Ways students read texts

College students responding to the Preferred Method of Study (PMOS) questionnaire explained how they approach reading a new textbook chapter for comprehension. Results indicated that a significant positive correlation exists between the number of passes a student makes at new textbook material and his/her college grade-point average. Women showed a significant preference for adopting a single method of study. Less than half of the students queried construct “organizational tools” such as outlines or diagrams as they study a textbook. Students said they would alter their textbook strategies in response to the type of test they expected significantly more often than they would for the type of subject matter being studied. Only 6% of the students said they make a conscious effort to link the new concepts in the text to prior knowledge. There was no discernable relationship between the study strategies undergraduate college students employ and their college grade level (freshman through senior).     

Comparison of traditional methods with 3D computer models in the instruction of hepatobiliary anatomy

This study was designed to determine whether an interactive three-dimensional presentation depicting liver and biliary anatomy is more effective for teaching medical students than a traditional textbook format presentation of the same material. Forty-six medical students volunteered for participation in this study. Baseline demographic information, spatial ability, and knowledge of relevant anatomy were measured. Participants were randomized into two groups and presented with a computer-based interactive learning module comprised of animations and still images to highlight various anatomical structures (3D group), or a computer-based text document containing the same images and text without animation or interactive features (2D group). Following each teaching module, students completed a satisfaction survey and nine-item anatomic knowledge post-test. The 3D group scored higher on the post-test than the 2D group, with a mean score of 74% and 64%, respectively; however, when baseline differences in pretest scores were accounted for, this difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.33). Spatial ability did not statistically significantly correlate with post-test scores for the 3D group or the 2D group. In the post-test satisfaction survey the 3D group expressed a statistically significantly higher overall satisfaction rating compared to students in the 2D control group (4.5 versus 3.7 out of 5, P = 0.02). While the interactive 3D multimedia module received higher satisfaction ratings from students, it neither enhanced nor inhibited learning of complex hepatobiliary anatomy compared to an informationally equivalent traditional textbook style approach. .     

Effect of format on learning disabled and non-learning disabled students' performance on a hands-on science assessment

Students with learning disabilities often perform poorly on multiple-choice tests that emphasize recall and factual knowledge. This study compared the effect of two alternative assessmentsa constructed diagram test and a written questionnaireon fourth-grade learning disabled (LD) and non-learning disabled (Non-LD) students' learning. As part of a larger investigation of different approaches to hands-on science learning, 172 students (including 33 LD students) in six urban and two suburban classrooms participated in the study. Results indicate that students' assessment outcomes are a function of learner status (LD, low, average and high achieving) and level of domain specific knowledge after instruction. After controlling for domain specific knowledge, students with LD, and low and average achieving students obtained higher scores on the constructed diagram test than on the questionnaire. High achieving students were not sensitive to format differences, performing comparably on the two measures. The facilitative effect of the diagram format may have been due to differences in the primary symbol systems (graphic vs. text) and the openness of the response format (constrained vs. open) of the constructed diagram and questionnaire, respectively.     

Content,format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.     

美国两部汉语教材的对比分析——《中文天地》和《新实用汉语课本》

《中文天地》是美国Prentice Hall公司出版的供大学中文选修课使用的一部教材,可供大学一年级和二年级使用,一年级部分在2010年1月出版了第2版,新版教材很好地体现了美国的5C外语教学目标和一些新的教学理念。文章同时选取另一部国内编写的供美国大学使用的零起点汉语教材——《新实用汉语课本》,对两部教材的大学一年级使用部分进行比较分析。内容包括：（1）配套资源;（2）课本的结构与编排,包括全书的编排体例及每一课的结构;（3）课文形式,包括课文出现形式和注释形式;（4）语法形式,包括语法点说明和例句出现形式;（5）生词,包括生词注释形式、生词数量等;（6）练习形式,对课本和练习册的练习类型及数量进行统计;（7）文化的呈现方式及与课文的关系;（8）版式和装帧设计;（9）汉字教学。这九项内容都具体体现出教材编写者的语言教学理念,反映出编写者的语言教学目标。从分析结果中我们可以看出教材编写者的教学目标和教学理念,以及这些观点在教材中的具体表现。     

Utilization of Illustrations during Learning of Science Textbook Passages among Low- and High-Ability Children

