Author: Andre Coleman

THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES FOR PLANNING AND ENABLING LEARNING

TASK 1
Learning Styles

Learning styles impact on every aspect of our lives: how we gather information, how we use it and how we link it together are all determined by our learning style.

Nicholls & Le Versha 2003, p. 57

Learning styles, or cognitive styles, refer to how individuals learn in different ways and are of particular importance to teachers who wishes to create inclusive and effective learning situation. Learning styles are divided primarily, but not exclusively, into the three groups of visual learners, aural learners and kinesthetic learners. Whilst the first group learns best by seeing information, such as on the board or visually demonstrated, the second group takes in information aurally and needs to hear what is happening. The third group understands best in a hands-on, tactile manner such as holding the materials or practicing working with them. The importance of catering for learning styles links to the importance of understanding how best to cater for cognitive development. Learning style research has its roots in the humanistic social constructivism generated by Vygotsky and his follows. Here the stress is on the interaction of socio-cultural factors in the development of the individual and it is easy to see how necessary it is to make information available to students at a number of levels and thereby take into account their individual approach to learning.

Motivation

Motivation is a complex area and can have a huge impact on learner achievement and behavior which means that motivational teaching strategies need to be carefully considered. Extrinsic motivation is essentially a behaviourist concept in that certain behaviours are encouraged by rewards, ranging from praise to money. The use of extrinsic motivation in teaching corresponds to Pavlov and Skinner’s early work in that the reward is used to induce certain behaviours, such as praise for completing a test resulting in a positive approach to the next text. Intrinsic motivation is more of an internal driving force that may come from factors as diverse as curiosity to enjoyment. It could be argued that promotion of the former concept tends towards competition whilst the latter is more focused on individual achievement through improvement. Competition is often seen as a negative and seen as ‘undermining student motivation’ (p. 275) in that it de-motivates those who consistently fail as well as providing little incentive for those who already make the grade. Therefore, to encourage and inclusive approach means providing sources of motivation that best suit the student but always aim to achieve intrinsic, progress based achievement.

Low Literacy

At a more pragmatic level, the impact of low literacy (and numeracy) upon student’s confidence and learning can be enormous. Whatever the cause, be it students with English as a second language, or those struggling with work that is beyond their emotional age or cognitive stage, it is essential for the teacher to assess literacy levels through a diagnostic assessment and plan accordingly. It may be that students metalinguistic (how language works) awareness can be built up using the subject, such as working through an understanding of acids and alkali’s as they relate to beauty treatment. The use of IT as well as text to develop literacy has also stimulated a vast body of research (e.g. Larson & Marsh 2005). This area deserves far more attention than the brief mention given here, but it is also an area that may benefit from an action research approach whereby the literacy strategies of the class are assessed, observed, analysed and acted upon in an ongoing reflective cycle.

Classroom Environment

The learning environment and its impact upon students have also generated a considerable body of literature. Whilst Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs (1970) looked at a generic sequence of responses to environments, a more holistic understanding of the environments that affect a student’s learning have been studied by those such as Bronfenbrenner (1998) who conceptualized a variety of ecological systems, from the micro to the macro. The microsystem involves the individual’s direct interactions with other individuals whilst the macrosystems take into account the socio-cultural values and ‘norms’ (Krause et al. 2003, p. 264) . The classroom environment not only needs to provide a safe, secure and supportive atmosphere, it also needs to provide an inclusive setting for all individuals which means taking factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and stage etc into consideration. Alongside these runs the teachers own teaching styles – permissive, authoritative or authoritarian (Whitton et al. 2004, 185) – and how they respond to the students.

Effective Planning and Intelligence

If the goal of teaching is to provide learning environments that work for all students, then clearly planning is an integral element. To take one part of the teaching cycle, planning, is to look at one aspect of this vast area. In a constructivist paradigm, planning needs to both develop knowledge and play to students strengths. Rather than look at this structurally, as in planning using cooperative groups, whole class or individual working, this section considers interpretations of intelligence such as Gardner’s multiple intelligences (Krause et al 2003, p. 201) and Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence (ibid p. 202). As with learning styles, failure to plan effectively in order to encourage a range of cognitive strengths may act as disincentive. Sternberg differentiated between analytic, creative and practical intelligences and suggested applying these to the curriculum. They provide a useful strategy for inclusive teaching.

TASK 2
Engagement Theory

Whilst this has its roots in distance learning and the use of IT (Kearlsey & Shneiderman 1999), the premises upon which it is based appear particularly useful to effective, inclusive planning. One of the primary principles is to plan for authentic learning through student interaction and provision of meaningful tasks. Secondly, this is essentially a constructivist approach aimed at enabling the individual’s translation and internalization of knowledge through guided progression to various zones of proximal development. Thirdly, in common with situated learning, engagement theory is underpinned by a wish to create learning experiences that intrinsically motivate through exposing students to real-world problem solving situations. The levels of engagement also relates to inclusive planning for learning styles and multiple intelligences.

With regard to planning for engagement, lessons need to include a range of teaching strategies such as questioning, reasoning, analysing, creating and judging. This involves creating practical, curriculum linked situations and designing the lesson around them. For example, one lesson may involve a scenario, analysis of that scenario, role play of the events, creating alternatives and assessing final comprehension. This methodology allows for an inclusive approach designed to allow information to be made available to students in a variety of ways and formats.

Principles of Empowerment

This is also a somewhat generic principle yet it applies to teaching very successfully. One of the underlying goals is to set students up for success by ensuring the tasks are age and stage appropriate and that they stretch the student towards their zones of proximal development whilst ensuring successful outcomes. Another aspect of this principle is that students take responsibility for their learning. Ownership of one’s development has been shown to be a powerful motivator and motivation is recognised a key element to learning.

Motivation resides entirely in the person motivated. It can be inspired and encouraged by others but not given.

Leamnson 1999, p. 54

A third element of this principle refers to student choice. Whilst the learning requirements remain the same, the choice of learning strategy, resource use and methodology may be used to allow students to choose their favored approach.

Planning to empower students and therefore engage them in their learning once again means catering for all learning styles and planning for choice. Working in the area of Beauty therapy allows for considerable choice of approach and lends itself to practical training. This does mean that resources and activities have to be well structured and planned before implementation but it also means students can find a number of ways of achieving the required learning. A criticism is that students will not be required to use their less favoured approach and thereby develop areas they feel less confident in.

TASK 3
Reflection

I find that catering for all learning styles is a far more complex area that needs more consideration. For example, at one level catering for learning styles means providing information in a way that an individual can take in. However, at another level, it also requires a more holistic overview that takes into consideration the students socio-cultural values and ‘norms’. Therefore, integrating this overview within my planning cycle requires several considerations. For example, it requires the allowing of space and consideration for analysing and assessing the student’s background knowledge, understandings and value systems. This will strengthen my understanding of how best to communicate with individual students and support their own sense of value and security within the classroom. It is anticipated that this approach will allow for a better consideration of student comfort and perceptions of security through providing familiar formats and establishing a comfort zone. As Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs showed, it is difficult for students to function psychologically at a higher level if they do not feel safe and secure within their environment. Therefore, when planning, I intend to not only cover the various learning styles but to integrate this with socio-culturally and linguistically inclusive practice. Depending on the situation, this can be as diverse as providing materials in more than one language or selecting cooperative groups with common understandings. This is not to say that the expectations will be lessened. These need to be clearly established and provide the working format for the students. For example, they will be expected to achieve certain goals and be able to effectively communicate or demonstrate their learning.

Catering for learning styles is an inclusive strategy as is that of catering for different students cognitive strengths. Consideration of practical application of strategies that include the diversity of multiple intelligences appears to be somewhat over-whelming. Sternberg’s triarchic model (Krause et al. 2003, p. 202) simplifies this into a planning procedure that endows each subject with an analytic, creative and practical component. This is particularly helpful for the beauty industry as it encourages an all round interaction both with the information, the practice and the people concerned. As a practical vocation, beauty requires strong communication and practical skills and the tendency is to stress this practical element. However, Sternberg reminds us that a triarchic approach is more inclusive and works better for a wider range of people. I would like to bear this in mind when planning my lessons and appreciate that this will demand constant assessment and reflection in order to be at its most effective.

Professional development

The following is a professional development plan involving some of the primary issues looked at in this essay. It is very much an overview and the course titles are purely to provide direction rather than actual titles. It is anticipated that this will change as the reality of working within specific scenarios provides the benefit of experience. This table is also specific to the area of inclusivity and its associated planning. There are many other areas that would also benefit my practice.

Professional Development Plan

GOALS

COURSES

EXAMPLE THEORIES

PROVIDERS

DATE

Improve Instructional Process

Theory into Practice

Learning styles
Engagement and Motivation

Improve inclusive planning

Cultural inclusivity
Curriculum links

How to Apply Theory to Improved Practice

Catering for Learning Styles

How to Empower and Motivate Students

Planning to include cultural diversity – setting expectations and treating diversity positively

Assessment for Planning

Curriculum correspondence with inclusive teaching practice

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM

HUMANISM AND BEHAVIOURISM

Vygotsky’s social constructivism

Piaget’s age and stage theories

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence

Weiner’s attribution theory

Bandura’s behavioural theories of learning

Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory

Erikson’s psychosocial development stages

NB there is considerable interaction between the theories/principles listed here and the list is by no means exclusive.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. & Morris, P (1998) ‘The ecology of developmental processes’ in R M Lerner (Ed) Handbook of Child Psychology, Vol. 1. Theoretical models of human development, 5^th Ed., pp. 535-584, Wiley: New York

Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B (1999) ‘Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning’, accessed 28^th September 2008, http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

Krause, K-L., Bochner, S. & Duchesne, S (2003) Educational Psychology for teaching and learning, Thomson: Southbank, VIC.

Larson, J. & Marsh, J (2005) Making Literacy Real: Theories and Practices for Learning and Teaching, Sage: London

Leamnson, R (1999) Thinking about Teaching and Learning, Stylus

Maslow, A (1970) Motivation and Personality, 2^nd Ed., Harper & Row: New York

Nicholls, G. & Le Versha, L (2003) Teaching at Post-16: Effective Teaching in the A-Level, AS and GNVQ Curriculum, Kogan Page: London

Pressley, M. & McCormick, C (2007) Child and Adolescent Development for Educators, Guildford Press: New York

Whitton, D., Sinclair, C., Barker, K., Nanlohy, P. & Nosworthy, M (2004) Learning for Teaching, Teaching for Learning, Thomson: Southbank, VIC.

1.0 Introduction:

This paper explores an ongoing debate in the educational field; should all students with Special Educational Needs (SENs) be included in mainstream educational provisions? To fully understand the issues involved, the paper will begin with an introduction to SEN and historical developments that have shaped SEN as we know it today. An investigation into inclusion will follow evaluating current issues that will help to determine whether inclusion for all SEN is possible or not. An analysis of SEN pupils will highlight strategies that may allow teachers along with organisation to implement inclusion along with its limitations. A conclusion will finalise the paper evaluating key findings.

2.0 Special Educational Needs (SEN) – An Overview

In order to assess whether students with SENs should be included in mainstream educational provisions, one must first understand what SEN means. Under the 1944 Education Act, children with special educational needs were categorised by their disability defined in medical terms. This meant that some children were considered to be ‘uneducable’ and pupils were labelled into categories such as ‘maladjusted’ or ‘educationally sub-normal’ and given ‘special educational treatment’ in separate schools.

The Warnock Report in 1978, followed by the 1981 Educational Act, radically changed the conceptualisation of special educational needs. It introduced the idea of special educational needs (SEN), ‘statement’ of SEN, and an ‘Integrative’ – which later became known as ‘inclusive’ – an approach based on common educational goals for all children regardless of their ability or disabilities: namely independence, enjoyment and understanding. For purpose of this paper the definition proposed by The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2002) is taken into account stating that children have SEN if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provisions to be made for them. However, the difficulty with such definition, and the issue arising from The Warnock Report, was the unforeseen consequence that the term SEN has become to be the name of a single category which has led to some conflicting issues. Quarmby (2006) reiterates that government has been using it as if it is the same problem to include a child in a wheelchair and a child with Asperger’s, and this is conspicuously untrue

This category within the SEN umbrella help to understand students with special needs, and ascertains the fact that certain students may need different special educational provisions to be made for them. But whose responsibility is it to provide the necessary provisions for students to learn?

The paper asks a deliberate straight forward question – should all students with SENs be included in mainstream education? If yes, does this mean mainstream schools would be expected to include pupils with Cognitive and Learning Needs; Behaviour, Emotional and Social Development Needs; Communication and Interaction Needs and Sensory and/or physical needs? At what level do we need to include them? Is it just sharing time, socialising, sharing tasks or is it the active participation in-class activities following the same curriculum. This leads to the unenviable task of evaluating inclusion.

3.0 Inclusion

Over the last 30 years, policies about ‘integration’ and subsequently about ‘inclusion’ have been the subject of much controversy. Much has been written about efforts to include pupils identified as having special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools and classrooms. Inclusion reflects the idea that it is not for SEN children to be somehow fitted in or integrated into the mainstream but that education as a whole should be fully inclusive of all children (House of Commons Report, 2006). Until the 1990’s the term inclusion was rarely used and instead we referred to ‘integration’ or ‘mainstreaming’ meaning the placement of pupils with disabilities or special needs in mainstream schools. Integration was the term first introduced in the 1978 Warnock Report referring to the concept of integrating children with SEN into a common educational framework. There were different integration, from full-time placement in a mainstream classroom (functional integration) to the placement of a pupil in a special class or unit attached to a mainstream school (locational) (Hegarty, 1991). The aim to end ‘segregation’ was gathering momentum and from a human rights approach, it was certainly a requirement. However, there was often little difference between locational integration and a traditional special school, which can be seen as equally segregating experiences (Jupp, 1992). Indeed, even pupils placed in mainstream class may be isolated from their peers, particularly if they work with a support worker in one-to-one sessions for the majority of each day. ‘Integrated’ placements, therefore, still leave many pupils ‘segregated’ (Harrower, 1999).

Partly for this reason, the term ‘inclusion’ came to describe the extent to which a school or community welcomes pupils identified with special educational needs (SEN) as full members of the group and values them for the contribution which they make. Their diversity of interests, ability and attainment should be welcomed and be seen to enrich the life of the school. In this sense, as Ballard (1999) argues, inclusion is about valuing diversity rather than assimilation.

This general movement towards inclusion was also (In addition to The Warnock Report) strongly influenced by the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) which had a major impact on shaping policy developments in many different countries. In England this is evident in various government initiatives since the late 1990s including, for example, the statuary Inclusion Guidance (DfES, 2001a), the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (DfES, 2001b) and the ‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’ strategy (DfES, 2004) each providing a further impetus towards inclusion (Hick et al, 2009).

Overall, after an extensive literature review it was evident that three main strands have developed relating to inclusion. One is about equal opportunities and right to education for all. It argues that any form of segregation on the basis of disability or learning difficulty is morally wrong (Jordan and Goodey, 1996; Lindsay, 2003). A second strand is based on a re-conceptualisation of the special needs issue as part of the process of school improvement (Ainscoq, 1999). This idea is based on the argument that it is the structure of schools as organisations rather than differences between individual pupils that creates special educational needs (Tomlinson, 1982). The third strand of literature has been concerned with questions of pedagogy. Though some have focused on the development of inclusive practice from the outset (Forest and Pearpoint, 1992), others have considered whether or not teaching practices and methods can be implemented in mainstream schools and classrooms in order to meet the challenge of inclusive education (Cook and Schrimer, 2003). Inclusive practice’ is therefore concerned with actions and activities that staffs in schools do that give meaning to the concept of inclusion. These 3 main strands will be used as a framework in deciding whether students with SEN should be included in mainstream education provision.

