中职英语分层教学的探索与实践

根据当前中职学生英语基础差,学生普遍厌学,教学效果不好的状况,在教学中,实施分层教学是必要的。具体方法是学生分层、教学目标分层、课堂教学分层、作业分层和考核分层。英语分层教学应注重以学生为主体,尊重个体差异和需求,以发展的眼光,激励学生,做到因材施教,让学生学有所得,享受成功的喜悦,从而树立学习英语的自信心,提高学习英语的兴趣。     

Book Review Section 2

A persistent belief in American culture is that males both outperform and have a higher inherent aptitude for mathematics than females. Using data from two school districts in two different states in the United States, this study used longitudinal multilevel modeling to examine whether overall performance on standardized as well as classroom tests reveals a gender difference in mathematics performance. The results suggest that both male and female students demonstrated the same growth trend in mathematics performance (as measured by standardized test scores) over time, but females' mathematics grade-point average is significantly higher than males. These results are discussed in the context of present day standardized assessment in the United States that may motivate teachers to focus on higher expectations for mathematics performance regardless of gender, thus challenging cultural beliefs that stigmatize mathematics as masculine in the United States.     

Exploring factors that improve mathematics achievement in Brunei

The low pass rate in Brunei Year 13 mathematics is a source of concern for many stakeholders. Success in mathematics is required for students wishing to attend university and pursue courses in the sciences and technology. Many different factors contribute to success and failure in mathematics. This field survey (N = 330 randomly selected Year 13 students representing 179 females and 151 males) determined the extent to which coping mechanisms, study strategies, learning styles, and self-efficacy were related to academic achievement in mathematics. Stepwise multiple regression analysis with backward elimination identified six statistically significant main effect variables with links to mathematics achievement (task-oriented coping, textbook reading, concentration, self-efficacy, time management, and activist learning style). Two-way interactions of the male and female genders with deep processing and reflector learning styles were also significantly associated with mathematics achievement. Other significant interaction variables were beneficial to both genders.     

Confidence: A better predictor of academic achievement than self-efficacy,self-concept and anxiety?

In this paper we report the results from a study that assessed confidence together with scales measuring self-belief – i.e., self-efficacy, different kinds of self-concepts, and anxiety – among the 15-year old students from Singapore. A distinct confidence factor was identified in the domains of mathematics (N = 1940) and English (N = 1786). Our results show that confidence is: a) a robust individual differences dimension; b) that can be combined with accuracy information to obtain bias scores that may be useful for group comparisons and for identification of misconceptions about particular topics. Confidence as studied in our work to date has been c) the best predictor of achievement in both mathematics and English; d) is related to both cognitive and self-belief measures; and e) it captures much of the predictive variance of other self-beliefs that are, in turn, among the best known predictors of achievement.     

浅谈成人公共英语教学中的分级教学

成人公共英语教学要遵循英语教学的客观规律，走素质教育之路。成人公共英语教学应采用分级教学，有利于因材施教，调动学生学习的积极性，适应时代发展的需要。     

Chinese students at an English-Language university: Prediction of academic performance

There is a paucity of systematic research on prediction of success at the tertiary education level for Asian students, despite the important role that universities play in Asian communities, and despite the increasing numbers of such students who are coming to the West to study. This study reviews evidence collected over the past ten to fifteen years, which relates to the issue of prediction of academic performance of Chinese students at an English-Language and Western-oriented university - the University of Hong Kong. This review is complemented by an analysis of data collected longitudinally over a five year period, using multiple regression, multiple correlation, path analysis and canonical correlation analyses. The results provide evidence of factors which are important in determining the ability of a student to adapt to the foreign cultural and language barriers that exist at this university. In particular, ability in English language and mathematics provides good and reasonably independent predictors of success. The data show the importance of considering the cultural background of students when assessing their aptitude for study, and offer information for Western universities regarding their admissions procedures for Chinese students.     

Recency of Secondary School Mathematical Preparation as an Influence on First-Year College Mathematics Achievement

Abstract

A random sample of four hundred college freshman mathematics students with comparable high school mathematical preparation was selected from 1,435 students. The test group included 126 members who had not attempted a mathematics course during their last year in high school, designated as Group N, and 263 members who had received mathematical credit during their last year, designated as Group Y. Statistical treatment of data for each group indicated that the SAT mathematical aptitude scores, CEEB (Level I) mathematical achievement scores, and achievement in first-year college mathematics courses was greater for Group Y at the .01 level of confidence. The achievement comparison was based on an analysis of covariance procedure with SAT Mathematical scores, CEEB Mathematical scores, and sex of student used as adjusting variables.     

