners with similarly limited experience and exposure to individuals with SCI; as ―entry-level‖ practitioners it would seem logical to target this group in terms of appropriateness and value of the eLearning modules. Also, by providing this information to residents while still in training it is hoped that it will have a long-term effect by filling a needed gap in their medical training.

A total of 34 resident family medicine physicians were invited to be involved in this evaluation project from the Kitchener-Waterloo campus of the McMaster Department of Family Medicine. A 30-minute lunch presentation was given to the residents during the week of December 17, 2014 during Block 7 of their training. The presentation described the rationale for the study and an invitation to participate, plus scenarios/cases were provided to help guide through the modules. Participants were informed of this presentation by email and it was included as an option in their schedule. Residents who volunteered to participate were provided with information regarding the study and informed that they would be expected to complete the modules and a survey. A gift certificate for $15.00 was issued upon completion of the survey. There was also an invitation on the survey (tear off box to tick with email or phone number so their surveys remained anonymous) for residents to indicate their willingness to participate in an interview. During the interview lunch was provided as well as a $15.00 dollar gift card as a sign of our appreciation for residents‘ time and input. Prior to completing the survey, residents were required to read and sign an Informed Consent form with a Principal Investigator as a witness. Residents had the opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification about their participation prior to signing the form. Residents were informed (both verbally and in writing) that their participation was strictly voluntary, and that they could withdraw from this project at any time, refuse to participate, and choose not to answer any questions.

3. Qualitative Findings Ten family physician residents volunteered to participate in an individual follow-up interview. The findings from the ten interviews are chronicled in the ensuing sections. The findings are organized under facets of the W(e)Learn framework: structure, content, service, media, and outcomes. 3.1 Structure Residents‘ responses regarding the Structure of the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury online learning resources emerged into three themes: Learner and Context, Pedagogical Strategies, and Reusability. These themes are discussed in the following sections. 3.1.1 Learner and Content When asked about their interest in SCI, seven of the ten residents interviewed specifically stated that SCI was an area in the curriculum not adequately covered and the resource addresses a learning need and gap in medical education. One resident stated, ―SCI are common, chronic, and often dealt with in family medicine. I want to be comfortable managing them and know how to do it effectively.‖ A second resident commented, ―It is an area we don‘t get a lot of training in and it does have a lot of specialized knowledge that you need to know as a family doctor.‖ One resident acknowledged the gap in formalized teaching on SCI in medical training. He went on to say, ―The needs of that population are unique. The challenges they face are not what you regularly see.

Finding a resource that has everything in one spot definitely piqued my interest.‖ When asked about their experience with persons with SCI, several residents reported they had been exposed to their supervisor‘s patients in a Mobility Clinic. One resident stated, ―I have seen a few [persons with SCI] in the Mobility Clinic and emergency department but I am only six months in [to my residency program].‖ One resident shared that when she began her residency, she was intimidated by acquired brain and spinal cord injury. She elaborated: We didn‘t get a lot of training in medical school. I had a patient in our office who had acquired a SCI from a traumatic accident 15 years ago. It was amazing seeing what she has done. She is now walking short distances with assistive devices. I really need to know a lot more about this. 3.1.2 Pedagogical Strategies Residents identified several pedagogical strategies used in the learning resource that took advantage of new technologies and utilized scenarios drawn from reallife situations. When asked what their favorite part of the resource was, several residents communicated that they were affected by the scenarios. In the words of one resident, ―I could really imagine myself as a physician in those situations and seeing patients from that perspective. It affected me on a professional level and I could definitely relate to those experiences.‖ Several residents stated the resource was full of relevant information. One resident stated, ―The checklists. The pictures were also nice because they broke up the text a little bit.‖ Another resident identified algorithms as his favorite pedagogical strategy. ―There were a lot of really good algorithms throughout giving a stepwise approach and making sure you follow guidelines.‖ Another resident had a list of pedagogical strategies she felt enhanced the resource, ―The summary boxes, the take home points, the cases were also helpful, charts.‖ When asked what their least favorite part of the resource was, one resident also highlighted, ―All of the stuff inbetween and the repetitive definitions.‖ 3.1.3 Reusability Several residents commented that in addition to treating persons with SCI, the information on pressure ulcers, constipations and degenerative disk disease make the resource valuable to use in several medical situations and with a variety of patients. One resident explained: ―I have seen people with pressure ulcers when I am in community and hospital rotations. They don‘t necessarily have SCI, but having that handy tab for pressure ulcers to go back to is useful.‖ Another resident agreed with the fact that the information provided in the resource is reusable beyond its intended scope. Another resident suggested the resource was versatile and had applicable information for treating a variety of patients. ―I have at least one patient who has a traumatic issue and I see tons of elderly patients with a degenerative disk disease or degenerative spinal disease from arthritis causing them symptoms of reduced mobility.‖ Similarly, another resident commented on the value of the resource with the elderly, ―My preceptor‘s practice doesn‘t have many people with SCI. There are a huge number of elderly patients that have spinal issues.‖ Finally, another resident

suggested that he too would not limit his use of the SCI resource to SCI patients: ―The stool chart is something I will use, even for patients without SCI.‖ 3.2 Content Residents‘ responses regarding the content in the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury online learning resources emerged into three themes: Authentic, Comprehensive, and Engaging. These themes are discussed in the following sections. 3.2.1 Authentic All residents stated the content in the resource was authentic. One resident shared, ―The content was very clinically relevant. It was organized so you could tap into things that were most relevant. I have tried to use it with a few patients‖. Similarly, a second resident communicated: I was really impressed with the program. The information was very clinically relevant. It definitely raised awareness. I have a better chance of guiding a conversation with someone with these injuries. When asked if they felt the content in the online modules were authentic and relevant to their practice, one resident stated: Especially for the patient I saw six months ago for a physical. I had a letter from the physiatrist that said what her injury was and her level of function. At the time I didn‘t know what any of those things meant. It would have been really helpful to have done this before. At the same time, I am going to see her again. Another resident commented on the authentic information the resource provided on diagnosing and managing a person with SCI. ―It had things that we should know in terms of management and recognition. This is something a person with autonomic dysreflexia is going to present with…the hypertension.‖ 3.2.2 Comprehensive Residents consistently said they found the content in the resource inclusive and comprehensive. One resident stated, ―The explanations of pathophysiology were very good. Almost all had a picture and it was basic but detailed enough that I felt like I could explain it to a patient. It made sense to me.‖ Another resident elaborated: ―I thought it was well put together. It was one of those things where you didn‘t even know what you didn‘t know. I was like ‗Oh I need to know about this.‖ Another resident voiced, ―The objectives overall were to give us an exposure to what these things are and some of the pathophysiology behind it. It was really well done.‖ Finally, a resident shared: ―It was very straight forward and basic enough for me to understand. I didn‘t have any unanswered questions.‖ 3.2.3 Engaging When asked if the learning modules kept their interest, most residents indicated they did. One resident stated, ―They [the modules] kept me motivated. Everything seemed clinically applicable and I could see myself working through these problems. They kept me interested in learning throughout.‖ Another resident commented: ―I didn‘t know this is something that I need to watch out

for in ‗this‘ type of patient. It makes you kind of scared as a doctor. Did it keep me motivated to learn? Absolutely.‖ Some residents suggested one of the reasons the resource was able to keep their interest was because it didn‘t take too long to go through. ―I was happy in the way it was laid out and how everything seemed to move easily and quickly, no lags.‖ 3.3 Service Residents‘ responses regarding the Service in the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury online learning resources emerged into three themes: Organized, Accessibility, and Resources. These three themes are discussed in the following sections. 3.3.1 Organized When asked what they thought of resource, residents consistently commented that it was organized. One resident stated, ―It was really well organized. That was really great. I thought it was good and clear.‖ A second resident stated, ―The content was comprehensive, clear, and well organized. Obviously a lot of time was spent making sure that it had everything it needed and was really focused and clear.‖ Lastly, a resident explained her experience with the SCI learning resource, ―Overall it was very positive. If I was going for a certain topic, knew it was there, and wanted to brush up, I would go to the areas I wanted.‖ When asked if the content followed a logical progression, a resident said, ―Yes, I wouldn‘t change the order of anything.‖ Another resident specified: ―It seemed logical. I split it up over a couple of nights, but it made sense.‖ Another resident also commented on the logical lay out of the resource. ―The information was really well laid out and thought out. I found the diagrams helpful for my basic understanding. It was really practical.‖ One resident reiterated, ―It was very user-friendly. If I have a patient or a question about autonomic dysreflexia I could go back and find the information quickly.‖ Lastly, a resident asserted her appreciation for the organization of the SCI resource; ―The way it is laid out is not too intimidating. I could just click on the hyperlinks that I thought were most relevant to whatever patient I am seeing.‖ 3.3.2 Accessibility The most common theme that emerged was that residents were adamant the resource addressed an important topic omitted in medical school and they expect they will access the resource in the future. One resident commented, ―It is nice to go back to something that says this is the presentation, this is how you manage it, this is when you refer, and these are the tests you do.‖ However, residents clarified that because SCI is not something they expect to see often, having an online resource will allow them to access relevant information when they need it. Residents justified that there are hundreds of medical conditions to cover during family medicine residency, many of which are not covered or adequately covered in their training and some they do not even experience during their

program. Several residents commented this resource would allow them to access the information on SCI in a ‗just-in-time‘ manner. One resident clarified, ―This is a handy tool that I can go back to.‖ Another resident reported the resource would be valuable to access in the future, ―In the event of a patient with a spinal cord injury who presents with a cough, cold, pressure ulcers, any kind of constipation, I will definitely use this in the future.‖ Another resident agreed, ―These are skills I would like to have in my back pocket so I can refer to when I have a patient with a spinal cord injury comes in.‖ Finally, a resident affirmed that she too sees the SCI resource as a valuable source to access relevant information on a need to know basis. ―There were some tabs that were content heavy. In real life what is going to happen is I am going to have one patient with a specific concern and I am going to go that tab.‖ 3.3.3 Resources Residents conveyed they appreciated having the information they needed on SCI conveniently located in one place. Residents repeatedly commented they found the links providing access to numerous resources beneficial. One resident explained, ―I clicked on a few of them [resource links] and they looked really useful. Access to all relevant resources collected in one place.‖ Likewise, another resident commented on the resources provided in the links, ―There were a lot of good links. There was an American Source link that I found very good and bookmarked as well.‖ 3.4 Media Residents‘ responses regarding Media in the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury resources emerged into two themes, Navigating, and Technology. These themes are discussed in the ensuing sections. 3.4.1 Navigating Every resident reported they found the resource user-friendly and easy to navigate. When asked how they found navigation one resident responded, ―Piece of cake. It was really clear and easy to go through.‖ A second resident stated, ―They were easy to navigate. Compared to some other eLearning modules, these were very easy to get through.‖ Another resident elaborated; ―Whoever you paid to develop your website did a good job. I was impressed with all the graphics. You communicated the ideas effectively. It is nice too because you can use it on a phone.‖ Similarly, a resident commented, ―I opened a few links to find more information and I found that was user-friendly.‖ Finally a resident specified, ―When I went on I knew exactly what to do.‖ Several residents stated they appreciated the fact that the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury resource was online. In the words of one resident, ―I liked that it is online so I can refer to it whenever I want.‖ Although a few residents stated they glanced at the resource on their phone, most reported they had completed the resource on their desktop computer. One resident revealed, ―There was no technical difficulty. It would have been nice to try this on different mediums than just my laptop.‖ A second resident shared, ―I looked through it on my phone once.‖

Several residents explained they access the Internet several times a day to obtain medical information. In the words of one resident, ―I use my phone or the computer to guide my learning ten or fifteen times over the course of the day. I don‘t know how people trained in residency before things like ‗Up-To-Date‘ and other Internet resource were available.‖ 3.4.2 Technology When asked how the resource could be improved, most residents had little to say. For example, one resident stated, ―I don‘t think you need to do that [make improvements]. It is well laid out and when I actually need it, it will be there for me.‖ When asked if anything could be done differently that would have kept interest, any suggestions made were with regard to using more interactive technology. In the words of one resident, ―If we could incorporate some videos and interactive quizzes, that would encourage you to keep going and motivate you some more.‖ Another resident suggested adding videos to ‗change it up‘. ―I don‘t know if some videos would be handy. It wasn‘t necessary because all of the information is there and readable, but sometimes to change up the way you are learning.‖ Another resident communicated, ―Maybe going through some case discussions in a video format.‖ Two residents suggested the resource could be improved by reducing the number of drop down menus. A couple of learners suggested implementing quizzes. ―Maybe doing an interactive quiz after each module to see if you have retained the information.‖ A few learners suggested more diagrams and animation. One learner suggested, ―The content was great. There are a few things I think could benefit from an animation for the visual learner.‖ A second learner testified, ―Anatomical stuff would have benefited from a little animation or more pictures to showcase. I am not a visual learner so it was not a big thing for me. I can see a lot of people wanting something like that.‖ A third resident stated, ―More pictures and animation would be an improvement, but I don‘t think there was anything that was a glaring concern or omission. I thought it was well done.‖ 3.5 Outcomes Residents‘ responses regarding outcomes from the Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury online learning resources emerged into six themes: New Knowledge, Bookmarked, Raised Awareness, Sharing with Colleagues, Application, and Increased Comfort. These three themes are discussed in the following sections. 3.5.1 New Knowledge Residents stated they learned new knowledge as a result of going through the resource. Several residents commented on the value of learning about autonomic dysreflexia. One resident specified, ―I definitely gained new knowledge, especially regarding autonomic dysreflexia. And then I gained a deepened knowledge around respiratory issues.‖ A second resident also confirmed they attained new knowledge from participating in the resource; ―The autonomic dysreflexia one was really huge. Every module brought it back up again as the major life threatening complication with SCI. You mustn‘t miss it. This is

important.‖ A third resident confirmed what they learned was, ―Things to watch out for, testing patients creatinine every year and autonomic dysfunction with regard to blood pressure.‖ Similarly, a resident shared; ―The wound care, the dysreflexia… just understanding the classifications of functional ability. It is going to make me much less afraid of how to approach the issues with patients with SCI and much less of this nebulous black box.‖ Other residents commented their learning addressed a knowledge gap, ―It really did address a big gaping hole in my knowledge and approach to things, particularly in spinal cord injuries.‖ Some learners suggested the learning research broadened their knowledge. Others said the SCI resource increased their knowledge of respiratory complications: The thing I didn‘t appreciate before is that people with SCI are susceptible to a lot of respiratory infections. That is something that I will now keep in the back of my mind and will make sure that I am doing frequent checks. If they come in with any kind of cough or cold I don‘t want to tell them not to worry and it is viral. I will probably do some more investigations. 3.5.2 Bookmarked One indication that residents plan to access the modules in the future is that several reported they booked marked the resource. One resident stated, ―I bookmarked it. I am going to use it soon for studying for the CCFP exam (certification exam). It is something I am going to use for the foreseeable future.‖ Another resident commented, ‗I bookmarked it on my browser because I thought it was really useful.‖ Another resident shared that he felt the resource was worth bookmarking. ―It was easy access and then I bookmarked it so I can go back.‖ Lastly, a resident shared why she bookmarked the SCI resource: I was very impressed. I found a lot of information that I didn‘t previously know a lot about. I thought the layout was really good separating it into topics as well as breaking the topics down. There were some good images. I bookmarked it so I can keep coming back to it. 3.5.3 Raised Awareness One consistent outcome residents reported was a raised awareness of the treatment of SCI. One resident shared, ―It just gave me some context so if I do come across it [SCI] I won‘t be totally out of the water with knowing what to do.‖ Another resident stated; ―The pathophysiology part is very useful, because it explained concepts. I didn‘t know how lacking my knowledge was.‖ A second resident shared he gained an awareness of medical complications regarding persons with SCI; ―I wasn‘t aware that spinal cord injury patients are susceptible to respiratory infections. That opened my eyes. I would have probably missed it if I had not gone through the modules.‖ Another resident shared how she became a lot more aware of the needs of persons with SCI as a result of completing the resource. In her words: When I was younger I used to teach skiing. I met people with SCI. The resource provided me with a lot more depth to what I have seen in the past and not really understood. I have a well of information to draw. Another resident agreed and stated, ―Yes, I am more aware of things that need to be discussed on regular follow-up visits.‖ Finally, a resident revealed that

being more aware of issues related to SCI will make her change to being more proactive when treating persons with SCI in the future; ―Knowing and being aware about autonomic dysreflexia. I am going to be more thorough in examination with skin changes and be more active in trying to prevent that. Little practice changes and being more proactive.‖ 3.5.4 Sharing with Colleagues A few residents stated they discussed the resource with other residents or their supervisors. One resident said that after completing the learning resource she realized areas where she could have managed things better in the past. ―I have talked over some of these topics with my supervisor in the clinic about patients we have seen. Reflecting back maybe I should have approached some of those situations differently.‖ Another resident discussed her roommate‘s reaction to the resource; ―My roommate is an Obstetrical/Gynecology resident. He looked over my shoulder and commented on how helpful it looked and was asking questions. He thought it was pretty cool.‖ Another resident reported she shared the learning resource with her mother who is a family physician. ―She is a family physician in town and I told her it is a really great resource to have in your back pocket. She also liked that checklist at the end.‖ One resident considered posting it on twitter to let others know it is available and valuable; ―I am on Twitter and have a lot of followers that are in medicine. I use it as a knowledge translation tool. I could post it and say it is a good resource to check it out.‖ Finally, one resident stated he hoped his colleagues could see the resource, ―I hope that all of my colleagues go to look at. I thought it was a really great resource and am going to use this.‖ 3.5.5 Application Several residents reported that after completing the resource, they realize they could have managed the treatment of SCI patients better in the past. They went on to say they intend to apply their new knowledge next time. One resident confided: Autonomic dysreflexia, looking back I have seen it before and didn‘t recognize it. That module stuck in my mind as something that is going to be on my differential for certain patient presentations. Being able to effectively counsel patients around what they might be experiencing and how to have better prevention. Another resident discussed how he intends to implement what he learned as a result of completing the resource; ―Before this module, those things didn‘t cross my mind. I actually saw a patient [since doing the module] and approached them differently. He had some of the symptoms so I was more comfortable talking to him about it.‖ One resident reflected: Looking back I had two patients that I had seen that I should have asked about things or been more aware about blood pressure or checking for ulcers. Now seeing patients it changes what questions I ask and how long I speak to them. Finally, a resident stated, ―Talking with the patient after I had done the module, he was very aware of the things I learnt. So just reminding myself that most of those patients are very knowledgeable.‖

3.5.6 Increased Comfort Several residents commented on how the resource increased their comfort regarding treating persons with SCI. One resident explained: I feel so much more prepared. This is something I didn‘t know before. If I encounter a person who has SCI in the emergency department who is feeling unwell at all, check the bladder, check about pain, constipation, bedsores, any sort of skin breakdown. It helped me develop a good approach. It could be something just as simple as a full bladder. That was really helpful. One resident also concluded that as a result of what she learned she too is more comfortable treating persons with SCI. ―The algorithms, especially in some of the emergency management in autonomic dysreflexia is what comes to mind. I found that resource was excellent and laid out very clearly. I would be much more comfortable dealing with many of these issues.‖ Another resident admitted he went into the module knowing this was an area that he had a knowledge gap. ―I came out of it feeling much more comfortable in the topic and much more engaged that there is a lot more to learn here. That is definitely going to be something to look into in the future.‖

4. Quantitative Survey Results Details of the survey results for the module can be found in tables 1.1-1.5 of Appendix C. Twenty-eight participants completed the evaluations for the modules Caring for Persons with SCI. Overall, all participants were pleased with the modules, and they found them to be authentic, relevant and interactive. Scores for all the constructs were extremely high, with the vast majority of responses being either agree or strongly agree. It should be noted that the constructs of service, media and content had the highest responses. 4.1 Structure With regards to the structure of the modules, the majority of responses from the participants were positive. All 28 of the completed surveys indicated residents felt the resource met their needs with regards to content, that the resource was relevant and that the resource engaged them in the learning experience. Twelve out of 28 participants disagreed that the modules provided opportunities for problem-solving experiences and 11 out of 28 disagreed that the module provided opportunities to apply material learned. Eight out of 28 participants indicated in the open-ended question regarding structure that problem solving or case studies would be a useful addition in order to make the modules more interactive. 4.2 Content With regards to content, the residents‘ opinions were also positive. Twenty-eight out of 28 felt the content was of appropriate depth and breadth, and that the content included information that would help them in their personal or professional lives. Twenty-seven out of 28 indicated that the content was accurate and free of errors, was well-organized and that the resource included sufficient online resources. In the open-ended question regarding content, residents indicated that while the resource was a bit repetitive, it provided useful treatment recommendations, helpful hyperlinks and diagrams, and that

the illustrations and pop-ups were effective methods of presenting treatment options. 4.3 Media Responses related to media were also extremely strong, in particular with regards to the accessibility of the content. Twenty-eight out of 28 residents responded that the resource was easy to navigate, provided relevant and appropriate use of technology, facilitated a meaningful learning experience, and allowed them to learn using their preferred learning style. Several residents indicated in the open-ended question on media that videos would be useful tools to present cases, and that the vertical scrolling could be reduced on some pages. 4.4 Service Residents gave the highest marks for service, particularly with regards to the expertise and level of knowledge presented. All 28 residents indicated that the resource respected their experience and knowledge, and that the subject matter experts were qualified and experienced in the industry. Twenty-seven out of 28 responded that there was easy access to support tools, information and help. In the open-ended question on service, several residents indicated that the numerous linked resources (particularly the patient handouts) were useful additions that they would utilize in the future. 4.5 Outcomes The responses to the outcomes of the module were positive like the other four constructs. Twenty-eight out of 28 residents said that the resource was interesting, valuable, and that as a result of their participation in the modules that they understood new principles. However residents did not respond as favorably when asked if they had acquired proficiency in new techniques (8 disagree, 4 not applicable) or when asked if they would initiate new ideas and/or projects in the workplace (4 disagree, 6 not applicable). Several residents indicated in the open-ended question on outcomes that while the modules were an informative resource tool, it did not give them proficiency in techniques.

