THE LENGTH MEASUREMENT IN THE TURKISH MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM: ITS POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO STUDENTS’ LEARNING

“Knowing and doing measurement” is a fundamental competency in real life since measuring attributes of objects in appropriate units and using measuring tools assist students to quantify and understand the world. For this reason, the study of measurement has a special place in every mathematics curriculum. Among the domains of measurement, length measurement is extremely important for students to understand basic ideas about measurement and to construct bases for more advance topics as area and volume measurement. However, research on students’ understanding of length measurement reveals serious difficulties varying from incorrect alignment with a ruler to confusion of perimeter with area. One of the reasons for students’ struggles in measurement is considered as weaknesses in the intended (written) curriculum. In this respect, this study was designed to investigate the content of length measurement in the Turkish mathematics curriculum (1st–fifth grade) in terms of its potential to support students’ understanding. For this purpose, the Turkish Mathematics Curriculum Guide was carefully analyzed by considering main components of the curriculum (e.g. learning objectives). In spite of some weaknesses, the length measurement content in the curriculum seems to provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop the concepts and skills involved in length measurement.     

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL INSTRUMENT FOR EVALUATING TAIWANESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ SCIENCE LEARNING SELF-EFFICACY IN RELATION TO THEIR APPROACHES TO LEARNING SCIENCE

In the past, students’ science learning self-efficacy (SLSE) was usually measured by questionnaires that consisted of only a single scale, which might be insufficient to fully understand their SLSE. In this study, a multi-dimensional instrument, the SLSE instrument, was developed and validated to assess students’ SLSE based on the previous literature. Besides, the interrelations between students’ approaches to learning science and SLSE were explored. A total of 311 Taiwanese eighth graders were invited to respond to the SLSE instrument and the Approaches to Learning Science (ALS) questionnaire. After ensuring several types of validity (e.g. construct validity and criterion-related validity) and the reliability of the SLSE questionnaire, the results suggested that the SLSE instrument should have satisfactory validity and reliability to measure Taiwanese eighth graders’ SLSE in terms of 5 dimensions: Conceptual Understanding, Higher-Order Cognitive Skills, Practical Work, Everyday Application, and Science Communication. Moreover, through Pearson correlation analyses, the results revealed that the Taiwanese eighth graders who perceived themselves as having a deep motive, along with the orientation of surface motive, tended to report higher SLSE. Also, those students who reported adopting deep strategies to learn science were more likely to possess higher SLSE. The regression results indicated that, overall, the students’ deep strategies and deep motive were strong predictors of their SLSE, particularly for the Higher-Order Thinking Skills SLSE. Yet, the Practical Work SLSE could only be predicted by the Deep Strategy dimension of ALS.     

Unit 11 WHAT DO YOU THINK OF GAME SHOWS?

Step 1 Section A过关测试题Ⅰ.根据句意、首字母及汉语提示,完成单词。(每题4分,共40分)1.—Howwas the w_______?—It was windy.2.—What dotheyt______ofAmonda?—Theylove her.3.—Doyou like BeijingOpera?—No.I can’t s______it.4.Chinese c______has a history of five thou-sand(千)years.5.They had a lot of g______time at their partyyesterday.6.Myfriend Gina doesn’t_______(喜欢)thewatch.7.There is a______(腰带)on the bed.8.I don’t______(介意)what young peoplethink ofme!9.I think the______(主持人)i…     

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD MATHEMATICS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO LEARNING IN REQUIRED MATHEMATICS COURSES IN SELECTED POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This study was conducted to gain information pertaining to one of the most critical problems in individualization or personalization of instruction—an instrument that accurately assesses individual differences in community college students in terms that can be of value in the classroom. The subjects in this study, nursing students at Delta College in University City, Michigan, were tested with a cognitive style diagnostic battery developed by Oakland Community College and an observational minibattery developed by this researcher (selected elements of cognitive style). The results of these tests were checked in classroom situations.     