Implementing Confidence Assessment in Low-Stakes,Formative Mathematics Assessments

Confidence assessment (CA) involves students stating alongside each of their answers a confidence rating (e.g. 0 low to 10 high) to express how certain they are that their answer is correct. Each student’s score is calculated as the sum of the confidence ratings on the items that they answered correctly, minus the sum of the confidence ratings on the items that they answered incorrectly; this scoring system is designed to incentivize students to give truthful confidence ratings. Previous research found that secondary-school mathematics students readily understood the negative-marking feature of a CA instrument used during one lesson, and that they were generally positive about the CA approach. This paper reports on a quasi-experimental trial of CA in four secondary-school mathematics lessons (N = 475 students) across time periods ranging from 3 weeks up to one academic year, compared to business-as-usual controls. A meta-analysis of the effect sizes across the four schools gave an aggregated Cohen’s d of –0.02 [95% CI –0.22, 0.19] and an overall Bayes Factor B₀₁ of 8.48. This indicated substantial evidence for the null hypothesis that there was no difference between the attainment gains of the intervention group and the control group, relative to the alternative hypothesis that the gains were different. I conclude that incorporating confidence assessment into low-stakes classroom mathematics formative assessments does not appear to be detrimental to students’ attainment, and I suggest reasons why a clear positive outcome was not obtained.

     

Encouraging mathematics participation through improved self-efficacy: a school counseling outcomes study

This article presents findings from a study investigating the effects of a middle school counseling intervention, using a specially designed curriculum, on participating students' attitudes, self-efficacy, and performance in mathematics. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test for main effects between condition and sex and condition x sex interaction effects on all outcome measures across 3 time points: pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. At pre-intervention, boys were significantly higher than girls on all variables except for performance in math. Models for growth indicated that students in the experimental group improved at a significant rate compared to girls in the control group on motivation, value, enjoyment, and confidence in mathematics. Implications of the findings are therefore particularly relevant for girls, who may benefit from interventions designed to increase their attitudes and self-efficacy for mathematics.     

浅析高职院校高等数学教学

由于高职学生数学基础普遍较差,高等数学教学面临很大的问题。解决这些问题的关键在于因材施教,关注不同学生、不同专业的需求。考虑到许多院校给高等数学安排课时量为两个学期,具体的教学可以采用以下策略。第一学期,依基础分班,制定不同的教学计划,安排不同的教学内容,让学生对重点知识都能理解并掌握;第二学期,根据各专业的要求,进行有针对性的数学教学,让学生主动投入学习,达到理想的教学效果。     

Online homework impact in undergraduate mathematics and business statistics courses

This evaluation examines the impact on student success rates related to changes in instructional programmes in undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses. Success for students taking courses with a computer-based homework component was compared with success of students who took the course in prior semesters without the computer-based component. Graphical and analytical tools are used to compare results. Results come from multiple semesters of each type of homework application, for both pre-calculus algebra and business statistics courses. Students whose performance is utilised in this study are undergraduate students taking introductory level college mathematics or business statistics courses, with mostly no prior instruction at this level. Comparing the success of the intervention group with the success of the baseline control group, findings support that the students using the computer-based homework instruction are just as successful as those using the traditional method of homework instruction. Utilising the online homework applications, provide several important advantages in today’s universities, including the reduced time for faculty grading, consistency of graded assignments across all sections of a course and most importantly, immediate feedback for students.     

On the Effectiveness of Pop-Up English Language Glossary Accommodations for EL Students in Large-Scale Assessments

This study examined the effectiveness and influence on validity of a computer-based pop-up English glossary accommodation for English learners (ELs) in grades 3 and 7. In a randomized controlled trial, we administered pop-up English glossaries with audio to students taking a statewide accountability English language arts (ELA) and mathematics assessments. As is typically found, EL students exhibited lower achievement scores than non-EL students in all portions of the test. The pop-up glossaries provided inconsistent benefit for EL students. There was some evidence that the pop-up English glossaries had a minimal inhibitory effect for 3rd-grade students on both the ELA and mathematics assessment. Furthermore, 7th-grade ELs also showed slightly inhibited performance when using the pop-up glossary on the mathematics assessment. However, 7th-grade EL students had a performance benefit when using the pop-up glossary on the ELA assessment. We discuss how increased cognitive load placed on younger students may play a role in diminishing performance when using pop-up glossaries. We explore potential explanations for the difference outcomes between mathematics and ELA in grade 7.     