5. Discussion and Conclusion The strongest finding that emerged from this evaluation was that residents were convinced Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury is a valuable, accessible online resource addressing an important topic not adequately covered in medical training. There is so much information to cover in a two-year family medicine program, that curriculum priorities are often established by conditions seen most frequently. Most residents admitted the reality is they don‘t expect to remember the content in the SCI learning resource but will remember to access the resource when they need the information in a ―just-in-time‖ manner. Understanding the needs of the audience is a prerequisite to effectively planning any learning event (MacDonald et al., 2004). When designing online learning resources, being aware of and adhering to the needs of the audience is important to ensure that the resource will be effective (MacDonald et al., 2001). Because family physicians are generalists who treat patients with a broad spectrum of

medical conditions, the reality is they are unable to know everything they need to know on every condition and situation. Residents in this study confirmed that by designing the SCI resource so it can be accessed anytime and anywhere there is an Internet connection will enable them to retrieve information from it on a need to know basis. Several residents commented that in addition to treating persons with SCI, the information on pressure ulcers, constipation and degenerative disk disease make the resource also valuable to use in several medical situations and with a variety of patients. Designing quality online learning experiences requires considerable resources in terms of time, effort and money. Creating a resource that is adaptable to different situations is a sign of quality eLearning design and critical in the healthcare economic climate. Residents reported the resource was versatile and had applicable information for treating a variety of patients. Reusability, generativity, and adaptability are important characteristics of quality learning resources and a value-added component of any quality-learning event (MacDonald et al., 2001). Residents identified several pedagogical strategies used in the learning resource that took advantage of new technologies and utilized scenarios drawn from reallife situations. It is therefore important to revisit teaching practices to take advantage of the possibilities offered by new technologies (Mejias, 2006). In this study residents acknowledge the content was authentic, comprehensive and utilized pedagogical strategies incorporated in scenarios drawn from real-life situations. When asked what they thought of the resource, residents consistently commented that it was organized, followed a logical progression, and was filled with useful knowledge, resources and links. Residents conveyed they appreciated having the information they needed on SCI conveniently located in one place and repeatedly commented they found the links providing access to numerous resources beneficial. Every resident reported they found the resource user-friendly and easy to navigate. Several residents stated they appreciated the fact that the resource was online. Although a few residents stated they glanced at the resource on their phone, most reported they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;t tried to access the resource on their phone but completed the resource on their desktop computer. Several residents explained they access the Internet several times a day to obtain medical information. When learning resources contain relevant information integrating clinical experiences and learning activities they tend to be motivated to access and complete a learning resource (MacDonald et al., 2001). When asked if anything could be done differently that would have kept interest, suggestions included using more interactive technology. Residents stated they learned new knowledge as a result of going through the resource. Several of these residents commented specifically on the value of

learning about autonomic dysreflexia. Other residents commented the SCI resource increased their knowledge of respiratory complications, and wound care. One indication that residents plan to access the resource in the future is that several reported they book marked the resource. One consistent outcome residents reported from participating in the resource was a raised awareness of the treatment of SCI. Residents revealed that being more aware of issues related to SCI will help them become more proactive when treating persons with SCI in the future. A few residents stated they discussed the resource with other residents, their supervisors, residents in other disciplines and family physicians. In addition to raising awareness and knowledge regarding what to look for and how to treat issues related to SCI, several residents reported that after completing the SCI resource, they realized they could have managed the treatment of a SCI patient better in the past had they completed the resource earlier, and they intend to apply their new knowledge next time. Several residents commented on how the resource increased their comfort regarding treating persons with SCI. There are limitations to this study. The sample group was 28, which may influence the range of responses; however there was great consistency in the themes that emerged. The residents participating in this study were from one particular location of a single family medicine residency program. Residents might be considered to be more technologically astute then more experienced family physicians and therefore might have different opinions. Lastly, more clinically experienced family physicians may have different learning styles and needs and therefore more research with this group may be necessary. In conclusion, residents reported they enjoyed the SCI learning experience and learned new information and raised their awareness with regard to diagnosing, treating and managing persons with SCI. Residents confirmed that by designing the SCI resource so it can be accessed anytime and anywhere there is an Internet connection will enable them to retrieve information from it on a need to know basis. Therefore, in response to the research question, structuring and designing a SCI resource that can be accessed conveniently online is a viable approach to providing relevant authentic information to physicians and/or residents regarding this vulnerable patient population. By sharing critical information in a convenient online format we hope to reduce the number of hospital emergency visits and secondary complications that occur in persons with SCI by increasing the comfort level and knowledge of family physicians who care for this unique population.

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Bogdan, R., Biklen, S. K. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Bryman, A. (2007). Barriers to integrating quantitative and quantitative research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), 8-22. Casimiro, L., MacDonald, C. J., L., Thompson, T-L, & Stodel, E. J. (2009). Grounding theories of W(e)Learn: A framework for online interprofessional education, Journal of Interprofessional Care, 23(3), 1-11 Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2010). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. DeJong, G. (1997). Primary care for persons with disabilities. An overview of the problem. Arch Phys Med Rehab 1997, 76(3), S2-S8. Denzin, N. (1978). Sociological methods: A sourcebook. New York: McGraw Hill, 2nd ed. Donnelly C., McColl M., Charlifue S., Glass C., O'Brien P., Savic G. et al. (2007). Utilization, access and satisfaction with primary care among people with spinal cord injuries: a comparison of three countries. Spinal Cord, 45(1), 25-36. Guilcher, S. J. T., Munce, S. E. P., & Couris, C. M. (2010). Health care utilization in nontraumatic and traumatic spinal cord injury: a population-based study. Spinal Cord, 48, 45-50. Hwang, K., Johnston, M., & Tulsky, D. (2009). Access and coordination of health care service for people with disabilities. J Disabil Pol Studies, 20(1), 28-34. Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26. Krassioukov, A., Furlan, J., & Fehlings, M. (2003). Medical comorbidities, secondary complications, and mortality in elderly with acute spinal injury. J Neurotrauma, 20(4), 391-399. Lee, J., Milligan, J., Hillier, L. M., & McMillan, C. (2013) Enhancing care for individuals with mobility impairments: lessons learned in the implementation of a primary care-based Mobility Clinic. Healthcare Quarterly, 16(2), 49-54. Lee, J., Milligan, J., Hillier, L., & McMillan, C. (2014). Improving health care for individuals with mobility impairments Ontario, Canada. A primary care based interprofessional mobility clinic. In submission. Long-Bellil LM, Robey KL, Graham CL, Minihan PM, Smeltzer SC, Kahn P. (2011). Teaching medical students about disability: The use of standardized patients. Academic Medicine, 86(9), 1163-70. MacDonald, C.J., Archibald, D., Kellam, H., Sun, R., Stodel, E.J., & Puddester, D. (2011). Evaluation of online health and wellness resources for healthcare professionals. International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning, 2(4), 18-23. MacDonald, C.J., Archibald, D., Trumpower, D, Casimiro, L., Cragg, B., & Jelley, W. (2010). Quality Standards for Interprofessional Healthcare Education: Designing a Toolkit of Bilingual Assessment Instruments. The Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education, 1(3), 304-316. MacDonald, C. J., Stodel, E. J., Hall, P., & Weaver, L. (2009). The impact of an online learning resource designed to enhance interprofessional collaborative practice in palliative care: Findings from the Caring Together pilot project. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education, 1(1), 42-66. MacDonald, C. J., Stodel, E. J., Thompson, T-L., & Casimiro, L. (2009). W(e)Learn : A framework for online interprofessional education. International Journal of Electronic Healthcare. 5(1), 33-47. MacDonald, C. J., Stodel, E. J., & Chambers, L. W. (2008). An online interprofessional learning resource for physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and nurses in long-term care: benefits, barriers, and lessons learned. Informatics for Health and Social Care. 33(1), 21-38.

MacDonald, C. J., Stodel, E. J., & Casimiro, L. (2006). Online dementia care training for healthcare teams in continuing and long-term care homes: A viable solution for improving quality of care and quality of life for residents. International Journal on E-learning, 5(3), 373-399. Available online: http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/325/744 MacDonald, C. J., Stodel, E. J., & Coulson, I. (2004). Planning an eLearning dementia care program for healthcare teams in long-term care facilities: The learners‘ perspectives. Educational Gerontology: An International Journal, 30(10), 1-20 MacDonald, C. J, Stodel, E. J., Farres, L. G., Breithaupt, K., & Gabriel, M. A. (2001). The Demand-Driven Learning Model: A framework for web-based learning. Internet and Higher Education, 4(1), 9-30. Marks, M. B. & Teasell R. (2009). More than ramps: accessible health care for people with disabilities. Can Med Assoc J, 175(4), 329. McColl M.A., Shortt S., Godwin M., Smith K., Rowe K., O‘Brien P., Donnelly C. (2009). Models for integrating rehabilitation and primary care: a scoping study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 90, 1523-1531. McColl, M. A., Forster D., & Shortt, S. E. D. (2008). Physician experiences providing primary care to people with disabilities. Healthcare Policy, 4(1), 129-147. McColl, M. A. (2006). Structural determinants of access to health care for people with disabilities. In M.A. McColl & L. Longloed, (eds.), Disabilities and Social Policy in Canada (2nd ed.) Toronto, Canada: Captus Press. McColl, M. A, Shortt, S. E. D., & O'Brien, P. (2006) Models of integrated rehabilitation and primary care. Final report to the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. McMillan, C., Lee, J., Milligan, J., Hillier, L., & Bauman, C. (2014). Physician perspectives on care of individuals with severe mobility impairments in primary care. In submission. Mejias, U. (2006). Teaching social software with social software. Innovate: Journal of Online Education: 2(5), Article 2. Available online: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/innovate/vol2/iss5/2 Merriam, S. B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. (Rev. ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Middleton, J. W., Leong, G., & Mann, L. (2008). Management of spinal cord injury in general practice – part 1. Australian Family Physician, 37(4), 229-233. O'Donoghue, T., Punch K. (2003). Qualitative educational research in action: Doing and reflecting. London, UK: Routledge. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Pluye, P., Gagnon, M-P., Griffiths, F., & Johnson-Lafleur, J. (2009). A scoring system for appraising mixed methods research and concomitantly appraising qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods primary studies in mixed studies reviews. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 46(4), 529-546. Special Interest Group on SCI Model System Innovation (2010). Toward a model system of post-rehabilitative health care for individuals with SCI. Washington, DC. National Rehabilitation Hospital: National Capital Spinal Cord Injury Model System (NCSCIMS). Available online : http://www.ncscims.org/SCIModelSystemInnovationReport.pdf Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Evidence: Version 2.0. Chapter 4: Community Reintegration Following Spinal Cord Injury. 2010. Available online: http://www.scireproject.com/pdf/SCIRE_II_CH4.pdf Stainback, S., & Stainback, W. (1988). Educating students with severe disabilities in regular classes. Teaching Exceptional Children, 21(1), 16-19.

Appendix A: W(e)Learn Post-module Survey For the following questions, the available response options are: Strongly disagree, Disagree, Strongly agree, Agree, Not applicable Content 1) The content is of appropriate depth and breadth 2) The content is well organized 3) The content is accurate and free of errors 4) The content includes information that will help me in my personal and/or professional life. 5) The content includes information I will be able to use in my personal and/or professional situations 6) The content includes sufficient online resources Media 7) In this resource it was easy to "navigate" through the content. 8) Website features provide relevant and appropriate use of technology 9) The instructions are divided into clear and logical sections 10) Presentation of material utilizes aesthetically pleasing graphics 11) Presentation of material utilizes effective pop-up menus and windows 12) The choice of technological tools facilitates a meaningful learning experience 13) The choice of technological tools allow me to learn using my preferred learning style Service 14) The resource respects my experience and knowledge 15) The subject matter experts are qualified and experienced in the industry 16) There is easy access to support tools, information, and help 17) There is easy access to related web-sites Structure 18) The resource meets my needs with regards to content 19) The resource meets my needs with regards to media 20) The resource kept my interest 21) The resource motivates me to learn 22) The resource is relevant 23) The resource engages me in the learning experience 24) The material follows a logical progression 25) The modules provides opportunities for problem-solving experiences 26) The modules provide opportunities to apply material learned 27) The material challenges and supports my ideas Outcomes 28) Engaging in this resource minimises or eliminates travel expenses related to furthering my professional education 29) The resource is interesting 30) The resource is valuable 31) As a result of my participation in these modules I understand new principles 32) As a result of my participation in these modules I have acquired proficiency in new techniques 33) As a result of my participation in these modules I will initiate new ideas and/or projects in the workplace Please complete the following statements: 1. The most valuable aspect of the resource is 2. The design or delivery of this resource could be improved byâ&#x20AC;Ś 3. What, if anything, did you learn in this resource that you will apply in either your personal or professional life?

Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Questions 1. Why are you interested in this topic? Content 2. Can you describe your overall experience using the online Caring for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury learning resource? 3. Did the module address the learning objectives stated at the beginning of the module? 4. How did you find the content)? 5. Was the content relative to your personal and/or professional life? Media 6. How did you find the navigation through the content of the learning resource? 7. Did the resource features provide appropriate use of technology? 8. Did you find the choice of technological tools facilitated a meaningful learning experience? 9. Where you able to identify with some of the scenarios presented in the module? If so, how did their experiences affect you? Service 10. Was the program easy to access? 11. Were the modules easy to navigate through? Were there any technical difficulties that you encountered? 12. Was there easy access to support tools, information, and help? 13. How did you find the access to related web-sites? Structure 14. Did the resource address your learning needs? 15. Did the modules keep your interest? 16. Did the module(s) follow a logical progression? 17. Did the modules keep your interest and keep you motivated to learn? Outcomes 18. Did you gain new knowledge and skills that have learned through participating in this resource? If so, can you give an example of this? 19. Have you changed your understanding of the ―topic‖ as result of taking the modules? If so, have you shared what you have learned with your colleagues/classmates? 20. What, if anything, did you learn in this resource that you will apply in either your personal or professional life? 21. Will you use this resource in the future? If so, why/how? 22. What was the best part of the module? 23. What was your least favourite part of the module? What, if anything, was missing from this learning experience? Please give examples. 24. How could the modules be improved?

Appendix C

Table 1.1: Trainees’ Responses to the Structure Items for Caring for Persons with SCI Program Evaluation (N=28) # 1 2

Answer Options The resource meets my needs with regards to content The resource meets my needs with regards to media

Response Options Strongly Not Agree Applicable

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10

The resource kept my interest The resource motivates me to learn The resource is relevant The resource engages me in the learning experience The material follows a logical progression The modules provide opportunities for problemsolving experiences The modules provide opportunities to apply material learned The material challenges and supports my ideas

17 13

10 13

0 0 0

0 1

Table 1.2: Trainees’ Responses to the Content Items for Caring for Persons with SCI Program Evaluation (N=28)

# 1 2 3

Answer Options The content is of appropriate depth and breadth The content is well organized The content is accurate and free of errors The content includes information that will help me in my personal and/or professional life The content includes information I will be able to use in my personal and/or professional situations The content includes sufficient online resources

Response Options Agree Strongly Not Agree Applicable

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Table 1.3: Trainees’ Responses to the Service Items for Caring for Persons with SCI Program Evaluation (N=28) # 1 2

3 4

Answer Options The resource respects my experience and knowledge The subject matter experts are qualified and experienced in the industry There is easy access to support tools, information, and help There is easy access to related web-sites

Response Options Strongly Not Agree Applicable

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

1 1

Table 1.4: Trainees’ Responses to the Media Items for Caring for Persons with SCI Program Evaluation (N=28) #

2 3 4

Answer Options In this resource it was easy to "navigate" through the content Website features provide relevant and appropriate use of technology The instructions are divided into clear and logical sections Presentation of material utilizes aesthetically pleasing graphics Presentation of material utilizes effective pop-up menus and windows The choice of technological tools facilitates a meaningful learning experience The choice of technological tools allow me to learn using my preferred learning style

Response Options Strongly Not Agree Applicable

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Table 1.5: Trainees’ Responses to the Outcome Items for Caring for Persons with SCI Program Evaluation (N=28) #

1 2 3 4

Answer Options Engaging in this resource minimizes or eliminates travel expenses related to furthering my professional education The resource is interesting The resource is valuable As a result of my participation in these modules I understand new principles As a result of my participation in these modules I have acquired proficiency in new techniques As a result of my participation in these modules I will initiate new ideas and/or projects in the workplace

Response Options Strongly Not Agree Applicable

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

0 0

18 8

10 20

0 0

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 63-96, November 2015

Saxon Math in the Middle Grades: A Content Analysis Emma P. Bullock Utah State University Logan, Utah M. Jill Ashby, Britney Spencer, Kaylee Manderino and Katy Myers Mountainville Academy Alpine, Utah Abstract. This paper discusses a content analysis of the Saxon Math curriculum in the middle school grades of 6th to 8th grades. Researchers reviewed the Saxon math program’s philosophical and pedagogical intent in light of common curriculum ideologies and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards across the United States. Data were gathered and analyzed in the areas of clarity, comprehensiveness, accuracy, depth of mathematical inquiry and mathematical reasoning, organization, and balance. Strengths of the program include comprehensiveness, accuracy, and organization. Keywords: mathematics education; curriculum; content analysis; Saxon Math; middle grades.

Introduction Public education is a complex struggle between competing cultural interests, hard practical and bureaucratic realities, and the needs of various stakeholders. The political and social conditions of any given time and geographical region, greatly influence what society deems important, and thus, what should be passed along to the rising generation. In nothing are political, economic, religious, social, and educational interests more controversial than what should or should not be included in the public school curriculum. With the Russian launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the ensuing passage of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the specific development of more rigorous mathematics curriculum took on a greater urgency in the United States of America. However, what defines “rigorous” continues to be, and has only become, more controversial over time. In 1989, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) published its pioneering Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. A subsequent revision of this landmark publication under the new title, Principles

and Standard for School Mathematics, followed in 2000. These, along with the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010) by the majority of the states, contributed to an even higher level of accountability in mathematics, with its accompanying emphasis on high-stakes testing for all groups of students. As such, it became of great importance to many interest groups from parents, to legislators, to textbook companies at federal, state, and local levels to determine what constitutes a “rigorous” and “effective” mathematics curriculum. It is beyond the scope of this project to consider all the mathematics curriculum available in today’s vast offerings. However, it may be of help to various stakeholders, decision makers, and researchers for systematic content analyses of particular mathematics programs. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to provide a thorough content analysis of one specific mathematics program in the middle grades: the Saxon math middle school sequence consisting of the curricular resources associated with Course 1, Course 2, and Course 3.

Review of Relevant Literature Three areas influenced the design and implementation of this content analysis: current common curriculum ideologies, the Saxon math program philosophical and pedagogical intent, and previous research on the effectiveness of the Saxon math program.