In addition it is essential to understand and apply the SEN Code of Practice principles that support inclusive education as a framework in achieving inclusion. The five fundamental principles that support inclusive can be observed in Table 2:

As with any change, the inclusion of all students with SENs in mainstream education provisions may bring both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ impacts within schools and pupils.

3.1 The ‘Good’ and the ‘Evil’

Although inclusion is seen as a very positive strategy by some, it is considered idealistic and impractical by others. Some critics have argued that inclusion happens at the expense of good and appropriate education for the other children in the class; in other words, if a student with special needs is taught within a mainstream class, they might need extra attention from the teacher, or may be disruptive or difficult in class, and this could harm other children’s education. On the other hand it can be argued that the other children in the class benefit a great deal from working with students with special educational needs and that inclusive education helps to remove stereotypes and ignorance.

It is also argued that children with SEN are better off in segregated classrooms as this enables them to gain social support from others with similar difficulties. It also allows opportunities to concentrate specialist teachers and resources in one place. The objection to this is that the disadvantage of keeping children with certain difficulties together is that it makes it harder for them to integrate fully into society once they leave school.

3.2 Inclusion in Practice

The Government recognised the barriers to inclusion that exist in schools in its statement in 2004(DfES, 2004) and set out a proposal about how the barriers should be tackled. OFSTED, in its report in 2004, found that more mainstream schools saw themselves as inclusive, but only a minority met special educational needs very well. Members of the SENCo Forum responded to the Government’s Special Need Action Plan by stating that schools would have to provide much higher level of flexibility in the way that learning and teaching take place, if the aims of inclusive education are to be realised (SENCo Forum, 2003). In addition, MacBeath et al (2006) concluded that some of the problems in schools attempting to implement inclusion were that the current education system itself made it difficult to implement inclusion.

Gillinson and Green (2008) argue that it is essential to regard children and young people themselves and their parents as normal practice. They conclude that the issue is not about treating everyone as the same- what is important is that everyone should be treated equally. Gross (2001) also comments that what young people most want is the right to belong. Belonging brings along a morale issue with regards to inclusion. It is therefore imperative to understand what characterises these pupils with SEN and understand better what makes them unique.

4.0 Special Educational Needs Pupils

At heart of all the discussion are the actual pupils who suffer special needs. In light of the extensive research, proposals by government, frameworks and guideline and committee reports one inevitably raises the question of their effectiveness. Are mainstream schools performing? Are pupils experiencing inclusive education? Are these guidelines and proposals effective? Unfortunately the overall answer may be unsatisfactory. The Audit Commission found that the vast majority of permanent exclusions in the 22 local authorities surveyed related to pupils with SEN: 87% of exclusions in primary schools and 60% of exclusions in secondary. In addition, pupils with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and mental health problems made up significant proportions of these pupils.

At this stage one wants to highlight that it is not the purposeful intention to only focus on pupils with Autistic and Social, Emotional, and Behavioural Difficulties but data does demonstrate that with regards to inclusion of sensory and/or physical needs pupils, some success in mainstream education provisions are beginning to develop. The House of Commons Report (2006) cites the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) recognising, “there has been major progress in providing disabled children and young people with more equitable educational opportunities and a steady improvement in educational outcomes, which show a faster annual increase in achievement of GCSE grades A-grades, A-C and equivalent over the last six years by disabled people than non-disabled people” In addition, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) highlights that not all disabled pupils and students have learning difficulties. Similarly, pupils and students deemed to have learning difficulties or SEN are not disabled.

In light of the above finding, as well as the overwhelming data demonstrating that the majority of the of exclusion in primary and secondary are pupils suffering from ADHD and autism, specific effort has been given to address the inclusion of these in mainstream educational provisions. In addition, the Gibraltar Educational Schooling Structure limits the contact of mainstream teachers with pupils with severe/profound and multiple needs, as well as multi-sensory impairments. These pupils enrol in special school environment. Being exposed to pupils with ADHD and autism (in the organisation) will also aid in supporting some answers with research evidence. Increasing knowledge in these groups will also is beneficial for CPD purposes.

5.0 Behaviour, Emotional and Social Needs and Autism

Young people with emotional and social development difficulties and autism are the fastest growing categories of SEN. This is having repercussions for schools, and more so for pupils. In addition as the parent representative group Network 81 describe: “the lack of understanding of conduct disorders, behavioural, and emotional needs is quite unbelievable. Many children are labelled as ‘naughty’, ‘badly brought up’, and ‘defiant’ by teaching staff who group all ‘bad’ behaviour together”. This serves to highlight a possible issue where pupils are being misunderstood and labelled by those who may impact significantly their future – teachers.

Furthermore, The House of Commons Report (2006) states ‘it is widely recognised that there is a strong correlation between exclusions and children with SEN-particularly those with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and autistic behaviour’. The Committee finds it unacceptable that such a well known problem continues to occur and quite frankly from a teacher point of view, one can only agree. This indicates that schools need better guidance and staff training, particularly with Autistic and social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties. This leads to the inevitable argument on whether SEBD pupils should be included in mainstream educational provisions. In order not to fall into the generalisation trap, one has focused on the main groups of exclusion at the current moment. These are pupils suffering from ADHD and autism. An evaluation of the 3 strand mentioned prior will determine whether inclusion should be possible or not.

5.1 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD has been a topic of heated discussion within the educational world. For some, it is considered to be a medical condition, characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (APA, 2000). However, according to others (e.g. Humphrey, 2009) there has been no biological marker identified that can reliably distinguish between children with and without the condition. Estimates though suggest that between 2% and 6% of students are affected by ADHD (Cooper, 2005) and still growing.

From a mainstream school provision, and more so from a teacher’s perspective, it is generally accepted that students with ADHD are considered among the most difficult to include effectively. Lack of knowledge about disorder end up with teacher’s frustration towards students (SCOtENS, 2008). It is therefore important to consider what we mean when we say we are helping to ‘include’ them. Mainstream teachers report a lack of appropriate training as a key barrier to success in this area (West et al, 2005). If inclusion means meeting the child’s needs in mainstream schools and settings, have the child views sought and taken into account and having full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education as suggested in The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), then it must go beyond general questions of the presence of children with SEN in such schools, and as Norwich and Lewis (2005:2) explain, ‘we need to address the question of classroom teaching and curriculum in considering inclusion and inclusive practices’.

There is the suggestion that the needs of such learners dictate that they require distinct kinds of teaching in order to learn the same content as those without special needs. If not, pupils with ADHD are more likely than others to experience social isolation, with fewer reported friendships and greater levels of rejection (Bagwell et al, 2001) inevitably leading to disruptive behaviour. Norwich and Lewis (2005) argue that pedagogic needs can be addressed by thinking about the needs that are specific to all; thinking about those needs that are specific to a certain group (such as students with ADHD); and thinking about those needs that are unique to the individual. The strategies are based upon the principle that by creating a better fit between the school environment and the student, we are creating opportunities for pupils to succeed. The question now lies in determining whether these strategies can be implemented in mainstream provisions and whether they will conflict with good and appropriate educational strategies that other children in the class already experience.

Students with ADHD often experience difficulties in mainstream classrooms and schools because the emphasis on meeting common needs mean that their specific group needs are not being addressed (Cooper, 2005). However, these common needs may come about due to the National Curriculum. One of the major concerns about the National Curriculum has been that it does not address the breadth of education necessary to meet children’s and young people’s educational needs. So is the curriculum in its present form a contributory cause of poor behaviour? A further concern about the National Curriculum is the current approach to assessment. Research from the perception of students themselves suggests that many experience ‘confusion, anxiety, blame and guilt’ (Hughes, 2005) in relation to their education, which is not exactly surprising considering the struggles they need to deal with.

However, as a mainstream teacher, one is fully aware that change in the National Curriculum cannot be proposed and overcome easily therefore an alternative strategy must be investigated to create a better fit between school environment and the student. The strategy may lie in pedagogy.

In achieving the necessary ‘learner aware pedagogy’, the problem for the classroom teacher concerned with the SENs of a pupil lies in identifying the ‘nature’ of the learning difficulty or disability, and assessing the implication for its consequences (Levine, 2002b). The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice refers to the ‘awareness’ as the point at which a teacher has a ‘concern’ about an individual pupil (DfES, 2001). A crucial prerequisite for any teacher’s subsequent decision for action is a clear understanding of the ‘nature’ and the ‘consequences’. It is important then to recognise that a given ‘learning difficulty’ or ‘disability’ may or not ‘prevent or hinder’ an individual from making use of ‘educational facilities of a kind provided in schools’ (Education Act, 1999). Once the teacher is aware action may take place to meet their needs.

Pedagogy takes an important role as it represents the interaction between the learner and the teacher with respects to curricular aims and objectives. This issue therefore concerns the central operation in education, and, in principle, should specify the optimal circumstances in which successful learning and teaching can take place Research into the typical learning styles of students with ADHD suggests that they learn more effectively when they are able actively to experiment and are presented with concrete examples that are visual in nature (Cooper and Ideus, 1996). In addition, students with ADHD are said to be somewhat verbose, talking at inappropriate times; an aspect that can be exploited by designing lessons that allow increased opportunity for verbal participation. Research also shows that this kind of approach can lead to decreases in disruptive behaviour (Levine, 2002b). This strategy will welcome pupils with SEN as full members of the group and will help to value them for the contribution they make. This will develop their feeling of belonging and their ability to participate in a mainstream school environment. Better staff-student relationships and a positive classroom ethos is also said to be essential when dealing with pupils with ADHD. Such a change may be difficult to achieve but recent research by Ghanizadeh, Bahredar and Moeini (2006) demonstrated that more tolerant and positive attitudes towards students with ADHD are associated with levels of knowledge of ADHD among teachers. This suggests that training to increase teacher’s knowledge of ADHD may need to be a priority if inclusive practice is to consolidate.

Breaking down tasks into small, manageable chunks will also facilitate to accommodate the shorter attention span of such students. In addition by highlighting key information where possible will help students who experience difficulties in selective attention (Levine, 2002a). Over time, students can be taught to practise drawing focus to key information themselves (Humphrey, 2009). These strategies are said to help to create a better fit between the class environment and the students and are things that staffs in school do that give meaning to the concept of inclusion. However, many of the strategies proposed are appropriate and should be an integral part of any lesson regardless whether children with SEN are present or not.

Another approach as a tool to promote and achieve inclusive practice is what Humphrey (2009) refers to as Cognitive-behavioural approach. Cognitive-behavioural approaches emphasise the use of reinforcement principles to alter thoughts or cognitions related to ADHD behaviours. Simple examples of the application of such techniques in the classroom include teaching children to use self-testing strategies (e.g. when reading, students are encouraged to stop at key points and ask themselves questions about what they have just read) and use self-reinforcement (such as giving themselves praise for achieving targets, such as staying on task for a period of time). A review of cognitive-behavioural approaches by Ervin, Bankert and DuPaul (1996) concluded that they can be successful in achieving behaviour change, but they are more effective when combined with behavioural contingencies in the natural environment.

Startling statistics show that up to 75% of students with ADHD are prescribed stimulant medication, with Ritalin being the most important commonly used drug (Department of Health, 2003). If specialist knowledge and understanding is important in promoting inclusive practice, teacher’s knowledge with regards to the use of medication within this group is essential. It is crucial for teachers to understand the role it plays in student’s lives, and the implications it may have for education. Teachers may take an active role here in monitoring the effects of medication observed in the classroom (Cooper and Ideus, 1996). Having an understanding of the effects of stimulant medication will enable the teacher to plan for specific pedagogical strategies in a way that takes these factors into account and allow full access to education.

Stimulant medication takes effect very quickly, but its influences may not last throughout the school day. For instance, their effect on behaviour (in terms of activity levels) typically lasts longer than its effects on cognition (in terms of attention). As a result, even though students may not be up and out of their seats or blurting out answers, they may still not be accessing the curriculum because they are struggling to maintain their focus on the material presented. In addition, even though medication may be effective in managing the core difficulties experienced by those with ADHD, it is less useful in alleviating ‘secondary’ problems such as social isolation and academic underachievement (Dogett, 2004), therefore limiting the active participation of the child in both class and school environment.

In addition, inflexible staff and lack of inventiveness in some schools have been reported by OFSTED (2004) as factors affecting the development towards effective inclusion. From a personal perceptive ine can concur with OFSTED;s statement. Within ones organisation, teachers overall consensus is one of frustration and guilt when dealing with pupils with SEN in not being able to help them. An SEN register is distributed to every teacher with pupils name and their areas of need well into the 1st term. This result with the teacher suddenly realising that pupil ‘X’ and pupil ‘Y’ might be experiencing a range of difficulties due to their needs not being taken into account, resulting in disruptive behaviour. In addition, an organisation where teacher’s SEN knowledge and understanding is limited brings in another issue. Teachers find themselves wondering what can be done to help these pupils with limited success. Within the organisation there is a SEN Coordinator position, but in the past, when approached and asked for am expert opinion, the answer was ‘you can look it up in the internet and find out further information’. This barrier is significant as Wedell (2008:131) rightly states “Consultation with the school’s SENCo may be required, and this may extend to the involvement of support services from outside school, as indicated in the successive stages of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice’ all in effort to make sure the students actively belongs and participates in mainstream school settings. This is currently non existent within the organisation. Furthermore, learning support classes are timetabled for children with SEN, but these take form more as a homework club rather than a structured learning support session. Teachers have no influence in what get taught in these classes resulting in the possibility of pupils doing something that not necessarily links with what is being taught in mainstream class. The students find themselves in an inclusive mainstream setting in curriculum subjects and in a segregated setting with regards to learning support. This may result in confusion and frustration, especially with pupils who are said to benefit from being provided with a clear structure to each day lesson and task. With regards to medication, throughout the 4 year career in teaching, there have been a number of students diagnosed with ADHD. However, up until today, there is no awareness or knowledge whether they were on medication or not. Overall, within the organisation it is clear that it is unrealistic to expect teachers and other members to be able to properly fulfil requirements such as differentiating the curriculum for all children, including those with SEN, without receiving the appropriate support and training to enable them to do so. In some cases as mentioned above, the teacher may require a detailed knowledge of child development psychology to equip them to do so to the greatest effect and of equal importance, to understand why the pupil acts and behaves the way they do.

5.2 Autistic Spectrum Disorders

According to Jordan (2008:1)’ education can be, and perhaps should be, an effective treatment’ for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in the sense that, there is so much that individuals with ASD have to learn that is just intuitively grasped by the non-autistic, learning may best be enhanced through high-quality teaching.’ But education is more than just another treatment. It is the way that citizens are taught the values, understanding, knowledge and skills that will enable their full participation in their community in a way that welcomes full their values and contributions they make.

The first battles for those with ASD were fought for the same purpose as the battles for any special educational need: the right to be included at all. As with SEN there was recognition that degree of autism can occur across the full ability range. ASD inclusion has been based on the entitlement view of education as the only way of becoming a full member of society. The bases of most programmes for inclusion for pupils with ASD were not inclusion at all, but form of integration (Jordan and Powell, 1994). As previous research demonstrates (Ainscoq, 1999) the issue with regards to ASD pupils has been that the content and the teaching approaches of the National Curriculum in mainstream schools were not changed to accommodate children with ASD It was assumed that the content was of equal relevance to all children, requiring modification and ‘breaking down’ curriculum content into smaller steps (which is often effective for some children with learning difficulties) is not appropriate for children with ASD, where the development and learning patterns are different.

There is even problem with the main purpose of mainstream education, which in terms of inclusion, is surely to gain from co-operative and collaboration with typical peers. Yet many of the supports to enable inclusion of children with ASD serve to make the child more isolated from peers, and support assistance are seldom given training (or a role) in enabling such children to have positive contact with their peers (Jordan, 2008), thus being more an organisational constraint rather than a pupil’s. Jordan (2008) also state that is a child is different, or has ‘special needs’, extra resources are provided to enable the child to have access to other children, even though the success of those resources in bringing that about has never been tested. So is inclusion possible for pupils with ASD?