FACTORS SHAPING STUDENTS’ OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN ARGUMENTATIVE ACTIVITY

This study examines how students’ opportunities to engage in argumentative activity are shaped by the teacher, the class, and the mathematical topic. It compares the argumentative activity between two classes taught by the same teacher using the same textbook and across two beginning algebra topics—investigating algebraic expressions and equivalence of algebraic expressions. The study comprises two case studies in which each teacher taught two 7th grade classes. Analysis of classroom videotapes revealed that the opportunities to engage in argumentative activity with the topic investigating algebraic expressions were similar in each teacher's two classes. By contrast, substantial differences were found between one teacher's classes with regard to the opportunities to engage in argumentative activity with the topic equivalence of algebraic expressions. The discussion highlights how the interplay between the characteristics of the mathematical topic, the characteristics of the class, and the characteristics of the teacher contributed to the shaping of students’ opportunities to engage in argumentative activity.     

THE ‘NEW LEARNING’ IN ADULT JEWISH EDUCATION

The period between Passover and Shavuot has been dramatic from time immemorial, because it signifies the Exodus from Egypt — physical rescue — and culminates with the stand at Mount Sinai — the attainment of spiritual nationhood. Modern Jewish history has added an unprecedented tone of tragedy and drama, which is symbolized by Yom Hashoah and Yom Haatzmaut. The March of the Living to the Sites of Struggle and Extermination and to the Land of Life and Promise, took place during that two week period, April 18th – May 4th, 1990.     

STAYING IN CONTROL; OR,WHAT DO WE REALLY WANT PUBLIC EDUCATION TO ACHIEVE?

In this essay, Yuli Tamir argues that the growing interest in public education in the developed world in general and in the United States in particular is grounded in a fear of losing global hegemony. The most rational approach to slowing down these hegemonic shifts is to empower public education and allow the neglected human capital vested in presently excluded communities to flourish. However, moves to improve public education are met by the unspoken though persistent resentment of those who fear the transformative power of education and would like to preserve the present social order. Here Tamir reviews some of the moves commonly taken to preserve these “social gaps” and concludes by suggesting that alongside vocal public support for school reforms promoting equal opportunities, silent yet very effective social strategies have developed that undo the benefits of such reforms and maintain the present social gaps.     

USING COMBINATORIAL APPROACH TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING OF THE DISTRIBUTIVE LAW AND MULTIPLICATIVE IDENTITIES

This article reports an alternative approach, called the combinatorial model, to learning multiplicative identities, and investigates the effects of implementing results for this alternative approach. Based on realistic mathematics education theory, the new instructional materials or modules of the new approach were developed by the authors. From the combinatorial activities based on the things around daily life, the teaching modules assisted students to establish their concept of the distributive law, and to generalize it via the process of progressive mathematizing. The subjects were two classes of 8th graders. The experimental group (n = 32) received a combinatorial approach to teaching by the first author using a problem-centered with double-cycles instructional model, while the control group (n = 30) received a geometric approach to teaching, from the textbook by another teacher who uses lecturing. Data analyses were both qualitative and quantitative. The findings indicated that the experimental group had a better performance than the control group in cognition, such as for the inner-school achievement test, mid-term examination, symbol manipulation, and unfamiliar problem-solving: also in affection, such as the tendency to engage in the mathematics activities and enjoy mathematical thinking.     

IMPACT OF A REPRESENTATIONAL APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ REASONING AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN LEARNING MECHANICS

The aim of this study was to explore whether a representational approach could impact on the scores that measure students’ understanding of mechanics and their ability to reason. The sample consisted of 24 students who were undergraduate, preservice physics teachers in the State University of Malang, Indonesia. The students were asked to represent a claim, provide evidence for it, and then, after further representational manipulations, refinement, discussion, and critical thought, to reflect on and confirm or modify their original case. Data analysis was based on the pretest–posttest scores and students’ responses to relevant phenomena during the course. The results showed that students’ reasoning ability significantly improved with a d-effect size of 2.58 for the technical aspects and 2.51 for the conceptual validity aspects, with the average normalized gain being 0.62 (upper–medium) for the two aspects. Students’ conceptual understanding of mechanics significantly improved with a d-effect size of about 2.50 and an average normalized gain of 0.63. Students’ competence in mechanics shifted significantly from an under competent level to mastery level. This paper addresses statistically previously untested issues in learning mechanics through a representational approach and does this in a culture that is quite different from what has been researched so far using student-generated representational learning as a reasoning tool for understanding and reasoning.     