1. Curriculum Ideologies While many curriculum researchers have given labels to past and current interest groups (Apple, 2004; Kliebard, 2004; Noddings, 2013), Eisner (2003) identified six current overarching curriculum ideologies that will be referenced in this paper as a way to describe the complexities found in the current political and economic climate in the United States: religious orthodoxy, rational humanism, progressivism, critical theory, reconceptualism, and cognitive pluralism. Kliebard (2004) also introduced the concept of social efficiency as an ideology that will be added to Eisner’s list. A brief definition of each ideology follows. Religious orthodoxy refers to the ideological stance associated with a belief in the importance of God’s word in defining the content, aims, and conditions of education practice (Eisner, 2003). Thus, the objective of an orthodoxy is to mold others’ perspectives so they are consistent with the views contained in the orthodoxy. However, dogmatism can also be thought of as an orthodoxy. This can include both liberal and conservative dogmatism. Any curriculum ideology that attempts to develop unquestioning “true believers” could fall under this category. It is an interesting side note that many private schools, including both secular and non-secular, choose Saxon math as their math program. In addition, Saxon math started out as a home school curriculum that expanded first to private and then to public school (especially public charter schools).

The rational humanism ideological perspective advocates for all children to receive equally superior content; or, the very best the culture has to offer, as determined by societal norms. As such, electives are undesirable and vocational studies should only be attempted after the general education of a child (Eisner, 2003). Progressivism as an ideology advocates for the emotional and social life of the child with an emphasis on improving the social order. Many of John Dewey’s ideas are associated with progressivism even though he often advocated for a blending of ideological perspectives (Dewey, 2003). Critical theory as an ideology advocates for the acknowledgement of the implicit values that fundamentally control the educational enterprise. Thus, the revealing of the hidden curriculum along with whose interests are being served is essential (Eisner, 2003). Reconceptualism as an ideology promotes a deep appreciation for personal meaning, lived experience, creative expression, and for qualitative ways of describing and measuring phenomenon (Eisner, 2003). Cognitive pluralism focuses on the plurality of meaning and intelligence (Gardner, 1993) and the need to expand the idea of literacy to be all ways in which human being communicate. The final ideology considered for this analysis is that of social efficiency. Kliebard (2004), which emphasizes the creation of a coolly efficient, smoothly running society. While this ideology had its beginning at the turn of the 20 th century, aspects of this ideology are so embedded in American culture as to be almost unconscious. While it is not one of Eisner’s six current ideologies, and is unpopular with current researchers, it nonetheless permeates the bureaucratic and organizational structure of schools to such a degree, there really is no other ideology that encompasses the current state of accountability. In the current political climate with the implementation of CCSSM and the highstakes testing environment, the rational humanism and social efficiency ideologies seem to dominate the landscape of mathematics curriculum in the United States; although aspects of reconceptualism and cognitive pluralism can be found in the CCSSM as part of the mathematical practices (NCTM, 2000, 2014). Saxon math programs seem to resonate with those interest groups that have religious orthodoxy, rational humanism, and social efficiency ideological tendencies. From this researchers’ experience those with progressive, critical theory, reconceptualistic, and cognitive pluralistic leanings tend to criticize the Saxon math program.

2. Program Philosophy and Pedagogical Intent The Saxon mathematics educational philosophy is very different from most traditional and reform mathematics programs. This difference is most felt in the organizational structure of the program. Instead of units grouped around specific big ideas, Saxon math breaks apart these units and distributes and integrates the concepts across the year. The philosophical foundation behind this is the belief that the mastery of standards happens at different rates for different students, a reconceptualist idea. However, the philosophy proposes students need time to interact with mathematical ideas and to process these ideas to achieve long lasting mastery, or automaticity, of each part of every standard,

more of a rational humanist idea. Within this distributed and integrated structure, content is supposed to be mastered through small increments, called lessons, followed by daily, cumulative and integrated practice, and strategicallyplaced assessments every five lessons (“Saxon math,” 2013); a socially efficient idea. Because of this organizational structure, the intent for the teacher is to teach every lesson, without skipping lessons (rational humanism and socially efficient). While lessons can be combined to quicken the pace or enriched with various internal or external materials, the developers do not intend for teachers to skip lessons or alter the order of the lessons. In 2007, Saxon math, as a subsidiary of Harcourt publishers, underwent major revisions to their standard middle grade texts. Previously known as Math 76, Math 87, and Algebra ½, these texts were redesigned to give more emphasis to problem solving, inquiry, technology, manipulative use, and to enhance teacher resources. These revised texts were renamed Course 1, Course 2, and Course 3 and are intended for grades six through eight. In 2010 and 2012, Harcourt added “Standards Success Books” with additional materials and topics to help align the texts to the new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM). These additional materials included extra topics with instructions for when to teach them in the organizational structure along with additional student and teacher resources.

3. Discussion of Previous Research As a result of these new revisions, there are no research studies using the new Course 1, 2, and 3 texts. However, there are many studies which looked at the older Saxon math sequence. These research studies show mixed results in effectiveness. For example, in an experimental study comparing students using Saxon math 87 to a group using the KeyMath Teach and Practice program, students using Saxon performed better on math computations (Greathouse, 1997). In analyzing the effects of Saxon math on middle school students in Texas, California, and North Carolina, using their respective standardized tests, researchers found small to large positive effect sizes for all students, regardless of demographics, although not significantly different from other math programs (Resendez & Azin, 2007; Resendez, Fahmy, & Azin, 2005; Resendez, 2008; What Works Clearinghouse (ED), 2010). Since these predate the implementation of the CCSSM, research on the effectiveness of these new revisions will need to be done as assessments aligned with the CCSSM become available. However, to begin this process, the purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough content analysis of the Saxon math middle school curriculum comprising Course 1, Course 2, and Course 3 in light of the CCSSM. It is hoped this content analysis will help inform future researchers interested in the effectiveness of the revised Saxon curriculum.

Methodology In conducting this content analysis, the criteria are taken from the recommendations outlined in On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness: Judging the Quality of K-12 Mathematics Evaluations (2004). First, from the disciplinary perspective, this analysis will look at Saxon math’s clarity, comprehensiveness,

accuracy, depth of mathematical inquiry and mathematical reasoning, organization, and balance. These are defined as follows: 1. Clarity of mathematics content: Are there too many disjointed and overlapping mathematics topics? Are there objectives or an identification of the major conceptual ideas? 2. Comprehensiveness: Are the CCSSM completely covered? Do they prepare students for the next level? 3. Accuracy: Are there errors? 4. Mathematical inquiry: What are the elements of intuition necessary to create insight into the genesis and evolution of mathematical ideas, to make conjectures, to identify and develop mathematical patterns, and to conduct and study simulations? 5. Mathematical reasoning: Formalizations, definition, and proof, often based on deductive reasoning, formal use of induction, and other methods of establishing the correctness, rigor, and precise meaning of ideas and patterns found through mathematical inquiry. 6. Organization: Is there a logical progression of concept development? 7. Balance: What is the relative emphasis among the choices of approaches used to attain comprehensiveness, accuracy, depth of mathematical inquiry and reasoning, and organization? What curricular choices were made to enact the curriculum in real time? Second, from the learner perspective, this analysis will look at the program’s engagement, timeliness and support for diversity, and assessment, defined as follows: 1. Engagement: How do the materials capture a variety of aspects of attention to students’ participation in the learning process that may vary because of considerations of prior knowledge, interests, curiosity, compelling misconceptions, alternative perspectives, or motivation? 2. Timeliness and support for diversity: How does this meet the needs of all students, in terms of the level of preparation (high, medium, low), the diverse perspectives, the cultural resources and backgrounds of students, and the timeliness of the pace of instruction? 3. Assessment: How do these materials determine what students know? Finally, from the teacher perspective, this analysis will look at the program’s intended pedagogy, resources, and professional development (National Research Council, 2004), again, defined as follows: 1. Pedagogy and resources: How do the materials pay attention to the abilities and needs of teachers? Do the materials help strengthen teachers’ content knowledge? How are children expected to be filtered (grouped)? What resources do teachers have to deal with various situations? 2. Professional development: What are the expectations of the designers for professional development? How are teachers expected to develop deeper understandings?

Participants

While considering these questions, the researcher met with a group of 4 middle grades mathematics teachers at a suburban, public charter school to systematically review every lesson to identify which CCSSM standard(s) were covered (see Appendices A, B and C for coverage tables). The researcher discussed the best placement with the teachers and came to consensus before moving to the next lesson. However, sometimes the group decided to go back and reassess their decisions as future lessons were considered. In all about 50 hours were spent in this analysis.

Results 1. Disciplinary Perspective Clarity of mathematics content. The philosophy behind the Saxon math organizational structure does not allow for the identification of major conceptual ideas in the traditional sense of a unit. While objectives are listed for every individual lesson, teachers would need to create an awareness of the big ideas of the CCSSM for their students. There is only minimal help for this in the teacher materials. Also, because of the distributed and integrated approach, various standards from third through high school are covered in Course 1 and Course 2. In Course 3, various standards from 4th through high school are covered. In addition, topics are arranged in a distributed way. For example, in lessons 66-70 of Course 2, the standard 7th grade text, the following topics are covered with the corresponding CCSSM standard in parentheses: Ratio Problems Involving Totals (6.RP.3), Geometric Solids (7.G.3), Algebraic Addition (7.NS.1a, 7.NS.1b, 7.NS.1c, 7.NS.1b), Proper Form of Scientific Notation (8.EE.3), and Volume (6.G.2). While all of the standards from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade core are covered in each respective course if all the lessons are taught with the additional topics from the Standards Success Books, the depth required by the core would need to be consciously developed by the teacher. While resources exist to do this, it is not necessarily laid out for the teacher. As further examples, in Course 2, only 62 out of the 132 lessons specifically cover 7th grade CCSSM standards. The other 70 lessons include content from 6th grade (35 lessons), 8th grade (17 lessons), 5th grade (15 lessons), 4th grade (9 lessons), high school (5 lessons), 3rd grade (3 lessons), and not in the CCSSM (3 lessons). In Course 3, only 57 out of the 160 lessons include content specifically from the 8th grade CCSSM standards, the other 103 lessons include content from high school (45 lessons), 7th grade (33 lessons), 6th grade (32 lessons), not in the CCSSM (7 lessons), 5th grade (2 lessons), and 4th grade (3 lessons). It should be noted that lessons sometimes cover content from multiple grade standards. It would be easy for an inexperienced teacher to skip the level of preparation needed to highlight the big ideas expected by the CCSSM and have students experience a disjointed collection of various topics. Thus the clarity, expected by the CCSSM, is the major weakness in the Saxon math middle school offerings. Comprehensiveness. The CCSSM standards are completely covered in each of the Courses (see Appendices A, B and C for coverage tables) if used in conjunction with the Standards Success Books. If all the lessons are taught, each course builds on the next so students are prepared for the next level. A

comprehensive review of previous levels is part of the first 20-30 lessons to ensure all students are prepared before moving into more complex topics. Thus, comprehensiveness is a strength in the Saxon math middle school curriculum. Accuracy. With the new revisions there are some errors in the solutions manuals. In some instances, entire blocks of questions are different from the problems in the student textbooks, especially in Course 2. The problems are less in the solutions manuals of Course 1 and Course 3. The errors are mainly in the solutions to the problem sets (homework). There are rare errors in the test solutions. However, the problems and answers are always correct in the teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manual highlighted in red. The examples in the teacher and student texts and resources are also always mathematically correct. Thus, accuracy for these materials is a strength if the solutions manuals are disregarded and other resources are used to grade assignments. Mathematical inquiry. The new revisions included a much heavier emphasis on inquiry, technology use, and problem solving. Every lesson includes problem solving activities and exercises. In addition, every 10 lessons there is an investigation encouraging mathematical inquiry and depth. Performance tasks and activities are available every five lessons to allow students to explore topics in the real world and to explain their thinking with open ended questions. However, the performance tasks are additional resources and could be skipped easily if a teacher were not aware. Thus mathematical inquiry is a slight weakness for this program. Mathematical reasoning. The elements of formalizations, definition, and proof are found scattered throughout the lessons and especially in the investigations. As the courses progress, there is more of an emphasis on this in Course 2 than in Course 1 and even more in Course 3 than in Course 2. Mathematical reasoning is a slight weakness for this program. Organization. There is a logical progression of concept development. Concepts are carefully developed, integrated, and practiced to create a foundation for more complex topics. Especially taken across the full three years, students are very well prepared by the organization to be successful in high school courses. This is a strength for the Saxon math program. Balance. The Saxon math philosophy is centered on the concept of automaticity, or that students can look at a problem and know how to approach it with rapid ease. The program does not expect mastery when a topic is first introduced. The program carefully spirals to allow students time to process concepts and practice them to promote long-term retention. As such, clarity and depth of mathematical inquiry and reasoning are partially sacrificed for comprehensiveness, accuracy, and organization. The Saxon math program does what it says it does. It promotes long-term retention through distributed practice and integrated topics.

2. Learner Perspective Engagement. The program has a built in review period at the beginning of each level. The first 20-30 lessons allow for a review of previous concepts that could be used to help students that may lack prior knowledge, or these lessons could be rapidly covered for those who do not. In addition, early finishers in the written practice offer the opportunity to deepen mathematical learning with problem solving, cross-curricular, and enrichment activities. Extensions in the investigations allow students to expand their knowledge of the investigation concepts, work on their higher-order thinking skills, and explore more connections. The teacher also has access to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Extend the Problemâ&#x20AC;? suggestions for more ways to engage the advanced learner. Performance Tasks and activities also allow for real-world connections. Graphing calculator activities, online activities, and manipulative kits are available for greater depth of understanding. If teachers choose to use these materials, there are multiple ways to appeal to students with various differentiated needs. However, the materials are not designed to explore issues of power or social justice. Teachers would need to supplement such materials if this were a goal of their school or district. Timeliness and support for diversity. While the developers generally expect teachers to cover one lesson a day, adaptations are available for faster and slower paces as needed. Adaptations are available for special education or selfcontained resource classrooms, Title I resources exist for pullout programs, and a test and practice generator is provided to create individualized worksheets. In addition, throughout the student text, ESL/ELL students have structures to help them acquire mathematical understanding through visual models, hands-on activities, and mathematical conversations and language prompts. Teacher notes in this area focus on language acquisition, not on re-teaching or simplifying the mathematics. If social justice issues are not a primary, or even secondary goal, this is a strength of the Saxon math curriculum. Assessment. During instruction, opportunities for assessment include practice sets and the daily written practice. Re-teaching masters are also available for every lesson. Every five lessons there is a Power-Up test to assess basic facts and skills, as well as problem solving strategies, and a Cumulative Test to check mastery of concepts from previous lessons. Two test versions are provided for retake opportunities. Again, teachers can make individualized assessments, as needed. Every quarter, there is a multiple choice benchmark test. A final multiple choice exam is also available. Performance tasks with accompanying rubrics are available every five lessons for alternative ways to assess mastery. A deficiency is assessment in the use of technology. The assessments are all paper and pencil tests. 3. Teacher Perspective Pedagogy and resources. Teacher materials list the objectives of each lesson, the materials needed, the math language introduced or needed (including ESL specific vocabulary), and the technology resources and adaptations available. In addition, teacher tips referring to ways to use manipulatives, think about concepts, and anticipate student errors are embedded in the teacher text. Specific prompts are given to encourage mathematical discourse, develop problem ÂŠ 2015 The authors and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

solving strategies and tie in to past and future concepts. There are many resources to help teachers with limited abilities including partial scripts, if desired. Specific sections in the teacher materials help teachers to make connection to other subjects such as geography, history, science, and sports. Every ten lessons, possible big ideas are listed such as algebraic thinking, probability and fractions, equivalence, measurement and geometry, and spatial thinking. However, teacher learning through inquiry is not explored explicitly. Professional development. Professional development is available through Harcourt Publishers however it is sparse and not required. “Advanced Implementation Workshops” and webinars such as “Response to Intervention: Supporting All 3 Tiers”, “Getting to Know the Common Core”, and “Classroom Observation Best Practices for Administrators” are available although somewhat generic. These offer some instruction to teachers; however, the program was designed to be implemented with minimal professional development. The developers do not push for schools to purchase professional development packages as part of implementation. This is a weakness of the program.

Discussion As a comprehensive K-12 program, Saxon math provides a unique choice in today’s curricular offerings. Due to its unusual organizational structure constructed of distributed units of instruction, integrated strands, and incremental learning, no other program looks or feels like Saxon math. In keeping with the developers’ philosophical and pedagogical intent, the program has strengths and weaknesses that need to be considered before adoption, as well as features that may appeal to certain ideological leanings. The strengths of the program include comprehensiveness, accuracy, and organization. This is consistent with the developers’ intent to foster long-term mastery and automaticity. While mathematical inquiry and reasoning have been greatly enhanced from previous editions, it is still not a central goal in the middle school courses. Teachers would need to consciously and purposely integrate this aspect of the program. While resources exist, they are not as easily integrated into the teacher materials and could be overlooked by less experienced teachers. Student engagement, resources for diverse needs, and assessment are also strengths of this program rational humanism and socially efficient perspectives. Teachers have access to a wide variety of formative and summative paper and pencil assessments. Many ways to track student progress are embedded in the program. Teachers also have access to many different ways to engage students, enrich and enhance learning, and reteach as necessary. The greatest weakness of the program is clarity of mathematical content due to its lack of organization around big ideas. Other weaknesses include integration of technology and professional development. While technology use has been added to the new revisions (previously technology was completely absent), there is still a general lack of technology use to explore and expand on concepts.

Teacher professional development is also generally lacking. It appears the developers feel a teacher should be able to read the materials and know how to teach the program. While professional development is available, it is only vaguely program specific and generally comes across as an afterthought.

Recommendations for Improvement In future revisions, the developers could keep true to their philosophical and pedagogical intent and still integrate technology and socially justice focused activities or investigations more pervasively throughout the lessons. This could also be a way to organize the content around big ideas and thus address the clarity of mathematics content weakness. In addition, professional development needs to be developed specifically for Saxon math. As a program so unique, it would increase the validity of the program to ensure implementation is happening across classrooms in line with the programs foundational principles. This program could easily devolve into a less rigorous, rote learning environment without adequate, continuous professional development.

Conclusion The Saxon math middle school curricular offerings consisting of Course 1, Course 2, and Course 3, offer a comprehensive, organizationally strong choice to schools across America. With recent revisions and additional resources ensuring a complete coverage of the CCSSM, schools can feel comfortable that all relevant mathematical topics with be introduced. However, schools may hesitate to adopt the program because the clarity of the mathematics content of the program is a major weakness due to its lack of organization around big mathematical ideas. In addition, unless teachers receive specific professional development, it is possible the program can become more about breadth than depth as intended by the CCSSM.

References Apple, M. W. (2004). Idealogy and curriculum (3rd ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2010). Common core state standards for mathematics. Washington, D.C.: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Dewey, J. (2003). My pedagogic creed. In D. J. Flinders & S. J. Thornton (Eds.), The Curriculum Studies Reader. New York: Routledge. Eisner, E. (2003). Curriculum ideologies. In The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs (pp. 202–249). Upper Saddle River: Merrill-Prentice Hall. Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. Basic books. Greathouse, D. (1997). Utilizing Keymath Teach and Practice to improve middle school students’ arithmetic skills. Psychological Reports, 81(3), 1361–1362. Kliebard, H. M. (2004). The struggle for the American curriculum (3rd ed.). New York: RoutledgeFalmer. National Research Council. (2004). On evaluating curricular effectiveness: Judging the quality of K-12 mathematics evaluations. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. NCTM. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. NCTM. (2014). Principles to actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers in Mathematics. Noddings, N. (2013). Education and democracy in the 21st century. New York: Teachers College Press. Resendez, M. (2008). The relationship between using Saxon Math at the elementary and middle school levels and student performance on the North Carolina statewide assessment. Retrieved from http://saxonhomeschool.hmhco.com/HA/correlations/pdf/s/Saxon_Math_Ar chival_Report_NC_GR_3-8_2008.pdf Resendez, M., & Azin, M. (2007). The relationship between using Saxon Elementary and Middle School Math and student performance on California statewide assessments. Retrieved March, 15, 2010. Resendez, M., Fahmy, A., & Azin, M. (2005). The relationship between using Saxon Middle School math and student performance on Texas statewide assessments. Jackson, WY: Pres Associates. Retrieved from http://steckvaughn.hmhco.com/NR/rdonlyres/4C2C4E04-80F6-4201-9CA624C9B956D439/0/SXMath_Middle_TX_research_web.pdf Saxon math. (2013). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://www.hmhco.com/shop/education-curriculum/math/saxonmath/features/unique-pedagogy What Works Clearinghouse (ED). (2010). Saxon math. What works clearinghouse intervention report. What Works Clearinghouse.

