title: Changing teacher behaviour and pupil attainment in inquiry-based social studies lessons

authors: McGee, Clive

abstract: Over the last decade there has been a growing emphasis upon inquiry-based teaching in social studies. While there is no agreed definition of the inquiry method, there are particular goals and outcomes associated with this method of teaching and learning; fostering children’s thinking processes is regarded as much more important than the accumulation of factual information. Asking questions has been recognised as one of the best ways to foster and develop inquiry learning in pupils, and yet previous research has shown that there is a need for teachers to ask a wider range of questions than they presently do.
One way to help teachers learn additional questioning skills is through an in-service programme. The present study was designed to find whether two kinds of in-service courses would modify teacher questioning. Twenty-four teachers in six Intermediate schools in a large New Zealand provincial city and a satellite town, were assigned to three treatment groups. The experimental treatments were: an in-service programme which taught specific questioning skills; another in-service course which dealt with inquiry teaching in a general way; and a no-treatment control group. The usual classes of the teachers formed the pupil sample.
Over a five-month period, each teacher conducted three 20-minute social studies discussion lessons which were taperecorded. Baseline data were collected in a pretreatment lesson, and posttreatment data were gathered from discussion lessons taken shortly after the experimental in-service courses and also after a 12-week delay. 
As well as finding out whether in-service courses were followed by changes in teacher questioning, the experiment was also designed to see if pupil attainment was affected by any such changes. Parallel tests were constructed from the content of each lesson, and comprised four subtests which were intended to measure a range of thinking skills considered important in inquiry-based social studies discussion.
From lesson transcripts, teacher questions were coded, using a classification system designed for this study. Statistical analyses indicated that the skills course teachers were able significantly to reduce their asking of cognitive memory and convergent questions, and to increase their use of evaluative and divergent kinds. They also talked much less, and encouraged more extended patterns of pupil discussion. In delayed lessons, the changes were maintained to a significant extent. The teachers who took the general course changed very little in comparison with the control group teachers.
Analysis of test scores indicated that the pupils of the teachers who took the skills course significantly increased their production of answers to free response items in the evaluative and divergent thinking subtests without decreasing other attainments.
The results of the experiment showed that in-service programmes which try to change teachers’ questioning, and associated skills need to give attention to identifying the behaviours, communicating them clearly, providing practise opportunities, and giving feedback about performance. When teachers ask a wide range of questions in social studies lessons, pupils’ evaluative and creative thinking can be increased, both in discussion and in free response tests.

text: Changing teacher behaviour and pupil attainment in inquiry-based social studies lessons Over the last decade there has been a growing emphasis upon inquiry-based teaching in social studies. While there is no agreed definition of the inquiry method, there are particular goals and outcomes associated with this method of teaching and learning; fostering children’s thinking processes is regarded as much more important than the accumulation of factual information. Asking questions has been recognised as one of the best ways to foster and develop inquiry learning in pupils, and yet previous research has shown that there is a need for teachers to ask a wider range of questions than they presently do.
One way to help teachers learn additional questioning skills is through an in-service programme. The present study was designed to find whether two kinds of in-service courses would modify teacher questioning. Twenty-four teachers in six Intermediate schools in a large New Zealand provincial city and a satellite town, were assigned to three treatment groups. The experimental treatments were: an in-service programme which taught specific questioning skills; another in-service course which dealt with inquiry teaching in a general way; and a no-treatment control group. The usual classes of the teachers formed the pupil sample.
Over a five-month period, each teacher conducted three 20-minute social studies discussion lessons which were taperecorded. Baseline data were collected in a pretreatment lesson, and posttreatment data were gathered from discussion lessons taken shortly after the experimental in-service courses and also after a 12-week delay. 
As well as finding out whether in-service courses were followed by changes in teacher questioning, the experiment was also designed to see if pupil attainment was affected by any such changes. Parallel tests were constructed from the content of each lesson, and comprised four subtests which were intended to measure a range of thinking skills considered important in inquiry-based social studies discussion.
From lesson transcripts, teacher questions were coded, using a classification system designed for this study. Statistical analyses indicated that the skills course teachers were able significantly to reduce their asking of cognitive memory and convergent questions, and to increase their use of evaluative and divergent kinds. They also talked much less, and encouraged more extended patterns of pupil discussion. In delayed lessons, the changes were maintained to a significant extent. The teachers who took the general course changed very little in comparison with the control group teachers.
Analysis of test scores indicated that the pupils of the teachers who took the skills course significantly increased their production of answers to free response items in the evaluative and divergent thinking subtests without decreasing other attainments.
The results of the experiment showed that in-service programmes which try to change teachers’ questioning, and associated skills need to give attention to identifying the behaviours, communicating them clearly, providing practise opportunities, and giving feedback about performance. When teachers ask a wide range of questions in social studies lessons, pupils’ evaluative and creative thinking can be increased, both in discussion and in free response tests.

