THE PROCESS OF PHYSICS TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

This study explored the process of physics teaching assistants’ (TAs) PCK development in the context of teaching a new undergraduate introductory physics course. Matter and Interactions (M&I) has recently adopted a new introductory physics course that focuses on the application of a small number of fundamental physical principles to the atomic and molecular nature of matter. The purpose of this study is to describe how the PCK of physics TAs in the M&I course was developed and enacted. Data collection began during the TA preparation workshop that was held before the semester and continued during the recitation and laboratory classes that the TAs taught during the semester. Through a qualitative, multiple case study research design, data were collected from multiple sources: non-participant observations, digitally recorded video, semi-structured interviews, TAs’ written reflections, and researchers’ field notes. Data analysis consisted of cross-case and within-case analyses. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method. After data analysis, 2 main themes emerged related to the development of TA’s PCK: (a) TAs’ PCK developed from propositional knowledge to personal practical knowledge and (b) the process of knowledge development consisted of 3 phases: accepting, actualizing, and internalizing. The results of this study will not only contribute to the quest to identify the nature of professional knowledge of science teaching but also help guide preparation for innovative introductory physics courses and other college level science courses in the future.     

UPSWING: DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKSHOP FOR LONG‐TERM‐CARE STAFF RESPONSIBLE FOR RESIDENTS’ COUNCILS

The autonomy of long‐term care residents is an increasing concern of researchers, practitioners, and regulatory personnel. A cooperative extension workshop called Upswing was developed for staffs of long‐term care facilities who work with residents’ councils. Eoctension field staff were trained to conduct the workshop at the county level. Relevant literature is reviewed and workshop objectives, content, and materials are described. Evaluations of a two‐county eoctension Upswing workshop and an eocpanded workshop for long‐term care staffs in another state provide data regarding the participants’ perceived knowledge gain.     

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE — TEACHERS COLLEGE,COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Since the enactment of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act in New Zealand in 1975, leadership in Catholic schools has become increasingly complex. Under the legislation Catholic schools are required to develop and maintain their Special Character. The Director of Religious Studies (DRS) has become the position with a key responsibility to ensure this “Special Character.” These challenges and demands make it necessary to reconceptualize this role. Drawing on historical insights pertaining to the DRS role this article provides insights into the progressive development of responsibilities and characteristics of the DRS that are vital to any reconceptualizing for contemporary leadership.     

THE LANGUAGE OF "FOR WHOX THE BELL TOLLS

INTRODUCTION English, like any other languages, is characterized by contain-ing many varieties, such as the variety of conversation, variety ofreligious language, variety of legal documents, variety of newspaperreporting, and so on. But the most complicated and the hardest toanalyse among the varieties is that of literature, which may involvemany other varieties and show many mixed linguistic features.     

THE CO-AUTHORED CURRICULUM: HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHERS’ REASONS FOR INCLUDING STUDENTS’ EXTRA-CURRICULAR INTERESTS IN THEIR TEACHING

There is increasing evidence of a gap between curricular requirements and what students actually want to know. One of the factors influencing what is taught in the classroom is teachers’ attitudes towards integrating their students’ interests. This study investigated what prompts high-school teachers who prepare students for national matriculation examination to adjust the curriculum to match their students’ interests. In the first stage of the study, 350 students’ biology questions that are not covered by the Israeli biology curriculum were presented to 15 experienced biology teachers. These teachers provided 19 reasons why they would or would not address these questions in their teaching. In stage 2, these 19 reasons were presented to another 175 high-school teachers from different disciplines. These teachers were asked to rank the importance of each reason in deciding whether to include or exclude topics raised by the student which are not required by the curriculum. Based on these answers, the 19 reasons were classified into four groups: civic literacy, curricular compatibility, topic suitability, and curricular limitations. The findings show that demographic factors such as gender, experience, and sector, as well as the subject taught by the teacher, all influence decisions. Thus, many teachers are aware of the interest gap, but the solutions and the attention given to this problem vary.     

DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATION, AND VALIDATION OF A PAPER-AND-PENCIL TEST FOR MEASURING TWO COMPONENTS OF BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE “CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM”

One main focus of teacher education research concentrates on teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). It has been shown that teachers’ PCK correlates with teaching effectiveness as well as with students’ achievement gains. Teachers’ PCK should be analyzed as one of the main important components to evaluate professional development programs. On this account, it is necessary to develop standardized measures of biology teachers’ topic-specific PCK that are labor-efficient. This paper presents a study on the development, evaluation, and validation of a paper-and-pencil test to measure biology teachers’ declarative PCK on the topic of blood and the human cardiovascular system. The development of the test was based, among other considerations, on a review of research literature on PCK and an analysis of 50 videotaped biology lessons. The final test instrument was comprised of 15 items distributed across 2 scales. The findings of the main study—with 93 preservice and in-service biology teachers and 12 biologists—confirmed that this measure of biology teachers’ declarative PCK was reliable, objective, and valid. In-service biology teachers scored higher on the test than preservice teachers (effect size Cohen’s d, 0.65) on one hand and, also, than biologists (Cohen’s d, 1.00) on the other hand. Future versions of this test should explore enlarging the scales and measuring procedural aspects of PCK.     