Appendix A Table 1: Course 3 Lesson #

Content

Standard

Number Line: Comparing and Ordering Integers

6.NS.6c; 6.NS.7a, 6.NS.7c

Operations of Arithmetic

6.EE.3

Addition and Subtraction Word Problems

6.EE.6; 6.EE.7

Multiplication and Division Word Problems

6.EE.6; 6.EE.7

Fractional Parts

4.NF.2

Converting Measures

6.RP.3d

Rates and Average; Measures of Central Tendency

6.RP.2, 3b; 6.SP.5c

Perimeter and Area

6.G.1

Prime Numbers

Rational Numbers; Equivalent Fractions

6.NS.6c; 6.NS.4

Inv. 1

The Coordinate Plane

6.NS.6b

Percents

6.RP.3c

Decimal Numbers

8.NS.1

Adding and Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers

5.NF.1

Evaluation; Solving Equations by Inspection

8.EE.7

Powers and Roots

8.EE.2

Irrational Numbers

8.NS.1, 8.NS.2

Rounding and Estimating

4.OA.3

Lines and Angles

7.G.2, 8.G.5

Polygons

8.G.2

Triangles

6.G.1, 8.G.5

Inv. 2

Pythagorean Theorem

8.G.6, 8.G.7

Distributive Property; Order of Operations

6.EE.3

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Multiplying and Dividing Fractions

6.NS.1

Multiplying and Dividing Mixed Numbers

6.NS.1

Adding and Subtracting Decimal Numbers

6.NS.3

Multiplying and Dividing Decimal Numbers

6.NS.3

Transformations

8.G.1a, 8.G.1b, 8.G.1c, 8.G.3, 8.G.4

Laws of Exponents

8.EE.1

Scientific Notation for Large Numbers

8.EE.3, 8.EE.4

Ratio

6.RP.1, 6.RP.2, 6.RP.3

Repeating Decimals

8.NS.1

Inv. 3

Classifying Quadrilaterals

7.G.2

Adding Integers; Collecting Like Terms

7.EE.1

Probability

7.SP.5

Subtracting Integers

7.NS.1c

Proportions; Ratio Word Problems

6.RP.3a

Similar and Congruent Polygons

8.G.2, 8.G.5

Multiplying and Dividing Integers; Multiplying and Dividing Terms

7.NS.2a; 7.EE.1, 8.EE.2

Areas of Combined Polygons

6.G.1, 8.G.7

Using Properties of Equality to Solve Equations

8.EE.7b

Circumference of a Circle

7.G.4

Area of a Circle

7.G.4

Inv. 4

Drawing Geometric Solids

7.G.2

Functions

8.F.1, 8.F.2, 8.F.4, 8.F.5

Volume

6.G.2

Surface Area

6.G.4

Test 4

Test 5

Test 6

Test 7

Solving Proportions Using Cross-Products; Slope of a Line

6.RP.3; 8.EE.5

Ratio Problems Involving Totals

6.RP.3

Solving Problems Using Scientific Notation

8.EE.4

Graphing Functions

8.F.1, 8.F.2

Percent of Whole

6.RP.3c

Solving Rate Problems with Proportions and Equations

6.RP.3b; 7.RP.2

Solving Multi-Step Equations

8.EE.7b

Inv. 5

Graphing Transformations

8.G.1a, 8.G.1b, 8.G.1c, 8.G.3

Negative Exponents; Scientific Notation for Small Numbers

8.EE.1,8.EE.3

Using Unit Measures to Measures to Convert Measures; Converting Mixed-Unit to Single-Unit Measures

6.RP.3d

Solving Problems Using Measures of Central Tendency

6.SP.3, 6.SP.4, 6.SP.5d, 7.SP.4

Angle Relationships

7.G.5, 8.G.5

Nets of Prisms, Cylinders, Pyramids, and Cones

6.G.4

The Slope-Intercept Equation of a Line

8.F.3

Operations with Small Numbers in Scientific Notation

8.EE.1, 8.EE.3, 8.EE.4

Solving Percent Problems with Equations

7.RP.3

Experimental Probability

7.SP.6

Area of a Parallelogram

8.G.3

Inv. 6

Collect, Display, and Interpret Data

8.SP.4

Sequences

F.BF.2

Test 8

Test 9

Test 10

Test 11

A61

Simplifying Equations with Decimals

7.EE.1

Graphing Solutions to Inequalities on a Number Line

7.EE.4b

Rational Numbers, Non-Terminating Decimals and Percents; Fractions with Negative Exponents

8.NS.1; 8.EE.1

A63

Simplifying Equations with Fractions

7.EE.1

Using a Unit Multiplier to Convert a Rate

N.Q1

Applications Using Similar Triangles

8.G.5, G.SRT.1b

Special Right Triangles

8.G.7, G.SRT.6

A66

Writing the Equation of a Line Given the Slope and a Point on the Line

8.EE.6

Percent of Change

6.RP.3a

Probability Multiplication Rule

7.SP.8a

A68

Finding a Slope from Two Given Points

8.F.4

Direct Variation

7.RP.2b, 8.EE.5

Solving Direct Variation Problems

7.RP.3

Inv. 7

Probability Simulation

7.SP.8c

Percent Change of Dimensions

8.G.3, 8.G.4 this is even more complex

A71

Finding the Equation of a Line Given Two Points

8.F.4

Multiple Unit Mulipliers

N.Q1

Formulas for Sequences

F.IF.3

A73

Graphing Sequences

F.IF.7

Simplifying Square Roots

8.EE.2, 8.G.7, N.RN.2; Honors topic in Sec. 2

Area of a Trapezoid

Test 12

Test 13

Test 14 76

Volumes of Prisms and Cylinders

6.G.2

Inequalities with Negative Coefficients

7.EE.4b

Products of Square Roots

N.RN.2

Transforming Formulas

A.CED.4

Adding and Subtracting Mixed Measures; Polynomials

5.MD.1; A.APR.1

A80

Adding and Subtracting Polynomials

A.APR.1

Inv. 8

Scatterplots

8.SP.1, 8.SP.2, 8.SP.3, 8.SP.4, S.ID.6a

Central Angles

G.C.5

Graphing Equations Using Intercepts

F.IF.7a

Probability of Dependent Events

7.SP.8a

A83

Proportions with Unknown in Two Terms

7.RP.3

Selecting an Appropriate Rational Number

6.RP.3c

A84

Adding Radical Expressions

N.RN.2

Surface Area of Cylinders and Prisms

7.G.6

Volume of Pyramids and Cones

8.G.9

Scale Drawing Word Problems

7.G.1

A87

Solving Equations with Two Variables Using Substitution

8.EE.8b

Review of Proportional and Non-Proportional Relationships

7.RP.2a, 7.RP.2b,7.RP.2c, 8.EE.5

Solving Equations with Two Unknowns by Graphing

8.EE. 8a, A.REI.11

Sets

Test 15

Test 16

Test 17 Inv. 9

Sampling Methods

7.SP.8c

Effect of Scaling on Perimeter, Area, and Volume

8.G.4 is more complex

Areas of Rectangles with Variable Dimensions; Products of Binomials

A.APR.1

A92

Solving Systems of equations by Substitution, Part 1

8.EE.8b

Equations with Exponents

8.EE.2, A.REI.4

Graphing Pairs on Inequalities on a Number Line

7.EE.4b

Slant Heights of Pyramids and Cones

8.G.7

A95

Products Equal to Zero

A.REI.4

Geometric Measures with Radicals

8.G.7

Recursive Rules for Sequences

F.BF.2

A97

Writing Equations with Two Variables

8.EE.8c

Relations and Functions

8.EE.1, 8.EE.2, 8.EE.3, 8.EE.4, F.IF.1

A98

Function Notation

F.IF.2

Inverse Variation

GPE.3

A99

Solving Systems of Equations by Elimination, Part 1

8.EE.8b

100

Surface Area of Right Pyramids and Cones

6.G.4

Inv. 10

Compound Interest

7.RP.3

101

Geometric Probability

7.SP.6

A101

Factoring Quadratics

A.SSE.3a

102

Growth and Decay

F.BF.2

A102

Solving Systems of Equations by Substitution, Part 2

8.EE.8b

103

Line Plots; Box and Whisker Plots

S.ID.1

104

Volume, Capacity, and Mass in the Metric System

N.Q1

A104

Solving Systems of Equations by Elimination, Part 2

8.EE.8b

105

Compound Average and Rate Problems

F.IF.6

A105

Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring, Part 1

A.SSE.3a

Reviewing the Effects of Scaling on Volume

8.G.4 more complex

Test 18

Test 19

Test 20 106

A106

Graphing Linear Inequalities on the Coordinate Plane, Part 1

A.REI.12

107

Volume and Surface Area of Compound Solids

G.GMD.3

108

Similar Solids

8.G.4 more complex

A108

Graphing Linear Inequalities on the Coordinate Plane, Part 2

A.REI.12

109

Consumer Interest

7.RP.3

110

Converting Repeating Decimals to Fractions

8.EE.7b

A110

Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring, Part 2

A.SSE.3a

Inv. 11

Non-Linear Functions

8.F.5

111

Volume and Surface Area of a Sphere

8.G.9

112

Ratios of Side Lengths of Right Triangles

G.RST.6

A112

Graphing Systems of Inequalities

A.REI.12

113

Using Scatterplots to Make Predictions

8.EE.1, 8.EE.2, 8.EE.3, 8.EE.4, S.ID.6a

114

Calculating Area as a Sweep

A114

Solving Systems of Inequalities from Word Problems

115

Relative Sizes of Sides and Angles of a Triangle

Test 21

A.REI.12

Test 22 116

Division by Zero

PreCalc, Obj.3c

A116

The Quadratic Formula, Part 1

A.REI.4b

117

Significant Digits

118

Sine, Cosine, Tangent

G.RST.6

A118

The Quadratic Formula, Part 2

A.REI.4b

119

Complex Fractions

7.NS.3

A119

Finding the Equation of a Line Parallel to a Given Line through a Given Point

G.GPE.5

120

Rationalizing a Denominator

N.RN.2

A120

Finding the Equation of a Line Perpendicular to a

G.GPE.5

Given Line through a Given Point Inv. 12

Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem

8.G.6

Appendix B Table 2: Course 2 Lesson #

Content

Standard

Arithmetic with whole numbers and Money Variables and Money

7.NS.2b

Properties of operation

6.EE.3

Unknown numbers in Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division

7.EE.4a

Number Line Sequences

6. NS.6c

Place Value through Hundred Trillions Reading and writing whole numbers

5.NBT.1, 5.NBT.4

Factors Divisibility

4.OA.4, 4.NBT.6

Lines, Angles, and Planes

4.G.1

Fractions and Percents Inch Ruler

6.RP.3c

Adding, Subtracting, and Multiplying Fractions Reciprocals

7.NS.2c

Writing Division Answers as Mixed Numbers Improper Fractions

5.NF.1, 5.NF.3

Inv 1

Investigating Fractions and Percents with Manipulatives

6.RP.3c

Problems about Comparing Problems about Seperating

7.EE.3, 7.EE.4a

Problems about Comparing Elapsed Time Problems

7.EE.4a

Problems about equal groups

7.NS.3, 7.EE.4a

Problems about parts of a whole Simple Probability

7.EE.4a, 7.SP.5, 7.SP.6

Equivalent Fractions Reducing Fractions, Part 1

4.NF.1; 5.NF.1

U.S. Customary System Function Tables

5.MD.1; 6.RP.3a

Test 1

Test 2 16

Measuring angles with Protractors

4.MD.6

Polygons Similar and Congruent

5.G.2; 8.G.2

Perimeter / Creating Formulas for Perimeters of Polygons

3.MD.8; 4.MD.3

Exponents Rectangular Area, Part 1 Square Root

6.EE.1; 7.G.6; 8.EE.2

Inv 2

Using a compass and Straightedge, Part 1

SM1.G.CO.12

Prime and Composite numbers Prime Factorization

4.OA.4; 6.NS.4

Problems about a Fraction of a group

7.NS.2c, 7.NS.3

Subtracting Mixed Numbers with regrouping

5.NF.1

Reducing Fractions, Part 2

7.NS.2c

Dividing Fractions

7.NS.2c

Multiplying and Dividing Mixed Numbers

7.NS.2c, 7.NS.3

Multiples Least Comon Multiple Equivalent Division Problems

6.NS.4; 6.RP.3a

Two-Step Word Problems Average, Part 1

7.RP.2c, 7.NS.3

Rounding Whole Numbers Rounding Mixed Numbers Estimating Answers

4.OA.3

Common Denominators Adding and Subtracting Fractions with different Denominators

4.NF.2

Inv 3

Coordinate Plane

6.NS.6b; 6.G.3

Reading and Writing Decimal Numbers

5.NBT.3a

Metric System

5.MD.1,

Comparing Decimals

5.NBT.3b, 5.NBT.4, 6.NS. 3

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

Rounding Decimals 34

Decimal Numbers on a number line

5.MD.1, 6.NS.6

Adding, Subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers

7.NS.2c

Ratio Sample Space

7.SP.5, 7.SP.6, 7.SP.7a

Area of a triangle Rectangulat Area, Part 2

7.G.2, 7.G.6

Interpreting Graphs

6.SP.5a, 3.MD.3

Proportions

6.RP.3

Sum of the angle measures of a triangle Angle Pairs

7.G.5

Inv 4

Stem-and-leaf Plots Box-and-whisker plots

7.SP.5, 7.SP.6, 7.SP.7a

Using Formulas Distributive Property

7.G.2, 7.G.6

Repeating Decimals

6.SP.5a, 3.MD.3

Converting Decimals to Fractions Converting Fractions to Decimals Converting Percents to Decimals

6.RP.3

Division Answers

7.G.5

Dividing by a decimal number

7.NS.2c, 7.NS.3

Rates

7.RP.1, 7.RP.2b

Powers of 10

5.NBT.2, 6.EE.1

Fraction-Decimal-Percent Equivalents

7.NS.2d, 6.RP.3c,

Adding and Subtracting Mixed Numbers

5.MD.1, 4.MD.2

Unit Multipliers and Unit Conversions

6.RP.3b, 6.RP.3d

Creating Graphs

7.SP.1, 7.SP.2, 7.SP.3

Test 6

Test 7

Test 8

Test 9 Inv 5

Scientific Notation for large numbers

8.EE.3

Order of Operations

6.EE.2c

Ratio Word Problems

7.RP.1

Rate Word Problems

6.RP.3b, 6.RP.2

Average and Rate Problems with Multiple Steps

7.RP.2c

Plotting Functions

6.EE.9

Negative Exponents Scientific Notation for Small Numbers

7.RP.2c

Symmetry

8.G.3

Adding Integers on the number line

7.NS.1a, 7.NS.1b, 7.NS.1c, 7.NS.1d

Fractional Part of a number

7.RP.3

Inv 6

Classifying Quadrilaterals

7.G.2

Area of a Parallelogram Angles of a parallelogram

7.G.6

Classifying triangles

7.G.2

Symbols of Inclusion

5.OA.1

Adding positive and negative numbers

7.NS.1a, 7.NS.1b, 1.NS.1d

Circumference and Pi

7.G.4

Ratio Problems Involving Totals

6.RP.3

Geometric Solids

7.G.3

Algebraic Addition

7.NS.1a, 7.NS.1b, 7.NS.1c, 7.NS.1d

Proper Form of Scientific Notation

8.EE.3

Volume

6.G.2

Balanced Equations

6.EE.5

Tets 10

Test 11

Test 12

Test 13 Inv 7

Finding the Whole Group When a Fraction is Known

Implied Ratios

6.RP.3

Multiplying and Dividing Positive and Negative Numbers

7.NS.2a, 7.NS.2b, 7.NS.2c

Fractional Part of a number, Part 2

5.NF.4

Area of a Complex Figure Area of a trapezoid

7.G.6

Complex Fractions

7.NS.3

Percent of a number, Part 2

6.RP.3c

Graphing Inequalities

7.EE.4b

Estimating Areas

5.NF.4b

Transformations

8.G.1, 8.G.2, 8.G.3

Inv 8

Probability and Odds Compound Events Experimental Probability

7.SP.5, 7.SP.6, 7.SP.7a, 7.SP.7b, 7.SP.8a, 7.SP.8b, 7.SP.8c

Using Proportions to Solve Percent Problems

6.RP.3

Area of a Circle

7.G.4

Multiplying numbers in Scientific Notation

8.EE.4

Algebraic Terms

7.EE.1

Order of operations with positive and negative numbers

6.EE.2c, 7.NS.2a, 7.NS.2b, 7.NS.2c

Number families

6.NS.6

Multiplying Algebraic Terms

6.EE.1, 3

Multiple Unit Multipliers

6.RP.3d

Diagonals Interior Angles Exterior Angles

8.G.5

Mixed-Number Coefficients

7.EE.1, 7.EE.4a

Test 14

Test 15

Test 16

Negative Coefficients Test 17 Inv 9

Graphing Functions

7.RP.2a

Evaluations with positive and negative numbers

6.EE.2c

Percent of Change

7.RP.3, 7.EE.4a

Two-Step Equations and inequalities

7.EE.4b

Probability of dependent events

7.SP.8a

Volume of a right Solid

7.G.6

Estimating Angle Measures Distributive Property with Algebraic Terms

7.EE.1

Similar Triangles Indirect Measure

7.G.1

Scale Scale Factor

7.RP.2d

Pythagorean Theorem

8.G.7

100

Estimating Square Roots Irrational Numbers

8.NS.2

Inv 10

Using a compass and Straightedge, Part 2

G.CO.12

101

Translating Expressions into Equations

7.EE.2, 7.EE.4a

102

Transversals Simplifying Equations

8.G.5; 8.EE.7b

103

Powers of Negative Numbers Dividing Terms Square Roots of Monomials

8.EE.1

104

Semicircles, Arcs, and Sectors

G.C.5

105

Surface Area of a right solid Surface area of a sphere

7.G.6

Solving Literal Equations Transforming Formulas More on Roots

A.REI.3; A.EE.2

Test 18

Test 19

Test 20 106

107

Slope

8.EE.5

108

Formulas and Substitution

6.EE.5

109

Equations with Exponents

8.EE.2

110

Simple Interest and Compound Interest Successive Discounts

7.RP.3; A.SSE.3c

Inv 11

Scale Factor in Surface Area and Volume

7.RP.1, 7.G.6

111

Dividing in Scientific Notation

8.EE.4

112

Applications of the Pythagorean Theorem

8.G.7

113

Volume of Pyramids, Cones, and Spheres

7.G.6

114

Volume, Capacity, and Mass in Metric System

7.G.6

115

Factoring Algebraic Expressions

7.EE.1

116

Slope-Intercept Form of Linear Equations

8.F.3

117

Copying Geometric Figures

7.G.2

118

Division by zero

7.NS.2b

119

Graphing area and volume formulas

6.EE.9

120

Graphing Nonlinear Equations

6.EE.9

Inv 12

Platonic Solids

6.G.4

Test 21

Test 22

Appendix C Table 3: Course 1 Lesson #

Content

Standard

Adding Whole Numbers and Money, Subtracting Whole Numbers and Money, Fact Families, Part 1

Multiplying Whole Numbers and Money, Dividing Whole Numbers and Money, Fact Families, Part 2

6.NS.2

Unknown Numbers in Addition, Unknown Numbers in Subtraction

6.EE.2a, 6.EE.2b, 6.EE.5, 6.EE.6, 6.EE.7

Unknown Numbers in Multiplication, Unknown Numbers in Division

6.EE.2a, 6.EE.2b, 6.EE.5, 6.EE.6, 6.EE.7

Order of Operations, Part 1

5.OA.1

Fractional Parts

4.NF.1, 4.NF.4a

Lines, Segments, and Rays, Linear Measure

4.MD.1, 4.MD.5a, 4.G.1

Perimeter

3.MD.8

The Number Line: Ordering and Comparing; Ext. Writing, Solving, and Graphing Inequalities

6.NS.7a, 6.NS.7b; 6.EE.8

Sequences, Scales

3.OA.9, 2.MD.6

Inv. 1

Fequency Tables, Histograms, Surveys

6.SP.2, 6.SP.4, 6.SP.5a, 6.SP.5b

Problems About Comparing; Problems About Separating

6.EE.2a, 6.EE.6

Place Value Through Trillions; Mulistep Problems (Ex. 5)

4.MBT.3, 5.OA.1

Problems About Comparing; Elapsed-Time Problems

6.EE.2c, 4.OA.3

The Number Line: Negative Numbers; Ext. Understanding and Comparing Absolute Values

