Associations Between Attitudes Towards Science and Children’s Evaluation of Information About Socioscientific Issues

Science educators are typically dismayed by the failure of students to use relevant scientific knowledge when reasoning about socioscientific issues. Except for the well-documented association between having more knowledge about a topic and a tendency to use that knowledge, the influences on students’ evaluation of information in socioscientific issues are not well understood. This study presents an initial investigation into the associations between upper elementary students’ attitudes towards science and their evaluation of information about a socioscientific issue. We surveyed the science attitudes of 49 sixth grade students and then asked them to evaluate information about a socioscientific issue (alternative energy use). Positive attitudes were associated with a more scientific approach to evaluating information in the task. When trying to make judgments, students with generally positive attitudes towards science were more likely to attend to scientific information than other sources. Scientific information, nonetheless, served a variety of socially oriented goals in students’ evaluations. These findings warrant further research on the relationship between science attitudes and reasoning about socioscientific issues and support the argument for connecting school science more clearly with everyday concerns.     

The reflection on the blackboard: student teacher self‐evaluation

A common aim of teacher education is to encourage prospective teachers to analyze carefully their instructional performance. Yet, research on teacher cognition heretofore has concentrated primarily on experienced teachers’ planning and instructional thinking. We need more information on how student teachers think about and engage in the evaluation of their teaching performance. This study used data from initial structured interviews to elicit student teachers’ self‐evaluation concerns and examined the student teachers’ journals, a final written self‐evalution, and tapes from post‐teaching interviews to create a profile of each student teacher's responses about self‐evaluation. In this paper I analyze the student teachers’ pre‐conceptions about success, examine their processes of self‐evaluation, and explore a conception of “interactive self‐evaluation.” I offer suggestions about the conditions that may enable student teachers to enhance their analytical processes.     

Adult higher education opportunities: An evaluation of sources of information

How do adults learn about higher education opportunities that are available to them? Few studies have investigated this question. The Institute for Communication Research study of the promotion of adult learning programs in the United States and the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education study of higher education opportunities for adults focused on the channels chosen by educational institutions for communicating information. This study investigates adult audiences' attentiveness and evaluation of various sources of information about opportunities for higher education. Generally, it was found that personal sources of information were evaluated more highly by adults interested in pursuing higher education than by those who were not interested. The evaluation of mass media information sources were not significantly different, however, between interested adults and not-interested adults.     

基于扎根理论的信息化课堂有效教学评价体系研究

国内外对于有效教学的评价在不同的时期,不同的学者都从不同的角度做了界定,文章基于扎根理论,采取自下而上的方法,选择国内外的10篇典型文献进行分析,整理出较为完善的有效教学评价体系,并基于此提出信息化课堂教学有效性的评价体系,以期为后续的研究提供可借鉴的思路。     

Read-Think-Aloud Protocols: A New Data-Source for Formative Evaluation

Traditional approaches to formative evaluation include one-to-one trials which provide some information about revisions that are needed in instructional materials, but typically fail to provide sufficient information about the learner's cognitive processing problems while studying the materials. Read-think-aloud methods are a viable alternative to traditional one-to-ones and provide valuable information about the learner's cognitive processing while reading instructional text. In this paper we describe the read-think-aloud method of formative evaluation and offer suggestions for its use.     

Teachers' source evaluation self‐efficacy predicts their use of relevant source features when evaluating the trustworthiness of web sources on special education

Building on prior research and theory concerning source evaluation and the role of self‐efficacy in the context of online learning, this study investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs about their capability to evaluate the trustworthiness of sources and their reliance on relevant source features when judging the trustworthiness of websites concerning special education. We constructed the Source Evaluation Self‐Efficacy Scale (SESES) and used the scores of 263 teachers on this measure to predict their reliance on source features related to the product and the producer of websites when evaluating their trustworthiness. Results showed that even after variance related to gender, age, domain knowledge and frequency of searching the Internet for special education information had been accounted for, teachers' source evaluation self‐efficacy beliefs uniquely predicted their self‐reported use of information about websites' products and producers when judging their trustworthiness. Thus, this research applies self‐efficacy theory and research to a new area and contributes to the burgeoning literature on source evaluation within both reading and information literacy.     