In order to include ASD students there needs to be a flexible education system. Teachers must know about learning and teaching and about the diversity that exists in teaching. If educators teach in a way that attains diversity, then more children with different SEN will be able to manage in mainstream settings becoming full members of the group. This will also benefit disruptive students and those with ADHD, dyslexia and so on. Once again the statement made by OFSTED (2004) that effective inclusion was frustrated by rigid timetabling and inflexible staffing is relevant. Rigid class grouping is associated with high pupil-teacher rations, which clearly make it difficult to give personal attention to individual pupils. In addition, successful learning opportunities in inclusive settings will require radical school reform, changing the existing system and rethinking the entire curriculum of the school to meet the needs of all children (Mittler 1994), what Norwich and Lewis (2005) explain as the curriculum dilemma. In addition, and similar to ADHD, the current approach to assessment needs to be addressed if inclusion is to prosper as the House of Commons Report for Children, Schools and Families (2008:3) reports that:

“we find that the use of national test results for the purpose of school accountability has resulted in some schools emphasizing the maximization of test results at the expense of a more rounded educational for their pupils”

Inevitably, one must be aware that there will be some individuals with ASD whose autism is so severe that they will need specialist support, but that does not need to be in a segregated setting if inclusion is desired. Resources based are the best model (Hesmonghalgh and Breakley, 2001), where the child with ASD belongs to his peer group teacher but has support staff with expertise and a ‘haven’ in which to recover when needed (Jordan, 2008). This is a perfect example on how a child with SENs may have their needs met in a mainstream provision (following point 1 of the SEN Code of Practice) and is not segregated.

Pupils with severe ASD will need special support and it is here where there is a role for specialist schools. Special schools should be seen as centres of excellence, pioneering new ways of working with ASD and dealing with the most extre

The effect of age on adult’s rate of achievement in learning second language

1

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of age on adult’s rate of achievement in learning second language in the case of grammar,and pronunciation. Age is one of the most important and affective factor which causes many differences in both second and first language learning. When the brain is more developed so it is better for learning second language and also adult?s capacity for learning and memory is higher than children. Results show that adults are able to produce grammatically correct sentences compared with children but as they become older they get into some problems in communication. Asher and Price figured out a fact that the younger a child had been when entering the United States, the higher the probability of a native like accent(Asher and Price, 1967, p. 83).

Review of literature

This article provides a selective overview of theoretical issues and empirical findings relating to the question of age and the rate of aadult?s second language acquisition. Many empirical researches were done on the rate of second language learning and overviews of this research can be found in Asher and Price(1967), Susan Oyama (1982), Fathman (1989), Falasca (2001),Dekeyser (2002), Dunkel and Pillet (2008), Johnson and Newport (2008),and Bista (2008).

Methodology

This paper studied the effect of age on adult’s rate of achievement of grammar,and pronunciationin learning second language. This research was done by studying previous related research which is done by famous researches. Information gathered from articles , books and internet sources. This paper has collected the best papers related to the effect of age on adult’s rate of achievement of grammar, and pronunciationin learning second language. the following pages review more than 10 studies that are theoretically and practically studied the relationship between age and on adult’s rate of second language acquisition.

Adults as learners

There are many definitions of the adults as learners ,different authors focus on different perspectives.

Knowles (1980), forexample, identified the following characteristics of adult learners:

• adults are autonomous and self-directed; they need to be free to direct themselves

• adults have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities and previous education

• adults are relevancy-oriented; they must see a reason for learning something

• adults are more problem-centered than subject-centered inlearning

• adults are motivated to learn by internal factors rather thanexternal ones

( Merriam&Caffarella, 1999,p 65)

Many of adult second language learners pay more attention on learning grammar ,they believe in the significant relationship between grammatical accuracy and effective communication. They pay much attention to grammar because of doing office work and studying in abroad. They think by having proficiency in grammar part they will have a better social acceptance by native speakers. Adults are more aware of grammar points which they are using, that?s why they can get these points and use them.

Huangdid a research and in his study 118 Mandarin-speaking immigrants in the United States and 24 English native speakers as the baseline comparison group participated. The grammar knowledge estimated by a grammaticality judgment task. The findings showed thatthat post-puberty learners acquire second language better than pre-puberty learnersespecially in grammar part.His findings showed the method of teaching, amount of instruction and also length of residence have significant effects on learning grammar.

Results revealed that adults had less difficulty in adapting to task. They are faster and made fewer mistakes, this will cause them to learn faster. And children made more mistakes at the early stages of learning.

Asher and Price ( 1967) have carried out an experiment with96 students from the second, fourth and eighth grades of a school and 37 undergraduate students from a college. The subjects did not have any previous knowledge of Russian, the targeted language. After three short trainings conducted in Russian language, the results showed that the eight graders performed significantly better than the second graders and the fourth graders. They also noticed a consistently positive relationship with advancing age because of above average mental ability of the adults (p.76).

A study which is done by Robert Dekeyser(2002)suggested:”adult learners are more successful in learning grammar than the early-age learners”(p.14). Learning grammar is sometimes abstract, that?s why it is hard for children to get the point. Most of the time, children memorize it.The findings show that grammar is somehow boring for adults but they get to this conclusion that learning grammar is necessary and effective. Adults are more reliance on writing and they know about the value of grammar in writing, so they get it more serious.

Researchers of SLA interested in assessing phonological skills of learners suggest a common belief that younger learners acquire a native like accent in the target language. Dunkel and Pillet compared the proficiency in French between elementary school pupils and beginning students of French from the university. They found that the younger learners’ pronunciation was better than that of the older ones. However, in both written and aural tests, the university students had better performance than the younger ones.(Bista,2008, p.8)

Asher and price examined acquisition of pronunciation of 71 Cuban immigrants to California. The subjects were of aged groups from seven to 19 years. The majority of them had been in the United States for about five years. They concluded that “not one of the 71 Cuban subjects was judged to have American native pronunciation” (Asher and price, 1967, p. 83). They also figured out a fact that the younger a child had been when entering the United States, the higher the probability of a native like accent.

In the study which is done by Susan Oyama (1982) 60 maleItalian immigrants were studied .They were at the age of 6 to 20 when they had come to the united states. Susan Oyama pointed out that the age is an important factor in order to have a native like accent. She declared that the younger the better in having an acceptable accent. She also pointed out her results about listening comprehension as follows:

…those subjects who began learning English before age 11 showed comprehension

score similar to those of native speakers, whereas later arrivals did less well; those

who arrived after the age of 16 showed markedly lower comprehension scores than

the native (Oyama, 1982, p. 23).

Susan Oyama suggested (1982):”The young learners are considered fluent in communication of the second language and achieve native like accent .Learners after the age of puberty do not acquire native like accent of a second language but have complex learning pattern.Research suggests that children and adults L2 learners pass through different developmental states “( p 12).

Johnson and Newport ( 2008) found:” native-like language abilities and the performance levels are lower in older children than younger in a study of forty-six Chinese and Koreans speakers”(p.13).

In another study, Fathman (1989) tested oral proficiency in English on 20 children and 20 adults in a formal setting in Mexico. Their finding also brought a similar conclusion that the children scored better in English pronunciation than the adults but the adults scored better than the children in syntax(p.32).

Learning and technology

As we know adults are more capable to use technology in order to improve and using technology can help learners to study faster, especially adults. Integrating technology in instruction for adult Englishlanguage learners may offer the flexibility to extend that available in a formal program and thus increase opportunities for language and literacy learning(Cummins, 2007, p. 26).

Adult learners access to online learning more than others. Online learning is entirely Internet-based. This opportunity ables English learners to learn anywhere,any time.

Electronic tools and internet which is used in teaching and learning motivate students to learn and become actively independent learners, this will happen for adults more than children. As we know adults have more problem in communication but internet can provides learners with opportunities to reinforce their learning skills, self-assessment, and their communication with the world.

Some other effects of aging on learning:

1.as people become older they eyesight will become weak and this will affect the capacity for learning of the adults

2.changes in nuclear family roles,changes in other family roles and changes in work roles will affect on adults learning(Falasca, 2001, p.3)

3.Motivation to learn: Adults can be ordered into a classroom but nobody can force them to learn. Any adults who see a need or have a desire to know a new thing seems more successful.

A group of researchers including Singleton and Oyama believed that the young learners have higher learning potentiality than the adults whereas Johnson and Newport, Dekeyser, Asher and Price, opined the opposite. Thus the results of this study in general support that younger adults are better learner especially in pronunciation and there is a high level of opportunity to achieve to native like accent but we should consider that the amount of repetitions and also the length of resistance have much effect on having native like accent, on the other hand older adults are better in understanding grammar. When the brain is more developed so it is better for learning grammar, this is because of the fact that adult?s capacity for learning and memory is higher than children .

The findings showed that that post-puberty learners acquire second language better than pre-puberty learners especially in grammar part. In learning grammar, there is a consistently positive relationship with advancing age because of above average mental ability of the adults. Learning grammar is sometimes abstract, that?s why it is hard for children to get the point. Also all of the tools which is available in the market, sources which is available in the internet, and software can help a lot older adult than younger adult in learning second language.

We should consider that the main problem of adult is that in most cases they can not become lifelong learners.Age is not everything in second language learning. However, factors related to the age, for example the learning opportunities, the motivation to learn, individual differences, and learning styles, are also important determining variables that affect the rate of second language learning in various developmental stages of the learners.

References:

Asher, J. J., & Price, B. S. (1967). The learning strategy of a total physical response: Some age differences. Child Development, 38, 1219-1227.

Bialystok,E.(1997).The structure of age: In search of barriers to second language acquisition. Second language research,13(2),116_137.

Bista,K.(2008).Age as an effective factor in second language acquision. The journal of English for Specific Purposes World.Issue 5 (21).Retrieved fromwww.esp-world.info/Articles_21/Docs/Age.pdf

Birdsong, D. (2006). Age and second language acquisition and processing: A selective overview. Language Learning, 56 (1), 9-49.

Cummins, J.(2007). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters.Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19,197-205.

DeKeyser, R.(2002).The robustness of Critical Period effects in second language acquisition. Studies in second language Acquisition,22(4),499-533.

Fathman, A. (1989). The relationship between age and second language productive ability.

Issues in second language research. London:Newbury House, 15-23.

Falasca,M.(2001).Barriers to adult learning.Australian Journal of Adult learning.Volume56,number3,November2011. Retrieved from http://www.ajal.net.au/barriers-to-adult-learning-bridging-the-gap/

Johnson, J. S., & Newport, E.L.(2008).Critical Period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on acquisition of English as a Second Language. Cognitive Psychology. 21,60-99.

Klein, W. (1986).Second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Oyama, S. (1982).The sensitive period and comprehension of speech. In Krashen, S., Scarcell, R. & Long, M. (Eds.), Issues in second language research. London: Newbury House, 39-51

Singleton, D. (2002).The age factor in second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

To what extent can teachers make provisions for pupils with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity?Disorder) in the mainstream classroom?

CONTENTS (JUMP TO)

Section 1: Referenced Extracts

Section 2a Part One: Analysis and Critical Evaluation of the Issue

Section 2b Part Two: Examination of the Practical Implications for Primary School Teachers

Section 3: Copies of Extracts

Section 4: Bibliography Sources and Further Reading

Section 1: Referenced Extracts

(1) Quarmby, K. (Tuesday 6 December, 2004) Rebels without a Cause: Children with Behaviour Problem are Increasingly Diagnosed with ADHD, in, Education Guardian, pp.1-3

(2) The Disorder named AD/HD: What we know (2004) National Resource Centre for AD/HD: Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity?Disorder (CHADD; http://www.help4adhd.org/en/about/what/WWK1.pdf , p.2

(3) Rafolovich, A. (2005), Exploring Clinician Uncertainty in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity-Disorder, in, Journal of Sociology of Health and Illness, Volume 27, Number 3 London: Blackwell, pp.306?310

(4) Northen, S. (Friday 26 November, 2004), Feed your Head, in, The Times Educational Supplement, p.3

(5) Spencer, T. et al (1995), A Double-Blind Cross?Over Comparison of Methylphenidate and Placebo in Adults with Childhood Onset Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity-Disorder, in, Archives of General Psychiatry, Volume 52, pp.434-443

(6) Education Guardian Opinion (Tuesday 10 October, 2006), p.4

(7) Handy, C. and Aitken, R. (1986) Understanding Schools as Organisations London: Penguin, p.13

(8) Chowdhury, U. (2004) Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome: a Handbook for Parents and Professionals London and New York: Jessica Kingsley, p.115

(9) Raphael Reed, L. (1995) Reconceptualisng Equal Opportunities, in, Griffiths, M. and Troyna, B. (Eds.), Antiracism, Culture and Social Justice in Education Stoke?on?Trent: Trentham, p.88

(10) Guiding Principles for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention?Deficit Hyperactivity?Disorder (2006), Presented by the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA); http://www.add.org/pdf/GuidingPrinciples021206Rev[1].pdf , p.2

(11) Jones, A. (August 2004) Clinical Psychology Publishes Critique of ADHD Diagnosis and Use of Medication on Children, in, Psychminded Website; http://www.psychminded.co.uk/news/news2004/august2004/Clinicalpsycholgy

(12) Swanson, J.M. and Castellanos, F.X. (2002) Biological Bases of ADHD – Neuroanatomy, Genetics and Pathophysiology, in, Jensen, P.D. and Cooper, J.R. (Eds.), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: State of the Science Kingston: New Jersey, pp.71-72

(13) ADHD: Strategies for Primary School Teachers; http://premium.netdoktor.com/uk/adhd/living/school/article.jsp?articleIdent=uk.adhd.living.school.uk_adhd_xmlarticle_004691

(14) ADHD in the Classroom – What Helps; http://www.adhd.com/educators/educator_communication_difficulties.jsp

(15) Selikowitz, M. (2004) ADHD: the Facts Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.154

(16) Stein, D.B. (1999) Ritalin is not the Answer: a Drug-Free, Practical Programme for Children Diagnosed with ADD or ADHD New York: Jossey Bass Wiley, Preface

Section 2a Part One: Analysis and Critical Evaluation of the Issue

The issue of ADHD is one of the most pressing contemporary concerns within the broader educational sphere of making adequate provisions for children with learning difficulties. With the help of scientists and the media, ADHD has been transformed from a relatively unknown illness of the brain to a well known national problem for thousands of schoolchildren. The increase in awareness has been accompanied by a steep rise in the number of children being diagnosed with the disease. “The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) estimates that as many as 500000 children in the UK may have ADHD and, of these, as many as 100000 may be seriously affected.”(1) Unbelievably, this figure amounts to approximately one in twenty of all British schoolchildren. With figures constantly on the rise and awareness increasing in tandem, it is clear that ADHD is, at the beginning of the twenty first century, a highly important concern for any mainstream primary school teacher.

In comparison to other behavioural problems experienced by young people, the illness is relatively new (at least in terms of its recognition from psychiatrists and general practitioners) and, as such, often causes confusion and misunderstanding when the issue is raised in the classroom. Tourette’s syndrome, for example, has a ten year advantage over ADHD in terms of public awareness and forthright medical opinion. Moreover, the illness is also notoriously difficult to accurately quantify with rather ambiguous symptoms like ‘inattentiveness’ and ‘a lack of concentration’ used as precursors to a diagnosis of attention?deficit hyperactivity?disorder. ADHD is consequently considered to be a highly controversial illness that has the medical community split over whether it is a disability in the traditional sense or whether it is a neurological malfunctioning on the part of the child or individual in question. This is not an easy problem to solve not least because of the scarcity of medical facts.

Indeed, the medical facts that are known are somewhat ambiguous and rely heavily on subjectivity rather than objectivity, which would bequeath an improved perspective for scientists and teachers alike. It has, however, been concluded that the illness begins no later than the age of seven and patients who are first diagnosed as ADHD sufferers in adulthood must have displayed the core symptoms from the age of seven to receive treatment for attention?deficit hyperactivity?disorder – this places the issue directly within the realm of the primary (as opposed to the secondary) school teacher as the first tell-tale signs must be evident before the age of seven (year three).

