The role of the external consultant: a practical approach to school focused curriculum development

This lucid article takes what was for many teachers of young children one of the most significant aspects of the Cockcroft Report as its starting point: the role of language in mathematics. The author draws upon her own classroom-based investigations into ‘the differing ways in which people perceive the same thing’ and explores the implications of that and of some of the forms of words which, she claims, often obfuscate children.     

Moving Ground: Some thoughts on literature as a school subject

This paper is about the journey of a reader as a pupil and a teacher in three different contexts: the Greek and the English mainstream educational systems and the Greek community schools of London. Supported by accounts of autobiographical material there is a presentation of the dilemmas that a teacher needs to face when she teaches a literary text in a class. Questions are posed on why literature should form a subject of the curriculum, what should be taught, and how readers and the reading process are to be perceived. Finally, the link between literature and identity is considered, a link that suggests the curricular subject of literature as a locus for the creation of meanings and the shaping of identity.     

基于校本课程实施的中学生实践能力发展状况的调查——以大连市四所初中调查为例

本研究以大连市440名学生为研究对象对初中学生实践能力发展水平及实践能力与实践兴趣的关系进行调查.研究表明,初中学生实践能力主要包括五大类:生活能力,工具、产品的使用和维修能力,交流能力,娱乐、体育运动能力,实验研究能力;学生实践能力发展存在性别差别;实践活动与活动兴趣呈现显著的相关性.     

Student error patterns as a function of curriculum design: teaching fractions to remedial high school students and high school students with learning disabilities

This study evaluated the relative effectiveness of a curriculum that incorporated three empirically derived principles of curriculum design with a basal approach in teaching basic fractions concepts to students with learning disabilities and other low performing students in high school remedial math classes. The components of effective mathematics instruction articulated by Good and Grouws (1979) were implemented in both conditions. Thus, the curriculum design variables were isolated by keeping all other aspects of instruction constant. Results indicated that, although both programs were reasonably successful in teaching the material, the curriculum program utilizing sophisticated principles of curriculum design was significantly more effective. Mean scores on a curriculum-referenced test were 96.5% for that group and 82.3% for the basal group. Secondary analyses of item clusters revealed that areas of weakness in the performance of the basal group could be directly linked to hypothesized flaws in its curriculum design.     

The school curriculum for ethnic minority pupils: A contribution to a debate

This paper discusses some of the canicular needs of children of migrant parents in the United Kingdom (in particular those of South Asian and West Indian origins), against the background of current provision. The author argues the merits of a cultural accommodation strategy and outlines the human rights model of education which that strategy implies. He then analyses three major problem areas faced by children of migrant workers: conflicts of identity, communication difficulties, and unequal access to employment opportunities. In a final section, tentative but practical suggestions are given of how the school curriculum can address these problems.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel stellt der Verfasser die curricularen Bedürfnisse von Gastarbeiterkindern (besonders denen südasiatischer und westindischer Herkunft) im Vereinigten Königreich dem gegenwärtigen Angebot gegenüber. Er befürwortet eine Strategie der kulturellen Akkommodation und skizziert ein dieser Strategie entsprechendes Menschenrechts -Modell für Schulerziehung. Darauf analysiert er drei Hauptproblemgebiete von Gastarbeiterkindern: Identitätskonflikte, Kommunikationsschwierigkeiten und ungleicher Zugang zu Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten. Im letzten Teil macht er einige praktische Vorschläge, wie das Schulcurriculum diese Probleme angehen könnte.

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Résumé Cet article traite des besoins caniculaires des enfants d'immigrants au Royaume-Uni (particulièrement ceux qui sont originaires des Indes Occidentales et du Sud Asiatique) en fonction des prestations éducationnelles courantes. L'auteur démontre les mérites d'une stratégie d'acclimatation culturelle et trace dans les grandes lignes le modèle d'éducation droits de l'homme qu'implique cette stratégie. Il analyse alors trois catégories de problèmes majeurs qui confrontent les enfants des travailleurs étrangers: conflits d'identité, difficultés de communication et inégalité des chances d'accès à l'emploi. L'auteur termine en montrant, par des suggestions d'ordre pratique, comment le curriculum peut s'attaquer à ces problèmes.

     

Some practical approaches to a course on paraconsistent logic for engineers

This paper describes a non-classical logic course primarily indicated for graduate students in electrical engineering and energy engineering. The content of this course is based on the vision that it is not enough for a student to indefinitely accumulate knowledge; it is necessary to explore all the occasions to update, deepen, and enrich that knowledge, adapting it to a complex world. Therefore, this course is not tied to theoretical formalities and tries at each moment to provide a practical view of the non-classical logic. In the real world, the inconsistencies are important and cannot be ignored because contradictory information brings relevant facts, sometimes modifying the entire result of the analysis. As consequence, the non-classical logics, such as annotated paraconsistent logic – APL, are efficiently framed in the approach of complex situations of the real world. In APL, the concepts of unknown, partial, ambiguous, and inconsistent knowledge are referred not to trivialise any system in analysis. This course presents theoretical and applicable aspects of APL, which are successfully used in decision-making structures. The course is divided into modules: Basic, 2vAPL, 3vAPL, 4vAPL, and Final Project.     

基于SMALL理念的初中化学校本课程建设 ——以《初中化学进阶》课程为例

对于当代学生而言,在化学学习上需要更多体验、尝试和探究创新的机会,但是相较于进一步提升化学学科学习能力而言,更应当注重学生科学态度、社会责任和问题解决等方面能力的发展,因此需要对初中化学校本课程的实施方式重新进行整体性设计,包括组织结构、课程内容、教学方法和评价方式等方面.初中化学校本课程应当注重化学启蒙教育,建立化学...     

