Making Sense of Learning: A Research-Based Approach

Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Authors
1 Introduction
	1.1 The Nature of Research
	1.2 Educational Research
	1.3 What is Research?
	1.4 The Purpose of the Book
	1.5 Educational Decision-Taking
	1.6 Types of Educational Research
	1.7 Two Problem Words: Theory and Hypothesis
	References
2 How Do Students Learn?
	2.1 Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909)
	2.2 Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
	2.3 Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (1896–1934)
	2.4 Some Implications
	2.5 David Ausubel (1918–2008)
	2.6 Jerome Bruner (1915–2016)
	2.7 Robert Gagné (1916–2002)
	2.8 Bringing in All Together
	2.9 Alex H. Johnstone (1930–2017)
	2.10 More About Piaget and Vygotsky
	2.11 More About Ausubel and Bruner
	2.12 More About Robert Gagné
	References
3 A World of Information
	3.1 What is Information Overload?
	3.2 Memory Components
	3.3 From Psychology to Education
	3.4 A Model of Information Flow
	3.5 The Perception Filter
	3.6 The Working Memory
	3.7 The Long-Term Memory
	3.8 Learning
	3.9 Interim Summary
	3.10 Sensory Memory (Perception Filter)
	3.11 The Long Term Memory
	3.12 Summary
	References
4 Why Are Concepts Difficult?
	4.1 Difficulties
	4.2 Information Load and Difficulties
	4.3 The Central Role of Working Memory
	4.4 More About Working Memory
	4.5 Reducing the Working Memory Limitations
	4.6 Working Memory and Test Performance
	4.7 A Summary
	4.8 Chunking
	4.9 Further Aspects of Working Memory
	4.10 Components of the Working Memory
	4.11 Special Needs
	References
5 Learner Characteristics
	5.1 Folk Lore and Evidence
	5.2 Variations Within a Common Framework
	5.3 Working Memory Capacity
	5.4 The Convergency-Divergency Characteristics
	5.5 Field Dependency
	5.6 Visual-Spatial Skills
	5.7 Convergency and Divergency
	5.8 More About Field Dependency
	5.9 The Visual-Spatial
	5.10 Information Processing and Learner Characteristics
	5.11 Towards a Summary
	References
6 Models of the Curriculum
	6.1 Why Education?
	6.2 Developing Education
	6.3 Developing Subject Curricula
	6.4 The Learner at the Centre
	6.5 Curriculum Design
	6.6 Summary
	6.7 The Applications-Led Curriculum
	6.8 The Overall Curriculum Structure
	6.9 More About Modes of Thinking
	6.10 More About Bloom’s Taxonomy
	6.11 Emotional Development
	6.12 Developing Skills
	6.13 Education and Economics
	6.14 Curriculum Design
	6.15 Attitudes and Skills
	6.16 Assessment
	6.17 Summary
	References
7 School Subjects and the Curriculum
	7.1 The Purpose of Education
	7.2 School Subjects
	7.3 The Concept of Literacy
	7.4 Scientific Literacy
	7.5 Computer Literacy
	7.6 Summary
	References
8 Assessment Principles
	8.1 Determining Success for Our Learners
	8.2 What is Educational Assessment
	8.3 Assessment, Teaching and Learning
	8.4 Nature of Assessment
	8.5 Purposes of Assessment
	8.6 Some Key Questions
	8.7 Functions of Assessment
	8.8 More on What to Assess
	8.9 Assessment Literacy
	8.10 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains
	8.11 Words of Warning
	8.12 For Whom Do We Assess
	8.13 Sources of Error in National Examinations
	8.14 Assessment Jargon
	8.15 Validity and Reliability
	8.16 Criterion-Referenced and Norm-Referenced Assessment
	8.17 Bringing It Together
	References
9 Assessment Practicalities
	9.1 Assessment Quality
	9.2 Methods of Assessment
	9.3 Objective Assessment Formats
	9.4 A Summary: Multiple Choice and Partial Knowledge Multiple Choice
		9.4.1 Advantages
		9.4.2 Disadvantages
	9.5 Some Practical Aspects
	9.6 Structural Communication Grids
	9.7 A Summary: Structural Communication Grids
		9.7.1 Advantages
		9.7.2 Disadvantages
	9.8 Written Examinations: Question Formats
	9.9 Assessing Skills
	9.10 Duly Performed Assessment
	9.11 Some Conclusions
	9.12 Gathering Ideas to Generate Quality Questions
	9.13 From Questions to Examination Papers
	9.14 Constructing an Examination Paper
		9.14.1 Step One