It is therefore prudent to detail these core symptoms of the disease so that the primary school teacher may be in a position to offer better advice to parents and doctors as to the condition to one of their pupils. For this, analysis must turn towards the USA, which is the leading country in terms of diagnosing, treating and including children with the illness in national classrooms. Thus, according to the American National Resource Centre for AD/HD, symptoms can be split into two separate categories (2). The first category comes under the heading of ‘inattention’. The chief features of this are:

Making careless mistakes in homework, in class and in other related activities. Failing to pay close attention.
Difficulty maintaining attention during work or play.
Appearing as if not listening when clearly being spoken to.
Failing to follow simple instructions in class.
Have difficulties with organisation.
Avoiding work with a sustained amount of mental excursion, such as homework or tests.
Loses things.
Easily distracted.
Forgetful in daily activities.

The second category used for ascertaining the most visible symptoms of ADHD comes under the heading of ‘hyperactivity-impulsive behaviour’. The core features of this particular behavioural manifestation are:

Constant ‘fidgeting’ in class with hands or feet. ‘Squirming’ in chairs.
Running or climbing at inappropriate times.
Has difficulty remaining seated.
Difficulties in maintaining silence during quiet play times.
Failing to wait for turn in class.
Interrupting teachers and fellow pupils at inappropriate times.
Act as if they are on a ‘motor’.

It is immediately evident from just a brief overview of the symptoms that ADHD is open to a wide variety of claims of inaccuracy with regards to diagnosis as well as excessive interference on the part of parents, teachers and the state, which has made the cause of children with learning difficulties a chief domestic policy since the end of the twentieth century. Sceptics naturally point to the many years before ADHD became a well known disorder (during the 1980s’) as evidence that the illness has been blown out of proportion (help groups, on the other hand, say this is merely evidence of the way in which the illness has been avoided by education professionals for so long.)

Furthermore, according to an empirical study compiled by Adam Rafolovich (3), even doctors retain strong reservations about diagnosing a child with ADHD on the grounds of the fertile ground for misconception that exists with concerns to the symptoms highlighted above. For instance, there can be little doubt that there is a very fine line between defining a child as ‘clinically inattentive’ and simply viewing that same child as lazy and disinterested in the subject matter at hand. Likewise, the same problem persists with any variety of the core symptoms of ADHD, which are often too close to everyday behavioural disorders that should be expected in children as young as seven or eight. Once again, it is not difficult to understand the sceptic’s point of view, especially when considering that the modern variation of schooling is a lot more pupil friendly than was the case forty or fifty years ago.

Psychiatric experts and doctors are likewise divided over the best means of treatment available to children who have been satisfactorily diagnosed with ADHD. In the 1990’s, medication was seen as by far the most viable route to inclusion in the classroom with the ‘wonder drugs’ Ritalin and Concerta witnessing an explosion in sales at this time. Prescriptions for these two drugs have leapt from 6000 in 1994 to around 345000 by 2003. This marked increase is testimony to the way in which ADHD has become a serious problem for all mainstream teachers, particularly those who work in primary schools. In addition, there have been grave concerns voiced by doctors, parents and teachers regarding the moral aspect of prescribing a child as young as five or six a powerful, sophisticated neurological drug that alters the way the brain perceives key data. Young people’s brains do not fully develop until well into adolescence and often beyond; thus, the risks in having children become dependent on medication at such a young age should be obvious to all concerned. Moreover, as Stephanie Northen (4) points out, the fact that ADHD is seen as a biochemical imbalance in the brain requiring a pharmaceutical treatment while, at the same time, dyslexia is seen as a solely educational problem that has no connection with the brain, severely tests the rationale behind the way that the illness is currently being classified and treated. In many cases the difference between the two is only the opinion of a teacher, doctor or mental health observer.

On the whole, however, medication has proved to be a success in young children with ADHD at least in terms of lessening the tendency for public outbursts and school time tantrums. Research conducted by the MTA Co?Operative Group at the end of the twentieth century discovered that approximately 70 to 80% of school children with ADHD reacted positively to psycho stimulant medications. Significant academic improvement has likewise been noted with an increase in attentiveness in the classroom, compliance on group related tasks and a greater accuracy evident in homework, coupled with a decrease in activity levels, impulsivity, negative social behaviours in groups and verbal hostility (5). The implications of medication and the effects that this can have on a child who displays the key symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity will be discussed in greater detail in Part Two of the discussion, but, at this point, the important point to note is the relatively high level of success of prescription drugs in the effort to minimise the negative

The other major option with regards to effective treatment is the option of psychotherapy involving a mental health expert and groups of child sufferers of ADHD. Utilising a form of cognitive behaviour therapy, qualified experts are able – over time – to challenge the way in which children react to certain environments and situations – those situations that had previously led to evidence of what are considered to be the core symptoms. ADHD ‘coaches’ also help the child to prioritise, organise and develop interactive skills that will lessen the chances of that child experiencing a sense of social exclusion. There are also a number of problems with this kind of therapy not least the obstacle concerning the considerable costs incurred via employing a mental health professional in the current NHS climate. Theory and practice therefore still stand some way apart when it comes to the ideal means of treating children with ADHD faced with the reality of NHS staff shortages and a scarcity of private sector mental health experts who concentrate solely on children with learning difficulties.

There is also the significant problem of stigmatisation when a child is diagnosed and then treated for ADHD or, indeed, any other mental health problem. To understand the severity of the issue, one need only look at the way that the adult labour force in the UK discriminates against employees who have a mental health issue in order to understand the way in which playgrounds can become a source of intensive bullying, especially below the age of eight according to the Guardian Education Opinion in October 2006 (6). When one considers the fact that schools are, according to Charles Handy and Robert Aitken (7), not at all dissimilar to adult commercial organisations, it becomes even more clear that bullying and peer pressure are significant issues when it comes to schooling children with learning difficulties and behavioural problems, which ADHD obviously entails. As Uttom Chowdhury declares, the more a child stands out as different from his or her classmates “because of associated behaviours such as impulsivity, poor handwriting and academic difficulties” (8) the greater the likelihood of bullying and social exclusion. Primary school teachers would have a pivotal role to play in the cessation of bullying on the grounds of a mental illness, in addition to maintaining an effective social balance within the classroom. Furthermore, a pupil who suffers from ADHD is bound to display signs of low self esteem, regardless of bullying in the playground or peer pressure within the classroom. Low self esteem – combined with the unpredictable side effects of the medication as well as mitigating factors that may be occurring at home, means that the task of a mainstream primary school teacher is made all the more time consuming.

It can be seen that attention?deficit hyperactivity?disorder is not only a highly topical issue that is bound to increase in significance in the coming decades, but that it is also a highly problematic area of debate for public education and child welfare due to the ambiguity that resides at the heart of the diagnosis of the condition. While there are a number of tell?tale signs that a child may be suffering from ADHD there are also any number of alternative reasons as to why a student appears to be veering away from the carefully constructed consensus of a primary school classroom. Ultimately, some children would just prefer not to be in school at all. With this in mind, it is prudent to turn attention towards the implications for teachers who wish to advance the governmental policy of social inclusion in the classroom by understanding how ADHD can be married with an award for Quality Teacher Status.

Section 2b Part Two: Examination of the Practical Implications for Primary School Teachers

Section 3.2.4 of the Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status declares that teacher should, “identify and support more able pupils, those who are working below age-related expectations, those who are failing to achieve their potential in learning, and those who experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.” Clearly, therefore, with regards to pupils with ADHD, the most pressing concern for primary school teachers is the need to maintain a healthy social balance within the classroom without ostracising the child with the learning difficulty. Inclusiveness must consequently be the teacher’s main priority if they are to fulfil the most basic precept of the QTS. “All children need someone to mediate their learning, but sometimes this feels especially true for children with special educational needs.” (9)

This is a tried and tested educational tightrope that cannot be replicated in a college classroom, in an academic book or in an education?specific journal. Rather, this challenge can only be met through experience. This is, of course, not to state that there are not certain features and attributes that the teacher can learn so as to be in a more advantageous position to deal with potential sufferers of ADHD. The most obvious place to begin would be the acquisition of help from a more experienced teacher – one who hopefully has coped with the demands of teaching children with learning difficulties beforehand, even if the difficulty in question is not ADHD. This would equip the recently qualified primary school teacher with the ability to deal more efficiently with children in the classroom who have already been diagnosed with the illness as well as those pupils that have yet to be diagnosed but who are nonetheless showing a variety of signs of ADHD. This is an important point because, according to the ‘guiding principles for the diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity?disorder’, ADHD should be “suspected but never presumed.” (10)

Section 2.4.1 of the Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status states that: “they [the qualified teacher] understand how pupils’ learning can be affected by their physical, intellectual, linguistic, social, cultural and emotional development.” With regards to pupils with ADHD, this would involve the ability to liaise with the child’s parents. This has two obvious benefits. The first is to better understand the child’s home life, which experts agree is a vital factor in the formation of the disease, especially if said home life is noticeably chaotic, abusive or violent. “More regard should be given to a child’s social circumstances, experience and history in understanding their behaviour.”(11) Secondly, research has indicated that there are certain generic attributes of ADHD that run through families, which makes the issue of maintaining an effective, coherent working dialogue with the parents of ADHD sufferers all the more imperative (12). Although the illness is inherently complex, involving a cross?over of many genes, there is a strong likelihood that one of the parents will also show signs of ADHD, making empathy with the child easier in the process.

The Standards for the Award of Qualified Teacher Status also require the primary school teacher to be able to effectively plan lessons for all pupils in the class. Moreover, as of January 2002, a revised SEN code of practice dictated that “all teachers are SEN teachers.”(13) Clearly, children with learning difficulties pose unique problems for the planning of lessons, none more so than those pupils with ADHD, which is an inherently disruptive and anti?social illness. Communication between the teacher and the student (not to mention communication between the student and his classmates) is therefore a major problem. Fortunately, there are a number of study aids that are available for teachers to consult. For instance, the official ADHD website in the US offers invaluable advice on how best to manage children with the illness in a classroom setting (14). The following constitutes a small extract of what the organisation considers to be useful information for educators. It should be interpreted as an Individual Education Plan (IEP):

Refrain from ‘popping’ a question which requires a speedy answer.
Give the student extra time to answer questions. For example, use up time by writing on the blackboard.
Speak slowly and provide information in small units. This is especially helpful in the classroom.
Reinforce verbal instructions and lessons with written materials, or by writing on the blackboard.
Work closely with the student to determine and accommodate his or her individual needs.

There are likewise a number of books that have been published in recent years that are a source of encouragement for primary school teachers. Mark Selikowitz, for example, gives advice on the structural planning of the classroom for students with ADHD: “the child with ADHD should be seated at the front of the class near to the teacher’s desk. The old idea of putting the ‘naughty’ child at the back of the class…is totally inappropriate if the child has ADHD.” (15)

Teachers must also be constantly aware of the dangers inherent in educating children who are prescribed powerful doses of medicine. In his critique of the culture of prescription drugs prevalent in the USA and the UK, David Stein warns of the side?effects of Ritalin, which include insomnia, tearfulness, rebound irritability, personality change, nervousness, anorexia, nausea, dizziness, headaches, heart palpitations, and cardiac arrhythmia. (16)

Finally, in accordance with Section 3.3.1.4, tutoring a child with ADHD allows the qualified teacher to test their ability to effectively manage instances of bullying and harassment. Where a child with ADHD is concerned, bullying is especially relevant due to the potentially volatile outbursts of the child in question as well as taking into account the reaction of those classmates who do not understand ADHD. As is the case when constructing an IEP, the primary school teacher must be able to use common sense in order to properly tailor classroom and playground management for the specific needs of the child in question. No two ADHD sufferers are likely to display the same characteristics of the disease.

Section 3: Copies of Extracts

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26 November 2004 – Times Educational Supplement – Feed Your Head

By Stephanie Northen

You are what you eat, according to an Oxford University scientist who is spreading the message that diet is the key to behaviour, mood and learning. Monty Python had a phrase for it: “And now for something completely different.” “That’s what it’s like for me addressing an education conference,” says Alex Richardson. The Oxford University scientist gets plenty of practice at public speaking. Recently she has given the keynote speech at the York festival of food and drink, talked about fish at London’s Royal Institution, and briefed Scottish MPs on autism. And what is she telling them? That what you eat affects how you learn, how you feel and how you behave. For Dr Richardson, who has spent the past decade studying the issue, the links between a healthy diet and a healthy brain are obvious. Yet many people still need persuading. “People ignore the brain,” she says. “But isn’t it obvious that, without the right nutrients, your brain, as well as your body, is not going to function properly?” Initially concentrating on the role of fish oils in treating dyslexia (see below), her work has broadened to cover the influence of diet on learning, mood and behaviour. In 2003, she co-founded the Food and Behaviour Research Group to spread the word and share the work. Over those years she has learned to control a deep-seated impatience with the kind of muddled thinking that once assured her dyslexia didn’t exist. Judging by her list of speaking engagements, she is winning the argument. It has not been easy. Money is often in short supply, as is open-mindedness. “My work bridges health and education and has huge implications for both. But when it comes to education, many people feel threatened by anything biological. They try to dismiss it as irrelevant.” Dr Richardson, the daughter of two teachers, is familiar with the workings of the education world. As a student, she reached what many would consider the top of the pile, graduating in politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford. Yet her success unsettled her. “I found it easy to play the exam game, yet I never got any satisfaction from it because I wasn’t engaged with the subjects.” She remembers an end-of-year exam. “It was on French political history. I had done nothing, but a kind soul brought me his essays at 9am, for the exam starting at 9.30am. I read, read, read and absorbed, went into the exam, let it all out, and I did fine. But it was so unsatisfying, and so unfair.” This sense of unfairness has been a powerful influence on Dr Richardson, now a senior research fellow at Mansfield college. It affected her career choice, or lack of one. “I graduated during the first Thatcher government, the time of yuppies and everyone for themselves. Most people who did PPE at Oxford disappeared to the City to make lots of money. Their golden hellos made me think, ‘Goodness! A salary like that for someone I’ve seen in the pub for the past three years’. Is that really the value society puts on first-class degrees? But I could never see myself in that kind of environment.” Instead, she slipped into the kind of teaching work that abounds in Oxford. She got a job at a tutorial college, otherwise known as a crammer. “If both your parents are teachers, the one thing you decide you are not going to be is a teacher. It was ironic that I found myself drifting that way, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Soon she added a PGCE to her degree, eventually ending up at a tutorial college in Stoke-on-Trent. There she met Michael. The boy was clearly affected by dyslexia, but Dr Richardson had been told by her teacher trainers that such conditions did not exist; they were merely middle-class excuses for failure. Dr Richardson taught Michael A-level economics, and one day asked him to come up with a plan for an essay on international trade, a kind of mind map showing how the issues related. The result, she says, was breathtaking. “If a finals student at Oxford had produced this it would have been impressive. Everything was there and how it related to everything else. It was stunning; he’d covered his entire sheet of A4. I was awestruck.” Michael got a D, while another student with little understanding of economics, but a talent for words, was awarded an A. “I thought this was outrageous; in terms of understanding, reasoning and ability to grapple with issues, the result should have been the other way round.” For Dr Richardson, the dyslexic boy’s struggles exemplified what was wrong with the education system. “I’ve always been rewarded for being able to play the exam game and here I was coming across people who made me feel humble. They’d been dismissed as lazy, careless and stupid. But they were battling, trying to find some way to show their ability to get a passport to anything other than the lowest grade of job or future. “This motivated me to do what I would never have thought possible, to go back to college and do a PhD. I recognised that anyone who understood dyslexia would understand the whole of the human mind and brain. It isn’t just to do with reading and spelling, it permeates the whole of somebody’s thinking and perceiving and learning style.” In 1987, she got a job in the dyslexia research clinic at Oxford’s physiology laboratory. Her work focused on the links between physiology and psychology, studying the biological underpinnings of personality traits. Then in 1995 she read a research paper in a medical magazine. A few dyslexic adults, treated with essential fatty acids found in fish oils, had been cured of their night blindness. It was a turning point. While acknowledging the many factors that influence a child’s development, she says it is just daft to deny the role of nutrition. She points out that huge numbers of youngsters have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia. “ADHD is seen as a biochemical imbalance requiring a pharmaceutical approach, so the answer is to treat it with drugs. Yet dyslexia is regarded as an educational problem to do with reading and spelling, and nothing to do with the brain.” Her exasperation is palpable. She feels as strongly about junk food, the “nutritional nightmares”, being peddled to children. “Headteachers say they would like to get rid of the vending machine, but the children know they can forget breakfast and buy a fizzy drink and a chocolate bar at school. Teachers know how this can affect behaviour.” Dr Richardson is aware that vending machines pay teachers’ salaries. “But if diet plays the role it appears to in shaping behaviour, learning and mood, it is a false economy. You can’t let them eat junk and expect it not to backfire and cause more expense.” She is a forceful campaigner, driven by a sense of how unfair life can be. A better diet seems little to ask for children, especially those with special needs. “There is nothing to compare with realising, from the moment you arrive at school, that you struggle with things other children find easy. How are you going to preserve your self esteem? What are you going to do to try to cope with this frank injustice?” Dr Richardson is working hard to help. She says it’s payback time for the ease with which she sailed through the education system.

