While Shulman argues that an important component of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is teachers' understanding of the alternative conceptions commonly held by students, relatively little is known about what students believe about many topics in the school curriculum. This paper focuses on a content area typically featured in Geography curriculum as the first phase of a larger study designed to investigate Geography teachers' PCK. Common student conceptions of tropical cyclone causes and processes were identified using a variety of methods. Results indicate that secondary school Geography students (n = 339) hold a range of alternative conceptions related to foundational scientific principles as well as the geographical concepts of location, scale, spatial distribution, interactions and interdependence. Implications for the knowledge requirements of Geography teachers are discussed along with suggestions for future research.
Abstract:This paper will examine the concept of an innovation spiral process in relationship to the mobile communications sector of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry which is the product of convergence of the telecommunications and the information technology (IT) industries. The fundamental theoretical framework for the paper is that innovative applications prescribed by users of an adopted technology can be a significant driver of further product evolution which then can fViel further market innovation. New products that are spectacularly 'successful' are those that give rise to this spiral of product innovation and market innovation. The paper will llrst review the macro perspective of this theoretical framework by analysing the spectacular success of the short message service (SMS) in the GSM digital mobile communications over the last twenty years from the product concept. I'his conceptual framework is then considered at a micro level to review three consecutive research projects by the authors over the last ten years. The broad aim of these projects was to better understand potential user adoption of new mobile telecommunications products. The first research project in the mid 1990's examined the barriers and enablers to the adoption of mobile phones by selected disadvantaged groups in society, in particular, people with disabilities. A modified focus group methodology based on interactive workshops was developed from this research project to gain insights into user innovation. This methodology was developed further in more recent research projects looking at the likely user take up of evolving multimedia capable mobile devices for innovative applications. The second study indicated that the market evolution of mobile internet like applications is likely to be very different from those developed for the fixed internet because of the different characteristics of the user groups. While the individual research projects have been published, this paper brings together the macro and micro perspectives of this innovation spiral to demonstrate the value of this theoretical framework for market forecasting for realising technology commercialisation. The research also has implications for the 'form' of new
There is a growing recognition that for an educational innovation to be successful it needs to be more than a good idea-success requires an understanding of how change is implemented. Reggio, a widely-applied, innovative philosophy in early childhood settings, has some support in primary schools. Yet there is very little research to guide primary teachers interested in incorporating it into their teaching practice. This study begins to address this issue by investigating whether teachers committed to Reggio: a) have a deep understanding of the philosophy; b) distinguish a difference between the original and their own sociopolitical and cultural contexts; and c) report utilising this knowledge in their practice. The findings of the research underscore the importance of knowledge of the change process and the need for debate regarding Reggio in primary school settings.
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