Preservice teachers' initial conceptions about assessment of science learning: The coherence with their views of learning science

This study utilized responses from Taiwanese preservice elementary teachers to describe and analyze their conceptions about the assessment of science learning and the extent that these conceptions were coherent with their views of learning science. A methodological framework of phenomenography was used for the study. The results revealed that the preservice teachers' mode of assessment was coherent with a traditional view of learning but their performance mode of assessment was not well developed. Improving preservice teachers' conception of assessment requires clarifying and reconstructing their conceptions of and coherence between assessment, curriculum, pedagogy, and learning.     

Learning to teach writing through tutoring and journal writing

Structured reflection on practical teaching experiences may help pre‐service teachers to integrate their learning and analyze their actions to become more effective learners and teachers. This study reports on 12 pre‐service English as a second language (ESL) teachers’ individual tutoring of learners of English language writing. The data of the study are the writing journal entries that the pre‐service ESL teachers maintained during their tutoring experience. These journals had common elements: all were used by the pre‐service teachers to consider what funds of knowledge they bring to their teaching of ESL learners, to evaluate their roles as writers, learners and teachers and to reflect on the educational, social and cultural implications of teaching writing in English to speakers of other languages. This article describes ways in which both native and non‐native English speaking pre‐service teachers adapted their instruction to meet the particular needs of individual ESL writers and what they learned in the process. It provides insight regarding the value of using tutoring and reflection generally in teacher education and specifically in the preparation of teachers of ESL.     

Exploring students’ conceptions of science learning via drawing: a cross-sectional analysis

ABSTRACT

This cross-sectional study explored students’ conceptions of science learning via drawing analysis. A total of 906 Taiwanese students in 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualise science learning. Students’ drawings were analysed using a coding checklist to determine the presence or absence of specified attributes. Data analysis showed that the majority of students pictured science learning as school-based, involving certain types of experiment or teacher lecturing. In addition, notable cross-sectional differences were found in the ‘Activity’ and ‘Emotions and attitudes’ categories in students’ drawings. Three major findings were made: (1) lower grade level students conceptualised science learning with a didactic approach, while higher graders might possess a quantitative view of science learning (i.e. how much is learned, not how well it is learned), (2) students’ positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward science learning reversed around middle school, and (3) female students expressed significantly more positive emotions and attitudes than their male counterparts. In conclusion, higher graders’ unfruitful conceptions of science learning warrant educators’ attention. Moreover, further investigation of girls’ more positive emotions and attitudes found in this study is needed.     

Learning illustrated: An exploratory cross-sectional drawing analysis of students' conceptions of learning

Using the draw-a-picture technique, the authors explored the learning conceptions held by students across grade levels. A total of 1,067 Taiwanese students in Grades 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 participated in this study. Participants were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualize learning. A coding checklist was developed to analyze the features in the students' drawings. Consistent with previous study, the majority of the students' drawings portrayed learning happening in a traditional classroom that is teacher centered, with students depicted as passive listeners. Additionally, three main findings were obtained: (a) younger students held episodic images of learning as opposed to more mature students, (b) the human agents involved in learning shifted from others to self, and (c) negative emotions and attitudes reached a plateau in Grades 6, 8, and 10. The results of the study suggested possible cognitive and emotional developmental trends that warrant further investigation.     

The conceptions of learning science by laboratory among university science-major students: qualitative and quantitative analyses

Background: The sophistication of students’ conceptions of science learning has been found to be positively related to their approaches to and outcomes for science learning. Little research has been conducted to particularly investigate students’ conceptions of science learning by laboratory.

Purpose: The purpose of this research, consisting of two studies, was to explore Taiwanese university science-major students’ conceptions of learning science by laboratory (CLSL).

Sample: In Study I, interview data were gathered from 47 university science-major students. In Study II, 287 university science-major students’ responses to a CLSL survey were collected.

Design and methods: In Study I, the interview data were analyzed using the phenomenographic method. Based on the findings derived from Study I, Study II developed an instrument for assessing students’ CLSL by exploratory factor analysis.

Results: Study I revealed six categories of CLSL, including memorizing, verifying, acquiring manipulative skills, obtaining authentic experience, reviewing prior learning profiles, and achieving in-depth understanding. The factor analysis in Study II revealed that the ‘verifying’ category was eliminated, but found another new category of ‘examining prior knowledge.’

Conclusions: This study finally proposes a framework to describe the variations of CLSL, consisting of three features: cognitive orientation, metacognitive orientation, and epistemic orientation. Possible factors influencing students’ CLSL are also discussed.     