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Rebels without a cause Children with behaviour problems are increasingly diagnosed with ADHD. But their parents often struggle to get them the education they need. By Katharine Quarmby Tuesday December 6, 2005 The Guardian James Steele, aged 10, from Bermondsey, south London, has seven doses of Ritalin a day to control his behaviour. On one of his first days at Southwark Park primary school, he stripped off naked and was chased round the school by two teachers. His mother, Julie Clapp, had to give up work to cope with him. “It’s been a nightmare,” she says.

“He would crawl over desks, start climbing on equipment in the classroom,” says Angie Sharma, acting headteacher. “Then at one point he opened the window and stood on the ledge. The whole school was in a panic. We seriously thought we might have to exclude James. It was extremely difficult for the teacher to teach to the national curriculum when James was running out of class, refusing to co-operate.”

Before he joined the school, he had already been kicked out of nursery. The school begged Southwark council for help and, at the age of seven, James was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and given a statement of special educational need. A team of experts assessed James, including the school’s special educational needs co-ordinator, an

Primary Science Task

Introduction

It is important that assessment in primary science is linked to learning outcomes if it is to be successful (Hudson, 2005). It is therefore important that all primary teachers in science understand the learning outcomes which are appropriate to their year, and that learning activities and assessments are based on that. Most children in year 4 at school would be expected to be working between levels 2 and 5, although most children would only be expected to reach level 4 by the age of 11 (DirectGov, 2008). Here a set of activities based around circuits are discussed in terms of how they allow for development in Sc1 Scientific Enquiry and Sc4 Physical Processes skills.

Assessment of Sc1 and Sc4 Skills

In order to ensure appropriate development through both Sc1 and Sc4, it would be considered preferential to change the order of the learning activities. The first activity which would be approached would be that of the safety session. This would be approached first due to the importance of approaching safety considerations before approaching any practical activities utilising electricity. This activity is not only considered crucial to safety, but presents a good introduction to circuits, as the learning objectives would be considered to be at level 2 (L2) of Sc4. For example discussion of the differences between mains and battery electricity corresponds to pupils being able to compare the way in which devices work in different electrical circuits (QCA, n.d.). The learning outcomes of this activity, being able to record the characteristics of the devices using mains electricity, would also be at L2 of Sc1, which states that pupils should be able to describe observations using simple scientific vocabulary.

The second activity approached would be that of looking at drawings of circuits. This is an important step before practical work with circuits as it may address some of the gaps in knowledge of circuits which may be present in children of this age (Glauret, 2008). The learning objectives and the activity itself allow for development from L2 of Sc 4 to L3. For example while knowing that a circuit needs a power source means that pupils are able to compare the way in which devices work in different electrical circuits (L2), it could also be developed so that pupils are able to discuss cause and effect (L3). The same could be said of the knowledge that a complete circuit is needed for a device to work. The actual activity itself, in which children look at drawings of circuits and decide and explain which will work and which will not could be performed at L2 of Sc1, where pupils are able to observe and compare objects and events, and say what is expected. It could however allow for development to L3, where pupils are able to use their knowledge and understanding of physical phenomena to link cause and effect in simple explanations. By asking children to design a circuit which will work, record it, and annotate it, this is however only tackling L1 of Sc1 in terms of notation, where pupils are able to communicate their findings in simple ways (QCA, n.d.). Although not specifically addressed in this learning activity, it may also be useful to include some discussion in pairs or small groups. This is due to evidence that vocalisation of scientific concepts may help with development of scientific vocabulary (Mercer et al., 2004). This may then assist in developing from being able to communicate findings in simple ways (Sc1 L1) to using simple scientific vocabulary (Sc1 L2) and beyond.

Using the third activity, in which pupils test their ideas about what make good conductors would allow for further development of Sc1 and Sc4. For example the learning objective about how to find out which materials allow electricity to pass through them could be approached from L1 if suggestions are actively offered to the pupils (Sc1 L1), or could be developed through the L4 if pupils are given freedom to design their own approach with lower levels of guidance. The learning objective relating to the development of the knowledge that some materials are better conductors of electricity than others relates to both L3 and 4 of Sc4. This involves development from being able to use knowledge to link cause and effect to being able to use knowledge to create generalisations. This development is also addressed by the objective that pupils are able to use results to draw conclusions about which materials conduct electricity. This objective also addresses development of L3 to L4 in Sc1 in that pupils develop from being able to provide explanations for their observations (L3) to pupils being able to relate their conclusions to patterns in their data and scientific knowledge. The specific learning outcomes of this activity would be that pupils would be able to use equipment to make observations, by being able to construct a circuit to test which materials let electricity pass through (Sc1 L2) and that they would be able to provide explanations for their observations by explaining that with some materials the bulb did not light because the circuit was not complete (Sc1 L3). This may even be developed through to Sc1 L4, where pupils begin to relate their conclusions to patterns in their data and scientific knowledge, if pupils are able to relate their findings to other sources of information.

Rather than approach it as a separate activity, it would be better to incorporate the activity of making simple switches here, as it too relates to conductors and complete circuits. As such, it does not particularly offer further development of any of the learning targets, so does not warrant investigation as a separate session.

As a development of the third activity, it then makes logical sense to proceed to discuss the uses of metals and plastics as conductors and insulators. This would lead to the development of Sc1 L4 if pupils were not previously able to relate their own work to outside information. This also includes exploring secondary sources, which can also be developed from L2 of Sc1 to L4, depending on the sophistication of sources used and what is done with the information. For example using the information to explain why metals are used for some purposes and plastics for others indicates being able to link cause and effect in simple explanations (Sc4 L3), although if pupils are also able to make generalisations about physical phenomena and use physical ideas to explain, then this may indicate development to L4.

The final activity in the paper would be included last, as this is generally a culmination of the information gathered to this point, and offers development of Sc1 and Sc4 to L4. For example making predictions about what will happen indicates that pupils are able to make generalisations and use physical ideas to explain simple phenomena (Sc4 L4). Deciding how to change the brightness of bulbs and speed of a motor in a circuit also shows that pupils are able to decide on an appropriate approach towards answering a question and also able to vary one factor while keeping the others the same (Sc1 L4). Designing their own experiment also indicates that pupils are able to describe physical phenomena, for example how a particular device may be connected to work in a circuit (Sc4 L4). This type of self-directed activity may also be essential for some young children in developing scientific confidence (Glauert, 2005). Finally, a self-directed activity at the end of the series of sessions also allows for a better assessment of progress through the levels, as it allows for complete flexibility as to how much assistance is given in the task, thereby allowing for a better assessment of competency.

Conclusions

By utilising the appropriate activities from those given, it is possible to allow for development of both Sc1 and Sc4 right through from level 2 to level 4, which is appropriate for this age group. There is also some degree of flexibility in the levels which the selected activities could be approached from to allow for individual achievement levels within the class. The sessions lend themselves to culmination in a self-directed session, which allows for more accurate assessment of levels within Sc1 and Sc4.

References

DirectGov (2008) National curriculum teacher assessments and key stage tests. DirectGov. Available [online] from: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ExamsTestsAndTheCurriculum/DG_10013041 [Accessed 22/08/2008].

Glauert, E.B. (2005) Making sense of science in the reception class. International Journal of Early Years Education, 13(3), 215-233.

Glauert, E.B. (2008) How young children understand electric circuits: Prediction, explanation and exploration. International Journal of Science Education, DOI: 10.1080/09500690802101950.

Hudson, P.B. (2005) Analysing preservice teachers’ rubrics for assessing students’ learning in primary science education. Proceedings Australian Curriculum Studies Association. Available [online] from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/archive/00002102/ [Accessed 22/08/2008].

Mercer, N., Dawes, L., Wegerif, R. & Sams, C. (2004) Reasoning as a scientist: Ways of helping children to use language to learn science. British Educational Research Journal, 30(3), 359-377.

QCA (No date) Attainment targets for science. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Available [online] from: http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/science/attainmenttargets/index.aspx?return=/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/science/keystage2/index.aspx%3Freturn%3D/key-stages-1-and-2/subjects/index.aspx [Accessed 22/08/2008].

Introduction

A wealth of research has been devoted to the goal of understanding an array of different theories of learning which have emerged within the last 50 years. The focus of this paper is to address two specific paradigms, within which learning is now understood. These consist of the acquisition metaphor and the participatory metaphor of learning. The relative merits of each paradigm, has been evinced through a coalescence of scientific research, appropriating findings from an array of emerging fields of inquiry. Greeno (1997:14) notes that progression in the field of cognitive science has illuminated our understanding of the “processes of problem-solving, reasoning, understanding and memory”, whilst advancements in understanding social interaction are derived from “ethnography, ethnomethodology, symbolic interactionism, discourse analysis, and sociocultural psychology.” In broad terms, these two distinct lines of inquiry have fuelled the alternate metaphors of acquisition and participation, as ways of thinking about the nature of learning. When paradigms such as these develop, they bring with them the distinctive array of terminology characteristic of the intellectual currents, which spawn them. Griffin (2003: 68) helpfully acknowledges that the reason in part why the lines of inquiry about learning have been divergent is that “different authors have used different terminology to describe the types of learning that they have studied.” Greeno (1997: 14) rightly concedes that the “prospects for theoretical advancement” are improved if the scientific agenda prizes synthesis. The proverbial maxim that ‘iron sharpens iron’ is relevant here, where the two metaphors of learning have lived through an intellectual period in binary opposition, illustrated by aspects of Brown, Collins and Duguid (1988); Andersen, Reder and Simon (1996) and Greeno (1997). Indeed, as Greeno (1997: 15) notes in his concluding remarks, “the cognitive and situative perspectives are both valuable for informing discussions of educational practice, but in rather different ways.”

The prismatic-like dimensions of learning have allowed it to be categorised variously, reflective of a variety of operating paradigms. Binary categorisations including “single or double loop” (Argyris and Schon, 1978); “maintenance or innovative” (Botkin et al 1979); “banking or problem-posing” (Freire 1972); “reflective or non-reflective” (Jarvis 1992); “formative or transformative” (Mezirow 1991); or “surface or deep” (Marton 1982); are all noted by Griffin (2003: 68-72). These theoretical constructions of learning, can be in part at least, subsumed within the ambit of the two metaphors in question, namely learning as ‘acquisition’ or learning as ‘participation.’

Jonassen and Land (2000: 28), note that “Resnick (1987), in her presidential address to the American Educational Research Association, examined the practices in schools, which are predicated most strongly on the acquisition metaphor, comparing them to how individuals learn and use knowledge outside of schools. Her analysis focused attention on the collaborative, contextualised, and concrete character of learning outside of school, as opposed to the individual and abstract character of learning that occurs inside of school. Arguably, it was this analysis that served as one of the principal stimuli for the development of the participatory perspective with its emphasis on situated activity.”

The Participatory Metaphor

While the field of cognitive psychology is well established, the fields of social psychology and cultural studies are emergent fields. The participatory metaphor of learning has grown out of these more recently emerging psychological and sociological disciplines. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) observed that methods of learning that try to teach abstract concepts independent of authentic situations overlook the way understanding is acquired and developed through continued, situated use. These researchers also assert that “understanding is reliant upon complex social interactions and negotiations”. Brown, Collins and Duguid’s (1989) assertion that the nature of language acquisition is analogous to the nature of all knowledge acquisition is a useful interpretive device. Language vocabulary acquisition is a relatively rapid and efficient process when learners are participants in ‘authentic situations’, in this case explained as situations where a genuine functional need for language acquisition exists in order for individuals to participate in the flow of real life conversations. Herein, learners are active participants with ‘practitioners’, indeed ‘cognitive apprentices’ as Brown, Collins and Duguid (1988) postulate. An authentic language acquisition environment, encourages the awareness of nuance and the practice of negotiation to promptly deal with uncertainty, an option, arguably not as available to students in conventional classroom settings. By way of contrast, Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) describe typical language acquisition approaches in schools as extremely inefficient, due to the level of contrivance, belying the value of formal definition and memorisation without regular practice.

According to Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989:1), knowing …is inextricably situated in the physical and social context of its acquisition and use.” This representation of knowing resonates with Jonassen and Land’s (2000: 28) comments that, “knowing about refers to an activity – not a thing. Knowing about is always contextualised – not abstract; knowing about is reciprocally constructed within the individual-environment interaction – not objectively defined or subjectively created; and knowing about is a functional stance on the interaction–not a ‘truth’.” Participatory advocates underline the “inseparability of knowing and doing”, an assertion, which, if widely true, raises enormous challenges for schools and other formalised educational institutions.

Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), explore the enticing notion of ‘cognitive apprenticeship,’ positioning teachers as masters of apprentices, who utilise authentic domain activity. They make the astute observations that, “social interaction, social construction of knowledge is significant, therefore conversation, narrative and anecdote, should not be dismissed as noise.” Furthermore, they assert ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is significant for it often involves apprentices, attempting to enter the culture. This articulation of genuine learning imbibes the sociological significance of the learning framework. The participatory metaphor of learning empowers the individual and the social group within the learning context. Other common terms noted amidst situated cognition adherents, terms such as participatory, brokering and negotiating, elevate the status and significance of the learner within the learning environment, implying an active, engaged and enculturated role on behalf of the learner, in relation to the learning process. These concepts indicate the premise that learning is an active process, and certainly not an inert, static product, such as an intact body of rarefied knowledge, permanently beyond dispute or modification. This framework for understanding learning has real currency at a time when geo-political shifts in an increasingly globalised world and village, exposes the tentative nature of knowledge, which may have been perceived as immutably fixated in previous centuries. The elevation of the learner’s status in relation to the act and process of knowing, is an appealing way to view the nature of learning.

A logical extension of this interpretation of learning, is its predilection according to Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), for “collective problem solving, enacting multiple roles, confronting ineffective strategies, and utilising collaborative work skills.” The corresponding conviction, that learning is a transaction, also pinpoints a false assumption. In this light, it is deemed to be false, “that knowledge is individual and self-structured, that schools are neutral in terms of what is learned in them, that concepts are abstract and immutable, and are independent of the context in which they are acquired, that (JPF) behaviour should be discouraged.”

Johansen and Land (2000: 84) notes ‘situated cognition’, (or SitCog to its pundits), while holding some advantages over previous foundations, does not presently offer a comprehensive account of cognition. “For SitCog to fully serve as an integrating framework, a means of accommodating multiple perspectives needs to be developed, to allow inclusion of selected ideas and practices from behaviourism, symbolic cognition, and other theories, both psychological and non-psychological.”

