Liking and learning from educational television

Summary The WKAR-TV Program Analyzer,an electric rating summaration device,was used to test a inescope of a composite television program for farm men and homemakers entitledTown and Country. Additional phases of the experiment involved interviews with each group tested on the Analyzer and completion of a questionaire by each subject. The subjects consisted of 20 farm men, 20 rural homemakers and 20 urban homemakers. The WKAR-TV Program Analyzer tests included 10 subjects in each group. Testing the hypothesis that “like-dislike” ratings of a TV kinescope shown as a film correlate negatively with “I am learning” ratings, the author showed that the “liking” scale measured different attributes of the program than did the “learning” scale. Irving R. Merrill is Director of Research at TV Station WKAR-TV, Michigan State University.     

Creating cultures of disability to control young people in Australian schools

State and territory education departments across Australia have been attempting to respond to reported increases in the levels of disruption in schools. The problem is considered particularly severe in urban secondary schools. This paper examines the way in which integration or “mainstreaming” policies have been subverted in order to control disruptive young people by labeling them as defective.     

Solution of an inverse problem for ＂fixed-fixed＂ and ＂fixed-free＂ spring-mass systems

The tridiagonal coefficient matrix for the ＂fixed-fixed＂ spring-mass system was obtained by changing spring length. And then a new algorithm of the inverse problem was designed to construct the masses and the spring constants from the natural frequencies of the ＂fixed-fixed＂ and ＂fixed-fres＂ spring-mass systems. An example was given to illustrate the results.     

Examining the social and scientific roles of invention in science education

I have been drawn to the construct of “invention” and “inventive acts” because in my research involving how homeless children construct science and the self-in-science, an overwhelming theme has been the multiple ways in which self-identity in science has been described by the children through a language of invention. Using post-modern feminism and science and technologies studies, I examine the multiple uses and definitions of “invention” in science in order to develop a theory of invention and inventive acts around the themes: invention as a social act, invention as a recursive and socially linked process, and embodied agency. I use this framework to examine the construct of “invention” in two different case studies involving the science education of urban homeless children. Finally, I link this discussion of invention and inventive acts with current international reform initiatives revolving around constructivist science teaching and learning.     

Becoming a “Model Minority”: Acquisition,Construction and Enactment of American Identity for Korean Immigrant Students

While the “model minority” stereotype of Asian Americans and its negative effects has been documented elsewhere, relatively little attention has been paid to how recent Asian immigrant students begin to embrace the stereotype while in schools. This study explores the identity formation process for a group of recent Korean immigrant students as “model minority” in an urban high school to empirically document the process. Through interviews and observations, I learned that the immigrants acquired an unauthentic American identity as a racial minority, constructed their status as “model minority” in response, and enacted the stereotype as they sanctioned those who couldn’t live up to the stereotype. The aim is to add to the body of knowledge on the school experiences of recent Asian immigrants.     

Types and Qualities of Knowledge and their Relations to Problem Solving in Physics

Based on empirical findings and theoretical considerations related to the field of expertise research, the importance of “types” and “qualities” of knowledge in relation to problem solving in physics was investigated. The students (N =138) in this study had a level of competence that corresponds to an intensive beginner college course in physics. It was found that conceptual declarative knowledge and problem scheme knowledge are excellent predictors of problem solving performance. However, a detailed analysis shows that the first knowledge type is more typical for low achievers (novices) in physics problem solving whereas the second type is predominately used by high achievers (experts). Regarding types and qualities of knowledge and their relations to problem solving, the results of a multidimensional scaling analysis (MDS) indicate that two dimensions of knowledge can be distinguished. On the extreme limits of the first dimension, which could be named “problem solving relevance vs. structure of discipline”, are the types of knowledge and the qualities of knowledge, respectively. The second dimension of knowledge could be named “single knowledge elements vs. organised knowledge units”. There are types of knowledge as well as qualities of knowledge distributed along this dimension. Consequences of these results for improving physics education are discussed.     

