Logical connectives in science: Some preliminary findings

Logical connectives are words or phrases which serve as links between sentences, or between propositions within a sentence, or between a proposition and a concept. The Logical Connectives in Science Project has identified about 200 such terms commonly use in school science text material, and has prepared over a thousand test items in order to measure secondary school students’ comprehension of these terms. The primary aim of the research is to identify students’ specific difficulties; a secondary aim is to explore the relationships between students’ ability to comprehend logical connectives and other variables of interest to educational researchers. The research is still in progress; the present paper reports on recent work in four areas: (1) early findings on pupils’ difficulties with logical connectives, based on data obtained from the trial testing of the items; (2) the relationship between logical connective ability (LCA) and socio-economic status (SES); (3) the relationship between LCA and cognitive preferences; and (4) the relationship between LCA and attitudes to a textbook (PSSC Physics) which makes extensive use of a wide range of logical connectives. Significant correlations were found between LCA and SES; however, LCA was found to be uncorrelated with either cognitive preferences or with attitudes to the PSSC text.     

Palestinian science teachers' epistemological beliefs: A preliminary survey

The purpose of the study was to determine what percentage of Palestinian science teachers held beliefs about knowledge and learning that are congruent with the recent constructivist/conceptual change epistemological basis of science education, what factors influence these beliefs, and if the beliefs about knowledge and learning were related. Two questionnaires were developed to probe teachers' beliefs in these two areas, and a sample consisting of 91 teachers with varying educational background and teaching levels responded to these questionnaires. The study showed that only a small percentage of Palestinian teachers subscribed to the recent views of learning and scientific knowledge (25% and nine percent respectively). With regard to the views of learning, this was mainly due to very few teachers believing or realising that students hold alternative preconceptions and that science learning entails conceptual change. Very few teachers also believed that science itself develops through conceptual change. Indeed, more than 80% believed that science develops through accretion and about 40% preferred the inductive model of science to the hypothetico-deductive one which only 11% preferred. It was found that these views were not related to the teachers' years of schooling, years of experience, level at which they taught, or teacher specialisation. The two views of learning and knowledge were moderately related. The results and implications for future studies are discussed.     

Cognitive style and achievement in science: A report from a developing society

This study investigated the effect of cognitive style, instructional mode and sex on students' achievement in biology. A sample of 258 subjects were involved and the study used a Treatment (2) × Sex (2) × Cognitive style (3) Non-randomized Control Group Pre-test-Post-test Design. Data were collected with Biology Achievement Test (BAT), Aptitude Test and Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the data. The results show that subjects differed significantly in their post-test achievement scores on instructional mode and cognitive style factors. However, sex main effect was found not to be significant. It is interesting to note that the combined two-way interaction was significant. Of the three individual two-way interactions, instructional mode by sex, and instructional mode by cognitive style were significant. It is noteworthy that the three-way interactions were not significant. The results are discussed and their implications for effective biology instruction and consequently improved student achievement in biology especially in the Nigerian secondary schools are pointed out.     

Cross-national perspectives on the role of assessment in counselling: A preliminary report

This preliminary report examines the role of formal assessment in the counselling process from a cross-national perspective. Counsellors and counsellor-educators from twenty countries were surveyed to determine the extent to which they use formal assessment procedures in counselling and the types of assessment instruments being used. Results indicated that many, but not all, counsellors use assessment instruments. In non-North American countries, there is some tendency to use instruments developed in the North American context, with or without modifications to test content and norms. This preliminary study suggests a perceived need for development of culture-specific assessment tools, and the implications for counsellor training of developing counselling and assessment skills with cross-cultural relevance.     

南宁市青少年科技教育的调查研究报告

南宁市是广西壮族自治区首府，在民族地区具有代表性。本试图通过对南宁市青少年科技教育的调查研究，掌握实际情况，寻找问题和差距，并进行对策研究，探讨民族地区推进青少年科技教育的新路子，为实施南宁市的“科教兴市”战略尽些微薄之力。     

Logical language,natural strategies and the teaching of science

The role of formal logic in the development and investigation of science education is analysed. Firstly, the way in which teachers use language, logical and otherwise, is described and the necessary use of logical relations in the learning of abstract concepts and ideas is investigated. The conclusions drawn from the literature indicate that learners have great difficulty in comprehending the normal logic implied in ordinary words such as ‘because’ and ‘therefore’, and that the more difficult the context, the more likely it is that even the most common logical argument will be misunderstood. Less common logical words may be misunderstood by a majority of typical pupils in science lessons.

Secondly, the development of efficient cognitive processes in the context of science curricula is investigated. The conclusion drawn from literature describing experiments (rather than suggestions based more in philosophy) suggests strongly that formal logics probably have little to offer science educators. It is argued that until science teaching starts to base itself more on ‘natural strategies’, in much the same way as it is now looking seriously at ‘alternative frameworks’ as the basis for concept development, process development in science teaching will not seriously affect the ability of most pupils to solve either scientific or everyday problems more efficiently.     