Effects of illustrations on learning authentic textbook materials were studied among 10-year-old elementary school children of high and low intellectual ability. Experiment 1 showed that the presence of illustrations improved learning of illustrated text content, but not that of nonillustrated text content. Comprehension scores were improved by the presence of illustrations for high-ability children, but not for low-ability children. In Experiment 2, children's eye movements were measured during learning of illustrated textbook passages to study how children divide their attention between text and illustrations. The results suggest that learning is heavily driven by the text and that children inspect illustrations only minimally. High-ability students were more strategic in processing in the sense that they spent relatively more time on pertinent segments of text and illustrations. It is concluded that the learning of illustrated science textbook materials involves requirements that may be more readily met by more intellectually capable students. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

The limited benefits of rereading educational texts

Though rereading is a study method commonly used by students, theoretical disagreement exists regarding whether rereading a text significantly enhances the representation and retention of the text’s contents. In four experiments, we evaluated the effectiveness of rereading relative to a single reading in a context paralleling that faced by students in the classroom. Participants read educational texts (textbook chapters or a Scientific American article) under intentional learning instructions. Learning and memory were tested with educationally relevant summative assessments (multiple choice, short-answer questions, and text summaries). With only several exceptions, rereading did not significantly increase performance on the assessments. We also found that reading comprehension ability did not alter this pattern. It appears that when using ecologically valid materials such as a textbook chapter, immediate rereading may have little or no benefit for improving performance on educationally relevant summative assessments.     

聋校人教社新版语文教科书有关劳动教育内容的分析

语文教科书承载着丰富的劳动教育资源。本研究通过对不同版本语文教科书进行内容分析发现,聋校人教社新版教科书的劳动教育内容有以下特点:(1)在旧版基础上精简了劳动要素,加强了对劳动精神品质的关注,优化了内容的呈现方式;(2)劳动价值主题与普校教科书一致,且安排了部分相同选文;(3)劳动要素多于普校教科书、尤其重视生活劳动和服务劳动,选读篇目多、内容直观性强、淡化了思辨深度,符合聋生的特殊学情。     

How Effective is Example Generation for Learning Declarative Concepts?

Declarative concepts (i.e., key terms and corresponding definitions for abstract concepts) represent foundational knowledge that students learn in many content domains. Thus, investigating techniques to enhance concept learning is of critical importance. Various theoretical accounts support the expectation that example generation will serve this purpose, but few studies have examined the efficacy of this technique. We conducted three experiments involving 487 undergraduates to investigate the effects of example generation on concept learning and examined factors that may moderate its effectiveness. Students read a short text that introduced eight concepts. Some students were then prompted to generate concrete examples of each concept followed by definition restudy, whereas others only restudied definitions for the same amount of time. Two days later, students completed final tests involving example generation and definition cued recall. Meta-analytic outcomes indicated that example generation yields moderate improvements in learning of declarative concepts, relative to restudy only. Each experiment also included additional groups to investigate potential moderators. Example generation tended to be more effective with spaced versus massed restudy. Despite strong correlations between the quality of examples generated during practice and final test performance, experimental manipulations that improved example quality did not improve learning. In sum, the current work establishes that example generation enhances concept learning and provides an important foundation for further investigating factors that moderate its benefits to learning.     

Textbook treatments and students' understanding of acceleration

A single science textbook often provides the syllabus for courses at upper secondary and tertiary levels, and may be used as a principal source of information or explanation. The research reported in this article challenges such practices. The ways in which the concept, acceleration, is treated in physics textbooks is compared with understandings of the concept demonstrated by final-year secondary (Year 12) and first-year university students. Some students' understandings are shown to be incomplete in ways that parallel misleading or inaccurate textbook treatments of the concept. In addition to misleading or inaccurate statements, the limitations of some textbook treatments of acceleration were found to include: lack of attempts to make explicit relationships with other concepts, failure to point out when it is appropriate to use particular definitions or that an alternative definition might be more appropriate in specific situations, inclusion of operational definitions without conceptual explanations, and a focus on quantitative treatments while overlooking the development of qualitative understanding. Two principal aspects that distinguished the ways in which the students understood acceleration were identified: (a) the relation between acceleration and velocity; and (b) the relation between acceleration and force(s). The results of the study have implications for teaching and, in particular, for the use of textbooks in teaching. These implications are discussed in the article.     

