Bishop Grosseteste University

About: Bishop Grosseteste University is a education organization based out in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Higher education & Teacher education. The organization has 148 authors who have published 269 publications receiving 2702 citations. The organization is also known as: Bishop Grosseteste College & Lincoln Diocesan Training School for Mistresses.

Talking About Electricity: The Importance of Hearing Gestures As Well As Words

Abstract: Children’s gestures have been proposed to contain important cues and clues to their science ideas that may not be revealed in speech or written language. New and innovative research has begun to explore the way that these gestures can be used to inform on how children’s ideas for science concepts change. Such research is firmly embedded in a constructivist perspective (Driver R et al. Educ Res 23(7):5–12, 1994), which has a strong background of research exploring ‘alternative frameworks’ (Driver R, Bell, B, SSR 67:443–455, 1986) and proposals for the identification and understanding of the underlying mechanisms that support such conceptual change dynamics (Vosniadou S, International handbook of research on conceptual change. Routledge, Oxon, 2008). Typically, conceptual change literature accesses children’s knowledge largely through verbal reports (e.g. Primary SPACE Projects 1990–1994). Whilst these approaches have been successful in revealing what children know, this bias towards language at the expense of other forms of communication may prevent a comprehensive understanding of knowledge growth (Goldin-Meadows S, Child Dev 71(1):231–239, 2000). This chapter discusses a recent study which explored the gestures that children used during discussions of their ideas about electricity and revealed that gestures can be categorised according to content (as highlighted in a pilot study by Callinan (Sharp JG, Prim Sci 120(Nov/Dec):29–31, 2011) and that the content of gestures can reveal elements of knowledge that is not verbalised in speech.

Primary ICT: knowledge, understanding and practice (achieving QTS)

Abstract: This text has been written to familiarise trainees and newly qualified teachers with ICT and its uses in the primary classroom, and discusses how ICT can support teaching and learning in the core subjects and further teachers' own professional efficiency and development. The third edition has been completely revised to reflect the new QTS Standards, Primary National Strategy and other recent initiatives. Popular existing features are now joined by new reflective tasks and "Moving On" sections which help trainees develop the information in each chapter, as well as new material on Virtual Learning Environments, Interactive Whiteboards, and other digital media.

Monsters at bedtime: managing fear in bedtime picture books for children

Abstract: Monsters make frequent appearances in bedtime stories for children, where they represent a range of common childhood fears, in particular those associated with night-time. In this article, the role and nature of ‘bedtime’ monsters is explored with reference to picture book examples from 20th to 21st century children’s literature. The ways in which they help children to manage fears are shown to be through a combination of both psychological and literary strategies, drawing on examples of English language picture books for children aged 2–5 years, but with a particular focus on three contemporary texts: Molly and the Night Monster; Bedtime for Monsters and The Wardrobe Monster. It is argued that these texts often mirror coping strategies preferred by young children, in particular positive pretence, where threats are minimised or eliminated by mentally changing or altering perception of them. However, in addition to positive pretence, fears are further managed by literary and visual devices employed by the picture book creator/s, in particular in the presentation of images. The article concludes by noting that this is a group of texts which is now sufficiently established to be open to self-reference and parody, and consequently new and playful variations on the bedtime monster story will continue to emerge and evolve.

A Plexus Curriculum in School Geography—A Holistic Approach to School Geography for an Endangered Planet

Abstract: Since 2010 English education has seen a large and rapid shift in emphasis from a skills-based curriculum to one based on the idea of ‘core knowledge’, aligned with and given traction by the concepts of ‘cultural literacy’ (Hirsch) and ‘powerful knowledge’ (Young), and reliant on a belief that only ‘academically sanctioned’ knowledge is fit to offer students. This shift has led to a far-reaching reappraisal of the curriculum, prioritising traditional views of knowledge and content which in school geography have re-established a content heavy, traditional offer. This offer may lay some foundations for further study, but fails to engage students in crucial, more complex issues facing the planet, and facing them as citizens in the present and in the future. In this paper we outline what we see as being deficient in the current ‘core knowledge’ agenda, and offer instead an approach we refer to as a plexus curriculum. This is based on a more holistic approach to the subject which seeks to consider how various features of the geography curriculum can be interconnected for greater effect. This includes the intertwining of academic knowledge with the everyday, and the intertwining of different elements of the subject into more holistic and interdependent lenses. By using climate change, the Anthropocene and earth systems as a core conceptual framework around which the subject knowledge base is structured and interconnected, we argue that a plexus curriculum can develop a more critical and holistic understanding of geography, as well as playing a central role in developing geographical imaginations.

Body attitude and body experience in greek and flemish females with and without eating disorders

Abstract: Assessment of young females with anorexia nervosa was carried out at the time of hospitalization. Findings were compared to those from two typical weight control groups from Belgium and Greece. The total sample consisted of three groups: a) a clinical sample of 75 Belgian females with anorexia nervosa (mean age=19.01, sd=2.20), b) a typical Greek sample of 137 females (mean age=18.68, sd=1.92) and c) a control sample of 130 typical Flemish females (mean age=18.61, sd=1.34). The Body Attitude Test (BAT; Probst, et al., 1995) for female patients with eating disorders (ED) was used to measure the subjective body experience and attitudes toward body. The Body Satisfaction Scale, Silhouette Chart and the Semantic Differential were also used. One-way analysis of variance, revealed group differences on body attitudes. As it was initially hypothesised, the female patients indicated more negative attitudes and a poorer self-evaluation of their body in comparison to the non clinical groups. However, analysis of the data from Silhouette Chart and the Semantic Differential revealed that in some items there were no significant differences on body experience and satisfaction between the typical Greek female group and the clinical Belgian female group, which was an interesting and unexpected finding. The authors examined the outcomes from a cross-cultural viewpoint. Research into the cultural factors that could contribute to body dissatisfaction could help us understand the underline mechanisms and create effective preventive interventions for young females