Research in the Netherlands on a theory of child abuse: A preliminary report

A three-factor theory of child abuse has been developed which includes: (1) a high level of parental aggression; (2) a low level of parental inhibition of overt aggression; and (3) the focusing of parental aggression on the child. In the theory each factor is the outcome of a subfactor “path.” A high level of parental aggression is the outcome of seven subfactors. A low level of parental inhibition of overt aggression is the outcome of three subfactors. The focusing of parental aggression on the child is the outcome of ten subfactors. The theory posits that the type of child abuse that occurs is determined by the ratio of total parental aggression to total parental inhibition of overt aggression. High numerical values of the ratio result in battering. Lower numerical values result, in descending order, in non-organic failure to thrive, physical neglect and emotional abuse. The theory and 50 hypotheses derivable from it are being tested on a sample of 150 child-abuse families and 150 control families.     

Grief counseling training in counselor preparation programs in the United States: A preliminary report

A survey of counselor preparation programs was conducted to document the status of grief counseling training in the United States. Respondents gave their opinion about the importance of teaching grief counseling and their reasons for including/not including grief counseling in their curricula. Specific information about the manner in which grief counseling is currently being addressed in counselor preparation programs was also gathered. Results from 135 programs indicated that training in grief counseling is considered important by most respondents, most programs do address grief counseling, and grief counseling is taught primarily by infusing the topic into various courses. Class lecture/discussion was the most frequently reported method for teaching grief counseling. Suggestions for further research on grief counseling training are included.     

The informative process in medical care: A preliminary report with implications for instructional communication

This paper presents a summary of an on-giing research project concerned with doctor-patient communications. Of specific interest are doctors' communications of information about illness to the patient. The communication of information in medical care situations is considered to be, at certain levels, analogous to the purposive, instructional communications in education.Sociological considerations guiding this research are summarized under four headings: (1) problems of uncertainly and power; (2) the definition of information; (3) sociolinguistics and the diffidence of the sick poor; and, (4) ethnomethodology and common sense constructs. The doctor-patient relationship is viewed as a micro-political situation in which information control is used, at least in part, to maintain patterns of dominance and subordination.The overall methodological objective of this research is to develop a research design, linked to these research objectives, which allows reproducible and generalizable conclusions about the informative process in a variety of clinical settings. This preliminary paper includes a discussion of technical problems arising from the study of doctor-patient relationships and communications; preliminary results of studies of non-verbal communication; and, qualitative themes in the informative process.This report is based on Working Papers 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9, which were prepared as part of the research project, The Informative Process in Medical Care, sponsored by grants HS 01565 and 5F01HS54-957 from the National Center for Health Services Research, and by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at Stanford University. Portions of this report were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Clinical Scholars Program, Rye, NY, April 1975. Acknowledgments: W. Richard Scott has participated as Co-Principal Investigator of this research project. Elliot G. Mishler provided valuable critical advice. Sandra Chapek, June Fisher, Terence Fried, Alison Harlow, Viviane Nathan, Bonnie Obrig, and Beverly Russell also made important contributions.     

单侧检验的一个逻辑严密问题研究

假设检验有双侧检验和单侧检验之分,实际应用的过程中,通常把假设检验的实施流程化,而没有去深究实施流程逻辑上的严密性。文章研究了单侧检验中的这个逻辑问题,使得单侧检验的实施流程更加严密。     

Science educators' perceptions of problems facing science education: A report of five surveys

Five groups of science educators representing faculty at graduate institutions, graduate students, teachers, supervisors, and leadership conferees were surveyed concerning their perceptions of current problems facing science education. A total of 144 participants provided an average of 4.7 responses. The responses were tabulated using an emergent set of categories that resulted in six major groupings, i.e. conceptual, organizational, teacher; related, student-related, university, and societal. The category with the most problems identified was in the area of conceptual problems. University related problems and organizational problems were the next two most frequently mentioned categories for problems. Specific problems in all categories most often cited include the following:

• 1 confusion and uncertainty in goals and objectives;
• 2 lack of vision and leadership in schools and universities;
• 3 absence of a theoretical base for science education;
• 4 poor quality teacher education programs;
• 5 inappropriate avenues for continuing education of teachers;
• 6 limited dialogue between researchers and practitioners;
• 7 declining enrollments;
• 8 poor quality teaching and counseling;
• 9 insufficient programs in science for the wide spectrum of students; and
• 10 public and parental apathy towards science.

     

Factors that impede curriculum change: a preliminary report

The management of curriculum change in religious education is of interest to all who are concerned with a continuing pursuit of excellence in this curriculum area. Utilising a grounded theory approach, this paper describes some findings concerning the management of curriculum change in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia. It reports the perspective of religious education coordinators, who were responsible for managing a major change in the religious education curriculum in Catholic secondary schools. Emanating from a broader on‐going study, the report focuses on factors that the religious education coordinators felt impeded curriculum change.