Jenny Byrne

Peer development as an alternative to peer observation: a tool to enhance professional development.

Many higher education institutions worldwide require that all academic staff undergo a peer observation of teaching each academic year. Within one department in a university in the South of England, questions have arisen about the value and purpose of the traditional ‘peer observation’ process, and as a result a new voluntary system of ‘peer development’ has been introduced. This paper explains the rationale underpinning the new peer development process, and explores its worth and value to those who have participated in it as a mechanism for professional development. Reflections on the process are considered, along with what can be done to improve the new system.

VAK or VAK-uous? Towards the Trivialisation of Learning and the Death of Scholarship.

Developments within education, psychology and the neurosciences have shed a great deal of light on how we learn while, at the same time, confirming for us all that learning is a profoundly complex process and far from understood. Against this background, and in this position article, we consider the recent rise in interest in the concept of learning styles as VAK (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) in primary schools in England and Wales and begin to identify and interrogate some of the more unorthodox claims frequently used to legitimise and lend support to its validity. Through the casual acceptance and promotion of VAK, and its often wider association with the notions of accelerated and brain‐based learning, it is our assertion that the complexity of learning is becoming increasingly trivialised and scholarship at all levels within certain sectors of the education community compromised.

Children's anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas about micro-organisms

Different views exist about whether anthropomorphic ideas assist or hinder learning in biology. This paper discusses the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas children have about micro-organisms, and whether they affect their understanding. The research was carried out in primary and secondary schools in the South of England and involved 414 children aged 7,11 and 14 years. Three different research techniques were used to elicit their ideas. Anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas about micro-organisms are apparent in responses from all age groups. Anthropomorphic ideas seem to help children to explain their understanding of some aspects of micro-organisms but the imbalance in childrens anthropocentric views of micro-organisms appears to prohibit them considering other aspects of micro-organisms; for example, the importance of their role in decomposition and cycling of matter, or their beneficial technological applications. The focus on the danger micro-organisms are thought to pose to human health creates a hostile view of micro-organisms and this may inhibit future learning.

Models of Micro‐Organisms: Children’s knowledge and understanding of micro‐organisms from 7 to 14 years old

This paper describes the expressed models that children aged 7, 11, and 14 years have about micro‐organisms and microbial activity. These were elicited using a variety of data collection techniques that complemented each other, resulting in a rich dataset, and provided information about the level of knowledge and progression of ideas across the age range studied. Subsequent analysis of the data enabled generalised mental models of micro‐organisms to be derived that indicate a hierarchy in the sophistication and accuracy of the concepts explored. The resulting mental models were categorised as extended, transitional, and emergent and characterise the ideas held by some children in each of the age groups studied. The implications for curriculum development and consequences for learning and teaching microbiology are discussed.

Are trainee teachers being adequately prepared to promote the health and well-being of school children? A survey of current practice

BACKGROUND Teachers are a key part of the wider public health workforce in England. We conducted a survey to find out how they are trained for this role during their initial teacher education (ITE). METHODS Between 2011 and 2012, we sent an online questionnaire to 220 ITE course managers and conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 19 course managers to explore issues in more depth. RESULTS The response rate to the questionnaire was 34% (n = 74). Although most of the course managers felt inclusion of health and well-being training in ITE was important, provision across courses was variable. Topics which are public health priorities [e.g. sex and relationships education (SRE) and drugs, alcohol and tobacco] were covered by fewer courses than other topics (e.g. child protection, emotional health and anti-bullying). Perceived barriers to training included lack of time and a belief that health and well-being were low priorities in educational policy. CONCLUSIONS Not all of tomorrows teachers are being adequately prepared for their role in helping to address public health priorities. Educational policy does not appear to be supporting the priorities of public health policy, and this is a key barrier to health promotion training in ITE. Keywords children, educational settings, health promotion.