“Variation problems” and their roles in the topic of fraction division in Chinese mathematics textbook examples

This article deals with the roles of variation problems (“one problem multiple solution” and “one problem multiple changes”) as used in Chinese textbooks. It is argued that variation problems as an “indigenous” Chinese practice aim to discern and to compare the invariant feature of the relationship among concepts and solutions. This practice also aims to provide opportunities for making connections, since comparison is considered the pre-condition to perceive the structures, dependencies, and relationships that may lead to mathematical abstraction. In the first part of the article, the “indigenous” practice is discussed against its philosophical Daoism and Confucianism backgrounds. To grasp its distinctiveness, a comparison between Chinese and American textbooks is carried out. In the second part of the article, the focus is on the manner in which fraction division is articulated in an important Chinese textbook. A framework to understand variation practice is introduced and some educational implications are suggested.     

The “System of Chymists” and the “Newtonian dream” in Greek-speaking Communities in the 17th–18th Centuries

The acceptance of new chemical ideas, before the Chemical Revolution of Lavoisier, in Greek-speaking communities in the 17th and 18th centuries did not create a discourse of chemical philosophy, as it did in Europe, but rather a “philosophy” of chemistry as it was formed through the evolution of didactic traditions of Chemistry. This “philosophical” chemistry was not based on the existence of any academic institutions, it was focused on the ontology of principles and forces governing the analysis/synthesis of matter and formulated two didactic traditions. The one, named “the system of chymists”, close to the Boylean/Cartesian tradition, accepted, contrary to Aristotelianism, the five “chymical” principles and also the analytical ideal, but the “chymical” principles were not under a conceptual and experimental investigation, as they were in Europe. Also, a crucial issue for this tradition remained the “mechanical” principles which were under the influence of the metaphysical nature of the Aristotelian principles. The other, close to the Boylean/Newtonian tradition, was the integrated presentation of the Newtonian “dream”, which maintained a discursive attitude with reference to the “chemical attractions”–“chemical affinities” and actualised the mathematical atomism of Boscovich, according to which the elementary texture of matter could be causally explained within this complex architecture of mathematical “punkta”. In this tradition also coexisted, in a discursive synthesis, the “chemical element” of Lavoisier and the arguments of the new theory and its opposition to the phlogiston theory, but the “chemical affinities” were under the realm of the “physical element” as “metaphysical point”.     

Ready...Fire...Aim! Toward meaningful technology standards for educators and students

Conclusion I applaud ISTE, AASL, AECT, and the other organizations involved for tackling the “messy work” of developing standards for the use of technology and information resources in schools. And, at the same time, I call for a “second generation” of standards that define realistic expectations for teachers based on the subjects and levels they are called upon to teach. I propose that professional organizations from each subject work with ISTE and AECT to complete this huge task, and I propose that we consider as a “next step” the creation of a set of on-line learning experiences through which teachers can gain the identified skills and knowledge by using the very technologies we’re hoping they’ll embrace in their own teaching. There’s an old saying, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.” As far as educational technologies are concerned, this is also true. For many, the goal seems to have been simply to “get more computers into the schools,” without much thought about purpose. To return to Phil Schlechty’s metaphor, It’s generally been a brief and misguided “Ready” stage (occupied with questions like “How many do we need?” “What type?” “Where?” and “How shall we connect them?”), followed by “Fire!” (the acquisition and installation of equipment). What we need is: “Ready” (the creation of appropriate teams of people who will combine their insights to plan for the district)... “Aim” (a series of discussions about what technologies can accomplish for schools and the students they serve)... “Fire” (acquisition, installation, and professional development according to plan)... “Aim” (an assessment of how well the technologies and related programs met the intended goals, and a new planning effort designed to close the gap)... “Fire” (acquisition and implementation designed to eliminate the gap)... “Aim” (another gap assessment)... “Fire” (another attempt to close gaps)..., And so on.     