Leading change from within: action research to strengthen curriculum leadership in a primary school

Practitioner research lends itself to situations in which a school wishes to examine and improve practice. This is an account of one middle-sized primary school's attempt to understand the nature of and need for a variety of forms of curriculum leadership by engaging in a facilitated action research project. Both theory and current school practice in New Zealand related to school structure and distribution of curriculum leadership were investigated. The senior management team, acting as an action research group, set out to analyse an ill-defined problem and then designed and implemented change strategies that incrementally involved all staff. The outcomes of the project for the school were context specific and immediate and are made public with the intention of offering insights into the research process and results to a wider audience who can consider the transferability of ideas in this account to their own settings. Leading change from within by embarking on action research is a challenge and a commitment for practitioners. Whilst the demands of this project are acknowledged by the practitioners themselves, they also confirm the benefits of a systematic, considered process and the opportunities for team learning implicit in this critical, constructive and collaborative approach to improving management practice.     

试论中学如何应对普通高中课程改革的挑战

2004年秋,首批改革的前锋--广东、山东、海南和宁夏4个省区将全面启动高中课程改革,面临全新的课程体系,学校要树立怎样的理念、建立怎样的体制才能保证新课程的顺利实施?实现课程管理体制的顺利转型和开发多样化课程资源是改革中的学校必须应对的问题.     

微博在实训课程中的应用研究

设计并实现了基于微博的实训课程教学改革,突破传统实训场所的局限,将教学空间和时间大大延伸。通过微博平台辅助实训教学,改变了过去"教→学→做"单向的实训模式,实现了相互融合的多向发展模式,在学生与教师、学生与学生、学生与企业专业人员之间搭建一个通畅交流的平台。在这过程中,有效实施了创新头脑风暴和过程考核机制,提高了学生对于实训教学的积极性和创新能力。     

新一轮课程改革背景下对中学课程体系建设的思考——以上海中学为例

课程是教育教学活动的基本依据,实现学校教育目标的基本保证以及学校一切教学活动的中心,同时也对学校进行管理与评价提供标准。在新一轮课程改革背景下,中学课程体系建设的重要性不言而喻。本文以上海中学为案例,分析了该校在课程体系建设方面的特点以及该校如此选择的可能依据,对其主要优势及使用条件和局限性进行分析,提出了可能的改进措施。     

新课改背景下实施高中化学新课程的几点做法与体会

2005年秋季,江苏省全面进入高中新课程实验。一年来,在上级教育主管部门的关心支持下,在学生、家长和社会各界积极配合下,我们强化措施,大力推进,广大教师锐意改革、不断探索,高中化学课程改革进展较为顺利,态势良好,成绩也较显著。现将我们的几点做法与体会简述如下,希能为将进入新课改的实验区教师提供一些参考。     

Emerging influences of information technology on school curriculum

Just as information technology has improved effectiveness in medicine, finance, manufacturing, and numerous other sectors of society, advanced computing and telecommunications have the potential to help students master complex 21st-century skills. Research-based curriculum projects are developing examples of technologies that enable online virtual communities of practice using advanced tools to solve realworld problems. Learners engage in guided, reflective inquiry through extended projects that inculcate sophisticated concepts and skills and generate complex products. Pupils act as partners in developing learning experiences and generating knowledge, and students' collaborative construction of meaning is enhanced via different perspectives on shared experiences. Simulation and visualization tools help students recognize patterns, reason qualitatively about physical processes, translate among frames of reference, and envision dynamic models. These curricular approaches improve success for all types of learners and may differentially enhance the performance of at-risk students.     

The curriculum as a tool for inclusive participation: Students’ voices in a case study in a Portuguese multicultural school

Portuguese schools in urban areas became multicultural during the 90s. Some students are quite distanced from the school culture. Many repeat grades. The curriculum emerges as a means of (re)organizing school practice, so that it is designed to foster inclusion. It is a tool for social mediation between the culture and knowledge of teenagers, and academic ones. It shapes the interactions between participants, cultural tools and knowledge. The principles of inclusive schooling promote the respect for diversity, underlining the need to listen to all voices of a learning community. According to the sociocultural approach appropriating knowledge and developing competencies is a complex process. Interactive practices shape students’ academic performances. Collaborative project work has been used to promote students’ engagement. This action-research project developed an alternative curriculum in a class (grades 5 and 6) from a poor and multicultural school in Lisbon. A follow-up investigated the impact of the educational changes on the learners’ participation in school and in social practices, and on their future life. We aim at analyzing this alternative curriculum process by focussing on students’ narratives. Results highlight improvements in students’ academic and social competencies. Changing practices during compulsory education facilitated achievement and resulted in a better socialization.     

Junior high school science transformed: analysing a science curriculum policy change

In response to a governmental initiative associated with expanding the technological infrastructure of its economy, the Canadian province of Alberta undertook extensive revision of its secondary school science programme, starting in 1986. This paper is about the junior high school programme (Grades 7‐9, ages about 12‐15). The subject matter configuration was changed from a ‘layer‐cake’ design to a ‘coordinated’ design. The objectives were broadened to include three mandated curriculum emphases, distributed evenly across the 18 units of the three‐year programme. The paper examines these and other features of the development and implementation of this reasonably successful curriculum policy.