year: 1978

title: Pan-Antarctic map of near-surface permafrost temperatures at 1 km2 scale

authors: Obu, Jaroslav

abstract: Permafrost is present within almost all of the Antarctic's ice-free areas, but little is known about spatial variations in permafrost temperatures except for a few areas with established ground temperature measurements. We modelled a temperature at the top of the permafrost (TTOP) for all the ice-free areas of the Antarctic mainland and Antarctic islands at 1 km2 resolution during 2000–2017. The model was driven by remotely sensed land surface temperatures and downscaled ERA-Interim climate reanalysis data, and subgrid permafrost variability was simulated by variable snow cover. The results were validated against in situ-measured ground temperatures from 40 permafrost boreholes, and the resulting root-mean-square error was 1.9 ∘C. The lowest near-surface permafrost temperature of −36 ∘C was modelled at Mount Markham in the Queen Elizabeth Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. This is the lowest permafrost temperature on Earth, according to global-scale modelling results. The temperatures were most commonly modelled between −23 and −18 ∘C for mountainous areas rising above the Antarctic Ice Sheet and between −14 and −8 ∘C for coastal areas. The model performance was good where snow conditions were modelled realistically, but errors of up to 4 ∘C occurred at sites with strong wind-driven redistribution of snow.

text: Pan-Antarctic map of near-surface permafrost temperatures at 1 km2 scale Permafrost is present within almost all of the Antarctic's ice-free areas, but little is known about spatial variations in permafrost temperatures except for a few areas with established ground temperature measurements. We modelled a temperature at the top of the permafrost (TTOP) for all the ice-free areas of the Antarctic mainland and Antarctic islands at 1 km2 resolution during 2000–2017. The model was driven by remotely sensed land surface temperatures and downscaled ERA-Interim climate reanalysis data, and subgrid permafrost variability was simulated by variable snow cover. The results were validated against in situ-measured ground temperatures from 40 permafrost boreholes, and the resulting root-mean-square error was 1.9 ∘C. The lowest near-surface permafrost temperature of −36 ∘C was modelled at Mount Markham in the Queen Elizabeth Range in the Transantarctic Mountains. This is the lowest permafrost temperature on Earth, according to global-scale modelling results. The temperatures were most commonly modelled between −23 and −18 ∘C for mountainous areas rising above the Antarctic Ice Sheet and between −14 and −8 ∘C for coastal areas. The model performance was good where snow conditions were modelled realistically, but errors of up to 4 ∘C occurred at sites with strong wind-driven redistribution of snow.

year: 2020

title: Adam Porter: a miner who became a ‘self-made man’

