Difficulties in Learning and Teaching Programming—Views of Students and Tutors

We have conducted a web-based questionnaire on the various concepts and topics of object-oriented programming that students on introductory courses found most difficult to cope with.A statistical analysis of our results shows that those topics that rely on a clear understanding of pointers and memory-related concepts (such as copy constructors and virtual functions) prove to be the most difficult. In other words, we believe these concepts are only hard because of the student's inability to comprehend what is happening to their program in memory, as they are incapable of creating a clear mental model of its execution.These results would suggest that a clearer approach to teaching these topics would be beneficial to students. We are currently working on a visualization-based approach to address these issues.     

Marketing pedagogy: Nonprofit marketing and the diffusion of monitorial teaching in the nineteenth century

The article investigates the spread of one of the first pedagogical concepts available worldwide during the first half of the nineteenth century: the monitorial system. Its wide diffusion depended, to a considerable extent, on the work of voluntary organisations. The article investigates the work of the two most important of these, the British and Foreign School Society and the National Society. It focuses on the strategies these two charities employed in acquiring donations in a voluntary sector that was densely populated and highly competitive. Drawing on modern marketing concepts as analytical tools, the article argues that the monitorial system’s wide diffusion was to a considerable extent the result of early forms of marketing. By introducing marketing concepts in the history of education, the article seeks to broaden the debate on the diffusion of educational concepts and, moreover, to contribute to the relatively new field of (nonprofit) marketing history.     

Concepts of a higher hierarchical level require more dual situated learning events for conceptual change: A study of air pressure and buoyancy

This article examines the process of students' conceptual changes in respect of air pressure and buoyancy as a result of instructing with the Dual Situated Learning Model. The dual situated learning events of this model were designed according to the students' ontological viewpoint on the science concepts as well as on the nature of these concepts. Results demonstrated that the notion of buoyancy required more dual situated learning events for conceptual change to occur than that for air pressure. Instead of attributing the difficulty involved in conceptual change to the mismatch of ontological category of the concepts, the author proposes that the hierarchical level of the scientific concepts would determine how easy or difficult it is to bring out a conceptual change. Concepts of higher hierarchical level subsume more essential underlying concepts, thus making it more difficult for conceptual changes to occur.     

"集体行动"研究中的概念谱系

在中国当前各类研究社会矛盾或冲突的文献中,有一组具有"家族相似性"的概念,如"集体抗争"、"维权行动"、"群体性事件"、"社会冲突""社会运动"、"集体行动"等,而且每一个概念又往往包含一系列的子概念。学者们在阐述自己所使用的概念时,往往坚持该概念在内涵或研究方法上的独特性。本文认为这些概念本身在逻辑或经验意义上有明显的不足,而且这种研究现状,不利于研究者们之间的学术对话或交流。因此,本文在对这些概念进行必要的梳理或评估的基础上,试图提出基于利益表达的"集体行动"概念,并认为它是契合当前中国情境的研究社会矛盾或冲突的一个统摄性、规范性和学理性概念。     

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This study investigated the relationship between the communication source variables of attraction, credibility, and perceived similarity and the overall image of public figures. The arrangement of 15 public figures in a multidimensional space was compared to their arrangement on measures of attraction, credibility, and similarity. The arrangement of public figures in the multidimensional space was based on respondents' paired comparisons among all public figures. Results indicated that most of the theoretic concepts were used by respondents to construct their iamge of public figures. However, the concepts did not emerge as major determinants of that image. It was suggested that these concepts might be part of a latent structure which emerges whenever public figures are viewed as communicative sources.     

＂相＂及＂组织＂概念的定义

“相”与“组织”是材料类课程中非常重要的概念,在目前的材料科学基础和工程材料教材中,相关概念的定义各有千秋。根据目前一些教材中的定义及教学过程中的体会,阐述了这两个重要概念应有的内涵,并提出“相’’与“组织”的定义。     

Tradition,Authority and Disciplinary Practice in History Education

Abstract

The concepts of ‘tradition’ and ‘authority’ are generally understood to be problematical in history curriculum design. Drawing on MacIntyre’s account of disciplines as social practices, this article argues that, to the contrary, these are concepts that need to be incorporated into any curriculum theory that attempts to build a school subject on the foundations provided by an academic discipline. In history education, there is a strong consensus towards deriving the ideas of the history curriculum from the discipline of history, and this article argues that it is therefore necessary for history curriculum theory to account for the concepts of ‘tradition’ and ‘authority’ as they exist in disciplinary practice.     

