Education, for Life： Important Content in College Course of Politics and Ideology

生命教育最早由美国学者杰·唐纳·华特士于1968年提出,其缘起于深刻的主客观背景。已经引起了世界各国的广泛关注。当前我国各高校不断出现的在校大学生自杀现象。引起人们的深思：生命教育有待加强。生命教育应是高校思想政治教育的重要内容。但当前高校思想政治教育活动和相关课程对其体现不足。对此,我们需要在思想政治教育过程中探索种种必要的补救措施,借以推动高校校园的和谐。促进社会稳定。     

Learning to become an intercultural practitioner： The case of lifelong learning intensive programme Interdisciplinary Course of Intercultural Competences

This paper dates back to 2009 （it was first presented at the CRLL Conference at Stirling University） and deals with the advances in lifelong learning introduced by an ERASMUS LLP--IP named Interdisciplinary Course of Intercultural Competences （ICIC）. The programme, that involves academic and non-academic institutions concerned with higher education of six different European countries, worked out an intensive international learning pathway aimed at developing intercultural competences in three professional fields： education, social work and health care. The paper focuses on the programme＇s innovative combination of formal and informal learning as a strategic lever to： （1） enhance a holistic concept of ＂competence＂ that puts human relationship at the centre of professional skills; （2） assume intercultural competences as key competences transversal to different professions; （3） introduce social skills and reflection as key factors for developing a transformative model of lifelong learning （Jarvis, 2005） that able to match the needs of the current complex, ever-changing societies; and （4） develop experiential learning without giving up to a strong theoretical framework of reference. The programme introduces an educational model that matches the main goals of higher educational priorities started by Bologna Process and relies upon a solid theoretical framework developed in the field of intercultural research at a sociological, socio-psychological and pedagogical level （Bennett, 1993; Gudykunst ＆ Ting, 2002; Camilleri ＆ Cohen, 1989; Hall, 1959; Hofstede 2001; Beck ＆ Grande, 2006; Farr, 1984）, as well as in one of the lifelong learning （Le Boteurf, 1997; Illeris, 2005; Jarvis, 2005; Schon, 1983）.     

The Use of Smartphones in Primary Education： Improving Arithmetic Calculations in Pre-service Primary Teacher Training

It is difficult for teachers to track student learning on a daily basis. However, the Intemet and new technologies that students use every day can make this much easier and more accessible. This article intends to make evident that using student response systems, such as Socrative and a smartphone, teachers can get more control of their students＇ pace of learning and their progress. Socrative is a very useful tool that helps teachers track student learning in real time. Socrative software can be downloaded on students＇ smartphones, tablets, or laptops and can facilitate online testing with immediate feedback and access to test results. Students receive immediate feedback as soon as they finish answering test questions. It can also promote cooperative learning when students work in groups discussing coursework. Use of the software can increase motivation, self-esteem, and understanding of concepts discussed in class.     

Assessing graduate attributes for employability in the context of lifelong learning： The holistic approach

To promote economic and personal growth, higher education students＇ employability, ensuring their preparedness for the workforce, is emphasized. From the employer＇s perspective, judging whether a graduate is employable depends upon whether the graduate exhibits the attributes which employers value. Yet, with the growing emphasis on lifelong learning, it is important for higher education to re-consider and reframe the development and assessment of attributes of graduates in the context of lifelong learning. In this paper, these attributes will be explored in that context, and the issue of how assessment helps the development of graduate attributes is to be considered. Student engagement is proposed in this paper as the holistic, useful approach for the development of employability and lifelong learning. The holistic approach reflects the fact that what is required in a workforce is not the acquisition of knowledge, skills and dispositions per se, but the capability to make an engagement through which knowledge, skills and dispositions are connected as a whole. The lack of emphasis on students＇ engagement could lead to mistakenly selecting as important for the focus of assessment simply the acquisition of skills, knowledge or dispositions, rather than the holistic connection of these to their application in the workforce.     

