“I am not simply learning and regurgitating information,I am also learning about myself”: learning portfolio practice and online distance students

This case study explored the experience of learning portfolio practice and whether learning portfolio practice facilitated the development of critical thinking skills among online distance students. Data were generated using the participant learning portfolio entries and two-time semi-structured interviews. Five themes were constructed in the data-led thematic analysis: being an online distance student, the experience of learning with a learning portfolio, my approach to learning, thinking critically in my learning portfolio, the sociology discipline context. Findings indicate that learning portfolio practice can enhance the nature of the learning experience by providing students with a personal space to evaluate their own learning, to process their thoughts and experience and to document their lives and learning in an authentic and meaningful way. The findings suggest that learning portfolio practice can facilitate the development of critical thinking skills within a disciplinary context.     

设计思维导向的开源硬件教学模式构建与应用研究

作为一种开放、智能、灵活的数字化学习工具,开源硬件是培养中小学生设计思维能力的重要载体。为了探索设计思维培养与开源硬件教学实践双向耦合的新路径,文章首先解析了设计思维概念内涵,对典型设计思维培养模型及特征进行分析,并将其解构为更具显性化操作意义的五大核心能力:换位思考、抽象定义、创意构想、原型迭代和迁移应用;其次,汲取设计型学习理论核心要义,借鉴“基于设计的双循环探究模型”,构建了设计思维导向的开源硬件教学模式,从“调查/探究”“设计/再设计”“反思”三个循环过程对其具体应用进行阐释;最后,以“智慧校园生活”为项目主题开展开源硬件教学实践,为新版高中信息技术课程标准中“开源硬件项目设计”模块的教学实施提供范例。     

基于同侪互评的在线学习评价研究综述

在线同侪互评是一种形成性评价策略。它通过学习者之间相互给予评分或反馈来改善学习成果,对学习者的学习成绩、态度及高阶思维能力等方面能够产生重要的影响。首先回顾了近10年来国际在线同侪互评的主要文献．从概念与内涵、程序与方法、系统与工具,以及效果与影响等四个方面综述了现有研究成果。而后,展望未来研究可能聚焦于：同侪互评与其他网络教学策略整合、同侪互评与教师评价结合运用、同侪评语分析等主题。     

The impact of system specifics on systems thinking

Present and future social and ecological challenges are complex both to understand and to attempt to solve. To comprehend the complex systems underlying these issues, students need systems thinking skills. However, in science education, a uniform delineation of systems thinking across contexts has yet to be established. While there seems to be consensus on a number of key skills from a theoretical perspective, it remains uncertain whether it is possible to distinguish levels of systems thinking, and if so, how they would be determined. In this study, we investigated the impact of the specifics of a system on the skills and levels of systems thinking. We administered a 36-item multiple-choice test to 196 Grade 5 and 6 students. For our analysis, we followed a quantitative approach, applying a systems thinking model that incorporates the latest insights on the levels and skills of systems thinking in geography to the context of ecology. By following an Item Response Theory approach, we confirmed a set of systems thinking skills that are necessary to understand complex systems in ecology: identifying system organization, analyzing system behavior, and system modeling. We examined whether individual skill levels can be distinguished to determine whether a system's general principle or system-specific features cause difficulty for students. Our results indicate that system specifics, such as type of relation within ecosystems (e.g., predator–prey), appear to determine the formation of levels. Students struggled most with the difference between basic, direct cause-and-effect relationships and indirect effects. Once they understood the relevance of indirect relationships in moderately complex systems, a further increase in complexity caused little additional difficulty. Accordingly, we suggest that systems thinking should be examined from a variety of perspectives. To promote interdisciplinary learning, a systems thinking model that defines key commonalities across fields while leaving space for system specifics is needed.     

