Ian Putt

A Framework for Characterizing Children's Statistical Thinking.

Based on a review of research and a cognitive development model (Biggs & Collis, 1991), we formulated a framework for characterizing elementary childrens statistical thinking and refined it through a validation process. The 4 constructs in this framework were describing, organizing, representing, and analyzing and interpreting data. For each construct, we hypothesized 4 thinking levels, which represent a continuum from idiosyncratic to analytic reasoning. We developed statistical thinking descriptors for each level and construct and used these to design an interview protocol. We refined and validated the framework using data from protocols of 20 target students in Grades 1 through 5. Results of the study confirm that childrens statistical thinking can be described according to the 4 framework levels and that the framework provides a coherent picture of childrens thinking, in that 80% of them exhibited thinking that was stable on at least 3 constructs. The framework contributes domain-specific theory for characterizing childrens statistical thinking and for planning instruction in data handling.

A model for nurturing and assessing multidigit number sense among first grade children

Based on a synthesis of the literature and on the results of a two-year teaching program working with young primary children, a framework was developed, refined and validated for nurturing and assessing multidigit number sense. The major constructs incorporated in this framework were counting, partitioning, grouping, and number relationships. For each of these constructs, four different levels of thinking were established which, in essence, reflected a “learning apprenticeship“ for multidigit number sense. At each level, and across all four constructs, learning indicators were developed and matched to distinctive problem tasks that went beyond the four basic operations.The framework was validated through data obtained from six case studies of grade 1 children. The thinking of these children was assessed and analyzed on the problem tasks for the four constructs and four levels. While the students were at different levels, all but one showed striking consistencies across the four constructs. Moreover, no student was able to solve a problem at a higher level when they had not solved a lower-level problem in the same category. The present framework for multidigit number sense covers only the lower primary grades, but research and instruction would benefit from an extended framework across the elementary grades.

How students use distance teaching materials: an institutional study

Despite the growth of distance education, little systematic knowledge is available concerning the ways in which students use the distance teaching materials provided to them. Using the diary as the data‐gathering instrument and a sample of twenty‐five students, answers were sought to several questions on the ways in which students use the materials, especially in relation to use of time, the range of materials consulted, the self‐assessment activities undertaken, and the sequence in which materials are studied. The results are summarised and discussed. While these have an interest specific to the Institute of Advanced Education at James Cook University, it is felt that they may also be of interest to the wider distance‐teaching community, since this was an A.S.P.ES.A.‐sponsored project.

Teaching Problem Solving to Year 6 Students: A New Approach.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of an instructional intervention derived from the Garofalo and Lester (1985) cognitive-metacognitive framework on the problem-solving performance of Year 6 students with different ability levels. A quasi-experimental design was employed using one experimental and two control classes. Four different techniques were applied to identify above average, average, and below average students. There was a significant improvement in problem-solving performance for the experimental class compared with both control classes. Furthermore, higher ability students appeared to gain more from the experimental instruction than lower ability students. Implications for instruction and research are explored.

The Remote Area Teacher Program (RATEP): Cultural contextualisation of distance education through interactive

The Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP) is a successful and innovative distance education programme. Curriculum design demands the meaningful integration of traditional distance education materials and strategies with other electronic technology and interactive multimedi a computer courseware. RATEP is more than ‘two‐way schooling’ for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander distance education students studying in their home communities. Centred within Vygotskys theory of cognitive development, the interactive multimedia computer courseware is informed by the intersecting set of the various cultural contexts: academic culture embedded in Western culture; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and that of the computer. Illustrative examples from generalist and mathematics content and curriculum subjects demonstrate the effectiveness of culturally contextualising instructional computer‐student interface design in order to promote learning through interactive.

Learning from Distance-Teaching Materials: A Study of Students' Mediating Responses.

It has been suggested that improvements in the quality of distance‐teaching materials could be effected if the mental responses that mediate study of and learning from such materials were known. This project aimed at identifying the types and origins of students’ convert mediating responses to distance‐teaching materials during study sessions. Three one‐half hour study sessions were videotaped for each of four student volunteers in a room set up on the campus. Immediately following each study session stimulated‐recall interviews were conducted, the data from these being audiotaped and then transcribed for further analysis. Interview protocols revealed that approaches to study were influenced by a set of interdependent factors, which, when combined with a set of study strategies, resulted in two broad classes of study orientation. Twenty different types of mental processes were identified, seven of which were used more frequently than the others. Furthermore, textual features which activated mental process...

Comparison of students’ thinking processes when studying with WWW, IMM, and text based materials

This paper reports data obtained on the thinking of Bachelor of Education students as they interacted with World Wide Web (WWW) subject lecture material. The data were obtained from eight participating preservice teachers via stimulated recall interviews. The thinking (or mediating) processes engaged in during study sessions that related to the academic content of the WWW subject are detailed and discussed. The data are also compared with that obtained from an earlier comparative study of the thinking processes of two cohorts of inseryice and preservice teachers: one group interacted with a professional development interactive multimedia (IMM) courseware package and the other with text based materials.