Cognitive reality of multidimensional information processing in knowledge assessment by experts

Two experiments were designed in order to examine the knowledge assessment task accomplished by French teachers assessing essays written by French native secondary school students. The focus of the study bears on the potentially multidimensional nature of the processing of evaluation cues. In the experimental conditions conventionally designed to test multidimensional evaluation models or techniques, information about each object to be evaluated (and hence, the dimensions along which objects are compared with each other) are explicitly provided to the subject from some external source. The experiments presented here were aimed at studying information processing by experts performing an evaluation task in which the experts themselves are required to: (i) define the relevant dimensions to be used in the evaluation and (ii) elaborate the necessary information about each of those dimensions for each object (in this case, native language essays). The question is to find out whether or not the information processing carried out by such subjects is multidimensional. If evaluators do in fact perform multidimensional processing of information, this implies not only that evaluation cues belong to differentiated classes (Experiment 1), but also that cues belonging to the same class are processed with respect to each other before being processed with respect to cues of another class (Experiment 2). The results obtained here support that conclusion. Both experiments used the self-paced display paradigm. Subjects were presented with segments of text on a computer screen, and the display time for each segment was recorded. Random coloration of errors belonging to three evaluator-defined classes was found to increase display time on the corresponding segments.     

Pre-service and in-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning chemistry in Turkey

This paper describes beliefs held about teaching and learning chemistry by Turkish teachers and student-teachers. The study investigated different aspects of pre-service and in-service teachers’ belief structures. Part of the study examined teachers’ overall beliefs, based on participants’ drawings of classroom situations. A qualitative evaluation was employed to offer information on (student-)teachers’ beliefs about classroom organisation, their beliefs about teaching objectives, and their stance on epistemological beliefs. Beliefs ranged from very traditional, teacher-centred ideas to modern, student-centred ones. Data evaluation was triangulated using a quantitative approach, which focused on whether beliefs were characterised by either teacher-centredness or learner-centredness. Additionally, a Likert questionnaire was used to evaluate the educators` beliefs about the nature of good education. The results for the group of participants are presented and compared. Implications for chemistry teacher education in Turkey will also be addressed.     

国外网站易访问性研究综述

网站易访问性是残疾人群和老年人群通过互联网(Internet)获取信息和进行学习的必要条件,在国际上网站易访问性的研究已经成为网站设计、开发、评价和维护的热点。本文介绍网站易访问性的相关概念和国外网站易访问性的相关法律、易访问性设计、评价标准,以期在我国网站设计和开发中引起重视。     

中小学网站信息框架评价法的探索

围绕网站评价方法之一的网站信息框架评价法,在分析既有网站信息评价框架的基础上,综合各方面因素,提出了一个新的较为合理的中小学教育网站信息评价框架,并在实际的网站评价中,针对如何运用此框架给出解析。     

Epistemic metacognition in context: evaluating and learning online information

This study examined epistemic metacognition as a reflective activity about knowledge and knowing in the context of online information searching on the Web, and whether it was related to prior knowledge on the topic, study approach, and domain-specific beliefs about science. In addition, we investigated whether Internet-based learning was influenced by epistemic metacognition and the individual differences examined. Seventy 8th grade students were interviewed retrospectively after searching for online information about the scientifically controversial topic of dinosaur extinction. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed. Findings showed that participants expressed reflections about the simplicity/complexity, certainty/uncertainty, source, and justification of knowledge at different levels of sophistication, according to three patterns of epistemic metacognition. Prior knowledge was not related to epistemic metacognition in the search context, while study approach and epistemic beliefs about science were associated significantly, although modestly, with aspects of online knowledge evaluation. Moreover, findings revealed that Internet-based learning was influenced by overall science-related epistemic beliefs. Learning from Internet sources was also affected by study approach and epistemic reflections about the justification of online knowledge, as well as by the interaction between beliefs about the justification of scientific knowledge and beliefs about the justification of the knowledge accessed concerning the topic.     