“以写促教，以写促说”英语教学法研究

“以写促教，以写促说”教学模式，即以“写”为课堂教学和学生开口说英语的铺垫，提高课堂教学效果和学生英语口语的质量，激发学生对英语的兴趣和自信心。通过对学生英语写作能力和口头交互能力的培养，全面提高学生对语言和化的应用能力。本系统介绍了这一教学模式的使用效果。     

Preparing mathematics and science teachers through a residency program: perceptions and reflections

The critical challenge of recruiting, preparing, and retaining high-quality mathematics and science teachers for high-need urban schools is complex. Therefore, identifying factors that support and impede a teaching residency program’s implementation may have the potential to build an effective initiative that will benefit all stakeholders. The purpose of our study was to examine preservice teachers’ perceptions about their experiences in the Teaching Residency Program for Critical Shortage Areas program, a federally funded program designed to address teacher shortages in mathematics and science in high-need schools. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) the residency framework, (b) a relevant curriculum, and (c) immersion in an authentic school context. Our findings have the potential to inform policy-makers, school administrators, university directors of school partnerships, and other individuals who have direct influence on teacher recruitment and retention.     

Scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science and self-efficacy of learning science among high school students

This study examined the relationships among Taiwanese high school students’ scientific epistemic beliefs, conceptions of learning science, and self-efficacy of learning science. The questionnaire responses gathered from 377 high school students in Taiwan were utilized to elicit such relationships. The analysis of the structural equation model revealed that students’ absolutist scientific epistemic beliefs led to lower-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as memorizing, preparing for tests, calculating, and practicing) while sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs might trigger higher-level conceptions of learning science (i.e. learning science as increase of knowledge, applying, and attaining understanding). The students’ lower-level conceptions of learning science were also found to negatively associate with their self-efficacy of learning science, while the higher-level conceptions of learning science fostered students’ self-efficacy. However, this study found that students who viewed scientific knowledge as uncertain (advanced epistemic belief) tended to possess lower self-efficacy toward learning science.     

Spanish and UK post-PhD researchers: writing perceptions,well-being and productivity

Post-PhD researchers working at universities are contributors to a country’s productivity and competitiveness mostly through writing, which becomes a means to establish their scholarly identity as they contribute to knowledge. However, little is known about researchers’ writing perceptions, and their interrelations with engagement in research, productivity and the influence of workplace climate, which, if negative, can result in burnout and abandonment intentions. In this paper, we explore these issues for the first time. Using a cross-sectional design, 282 postdoctoral researchers answered a cross-cultural questionnaire focusing on engagement, scientific writing, researcher community and burnout, and socio-demographic variables. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis, T-test, ANOVA or Mann–Whitney U (SPSS, v.22). Results showed that adaptive perceptions of writing were related to higher levels of engagement, lower levels of burnout and productivity; maladaptive perceptions of writing were related to burnout experiences. The consideration of research writing as a developmental process that can take many years beyond the PhD is discussed. Critical to understanding such development is the extent to which a shift in perception of writing to knowledge creation may be a precursor to more adaptive functional behaviours. Educational insights related to constraints in writing, publication processes and related research conditions are also considered.     

经验、体验与文学

对于文学创作来说, 经验与体验是不同的。经验是他的生物的或社会的阅历。体验是经历中见出个性、深义和诗意的情感。经验只是知识的积累。体验是价值的叩问。体验具有超越性。它给文学带来的是情感的诗意化、意义的深刻化和感受的个性化。体验的美学功能     

Students' perceptions of Wiki-based collaborative writing for learners of English as a foreign language

This study proposes a Wiki-based collaborative writing approach to the writing process for EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. A five-stage computer-mediated collaborative writing project including collaborative planning, partitioned drafting, peer-revising, peer-editing, and individual publishing was blended with on-campus English composition course. Fifty-one L2 learners at a university in central Taiwan participated in this project. Procedural scaffolding and collective scaffolding were provided to promote students' self-regulation and thus to foster the development of students' writing skills. A cross-referencing questionnaire survey was adopted to investigate students' perceptions of Wiki-based collaborative writing and students' perceptions of their work in each stage of collaborative writing. As the results indicated, a high percentage of students' satisfaction showed positive perceptions of this Wiki-based collaborative writing environment, and the instructional design of implementing a Wiki-based collaborative writing project with a five-stage writing process does assist EFL learners to accomplish a collaborative writing task on the internet with less limitation of time. This article also points to new possibilities for future research.     

The building blocks of writing: Learning to write letters and spell words

This study examined the development of beginning writing skills in kindergarten and the relationship between early writing skills and early reading skills. Sixty children were assessed on beginning writing skills (including letter writing, individual sound spelling, and real and nonsense word spelling) and beginning reading skills (including letter name and letter sound knowledge, global early reading ability, phonological awareness, and word reading). Children’s beginning writing abilities are described, and they exhibited a range of proficiency in their ability to write letters, spell sounds, and spell real and nonsense words. Global early reading proficiency, phonological awareness, and/or letter sound fluency predicted letter writing, sound spelling, and spelling of real and nonsense words. Appreciation is expressed to the participating students and teachers at Dwight D. Eisenhower School and to Margaret Boudreau and Joan Foley for assistance in scoring students’ responses.     