Nanotechnology applications as a context for teaching the essential concepts of NST

The goals of this study are to map applications of nanotechnology that are recommended to be taught in high-school science and to identify the ‘need-to-know’ essential nanoscale science and technology (NST) concepts for each of the selected nanotechnology applications. A Delphi study using a community of experts was used to address these goals. Five nanotechnology applications that should be taught in high-school science were found to be important and reached a consensus by the Delphi-study experts: (1) nanomedicine, (2) nanoelectronics, (3) photovoltaic cells, (4) nanobots, and (5) self-cleaning. It was found that teaching these five nanotechnology applications should be based on all seven NST concepts, and therefore, these applications can be used as an appealing context for teaching the essential NST concepts. The different recommendations between the two communities of experts emphasize the importance of involving teachers and scientists in the process of designing a scientific curriculum. Identifying the applications of nanotechnology that should be taught in high-school science and identifying the connections between the applications and the essential NST concepts constitute an important step that supports designing a context-based nanotechnology program before it is integrated into a high-school science curriculum.     

Promise and challenge of identifying threshold concepts: a cautionary account of using transactional curriculum inquiry

The original work on threshold concepts arose from a project designed to improve students’ learning experiences by taking seriously the features of disciplinary knowledge as its starting point. The conceptual and empirical work on threshold concepts has since developed and matured. While many disciplines have engaged enthusiastically with the identification of threshold concepts, healthcare has not been well represented. Drawing on Cousin’s (2007, 2009) notion of transactional curriculum inquiry, the study explores the identification of threshold concepts in a physiotherapy subject, with a sample of physiotherapy clinical educators, using nominal group technique (NGT). While the article presents a set of concepts from the pilot study, this is not its key contribution. Instead, three novel insights are offered for future threshold concepts research. First, there is a need to extend the stakeholders involved in curriculum reform and renewal beyond the university (particularly, for professions). Second, there must be ongoing opportunities for these external stakeholders to engage with and reflect on the distinct features of threshold concepts if the context and authenticity of practice is to be taken seriously for enhancing student learning. Third, the problem of identification is beset with conceptual challenges that remain unresolved for researchers.     

Aligning goals, assessments, and activities: an approach to teaching PCR and gel electrophoresis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis have become common techniques used in undergraduate molecular and cell biology labs. Although students enjoy learning these techniques, they often cannot fully comprehend and analyze the outcomes of their experiments because of a disconnect between concepts taught in lecture and experiments done in lab. Here we report the development and implementation of novel exercises that integrate the biological concepts of DNA structure and replication with the techniques of PCR and gel electrophoresis. Learning goals were defined based on concepts taught throughout the cell biology lab course and learning objectives specific to the PCR and gel electrophoresis lab. Exercises developed to promote critical thinking and target the underlying concepts of PCR, primer design, gel analysis, and troubleshooting were incorporated into an existing lab unit based on the detection of genetically modified organisms. Evaluative assessments for each exercise were aligned with the learning goals and used to measure student learning achievements. Our analysis found that the exercises were effective in enhancing student understanding of these concepts as shown by student performance across all learning goals. The new materials were particularly helpful in acquiring relevant knowledge, fostering critical-thinking skills, and uncovering prevalent misconceptions.     

Understanding turn commands in Logo: A cognitive perspective

When learning to program in Logo, many young children experience difficulties using the right and left turn commands. This paper looks at the spatial concepts required for the understanding and manipulation of these commands. We begin by providing an overview of research on children's Logo learning and point to specific problems children have with right and left commands and to related characteristics of standard Logo systems that seem to contribute to these problems. To shed further light on the source of these problems, the psychological-cognitive literature on the development of spatial concepts concerned with the use of frames of reference and obliques is reviewed. It is argued that in order for children to handle meaningful programming projects they need to master a set of prerequisite skills. These skills, involving the development of elaborated and explicated spatial concepts, include a distinction between right and left, the intentional reference to the Turtle as a frame of reference, the assignment of appropriate axes and the application of units of measurement for determining distance and angles. We conclude by suggesting that children need to be exposed to Logo programs designed to facilitate the development of spatial concepts which would enable the successful progression to more complex Turtle Geometry programming tasks.     

A diagnostic assessment for introductory molecular and cell biology

We have developed and validated a tool for assessing understanding of a selection of fundamental concepts and basic knowledge in undergraduate introductory molecular and cell biology, focusing on areas in which students often have misconceptions. This multiple-choice Introductory Molecular and Cell Biology Assessment (IMCA) instrument is designed for use as a pre- and posttest to measure student learning gains. To develop the assessment, we first worked with faculty to create a set of learning goals that targeted important concepts in the field and seemed likely to be emphasized by most instructors teaching these subjects. We interviewed students using open-ended questions to identify commonly held misconceptions, formulated multiple-choice questions that included these ideas as distracters, and reinterviewed students to establish validity of the instrument. The assessment was then evaluated by 25 biology experts and modified based on their suggestions. The complete revised assessment was administered to more than 1300 students at three institutions. Analysis of statistical parameters including item difficulty, item discrimination, and reliability provides evidence that the IMCA is a valid and reliable instrument with several potential uses in gauging student learning of key concepts in molecular and cell biology.     

