“Are you saying I'm to blame?” Exploring the Influence of a Principal on Elementary Science Delivery

This research exercise, employing an action research model for curriculum improvement, explored the factors influencing science program delivery at an elementary school in New Zealand. Using a validated science program delivery evaluation tool, the Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (SCIQ), as a foundation for data collection, staff discussion and collaborative decision-making, a school embarked on a self-review process and, first of all, identified factors influencing science program delivery and, secondly, identified strategies for improvement of science delivery. After a school-wide cycle of focused science delivery improvement, the evaluation was repeated and further emerging trends and strategies for improvement were collaboratively discussed and implemented. Implications of this self-review process on science program delivery improvement are discussed, especially within the context of the role of the principal in influencing curriculum delivery.     

Preparing Instructional Designers for Different Career Environments: A Case Study

The competency requirements, content, culture, and value systems of business and industry career environments can differ significantly from that of the higher education context where instructional design and technology (IDT) students receive their formal training. Therefore, faculty should consider how they might provide flexibility in their programs to allow IDT students to experience the contexts in which they choose to work following graduation. The article reports on the results of a case study of an exemplary IDT program identified through a national survey. The emphases and preparation practices of faculty in the case study program were noted to provide an example of how one program successfully prepares its graduates for a variety of career environments, and specifically for a business and industry environment. By studying the successes and challenges of specific programs, new or existing programs may gain ideas for building or re-working existing programs to better meet the needs of students desiring contextualized preparation for different career environments.     

探寻有效教学设计的共通基础:基于原则的分析

传统的系统化教学设计模型其实并不能真实反映有效的教学设计实践之本质,作为一种非良构性问题解决的教学设计,其原则化特征正日益被人们所认识。研究试图表明,潜在于各种教学设计实践背后的共通基础其实是两类教学设计原则——教学设计的设计原则和教学设计的教学原则。教学设计的设计原则是从设计的视角对专家设计者的有效设计实践的一种原则性的概括与提炼,它可以从设计问题、解决方法和设计过程三个方面来高度凝炼出有效设计的基本准则。教学设计的教学原则则是从教学的视角对教学设计专家的潜在的教学原则进行总结。梅里尔的教学首要原则是目前在这个方面的最成熟、最具影响力的研究成果。在国内外普遍重视教学有效性、关注教育质量的整体背景下,一方面我们应认识到教学设计原则的研究是颇具价值与深度的主题,另一方面我们也应看到,尽管教学设计原则是有效教学设计实践的必要条件,但从前者到后者的非充分性关系则显示,从教学设计新手成长为教学设计专家,仍是任重道远、颇为不易的过程,需要各种手段、方法的介入才能加快新手成长的进程。     

Perceptions of elementary teachers on the instructional leadership role of school principals

In this research, elementary school principals＇ instructional leadership behavior was evaluated based on the perceptions of elementary school teachers. The research is believed to contribute to the development of instructional leadership behavior of elementary school principals for the development of school organization. A ＂semi-structured interview technique＂, one of the qualitative research methods in the literature was used in the research. The study group was made up of elementary school teachers working in Nigde, Turkey, during the 2008-2009 academic year. For the study sample, one teacher from each school was selected at random, resulting in group of twenty elementary school teachers. Based on the content analysis, five themes of instructional leadership behavior were found. These themes are： （1） determination of the school＇s purpose; （2） management of instruction; （3） evaluation of students; （4） support to teachers; and （5） creation of a regular learning-teaching environment.     

关于法律教学实践问题的思考

教学实践长期以来都被不自觉地和理工科联系在一起,对于文科实习往往不太看重,正是这种认识的广泛存在使得社会、学校、老师甚至学生本身都对文科实习产生了一种偏见,而法律实践也未能幸免于此。本文通过对我国当前法律实践形式的介绍,结合国外先进的实践经验,论证了教学实践的重要性及其改革的必要性。     

When Should I Use a Measure to Support Instructional Improvement at Scale? The Importance of Considering Both Intended and Actual Use in Validity Arguments

Despite the ease of accessing a wide range of measures, little attention is given to validity arguments when considering whether to use the measure for a new purpose or in a different context. Making a validity argument has historically focused on the intended interpretation and use. There has been a press to consider both the intended and actual interpretations and how users make sense of the data when constructing validity arguments, but the practice is not widespread. This paper contributes to existing research on validity by highlighting the value of attending to the actual interpretation and use of a measure aimed at supporting instructional improvement in mathematics. We describe the use of the same measure across two contexts to highlight the importance of attending to characteristics of both users and the contexts in which the measures are used when assessing the validity of inferences for the purpose of instructional improvement efforts.     

