Carol McGuinness

Cutting the cord: student‐led discussion groups in higher education

As the world of higher education has become increasingly sensitive to employers’ needs so attention has focused on the development of skills and competences which will equip graduates to function effectively in the labour market. High on the list of graduates’ desired qualities are first, the ability to work in a team and second, the capacity for independent thought and action. At the same time, there has been a growing recognition that traditional methods of teaching (primarily tutorials and lectures) may be serving to perpetuate the opposite, namely dependency and passivity. With these issues in mind, the article outlines the experience of using leaderless group discussions and associated peer assessment as an integral part of an undergraduate degree programme. The practicalities of running the groups, the lessons which have been learnt over time, and the benefits for student learning are also discussed.

Teaching Thinking: new signs for theories of cognition

In this overview of research and practice associated with teaching thinking, three conceptions of thinking are identified. Thinking as information‐processing, which has its roots in the dominant paradigm in cognitive psychology; thinking as making judgements, which is associated with critical thinking; and thinking as sense‐making, which is embedded in constructivist epistemology. Core assumptions and characteristics of each viewpoint, as they are realised in cognitive instruction, are examined. The main features of an emergent model of instruction, cognitive apprenticeship, are identified. Finally, using the information‐processing framework as a baseline, socially shared cognition and situated cognition are detected as new signs for cognitive theory.

An appropriate curriculum for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland: comparing play‐based and formal approaches

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play‐based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern Ireland National Curriculum is being delivered, and 32 in Enriched Curriculum classes, where a more developmentally appropriate, play‐based and child‐centred curriculum is being piloted. The quality of the learning experience in each class was assessed using a structured observation schedule, i.e. Walsh and Gardners Quality learning instrument. Overall the Enriched Curriculum appears to be providing 4–5‐year‐old children in Northern Ireland with a higher‐quality learning experience. The children are given more opportunities to act independently, are engaged in more challenging activities and are more learning disposed, and they show higher levels of emotional, social and physical well‐being. The findings are discussed in terms of what constitutes an appropriate curriculum for this age group.

Problem representation: The effects of spatial arrays

Two studies examined how characteristics of spatial arrays contribute to efficient problem representation. Thirty-two adults were presented with information about family relationships in one of two arrays: a hierarchy or a matrix. Their answers to two different sets of questions were timed. The matrix format was superior to the hierarchy for one set of questions only; no differences between the arrays emerged for the other set. The data were interpreted in terms of how the family relationships were mapped onto the arrays; the mapping differences between the arrays affected the number of mental steps needed to solve some questions, but not others. In a second experiment (N=32), the same problem information was remapped onto the arrays, with the mapping relations reversed. As predicted, the pattern of response times exactly reflected the change in mapping. It is proposed that, for spatial arrays, efficiency of problem representation is best understood in terms of the number of mental steps in the problem solution.

Children's Thinking about Air Pollution: a systems theory analysis

Summary A methodology for probing systems thinking was developed and used to investigate the way children think about the natural environment. Thirty five primary school children (aged 8 and 11 years) participated in semi‐structured interviews about air pollution. The analytical framework consisted of cycles (of inputs, processes and outputs), interventions, outcomes and links. Differences between the groups were found for the numbers of complete cycles, inputs, outputs and longest chain of linked cycles about which the children could talk. Although more of the older children showed evidence of a high level of systemic thinking — cycles with interventions and their likely outcomes — than the younger children, a large proportion of the 8‐year‐olds demonstrated that they were capable of this kind of thinking. The results suggest that children can engage in systemic thinking earlier than predicted by traditional developmental research.

Implementing a play‐based and developmentally appropriate curriculum in Northern Ireland primary schools: what lessons have we learned?

In the United Kingdom tensions have existed for many years between the pedagogical traditions of pre‐school, which tend to adopt developmentally oriented practices, and the more formal or subject‐oriented curriculum framework of primary school. These tensions have been particularly acute in the context of Northern Ireland, which has the earliest school starting age throughout Europe. In response to international research evidence and practice, a play‐based and developmentally appropriate curriculum, known as the Enriched Curriculum (EC), was introduced as a pilot in Year 1 and 2 classes in over 100 primary schools in Northern Ireland between 2000 and 2002 and continued until the Foundation Stage became statutory for all primary schools in 2007. This paper outlines four key lessons that have been learned from the first four years of the evaluation of this experience. These include the value and the meaning of a play‐based curriculum; the importance of teachers’ confidence and knowledge; teaching reading in a play‐based curriculum; and easing transitions in a play‐based curriculum.