人工智能教学中“知识建构、STEM、创客”三位一体教学模型的设计与应用

随着人工智能时代的到来,人工智能进学校、编程教育进课堂已上升为国家战略。设计有效的教学模型提升人工智能教学效果是当前的重要研究课题之一,培养具有创新能力的人才是当今教育的重要使命。文章以知识建构理论为核心,以STEM教育和创客教育为两翼,以项目学习为主线,对知识建构、STEM教育和创客教育三者的特征和关系进行梳理,将知识建构理论与STEM教育和创客教育进行有机融合,构建了“知识建构、STEM、创客”三位一体教学模型。在模型的基础上探讨了课程的教学模式和教学评价,以培养学生高阶思维能力和提升学生核心素养。该模型在中小学和高校人工智能教学中进行了探索实践,发现其有助于培养学习者的计算思维、编程思维和创新思维等高阶思维能力,能促进复合型和创新型人才的培养,能推动人工智能进学校、进课堂、进学生头脑的进程。     

Enhancing systems‐thinking skills with modelling

Systems thinking is an essential cognitive skill that enables individuals to develop an integrative understanding of a given subject at the conceptual and systemic level. Yet, systems thinking is not usually an innate skill. Helping students develop systems‐thinking skills warrants attention from educators. This paper describes a study examining the effects of utilising systems modelling as a cognitive tool in enhancing a group of graduate students' systems‐thinking skills. A significant improvement was observed in the systems‐thinking practises of the students. A theoretical rationale for enhancing systems‐thinking skills with modelling and the results of the study will be discussed.     

Education for future-oriented citizenship: implications for the education of twenty-first century competencies

Globalization and the knowledge economy have opened up worldwide agendas for national development. Following this is the emphasis on the social dimension, otherwise known as social capital. Much of social capital includes “soft skills” and “twenty-first century skills”, which broadly cover critical, creative and inventive thinking; information, interactive and communication skills; civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills. Proactively, the Singapore government is preparing for Curriculum 2015, a new curriculum that would develop student attributes, embedded in the “confident person”, “self-directed learner”, “active contributor”, and “concerned citizen”. Significantly, a new curricular initiative, Character and Citizenship Education, emphasizes the integrative nature of citizenship and twenty-first century competencies and has been implemented in all schools in Singapore from 2011. This future-oriented approach to citizenship education emphasizes the significance of individual initiatives and the intellectual capital of citizens. This paper analyses features of this particular approach to citizenship education, and its strengths and significance, which may be viewed as an integrative “total curriculum approach” with a “whole-society” perspective. In addition, the challenges of teaching twenty-first century skills will also be highlighted. This departs from the conventional paradigm of socialization, but to help students develop attributes for a future society to come.     

Critical thinking in education: a review

National governments and employers have argued that it is important for all sectors of education to prepare individuals who are able to think well and for themselves. 'Good thinking' and 'thinking well' are commonly used terms bound up with what is called 'critical thinking' in the research literature. Evidence is presented in this paper, however, which suggests that not all students may be good at critical thinking; nor do some teachers appear to teach students 'good thinking' skills. A review of the research literature in this area was undertaken and the methods and conceptions of teaching likely to inhibit and enhance critical thinking are outlined, as well as what is required to improve students' thinking skills. Ways forward in teaching critical thinking, and in helping students to learn to think well and for themselves, are described and discussed.     

Development of system thinking skills in the context of earth system education

The current study deals with the development of system thinking skills at the junior high school level. The sample population included about 50 eighth‐grade students from two different classes of an urban Israeli junior high school who studied an earth systems‐based curriculum that focused on the hydro cycle. The study addressed the following research questions: (a) Could the students deal with complex systems?; (b) What has influenced the students' ability to deal with system perception?; and (c) What are the relationship among the cognitive components of system thinking? The research combined qualitative and quantitative methods and involved various research tools, which were implemented in order to collect the data concerning the students' knowledge and understanding before, during, and following the learning process. The findings indicated that the development of system thinking in the context of the earth systems consists of several sequential stages arranged in a hierarchical structure. The cognitive skills that are developed in each stage serve as the basis for the development of the next higher‐order thinking skills. The research showed that in spite of the minimal initial system thinking abilities of the students most of them made some meaningful progress in their system thinking skills, and a third of them reached the highest level of system thinking in the context of the hydro cycle. Two main factors were found to be the source of the differential progress of the students: (a) the students' individual cognitive abilities, and (b) their level of involvement in the knowledge integration activities during their inquiry‐based learning both indoors and outdoors. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Meaningful Understanding and Systems Thinking in Organic Chemistry: Validating Measurement and Exploring Relationships