		9.14.2 Step Two
		9.14.3 Step Three
		9.14.4 Overall
	9.15 Analysing the Structure of the Paper
	9.16 National Examinations
	9.17 Getting the Marking Right
	9.18 Examination Specifications
	9.19 End Piece
	References
10 Thinking Skills
	10.1 Education for Life?
	10.2 Types of Thinking
	10.3 Thinking is Good Thing!
	10.4 A Way Forward
	10.5 Scientific Thinking
	10.6 Systems Thinking
	10.7 Creative Thinking
	10.8 Critical Thinking
	10.9 More About Critical Thinking
	10.10 Assessing Critical Thinking
	10.11 Findings from Assessment
	References
11 Beliefs and Attitudes
	11.1 History of Attitudes
	11.2 The Concept of Attitudes
	11.3 Attitudes are Everywhere
	11.4 Attitudes: Knowledge, Feelings and Behaviour
	11.5 Attitudes and Behaviour
	11.6 Measuring Attitudes
	11.7 From Attitudes Towards Motivation
	11.8 Bringing It Together
	11.9 More About Thurstone
	11.10 More About the Work of Charles Osgood
	11.11 Examples of the Semantic Differential
	11.12 Comparing Approaches
	11.13 Rating Questions
	11.14 The Situational Set Question
	11.15 Designing an Attitude Survey
	11.16 Summary
	References
12 The Development of Attitudes
	12.1 Measuring Attitudes
	12.2 Handling Survey Data
	12.3 Handling Interview Data
	12.4 Handling the Observation of Behaviour
	12.5 What Research Studies Have Revealed
	12.6 What Allows Attitudes to Develop?
	12.7 Consistency and Inconsistency
	12.8 Dissonance—The Key
	12.9 Mental Interaction
	12.10 The Importance of Attitudes
	12.11 More About the Nature of Attitudes
	12.12 More About Measurement Problems
	12.13 More About Dissonance
	12.14 More About Practical Ways Forward
	References
13 Practical Teaching
	13.1 Three Teaching Approaches
	13.2 Lecturing—Teaching as Telling
	13.3 Practical Work—Teaching as Doing
	13.4 Goals for Laboratory Work
	13.5 A Way Forward
	13.6 Wider Practical Skills
	13.7 Group Work—Teaching as Teamwork
	13.8 Summary
	References
14 Intelligence, Ability and Performance
	14.1 History of Intelligence
	14.2 Motives
	14.3 The Work of Godfrey Thomson
	14.4 The Evidence
	14.5 High Stakes Testing
	14.6 Some Conclusions
	14.7 More from Alfred Binet
	14.8 More from Robert Sternberg
	14.9 More from Howard Gardner
	14.10 More from Gordon Stobart
	14.11 More About High Stakes Testing
	14.12 Further Problems
	14.13 The GERM Concept
	14.14 The Road to Success?
	References
15 Developing Quality Education
	15.1 Quality in the Workplace
	15.2 What Is Quality?
	15.3 What Are We Measuring?
	15.4 Why Measure Quality?
	15.5 What Is Good Teaching?
	15.6 Issues of Training
	15.7 Development of Teachers
	15.8 More About Teacher Evaluation
	15.9 Focus on Students
	15.10 Examples of World Approaches to Quality Assurance
	15.11 The World Picture
	15.12 Summary
	References
16 Making Sense of Statistics
	16.1 Statistical Literacy
	16.2 Popularity and Difficulty
	16.3 Spreadsheets
	16.4 Meaning from Marks
	16.5 The World of Probability
	16.6 Further Uses of Statistics
	16.7 The Way Ahead
	16.8 Teaching Statistics
	16.9 More About Statistical Relationships
	16.10 Statistical Comparisons
	16.11 More About Statistics
	16.12 Standardisation of Marks
	16.13 More About Questionnaires
	16.14 Summary
	References
17 Myths and Mirages
	17.1 Educational Myths: A Growing Problem
	17.2 The Concept of Constructivism
	17.3 Student Centred Learning
	17.4 Problem Solving
	References
18 More Myths and Mirages
	18.1 Learning Styles
	18.2 New Technologies
	18.3 Motivation
	18.4 Use of Questionnaires
	References
19 Educational Futures
	19.1 Overview
	19.2 Theme 1: Key Messages About Learning Processes
	19.3 Towards a Research Agenda
	19.4 Theme 2: Key Messages About Goals and Assessment
	19.5 Towards a Research Agenda
	19.6 Theme 3: Key Messages About Skills and Attitudes
	19.7 Towards a Research Agenda
	19.8 Theme 4: Key Messages About Educational Myths
	19.9 Theme 5: Key Messages About Educational Research
	19.10 Tomorrow’s Research
	19.11 Endpiece
	Reference
Appendix
References
Index