‘Breaking Ground’ in the use of social media: A case study of a university earthquake response to inform educational design with Facebook

On September 4 2010, a massive 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island of New Zealand. The response from the University of Canterbury was immediate and carefully co-ordinated, with the university's web-based environment and a responsive site developed on the social media platform ‘Facebook’ becoming prominent sources of support for many months. This case study illustrates how the university effectively utilised these environments and their impact within the wider university community. Case study methodology draws upon literature from the fields of social media, social network communities and crisis informatics. The findings propose that social media can effectively support information sharing, communication and collaboration in higher education contexts, in particular in times of crisis, but suggest there needs to be a defined purpose to integrate these within an institution's communications strategy given the resource implications and range of social media already used by students.     

The difficult bridge between university and industry: a case study in computer science teaching

Recently, there has been increasing criticism concerning academic computer science education. This paper presents a new approach based on the principles of constructivist learning design as well as the ideas of knowledge transfer in communities of practice. The course ‘High‐tech Entrepreneurship and New Media’ was introduced as an interdisciplinary project management lab in which students collaborate in groups to develop software solutions for authentic problems. Main goals were the tighter integration of university and local start‐up companies, an intense knowledge transfer on software engineering methods, as well as the implementation of constructivist learning principles in academic teaching. This paper presents the background and structure of the course as well as the results of a formative evaluation. While being successful in introducing a course based on digital‐media assisted, constructivist learning arrangements, establishing lasting communities of practice between university and industry is still an open issue. After discussing several reasons, the paper concludes with a list of general recommendations on how to improve the approach and its implementation.     

新课程理念下中学数学史的讲授与学习

数学史教育是新课程的内在要求．为了更好地发挥数学史作为数学文化最佳载体的作用,对中学数学史的讲授与学习进行了详细讨论．     

引导学生欣赏与发现数学美——以极限教学为例

数学既求真又求美.数学求真在于用数量关系和空间图形表达世界;数学求美则在于用美丽的图形、精炼的语言、简练的定理、公式给人以视角和精神上的享受.在数学教学中,应挖掘教材人文因素以培养学生人文精神,充分利用数学史料以提升学生人文品质,在解题中揭示哲理以丰富学生人文素养,利用教师人格魅力以提升学生人文品位,建设数学课堂文化以充实学生人文内涵.     

Examining the development of a teacher learning community: The case of a video club

Learning communities have become a widespread model for teacher development. However, simply bringing teachers together does not ensure community development. This study offers a framework for the development of a teacher learning community in a video club. Qualitative coding of video data resulted in characterizing the evolution of the video club group as they collaboratively explored issues of teaching and learning that arose in each other’s classrooms. The relationship between dimensions of the framework and how development on one feature interacts with development on another is discussed. The results inform the design of video-based learning environments for examining teaching practice.     

The role of attachment in Facebook usage: a study of Canadian college students

Considering the increasingly ubiquitous and frequent use of Facebook among college students, this study sought to explicate and unravel the salient determinants of Facebook use. Specifically, the main goal was to ascertain the factors influencing Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) students’ Facebook use, for which a structural equation model was proposed to examine the relationships between constructs affecting this process. Using a recently proposed extended technology acceptance model, Dhammic Technology Acceptance Model (DTAM) for Facebook use, proposed by Teo and Jarupunphol [2015. Dhammic technology acceptance model (DTAM): Extending the TAM using a condition of attachment in Buddhism. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 52(1), 136–151. doi:10.1177/0735633114568859], we present results of the study using 233 completed survey data from a sample of CEGEP students in Montreal, Quebec. The DTAM was originally tested using a sample of Thai university students; this leads to a natural question as to whether this extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) model holds in a Western sample. The findings from the present study support the validity of the DTAM for explicating Facebook use, and add empirical evidence to the DTAM, according to which the condition of attachment exerts influence on Facebook use. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations, and future extensions of the study.     

中学生数学学习自我效能感的初步研究

以班杜拉的自我效能感的理论为指导,通过问卷形式,对海口市第一中192名学生的数学学习效能感的现状进行研究,分析影响数学学习效能感的因素。研究发现:中学生的数学学习自我效能感与数学学业成就关系密切,成高度正相关;性别差异对数学学习自我效能感的影响无显著性差异;与父母的文化程度关系密切,家长受过高等教育的孩子的数学学习自我效能感明显高于家长没有受过高等教育的孩子。     

医学院校高等数学教学方法的思考与改革

本文根据多年的教学实践,分析了医学院校高等数学教学中存在的问题,并提出和采用了相应的教学改革措施,提高了医用高等数学的课堂教学效果与质量。     

高等数学课程中实施创造性教学的思考和探索

运用创造性教学理论,阐述了高等数学课程中实施创造性教学的必要性,介绍了高等数学教学中实施创造性教学的一些基本做法。     

Utilising social networking sites to improve writing: a case study with Chinese students in Malaysia

With the advancement of technology, writing in English is no longer confined to the classroom as nowadays students are exposed to various forms of writing on the Internet. Specifically with Generation Y in mind, online writing is a new method that needs to be implemented to enhance Malaysian students’ writing skills. This article aims at identifying what motivates English as a Second Language students to write in English on Facebook. Ten Chinese-speaking students from a private urban school were selected for this study. These students had just started secondary education after being educated in Chinese-vernacular elementary schools for six years. The students were required to participate in an ongoing discussion on their Facebook class page in order to complete a writing task. Data for this study comprised both online discussions and interviews. The findings suggest that peer influence and school surroundings motivated the students to write better in English on Facebook. The findings also imply that the use of technology in writing tasks made students write better in English owing to the exchanges of feedback and ideas that took place through this social networking site.     