From lofty ideals to painful failures： Lessons from the rapid expansion of higher education in Taiwan

For the past few decades, many countries have been giving increasing stress on expanding their higher education system, in the belief that greater access to higher education will bring abundant rewards in the era of globalization and knowledge-based economies. Taiwan is no exception. Between 1986 and 2006, the government of Taiwan dramatically expanded the number of higher educational institutions from 28 to 147, expecting that this action would enhance educational equity and lead to greater economic prosperity. Popularization, however, does not necessarily result in equity. To be sure, the increase in the number of institutes of higher education in Taiwan has made it possible to accommodate almost all interested students. Yet, because the government has failed to make commensurate increases in public funding for higher education, the quality of university education in Taiwan has seriously deteriorated. Moreover, since many students from poor families still cannot afford the increasingly expensive cost of higher education, neither equity nor equality of opportunity has been achieved. In light of this phenomenon, this article focuses on： （1） describing the changes which Taiwan＇s higher education system has undergone over the past two decades; （2） examining the equity issues relating to higher education in Taiwan; and （3） putting forth some suggestions which Taiwan＇s policy makers can use to address the problems which have arisen as a result of the expansion of higher education.     

Determining Virtual Environment “Fit”: The Relationship Between Navigation Style in a Virtual Field Trip, Student Self-Reported Desire to Visit the Field Trip Site in the Real World, and the Purposes of Science Education

In this study, a follow-up analysis of the data reported in Lin et al. (Learn Media Technol. doi: 10.1080/17439884.2011.629660, 2011), we investigated the relationship between student use of a virtual field trip (VFT) system and the probability of students reporting wanting to visit the national park site upon which the VFT was modeled, controlling for content knowledge and prior visits to the park. Students who were able to navigate the VFT in teams were more likely than their peers who had the system demonstrated by a teacher to want to visit the national park. In addition, students with higher pre-intervention content knowledge were more likely to want to visit the national park than their peers with lower pre-test scores, in both the teacher demonstration and student co-navigation conditions.     

Making Connections： Values,Challenges and Successes in the Implementation of Eportfolios in Teacher Education at a Community College in New York City

This paper triangulates perspectives on reflective pedagogy （Yancey, 2009）, integrative learning （Eynon, 2009） and technology integration into learning and teaching （Wenzlaff, 1998） in order to connect the dots among a set of values, challenges and opportunities that concomitantly emerge from using eportfolios （electronic portfolios） in teacher education at BMCC （Borough of Manhattan Community College） in New York City. The aim of this paper is to share insights that could help to inform and encourage best practices across community colleges and other higher education institutions.     

Interdisciplinary education in comprehensive school： Can a deep understanding occur？

The authors investigate how disciplines at school. Interdisciplinarity can be addressing a topic that is too broad to be understanding of the topic, the process going an integrative approach can be applied to teaching of different defined as a process of answering a question, solving a problem or dealt with by a single discipline. In addition to an integrated on inside the learner interests the authors. Unsuspected abilities, development of new views of the world and new commitment may emerge. Constructivism and narration, together with the socio-cultural theory of learning, form the background of the teaching and learning processes. The curriculum will integrate between subjects and recommends work in small groups to develop students＇ social capacities. The collaborative problem-solving approach, while including telling and re-telling features, allows students of natural sciences to hypothesize and test hypotheses using scientific methods. The target audience of this paper is class teachers and subject teachers in comprehensive schools （Grades 1-9）. The research questions are： Do students that undergo integrative education work think and problem-solve in different ways compared to when partaking in standard instruction？ Can they develop a deep understanding of the topic they are studying？ The authors plan to present story re-telling and visualization activities in groups concerning one theme： eggs. The topic covers arts, foreign languages, mathematics and science. Such an approach strengthens students＇ understanding of the disciplines themselves. It is hoped that this work can be useful for teachers that are interested in giving their students a more holistic view of their life world.