Reflecting Caring and Power in Early Childhood Education: Recalling Memories of Educational Practices

This paper examines university social science and education students' views of research methodology, especially asking whether a negative research orientation towards quantitative methods exists. Finnish (n?=?196) and US (n?=?122) students answered a questionnaire concerning their views on quantitative, qualitative, empirical, and theoretical methods, their readiness to use quantitative and qualitative methods in their own research, and the difficulties they experienced in quantitative methods' learning. Students were clustered in groups according to their views. Students had varying combinations of views on the methods, that is different research orientations towards methods were found in both countries. Some of the students had a dichotic attitude towards quantitative and qualitative methods; they seemed to “choose their side” between these methods. In both countries a negative research orientation towards quantitative methods was found. It was connected with either difficulties in quantitative methods' learning or with a lower appreciation of empirical methods than that of other students. Major subject and study year had no effect, so the views were not discipline‐specific and students seemed to already have them on entering university. Views were quite stable during the course. A reduction in difficulties experienced with quantitative methods' learning was connected with a lowered over‐appreciation of qualitative methods at the end of the course.     

面向开放学习成果的微认证：概念理解与运作体系

传统证书在知识经济时代的资质认证与交流功能日显不足,对无处不在的开放学习进行灵活认证、在线验证与交流成为教育培训领域面临的重大挑战,而微认证实践就是其中最典型的有益探索。研究通过文献综述法,在分析国内外微认证现象的基础上,对微认证进行概念分析、要素解剖与理解辨析,重点对微认证的运作机制和体系进行了系统化阐述。研究认为微认证具有知识模块化、开发敏捷化、证据绩效化、记录可验证、结果可堆叠、凭证可移植等运作机制;开放徽章是微认证的典型流通凭证,是适合开放学习的后现代证书;微认证运作体系涵盖发行者、学习者、认可者和托管机构等四个互连的关键角色,以及生产、认证与消费微证书等三个相互支撑的子系统。微认证满足了开放学习结果的认证需求,有利于丰富新的人才资质交流话语体系,弥合教育培训供给与市场精准需求之间的鸿沟。     

Learning to spell: raising standards in spelling and independent writing

This paper considers evidence from an intervention designed to raise standards in spelling and independent writing. The Complete Spelling Programme (McMurray and Fleming, 1998) is designed to ensure that all processes involved in learning to spell are activated and that the interaction between them is facilitated. In addition, a number of innovative features within the programme's design allow sources of spelling knowledge to be presented in a developmental sequence, allowing all children to learn together, regardless of their ability. The programme provides day‐to‐day spellings and an extensive range of follow‐up activities, clearly differentiated, linking spelling to wider literacy teaching, e.g. grammar, language understanding, punctuation. The impact of the programme on progress, not only in spelling tests but also in spelling accuracy and quality in independent writing, was assessed by means of a longitudinal study with a 2 × 2 quasi‐experimental design. The two independent variables were (i) experimental school (intervention) or control school (no intervention) and (ii) high or low social disadvantage. A sample of 81 children aged 5–6 years across the four schools was followed for three years from Year 2 to Year 4 (Northern Ireland). A range of quantitative measures was used for baseline assessment and to establish the quantifiable outcomes for children in both the experimental (N=43) and the control schools (N=38). Qualitative measures were used to illuminate the processes involved in the programme in the experimental schools (McMurray, 2004). At the end of the study pupils who had been taught using the programme had made significant improvement in spelling and independent writing. On the basis of the findings it is argued that spelling needs to be seen as an integral tool in raising standards in literacy and that it should not be taught in isolation from other literacy skills.     

Science diaries: a brief writing intervention to improve motivation to learn science

This study investigated the hypothesis that prompting students to self-assess their interest and understanding of science concepts and activities would increase their motivation in science classes. Students were randomly assigned to an experimental condition that wrote self-assessments of their competence and interest in science lessons or a control condition that wrote summaries of those same lessons. Writing activities were 10?min long and were given approximately once a week for eighteen weeks. Student motivation was assessed via self-report surveys for achievement goals and interest in science before and after the intervention. Students in the experimental condition showed higher endorsement of mastery goals and reported greater situational interest in science topics after the intervention compared to students who summarised the lessons. Increases in situational interest predicted higher individual interest in the domain. Results indicate an instructional practice requiring just 3?hours out of a semester of instruction was sufficient to achieve these effects on motivation in science classes.     

Teaching styles and conceptions of effective teachers: Tibetan and Han Chinese academics compared

The principal objective of this research is to ascertain if the “research–teaching dichotomy” as revealed in the relationship between conceptions of effective teachers and teaching styles among Han Chinese academics can be found among Tibetan academics. As a preliminary objective, this research examines the appropriateness of the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) for evaluating Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers and compares the conceptions of effective teachers between Tibetan and Han Chinese academics. The Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 1993) and the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) were administered to 162 Tibetan academics. For the purpose of comparison, data from 93 Han Chinese academics in Zhang's (2009) study were integrated into the present research.The results warranted two conclusions. First, the Effective Teacher Inventory was appropriate for assessing Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers; and there was no substantial difference in the conceptions of effective teachers between the two samples. Second, as it was among Han Chinese academics, the apparent “research–teaching dichotomy” was identified among Tibetan academics. Limitations and significance of this research are discussed and directions for future research are proposed.