The study on the core concepts of contemporary sociology of education and its theoretical construction

Within the sphere of contemporary social sciences, the terms “modernity,” “post-modernity” and “globalization” have penetrated, as the core concepts, into various fields of social sciences in a logical way. In constituting the concept of “modernity,” sociology of education develops the educational theory, as sociological theory does, into a “grand narrative” and “foundationalist” theory; the contribution of post-modernity is pluralism and self-examination in an attempt to transcend modernity. Globalization, a kind of expanded modernity, makes education sociologists broaden their perspective from single and traditional “nationality,” “society” and “nation” to an international society and even to the global society, which has broken through the research paradigm of modernity with ethnocentrism, anthropocentrism and Euro-centrism. These changes have required urgent constitution of the conceptions and theoretical frameworks of sociology of education to be applied on a global level. __________ Translated from Peking University Education Review, 2006 (1)     

德育如何看待"利己"

One of the main reasons of the fact that Chinese moral education could hardly get out of its predicament is that “self-regard” has been simply and unilaterally interpreted as the absolute opposite to morality, where “self-regard” is merely regarded as the source of “everything evil”, and the fact that it is also the source of “everything good” is neglected. Actually, “self-regard” is the nature of human beings who go for benefit and avoid harm, which is inevitable and reasonable. It is not naturally opposite to altruism, for there is no problem concerning morality in self-regard itself, though there might be some in the means adopted. Therefore, the aim of moral education is not to deprive a person of his/her intention of self-regard, but to normalize the means he/she might adopt, so that he/she could suitably benefit himself/herself as he/she benefits others. It is proven by the past experience and the present situation that the key premise for the Chinese moral education to get out of its predicament is to set up a correct understanding over self-regard. Translated from Xueshu Yanjiu 学术研究 (Academic Research), 2005, (6): 117–120     

A Quality Math Curriculum in Support of Effective Teaching For Elementary Schools

This paper presents a curriculum, textbook and test result analysis for the new (to California) elementary school “Key Standard” mathematics curriculum, transplanted in 1998 from it's foreign roots in Asia and Europe, locations with far different cultural and economic backgrounds. Based on topic analysis methods developed by Michigan State University, this curriculum is a “quality” curriculum, since it is closely aligned with the curriculum of the six leading TIMSS math countries. Five-year test results are presented for two cohorts totaling over 13,000 students, all from four “early adoption” urban districts where 68% of the students were economically disadvantaged. Included are two cohorts of English learning immigrants totaling over 4,400 students. Performance was found to be statistically superior to similar (control) districts which continued with the old 1991 curriculum and textbooks (0.003 < p < 0.015). The focus of this paper is on the transition from far-below to above average learning performance of these students over the 1998–2002 period.     

“Suicide machine” seekers: transgressing suicidal taboos online

Internet-mediated joint suicides or “Net group suicides” (Net shinjū) has become a significant social problem in Japan since 2002. Despite a privileged view of suicide-related cyberspaces as a murky underworld, there has been little study about how the participants of such spaces interact and perform their “suicidal” identity. Viewing cyberspace as a unique discursive playground that sprouts a myriad of transgressive narratives, this paper examines “Suicide Club” (Jisatsu Club) an online discussion forum that facilitated the largest “Net group suicide” in Japanese history. A thematic content analysis of actual postings on “Suicide Club” reveals the double-edged nature of the forum. While some participants were determined to seek suicide companions or what I metaphorically call “suicide machines,” others used the board as a social outlet to freely disclose their pent-up struggles, attempting to collectively transgress social taboos of suicide.