Johansen and Land (2000) note that SitCog also presents an opportunity to define the designer’s role in new ways. The design task is seen in interactional, or participatory (rather than rational-planning), terms. They assert that (2000:84) “design and control become situated within the political and social context of actual learning environments. Rather than applying the best learning theory, designers and participants of learning environments honour the constraints and affordances of the local situation. A situated view of design, then, is one that supports the worthy practices of participants and stakeholders, using whatever theories, tools, or technologies at their disposal.”

New situations continually recast concepts in a more densely textured form- concepts are ever evolving. Concepts are always under construction and defy categorical description

Brown et al (1988) provide a clear account of situated cognition, a term noted frequently in the literature review which draws attention to the critical role of situation or context in the process of learning. The concept of situativity, is a key component of the participatory metaphor of learning. It asserts that knowledge is a product of a specific learning situation, embodying a set of cultural assumptions, which facilitate the cultural construction of knowledge

The researchers advocate the “inseparability of knowing and doing”, which has enormous implications for education and learning, if their further assertion is correct, than conventional educational settings and theories of mind, disassociate knowing and doing as two distinct practices.

This conceptualisation of learning acknowledges the significance of the activity, whereby authentic activities are defined as ordinary activities of the practitioners of a culture. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), indicate school activities are hybrid- framed within the values of one culture- school, (while attributed to the culture of another domain, such as that of the historian or the mathematician). Proponents of the need for authentic learning activities, applaud the participatory metaphor of learning. These researchers desire learning activities congruent with what practitioners do, a noble aspiration embracing the insights of the apprentice model of admission and enculturation, into the beliefs and practices of particular learning communities. The corollary, amongst some situative theorists, most notably Lave, is regrettably a fairly strident expose of the limitations of schooling, since knowing becomes transmuted within school contexts, so school culture replaces, rather than allows access to the authentic domain of knowledge.

Assert that growing body of research into cognition undermines the notion that abstract knowledge can readily be transferred from the minds of teachers to the minds of students. “Knowing …is inextricably situated in the physical and social context of its acquisition and use” p1 If extracted from these, it is irretrievably transformed.

Anderson, Reder and Simon (1996) attempt to distil four key claims posed by the situative learning proponents, then to systematically dismantle each one, from a viewpoint more akin to the acquisition metaphor of learning. To complicate this debate, Greeno’s (1997) rejoinder, asserts that Anderson et al (1996), misreads the paradigm of situative cognition, providing an overly simplistic distillation of the case for the ‘SitCogs’.

Andersen et al (1996), state that ‘sitcogs’ claim all knowledge is context specific or context bound, yet this is going too far. Their rebuttal suggests research yet to be conducted may show that knowledge is made more transferable, when initial explicit instructions that transferability of knowledge concepts is articulated and value. They also found some research failed to find evidence of context specificity in relation to learning; that how tightly knowledge is bound to context depends upon the nature of the knowledge. Furthermore, they concluded that knowledge is more context-bound when taught in a single context, moreover links between school based competencies and workplace competencies show some correlation, diffusing a degree of the potency of some situated learning advocates.

The Acquisition Metaphor

The consolidated field of cognitive psychology, shaping theories of learning over several decades, has espoused the view that knowledge is a product that is capable of consumption and acquisition. This more long-standing understanding of learning has not surprisingly felt threatened by the situative cognition view. It is seen by many as a conservative or conventional conceptualisation of learning, attuned to the enculturation process of traditional schooling.

A belief from within this camp, is the notion of the existence and value of abstract knowledge; deemed to be valuable in its supposed dexterity, to be able to reappear for reapplication in relation to additional contexts in meaningful ways for learners. Greeno (1997:15) admits that while more drawn to the situative learning paradigm, nonetheless, “the cognitive perspective clarifies aspects of intellectual performance and learning, with its emphasis on and clarification of informational structures of skill, knowledge, strategies and understanding.”

While the situative camp has to some extent charged knowledge with an inability to be transferred, once stripped of the original context in which it is learnt, Greeno (1997), defends the participatory model. He suggests its recognition that the notion of transferability of knowledge must be examined with greater subtlety and detection of nuance. Andersen et al (1996), cites evidence of studies to show the full gamut of opinion about degrees to which knowledge transfers or not, which superficially appears to undermine the situative, participatory view, that knowledge removed from its context is diminished. The further claim attributed by Andersen et al (1996), to the situative view of knowledge and seeming attack upon the acquisition pundits, is the assertion that training by abstraction is of little use. The writers support the use of abstract instruction combined with concrete examples as a powerful approach to knowledge acquisition, citing studies which purport to demonstrate the efficacy of abstract knowledge. Finally, they pose the claim by situative proponents, that instruction needs to be done in complex social environments. To counter this, Andersen et al notes that part training is often more effective than holistic training, exemplified through tax code being better learnt whilst removed from the social context of interaction with a tax client – thereby removed from the social environment. Furthermore, cooperative, group learning studies which are deemed to be inclusive, yet studies do not categorically show group learning to be necessarily superior.

Recommendations and Conclusions

Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) recommend that since situated learning postulates that activity and perception precede conceptualisation, they therefore need to be better understood. In line with this, key terms used to bolster both the participatory and the acquisitional metaphors of learning need more precise definition.

It seems that both conceptualisations of learning recognise much of the merit in the opposing camp, as well as (at least in an intuitive manner) the artificiality of binary opposition in fields of academic research and inquiry. The dialectical approach to research within the relevant scientific disciplines, appear to recognise the value and goal of synthesis, in order that robust progress in understanding of the nature of learning occurs.

Bibliography
Books

Griffin, C et al (2003) The Theory & Practice of Learning, London. Kogan Press

Jonassen, D.H., and Land, S.M., (2000) Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments.. Mahwah, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates

Journal Articles

Anderson, J. R., Reder, L. M., & Simon H. A. (1996). Situated Learning and Education, Educational Researcher, Vol 25, No. 4, pp 5-11, American Educational Research Association

Brown, J.S., Collins, A. & Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher,Vol 18, No. 1, pages 32-42. American Educational Research Association

Greeno, J,G. (Jan. to Feb. 1997) Response: On Claims That Answer the Wrong Questions, Educational Researcher, Vol 26, No. 1, pages 5-17, American Educational Research Association

Abstract:

This following research paper describes about Intellectual Disability and its limitations. And some of the common characteristics of ID. It also provides the comprehensive view of modifications, accommodations and assistive technology and transition planning to assist disabilities. Some agencies and inclusion tips are also mentioned. Lastly, concluding the article formally by giving final suggestions.

Definition:

Intellectual disability (ID), also known as mental retardation, is categorized by below-average intelligence or mental ability and a deficiency of skills required for continuous living. People having intellectual disabilities can and be able to learn new skills, but they are able to learn them more slowly. There are different degrees of intellectual disability; from lenient to intense. This disability originates before the age of 18. (Definition of Intellectual Disability, n.d.)

Common characteristics of Intellectual disability:

There are many signs of intellectual disability. For example, individuals with intellectual disability may:

Have trouble speaking,
Find it hard to remember things,
Not understand how things work,
Have difficulty understanding social rules,
Have difficulty seeing the result of their actions,
Have trouble solving problems, and/or
Have trouble thinking with logic and more
Limitations of Intellectual Disability:

Someone with Intellectual disability has limitations in two areas. These areas are:

Intellectual Functioning: Also known as IQ, this is known as a person’s ability to learn reason, make decisions, and solve problems.
Adaptive Behavior: is the collection of conceptual, social, and applied skills which are learned and completed by people in their daily lives like being able to communicate efficiently, cooperate with others, and take care of one. And these are defined as:
Conceptual skills: Literacy and language; time, money, number concepts; and self-direction.
Social skills: Social responsibility, interpersonal skills, self-esteem, acceptance, caution, social problem solving, and the ability to follow rules/obey laws and to avoid being victimized.
Practical skills: actions of daily living (personal care), work-related skills, healthcare, travel/transportation, schedules/routines, safety, use of money, use of the telephone. (Tracy)
Analysis of ways for addressing the needs of students within this disability category:

There are many ways that disabilities can affect the ability to perform effectively on the job. Levels of disability and ability are unique to an individual. Most accommodations are simple, creative alternatives for traditional ways of doing things. Following are some of the strategies, accommodations, modifications and assistive technology analysis that will help people having intellectual disabilities to participate at their full in work-based learning experiences. (Dwyer)

Strategies to address the needs of individual with intellectual disability:

It is important to implement strategies that address the needs of the individual. Following are few strategies that can help in addressing the need of an individual with Intellectual disability:

Understanding the Needs of Individuals with Disabilities
Managing Time and Classroom Activities
Teaching Techniques
Assessment Practices (Doka)

Accommodations for students with disabilities: It is very important to accommodate those individuals who have intellectual disabilities. So that they can be provided with normal environment where they can act like normal beings. Following are some of the modifications and accommodations for such individuals:

Assistive Technology: Implementing accommodations involves anticipating problems students with disabilities may have with instruction or assessment activities. Students may need to use some type of assistive technology to overcome or mitigate the effects of their disability. Assistive technology encompasses a wide range of tools and techniques. Some low-tech tools include pencil and tool grips, color-coding, and picture diagrams. High-tech tools include electronic equipment, such as a talking calculator, computer with word prediction software, and variable speech control audio recorder for playback. (Assistive Technology, Accommodations, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 2001)

Instruction and Assessment: Suggestions for accommodations in specific areas of instruction and assessment are as following:

Reading
Listening
Writing
Mathematics
Completing assignments
Test preparation
Taking tests

Learning and Work Environment: Accommodations may be needed that involve:

Changes to the physical features or organization of the school or classroom,
Changes to the learning environment may include alterations to grouping arrangements, behavioral expectations,
Classroom management procedures,
And the physical setting.

Job Requirements: Job accommodations are defined on an individual basis. Some accommodations involve simple adaptations, while others require more sophisticated equipment or adjustments to physical facilities. The instructor and employer will need to analyze job tasks, basic qualifications and skills needed to perform the tasks, and the kinds of adjustments that can be made to ensure that performance standards will be met.

Modifications for students with disabilities:

Modifications to the expectations or outcomes of the curriculum may be necessary for a student with a disability. Modifications may include modified program or course requirements, concepts or skills significantly below the targeted grade level, or alternate curriculum goals.

Impact of Modifications: When considering modifications, it is important to evaluate the long-range impact of changing expectations. Students with disabilities who are not challenged to reach the same level of achievement as their nondisabled peers may not be able to earn a standard diploma in high school or a career certificate or degree from a postsecondary institution. Modifications may also limit the types of careers and occupations in which students can find work. (HOW TO SELECT, ADMINISTER, AND EVALUATE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, 2011)

Modified Occupational Completion Points: Career education programs are different at the high school level. The student performance standards may be modified as long as they are aimed at fulfilling the requirements of the specific job selected by the individual student. Teams may modify the curriculum and identify a completion point that falls between established completion points, known as modified occupational points.

Transition planning for students with Intellectual disabilities:

Transition is usually described as a coordinated set of activities for a student, designed to promote successful progress to and from school. Transition relates to entry into and exit from each educational level, such as pre-school to elementary school, elementary school to secondary school, and secondary school to post-school activities, including postsecondary education (both university and college), vocational training, apprenticeships, employment, adult education, independent living and community participation. Successful transition for all students including those who have learning disabilities is based on:

the student’s identified needs
the student’s recognized strengths, skills and competencies
the student’s interests
the student’s preferences
the student’s short and long term goals
the student’s past experiences, including academic achievements, co-curricular and
Volunteer involvements at school and in the community. (Tracy)
Agencies available for intellectually disabled:

There are many agencies all around the world that are catering the needs of individuals with intellectual disability that includes:

National Intellectual Disability Care Agency (NIDCA)
U.S. Organizations for People with Intellectual Disabilities:
The ArcLink
Find my roommate
MOSAIC
Think College and many more.
Intellectual Disabilities’ agency of the New River Valley (IDA)
Inclusion Tips:

The tips below are general guidelines to help make simple accommodations:

Academic Accommodations: Teachers may need to make adaptations to the curriculum and learning activities in order to fully include these students.
Physical and Sensory Accommodations: This includes hearing impairments, visual impairments and physical disabilities.
Behavioral Accommodations: It is important to have well managed and consistent behavioral plan in order to help students learn more appropriate behaviors.
Conclusion:

Intellectual disability is a very common disability. It should be eliminated by using different techniques that come in handy and that are mentioned in this particular research paper. Children with such disability should be accommodated accordingly. And there are a lot of ways through which a child can get accommodations. These pupils need special care and attention. People with such disabilities are often not seen as full citizens of society. There should be movement for self-advocacy, self determination and self direction by the people with intellectual disabilities. And there is a need to eliminate it either with the help of technology or either with providing comprehensive treatment.

Works Cited

(2001). Assistive Technology, Accommodations, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Research. Cornell University. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/extension/files/download/Assistive_Tech.pdf

Definition of Intellectual Disability. (n.d.). Retrieved February 16, 2014, from Aaidd.org: http://aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition#.UwCy9vmSxvA

Doka, K. J. (n.d.). Individuals with intellectual disabilities: Struggling with loss and grief. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.rescarenz.org.nz/Publications & Papers/ciwid.pdf

Dwyer, K. P. (n.d.). Disciplining Students With Disabilities. National Association of School Psychologists (. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/discipline.stud.dis.dwyer.pdf

(2011). HOW TO SELECT, ADMINISTER, AND EVALUATE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR INSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. Department of Education. Nebraska: NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION . Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.education.ne.gov/assessment/pdfs/Accommodations_Guidelines_Students_Disabilities_Nov_2011.pdf

Tracy, J. (n.d.). Intellectual disability. Centre for Developmental Health Victoria. Centre for Developmental Health Victoria. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from Nichcy.org: http://www.cddh.monash.org/assets/documents/intellectual-disability.pdf

Literature Review

The aim of this chapter is to capture the main idea of the research in depth and provide a review on literature related to the study and go through the ideas of various authors towards the relevancy of the study and establish the need for the research.

2.1 Evolution Vessel Traffic Management System

A vessel traffic management system (VTMS) is a nautical vessel movement observing system established by harbor or port authorities. According to TRANSAS (2014) the VTMS system utilizes information collected by advanced sensors, for example, radar, AIS, closed-circuit television (CCTV), Meteo-Hydro and other electronic object detection systems. The primary purpose of VTMS is to improve the safety and efficiency of navigation, improve features of port services, protection of life at sea and the safeguard marine environment.

In 1946 a demonstration was done in order to identify the helpfulness of coast based radar system in Liverpool. The initial effort in developing harbour controlled radar was done by establishing a system at the end of Victoria Pier, Douglas, Isle of Man in 1948. (Hughes, 2009)

With the rapid growth of marine industry marine safety and efficient navigation has been addressed as one of the issues that have major consideration. Different methods for improving the marine safety have been developed the past few decades. Some of them can be stated as radio-communications, navigation rules, electronic chart systems and identification systems. (Goralski, Ray, & Gold, 2011)

Goralski et al. (2011) further describes that most recent technological developments in improving vessel traffic management includes radar, electronic charting like Electronic Chart Display Information Systems, (ECDIS), vessel traffic control and management (VTMS) and automatic identification system (AIS) and communication. Several sources of data are combined from sensors such as GPS, radar and AIS in order to improve the vessel traffic monitoring. The final objective of this is offer more precise understanding of the navigational situations.