评“马克思主义理论研究和建设工程”重点教材《政治学概论》

"马克思主义理论研究和建设工程"重点教材《政治学概论》确立和突出了马克思主义指导地位和作用,是马克思主义中国化的优秀成果。这部教材注重阐释政治学的基本概念和理论,为大学生搭建了完整的知识体系。但是该教材在内容和论述的方法上仍有值得商榷的地方。在一些章节中回避了西方政治学家在该领域内开拓性的成果,同时在论述方法中缺乏实例,理论表达略显枯燥。     

Teaching and learning the concept of chemical bonding

Chemical bonding is one of the key and basic concepts in chemistry. The learning of many of the concepts taught in chemistry, in both secondary schools as well as in the colleges, is dependent upon understanding fundamental ideas related to chemical bonding. Nevertheless, the concept is perceived by teachers, as well as by learners, as difficult, with teaching commonly leading to students developing misconceptions. Many of these misconceptions result from over‐simplified models used in text books, by the use of traditional pedagogy that presents a rather limited and sometimes incorrect picture of the issues related to chemical bonding and by assessments of students' achievement that influence the way the topic is taught. In addition, there are discrepancies between scientists regarding key definitions in the topic and the most appropriate models to teach it. In particular, teaching models that are intended to have transitional epistemological value in introducing abstract ideas are often instead understood by students as accounts of ontological reality. In this review paper we provide science educators, curricula developers and pre‐service and in‐service professional development providers an up‐to‐date picture regarding research and developments in teaching about chemical bonding. We review the external and internal variables that might lead to misconceptions and the problematic issue of using limited teaching/learning models. Finally, we review the approaches to teaching the concept that might overcome some of these misconceptions.     

概念地图在地理教学中的应用

本文介绍了概念地图的定义、要素和类型,以及概念地图绘制的主要方法和基本步骤,并结合新地理课程标准和人教版教材的相关教学内容,以具体的教学案例,论述了巧妙利用概念地图来组织教学过程,优化中学地理教学,发挥其在帮助学生识别和记忆相关概念,加深学生对基础理论的理解和掌握,促进提高学生的探究意识和学习能力等方面的积极作用。     

苏教版语文教材“活动体验”课程设计述评

从教材编制和教学实践两方面对苏教版语文教材＂活动体验课＂提出：在教材编制中存在着选文不当、概念模糊、知识缺席三个问题;针对不同人对＂活动＂的理解,笔者作出了自己的思考,并且结合相关的案例作了剖析;结合《美国语文》相关活动课程的设计,指出了活动课教材编制应该注意的问题。     

Academic essay writing as imitative problem solving: examples from distance learning

Students in tertiary education are often faced with the prospect of writing an essay on a topic they know nothing about in advance. In distance learning institutions, essays are a common method of assessment in the UK, and specified course texts remain the main sources of information the students have. How do students use a source text to construct an essay? The present paper presents a methodology for mapping the source text on to the finished student essay. The underlying assumption is that students are using a form of imitative problem solving when faced with the complex task of writing an essay. Twenty-two essays written by Open University students in the UK, based on three different questions, were analysed on the basis of the order in which novel concepts were introduced and the extent to which this order mirrored that of the source textbook. Correlations were then carried out between the structure of the essay, the structure of the source text and the eventual grade awarded. The average correlation for all three essays and source texts was 0.8, with some individual essays having a correlation of 0.98, demonstrating that the students were closely imitating the argument structure of the source text.     

Which Technique is most Effective for Learning Declarative Concepts—Provided Examples,Generated Examples,or Both?

Students in many courses are commonly expected to learn declarative concepts, which are abstract concepts denoted by key terms with short definitions that can be applied to a variety of scenarios as reported by Rawson et al. (Educational Psychology Review 27:483–504, 2015). Given that declarative concepts are common and foundational in many courses, an important question arises: What are the most effective techniques for learning declarative concepts? The current research competitively evaluated the effectiveness of various example-based learning techniques for learning declarative concepts, with respect to both long-term learning and efficiency during study. In experiment 1, students at a large, Midwestern university were asked to learn 10 declarative concepts in social psychology by studying provided examples (instances of concepts that are provided to students illustrate how the concept can be applied), generating examples (instances of concepts that the student generates on his or her own to practice applying the concept), or by receiving a combination of alternating provided examples and generated examples. Two days later, students completed final tests (an example classification test and a definition cued recall test). Experiment 2 replicated and extended findings from experiment 1. The extension group was a variation of the combination group, in which participants were simultaneously presented with a provided example while generating an example. In both experiments, long-term learning and study efficiency were greater following the study of provided examples relative to the other example-based learning techniques.     