少数民族学生英语学习成败归因的实证研究

提高少数民族学生英语水平一直都是预科英语教学中亟待解决的问题。本文以调查问卷作为研究的依据,以韦纳的成败归因作为研究的理论基础,阐述了成败归因与少数民族学生英语水平之间的关系,在对调查收集的数据运用SPSS（13.0）进行统计分析后,发现学习者更倾向于把学习成败归因于内部因素。在成功归因上,高水平学生比低水平学生更倾向归因于内部因素;在失败归因上,不同水平的学生并无显著差异。     

大学英语分班制教学模式的利与弊

分班制教学是对传统的以行政班级为单位进行英语教学的改革。将水平相当的学生划分在同一班级,更有利于教师因材施教,提高教学水平和教学效果。但同时也带来了一些负面影响,如使慢班的学生觉得低人一等,使其失去信心,丧失尊严等。因此,应采取一定的措施,如将分班教学改为分级教学,削减其负面影响,使这种教学改革真正达到对教与学都有利的目的。     

DEVELOPMENTAL MATHEMATICS: AN EX POST FACTO STUDY

Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) conducted a two‐year follow‐up of its developmental mathematics students. The students left a statistical path that led to some important implications about the efficiency of VWCC's program and that identified some variables and relationships that other developmental educators may want to investigate. Some major findings were: (1) Blacks and males enrolled in and failed developmental mathematics at significantly higher rates than whites and females. (2) Female instructors exhibited significantly higher pass rates than male instructors, and there appeared to be an interaction between the sex of the instructors and the sex of the students. (3) The developmental program effectively prepared its graduates for all of the college level mathematics courses except business mathematics. (4) The pass rates of the developmental teachers varied significantly, but there was no correlation between their pass rates and the college level success rates of their graduates.     

Effects of modularity,certification session and re-sits on examination performance

General Certificates of Secondary Education, known as GCSEs, are organised into modules which can be assessed at the end of the course (linear route) or at different points throughout the course (modular route). This research investigates students’ performance in English and mathematics in each assessment route and the effects of certification session and re-sits on examination outcomes using data from one English awarding body.

In mathematics, modular students performed better than linear students once prior attainment was accounted for. In contrast, modular assessment in English did not always lead to better performance. In the modular routes of English, students certificating early in the course were at a disadvantage compared to those certificating at the end. However, modular mathematics students obtained significantly better results in early sessions than at the end of the course. The benefits of re-sitting seemed clear, as most students performed better on their second attempt at a module than on their first. However, this did not often lead to an improvement on the module grade.     

How to Improve the English Listening of Higher Vocational Students

English Listening is process onward step by step.Teachers ought to pay attention to specific conditions in the choice of listening materials,teach students in accordance with their aptitude,and cover materials of different levels.Recognize and resolve the problems that hinder the improvement of English listening,develop students’ confidence and interest in English,and guide students to master the correct methods and techniques of English listening.     

Influence of Family Processes,Motivation, and Beliefs About Intelligence on Creative Problem Solving of Scientifically Talented Individuals

Predictive relationships among perceived family processes, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, incremental beliefs about intelligence, confidence in intelligence, and creative problem-solving practices in mathematics and science were examined. Participants were 733 scientifically talented Korean students in fourth through twelfth grades as well as 71 individuals in fifth grade, tenth grade, and former Korean Science Olympians. Across all students, perceived positive family processes directly predicted creative problem-solving practices in mathematics and science and were indirectly predicted through enhancing confidence in intelligence and intrinsic motivation, which, in turn, predicted students' creative problem solving in mathematics and science. Confidence in intelligence was the best predictor of creative problem solving for scientifically talented fifth- and tenth-grade students but not for Olympians. Alternative interpretations, the importance of confidence in intelligence for creative problem solving in mathematics and science, and educational implications are discussed.     

Effects of Metacognitive Skills and Nonverbal Ability on Academic Achievement of High School Pupils

Two experiments were conducted with senior high school pupils in the North‐West Province of South Africa to examine relationships of metacognitive strategies and nonverbal reasoning ability to their performance in tests of mathematics and English comprehension. The analyses of data revealed that both metacognitive ability and nonverbal reasoning ability have significant positive association with mathematics and English achievement scores. Significant sex differences in mathematics performance were also found. The findings of the two experiments suggested that some intervention programmes to teach metacognitive strategies to students, who lack such skills, may improve their academic attainment