Teaching Undergraduate Mathematics on the Internet

This is Part 2 of a two-part study of how APOS theory may be used to provide cognitive explanations of how students and mathematicians might think about the concept of infinity. We discuss infinite processes, describe how the mental mechanisms of interiorization and encapsulation can be used to conceive of an infinite process as a completed totality, explain the relationship between infinite processes and the objects that may result from them, and apply our analyses to certain mathematical issues related to infinity.     

Improving the precision of the keyword-matching pornographic text filtering method using a hybrid model

With the flooding of pornographic information on the Internet, how to keep people away from that offensive information is becoming one of the most important research areas in network information security. Some applications which can block or filter such information are used. Approaches in those systems can be roughly classified into two kinds:metadata based and content based. With the development of distributed technologies, content based filtering technologies will play a more and more important role in filtering systems. Keyword matching is a content based method used widely in harmful text filtering. Experiments to evaluate the recall and precision of the method showed that the precision of the method is not satisfactory, though the recall of the method is rather high. According to the results, a new pornographic text filtering model based on reconfirming is put forward. Experiments showed that the model is practical, has less loss of recall than the single keyword matching method, and has higher precision.     

The role of student-generated externalizations in strategic multimedia learning and how current (web-)technology fails to support learner engagement

In two studies, we investigated how learning strategies can support learning from multimedia. In the first study, 112 students learned from a web-based learning environment. On the basis of a strategy, one group of students took typewritten notes. The second group of students wrote a summary. Producing typewritten notes did not benefit learning any more than writing a summary. In the second study, 100 students learned the same subject matter from print. On the basis of a strategy, the first group produced written notes, the second group highlighted, wrote notes, and produced sketches. The third group wrote a summary. The students who highlighted, wrote notes, and produced sketches outperformed the other students. The students who produced written notes only did not learn more successfully than those who wrote a summary. The results suggest that externalizations in general and sketches in particular may play an important role in multimedia learning.     

Theory Competition and the Process of Change

The reasons why many educational change initiatives have little impact are often framed in terms of either a poorly designed process on the part of the change initiator, or in terms of problems with the attitudes, skills and/or knowledge of those responsible for implementation. In this paper, we seek to integrate these two perspectives more closely by focusing on their interface and the competing theories frequently held by the change initiators and implementers. This concept of theory competition is illustrated with a case of a national literacy initiative in New Zealand in which the change initiators wished to raise the achievement of low performing students through the development of “learning-centred” leadership in schools and evidence-based practice. The desired outcomes were not achieved because theories about what it means to be a successful leader in such a situation, the data needed to undertake the type of evidence-based analysis envisioned and school personnel beliefs about the target students were understood differently by those responsible for initiating the change and those responsible for implementing it.     

Curriculum Design of a Flipped Classroom to Enhance Haematology Learning

A common trend in higher education is the “flipped” classroom, which facilitates active learning during class. The flipped approach to teaching was instituted in a haematology ‘major’ class and the students’ attitudes and preferences for the teaching materials were surveyed. The curriculum design was explicit and involved four major components (1) the preparation of the students; (2) the weekly pre-class work; (3) the in-class active learning strategies and (4) closing the learning loop using formative quizzes. Each of these components is discussed in detail and was informed by sound pedagogical strategies. Several different sources of information and several freely available software tools to engage the students are discussed. Two iterations are reported here, with improved pass rate for the final examination from 47 to 48 % in the traditional class to 56–65 % in the flipped classroom approach. The majority of students (93 and 89 %) came to the class prepared, after viewing the screencasts and engaged fully with the activities within the face-to-face time. The students perceived that solving case studies (93 %) was the most beneficial activity for their learning and this was closely followed by the production of essay plans (71 %). The majority of students recommended that this approach be repeated the following year (69 and 75 %).     

Village Elders’ and Secondary School Students’ Explanations of Natural Phenomena in Papua New Guinea

This research investigated the sources of explanations and understanding of natural phenomena in terms of the students’ cultural and school science experiences. The first phase involved interviews with eight village elders that probed their explanations and understanding of natural phenomena. The second phase involved the design, development and administration of two questionnaires on natural phenomena to 179 students in a rural boarding high school in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Most village elders gave explanations of many of the phenomena in terms of spirits, spells, magic, religion, and personal experiences. Most school-aged students choose scientific explanations of natural phenomena in terms of what they had learned in school or from personal experiences. However, many choose explanations of the same phenomena about spirits, spells and magic that came from the village, family or home. The study revealed that students’ ideas about natural phenomena are strongly governed and controlled by their school science knowledge in the school setting. It is likely that their own traditional knowledge cannot be identified in a school setting but that questionnaires in the students’ local language be given to students in their villages (as opposed to school). In addition, so as not to diminish the value of this traditional knowledge, science education programs are needed that are able to consider and harmonise traditional knowledge with school science.