2.MD.8, 3.MBT.2

Test 1

6.NS.5, 6.NS.6a, 6.NS.6c,6.NS.7a, 6.NS.7b, 6.NS.7c, 6.NS.7d

Problems about Equal Groups

6.EE.2a, 6.EE.6, 6.EE.7

Rounding Whole Numbers; Estimating

4.MBT.3

The Number Line: Fractions and Mixed Numbers

3.NF.2a, 3.NF.2b, 2.MD.1

Average; Line Graphs

6.SP.5c, 6.EE.9

Factors, Prime Numbers

4.OA.4

Greates Common Factor (GCF); Ext. Using the GCF and the Distributive Property

6.NS.4

Inv. 2

Investigating Fractions with Manipulatives

4.MF.1

Divisibility

4.OA.1

"Equal Groups" Problems with Fractions

4.NF.4c

Ratio, Rate

6.RP.1, 6.RP.2, 6.RP.3b

Adding and Subtracting Fractions that Have Common Denominators

4.NF.3a

Writing Division Answers a Mixed Numbers; Multiples

5.NF.3, 4.OA.4

Using Manipulatives to Reduce Fractions, Adding and Subtracting Mixed Numbers

4.NF.3c

Measures of Circles

7.G.2

Angles

4.G.1

Multiplying Fractions, Reducing Fractions by Dividing Common Factors

5.NF.4

Least Common Multiple (LCM); Reciprocals

6.NS.1, 6.NS.4

Inv. 3

Measuring and Drawing Angles with a Protractor

4.MD.6

Areas of Rectangles

4.MD.3

Test 2

Test 3

Test 4

Test 5

Expanded Notation, More on Elapsed Time

4.MBT.2, 5.MD.1

Writing Percents of Frations, Part 1

6.RP.3c

Decimal Place Value

5.MBT.4

Writing Decimal Numbers as Fraction, Part 1; Reading and Writing Decimal Numbers

5.MBT.3a

Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers from Whole Numbers

5.NF.1

Adding and Subtracting Decimal Numbers

6.NS.3

Adding and Subtracting Decimal Numbers and Whole Numbers, Squares and Square Roots

6.NS.3; 6.EE.1, 8.EE.2

Multiplying Decimal Numbers

6.NS.3

Using Zero as Placeholder; Circle Graphs

6.NS.3; 6.EE.9

Collecting, Organizing, Displaying, and Interperting Data; Ext. Recognizing a Statistical Question, Describing Patterns in Statistical Data; Displaying Data in Box Plots

6.SP.1, 6.SP.2, 6.SP.4, 6.SP.5a, 6.SP.5b

Finding a Percent of a Number

6.RP.3c

Renaming Fractions by Multiplying by 1

4.NF.1

Equivalent Division Problems; Finding Unknowns in Fraction and Decimal Problems

6.EE.5

Simplifying Decimal Numbers; Comparing Decimal Numbers

5.MBT.3b

Dividing a Decimal Number by a Whole Number

6.NS.3

Writing Decimal Numbers in Expanded Notation; Mentally Multiplying Decimal Numbers by 10 and 100

5.MBT.3a, 6.NS.3

Circumference; Pi

6.RP.1

Subtracting Mixed Numbers with Regrouping, Part 1

5.NF.1

Test 6

Test 7 Inv. 4

Test 8 46

Dividing by a Decimal Number

6.NS.3

Decimal Number Line (Tenths); Dividing by a Fraction

6.NS.1, 6.NS.6c

Inv. 5

Displaying Data; Ext. Using Measuring of Variability; Describing the Distribution in a Set of Data

6.SP.1, 6.SP.2, 6.SP.3, 6.SP.5, 6.SP.5

Rounding Decimal Numbers

5.MBT.4

Mentally Dividing Decimal Numbers by 10 and by 100

6.NS.3

Decimals Chart; Simplifying Fractions

6.NS.1, 6.NS.2, 6.NS.3

Reducing by Grouping Factors Equal to 1; Dividing Fractions

6.NS.1

Common Denominators, Part 1

6.NS.4

Common Denominators, Part 2

6.NS.4

Adding and Subtracting Fractions: Three Steps

5.NF.1

Probability and Chance

7.SP.5

Adding Mixed Numbers

5.NF.1

Polygons

4.MD.3, 5.G.1

Inv. 6

Attibutes of Geometric Solids

6.G.4

Adding Three of More Fractions

6.NS.1

Writing Mixed Numbers as Improper Fractions

4.NF.3c

Subtracting Mixed Numbers with Regrouping, Part 2

5.NF.1

Classifying Quadrilaterals

5.G.2

Prime Factorization, Division of Primes, Factor Trees

4.OA.4 more complex

Test 9

Test 10

Test 11

Test 12

Multiplying Mixed Numbers

Using Prime Factorization to Reduce Fractions

Dividing Mixed Numbers

6.NS.1

Lengths of Segments; Complementary and Supplementary Angles

7.G.5

Reducing Fractions Before Multiplying

6.NS.1

Inv. 7

The Coordinate Plane; Ext. Finding Distances on the Coordinate Plane

6.G.3, 6.NS.8

Parallelograms

6.G.1

Fraction Chart; Multiplying Three Fractions

6.NS.1

Exponents; Writing Decimal Numbers as Fractions, Part 2

6.EE.1; 6.RP.1

Writing Fractions as Decimal Numbers; Writing Ratios as Decimal Numbers

6.RP.1

Writing Fractions and Decimals as Percents, Part 1

6.RP.1

Comparing Fractions to Decimal Form

6.RP.1

Finding Unstated Information in Fraction Problems

6.RP.1

Capacity

5.ND.1

Area of a Triangle

6.G.1

Using a Constant Factor to Ratio Problems

6.RP.3a

Inv. 8

Geometric Construction of Bisectors

G.CO.12

Arithmetic Units of Measure

5.MD.1

Volume of Rectangle Prism; Ext. Finding Volume of a Prism with Fractional Edge Lengths

6.G.2

Proportions

6.RP.2

5.NF.3

Test 13

Test 14

Test 15

Order of Operations, Part 2

Using Cross Products to Solve Proportions

5.OA.2

Test 16 86

Areas of Circle

6.EE.1

Finding Unknown Factors

6.EE.2b, 6.EE.7

Using Proportions to Solve Ratio Word Problems; Ext. Using Tables to Compare Ratios

6.RP.3a

Estimating Square Roots

8.EE.2

Measuring Turns

8.G.1

Inv. 9

Experimental Probability

7.SP.6

Geometric Formulas

6.EE.1. 6.EE.2c

Expanded Notation with Exponents; Order of Operations with Exponents, Powers of Fractions

6.EE.1

Classifying Triangles

5.G.2

Wrting Fractions and Decimals as Percents, Part 2

6.RP.1

Reducing Rates Before Multiplying

6.RP.2

Functions, Graphing Functions; Ext. Analyzing the Relationship Between Dependent and Independent Variables

6.EE.2c, 6.EE.9

Transversals

8.G.5

Sum of the Angle Measures of Triangles and Quadrilaterals

7.G.5

Fraction-Decimal-Percent Equivalents

6.RP.3

100

Algebraic Addition of Integers

6.NS.5, 6.NS.6a, 6.NS.6c

Compound Experiments

7.SP.8b

Test 17

Test 18 96

Test 19 Inv. 10

101

Ratio Problems Involving Totals

6.RP.3a

102

Mass and Weight

5.MD.1

103

Perimeter of Complex Shapes

6.G.1

104

Algebraic Addition Activity

6.NS.5, 6.NS.6a

105

Using Proportions to Solve Percent Problems

6.Rp.3a

Two-Step Equations; Ext. Indentifying Parts of Expressions and Generating Equivalent Expressions; Identifying Equivalent Expressions

6.EE.4, 6.EE.5, 6.EE.7

107

Area of Complex Shapes; Ext. Finding the Area of Trapezoids and Regular Polygons

6.G.1

108

Transformations; Ext. Analyzing the Relationship of Points on a Coordinate Plane

8.G.3, 8.G.4, 6.NS.6b

109

Corresponding Parts; Similar Figures

6.RP.1

110

Symmetry

4.G.3, 8.G.1

Inv. 11

Scale Factor: Scale Drawings and Models

6.RP.1; 6.NS.8

111

Applications Using Division

6.NS.1

112

Multiplying and Dividing Integers

5.MBT.5

113

Adding and Subtracting Mixed Measures; Multiplying by Powers of Ten

5.MD.1, 5.MBT.2, 4.MBT.4

114

Unit Multipliers

6.RP.3d

115

Writing Percents as Fractions, Part 2

6.RP.3c

116

Compound Interest

A.SSE.3c

117

Finding a Whole When a Fraction is Known

6.RP.1

118

Estimating Area

6.G.1

119

Finding a Whole When a Percent is Known

6.RP.1

Test 20 106

Test 21

Test 12

120

Volume of a Cylinder

8.G.2

Volume of Prisms, Pyramids, Cylinders, and Cones; Surface Areas of Prisms and Cylinders

6.G.1, 6.G.2, 6.G.4, 8.G.9, G.GMD.1

Test 13 Inv. 12

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 97-115, November 2015

The Admiralty Code: A Cognitive Tool for Self-Directed Learning James M. Hanson University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia Abstract. This article introduces The Admiralty Code – a cognitive tool, used by police investigators and intelligence analysts, which can also assist learners in evaluating information and distinguishing it from potential misinformation or disinformation. One reason for using inquiry-based learning methods in education, is that they develop students‟ capabilities for engaging in self-directed inquiry, throughout their personal and professional lives. But the carefully-designed information environments in which students conduct inquiry-based learning in schools or colleges are much more benign than the ones in which they will conduct their self-directed inquiries, later on. Information environments such as the internet or the mass media present the inquirer with an excess of information, as well as misinformation and even disinformation. The challenge of distinguishing essential from nonessential information and of evaluating its trustworthiness is not addressed sufficiently by inquiry-based learning methods in benign education environments. Use of The Admiralty Code has the potential to correct this shortcoming. Application of The Admiralty Code is illustrated by an analysis of the evidence surrounding the mysterious loss of HMAS Sydney in 1941. Keywords: Learning; Inquiry; Evidence; Cognitive Tools

Introduction Inquiry-based learning methods have been adopted in education for two main reasons: (i) many educators and researchers believe that they help students develop a deeper understanding of conceptual knowledge (Learning Goal 1) than is typically attained via traditional teaching methods (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000; Brown & Palincsar, 1989; Rogoff, 1998; Webb & Palincsar, 1996) and (ii) inquiry-based learning techniques model the norms and methods of inquiry in a profession or discipline and therefore develop students‟ capabilities for engaging in such inquiry for themselves, throughout their personal lives and professional careers (Learning Goal 2) (Barrows, 1990; Bereiter, 2002a, 2002b; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2000, 2003; Feltovich, Spiro & Coulson, 1997; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1996, 2006; Schon, 1983,1987; Wells, 1999, 2000, 2002). Those capabilities are built by mastering the skills in conducting inquiry-related tasks, by developing an understanding of the principles underpinning inquiry © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

and by adopting norms or attitudes that promote critical, but constructive, inquiry. Inquiry-based learning activities in education are usually structured and guided by more experienced others – teachers, tutors, supervisors, professors – and are focused on questions that are determined in advance and driven by the requirements of a curriculum. Beyond education, however, personal or professional inquiry is more often self-directed and focused on questions that arise in an ad hoc manner, driven by the inquirer‟s desire (or perceived need) to know. Inquiry-based learning techniques in education do help students develop many of the „cognitive tools‟ that will be useful for self-directed inquiry beyond education, but perhaps not all. The information environments of inquiry-based learning in education can differ in important ways from those often encountered by self-directed inquirers beyond education. The main learning objective of inquiry-based learning in education is to help students develop a deeper and more applicable understanding of those theoretical principles which are the main focus of the curriculum. This objective is more likely to be achieved when the information environment is carefully structured and managed to remove irrelevant or misleading content and when the students‟ inquiry is guided (or „scaffolded‟) to limit the potential for developing misconceptions or pursuing investigative dead ends. As a result, educators dramatically reduce the need for learners to cope with excess information, misinformation and even disinformation. Yet these are three characteristics of the information environments in which we conduct selfdirected inquiry in our personal and professional lives (eg. the internet). Learning how to operate effectively in (mis)information-rich environments is an essential aspect of Learning Goal 2. So, by structuring and simplifying the learning environment to optimise the development of conceptual knowledge (Learning Goal 1), educators may also be impeding or limiting the attainment of Learning Goal 2 – developing students‟ capabilities for engaging in self-directed inquiry. The cognitive toolbox developed for students by inquiry-based learning techniques in education may be in need of some additional tools. After explaining the concepts of self-directed inquiry and misinformation-rich environments, this article will introduce The Admiralty Code – a cognitive tool which has proven its effectiveness in professional practice and which would be a valuable addition to the self-directed learner‟s toolbox.

Self-Directed Learning Self-directed learning, whether conducted individually or in collaboration with others, is an activity in which “the conceptualisation, design, conduct and evaluation of the learning project are directed by the learner.” (Brookfield, 2009) Although humans have presumably been engaging in self-directed learning since time immemorial, the term is now most closely associated, in the English© 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

language literature, with andragogy – a model of adult learning articulated by Malcolm Knowles (1970). Although the term has earlier, European uses, Knowles characterised andragogy – the art and science of helping adults learn – as being quite distinct from pedagogy – the art & science of helping children learn (Knowles, 1975). Knowles‟s original model of andragogy proceeds from four assumptions which he used to distinguish adult learners from children:  the adult learner is more self-directed and less dependent than the child  the adult learner has a greater reservoir of experience to draw upon as a resource for learning  the adult learner‟s readiness (or motivation) to learn is closely related to his or her current social role.  the adult learner has a more problem-centered orientation to learning, in contrast to the subject-centeredness of pedagogy. Today, of course, many researchers and educators will recognise selfdirectedness, problem-centeredness, personal relevance and the importance of prior knowledge as features of some constructivist-inspired approaches to pedagogy. Knowles, himself, acknowledged, in later years, that his andragogical principles could be applied to the education of children and pedagogical principles could be applied to adults (Knowles, 1990). Nevertheless, he regarded self-directed learning as the epitome of adult learning and facilitating selfdirectedness as a key goal of adult education.

Inquiry-Based Learning Inquiry-based learning, in education, challenges students with questions, problems or scenarios which are intended to motivate learning. The learning is achieved by inquiry, which might include such activities as investigation, experimentation, debate or discussion, to discover or construct answers or solutions. It often culminates with the learner having to present and explain his or her findings to others. The learning, so achieved, may be problem-specific or it may be more general. Inquiry-based learning, in which learners are presented with questions and assisted to discover or construct answers (ie. concepts), is often contrasted with direct instruction, in which learners are presented with concepts directly. In direct instruction, it is the instructor who presents a concept, explains it and elaborates upon its relationships with other previouslypresented concepts. The learner learns by observing, listening and, hopefully, thinking about what is being presented. In inquiry-based learning, it is the learner who does the explaining and elaborating and, although this may require more time and more effort from the learner, it forces the learner to think carefully about what is being learned and thus leads to deeper understanding than might be achieved by direct instruction. One feature that is absolutely crucial to the success of inquiry-based learning methods in education is guidance. All inquiry-based learning methods in education involve guidance: either guidance through a complex information environment by a tutor or teacher or guidance via a simplified information environment which has been carefully designed in advance to lead the student toward the intended „discovery‟ (eg. structured learning materials, computer © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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simulations, etc). Inquiry-based learning activities in which students appear to be engaged in self-directed inquiry, without a teacher‟s supervision, are generally of the latter type in which the guidance has been built into the learning materials. The learning environment is usually designed to make the inquiry task easier by excluding materials which are irrelevant or misleading. The process of inquiry – asking sub-questions, selecting lines of investigation, proposing hypotheses, evaluating information, making decisions, exploring relationships – is also carefully guided, either via instructions or questions in the learning materials which scaffold the inquiry process or by a teacher or tutor who actually participates as a co-inquirer. A number of inquiry-based learning methods emphasise the role of knowledge elaboration using computer-based cognitive tools, such as mind maps or influence diagrams. This approach makes the process of knowledge construction visible in the form of models or diagrams which are under construction by the learners. They also facilitate collaboration – several learners can work together to build a representation of their shared understanding of an issue as that shared understanding develops. Collaboration, especially if it involves a more knowledgeable teacher or tutor, allows developing misconceptions to be identified and challenged early. As the learners construct these external knowledge representations, they are also constructing their own knowledge internally. The cognitive tools, themselves, can help to guide learners‟ thinking by focusing their attention of the particular functions of the tools, such as depicting causal directions among concepts. The last decade has witnessed a debate about the conditions under which inquiry-based learning might be superior or inferior to traditional direct instruction for the development of students‟ conceptual knowledge (HmeloSilver, Duncan & Chinn, 2007; Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006; Kuhn, 2007; Tobias & Duffy, 2009). But inquiry-based learning methods also serve another purpose which is perhaps the main reason for their growing popularity: they teach students how to engage in systematic inquiry. They place students in the guided and supported role of young scientist or young social scientist. The intention is to foster positive attitudes, in students, toward questioning and open inquiry, and to develop their skills in using analytical techniques (comparing hypotheses, designing experiments, collecting and analysing data) and engaging in discourse patterns (debating, offering causal explanations, questioning assumptions, etc.) which, it is hoped, will enable them to engage in systematic inquiry throughout their professional and personal lives (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006).

Self-Directed Inquiry in (Mis)Information-Rich Environments However, engaging in systematic inquiry in one‟s professional or personal life often does not necessarily mean following the research methods of the natural sciences or even the social sciences. In our personal lives, even those questions that are related to the natural sciences must usually be addressed by means other than controlled experimentation or systematic data collection and analysis.

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In societies characterised by division of labor and specialisation, we have to rely heavily on information provided by others. Learning via self-directed inquiry means conducting an investigation, alone or in collaboration with others, to try to answer a question of personal relevance. The question motivating the inquiry is often related to a professional or personal decision confronting the inquirer, at the time, so finding timely answers or solutions is often a priority. While self-directed inquiry might not be an optimal pedagogical approach for learning curriculum content within an educational institution, there are many important learning situations, in life, for which selfdirected inquiry is the only viable option. It may be the only available option within time constraints. It may be the only affordable option. Questions motivating self-directed inquiry are often expressed in the first person. Some examples are: 1. If I want to gain strength and muscle mass, without harming my health, should I use anabolic steroids or should I not? 2. If I am concerned about climate change, which party‟s policies should I support? 3. If I want to maximise my lifespan and optimise my health, should I eat foods containing saturated fat or should I not? 4. If I want to lose body fat, which particular combination of diet and exercise will be most effective? 5. If I want to earn a good financial return over the next 10 years, should I invest in residential real estate or should I not? 6. Was the judge‟s verdict that Oscar Pistorius was not guilty of murder a reasonable verdict? Should I campaign for an appeal or a retrial? These are the types of personally-relevant questions that motivate learning via self-directed inquiry and learners often begin by searching for relevant information provided by informants whom they believe to be knowledgeable. Today, this process often begins with an internet search. The internet contains an abundance of information relevant to each of the six questions, listed above, and many others. The mass media, too, runs regular stories on each of these topics and many others. What makes these topics media-worthy is that they are personally-relevant to many people and the answers to these questions are hotly debated. On topics such as these, the distinction between information and misinformation is not easily drawn. Guided, inquiry-based learning, conducted in education contexts, often takes place in benign information environments which have been structured for the purpose of learning. Instructors and educational designers select or design the information resources that learners will encounter during their inquiry to give students the best chance of constructing new knowledge in the form that the teacher intended (ie. „correct‟ knowledge). While there may be some cases of misinformation, in which a mistaken educator or textbook author will misinform students, there are unlikely to be many cases of disinformation, in which educators or textbook authors set out deliberately to deceive students. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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In contrast, learning via self-directed inquiry often requires learners to engage with information environments that are poorly-structured (for the purpose of learning) and which contain vast resources of information, as well as wellintended, but mistaken, misinformation and even deliberately-misleading disinformation. For example, a Google search conducted in Sydney, Australia, at the time of writing, using the search term „steroids‟, returned 36,600,000 results. Of the top ten hits, 3 were strongly in favor of using anabolic steroids to build strength and body mass, 4 were opposed to it, and 3 took a balanced approach, listing pros and cons. Two of the pro-steroids results were websites selling steroids online and the third was a discussion forum for people who used, or were interested in using, steroids. Three of the anti-steroids results were news stories in the mass media about individual cases of alleged steroid abuse by three young men and the fourth was a website selling natural alternatives to steroids. One of the balanced results was Wikipedia and the other two were government health information sources. Only one of the top ten hits displayed any results of medical studies of steroid use and it was one of the (pro-steroid) online stores. It used those research results to challenge some anti-steroid claims, made by others, which had purportedly been based on medical research evidence, but which had apparently been exaggerated. The balanced sources listed the potential effects of using steroids but did not indicate the typical consequences of these effects or their probabilities. The self-directed inquirer is in a quandary. Given their opposing recommendations, these 10 „information‟ sources on steroids cannot all be correct. A well-educated inquirer might begin to tackle this problem by drawing upon some of the analytical techniques learned in school, college or graduate school. Techniques for using information to inform one‟s judgments and decisions are examples of cognitive tools.