对数学学习中评价主体多元化的探讨

针对传统教育评价的弊端，本文从理论和具体操作层面上对《全日制义务教育阶段数学课程标准》提出的“评价主体多元化”的理念进行了探讨：数学学习中学生的自我评价、同学问的相互评价、家校合一评价以及实施多主体评价应注意的问题。     

Developing a communal identity as beginning teachers of mathematics: Emergence of an online community of practice

The aim of this study is to investigate how a community of practice focused on becoming a teacher of secondary school mathematics emerged during a pre-service teacher education programme and was sustained after students graduated and began their first year of full-time teaching in schools. Bulletin board discussions of one pre-service cohort are analysed in terms of Wenger’s (1998) three defining features of a community of practice: mutual engagement of participants, negotiation of a joint enterprise, and development of a shared repertoire for creating meaning. Emergence of the online community was associated with our own role in facilitating professional dialogue, the voluntary and unstructured nature of participation, initial face-to-face interaction that created familiarity and trust, and the convenience of using email rather than logging on to a website. The study shows that the emergent design of the community contributed to its sustainability in allowing the pre-service and beginning teachers to define their own professional goals and values.

课堂环境与学生学习表现的因果关系研究——一个基于数学课堂的前实验研究

本研究主要采用单组前后测的方法,对吉林省长春市某小学的两个数学课堂进行了前实验研究。研究者将课堂环境量表以及课堂观察的结果反馈给实验教师,并与实验教师一起讨论每个班级数学课堂环境的干预方案。经过将近一年的干预实验,研究者对比了课堂环境的改变前后,学生的数学学习表现的变化。结果发现,数学课堂环境的改变能够导致学生的数学学习态度、数学观、数学学习取向以及问题解决能力的积极变化。     

Building Bridges: Reflections on the problem of transfer of learning in mathematics

The takeup of opportunities for applying formal learning outside the school is often disappointing – to teachers, parents, employers, and many pupils. Not surprisingly, there is much controversy among researchers in mathematics education and related fields, as to the reasons. Here I argue that neither traditional nor constructivist views, with their simplistic faith in the basic continuity of knowledge across contexts, nor currently popular ‘insulationist’ views such as the strong form of situated cognition, which claims that transfer is basically not possible, are adequate. Instead, I analyse why transfer is problematical in principle, and undependable in practice. I recommend an alternative approach for building bridges between practices, based on analysing the discourses involved as systems of signs, and looking for appropriate points of inter-relation between them. In this reconceptualisation of the ‘problem’ of transfer, the role of affective factors, previously under-examined in the literature, is highlighted. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Blogging as a social medium in undergraduate courses: Sense of community best predictor of perceived learning

The purpose of the study was to examine pre-service teachers' sense of community, perception of collaborative learning, and perceived learning. Fifty pre-service teachers from two undergraduate ICT courses which incorporated blogs participated in this study. The data were obtained via three online questionnaires (Collaborative Learning scale, Sense of Community scale, and Perceived Learning scale) administered throughout Fall 2009-2010. The research questions were answered by using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated that the pre-service teachers had positive feelings about the collaborative learning and perceived learning; also, they had moderate feelings related to sense of community in the classes which incorporated blogs. Additionally, to a great extent sense of community and to a much lesser extent of computer knowledge level were the predictors of explaining their learning perceptions.     

Improving mathematics instruction through lesson study: a theoretical model and North American case

This article presents a theoretical model of lesson study, an approach to instructional improvement that originated in Japan. The theoretical model includes four lesson study features (investigation, planning, research lesson, and reflection) and three pathways through which lesson study improves instruction: changes in teachers’ knowledge and beliefs; changes in professional community; and changes in teaching–learning resources. The model thus suggests that development of teachers’ knowledge and professional community (not just improved lesson plans) are instructional improvement mechanisms within lesson study. The theoretical model is used to examine the “auditable trail” of data from a North American lesson study case, yielding evidence that the lesson study work affected each of the three pathways. We argue that the case provides an “existence proof” of the potential effectiveness of lesson study outside Japan. Limitations of the case are discussed, including (1) the nature of data available from the “auditable trail” and (2) generalizability to other lesson study efforts.

Engaging fans and the community in social media: interaction with institutions of higher education on Facebook

Although many universities use social media to interact with stakeholders, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Drawing on theories of self-presentation and community engagement, we develop a theoretical model to explain these crucial outcome factors. We then test the model based on secondary data from 159 universities. Our findings reveal the double-edged nature of community size: universities with a strong reputation tend to have more Facebook fans, but having many Facebook fans has detrimental effects on individual fan engagement. Furthermore, the frequency of updates is a crucial factor, as too frequent and too infrequent updates lead to lower levels of fan engagement. We discuss theoretical implications for online communities and derive implications for social media managers.