THE POTENTIAL FOR PALAEOBOTANY IN THE EXPLANATION OF CHINA'S PLANT GEOGRAPHY

The distributions of many plant taxa in China at the present day indicate centres of floristic importance which may be ancient,and have evolutionary significance,or which may be only their latest locations in a Cenozoic history of migrations.This paper summarizes the present and Cenozoic distributions in China of the following taxa:Nitraria,Ephedra,Carya,Liquidamber,Pterocarya,Betulaceae.It is concluded that the centres of importance of the named genera are different now from what they were at some time in the Cenozoic past;each has accomplished major migrations and suffered significant extinctions during that period.The history of the Betulaceae is less clear but in principle soluble.     

TECHNICAL SCHOLARS: A THREE–WAY PARTNERSHIP FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT

The Technical Scholars Program was established in the early 1980s after members of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, the Spartanburg Area Development Authority, and representatives from local industry approached Spartanburg Technical College. The Chamber and Area Development Authority were concerned that their attempts to recruit new businesses to the area were being thwarted by the perceived lack of well-trained employees in certain critical areas. The industry representatives were experiencing great difficulty filling their own needs for the same type of employee. Technical Scholars began as a three-year, industry-funded program that prepared graduates to fill needed technician slots in various manufacturing industries while gaining work experience with the companies that employed them after graduation. Participating companies worked closely with the college to develop both the content of the curriculum and the sequence in which it was offered so that the program met the needs of industry.     

CHARLES DICKENS'''' PORTRAITS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE POOR AND THE RICH

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 at Landport near Portmouth, where hisfarther was a clerk in the navy pay office. In 1822, The femily returned toLondon, their fortunes were severely impaired. Dickens was withdrawn fromschool and in 1823 sent to work in a blacking-warehouse, managed by a rela-     

TESTING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MATHEMATICAL GAMES AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL FOR CHILDREN’S LEARNING

In an effort to engage children in mathematics learning, many primary teachers use mathematical games and activities. Games have been employed for drill and practice, warm-up activities and rewards. The effectiveness of games as a pedagogical tool requires further examination if games are to be employed for the teaching of mathematical concepts. This paper reports research that compared the effectiveness of non-digital games with non-game but engaging activities as pedagogical tools for promoting mathematical learning. In the classrooms that played games, the effects of adding teacher-led whole class discussion was explored. The research was conducted with 10?C12-year-old children in eight classrooms in three Australian primary schools, using differing instructional approaches to teach multiplication and division of decimals. A quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test and delayed post-test was employed, and the effects of the interventions were measured by the children??s written test performance. Test results indicated lesser gains in learning in game playing situations versus non-game activities and that teacher-led discussions during and following the game playing did not improve children??s learning. The finding that these games did not help children demonstrate a mathematical understanding of concepts under test conditions suggests that educators should carefully consider the application and appropriateness of games before employing them as a vehicle for introducing mathematical concepts.     

FINITE VOLUME METHOD BASED ON THE CROUZEIX-RAVIART ELEMENT FOR THE STOKES EQUATION

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＷｅｃｏｎｓｉｄｅｒｔｈｅＳｔｏｋｅｓｅｑｕａｔｉｏｎ :-Δ ｕ ｐ = ｆ　ｉｎΩ ( 1 )ｄｉｖ ｕ =0　ｉｎΩ ( 2 ) ｕ =0　ｏｎ Ωｗｈｅｒｅ ｕ =(ｕ1 ,ｕ2 ) Ｔａｎｄｐｄｅｎｏｔｅｔｈｅｖｅｌｏｃｉｔｙａｎｄｔｈｅｐｒｅｓｓｕｒｅｏｆｔｈｅｆｌｕｉｄｒｅｓｐｅｃｔｉｖｅｌｙ . ｆｄｅ ｎｏｔｅｓｔｈｅｅｘｔｅｒｎａｌｂｏｄｙｆｏｒｃｉｎｇｄｅｎｓｉｔｙ.Ωｉｓａｎｏｐｅｎｂｏｕｎｄｅｄａｎｄｃｏｎｖｅｘｐｏｌｙｇｏｎａｌｄｏｍａｉｎ . Ωｄｅｎｏｔｅｓｔｈｅｂｏｕｎｄａｒｙｏｆ…