体现科学本质的科学教学

理解科学本质是科学素养的内涵之一,是实现提高科学素养的科学教育目标的关键因素。现代科学本质观对科学知识、科学探究和科学事业进行了新的诠释。根据现代科学本质观,发展科学本质观下的科学教学理念,构建科学教育的三维目标,形成融入科学本质的科学教学策略,提升学生的科学本质观。     

面向社区教育的数字化课程资源的通用教学设计

以多媒体和网络技术为核心的信息技术的飞速发展及其在社区教育领域的广泛应用,为通用教学设计在社区教育中的应用提供了技术支持。在运用通用教学设计方法对社区数字化课程资源进行设计的过程中,应以认知科学的新近研究成果中关于脑学习的三大区域——识别网络、策略网络和情感网络为依据。在理解三大学习网络上学习的特殊需求、认知能力的差异性、数字媒体的互动方式的基础上,对社区数字化课程资源的对象、目标、内容、策略、评价等进行通用教学设计,并在学习内容、支持工具、学习情境等方面整合多媒体技术,为社区学员提供多样化的选择,促进社区每个成员的发展。     

Adaptation of instructional materials: a commentary on the research on adaptations of Who Polluted the Potomac

This commentary first summarizes and discusses the analysis of the two translation processes described in the Oliveira, Colak, and Akerson article and the inferences these researchers make based on their research. In the second part of the commentary, we describe procedures and criteria used in adapting tests into different languages and how they may apply to adaptation of instructional materials. The authors provide a good theoretical analysis of what took place in two translation instances and make an important contribution by taking the first step in providing a systematic discussion of adaptation of instructional materials. Our discussion proposes procedures for adapting instructional materials for examining equivalence of source and target versions of adapted instructional materials. We highlight that many of the procedures and criteria used in examining comparability of educational tests is missing in this emerging research of area.

The critical, relational practice of instructional design in higher education: an emerging model of change agency

This paper offers an emerging interpretive framework for understanding the active role instructional designers play in the transformation of learning systems in higher education. A 3-year study of instructional designers in Canadian universities revealed how, through reflexive critical practice, designers are active, moral, political, and influential in activating change at interpersonal, professional, institutional and societal levels. Through narrative inquiry the voices of designers reflect the scope of agency, community and relational practice in which they regularly engage with faculty in institutions of higher learning.

The evolving role of the science department chair

Working from a historical perspective indicates that there are four periods over the last 170 years through which the role of the science chair has developed. This evolution has progressed from the administrative need to implement the agenda of the newly professionalised science of the nineteenth century, to a greater emphasis on the role of the chair as an instructional leader in the latter half of the twentieth century. The growing complexity of the role has also resulted in chairs becoming conflicted between their roles as specialist teachers and middle-level school administrators. From the earliest days of school science departments, the role of the chair has been heavily invested in two main areas. The first of these is a fealty to the discipline. The second is the need to attempt to balance the competing demands of the discipline, science education and educational reforms. Given the ongoing pressure for the reform of science education, the evolution of the role highlights the potential need for chairs to become actively engaged in maintaining links to the academic, professional, and school communities in which they serve.     

《学习障碍评价量表》修订报告

对Stephen B．McCamey1996年修订完成的《学习障碍评价量表》(学校版)进行了修订。中文版量表共85个项目,包括7个分量表:听、思考、说、阅读、书写／写作、拼写和数学运算。对416名小学二至五年级学生的测量表明:(1)项目的回答模式合理; (2)该量表具有较高的内部一致性系数和重测信度系数;(3)该量表具有较好的结构效度、效标关联效度和内容效度。     

Science in the Trenches: An Exploration of Four Pre-service Teachers' First Attempts at Teaching Science in the Classroom

This paper explores four students' attempts at teaching science in the real world classroom during their initial student teaching practicum, including their struggles and successes. When pre-service teachers enter their initial practicum experience they are confronted with differing teaching philosophies of their own, their university professors, and their school mentors (Sullivan, Mousley & Gervasioni, 2000; John, 2001; Fu and Shelton, 2002). Within this situation, preservice teachers struggle to find their own niche of teaching science and learn to reflect as both learner and teacher (Kelly, 2000). Our goal as science teacher educators is to help pre-service teachers have an easy transfer from personal university experiences to teaching science in the real classroom environment while maintaining the integrity of newly learned teaching strategies (Segall, 2001). This work adds to and helps guide science teacher educators in identifying difficulties pre-service teachers' experiences in the transition from methods courses to practice.     

Knowledge Integration in Science Teaching: Analysing Teachers' Knowledge Development

This paper tests the utility of a new sociocognitive frame for analysing the development of teachers' knowledge – the knowledge integration perspective (Linn, Eylon, & Davis, in press; Linn & Hsi, 2000). In doing so, the paper describes one prospective elementary teacher's developing knowledge and highlights its complexity. The prospective teacher demonstrates relatively well-integrated science subject matter knowledge, but she makes some problematic links to lessons and develops some instructional representations that show where she needs to distinguish between different scientific ideas. She also, however, links science concepts to appropriate real-world experiences, indicating that she has nascent useful pedagogical content knowledge. The paper discusses what teacher educators can learn about their learners from this analysis, argues for the utility of the knowledge integration perspective for conducting similar analyses, provides ideas to help science teacher educators apply the perspective easily as they teach their students, and points to areas ripe for future research.