Cognitive tools Cognitive tools are constructed objects or learnable techniques designed assist human cognition. They enable us to do more cognitively than we would be able to do without them (Resnick, 1987). A map is a cognitive tool that enables a skilled user to navigate through an unfamiliar landscape. A simple electronic calculator is a cognitive tool that allows us to complete calculations more quickly and with less effort. The technique of long division, learned in elementary schools prior to the advent of the calculator, was also a cognitive tool which enabled students to divide large numbers, using only their knowledge of elementary multiplication tables, up to 10x10. Even scientific theories can be regarded as cognitive tools which enable explanation and, in many cases, prediction. Today, the term „cognitive tool‟ is most often associated with computer-based objects & procedures (Jonassen & Reeves, 1996), since a computer allows us to house a great variety of cognitive tools in a single device (eg. apps on a smartphone), but computers are not essential to the concept. Every profession and human pursuit has its own set of cognitive tools. In a sense, it is skill in using the cognitive tools of one‟s profession that distinguishes © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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the more skilled professional from the less skilled. Inquiry-based learning methods are, quite properly, modelled on the investigative work of natural scientists and engineers. Learners use some of the cognitive tools used by scientists – influence diagramming, causal model building, hypothesis testing and so on. But the view of the scientific profession, assumed in inquiry-based learning, is a purist‟s view, unsullied by the possibility of self-interest or financial motivations or political ideology. It is a view in which truth always wins, nature doesn‟t deceive and, thanks to the scientific method, nor do scientists. Indeed, in education environments, generally, students are supposed to assume that textbook writers don‟t make mistakes and teachers don‟t set out to deceive students. Given enough time and sufficient resources, the work of the scientific community probably does eventually converge on the purists‟ ideal. Hopefully, questions 1-4 listed above, will eventually have clear answers, thanks to the scientific work of health scientists and environmental scientists. Economists and financial analysts express conflicting opinions about question 5, but time & hindsight will eventually answer that question, too. Meanwhile, however, people are faced with professional and personal decisions of real consequence and those decisions cannot wait for hindsight or for wellestablished answers from the scientific community. The designers of inquirybased learning would typically model this challenge as a scientific challenge to be addressed by building a causal model, proposing and testing hypotheses and they would be at least half right. But there is another aspect to this challenge which tends to be ignored by educators. A well-resourced scientist can investigate nature directly via experiment or systematic observation & data collection. The self-directed inquirer can do this, to a limited degree (eg. by trying out different weight-loss diets) but must depend, for the most part, on informants. The inquirer, described earlier, will learn about the effects of anabolic steroids from informants in a misinformation-rich environment. Since the top ten hits on Google present opposing conclusions, some skepticism is clearly in order. But universal skepticism, though it might seem like a safe epistemological position, is utterly useless for practical purposes. Disbelieving everything is no better than believing everything, when there are judgments and decisions to be made. The first judgments required, here, are judgments about the informants, themselves. This challenge is quite similar to the challenges faced daily by police investigators and intelligence analysts. These two professions, like all professions, have developed or adopted cognitive tools to assist them in their cognitive tasks. Police investigators use evidence, including the claims of informants, to try to explain how a crime was committed and by whom. The police explanation, if persuasive, will become the prosecution‟s account of how & why the defendant allegedly committed the crime. Intelligence analysts use evidence, including the claims of informants, to assess the risks of future crimes, security breaches or acts of aggression. Their assessments and forecasts, if persuasive, may lead to preventative action by police forces, defense forces or security agencies. Both of these professions face challenging tasks – especially © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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the intelligence analysts, who have to deal with the future – and both work in misinformation-rich environments, where secrecy and deceit are commonplace and where the claims of informants may be motivated by a range of factors: public duty, remorse, greed, fear, loyalty, vengeance, ideology, ego, the desire for special treatment, the cessation of mistreatment, or any combination of these (Fitzgerald, 2006). This article will now introduce The Admiralty Code – a cognitive tool for evaluating information or evidence which has proven sufficiently useful in these professions to have become part of their standard toolbox of analytical techniques. Use of The Admiralty Code is sufficiently straightforward to be included in inquiry-based education programs without requiring much additional teaching time.

The Admiralty Code: A Cognitive Tool for Evaluating Information or Evidence The Admiralty Code is a relatively simple scheme for categorising evidence according to its credibility. It was initially used by the British Admiralty for the assessment of evidence used in naval intelligence, but it is now used in many police departments, intelligence agencies and defense-related organisations, including the US Army (US Army Field Manual 2-22.3, 2006) In trying to answer a question or resolve a controversy, the inquirer will ultimately be trying to build a „theory‟ or an explanation that is consistent with all of the credible evidence. Before doing so, however, it is important to make judgments about which evidence will need to be explained by the inquirer‟s theory and which evidence can probably be discarded due to lack of credibility. The Admiralty Code can assist in this task. The Code prompts the inquirer to rate each piece of evidence according to: 1. The expected reliability of the source in providing accurate information on this occasion (rated from A to F). The source might be a person (eg. the Captain of the Kormoran), a publication (ie. Nature, Wikipedia), a method of information collection (eg. interrogation of prisoners of war, a death-bed confession, DNA testing), or some other information source. A source‟s reputation is typically based on its track record of providing accurate information in the past, so one important aspect for assessing the reliability of the source is its reputation. Another important aspect is motivation – why might the information source be providing this information? The other major factor for assessing human witnesses is their competence (proximity to the reported events, fatigue, sensory limitations, potential for unintentional bias, and expertise in correctly interpreting what they claim to have seen or heard). 2. The likely validity of the claim (rated from 1 to 6). How does the claim compare with other evidence that has been shown to be valid? How well does it fit with existing theories/explanations (eg. is it consistent with the laws of physics? Is it consistent with the Australian navy‟s standard procedures in 1941?) © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Expected Reliability of the Source A1 B1 C1 D1 E1 F1 Likely A2 B2 C2 D2 E2 F2 Validity A3 B3 C3 D3 E3 F3 of the A4 B4 C4 D4 E4 F4 Claim A5 B5 C5 D5 E5 F5 A6 B6 C6 D6 E6 F6

Credible – accept Uncertain investigate/wait

–

Non-credible – reject

Figure 1: The Admiralty Code for evaluating the credibility of evidence

The Code applies a letter (A-F) and a number (1-6) to each piece of evidence to indicate its credibility. At the top end of the diagonal credibility scale, A1 evidence would be a claim, emanating from a highly-reputable source with no plausible ulterior motive, which has also been verified by other means. At the bottom end, E5 evidence would be a claim from a very dubious source which seems inconsistent with other known facts. The letter F indicates a source with unknown reliability and the number 6 indicates a claim whose validity cannot yet be assessed, so F6 evidence should be treated as not yet on the scale. Dealing with evidence along the diagonal is quite straightforward. A1 and B2 evidence would be accepted as credible. D4 and E5 evidence would be rejected as noncredible, with C3 evidence on the borderline. The more difficult judgments are those that lie off the diagonal. E2 evidence would be a plausible claim from a source known to have been untrustworthy in the past. It might be worth looking closely at the source‟s motive for informing. B5 evidence would be a very surprising claim from a normally-reliable source. This might require caution and open-mindedness until it can be reassessed at a later time, when more information becomes available. A later reassessment might upgrade its likely validity or simply confirm that it was wrong, all along. A few more such errors and our B source might have to be downgraded to a C. The inquirer who uses the Admiralty Code can decide how many cells to color white (credible), how many to color light-gray (uncertain) and how many to color dark-gray (non-credible). Light gray cells often indicate that further investigation is required to try to validate or invalidate this piece of evidence, but this would require additional investigative work and resources, in addition to time, so an inquirer has to make a type of cost-benefit decision when choosing to color a square light-grey. An overly-cautious inquirer might choose to color all cells light-gray, except for A1 and E5. By doing so, this inquirer can be confident of never making an erroneous judgment. But, by doing so, this inquirer will also probably never make a decision.

An illustration: Using The Admiralty Code to investigate the mysterious loss of HMAS Sydney in 1941. To illustrate the use of these three cognitive tools, the paper will apply them to a major public controversy in Australian military history – the loss of HMAS Sydney in 1941. Many of the decisions and judgments faced by self-directed © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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inquirers do not require all three of these analytical techniques – just one, or perhaps two. But the more challenging the information environment becomes, the more useful all three of these techniques can be. This case has been chosen because it shows how all three of these cognitive tools can be used to make reasonable and defensible judgments even in the most misinformation-rich environments – those characterised by a shortage of evidence and a wealth of conspiracy theories. HMAS Sydney was a light cruiser which had an eventful and very successful campaign in the Mediterranean in 1940. While operating with the British Mediterranean fleet, she had, on one occasion, engaged two Italian cruisers and defeated them in a two-on-one gunnery battle, sinking one of the Italian ships and forcing the other to retire. With a glowing reputation now as the best ship in the navy, HMAS Sydney returned to Australia in 1941, where she took up patrol and convoy escort duties in the relatively peaceful waters of the Indian Ocean (Gill, 1957). In November 1941, HMAS Sydney escorted a troopship, carrying part of the Australian 8th Division, bound for Singapore, where that Division was being posted to try to deter anticipated aggression by Japan. Half way to Singapore, in late-November 1941, HMAS Sydney handed over escort duties to another cruiser, as planned, and turned back toward Fremantle, its home port in Western Australia. HMAS Sydney was never seen again. Mysterious disappearances are open invitations to conspiracy theorists and the loss of HMAS Sydney was no exception. Might a Japanese submarine have started its war against the allies, 18 days earlier than scheduled, by torpedoing HMAS Sydney? Might the Australian & British Governments have concealed their knowledge of this Japanese attack, so as not to interfere with the upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor, which they knew was coming and which they hoped would bring the USA into the war on their side? Conspiracy theories work best, when evidence is lacking or when the available evidence comes from a questionable source. All of the initial evidence regarding Sydney‟s disappearance came from such a source. In the days following HMAS Sydney‟s disappearance, small groups of German sailors were captured, floating in life rafts or washed ashore on the Western Australian coast. They told their captors that they were the crew of the German merchant raider Kormoran – a cargo vessel that had been given guns, torpedoes, mines and a German naval crew to prowl distant sea lanes sinking British and allied merchant ships, while disguised as a Dutch merchant ship Straat Malakka. The military purpose of German merchant raiders was to tie up British naval resources (McQueen, 2011). If Germany‟s 10 raiders could create enough havoc for merchant ships in distant parts of the globe and remain at large, they could force the British navy to send valuable naval resources to those far distant parts of the globe where they could not contribute to the main maritime conflict closer to Britain. One German merchant raider, still at large, might tie up 10 or more British and allied warships in convoy and escort duties in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, at a time when they were needed in Europe and the North Atlantic.

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The German sailors from Kormoran, now prisoners of war, told their interrogators that they had been sailing northward off Western Australia when they saw a warship, directly ahead, steaming southward towards them. Merchant raiders carried torpedoes which could sink a cruiser at close range, but cruisers carried more accurate, longer-range torpedoes, more guns which were accurate at a longer range and they had superior speed and combat systems. Raiders were converted cargo ships which were never designed to fight warships and their strategic purpose was to create and maintain a hazard for merchant ships that would tie up British warships in convoy and patrol work. A raider crew‟s mission was to remain undiscovered for as long as possible. If they were trapped by an allied warship, they were instructed to scuttle their ship to prevent items of military value from falling into allied hands. Perhaps the most valuable item carried by a raider was its enigma machine, used for encoded communication with other German ships, such as the raider supply ships which would rendezvous secretly with the raiders to replenish their supplies of fuel, food and ammunition. A captured enigma machine would enable the allies to break the German raider fleet‟s code and mop up the remaining raiders and their supply ships very quickly, freeing up naval resources for the main fight in Europe and the North Atlantic. Mindful of their mission, the Kormoran‟s crew tried to evade identification by the approaching warship. They changed course dramatically from due north to southwest, turning their stern towards the warship and positioning themselves between it and the setting sun so that it would be difficult for observers on the warship to see the identifying details of their own ship. When the warship changed course to intercept, the Germans increased speed to try to delay a visual inspection from abeam until after sunset, when identification would be more difficult. After dark, Kormoran might even have a chance to escape, since Australian cruisers carried no radar in 1941. Sydney developed a full head of steam and pursued at high speed, sending persistent requests, via signal lamp, for the unknown ship‟s name and destination. After delaying for some time, the Germans eventually replied by signal flags, but hoisted them deliberately in a position where they were obstructed by a mast and difficult to see. The setting sun, behind those signal flags, would have ensured that they were quite unreadable from the bridge of Sydney. After a long pursuit, Sydney‟s great speed brought her alongside the unknown ship before the sun had set and Kormoran‟s options were running out. But Kormoran‟s captain saw one last chance – the Australian ship was alone and the Australian captain, for whatever reason, had brought HMAS Sydney much too close, well within easy range of Kormoran‟s torpedoes. If he had to scuttle Kormoran to prevent capture of his enigma machine, he would do so – those were his orders – but at this very close range the Germans might actually have an even chance, if they chose to fight. At point blank range, the advantage of surprise might allow them to inflict severe damage on Sydney, before the Australians could respond with their superior longer-range weapons. If his disguise failed, the German captain would first try to fight, leaving scuttling as his last resort. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Sydney asked again for the ship‟s name and destination – a clear sign that they had not been able to read the Kormoran‟s signal flags, earlier. The Germans replied according to their Dutch disguise, „Straat Malakka. Destination Batavia‟. Evidently disbelieving, Sydney asked them to display Straat Malakka‟s secret call sign, known only to allied ships. Realising that the game was up, Kormoran‟s crew replied by firing two torpedoes at Sydney‟s vulnerable hull, only 1,000 yards away. Rapid and accurate shellfire from her four 6-inch guns exploded into Sydney‟s bridge, gunnery control tower and forward gun turrets. Continuous machine gun fire killed the exposed crews manning Sydney‟s torpedo tubes and secondary guns, preventing their use. Sydney‟s main guns fired back, but when a torpedo struck the hull directly under the two forward turrets, their four guns fired no more. Within a minute or two, Sydney‟s bridge and other command spaces were completely destroyed, all senior officers killed or wounded, all of her secondary weapon crews killed by machine gun fire and half of her main guns knocked out by the torpedo blast. Sydney swung wildly to port, straight towards Kormoran – the Germans thought she was trying to ram them, in a last attempt to take them to the bottom – but the Kormoran increased speed and Sydney just missed, passing close astern. One of her remaining gun turrets had now jammed facing the wrong direction, leaving only the final turret, with its two 6-inch guns, to face Kormoran‟s continuing barrage. But those two guns were enough to inflict fatal damage on a merchant raider. Shells exploded in Kormoran‟s engine room destroying her engines and starting fuel fires that could not be controlled. As the burning Sydney steamed slowly away, Kormoran‟s guns fired shell after shell into her hull, until she was out of range. Later, when Kormoran‟s uncontrolled fuel fire was approaching her supply of explosive mines, the German captain gave the order to abandon ship and set off the scuttling charges to let the sea put out the fire before the crew could be killed by exploding mines. The Germans reported last seeing Sydney, from their life rafts, heading slowly south-southeast, toward her home port of Fremantle, burning furiously from the bridge to the stern. Later, in the darkness, they saw the orange glow of her fires, over the horizon. Then they flickered and went out. So said the German informants, but many Australians, including the families of the sailors lost on HMAS Sydney, found the German account unconvincing. At best, some thought, the German merchant raider must have been operating in cooperation with a Japanese submarine. Perhaps the German merchant raider lured HMAS Sydney toward it to investigate its identity, from a safe distance, while a Japanese submarine lurked nearby to torpedo the preoccupied warship. Prisoners of war are not required to provide more than minimal information, under interrogation, and the German sailors were initially reluctant to say anything. But allegations had been raised that the German crew may have been involved in some sort of war crime – perhaps operating with a submarine from a non-combatant nation (Japan) and then machine-gunning the Australian survivors to remove all witnesses to their crime – and some of the Germans had been threatened with these allegations during their interrogation, in an attempt to make them cooperate. But this threat of a war crimes charge gave them a © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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motive to protect themselves – if necessary, by lying. From that moment on, it was impossible to know whether the German informants were providing honest and accurate information, honest but inaccurate misinformation, or dishonest disinformation intended to protect themselves from a war crimes charge. In the late-1940s, with wartime feelings still fresh in people‟s memories, it was perhaps understandable that most of the Australian public rejected the Germans‟ account of what had allegedly happened to HMAS Sydney, but doubts persisted well into the 1990s, even among generations born after the war. Several searches were conducted for the wrecks of both ships, but the perceived credibility of the German evidence was still so low, that those searches were conducted far away from where the German captain had said his ship went down. His report was treated as deliberate disinformation intended to lead investigators away from the true location of the wrecks which might, it was thought, reveal evidence of a war crime such as machine-gunning Australian survivors in their life rafts. The one piece of wreckage that had been recovered was an Australian life raft which was riddled with holes and this gave greater credence to the war crime theory. Was this continued rejection (or, at least, questioning) of the German evidence reasonable? Using the Admiralty Code to rate the German survivors as information sources, we will be interested in their reputations, their motivations and their competence as witnesses. Reputation is difficult to judge, in this case, but in the 1940s, these German sailors may have had a reputation for untrustworthiness thrust upon them, partly due to wartime prejudice and partly due to the appalling actions of their Nazi government. In terms of motivation, the first point is that these witnesses were not innocent bystanders. The account of the battle that emerged would affect their reputations among Australians but, more importantly, among their fellow Germans. By November 1941, all of Europe was either defeated, neutral or allied to Germany, Britain had been isolated and neutralised as a European land-power, and the German army was approaching Moscow. These German sailors expected to be sent home as heroes, probably in 1942, as soon as Germany had defeated the Soviets, turned its forces back towards the west, forced Britain to negotiate peace terms and won the war. One of their motivations, we can reasonably assume, was to be loyal to their nation and to their navy, which might be regarded as a reason to portray the events of that day in a way that reflected well on the German navy and on themselves – brave German sailors fighting honorably against a superior ship and prevailing, thanks to superior German tactics and leadership. Once they had been threatened with a war crime charge, a new motivation came in to play – selfprotection and self-preservation. The punishment for a war crime could be severe, even execution. It was the Australian interrogators who gave the German sailors this motivation, but once it was done it was done. They now had a motivation to say whatever it took to save their own lives. On the question of competence, the Australian interrogators were very thorough: determining which sailors had been in a position to see and hear things directly and which sailors were merely recounting claims they had heard later from their crew-mates, as they floated in life rafts or sat in internment camps. But, in any © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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case, the main doubt about these witnesses, as a source of information, arose from the motivations that were assumed to be behind their story. It was thought that they had made up a story, portraying themselves as innocent, to protect themselves from an Australian war crimes charge. As a source, they might have been rated D or E. In rating the German account of events, many of their claims are quite plausible and consistent with Australian and German naval procedures and the historical record of previous naval engagements, but there are two glaring inconsistencies: 1. The German account claims that HMAS Sydney drew close alongside them, which allowed them to torpedo her, but the Australian navy had a clear procedure for identifying suspicious ships which involved standing off at a safe distance where the warship would have an overwhelming advantage in longer-range weaponry, and sending a small motor launch in to do the close identification. The German account requires us to accept that the „best ship in the Australian navy‟ completely ignored its own navy‟s procedures. 2. The German account claims that they last saw Sydney, on fire, heading slowly over the horizon in a south-southeasterly direction, apparently under control. The German ship was also on fire, yet the majority of the German crew were able to abandon ship under controlled conditions and survive in their life rafts until they reached the coast or were picked up at sea. From HMAS Sydney, there were no survivors, no bodies and no wreckage, except for one unmanned life-raft, riddled with small holes (now on display at the Australian War Museum in Canberra). In the history of modern naval warfare, only a tiny number of warships had been lost with no survivors and those few had been blown apart when their magazines exploded catastrophically. Sydney had not exploded. Why, then, had none of her crew been able to abandon ship? The German account requires us to accept that HMAS Sydney went down in a way that was utterly unique in the history of naval warfare. Many of the Germans‟ detailed claims are plausible, but since they can‟t be verified via other sources, they would be rated no higher than 3 on the Admiralty Code‟s scale of likely validity. The two problematic claims, described above, are crucially important to the German account but they are inconsistent with other known facts. They present us with two incredible surprises: (1) that Sydney‟s captain and other senior officers disregarded their navy‟s procedures – not something that military forces are in the habit of doing, and (2) HMAS Sydney did not explode, but somehow still managed to disappear suddenly and catastrophically, leaving no survivors – an event unique in modern naval history. Those two claims would be rated very low on the Admiralty Code‟s scale of likely validity. It was the apparent implausibility of these two key German claims that opened the door to some barely-more-plausible alternative theories, which formed the basis of the war crimes suspicion. Kormoran had no weapons that could damage © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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Sydney severely at the long range required by the Australian navy‟s procedures. Only a lurking submarine could have done that and, in that part of the world, it could only have been a Japanese submarine. Apart from a few catastrophic magazine explosions, no warship in modern history had gone down without survivors, but the lack of survivors might plausibly be explained by a German (or Japanese) decision to finish off Sydney‟s survivors with machine-gun fire as they floated helpless on their life rafts – a theory consistent with the one life raft that was found, riddled with holes, and a ruthless decision which might have been made to conceal Japanese involvement, 18 days before their planned attack on Pearl Harbor. For over 60 years, the Australian public‟s unwillingness to accept the German eyewitness accounts as credible evidence, was probably quite reasonable. But the meagre evidence supporting the conspiracy theories was no better and the most reasonable position to have taken, before 2008, would have been to acknowledge that we simply didn‟t know what happened to HMAS Sydney. Only further inquiry might help resolve the controversy. In 2008, another search was mounted for the wrecks of Kormoran and Sydney. This search was funded by the Finding Sydney Foundation, an independent nonprofit organisation, and conducted by Blue Water Recoveries, a highly-reputable British deep-sea search and salvage company, led by David Mearns, an American-born marine scientist and deep-sea search expert. While conducting background research in preparation for this task, Mearns had been shown a German-English dictionary, by the nephew of the German captain, in which the captain had encoded a secret account of the battle for his superiors in Germany, based on Kormoran‟s log book. When decoded and translated by Captain Peter Hore RN, this account was almost identical to the German captain‟s testimony under interrogation in 1941 (Hore & Mearns, 2003). Although self-promotion might still have been a motivation behind some aspects of the coded dictionary account, as seems to have been the case in his published post-war narrative (Detmers, 1975), self-preservation clearly was not, since the coded dictionary was never seen by Australian authorities, during the war. Mearns started the 2008 search by assuming that the German account of the battle location might be correct. It was; the wreck of Kormoran was found just where the Germans had always said it would be. Following the German account, Mearns then searched in a south-southeasterly direction and found the wreck of HMAS Sydney 11.4 nautical miles (13.1 miles or 21 km) away from the wreck of Kormoran (Mearns, 2009). The German captain‟s claim about the location of the ships had now been verified by an independent source. Mearns‟s expedition produced around 40 hours of video footage, closely examining both wrecks. Validation or invalidation of the German accounts and the main conspiracy theories was a priority. The Germans had claimed that Sydney drew surprisingly close to their ship, despite the Australian navy‟s procedures, and that they were able to torpedo Sydney beneath her forward main gun turrets. The video footage shows flat-trajectory shell holes on both © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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wrecks, indicating a battle at point blank range. It also shows damage from smaller guns and machine guns around Sydney‟s torpedo tubes and secondary guns, just as the Germans had claimed, again indicating a very close range battle. The video footage shows massive torpedo damage beneath Sydney‟s forward main gun turrets and reveals, for the first time that Sydney‟s entire bow section eventually broke off, as a result of that torpedo damage. A burning ship breaking in two and sinking rapidly, while its only living crew members were below decks, would explain the lack of survivors. The presence of small boats and life rafts, some still attached to the wreck, show that few, if any crewmembers were able to abandon ship. Indeed, every German claim that was able to be checked against physical evidence from the wrecks has now been verified. Step-by-step, through the 40 hours of video footage, the track record and reputation of those German informants gets better and better. Many German claims remain untested, but none have been invalidated and those two big, problematic claims that led so many to doubt the German testimony have now been verified. David Mearns‟s video evidence from the sea floor would rate very close to A1 and, since it verifies the most controversial German claims, the Germans, themselves, must now be regarded as reliable informants – their verified claims are now rated as A1 or B1 and even their unverified claims as A3 or B3. Indeed, it might now be reasonable to rate one German‟s claim as verified if it is consistent with claims made by other Germans, during interrogation, since they have now been shown to be very reliable eyewitnesses.