Many developed countries utilize the services of highly sophisticated VTMS. The Port of London is one of the UK’s busiest ports utilize an exceptionally advanced VTMS. In this VTMS the data from radars are associated with a mass of other data inside a very advanced computer system. This gives an ongoing picture and a thorough record of all developments at Port of London. (Goldman, 2011)

2.2 Vessel Traffic Management Systems in Commercial Setting

As described by Goralski, Ray, & Gold, (2011) many researchers have presented theories of developing an efficient vessel monitoring systems. The need for diminishing human error and decreasing the number and danger of accidents at sea is a need to be addressed. Developing such system to be used in real-time situations is a challenging task. Not much research has been done in this area.

The world’s first three dimensional ECDIS prototype was demonstrated in Brest in 2007. This was a research led by Dr. Rafal Goralski and his team. It’s possible to incorporate data from many sensors around a port to produce a real time three dimensional traffic management visualization tool. (Goralski, Ray, & Gold, 2011)

As stated by Goralski, Ray, & Gold, (2011) an interface has been developed and presently being trialed in the Port of Milford Haven. This system is used in real-time for navigation observing and control. The system is considered to be the first commercial operation of a 3D VTS.

Transas Marine Limited and GeoVS Limited offer 3D vessel traffic monitoring solutions. Transas Group is a worldwide pioneer in marine navigation systems. Transas presented its initial 3D vessel activity monitoring system to the business in 2008. This system gives most extreme backing to VTS administrators.

(TRANSAS, 2011).

Sri Lanka’s first home-developed vessel movement administration system was the result of investigation led by the modeling and simulation group of University of Colombo, School of Computing. The system includes two dimensional and three dimensional views of the harbor. The three dimensional VTMS was established at the Colombo-South harbor in 5^th August 2013. (UCSC,2014)

2.3 Need for more improved Vessel Traffic Management System

The commercial 3D VTMS that were mentioned above are closed proprietary and extremely expensive solutions. This fact raised the need to implement a novel vessel traffic monitoring solution. The modeling and simulation group of University of Colombo, School of Computing developed the Sri Lanka’s first home-developed vessel movement administration system. This proposed and developed solution is entirely based on the free and open source structures (Sandaruwan, et al. 2013). There are limitations of the existing solution. In the existing solution, real-time movements of the ships can be visualized. However in the existing solution the path of a moving ship is not continuous.

Goldman (2011) discussed that one of the major considerations in improving the VTMS is to enhance the use of Automated Identification System (AIS). The objective is to provide more data about the vessel’s positions. Furthermore a significant feature of the VTMS upgrading has been to further increase the continuity of the vessel display and resilience.

In a research carried by Popovich, Christophe, Vasily, Cyril, Tianzhen, & Dmitry, (2009) states that some of the important issues to consider in VTMS. The concerns are operability, accuracy and completeness of moving and positioning of vessels. Moreover a key problem in the vessel’s location estimation is addressed. That is in the occasions where the estimated location is different with the actual location of the vessel, and then the system should avoid such circumstances.

2.4 Automatic Identification System (AIS)

The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) Convention by the IMO (International Maritime Organization). According to that the Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automatic system utilized on ships and other vessels for distinguishing and finding vessels by electronically trading information with other adjacent vessels, AIS base stations, and satellites.

AIS play a vital role in managing vessel traffic and improving maritime security. Vessel engaged in international voyages AIS is required from registered tonnage (RT) of 300. A vessel travelling in national waters AIS is required from registered tonnage (RT) of 500. (SOLAS Chapter v, 2002)

AIS information is classified as 2 types of information static and dynamic. Vessel name, call sign, MMSI number (user ID), IMO number, dimension, type of the ship are static information. Position, course over ground, speed over ground, true heading, rate of turn are dynamic information. (Vesseltracker, n.d.)

AIS transponders naturally transmit information at regular intervals through a VHF radio incorporated with the AIS. The position and speed originate from the ship’s GPS or, if that comes up short, from another GPS receiver. Other information is incorporated when AIS transponder is installed on the ship. (Weatherdock, 2014)

The AIS signals are then received by other shore-based facilities like VTMS or nearby vessels. The received information is then used to display ships on two dimensional marine charts. This helps to observe ships activities. This enables ports and coastal states to recognize ships in their waters and regulate the vessel activity. (Weatherdock, n.d.) . In Sri Lanka such receivers located at Colombo and Mirissa, receive AIS signals emitted from vessel at Colombo harbour. This information is used to display the vessel on two dimensional marine charts. The ships are represented by arrow heads.

2.5 Applications of AIS

There certain usages in AIS data.

To enhance security nautical activities
To safeguard the maritime surroundings
To support collision avoidance.
To manage vessel traffic in busy harbors.

2.6 State Estimation Problems

The objective is to estimate the states of a dynamic system sequentially, utilizing set of noisy measurements. Orlande et al. (2012) describes that in state estimation problems, the accessible measured information is utilized together with prior learning of the physical phenomena. This task is undertaken by minimising the error.

There are many applications in state estimations numerous fields. Orlande et al. (2012) describes that the position of an aircraft can be found using estimation. Also it may also be possible to locate the position using GPS system and altimeter. Usually these measurements are not always accurate. In state estimation combines the model predictions and GPS measurements to obtain more accurate estimates of air craft position. This idea can be incorporated in the research since the measurements are available during the course of the ship. It is possible to make estimations for the locations of the ship for the places where measurements are missing. Also it is possible to check whether the estimations are reliable with the measurements.

2.7 Kalman Filter

The Kalman Filter also known as linear quadratic estimation was developed by Rudolf E. Kalman around 1960. Peter Swerling developed a similar algorithm in 1958. Richard S. Bucy of the University of Southern California backed the theory, making it often being called the Kalman–Bucy filter.

As stated by Madhumitha & Aich (2010) the Kalman Filter is a mathematical system used to correct observed values that contain inaccuracies and other disturbances and produce values with are nearer to true values. In many military and space operations Kalman filter is widely used. The fundamental operation done by the Kalman Filter is to produce estimates of the true and calculated values. Then the uncertainty is calculated along with a weighted average of both the estimated and measured values.

A considerable amount of literature has reported that there exist different variants of the Kalman Filter. Discussions such as that conducted by Madhumitha & Aich (2010) presented that different variants of the Kalman Filter including Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and Unscented Kalman Filter. The Extended Kalman filter is an extended variant of the original Kalman Filter. The requirement of linear equations for the measurement and state-transition models is relaxed; instead, the models may be nonlinear. The Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is an improved alternative to the (EKF) for a variety of application. According to Kandepu, Bjarne, & Lars, (2008) the performance of the UKF is better than the EKF in terms of robustness and speed of convergence. However computational effort in both EKF and UKF are almost the same.

Webb, Prazenica, Kurdila & Lind (2007) addresses a problem of obtaining a robust, real-time estimation of aircraft states from a set of measurements. The solution is gotten through by implementing implicit extended Kalman filter, a variation of the classical Kalman filter. The approach taken in this paper is to use the Kalman Filter to provide reliable state estimation. The resulting estimates are implicit functions of the aircraft states, the tracked feature points, and the camera parameters.

In a research carried out by Freeston (2002) the Kalman Filter has been implemented for robot localization. Robot localization means the method whereby a robot locates its own position in the world in which it functions. The measurements of the robots x and y components of the position and the orientation is available. The information can be represented by a state vector. In order to find out its position, the robot uses beacon distance and angle measurements and kinetic data. This data consists of error. The Kalman Filter is one of the better methods to incorporate measurements into estimates. The Kalman Filter identifies that the measurements are noisy and that occasionally they are discarded. Furthermore the Kalman Filter identifies measurements that have only a small effect on the state estimate. The Kalman filter smooth out the uneven effects of noise in the state variable being estimated by add in more information from trustworthy data than from untrustworthy data. The user is able to provide the value of the error in the data and the system as an input in the filter. The Kalman filter computes an estimate of the position by considering the noise in the data and the system.

The Kalman Filter algorithm can be used to combine measurements from different sources such as vision measurements and kinetic information and different times updates as a robot is moving. In addition the algorithm provides an estimate of the state variable vector uncertainty which is a measure of how accurate the estimate. This situation is somewhat similar to the situation discussed in the research. This idea can be utilized in the research to obtaining better estimates of the state variables by minimizing the effect of the noisy measurements. (Freeston, 2002)

2.8 Particle Filter

The Kalman filter (KF) has revealed tremendously useful, however has stern assumptions about linearity and Gaussian noise. This is not always satisfied in real world applications. In such situations Particle Filter can be used to obtain solutions. (Orlande, et al., 2012)

The Particle Filter Method is a Monte Carlo technique that can be utilized to obtain the outcome of state estimation. Particle filtering methods can be used in situations which are non-linear and/or non-Gaussian. Particle Filter otherwise called as bootstrap filter, condensation algorithm, interacting particle approximations and survival of the fittest. (Orlande, et al., 2012)

In Karlsson (2005) the Particle Filter is adapted to some positioning and tracking applications. Particle Filter is constructed on a model which is linearized and a Gaussian noise assumption. A method for estimating position of industrial equipment that works underwater is developed. The data is collected from sonar sensor and surface direction finding system using radar readings and sea chart data. The problem is approached by using Bayesian methods and data collected from maps are used to improve the estimation performance. A real-time application of the Particle Filter as well as hypothesis testing is presented for a collision prevention application.

A situation is somewhat similar to the condition talked about in the research is discussed by Ceranka & Niedzwiecki (2003). A navigation system for the estimation of the pedestrian position, based on evidence from sources like GPS, is created using the Particle Filter approach. Although the GPS provide accurate information obstacles such as high buildings, trees, bridges may weaken or reflect the signals. This leads to significant growth of errors or even creates loss of GPS signals completely. The Particle Filtering approach is suggested to be suitable in this situation in order to estimate the missing locations and make sure the estimates comply with the constraints of the digital map.

2.9 Chapter Summary

In this chapter the past studies and discoveries presented by various researchers related to the research is discussed. The details about the development of vessel traffic management systems (VTMS) up to the present day commercial vessel traffic management systems are presented. The problems associated with the VTMS are addressed. Then the facts about the AIS data are presented. Then the chapter addressed the solutions to improve the VTMS such as state estimation. The theoretical background of the Kalman Filter is presented as a solution to the state estimation problem. In the instances the Kalman Filter is not applicable the Particle Filter is presented as a better approach.

Task 1a) The organisation of my choicce in discussing the Strategy Planning and Implementation assignment would be Pantaloon Retail India Limited. The reason behind choosing this organisation as matter of discussion can be mentioned as follows:

i) I am an ex-employee of Panataloon Retail India Limited being on the rolls of the company for nearly 4 years overseeing comapany’s Marketing & Business Operations in the state of Gujarat, India encompassing 5 Pantaloon Retail Lifestyle stores in the cities of Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat & Rajkot in Gujarat.

ii) Organised retailing is emerging in Indian sub-continent with Pantaloon Retail India Limited being the forerunner.

iii) Started from a humble begiining in late 20th century with single outlet operation today it is Rs.10 billion turnover, with a presence over 30 cities with combination of 500 mega stores, super stores and lifestyle stores with over 20,000 employees.

Task 1b) Stakeholders are the persons or a community(group of people) who are directly or indirectly associated with an organisation for attaining its objectives and are directly or indirectly affected by the actions, decisions and policies made by the organisation. Stakeholders of the company are its Directors, Employees, Creditors, Customers, Vendors, Government Agencies, Owners and Shareholders. Hence, in other words all the human entities directly or indirectly associated with the organisation are the stake holders of the organisation.

In particular, the major stakeholders of my chosen organisation are the Employees, Customers and Vendors.

Retail is man intensive industry and hence the role and importance of team work is the essence of providing international standard experience of shopping to its customers.

Customers are king of the retail business. Custmers are listened, obliged, serviced and are given the primary importance in Pantaloon Retail India Limited. It is believed here that if Customers are happy then the company will survive. The company follows the M.K.Gandhi’s famous qoute, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

Vendors are the blood line of the organisation. Vendors provide the organisation with the right product win desired quantity. The also support the organisation in terms of payback period giving an edge to maintain healthy cash flows for development.

Hence, we observe that these stake holders are of considerable importance to the organisation growth and to combat fierce competition and to meet customer satisfaction. The specific considerations that the company has for these stakeholders are as follows:

Employees: The employees should be suitably compensated in terms of monetary and other intangible benefits so that the high level of enthusiasm towards work and customer focus is maintained. The happiness and retention of customers can be ensured only with satisfied employees.

Customers: As mentioned above, Customer is the key focal point of Pantaloon, hence all the business persepective should be should be suitable oriented towards customer needs and wants. The company consideration would be providing Value for Money experience to its customers and reaching them the products wherever and whenver they want.

Vendors: The company considers Vendors as partner for growth. The company has taken measurable steps towards assessing them, procuring procedure, payments and to deal with the grievance. The company has further taken a step ahead by incorporating electronic touch points to minimise the lengthy procedure and ensure time saving.

Task 1c)Organised retail is agressive and is becoming challenging every moment. All the strategies formulated in Retail have been centered around the most important entity ‘The Customer’. The company has always focussed towards attracting customers, retaining the existing customers and giving customers an experience which would enable to come back again and again. The crieteria that Pantaloon focussed are:

1.Cost: The most challenging factor in todays business. A good earnings to cost ratio would only decide the fate of the retail business. No matter what top-line or bottom line a company desires, Pantaloon has always focussed on Cost Strategy to offer maximum benefit to its Customers.

2. Market Penetration: After opening its various retail formats in the metro cities in India, the company has decided the Cluster Development Strategy viz. 8 city strategy for market penetration. By doing this the company will focus towards only cluster of cities for market reach in step wise manner.

3. New Product Strategy: The company strategy has always been+ based on Ideas to give their customers something new and unique. The company looks to achieve a healthy share of each Rupee spent by the customers. Thus company started from garments retailing has moved into Food Retail, Fast Food and Speciality cuisine, Gaming, Hyper market segment, home products, e-shopping and insurance sector.

4. Square foot sales : The strategic objective of the company is to seek healthy square foot sales in order to maintain good profit margin in terms of attaining healthy top line.

5. Private Brands: One of the most important criteria for attaining strategic management objective is introducing Private Label Brands which would ensure gaining a healthy bottom-line margin.

6. Vendor Strategy: Touch screen single point operation for vendor slection, product identification and payment procedure. The company believes vendors or manufacturers are partners to the business and hence venodr management is key importance to the company.

Task 1d) Pantaloon Retail India Limited was formed to deliver organised garment retailing in India. The company wanted to blend fashion with affordability. Due to its fast expansion and growth the garment trader and the dictribution channel(middle man) has also earned huge margins. They are the trader who used to source the material from the manufacturers and used to store and supply the merchandise to Pantloon.

There was a sudden demand in raising the margin of the merchandise by the intermediary channel. Pantaloon used to source 80% of their merchandise of reputed brands from these channels. This sudden raise could not have direct implication on the customers as increase in price to the final product would mean losing business. Hence company initially bear this loss. After sometime the comapny wanted to discuss with these intermediate channels for price renegotiation, failing which the supply of the goods were stopped creating a vacuum in the supply. This was affected by poor merchandise and customer complaints which continued for several months till the time the company had done renegotiation with new set of Intermediary channel including contacting the manufacturers directly. Bu this, the company felt the necessity of having their own private brands including manufacturing and aquiring manufacturing set up of few other companies. The company took around 6 months for consolidation exercise and thereafter Pantaloon relaunched its Retail Stores with nearly 80% of private manufactured merchandise.

Task 2) Develop Vision, Mission, Objectives & Measures

a. For your chosen organisation, list down its ethical, cultural, environmental, social and business objectives. How are these influenced by the current business and economic climate?

Pantaloon Retail India Limited with its multi-retail business in various sectors has consolidated its operations under the umbrella concern of Future Group. The company has laid down and oberve the following values to cover its ethical, cultural, environmental, social and business objectives. The values are as below:

Ethical

i) Respect & Humility: Respect for every individual associated in business and be humble to all. This value entails the core people function. The company pays utmost respect, listen and act accordingly to its Customers, Employees and Vendors through various channels. The Senior Management evaluates and acts accordingly on any grievance, comments and suggestions made by Customers, Employees and Vendors.

ii) Openness: To be open and receptive for new ideas, knowledge and information. The company has various platform of communication with its people and analyse all the ideas or comments and shares its opinion with the Stakeholders. E.g. the company has Share With Us Book placed in all the retail stores through which a Customer can communicate with the Senior Management.