How Children Solve Environmental Problems: Using computer simulations to investigate systems thinking

Two computer simulations were developed and used to investigate systems thinking and environmental problem solving in children. Ninety-two primary school children (aged 8 years and 11 years) interacted with computer simulation of either a deforestation problem or a water depletion problem. The childrens task was to manipulate the simulation thereby enabling it to run for as long as possible before resources—water or trees—were exhausted. This could be achieved via a number of strategies and their use by the two groups of children was compared. Through efficient use of resources and recycling strategies, the older children outperformed the younger children. Magical thinking was more prevalent among the 8-year-olds. The results also suggest that seemingly isomorphic environmental problems may not be interpreted as such.

Playful structure: a novel image of early years pedagogy for primary school classrooms

Playful structure is a new pedagogic image representing a more balanced and integrated perspective on early years pedagogy, aiming to blend apparent dichotomies and contradictions and to sustain and evolve play-based practice beyond Year 1. Playful structure invites teachers and children to initiate and maintain a degree of playfulness in the child’s whole learning experience, even when the learning intentions demand a supportive structure. Thus, playfulness becomes characteristic of the interaction between adult and the child and not just characteristic of child-initiated versus adult-initiated activities, or of play-time versus task-time. The paper is based on intensive observations and interviews with teachers in Northern Ireland who participated in a play-based and informal curriculum. This paper explains how playful structure rests on complementary processes of infusion of structure into play-based activities and infusion of playfulness into more structured activities, illustrated by cameos. ‘Infusion’ suggests the subtle blending process that allows apparent dichotomies and contradictions to be resolved in practice.

Developing children's thinking: A tale of three projects

The paper identifies recent trends in instructional research which point to changing viewpoints on how to develop childrens thinking skills. Three current projects at Queens University Belfast, consistent with these viewpoints, are described. The ACTS project (Activating Childrens Thinking) is a wide ranging initiative to promote the development of thinking skills in Northern Ireland classrooms. The second project, SMILES (Simulated Methods for Interactive Learning of Environmental Systems), is analysing childrens understanding of environmental concepts within a systems framework, with a focus on computer-aided instruction. The final project on mathematics education is the result of a long-standing research programme and has been recently associated with the production of a set of commercially available textbooks called Oxford Mathematics.

Skills and Attributes Developed by Psychology Undergraduates: Ratings by Undergraduates, Postgraduates, Academic Psychologists and Professional Practitioners

The question of graduate skills and attributes is increasingly central in higher education. In addition, the specification of both subject-specific and generic skills for each discipline was part of Quality Assurance Agencys (QAA) benchmarking exercise. This paper reports what skills and attributes are well developed in a psychology degree, through the ratings of four pertinent groups. Fifty student skills and attributes (derived from the QAA Graduate Standards Programme) were rated on a five-point scale by undergraduates (n = 30), postgraduates (n = 42), academic psychologists (n = 20) and professional practitioners (n = 18). Each person was asked to rate how well a psychology degree promoted the development of each skill/attribute. Factor analysis yielded three higher order groupings which were labelled: (i) thinking skills (including interpreting and evaluating information, testing hypotheses, critical reasoning); (ii) self-management skills (including time management, self-discipline, organising,); and (iii) corporate management skills (including managing people and resources, negotiating, networking). Analysis of variance showed that thinking skills were rated highest across all groups, followed by self-management skills. Corporate-management skills were rated as least well developed. However, skill development in general was considered just above average (rated 3.54 on a 5 point scale). For the most part, academics and practitioners rated skill development lower than the student groups. Academics rated thinking skills and professional practitioners rated self-management skills significantly lower than the student groups. All groups agreed that ‘corporate-management skills’ were least well developed in psychology undergraduate courses. The implications of these results for curriculum development, for developing awareness of skills and attributes and for communication between the different groups are discussed.