STUDENTS’ OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN TRANSFORMATIONAL ALGEBRAIC ACTIVITY IN DIFFERENT BEGINNING ALGEBRA TOPICS AND CLASSES

This study compares students’ opportunities to engage in transformational (rule-based) algebraic activity between 2 classes taught by the same teacher and across 2 topics in beginning algebra: forming and investigating algebraic expressions and equivalence of algebraic expressions. It comprises 2 case studies; each involves a teacher teaching in two 7th grade classes. All 4 classes used the same textbook. Analysis of classroom videotapes (15–19 lessons in each class) revealed that the opportunities to engage in transformational algebraic activity related to forming and investigating algebraic expressions were similar in each teacher’s 2 classes. By contrast, substantial differences were found between 1 teacher’s classes with regard to the opportunities to engage in transformational algebraic activity related to equivalence of algebraic expressions. The discussion highlights the contribution of the interplay among the mathematical topic, the teacher, and the class to shaping students’ learning opportunities. Specifically, the mathematical topic appeared to play a prominent role in certain situations, with the topic involving deductive reasoning generating high variation in classes of 1 teacher but not in the other’s.     

STUDENTS’ OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN TRANSFORMATIONAL ALGEBRAIC ACTIVITY IN DIFFERENT BEGINNING ALGEBRA TOPICS AND CLASSES

This study compares students’ opportunities to engage in transformational (rule-based) algebraic activity between 2 classes taught by the same teacher and across 2 topics in beginning algebra: forming and investigating algebraic expressions and equivalence of algebraic expressions. It comprises 2 case studies; each involves a teacher teaching in two 7th grade classes. All 4 classes used the same textbook. Analysis of classroom videotapes (15–19 lessons in each class) revealed that the opportunities to engage in transformational algebraic activity related to forming and investigating algebraic expressions were similar in each teacher’s 2 classes. By contrast, substantial differences were found between 1 teacher’s classes with regard to the opportunities to engage in transformational algebraic activity related to equivalence of algebraic expressions. The discussion highlights the contribution of the interplay among the mathematical topic, the teacher, and the class to shaping students’ learning opportunities. Specifically, the mathematical topic appeared to play a prominent role in certain situations, with the topic involving deductive reasoning generating high variation in classes of 1 teacher but not in the other’s.

     

DO SCHOOLS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR STUDENTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND AWARENESS? EVIDENCE FROM PISA 2006

The environmental agenda is gaining momentum as an international policy issue. This is reflected in an increase in environmental education research focussing on children’s awareness and attitudes toward the environment. In this study, we focused on this issue from a school effectiveness perspective and evaluated (a) which student characteristics predict environmental attitudes and awareness, (b) whether schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness and (c) if school effects are different for students with varying levels of science ability. The cross-sectional Flemish data of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment 2006 (4,999 students in 156 schools) were re-analysed using a multivariate multilevel model to address these issues. Results show that gender, immigrant status, socioeconomic status and educational track are important in explaining students’ environmental attitudes and awareness. Furthermore, the results show that schools do matter; schools in which science is taught in a more hands-on manner are associated with higher student environmental awareness whilst environmental learning activities are associated with more pro-environmental attitudes amongst students. After controlling for student characteristics, these school effects do not differ between more science-literate children and their less or average science-literate peers.     

THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON ELEMENTARY STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT AND SOCIAL SKILLS IN KUWAIT

This study compares the effects of two methods of teaching—teacher-centered and cooperative learning—on students’ science achievement and use of social skills. The sample consists of 163 female elementary science students in 8 intact grade 5 classes who were assigned to 2 instructional methods and were taught an identical science unit by 4 classroom teachers. The students’ science achievement was measured by a researcher-designed achievement test given to students as a pretest and a posttest. Students’ social skills were determined by a researcher-designed survey administered as a pretest and posttest. Analysis of the achievement test scores and the social skills survey responses revealed that cooperative learning strategies have significantly (p > 0.05) more positive effects on both students’ achievement and social skills than teacher-centered strategies. These results provide an evidential base to inform policy decisions and encourage and persuade teachers to implement cooperative learning methods in Kuwaiti classrooms.     