Conclusion The HMAS Sydney case illustrates the value of The Admiralty Code as a cognitive tool for guiding learners and investigators in evaluating claims and evidence. In information environments characterised by competing claims from a range of sources, the Admiralty Code (or NATO System) can assist an inquirer to focus on two crucial factors for evaluating the credibility of those claims: the competence and motivations of the informant, and the consistency of the claim with what else is known. Learning how to engage in self-direct inquiry is one of the main learning objectives of inquiry-based teaching methods in education (Barrows, 1990; Bereiter, 2002a, 2002b; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2000, 2003; Feltovich, Spiro & Coulson, 1997; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1996, 2006; Schon, 1983,1987; Wells, 1999, 2000, 2002). But the benign information environments of most school- and college-based education programs, do not require learners to deal with the quantity of information, typically yielded by even a basic Google search. More importantly, those benign information environments, designed and managed by teachers, tutors and professors, do not expose students to large quantities of misinformation or disinformation, so students are not often confronted with the challenges of evaluating the credibility of claims, assessing the validity of arguments or weighing up competing explanations. Yet, when they engage in self-directed inquiry, beyond school, they often have to work in misinformationrich and even disinformation-rich environments. The Admiralty Code is a cognitive tool which is relatively easy to learn to use. If its use was integrated into inquiry-based education programs, it would help students to become better © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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at engaging effectively in self-directed inquiry and, hence, improve the educational effectiveness of those programs.

References Barrows, H. S. (1990). Inquiry: The pedagogical importance of a skill central to clinical practice. Journal of Medical Education, 24, 3-5. Bereiter, C. (2002a). Liberal education in a knowledge society. In B. Smith (Ed.), Liberal education in a knowledge society. Chicago, IL: Open Court. Bereiter, C. (2002b). Artifacts, canons and the progress of pedagogy: A response to contributors. In Smith, B. (Ed.) Liberal education in a knowledge society. Chicago, IL: Open Court. Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. (2000). Commentary on Part I: Process and product in problem-based learning research. In D. H. Evensen & C. E. Hmelo (Eds.), Problem-based learning: A research perspective on learning interactions. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Bereiter, C. & Scardamalia, M. (2003). Learning to work creatively with knowledge. In E. De Corte, L. Verschaffel, N. Entwistle, & J. van Merriënboer (Eds.), Powerful learning environments: Unravelling basic components and dimensions. (EARLI Advances in Learning and Instruction Series) Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Pergamon Press. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Brookfield, S.D. (2009). Self-directed learning. In R. Maclean & D.N. Wilson (Eds), International Handbook of Education for the Changing World of Work. New York: Springer. Brown, A.L. & Palincsar, A.S. (1989). Guided, cooperative learning and individual knowledge acquisition. In Resnick, L.B. (Ed.) Knowing, learning and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cole, T. (2009). The loss of HMAS Sydney: Evidence and Conclusions. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. Detmers, T.A. (1975). The raider Kormoran. London: Tandem. Feltovich, P. J., Spiro, R. J., & Coulson, R. L. (1997). Issues of expert flexibility in contexts characterized by complexity and change. In P. J. Feltovich, K. M. Ford & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.), Expertise in context. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Fitzgerald, D.G. (2006). Informants and undercover investigations: A practical guide to law, policy and procedure. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Gill, H.G. (1957). The Royal Australian Navy, 1939-1942, Vol.1 Australia in the war of 19391945. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Heuer, R.J. (1999). Psychology of intelligence analysis. Washington, DC: CIA Center for the Study of Intelligence. Hmelo-Silver, C.E., Duncan, R & Chinn, C. 2007, Scaffolding and achievement in problem-based and inquiry learning: A response to Kirschner, Sweller & Clark (2006). Educational Psychologist, Vol. 42, pp.99-108. Hore, P. & Mearns, D.L. (2003). HMAS Sydney – an end to the controversy. Naval Historical Review, 24(4), 2-9. Jonassen, D.H. & Reeves, T.C. (1996). Learning with Technology: using computers as cognitive tools. In D.H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of research for educational communications and technology. New York: Macmillan Kirschner, P.A., Sweller, J. & Clark, R.E. 2006, Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work: An analysis of the failure of constructivist, discovery, problembased, experiential and inquiry-based teaching. Educational Psychologist, Vol. 41, pp.75-86.

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Kuhn, D. 2007, Is direct instruction the answer to the right question? Educational Psychologist, Vol. 42, pp.109-114. Knowles, M.S., The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy versus Pedagogy, Associated Press, New York, 1970. Knowles, M.S., Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers, Follett Publishing Co., New York, 1975. Knowles, M.S., The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species, Gulf Publishing, Houston, TX, 1990. McQueen, R. (2011). Hitlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early raiders. Dunbeath, UK: Whittles Publishing. Mearns, D.L. (2009). The search for the Sydney. Pymble, NSW: HarperCollins. Olson, W. (2000). Bitter victory: The death of HMAS Sydney. Annapolis, MD: naval Institute Press. Resnick, L. (1987). Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13-20. Rogoff, B. (1998). Cognition as a collaborative process. In D. Kuhn & R. S. Siegler (Eds.), Handbook of child development. Volume 2: Cognition, perception and language. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (1996). Engaging Students in a Knowledge Society. Educational Leadership, 54(3), 6-10. Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge building: Theory, pedagogy and technology. In R.K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press. Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York, NY: BasicBooks. Schon, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Tobias, S. & Duffy, T.M. 2009, Constructivist instruction: Success or failure? New York: Routledge. US Army Field Manual 2-22.3 92006). Human intelligence collector operations. Washington, DC: Department of the Army. Webb, N. M. & Palincsar, A. S. (1996). Group processes in the classroom. In Berliner, D. & Calfee, R. (Eds.) Handbook of educational psychology. New York, NY: Macmillan. Wells, G. (1999). Dialogic inquiry: Towards a sociocultural practice and theory of education. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Wells, G. (2000). Dialogic inquiry in the classroom: Building on the legacy of Vygotsky. In Lee, C. & Smagorinsky, P. (Eds). Vygotskian perspectives on literacy research. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Wells, G. (2002). Dialogue about knowledge building. In B. Smith (Ed.), Liberal education in a knowledge society. Chicago, IL: Open Court.

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International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 116-131, November 2015

Investigating the way 5-years old children distinguish the concepts „object‟ and „material‟ Is the „material‟ overshadowed by the „object‟? Evmorfia Malkopoulou, George Papageorgiou and Anastasia Dimitriou Democritus University of Thrace Nea Chili, Alexandroupolis, Greece 68131 Abstract. This paper reports on a study of 5-year-old children ability to distinguish the concepts „material‟ and „object‟. The aim of this study is to investigate how children of this age conceptualize these concepts along with their communication ability, the criteria they use to identify object and material and whether their criteria are relating to extensive or intensive properties. For this purpose, three tasks of different complexity contexts were implemented by using objects and materials of daily life. The sample of the study consists of 30 5-years old children. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the data revealed that the way children conceptualize „object‟ and „material‟ is related with their communication ability, they have used extensive or intensive properties as criteria to identify and distinguish objects from materials. Moreover, when objects and materials were explicit children were able to distinguish them. In reverse, when objects consists of various characteristics „material‟ was overshadowed by the „object‟. Keywords: Material, object, distinguish, early-childhood.

Introduction Students‟ understanding of phenomena is one of the main targets in science education. So the nature of the materials involved should be comprehensible to a satisfying degree. Young children have experiences of their physical environment through objects and the various materials they are made of. Thus, the way they identify and distinguish them is considerable for preschool educator in order to organize science and environmental activities involving appropriate materials and objects. Johnson (1996, 1998 & 2000) and (Solomonidou & Stavridou, 2000) suggest knowing materials presupposes the clarification of basic concepts. When, for instance, one cannot evaluate whether a property is due to the substance or due to the object, then it is not clear what the change of this property means, i.e. a change of substances during the phenomenon means a chemical change, whereas a change of only the object (form) means a physical one. Moreover, lack of distinction between object and material is quite common; it begins from early young ages with material and object being interlinked and still exists in adolescence and beyond. As Piaget (1972) pointed out, concepts occur in children through the development of the basic ontological categories cause, object, space and time. So the classification‟s criteria which children use to define material and object © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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seem to be important for the particular concepts development and further for their science education. Children experience objects putting them into groups according to their common attributes (Spelke, Kestenbaum, Simons & Wein, 1995). Typically, these categories could be ontologically distinct and they can form certain concepts (Chi, Slotta, & de Leeuw, 1994; Keil, 1989; Slotta, Chi & Joram, 1995). The difficulty in making distinction between materials and object is probably due to their limited ability to work at the macroscopic level, studying macroscopic properties, whereas it can be improved in older ages when their ability to work also at microscopic level has been developed (Dickinson, 1987; Driver, Squires, Rushworth & Wood-Robinson, 2000; Krnel, Watson, & Glazar, 1998). In any case, age is one of the major factors affecting children‟s ability to describe and identify materials and objects, contributing in the distinction between them, although education factors, such as school science curriculum and relevant instructions, could also be significant (Krnel et al. 1998; Krnel & Glazar, 2003; Liu & Lesniac, 2006; Michaels, Shouse & Schweingruber 2008; Slotta et al. 1995; Smith, Wiser, Anderson & Krajicik, 2006). Other factors are the size of the object made by a material, the children‟s familiarity with a certain object and the form of a material (continuous form, powder, etc). Younger children made relevant classifications using a mixture of properties of objects and materials. On this basis when classification is applied on solids, the concept of object is clear and distinct (Saxe, Tzelnic & Carey, 2006). Even among solids criteria are posed easier on compact than on the flexible, powdered, or non-rigid ones (Huntley-Fenner, Carey & Solimundo, 2002; Kalish & Gelman, 1992; Kobayashi, 1997). As far as criteria and change in the form of objects are concerned, the situation is even more complicated. In particular, contradictory results were found for the infants‟ ability to identify the materials after cutting the objects into pieces (Dickinson, 1987; Driver et al. 2000; Smith, Solomon & Carey, 2005). Infants of 4 years old when an object was transformed could not see what did changed and what (Michaels et al., 2008) remained. Further to the above when such studies approach early ages, verbal communication is also an important issue (Gelman & Bloom, 2000; Goswami, 1998; Keil 1989; Mitchell & Riggs, 2000). The development of language makes this explicit. Krnel et al (2003) came to the conclusion that initially children of early age classify easier than verbalize in a sufficient way even though they confirm good communication skills by checking parents‟ education and mother language. The lack of knowledge of specific words could be a significant factor affecting the validity and the reliability of what is recorded and evaluated. While an argument is taking place is possible due to false categorizations, difficulties in the use of appropriate words “naïve essentialism” to arise (Dickinson, 1987; Gelman & Bloom, 2000; Hicling & Wellman, 2001; Kobayashi, 1997). Additionally, it is also considered that children resist to suggestions and they are suspicious to questions playing the game of right or wrong ones (Birbeck & Murray, 2007). Consequently, all these make things even more complicated and relevant research evidence should be examined as possibly insufficient or under verification. In this paper verbal communication is tried to be measured by the number of ontological categories recalled to children‟s mind when specific pictures are shown to them (Cole & Cole, 2000). In this context and due to the complexity and the importance of this topic for the understanding of further domains such as environment, physical and chemical changes, sustainability, the matter concept, it was considered as very important to © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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further study it, focusing on how five years old preschoolers think and argue when objects made of specific materials are presented to them under certain circumstances, asking for identification and classification. This study aims to: a) investigate how five years old children conceptualize the concept „material‟ and object‟ and how they distinguish them, b) the criteria they use to identify material and objects and c) whether the criteria they use are relating to generally characteristics or to extensive or intensive properties of „object‟ and „material‟. The verbal communication ability of the children was also evaluated. Research purpose Although, the concept of object is related in fact to three other main concepts i.e., the „material‟ from which is made of, its „design‟ and the „amount‟ of the material (Johnson 1996, 2000) we made a simplification: As it is about a preschoolers‟ study, we focused only on the shape (instead of the entire characteristics of a design) and on compact objects, which means that the „amount‟ of the material could be replaced by the simpler concept of the „size‟ (since, in that case, „amount‟ and „size‟ are analogous to each other). As a result, we assume that the concept of object can be mainly characterized by: a) The „material‟ b) the „shape‟ c) the „size‟ Other characteristics or properties of an object made by a specific material were considered as secondary additional characteristics. For instance, the „color‟ is in fact a property of a material, which can differentiate the material (for example, different colors in metallic objects indicate different metals, like silver vs. copper). However, for simplicity reasons and taking into account the age of the children, we assumed that all metals, independently of their exact composition (silver, copper, iron, etc) and thus their color, they are considered as one material (metal). In the above context the following research questions can be recognized:  How children of that age recognize and classify objects made of specific materials. Which criteria do they use for such classifications?  How children‟s classifications are affected by the complexity of the case (number of the objects and the materials or transformation of the object)?  Whether verbal communication affects children‟s answers. Method Sample The participants were 30 five-year-old children (15 boys and 15 girls). All children were second grade preschoolers. The particular preschool center had five classes of 25 students each. So we interviewed six children of each class. Especially we picked them up from every class by the alphabetic catalogue choosing the first, the forth and the seventh girl and the same procedure for the boys. The sample described well social and demographic data. All children lived in urban environment; spoke the official language as mother language. They all had parents graduated of secondary and higher education, aged of 22 to 41. Instrument The collection of the data was based on a number of semi-structured interviews, which in fact were conversations with the preschoolers in a semi-structured form (Mason, 2003). Before the main part of the interview, the communication ability was evaluated. Five photos were presented to the children, in each one of which, a particular item (without any background) was pictured: a shark (photo 1), a parrot (photo 2), a tin of Cola (photo 3), a fir tree (photo 4) and a boy playing with bubbles (photo 5). The children © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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were asked to express what they see in the photo. However, in fact, for each one of the items pictured in the corresponding photos, a particular number of „ontological categories‟ were preset. In particular, they were as follows: i) For photo 1: shark, fish, animal, carnivore ii) For photo 2: animal, bird iii) For photo 3: tin, refreshment, coke, beverage iv) For photo 4: plant, tree, Christmas tree v) For photo 5: joy, sadness Thus, 15 ontological categories were preset for all the five items. For the evaluation of the children‟s verbal communication ability, we counted every expression that fits to any of these preset ontological categories Slotta et al (1995). Any other irrelevant description was rejected. The main part of the protocol includes three tasks. In each one of the tasks 1 and 2, the children were asked a) to recognize a number of objects made of particular materials, b) to classify the objects explaining their criteria and c) to classify again the objects in a different way – if they could – explaining again their new criteria. In task 3, the children were asked to recognize similarities and differences between an initial object and its pieces after cutting. All the objects, together with their materials, were common and familiar to the children. Task 1 For the implementation of task 1, the objects made of the materials that are presented in Table 1 were used. Table 1 The objects that are used in task 1

Metal (metallic color) Glassy (no color) Plastic (white color)

Spoon   

Plate   

Glass   

All the nine objects were initially in a box. Each one of the children was asked to take them out and to put them on the table before questioning. The protocol of the interviews includes the following procedure: 1. Putting the objects into groups 2. Explain why. 3. After a disarrangement, putting again the objects into (new) groups 4. Explain again way. Task 2 For the implementation of task 2, the objects made of the materials that are presented in Table 2 were used. In this task, it is actually a study of twelve different objects, since there were three different colors in each one of the materials. Thus, although the overall complexity of the classification was increased, it was more possible for the children to use the material as a criterion (due to material common characteristics), since the objects were significantly different in their other main characteristics (the shape and the size). However, apart from these main characteristics, other secondary characteristic or properties could be criteria for classification of the objects by the © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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children, like the color. The latter was common in a number of objects e.g., in a wooden red wheel, in a plastic red baby rattle or in a red doll‟s t-shirt.