The purpose of this study was dual: First, to develop and validate assessment schemes for assessing 11th grade students’ meaningful understanding of organic chemistry concepts, as well as their systems thinking skills in the domain. Second, to explore the relationship between the two constructs of interest based on students’ performance on the applied assessment framework. For this purpose, (a) various types of objective assessment questions were developed and evaluated for assessing meaningful understanding, (b) a specific type of systemic assessment questions (SAQs) was developed and evaluated for assessing systems thinking skills, and (c) the association between students’ responses on the applied assessment schemes was explored. The results indicated that properly designed objective questions can effectively capture aspects of students’ meaningful understanding. It was also found that the SAQs can elicit systems thinking skills in the context of a formalistic systems thinking theoretical approach. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between students’ responses on the two assessment strategies. This research provides evidence that students’ systems thinking level within a science domain is significantly related to their meaningful understanding of relative science concepts.     

Becoming a Design Thinker: Assessing the Learning Process of Students in a Secondary Level Design Thinking Course

Design thinking is a collaborative problem solving and human‐centric approach that fosters innovation by elevating participants’ creative thinking abilities. Design thinking techniques and practices have been implemented into different curricula in secondary and post‐secondary education to address the need for new skills to be learned for the twenty‐first century. However, little work has been conducted to clarify how to evaluate the students’ design thinking skills gained in these courses. This study reports on a successful evaluation of an interaction design thinking curriculum in secondary level education. Several types of data sources, including participant observation, open‐ended questions and document analysis were employed to gather extensive data on students’ skills gained during the course. The results of the study inform design thinking researchers about how to evaluate design thinking skills of students in a secondary level design thinking course.     

Robotics and science literacy: Thinking skills,science process skills and systems understanding

This paper reports the results of a study of the relationship of robotics activity to the use of science literacy skills and the development of systems understanding in middle school students. Twenty‐six 11–12‐year‐olds (22 males and 4 females) attending an intensive robotics course offered at a summer camp for academically advanced students participated in the research. This study analyzes how students utilized thinking skills and science process skills characteristic of scientifically literate individuals to solve a robotics challenge. In addition, a pre/post test revealed that course participants increased their systems understanding, t (21) = 22.47, p < .05. It is argued that the affordances of the robotics environment coupled with a pedagogical approach emphasizing open‐ended, extended inquiry prompts the utilization of science literacy‐based thinking and science process skills and leads to increased systems understanding. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 373–394, 2008     

大学英语写作教学中创新能力的培养

英语写作一直是英语教学的重要组成部分,但长久以来,学生困于写作能力提高较慢,教师困于培养学生写作能力较难。本文通过对比成品写作法和过程写作法这两种写作教学法,提出在英语写作课堂中应培养学生的创造性思维能力,并指出培养创新性思维的方法,以提高学生的英语写作能力,促使学生成为真正的英语学习者。     

Design thinking in pedagogy: Frameworks and uses

New learning approaches are now required to meet changing needs and develop appropriate skills and capabilities, often addressed as 21st century skills. In the last decade, design thinking has gained in popularity in higher education. This article describes the design thinking approach, its principles and models, various design thinking tools and their application in pedagogy. It presents the findings of an international study evaluating the creation and implementation of a culture‐based blended‐learning course for adult learners who are developing their 21st century skills by applying innovative teaching/learning methodologies, such as case studies, webquests and design thinking tools. Two hundred and twenty‐seven learners participated in the course and responded to a questionnaire to evaluate the learning platform, the English course developed, the teaching/learning methodologies applied and the development of their 21st century skills applying innovative learning tools. The findings highlight the benefits of the design thinking approach to skills development and point to the impact of the course content and layout and certain design thinking tools applied in developing 21st century skills.     