南开大学学生评教工作的开展及有效性研究

本文介绍了近4年来南开大学基于学生信息员队伍的学生评教工作开展的基本情况、多元机制和评教信息反馈模式,同时论述了通过学生信息员工作进行随堂评教的有效性及其在促进学校教学质量提升方面的意义。针对学校进一步推进学生评教工作,让学生参与学校教学管理工作,充分发挥其在教学质量监控体系中的重要作用,本文提出了几点建议。     

群体性事件中政府信息公开问题研究

在对群体性事件和政府信息公开的概念进行界定的基础上,探讨群体性事件中政府信息公开的重要性,可知我国群体性事件中政府信息公开存在诸如"被动公开"和"信息失真"现象比较严重、缺乏完善的法律保障、缺乏统一的信息管理机制、缺乏合理的评估与问责机制等问题。针对这些问题,应转变政府行政观念,增强信息公开的主动性与真实性;加强立法工作,完善相关法律法规;统一信息发布口径,建设完善的信息管理机制;开展信息公开评估,建立信息公开问责与监督机制。     

Inferring Student Learning Behaviour from Website Interactions: A Usage Analysis

Web-based learning environments are now used extensively as integral components of course delivery in tertiary education. To provide an effective learning environment, it is important that educators understand how these environments are used by their students. In conventional teaching environments educators are able to obtain feedback on student learning experiences in face-to-face interactions with their students, enabling continual evaluation of their teaching programs. However, when students work in electronic environments, this informal monitoring is not possible; educators must look for other ways to attain this information. Capturing and recording student interactions with a website provides a rich source of information from data that is gathered unobtrusively. The aim of this study was firstly to explore what information can be gained from analysing student interactions with Web-based learning environments and secondly to determine the value of this process in providing information about student learning behaviours and learning outcomes. This study has provided critical information to educators about the learning behaviour of their students, informing future enhancements and developments to a courseware website and the teaching program it supports.     

城市土地集约利用潜力评价信息系统的研究与构建

介绍了城市土地集约利用潜力评价的技术方法,对城市土地集约利用潜力评价信息系统图形平台的选择、架构设计、功能设计及系统的实现等进行了研究.     

Guidelines to practical impact evaluation

This article is about impact evaluation. A case study of a workshop in health education/promotion is described in which an impact evaluation was included in the initial planning stage of the workshop and carried out six months after the work-shop. Workshop directors and sponsors of continuing education programs are keenly interested in how workshop experiences and materials are used to enhance participants' performance back on the job. Workshop directors are frequently too busy to carry out impact evaluations. Guidelines for conducting valid evaluations are needed.The present study was conducted to determine the extent to which the participants followed through on their own plans which were written out on the last day of the workshop. Results indicated that the materials, information and strategies included in the workshop were used and most participants implemented their plans to a moderate or great extent. The survey also yielded information and participant preferences useful in planning future workshops.     

运用“增值”评量指标评估学校表现

运用“增值”评量方法能增强学校效能评估的效度,同时也为教育评估提供了有关的新理念。进行“增值”评量时,有必要收集学生的学习成绩、学生的学习能力基线、学校背景和情境信息、学校教育环境信息等。在研究学校效能的领域里比较常用的几种统计分析方法各有其优缺点。为得到学校的真实情况,需要分析不同类型“增值”评量指标。有关人员需了解“增值”评量方法的局限性,以做到有效使用。一个旨在促进学校评价方法创新和学校教学质量提高的中一英合作“增值”评量试验项目正在中国进行。     

外语期刊高被引论文的统计分析——以《中国科技翻译》为例

论文被引频次是学术评价的重要指标。统计学术期刊高被引论文的频次,可以客观地了解期刊论文的基本情况,选题分布和吸引力,作者队伍建设,以及期刊和论文影响力的辐射范围。统计数据还可以为期刊办刊、作者投稿、编辑审稿提供有益的参考。     

基于AHP的信息技术与课程整合教学能力评价

随着以计算机和网络为标志的信息技术的发展,信息技术辅导教学越来越凸显其优越性,信息技术与课程的有机整合,关键是教师,并对教师的教学能力提出了挑战。本文提出应用层次分析法(AHP)建立教师信息技术与课程整合教学能力评价模型的设想,详细阐述了AHP在评价模型构建中的具体应用,为目前教师信息技术与课程整合教学能力评价提供一种实用而有效的方法。