Piece



Glove



T-shirt



Scissors



Rattle



Bin



Pencil



Doll

Key



Wheel

Tin

Metal (different colors) Wood (different colors) Plastic (different colors) Cloth (different colors)

Spoon

Table 2 The objects that were used in task 2



Also in task 2, all the objects were initially in a box. Each one of the children was asked to take them out and to put them on the table before questioning. The protocol of the interviews includes the same procedure as in the case of Task 1. Task 3 In this task, two objects, namely a plastic glass and a paper plate, were presented to the children before and after cutting into pieces. Children were asked to recognize the materials after cutting and to state similarities and differences in comparison to the initial objects. Each interview lasted about 50 minutes and it was audio recorded. Data were qualitatively analyzed, although they were also statistically elaborated after coding. Procedure The final form of the research tool, including the objects and the materials that were used, was designed after a pilot study. In the pilot study, two infants, a five-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, were interviewed. During the procedure it was clearly noticed that some objects and materials had to be modified in order to record responses that ensures data. After the necessary changes we proceed to the main study. To be more specific the first metal plate was not recognized easy as a plate. The round shape made it look more like a cover pan. We also changed the metal tin with an empty one. The tin in the pilot was full as we had decided to use covered materials. The content distracted the children and they seemed to be more interested to find what is inside than focus to the groups they were told to make. Results and Discussion When interviewing five years old preschoolers, data collection could be tricky since their answers cannot always express their thoughts. In order to minimize such a risk, the ability of children‟s verbal communication was examined, by the using the photos described above. Although each photo pictured a particular item without any background, a number of additional descriptions were emerged and recorded (further to the expected ontological categories). Thus, for the first photo (a shark), children‟s descriptions included words like sea, water, big sharp teeth, color blue, it eats human flesh, it looks like dolphins or whales, white shark, etc. In the second photo with the fir tree, children described it as a Christmas tree and mentioned some characteristics © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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like color green, Christmas balls, branches and leaves, soil and woods. The photo with the refreshment was described as cola tin, refreshment, a metal box, soda, something red, like beer, being cool, something that adults drink. In the fourth photo picturing a parrot, children described it mainly as a bird and wild animal. Furthermore they mentioned characteristics such as, it is like chicken, like pigeon, it talks, it is green, it flies, it is a night bird and it has feathers and a beak. In the last photo (a boy playing with bubbles) children described a boy who, is playing with the bubbles, is joyful, feels good, laughs and likes what he does. Apart from the above descriptions, children did express and describe the expected ontological categories. They used the expected words which indicate the ontological categories a fir tree, a cola, a parrot. Some of them used more than one word to describe the photo: «A shark, it is dangerous, it eats fishes, dolphins and men. Boy No3» «It is a parrot… an animal… like a chicken…Boy No 4» «A tree…a Christmas tree…with green leaves Girl No 21». The majority of them used the exact words we expected to. They seem to handle ordinary ontological categories in a sufficient way adding words strongly connected to the photos. Counting every child‟s description that fits to a corresponding category, a total score was recorded for each one of them.

The results of the analysis indicated that two of the children were able to express and describe 5, 7 or 8 ontological categories, while five of them did express and describe 9, 10 or 12. Seven children did describe 11 and only one of them express 13 or 14 ontological categories. Based on the logic of the quartiles (25%, 50%, 25%) of the distribution of ‘children’s verbal communication ability’, as it is presented in the Figure 1, we tried to distinguish children in three main categories, ‘Low Level’ category (LL), ‘Medium Level’ (ML) category and ‘High Level’ category (HL). However, due to inconvenience in fitting these percentages in the numbers expressing the children’s ability, it comprised 6 children in LL, 17 in ML and 7 in HL category respectively. The corresponding children’s verbal communication ability is 0-8 for LL, 9-11 for ML and 12-14 for HL.

Figure 1: An overview of children’s verbal communication ability’s categories

Besides, the categorization of the sample in „LL‟, „ML‟ and „HL‟ in that context did not really help in clarifying the main question of this study. Although one can see differences among them throughout the three recognition and classification tasks, we © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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could not find any specific relevant correlation. For instance, maybe it is not random that in all these tasks and subtasks, only one „LL‟ preschooler in one subtask (see last Table 6) recognized an „object made by a material‟ whereas in all the other cases the „LL‟ preschoolers of the sample recognized and categorized only either a „material‟ or an „object‟; however the picture is not clear also in the other two categories („ML‟ and „HL‟). Task 1 When the 9 objects of task 1 were put on the table (see Table 1), children were asked to recognize them, naming every one of them. There was a variety of designations in their responses, since many children designated in some cases only the material of the object (e.g. this is plastic), in some other cases only the object (e.g. it is spoon) and in some cases both of them (e.g. a glassy plate). In Table 3, one can see the number of designations in children‟s recognitions (object – material – object made by a material) and one who gave no designation of any kind of recognition. Table 3 The number of children’s responses in each of the cases of task 1 (recognition, 1st classification, 2nd classification)

Object

object made by a material

Utility

Properties

Material

Object

object made by a material

Utility

Properties

Number of 4 LL Children

Number of ML Children

Number of HL Children Total Number of Children

Material

2nd Classification

object made by a material

1st Classification

Object

Recognition

As one can see in Table 3, the designations are numerous, since many children used more than one designation in order to recognize the 9 objects, i.e. in some cases they © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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recognized them as objects, in some others as materials and in some others as objects made by a specific material. Some relevant examples are given below: “These are plates and spoons…” [Boy No14], he recognises in a very clear way the specific objects and insists on the plural of the words plate and spoon. “A glass like a mirror, a glass, a spoon, plastic spoon and a plastic plate…” [Girl No 2] this child seems to recognize the objects based first on material, afterwards on object only and then continues with both of them. When children were asked to put the nine objects into groups, there was also a variety of classifications in each case. Some of the children (one of the ML category and especially three of the LL category), did not understand the procedure that is asked and further instructions had been given. The final results of the children‟s 1st classification are presented in Table 3. As one can see there were four criteria that was used by the children: The first included verbal references about material as: “iron, plastic, glassy, metal, bronze, paper, something like metal, tin”. The second category included verbal references about objects as “plates, glasses, spoons”. The third category included verbal references about properties as: (color) white, grey, silver, gold, dark, the same color, (hardness) hard, (fragility) it can break, (sparkle) shiny, like a torch, like a mirror, (sound) they have the same noise, because they hurtle the same, (scheme) is round, because they stand. The fourth category included verbal references about utility as: because we eat food with the spoon, we can stir the coffee, we eat cakes, we drink juices, I thought it was tea and we sip a little. However, similarly to recognition, also in 1st classification, there were many cases where the same child used more than one criterion. For example: When girl No 7 was asked why she had put particular objects together firstly she said “because they are white and white” focusing obviously on the property of color. Trying to explain the other groups that she had made, she said “they are plastic… they are glassy… they are iron”. Another child, Girl No15, made a group of three glasses and said that “this one is tough and the other one is tough, they are glassy and also they are making the same noise”. An overview of children‟s criteria in this 1st classification shows that children use mostly the criterion of „properties‟ for such a classification, whereas also the criteria of material and object are used quite often. They used less the criterion of utility. The next step of Task 1 was to rearrange the nine objects on the table and ask every child to try again to put them into new groups so that they have something in common. The results were different in this second attempt of classification (see Table 4). Although a number of children used again more than one criterion in order to accomplish this 2nd classification, many children could not proceed to a new classification. Comparing children‟s criteria in this 2nd classification with those in the 1st classification, one can see that the criterion of material is used more often, whereas the criteria of properties and object are used less. The criterion of „properties‟ is the most frequent during both the classifications, following by the criterion of „material‟, whereas third is the criterion of „object‟. Only one child in each classification referred to an „object made by a material‟, indicating perhaps that such multiple criteria are quite sophisticated for them. It is also noticeable that a half of the children remained steady in their preferences along the classifications. Particularly, 7 children used the „material‟ as criterion of classification, 1 the „utility‟, 7 the „properties‟ and 11 children used more than one. Some changes in their preferences were: from object to material 2 children, from material to object 2, from material to more than one 1. In addition, when the criterion in the 1st classification was the „material‟, the „properties‟ was in the 2nd one. When the criterion in the 1st classification was the „object‟, the utility usually follows in the 2nd one. © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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When the above findings were related to those of children‟s verbal communication ability, some interesting relations were found (see Table 4). Since all the ML and HL children had reported 9 to 14 ontological categories in their descriptions, it was expected that they probably would follow this initial tendency also when they use and define categories over recognition, 1st and 2nd classification. However, this did not happen as they seem to be rather laconic. As for the use of the criteria, the criterion of „material‟ was present over the three levels, although the children of LL also preferred to use the criteria of „utility‟ and „properties‟ more often than the other two levels. In addition, although we expect that the „level of communication‟ could also affect the use of the criterion of „object made by a material‟, the analysis showed that children did not use it no matter the level they belonged (to), (with) the exception of five times. Task 2 In this task, there were 12 objects on the table (see table 2) and children were asked first to recognize them, naming every one of them, and then to classify them in two attempts. Again, there was a variety of designations in their recognitions, as one can see in Table 4. Table 4 The number of children’s responses in each case of task 2 (recognition, 1st classification, 2nd classification)

Object

object made by a material

Utility

Properties

Material

Object

object made by a material

Utility

Properties

Number of 0 LL Children

Number of ML Children Number of HL Children Total Number of Children

Material

2nd Classification

object made by a material

1st Classification

Object

Recognition

Since in this task, there were 12 different objects, this criterion (of the „object‟) is present in almost all children‟s responses. They recognized all the given items as objects. However, a number of children used the „object made by a material‟ criterion, whereas one child referred to „material‟. The „object made by a material‟ was © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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recognized in cases of the „plastic ball‟, „wooden toy‟ and the „iron bottle‟, where the material was more obvious to observe it and to combine it with the object. On the contrary, the „red wooden wheel‟ was mostly recognized as a circle. Although the same reason as previously in recognition, i.e. there were 12 different objects, in the 1st and the 2nd classifications of this 2nd task, the criterion of „object‟ was almost absent in children‟s justifications. The massive use of criterion of the „object‟ in recognition was not followed by a similar tendency afterwards in classifications. On the contrary, the criteria that dominated were properties and utility. (See also Table 5) In the 1st classification 15 children‟s statements were with the „utility‟ of the objects. Their answers included verbal references to how can objects be used. Such an extract is following [Boy No1]: - Put them into groups to have something in common. Why did you put these together (glove, spoon, key, t-shirt, pencil and one left aside). - We wear this t-shirt. We get something with this. This is a box to put things inside. This is a toy and another toy. The criterion of „properties‟ was used by 28 children, including verbal references about „color‟. They mentioned some colors and the word „color‟ itself. An extract is given below [Girl No 5]: - Why did you put these together? (Pencil, t-shirt, baby rattle) - They are red. - And why these? (Spoon key, tin) - They have the same color grey. - And why these? (Pencil, toy doll) - They are like grey and like grey. Same color - Why did you put these together? (Glove, cloth) - Same color. Generally, in their descriptions, children were using the exact words like wooden, wool, glass, steel or plastic for „material‟ or particular colors for the property of „color‟, as well as they were using verbs like eat, keeps us warm, etc for „utility‟. As for the procedure that the children followed during the first grouping, this appears to have some particular steps. Initially, they put the objects in numerous groups. They described their reasoning, talking bout properties for every single object. Then they made comparisons, managing to notice as more common characteristics as possible. The resulting small groups had usually two objects in some occasions three and some times an object was left to be the last one apart from the others. The „properties‟ that had been referred by the children, mostly concerned the „color‟, the „hardness‟ the „fragility‟, the „sound‟ or some „characteristics of the design‟ e.g. , “they are hard” [Boy No27], “…the end of scissors will break” [Girl No24], “…it is the same sound” [Girl No24] “they have heads” [Boy No30]. The „utility‟ was described for each one “the glove is used for the cold and the key to unlock the door” [Girl No24]. When they discussed about pairs they had reasoning like “because scissors cut the cloth” [Boy No29], whereas when they discussed about triads or more, they began to make a story “A man wears the t-shirt, gets out of his home with his key and his suitcase [Boy No11]. For the needs of the 2nd classification of task 2, we rearranged the objects on the table and asked the children to try again to put them into new groups, thinking if they have something in common. The categories were then similar to the first grouping i.e., „object‟, „material‟, „object made by material‟, „properties‟ and „utility‟ as Table 5 shows. A new finding at this stage was that, 8 children did not make any groups. Even though we gave instructions again, they could not make any progress. A careful look at the answers of these children in their first classification of task 2 shows that they © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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used more than one criterion. This means that they maybe used up all the possible criteria they could think of and any further encouragement would be meaningless. Furthermore, the grouping at this second attempt, followed the same pattern as in the first one as for the distribution of the children into the categories. Thus, although the majority of the children applied all the criteria, when the criterion of „material‟ was the dominant one, the second choice was the „properties‟; when the dominant criterion was the „object‟, the second was the „utility‟. Generally, the number of criteria was increased as the children moved from the recognition to the 1st and 2nd classifications i.e., in both classification they used much more criteria even in cases of children who were laconic in recognition. There were only two exceptions in children, who steadily were choosing the „material‟ and the „utility‟ throughout the procedure. Comparing the above findings to those of task 1, one can see that the criterion of „material‟ is not the most preferable as it was possibly expected. Since the criterion of „object‟ is constrained by the use of 12 different objects in this task 2, the use of „material‟ could be more massive in comparison to the task 1. However, many of the materials used in this task 2 were „covered‟, as they were presented in the way they appear to be in everyday life, e.g. colored wooden toy. This was maybe the reason for a different procedure in their evaluation and classification and for the promotion of other criteria such „properties‟ and „utility‟. Simple forms of materials, such the metal tin and the metal key facilitated its recognition and thus, in those cases the „material‟ dominated as a criterion. When the above findings for task 2 were related to those of children‟s verbal communication ability, no clear relations were found (see also Table 5). This could be expected, as in this task 2 there were 12 different objects. Thus, all the children, no matter their level of verbal communication, chose in first recognition the criterion of „object‟. During the grouping, they all chose „properties‟ and „utility‟ as criteria and not „material‟, „object‟ or „object made by a material‟. In addition, the level of communication seems to be in unexpected analogy with their choices. Children with LL and HL chose firstly one criterion and steadily remained to one or two criteria no matter their ability to use categories. Task 3 Initially, a paper plate and the same paper plate cut to pieces were put on the table. Children were asked to recognize them and to refer differences and similarities justifying their responses.

Table 5 The number of children’s responses in case of paper plate of task 3 (recognition, differences and similarities) Recognition Pre- cutting

Differences Post- cutting

Similarities Post- cutting

object made by a material

Yes-differ (no justification)

No-differ (no justification)

Different due to material

Different due to new status

Different due to properties

Yes-same (no justification)

No-same (no justification)

Similar due to material

Similar due to new status

Similar due to properties

Number of 5 LL Children

Number of ML Children

Number of HL Children Total Number of Children

Material

Object

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As Table 5 shows, the majority of the children recognized both, the paper plate and the same paper plate cut to pieces as “paper” or “plate” whereas only few as “paper plate”. As for the differences and the similarities between the paper plate and the same paper plate cut to pieces, children were mostly responded without justifications. When there were justifications, they were mostly due to the „properties‟ like the „color‟ and less due to new status, i.e. children mentioned the words “cut” or “piece”. Only in few cases, they were based on the „material‟. The justifications were in general short and some examples are given below: “Let me show you something else now. What is it? It is a plate. What is made off? It is made of paper. [We are cutting it] Have they anything in common? No. Have they something different? It is cut. [Girl No7] What is it? It is a plate. “What is made off?” It is made of plastic. [We are cutting it] Have they anything in common? They have. What? This is cut. We can put it together. Have they something different? © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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No [Girl No9] Further to the above, a plastic glass and the same plastic glass cut to pieces were put on the table. Children were asked again to recognize them and to refer differences and similarities justifying their responses. Table 6 The number of children’s responses in case of plastic glass of task 3 (recognition, differences and similarities)

No-differ (no justification)

Different due to material

Different due to new status

Different due to properties

Yes-same (no justification)

No-same(no justification)

Similar due to material

Similar due to new status

Similar due to properties

Number of 4 LL Children

Number of ML Children

Number of HL Children Total Number of Children

Material

Yes-differ (no justification)

Similarities Post- cutting

object made by a material

Differences Post- cutting

Object

Recognition Pre- cutting

As Table 6 shows, the results are similar to the previous procedure with the plate. Many of the children recognized both, the plastic glass and the same plastic glass cut to pieces as „objects‟ or „materials‟ and less of them as „plastic glass‟. As for the differences and the similarities between them, again children were mostly responded without justifications. May be it is difficult to answer this kind of questions in a clear way. In general terms, similarities as „color‟ seem to be easier to be found. Color is the most used characteristic in that case of similarities. In differences children only mentioned that the object was afterwards cut in pieces. It was not found a straight answer about the lost shape in a cut object; possibly, it is implied in answers like “it is cut” or “it is in pieces”. The cutting of the object did not really change the whole picture as it is formed so far. Although the majority of the children could affirm the existence of differences and similarities pre and post cutting, they could not give more information about them, and words like „it is the same material‟ was not clearly recorded. Children rather observed the changes in the form of the objects and in some occasions they talked © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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about the new status (e.g. it is cut, it is a piece) in terms of new object characteristics, advocating the priority of the object in such ages (Dickinson, 1987). When the above findings were related to those of children‟s verbal communication ability, no significant relationship was found. The majority of the children provided justifications in a similar way. (See Tables 5 and 6)

Conclusions Children conceptualize „material‟ and „object‟ when they act on objects made of by various materials. As far as the recognition of the objects made by specific materials is concerned, it seems that preschoolers tend to recognize and name, either, objects or materials rather than objects made by materials. When the possibilities are equal for the two concepts, as in task 1 where there is in fact a combination of three objects by three materials, children almost equally recognize the object or the material without be able to specify any particular reason. A similar distribution between the two concepts holds true for the recognition of task 3, although there are some children in that task naming objects made by materials. On the contrary, when different object are present, as in task 2, children focus on the objects at the first place, whereas material seems to be a second option for them. As a result, children recognize the material only when first have recognized the object and thus, there are children referring to objects made by materials in this case. Maybe this originates from the young ages, where, as Dickinson (1987) reports, children have already developed a primarily knowledge of objects, in contrast to the material that even in the age of 9-10 is overshadowed by the object. The same sense concerning an overshadowing of the material by the object one may has when studying the results concerning the classifications of task 1 and 2. In task 1 where the possibilities for the two concepts are equal, children did use them equally, although the dominant criterion is a mixture of properties of objects and materials, as in the research of Krnel and Glazar (2003), following by the criterion of utility. The material starts to take the advantage as criterion in comparison to the object in the 2nd classification, when children were looking for alternative criteria, showing probably that the material is not a priority for them as criterion. On the contrary, utility and mainly properties still are intensively present although there is a fade in their appearance. The above thoughts are also supported by the results of the task 2. In the first classification of the task 2, where 12 different objects are under classification, it was expected that material would be the dominant criterion. Although, children responses reveal material as a significant criterion, indeed, properties and utility were again the dominant criteria. In addition, properties of the material (mainly the color) seem to take the advantage. Almost the same is the picture in the 2nd classification and, although children had fewer choices in that classification, material did not take any advantage. In sort, in accordance to other researches (e.g., Krnel et al. 1998; Krnel and Glazar 2003), it seems that the material is not an easy choice as criterion for such classifications by the 5 years old preschoolers. The evaluation of the children‟s verbal communication ability revealed many kinds of expressions and descriptions related to the items pictured in the photos. Although the children‟s distribution of Figure 1 is in line with a number of researchers‟ thoughts (Dickinson, 1987; Gelman & Bloom, 2000; Kobayashi, 1997) about the existence of children‟s difficulties in the use of appropriate words, these difficulties seem to be limited and the number of the preschoolers with low level of communication was rather expected. On the contrary, the majority of them did express and describe the © 2015 The author and IJLTER.ORG. All rights reserved.

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preset categories and in some cases, with more than the expected words. This could positively affect the validity and the reliability of the study, although in such cases any relevant conclusion should be under further investigation (Birbeck & Murray, 2007). Nevertheless, it seems that the simplicity or the complexity of the whole context of the tasks does not really affected children‟s priorities in the criteria posed for such classifications. The material appears to be overshadowed by the object in this age and, in line with the relevant researches, it probably follows the cognitive development of each child. However, if one thinks about the importance of these two concepts for the understanding of many other topics in science education, the question that could pose here is how science educators could help children to clear things up – a question for further investigation.

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