Introduction of Pedagogical Concepts in Domain Modelling for an Intelligent Tutoring System

This article presents knowledge modelling in an intelligent tutoring system, in which the modelling approach allows the knowledge representation to somewhat depart from its actual or most obvious basis to fit specifically pedagogical needs. The knowledge domain is cost engineering. Although the formulae used in cost engineering problem-solving are usually considered as relations between variables, our approach makes use of these formulae to identify new concepts, the factors, of a more pedagogical nature. The introduction of these concepts should help the student to concentrate either on computations or on economic analysis, and the system to make more accurate and more useful tutoring interventions. Moreover, it leads to important qualitative aspects of the domain modelling and of the tutorial interactions that should also help the learning process. Finally, this concept creation brings to light a hierarchy of intermediate abstraction levels, which can then be used to derive an order of presentation of these concepts, an order of the corresponding prerequisites and an order of the exercise types. All these should facilitate the student's learning.     

“《狂人日记》实为拙作”?——兼论晚清民初中国小说“美学”观念的发生

<狂人日记>被视为中国现代小说的开山之作,但鲁迅自己却不止一次地对它的艺术性表示不满.其原因在于鲁迅在批评自己作品时所秉持的是"独创"、"藏锋"等现代小说观念,它们的出现与晚清民初中国小说"美学"观念的发生相关.鲁迅在中国现代审美领域生成过程中有其重要地位.     

Linking Biochemistry Concepts to Food Safety Using Yogurt as a Model

This laboratory activity was designed to strengthen our Food and Nutritional Science students’ knowledge of biochemistry concepts and the relationship between these concepts and food science. The result was a laboratory experience in which biochemistry concepts are taught using yogurt as a model, in order to link those concepts to food safety, an important area of food science. The students employed a colorimetric method to measure the lactase activity of bacterial strains found in commercial yogurts and were encouraged to relate the activity to bacterial lactic acid production, fermentation, and food safety. Students were assessed with pre‐ and post‐test exams, laboratory reports, class performance rubrics, and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). The result demonstrated that the students successfully completed the learning objectives and were motivated during the activity. This exercise could be used as a template for a simplified and engaging way to introduce food science majors, as well as other students, to complex biochemistry and molecular biology concepts using food, particularly yogurt, as a model.     

Pedagogy and dialogue

This article reviews the existing literature on the relationship between dialogue and pedagogy, examining the concepts of dialogic instruction, dialogic enquiry and dialogic teaching. It submits these concepts to critical scrutiny and explores questions which remain to be resolved in the field. It is argued that a dialogic mode of engagement with learners has the potential to bring about a narrowing of the gap in educational outcomes. The structural conditions of schooling and current assessment policy are seen as constraints on the development of a dialogical pedagogy. The article identifies the affective conditions for learning created by different patterns of teacher–student interaction as a neglected line of enquiry, which future research could profitably pursue.     

STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF EQUILIBRIUM AND STABILITY: THE CASE OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS

Engineering students in control courses have been observed to lack an understanding of equilibrium and stability, both of which are crucial concepts in this discipline. The introduction of these concepts is generally based on the study of classical examples from Newtonian mechanics supplemented with a control system. Equilibrium and stability are approached in different ways at the various stages of a typical engineering syllabus: at the beginning, they are mostly dealt with a static point of view, for example in mechanics, and are subsequently handled through dynamic analysis in control courses. In general, there is a little clarification of the differences between these concepts or the ways in which they are linked. We believe that this leads to much confusion and incomprehension among engineering students. Several studies have shown that students encounter difficulties when presented with simple familiar or academic static equilibrium cases in mechanics. Our study investigates students’ conceptions and misconceptions about equilibrium and stability through a series of questions about several innovative non-static situations. It reveals that the understanding of these notions is shaken when the systems being studied are placed in inertial or non-inertial moving reference frames. The students in our study were particularly uncertain about the existence of unstable equilibrium positions and had difficulty in differentiating between the two concepts. The results suggest that students use a velocity-based approach to explain such situations. A poor grasp of the above fundamental concepts may result from previous learning experiences. More specifically, certain difficulties seem to be directly linked to a lack of understanding of these concepts, while others are related to misconceptions arising from everyday experiences and the inappropriate use of physical examples in primary school.     

The Passional Pedagogy of Gilles Deleuze

In this article I am proposing a post‐structuralist treatment of some concepts central to a pedagogical agenda. These are concepts of territorial implications, such as democracy, nationality, patriotism and the foreign, concepts closely linked to The Enlightenment and to education. I am proposing this because these might be the times, for academics in the field of education, to revitalise reflections around such concepts in order to question the legitimisation and motivations for our actions on new grounds. A deconstruction of the opposition between duty and pleasure, and a possible necessary parricide is suggested in order to question hegemonic ideologies and overcome what might be described as an academic paralysis. I am making use of perspectives expressed by John Dewey, Richard Rorty, James Joyce and Jacques Derrida.