Computer simulation and concept development in students of genetics

Conclusion Computer simulations in genetics have the potential to complement laboratory activities and to act as an adjunct to the use of traditional sets of problems. In these roles, simulations such as CATLAB, generate qualitative changes in the learning experiences of students. For example, the simulated breeding experiment may be repeated and strategies modified without regard of the time and management constraints associated with actual laboratory experimentation; problem-solving may involve active data generation, in contrast to the style of textbook problems. This study showed that students reported a favourable attitude to CATLAB and that their use of the program lead to meaningful learning. The cognitive gains made by the student group encompassed both genetic concepts and processes. The scope for use of computer simulations as an adjunct to, or in some cases even replacement of traditional activities, and for an analysis of their impact is considerable.     

A content analysis of the presentation of the mole concept in chemistry textbooks

The goal of this study was to examine the means used by textbook authors to introduce, define, and explain the mole concept in high school and introductory college chemistry textbooks. The analysis was framed by four questions:

• 1 How is the mole defined?
• 2 What concepts about the atom are introduced prior to the mole?
• 3 Is Avogadro's constant presented as an experimentally determined value?
• 4 What is the context for introducing the mole?

Twenty-nine high school and introductory college level chemistry texts were examined. After independent reading of appropriate sections of each text, discussion of differences, second or third readings of texts, and subsequent discussions, both authors reach 100% agreement concerning the results. Major conclusions were

• 1 Two ways of defining the mole dominate the texts. One way defines the mole as Avogadro's number (6.02 × 10²³) particles; the other method defines the mole in terms of carbon-12.
• 2 All texts that present a definition in terms of C-12 introduce and define concepts about the atom prior to introducing the mole.
• 3 Most texts at all levels point out that the value 6.02 × 10²³ is an experimentally determined quantity.
• 4 Nearly all texts discuss the mole in relation to die problem of finding a way to count particles that are too small to be directly weighed. Most texts also use a familiar counting unit, such as the dozen, to introduce the mole by analogy.

Four issues were discussed: (a) the defining attributes of the mole concept itself and the cognitive requirements for comprehending the two most frequently used definitions; (b) the connection between the definition of the mole presented in the text and the concepts about atoms that are introduced before the mole concept is developed; (c) the experimental nature of Avogadro's number; and (d) the context or setting for developing the mole concept.     

智能型数字教材系统的核心理念和技术实现

教材是实现教育目标的重要工具和核心资源。它的载体经历了从纸媒到电子介质,再到基于电子介质的教学资源集成的过程,并逐渐走向富媒体化和平台化,下一代数字教材将朝开放、个性化、社群化和智能化方向演进,智能型数字教材系统应运而生。本文通过文献研究法、实证研究法、软件工程法,厘清了智能型数字教材系统的概念、特征及其现实意义,并从知识结构图谱化、资源组织系统化、学习数据可视化、学习管理智能化四个维度提出了智能型数字教材系统的核心理念,提出了融入学习模型、教学策略模型、学习者画像和知识图谱四个核心组件的智能型数字教材系统的技术实现路径及其推进机制,以支撑不同学科教师和不同学习者的自适应学习服务需求,将教材的解读弱中介化,促进教育公平和学生学习效能的提升,以期引发教育教学模式和教育供给方式的大变革。     

Electronic Versus Print Textbooks: The Influence of Textbook Format on University Students’ Self-Regulated Learning Strategies,Motivation, and Text Anxiety

Because a majority of university students do not regularly read course textbooks, a study was conducted to determine if portable electronic textbooks (e-textbooks) would increase university student motivation to read by enhancing cognitive learning strategies and self-regulation of learning. The participants included 538 university students who self-chose to use either a print or e-textbook throughout the semester. The dependent variables self-efficacy, intrinsic value, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, and text anxiety were measured in each of two groups of participants using the Technology Confidences and Attitudes scale and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in the students’ MSLQ scores based on their choice of textbook format. These results imply that students who use e-textbooks are more likely to use cognitive and self-regulation strategies than students who use traditional print textbooks in their courses.