IMPACT OF INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA MODULE WITH PEDAGOGICAL AGENTS ON STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING AND MOTIVATION IN THE LEARNING OF ELECTROCHEMISTRY

The Electrochemistry topic is found to be difficult to learn due to its abstract concepts involving macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representation levels. Studies have shown that animation and simulation using information and communication technology (ICT) can help students to visualize and hence enhance their understanding in learning abstract chemistry topics. As a result, an interactive multimedia module with the pedagogical agent (IMMPA) named the EC Lab (Electrochemistry Lab) was developed in order to assist students in the learning of Electrochemistry topics. A non-equivalent pretest–posttest control group design investigation was carried out in order to gauge the effect of the IMMPA EC Lab on students’ understanding and motivation in the learning of Electrochemistry. Some 127 Form Four students from two secondary schools in one of the districts in Malaysia were involved in the study. Each school had one treatment group and one control group taught by the same Chemistry teacher. Instruments involved were a pre- and posttest, a pre- and post-motivation questionnaire, and the IMMPA EC Lab. Results showed a significant difference between the control groups and treatment groups in the understanding of concepts in the learning of Electrochemistry.     

ARE STUDENTS PREPARED TO COMMUNICATE? A CASE STUDY OF AN AUSTRALIAN DEGREE COURSE IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Public concerns about biotechnology have resulted in greater attention being paid to the mechanisms by which biotechnology is communicated with non-scientists, including the provision of science communication training. As undergraduate and postgraduate courses form the foundation of the biotechnology sector by providing a pipeline of university graduates entering into the profession, it has been proposed that formal science communication training be introduced at this early stage of career development. Using an Australian biotechnology degree course as a case study, this paper examines science communication training within this course and the views of past and present students towards this training. Interviews were undertaken with 22 stakeholders in the case, including undergraduate lecturers (who also supervise postgraduate research students), doctoral candidates and biotechnologists recently graduated from the course. Few of the students felt the course provided them with any form of science communication training, let alone training in how to engage non-scientists. Many were unaware of the training available to them and few of the lecturers were able to identify where communication skills are taught within the course. A previous study of this case has also shown that biotechnology undergraduates taking this course do not value communication with non-scientists. Clearly, the current state of science communication training for these students needs to be improved if they are to enter the biotechnology workforce as able civic scientists. The findings of this study may be useful for other university biotechnology courses which have yet to integrate science communication training into their curriculum.     

STUDENT VOICES IN THE TRANSFER PROCESS: DO WE HEAR THEM? DO WE LISTEN?

The “baby boomer echo” is increasing the number of traditional age students attending higher education, yet funding from both state and federal is remaining constant. In order to provide a higher education future for all who desire it, fiscal resources must be even more carefully allocated. Improving the transfer process from community colleges to four‐year colleges and universities will conserve our fiscal and our human resources and provide a higher education for more of our citizens. Statistics alone will not improve the transfer process; the voices of students experiencing this process must also be heard. A Fall 1994 cohort group of students transferring from Colorado's 15 community colleges to Colorado State University (CSU) was identified. Within this Fall 1994 cohort, two groups of students were formed based on their earned grade point average (GPA) at CSV at the end of Fall 1995 semester: students who achieved a 3.25 GPA or better and students who were placed on academic probation. The focus group discussions were transcribed and qualitatively coded. The thematic units that evolved centered on the students’ perceptions of their pre‐transfer experience, post‐transfer experience, and recommendations for improving the transfer process. The implications for practice include the processing and disseminating of transfer information, the advising function in the transfer process, and the need for on‐going evaluation of the process.     

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING SCIENCE? AN ANALYSIS OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

ABSTRACT:  The paper explores the current rationale for primary science in England with a focus on how competing perspectives arising from perceptions of educational ideology and policy discourse have helped to shape current practice. The aim will be to provide a conceptual understanding of this by focusing specifically on how policy has influenced practice. In particular it will consider the way in which discourse and policy text have contributed to the emergent rationale for primary science which in many ways reflects conflicting influences, views and policies. Data were collected over a year from a regional survey and from four case-study primary schools. The findings suggest that teachers in primary schools face tensions between promoting both an educational and a political rationale for learning primary science. The paper will conclude by suggesting that the justification for primary science should be based on what we already know about how children learn science as well as helping them to develop an understanding of science and how it influences and is intrinsically linked to the needs of society.