Hutchins’s University of Utopia: Institutional Independence,Academic Freedom,and Radical Restructuring

In a crisis-plagued world looking to higher education for knowledge, wisdom, and solutions, higher education itself is stumbling. Its transformational thinking has frozen up like an overstressed computer program; and we need, in effect, to “push the reset button.” In 1953, the renowned and controversial president of the University of Chicago, Robert M. Hutchins, authored a refreshing and provocative work, The University of Utopia, containing ideas that still challenge today’s paradigms. He argued for institutional independence over “accountability,” “outcomes,” and “stakeholders.” He indicted educational evils he called “industrialization,” “specialization,” “philosophical diversity,” and “social and political conformity” and suggested ways to defeat them. Although his 56-year-old thoughts on reconceptualizing the multiversity are not a panacea, they could help higher education make a fresh start. This essay reintroduces the modern reader to Hutchins’s iconoclastic and stimulating ideas in the hope of restarting the stalled agenda for educational reform.     

Workplace correlates and scholarly performance of clinical pharmacy faculty

The workplace, especially the academic department or division, provides an intriguing research site for study of correlates of scholarly performance. The objective of this study was to estimate a correlate model of three-year scholarly performance of clinical faculty in colleges of pharmacy. Two-hundred and ninety-six clinical faculty in pharmacy responded to an author-developed questionnaire. The scholarly performance items factored into three dimensions: “Refereed Research,”, “Grants/Books Research,” and “Nonresearch Scholarship.” A fourth single-item variable, “Contracts,” was also used as a dependent dimension. Eight correlates, including two related to the departmental workplace, emerged as factors significantly explaining the variation in scholarly performance. The two most significant were “Off-Campus Conversations” and “Department: Percent Time in Research.” These results as well as others were contrasted with prior correlate studies and suggestions were made for future additional study.     

UNDERSTANDING PARISIANS

The urban physical environment results not only from functional requirements of urban life, but also from the very cultural background and social relationships. After examining the relationships between the architecture and the cultural contexts in Paris, the author presents and argues a belief that the architectural characteristics in Paris can be better explained by understanding the Parisian ways of urban life. Project supported by the French Presidential Programme “50 Chinese Architects in France”.     

Affection and cognition in transaction and the mapping of cultural space

Summary In this article, an attempt has been made to treat affection and cognition “transactionally” and to report work underway in the development of a rationale for mapping “sign components” of “cultural space.” The development of statistical procedures and applications remains to be undertaken.     

Mapping Educational Opportunity Zones: A Geospatial Analysis of Neighborhood Block Groups

The author uses geospatial analysis to examine the “educational opportunity spaces” of two adjacent urban neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Organizing insights are gathered from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological perspectives on human development, which posit that students are significantly impacted by multiple environmental systems—including their immediate family and school surroundings and several other mutually affective layers of systems. The author suggests that while school and district-based reform initiatives targeting “within school factors” clearly have direct and significant relevance on student performance, neighborhood and community factors are also worthy of consideration. Based on analyses of multiple block-level data, several recommendations are made toward the further integration of school and community-based practice.     

Knowledge of derivational suffixes in students with language learning disabilities

Knowledge of derivational suffix meanings was investigated in 10- to 12-year-old students with language learning disabilities and individually matched chronological- and language-age peers. Students produced derived forms from nonce bases in an elicitation task and selected derived forms in a forced choice task. For instance, students produced a word to label the baby of an invented animal called a TEM (TEMlet, TEMette, TEMkin, etc.) and chose an appropriate label from four options (TEMlet, TEMkin, TEMship, TEMhood). Twenty-eight suffixes (e.g., less, y, ize) conveying seven derivational meanings (e.g., “without X,” “approximately X,” “to make X”) were studied. All groups showed higher accuracy on the forced choice task than on the elicitation task. However, elicitation task accuracy of students with language learning disabilities fell substantially below that of typically achieving students. Suffixes for “agent X,” “character of X,” and “to make X” were produced in the elicitation task with higher accuracy than suffixes for “approximately X,” “diminutive X,” and “state of X.” In both tasks, suffix use was associated with productivity (i.e., regularity of suffix attachment). All groups chose highly productive suffixes (e.g., TEMlet) over less productive suffixes (e.g., TEMkin) to convey each meaning.