Cultural

i) Valuing & Nurturing Relationships: To build long-term relationships. Business particularly retail business is strategic in nature. It has complete reliance on Relationship building and nurturing the emotions.It is observed that it requires more money to attract new customers rather that retaining and satisfying new customers.

ii) Simplicity & Positivity: Simplicity in thought, business and actions. Thinking simple yet positive render positive vibrations in the economy and earn respect from its stakeholders.

Environmental

i) Flow: To respect and understand universal laws of nature. The company follows the natural way of business and respect and adheres to the rules and policies laid down from time to time. It also acts accordingly keeping in mind the current economic condition and takes steps relevant in order to satisfy needs of its stake holders.

Social

i) Indianness : Confidence within ourselves and amongst our product. The company respects Indian culture and offer the products that suits Indian households.

ii) Adaptability: To be adaptive and flexible to meet new challenges.The only thing that is constant in the Universe is Change. Hence the company is always open to change and modify accordingly its product lines as per the need and demand of the present market.

Business Objectives

i) Intropsection: Leading to purposeful thinking. The company from time to time does meaningful invigoration of its entire process in order to audit and take any corrective action if any. Based on the outcome the company re-strategise any of its process or function.

ii) Leadership: Leadership in thought and idea and its application in business. The comany belives to be Number 1 in whatever business they are and work hard to retain its position.

(Source:Pantaloon Retail India Limited website id http://www.pantaloon.com/corporate_state.asp,Dated October 26, 2009)

Based on the above, it is clearly observed that Pantaloon Retail India Limited is equipped with broad range of measures to handle stressfull business environment and economic changes that may occur. Specifically, particular change in any macro economic policies are treated with utmost sincerety and needed change is implemented to overcome it. Thus more recently the economic crises has very little effect on Pantaloon, as the company could envisage the problem and taken specific measures to overcome this. The percentage of leased out premises to its its total retail outlet was nearly 65% towards the beginning of year 2008. The company’s outflow in rental expenditure was a large sum of money. The company could oversee the challenge of offereing competitive pricing during the era of economic meltdown. Based on the same company started having its own premises by creating a special vehicle Future Capital Holdings which is 100% subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail India Limited. This has brought down not only the rental outflow but also ensured better offering to customers in terms of competitive pricing as compared to its competitors.

The four levels of measurements1. Explain briefly how you would use number properties to describe the four levels of measurements.

Answer: Measurements can be classified into four different types of scales. These are:

Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Nominal scale:

Nominal measurement consists of assigning items to groups or categories. No quantitative information is conveyed and no ordering of the items is implied. Religious preference, race, and sex are all examples of nominal scales. Frequency distributions are usually used to analyze data measured on a nominal scale. Categorical data and numbers that are simply used as identifiers or names represent a nominal scale of measurement. Numbers on the back of a baseball jersey and social security number are examples of nominal data.

At the nominal scale, i.e., for a nominal category, one uses labels; for example, rocks can be generally categorized as igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. For this scale some valid operations are equivalence and set membership. Nominal measures offer names or labels for certain characteristics.

The central tendency of a nominal attribute is given by its mode; neither the mean nor the median can be defined.

Ordinal scale:

An ordinal scale is a measurement scale that assigns values to objects based on their ranking with respect to one another. For example, a doctor might use a scale of 0-10 to indicate degree of improvement in some condition, from 0 (no improvement) to 10 (disappearance of the condition).

An ordinal scale of measurement represents an ordered series of relationships or rank order. Individuals competing in a contest may be fortunate to achieve first, second, or third place. First, second, and third place represent ordinal data.

In this scale type, the numbers assigned to objects or events represent the rank order (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.) of the entities assessed. An example of ordinal measurement is the results of a horse race, which say only which horses arrived first, second, third, etc. but include no information about times.:

The central tendency of an ordinal attribute can be represented by its mode or its median, but the mean cannot be defined.

Interval scale:

Quantitative attributes are all measurable on interval scales, as any difference between the levels of an attribute can be multiplied by any real number to exceed or equal another difference. A highly familiar example of interval scale measurement is temperature with the Celsius scale. In this particular scale, the unit of measurement is 1/100 of the difference between the melting temperature and the boiling temperature of water at atmospheric pressure. The “zero point” on an interval scale is arbitrary; and negative values can be used. The formal mathematical term is an affine space (in this case an affine line). Variables measured at the interval level are called “interval variables” or sometimes “scaled variables” as they have units of measurement.

Ratios between numbers on the scale are not meaningful, so operations such as multiplication and division cannot be carried out directly. But ratios of differences can be expressed; for example, one difference can be twice another.

The central tendency of a variable measured at the interval level can be represented by its mode, its median, or its arithmetic mean. Statistical dispersion can be measured in most of the usual ways, which just involved differences or averaging, such as range, inter quartile range, and standard deviation. Since one cannot divide, one cannot define measures that require a ratio, such as studentized range or coefficient of variation. More subtly, while one can define moments about the origin, only central moments are useful, since the choice of origin is arbitrary and not meaningful. One can define standardized moments, since ratios of differences are meaningful, but one cannot define coefficient of variation, since the mean is a moment about the origin, unlike the standard deviation, which is (the square root of) a central moment

Ratio scale:

The ratio scale of measurement is the most informative scale. It is an interval scale with the additional property that its zero position indicates the absence of the quantity being measured. You can think of a ratio scale as the three earlier scales rolled up in one.

The ratio scale of measurement is similar to the interval scale in that it also represents quantity and has equality of units. However, this scale also has an absolute zero (no numbers exist below the zero).

A ratio scale is a measurement scale in which a certain distance along the scale means the same thing no matter where on the scale you are, and where “0” on the scale represents the absence of the thing being measured.

Most measurement in the physical sciences and engineering is done on ratio scales. Mass, length, time, plane angle, energy and electric charge are examples of physical measures that are ratio scales. The scale type takes its name from the fact that measurement is the estimation of the ratio between a magnitude of a continuous quantity and a unit magnitude of the same kind. Informally, the distinguishing feature of a ratio scale is the possession of a non-arbitrary zero value. For example, the Kelvin temperature scale has a non-arbitrary zero point of absolute zero, which is denoted 0K and is equal to -273.15 degrees Celsius. This zero point is non arbitrary as the particles that compose matter at this temperature have zero kinetic energy.

All statistical measures can be used for a variable measured at the ratio level, as all necessary mathematical operations are defined. The central tendency of a variable measured at the ratio level can be represented by, in addition to its mode, its median, or its arithmetic mean, also its geometric mean or harmonic mean. In addition to the measures of statistical dispersion defined for interval variables, such as range and standard deviation, for ratio variables one can also define measures that require a ratio, such as studentized range or coefficient of variation.

2. Define the terms direct measurement and indirect measurement. Describe briefly how you would make profit of indirect measurement in psychological traits.

Answer: There are 2 types of measurement techniques are developed in order to measure quality or characteristics of attributes. First one is quantitative and second is qualitative. Quantitative can be measured directly and qualitative can not be measured directly. The height and weight of a person can be measured directly with scales in feet/meter, kilogram. But qualitative variable cannot be measured with scales such as feet, meter, kilogram etc. For example, Kindness, love and intelligence of a person can not be measured directly. Indirect measurement can be used for these cases. To measure this type of cases different indirect measures like answer to questions, IQ tests can be used. Indirect measurements are mostly used in social science. Richness, happiness, good life, poverty etc can be measured with the support of different indirect indicators.

In order to measure psychological traits we use behaviors as a basis for measurement. Qualities of an individual can be measured indirectly through psychological testing by developing indicators. In standard psychological test we develop the set of standard as questionnaire or guidance fro scoring the attributes or traits. We largely use objective types of question and interpret according to the guidance of answering. Human behavior can not measure as physical measurement like height, weight. The qualitative aspects like perception, emotion, retention etc can be measured through indirect measurement, which is based on some pre-defined set of standards.

3. What will happen if you use ordinary measurement as though they were interval or ratio measurement?

Ordinary data is non parametric data and interval and ratio are parametric data. Therefore we don’t use ordinary measurement if the data are in interval or ratio measurement. They differ from each other. To ensure measurement more reliable, selection of appropriate statistical tools according to the nature of data is important. If we use interval/ratio measurement when the data are ordinal scales it may leads false decision.

4. Which method census or sampling do you prefer the most for describing the reality of Nepali classroom teaching learning? Explain in brief.

Answer: Sampling method is more applicable than the census method for describing the reality of Nepali classroom teaching learning. To study about promotion, failure and drop out rate, census method can be used. However for the reality presentation, census method can not be convenient.

Through the census method each and every unit of the population can be taken into consideration. But it will be highly time and money consuming. Sampling method will make all process faster with less cost. While taking the sample size there is more important of inclusion and representation in the sampling i.e. ethnic group, caste, religion, , geographic zone, and gender, etc. Through educational perspective different grades, private and public school/college suppose to be included. The sample size should more representatives.

5. in a group of 50 children, the 8 children who took longer than 3 hours to complete a performance test in sent-up test were marked as DNC (did not complete). In computing a measure of central tendency for this distribution of scores, what measure we should use and why?

Median can be used in computing a measure of central tendency for the distribution of score as mentioned in the question. Median is not affected by extreme values. Arithmetic mean is affected by extreme values. As Median is the positional average, we can get the correct value of central tendency.

6. Give some examples where you need geometric and harmonic mean. Give geometrical interpretation of A.M., G.M. and H.M.

Answer:

Geometric Mean (G.M):

Geometric Mean (G.M) is widely used in averaging ratios and percentages and is computing average rates of increase or decrease. It is also advantageously used in the construction of index numbers. G.M. gives equal weights to equal ratios of change. It is also used to compute the average rate of growth or reduction of population or average increase or decrease of production, profit, sales etc. When we require to give more weight to smaller items and smaller weight to larger (e.g. Social and economic problems) G.M can be used.

Harmonic Mean (H.M.):

Harmonic Mean (H.M.) is used in computing the averages relating to the rates and ratios such as velocity speed etc., where time factor is the variable. It also can be used for making Human Development Indicator (HDI).

Geometrical interpretation of A.M., G.M., and H.M.

Let AD = a, DB = b

Then represents the radius of the semi – circle.

Hence radius OP = , which gives the value of A.M.

Similarly radius OQ = , Now OD = b =

Now DQ2 = OQ2 – OD2 = { }2 – { }2 = ab

Hence, DQ = , which represents G.M.

Now, in the right angled triangle ODM, DM2 = OD2 – OM2

And in right angled triangle DMQ, DM2 = DQ2 – MQ2

Hence, OD2 – OM2 = DQ2 – MQ2

Here, OQ = . Let OM = x, then MQ = – x

{}2 – x2 = ab – { – x}2

For solving, x =

Hence, MQ = – = , which represents H.M.

From above it is clear that OP = A.M.,

DQ = G.M.

MQ = H.M.

From the figure, it is clear that OP > DQ > MQ.

Hence, we can say that A.M. > G.M. > H.M.H

7. Give geometrical meaning of the formula used for Median and Mode for grouped data.

Answer.: Geometrical meaning of the formula used for Median:

Let consider the following continuous frequency distribution, (x1 < x2 < ……xn+1).

Class interval: x1 – x2 , x2 – x3, …………………. xk – xk+1, ………. xn – xn+1

Frequency: f1 f2 …………………… fk …………… fn

The cumulative frequency distribution is given by:

Class interval: x1 – x2 , x2 – x3, …………………. xk – xk+1, ………. xn – xn+1

frequency : F1 F2 …………………… Fk …………… Fn

Where, Fi = f1 + f2 + ………..+ fi-1. The class xk – xk+1 is the median class if and only if

Fk-1 < N/2 < Fk.

Now, if we assume that the variate values are uniformly distributed over the median – class which implies that the ogive is a straight line in the median – class, then we get from the fig.1,

tan =

i.e.

or

or,

=

Where is the frequency and h the magnitude of the median class.

Hence, BS =

Hence, Median = OT = OP + PT = OP + BS = l +

This is the required formula.

Geometrical meaning of the formula used for Median:

Let us consider the continuous frequency distribution:

Class interval : x1 – x2 , x2 – x3, …………………. xk – xk+1, ………. xn – xn+1

frequency : f1 f2 …………………… fk …………… fn

If fk is the maximum of all the frequencies, then the modal class is (xk – xk-1).

Let us further consider a portion of the histogram, namely, the rectangle erected on the modal class and the two adjacent classes. The modal is the value of x for which the frequency curve has a maxima. Let the modal point be Q (fig. 2)

From the figure, we have tan? =

and tana =

or,

or, , where h is the magnitude of the model class. Thus solving for LM, we get

LM =

Hence, Mode = OQ = OP + PQ = OP + LM

= l +

8. Squaring deviations and then taking squares seems to be useless. Why do we use square?

Answer: Squaring deviation and then taking squares seems to be useless however actually it has certain meaning like the squaring of the deviations (x-x) removes the drawbacks of ignoring signs of the deviations in computation of mean deviation. Taking the sign into consideration we obtain positive values always when squared. But squaring gives aunit that isthe square of theunit the quantity is measured in. This step provides it suitable for further mathematical treatment.

9. Study the following summary statistics of the scores of two graders VI and VII. Now give your answer to the following questions and give figures to support your answers.

a. Which class had the larger number of pupils?

Answer: Grade VI had larger number of pupils.

b. Which class on the average had the higher scores?

Answer: Grade VII on the average had the higher scores.

c. In which class were the scores more scattered? (Given four different statistics to show the difference in scatter.)

Answer: For Grade VI, the scores are more scattered. The four different measures to show the difference in scatter ness are as follows:

Interquartile range
Coefficient of S.D.
Coefficient of M.D. from mean
Coefficient of variation
9. Are the distributions of scores about the mean symmetrical? What is your evidence? If not, which class has high scores not balanced by similar low scores?

The distribution of scores about the mean in both classes are not symmetrical as we can find Mean = Median = Mode is not satisfied for both the grades.

In grade VI, since Mean < Median

In grade VII, since Mean > Median > Mode, it is positively skewed. That is there is greater variation towards the higher values of the variables.

10. Take one distributed data grouped into different frequencies and calculate different measure of central tendencies (Arithmetic mean, Median, and mode) and measures of dispersion (Q.D., MD, and SD). Give your judgments about your data concerning to symmetry.

Answer: Suppose, the weights of 50 students of a class are classified below.

For Mean;

Mean = A +

= 65- = 64.87

Hence, Mean =64.87

For Median;

Hence, Median lies in the class 60-70

Median = = 60+=66.2

Hence, Median=66.2

For Mode;

Since maximum frequency occurs at two classes, so the given distribution is a bimodal distribution.

So, Mode =3 median-2 mean

=3*66.87-2*64.87

=198.6-129.74=68.86

Hence, Mode=68.86

For Quartile Deviation;

Position of Q1=

Hence First Quartile (Q1) lies in the interval 50-60

Now, Q1 =

50+

Hence, First Quartile (Q1)= 57.28

Position of Q3=

Hence Third Quartile (Q3) lies in the interval 70-80

Again, Q3 =

=70+

=73.62

Now, QD= ==8.17

Hence, Quartile Deviation (QD) = 8.17

For Mean Deviations;

Mean deviation from mean

Calculation of Standard Deviations

Now, N = 75, ?fd’ = -1 ?fd’2 = 89

=

=

=1.08*10

=10.81

To identify Symmetry

Here, Mean = 64.87

Median = 66.2

Mode = 68.86

Hence, the curve is not symmetrical.

Calculation of Skewness

Sk = is negative skewed.