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: Adam Porter won the accolade of being a ‘self-made man’ because of rising from humble beginnings in Scotland. After arriving in New Zealand, aged 12, and working hard for some years, he joined the South Island gold rushes from 1861 onwards, sometimes as a miner and sometimes as an investor, storekeeper and publican. Even as a young man he was involved in local politics. After settling at Thames after the goldfield opened there, he concentrated on prospecting in Ohinemuri and in promoting the interests of the mining industry generally. From 1875 onwards he would be a director of many mining companies, and would encourage the prospecting of new districts, especially in his capacity as an Ohinemuri representative on the county council. Amongst his many policies designed to benefit the community was the promotion of education, including secondary education. By the late 1870s he was based in Auckland.
From 1878 onwards he claimed to know that gold was to be found at Te Aroha, and urged the government to acquire Maori land there for Pakeha farmers and prospectors. In mid-1880 he arranged for a government-subsidized prospecting party to examine the mountain under the leadership of Hone Werahiko, and liaised with both the warden and the government on the latter’s behalf, on occasions implying that he had shared in the discovery of gold. He may have tried to obtain control over the new find, but despite this he remained Werahiko’s agent and would be the executor of his estate. As well as investing in the Te Aroha and Waiorongomai fields, he was involved in the development of mines throughout Hauraki in the 1880s. 
Over time he took an increasingly leading role in promoting the mining industry, as for example a member of the Thames Drainage Board and of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. For many years he attempted to obtain government assistance for mining, and was also interested in new mining technology. In his last years he was a leading member of the Auckland business community, investing in non-mining ventures and being a good employer (though critics disagreed). He also became involved in local government issues and the temperance movement before speaking his mind on national issues, finally standing for parliament as an independent-minded supporter of his old friend from his West Coast days, Richard John Seddon. 
Harsh working conditions on the West Coast led to poor health and an early death. He left his family a comfortably legacy, and was remembered as having a genial, kindly, and witty personality but also having a good sense of his own importance. He seized opportunities, sometimes in a manner that offended others, but tried to benefit not only himself but also the wider community.

text: Adam Porter: a miner who became a ‘self-made man’ Adam Porter won the accolade of being a ‘self-made man’ because of rising from humble beginnings in Scotland. After arriving in New Zealand, aged 12, and working hard for some years, he joined the South Island gold rushes from 1861 onwards, sometimes as a miner and sometimes as an investor, storekeeper and publican. Even as a young man he was involved in local politics. After settling at Thames after the goldfield opened there, he concentrated on prospecting in Ohinemuri and in promoting the interests of the mining industry generally. From 1875 onwards he would be a director of many mining companies, and would encourage the prospecting of new districts, especially in his capacity as an Ohinemuri representative on the county council. Amongst his many policies designed to benefit the community was the promotion of education, including secondary education. By the late 1870s he was based in Auckland.
From 1878 onwards he claimed to know that gold was to be found at Te Aroha, and urged the government to acquire Maori land there for Pakeha farmers and prospectors. In mid-1880 he arranged for a government-subsidized prospecting party to examine the mountain under the leadership of Hone Werahiko, and liaised with both the warden and the government on the latter’s behalf, on occasions implying that he had shared in the discovery of gold. He may have tried to obtain control over the new find, but despite this he remained Werahiko’s agent and would be the executor of his estate. As well as investing in the Te Aroha and Waiorongomai fields, he was involved in the development of mines throughout Hauraki in the 1880s. 
Over time he took an increasingly leading role in promoting the mining industry, as for example a member of the Thames Drainage Board and of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. For many years he attempted to obtain government assistance for mining, and was also interested in new mining technology. In his last years he was a leading member of the Auckland business community, investing in non-mining ventures and being a good employer (though critics disagreed). He also became involved in local government issues and the temperance movement before speaking his mind on national issues, finally standing for parliament as an independent-minded supporter of his old friend from his West Coast days, Richard John Seddon. 
Harsh working conditions on the West Coast led to poor health and an early death. He left his family a comfortably legacy, and was remembered as having a genial, kindly, and witty personality but also having a good sense of his own importance. He seized opportunities, sometimes in a manner that offended others, but tried to benefit not only himself but also the wider community.

year: 2016