Using a Concept Mapping Tool with a Photograph Association Technique (CoMPAT) to Elicit Children’s Ideas about Microbial Activity

Concept mapping is a technique used to provide a visual representation of an individual’s ideas about a concept or set of related concepts. This paper describes a concept mapping tool using a photograph association technique (CoMPAT) that is considered to be a novel way of eliciting children’s ideas. What children at 11 years of age know about particular concepts related to microbial activity is presented and discussed in relation to the effectiveness of CoMPAT as a tool to draw out their ideas. It is proposed that this tool could be used to explore ideas about this and other science concepts from children in other age groups, and where language may be a barrier to participation.

Developing teenagers’ views on their health and the health of their future children

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of a city‐wide survey of teenagers’ views on their health, and compare this with the outcomes of a science‐oriented health intervention called LifeLab, a hospital‐based classroom aimed at developing teenagers’ attitudes towards their health and that of their future children.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey of 597 14‐year olds across the city of Southampton was conducted to gauge their views and behaviour in relation to their own health. The views of 37 students who took part in innovative, hospital‐based, hands‐on LifeLab activities were compared with those of their peers six months after the intervention to analyse long‐term impacts of the experience. Interviews were carried out with ten LifeLab students to gain further insights.Findings – The intervention created a wider appreciation among students that food they eat now could affect their long‐term health and the health of their future children. Students became significant...

Health, wealth and honesty: perceptions of self‐esteem in primary‐ aged children

This paper is based upon a small‐scale research project, which investigates the factors which primary‐aged schoolchildren perceive as causes of high and low self‐esteem. The findings indicate that schools may need to emphasise factors other than academic performance in order to raise pupils’ self‐esteem. The research was undertaken in a class of 32 year‐five children using the Draw and Write technique. The findings show that the children perceive multiple factors affecting their self‐esteem. Health issues, especially aspects of mental health, were considered very important factors in determining levels of self‐esteem. The research also showed that children are affected by the desire to improve their social status and consider this a way of increasing their self‐esteem. Affluence and the acquisition of material possessions were considered important avenues for increasing social status.

Health promotion in pre‐service teacher education: Effects of a pilot inter‐professional curriculum change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss a curriculum change in the provision of health promotion in pre-service teacher education in a one-year postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) secondary course in one Higher Education Institution (HEI) in England. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the iterative development process, from an initial survey and mapping of the existing pre-service teacher training programme, which provided an evidence base for the piloting of a new health promotion component in the curriculum, and its subsequent evaluation. Changes to the health promotion element of the curriculum reflect the programme philosophy which balances the requirements of a competency based curriculum with a more liberal approach to education and training in which pre-service teachers are expected to critically reflect on, and evaluate their practice. This work adopts a socio-constructivist approach to teacher education, in which teachers develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes by interacting with others through dialogue, and learning from more knowledgeable others in a cooperative and scaffolded manner. Findings – The paper presents the results of these changes and discusses implications for their sustainability. The changes made to the health promotion component of the programme and their implementation would not have been possible without the inter-professional collaboration that took place over three years. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge similar work involving a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to the development of a health education component of a pre-service teacher education curriculum has not been employed or reported.

Meet the Scientist: The Value of Short Interactions Between Scientists and Students

Students have been reported to have stereotypical views of scientists as middle-aged white men in lab coats. We argue that a way to provide students with a more realistic view of scientists and their work is to provide them with the opportunity to interact with scientists during short, discussion-based sessions. For that reason, 20 scientists from 8 professional areas were asked to share their experiences of becoming and being a scientist, in short sessions with groups of 7–8 students. The student sample consisted of 223 students between 13 and 15 years. Student and scientist questionnaires were used before and after the sessions to assess students’ views of scientists and their work, and scientists’ experiences of interacting with students. The pre-session questionnaires revealed that students considered scientists as ‘boring’ and ‘nerdy’ whereas after the sessions students focused extensively on how ‘normal’ the scientists appeared to be. The face-to-face interactions with scientists allowed students to view scientists as approachable and normal people, and to begin to understand the range of scientific areas and careers that exist. Scientists viewed the scientist–student interactions as a vehicle for science communication. Implications discussed include the need for future training courses to focus on developing science communicators’ questioning and interaction skills for effective interactions with students.