关于高校逻辑教学改革的几点思考

逻辑学是一门关于思维的科学,作为高校的重要基础学科之一,它对于训练学生的思维能力、提高学生的思维素养具有重要作用。随着近几年高校教学改革的深化,逻辑学教学改革也面临着一些新的困境。为了让逻辑学教学能满足社会需要,逻辑学课程在高校基础课程中受到应有的重视,我们必须从教学内容、教学方法、师资队伍建设、教学考核方式等方面继续深化逻辑学教学改革,提高其教学实效性和针对性,以此来培养学生的思维素养,提高学生的认知能力、语言表达能力和创新思维能力,推进素质教育。     

社会化媒体支持下的企业学习框架及体系设计

嵌入在工作情境的非正式学习、社会化学习是企业学习的最重要方式之一。社会化媒体是一个开放、协作的读写网络,天然具有支持企业非正式学习的能力,它为企业员工学习新知识和技能,增强问题解决能力,促进企业知识分享与创新,提供了新的方法与手段。社会化媒体支持的企业学习提供多样化的学习生态环境,强调组织记忆与知识的积累,强调员工参与和问题解决。社会化媒体支持的企业学习应以社会化学习为核心,其设计需要从学习主体、内容生成方式、学习方式和学习环境等多个角度进行考虑,从而构建有效的企业学习框架。     

Promoting higher order thinking skills using inquiry-based learning

Active learning pedagogies play an important role in enhancing higher order cognitive skills among the student community. In this work, a laboratory course for first year engineering chemistry is designed and executed using an inquiry-based learning pedagogical approach. The goal of this module is to promote higher order thinking skills in chemistry. Laboratory exercises are designed based on Bloom's taxonomy and a just-in-time facilitation approach is used. A pre-laboratory discussion outlining the theory of the experiment and its relevance is carried out to enable the students to analyse real-life problems. The performance of the students is assessed based on their ability to perform the experiment, design new experiments and correlate practical utility of the course module with real life. The novelty of the present approach lies in the fact that the learning outcomes of the existing experiments are achieved through establishing a relationship with real-world problems.     

A visual-based approach to the mapping of generic skills: its application to a Marketing degree

With increasing complexity in the world, universities continue to face pressure to demonstrate that their graduates have acquired skills beyond discipline-based knowledge. These are generic skills like critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, problem-solving and so forth. In order to demonstrate this, universities have to show how their teaching contributes to the fostering of these skills. This can be a challenge for many reasons. Our mapping approach overcomes most of the obstacles by developing multiple indicators for each generic skill, making it easy to involve the lecturers-in-charge, summarising all their evaluations into important dimensions and, finally, representing the data in a three-dimensional visual map. This allows all the marketing subjects to be simultaneously evaluated in their ability to foster different generic skills, generating useful insights for effective curriculum development in a Marketing program. We illustrate this methodology using eight generic skills and 18 marketing subjects from a major Australian university.     

美国青少年志愿精神的培养及其启示

志愿精神是城市人文精神的重要组成部分,也是城市志愿活动长期有效开展的稳定剂。青少年是美国志愿者的重要组成部分,他们参与志愿服务的热情高、服务类型多样,这一现状是与志愿精神的培育分不开的,只有将志愿精神内化为自己的行动指南才能长期坚持志愿活动。美国依托家庭、社区和学校三个平台对青少年志愿精神进行培育的方式对于我们有重要的启示意义,三位一体的培养路径将知识的传授和志愿服务的实践相结合有利于青少年志愿精神的养成和参与志愿服务技能的提升,值得我们借鉴学习。     

Situating Skills

The discourse surrounding skills in education and learning has often been dismissed as mere 'skill–talk'. This article seeks to reject this criticism by arguing that much of the criticism of skill–talk rests on an unsatisfactory behaviourist view of skills. Another approach towards considering skills is also considered, an approach deriving from the Aristotelian concept of technē , but this is also rejected. It is suggested that the concept of 'situational understanding' provides the best way of thinking about skills. This approach firmly situates the learning of skills within context: the possibility of all–purpose generic skills is rejected. At the same time, this approach helps to articulate what is needed from the standpoint of agency if skills are to be 'transferred'.