Effective Dutch School Improvement Projects

This article describes 2 effective school improvement projects in primary education. In The Netherlands, there is a long history of failing innovations in education. The 2 programmes are selected because they are known to be effective. They have almost the same goals (strengthen the school's capacity for managing change, improving teachers' capacity to adapt instruction to student's needs, and prevent and reduce disadvantage, especially in reading and arithmetic) and theoretical background (a balanced mix of the school and class effectiveness knowledge and the concepts of school improvement). They use, however, partly different strategies for school improvement. The characteristics (aims, theory, design, implementation, improvement, outcomes) of both programmes are described. These data are used to discuss what lessons are learned for effective school improvement.     

Effective School Improvement in Mathematics

This article addresses the evaluation of the Mathematics Improvement Programme. The results show that the programme improved the learning results of pupils in grade 3 with half a standard deviation and reduced the percentage of struggling pupils to less than 1%. Fifteen percent of the variance in pupil results is to be explained at the school level. About a quarter of this 15% can be explained by differences between the experimental and the comparison group. All of this condition variance is explained by the experimental variables. Five out of 10 implementation features contribute significantly to differences in pupil results.     

Effective School Improvement: English Case Studies

This article compares 2 programmes in their roles played in stimulating effective school improvement. These programmes are the Local Education Authority (LEA-school district) in Birmingham and the university-inspired project “The Improving the Quality of education for All” (IQEA). The aims and characteristics of both programmes and the national accountability context within which these programmes function are described. Ten primary and secondary schools which are assisted by these programmes were visited during 1 day to compile a picture of each school's improvement journey and the key influences and constraints upon its progress. Emerging factors that appear to promote and discourage the capacity to change are described.     

Effective Tutoring Techniques: A Comparison of Human Tutors and Intelligent Tutoring Systems

There has been much debate about instructional strategies for computerized learning environments. Many of the arguments designed to choose between the various philosophies have appealed, at least implicitly, to the behavior of effective human teachers. In this article, we compare the guidance and support offered by human tutors with that offered by intelligent tutoring systems. First, we review research on human tutoring strategies in various domains. Then we investigate the capabilities of a widely used technique for providing feedback, model tracing. Finally, we contrast the types of guidance and support provided by human tutors with those in intelligent tutoring systems, by examining the process of recovering from impasses encountered during problem solving. In general, the support offered by human tutors is more flexible and more subtle than that offered by model tracing tutors, but the two are more similar than sometimes argued.     

From School Effectiveness and School Improvement to Effective School Improvement: Background,Theoretical Analysis,and Outline of the Empirical Study

School effectiveness and school improvement have different origins: school effectiveness is more directed to finding out “what works” in education and “why”; school improvement is practice and policy oriented and intended to change education in the desired direction. That means that in the orientation on the outcomes, input, processes, and context in education, school effectiveness and school improvement also have much in common. In the project Effective School Improvement (ESI), the merger of the 2 traditions has been pursued. In the theoretical part different orientations have been analysed and combined in a model for effective school improvement. Based on this analysis the framework is developed for the analysis of the case studies on school improvement projects in the participating countries.     

Timing and Intensity of Tutoring: A Closer Look at the Conditions for Effective Early Literacy Tutoring

In this article we report data from a longitudinal study of one–to–one tutoring for students at risk for reading disabilities. Participants were at–risk students who received phonics–based tutoring in first grade, students who were tutored in comprehension skills in second grade, and students tutored in both grades 1 and 2. At second–grade posttest, there were significant differences in word identification and word attack between students who were tutored in first grade only compared to students who were also tutored in second grade, favoring students who were tutored in first grade only. Overall, there were no advantages to a second year of tutoring. For students tutored in second grade only, there were no differences at second–grade posttest compared to controls. Schools may have selected students who did not respond to first–grade tutoring for continued tutoring in second grade. Findings are discussed in light of decisions schools make when using tutors to supplement reading instruction for students with reading difficulties.     

有效提升高中学生写作能力的对策

作文教学是高中语文教学改革中的热点和难点,文章对此进行了深入的分析论述,指出了教师存在的观念误区、教育盲区,以及学生的现状及其问题,并为解决上述问题提出了具体可行的措施、训练方法与步骤,介绍了几种行之有效的作文教学模式。     

Developing Students as Effective Learners: The Student Conditions for School Improvement

This article outlines a Student Conditions instrument which is intended to complement existing IQEA mapping instruments. It briefly conceptualises each condition, using a combination of a review of the literature and findings from empirical research from within IQEA. Data from 6,000 students in 36 schools in various IQEA projects are presented and analysed. It suggests that the findings derived from the conditions survey provide a useful focus for the dialogue between teachers and students which is a critical factor in improving students’ learning.     

School Culture,School Effectiveness and School Improvement

The relevance of the concept of culture to school effectiveness and school improvement is explored. Two typologies are developed. The first proposes four ‘ideal type’ school cultures, based on two underlying domains; the second, a more elaborate and dynamic model, proposes two ‘ideal type’ school cultures, based on five underlying structures. Each is discussed for its heuristic, conceptual, methodological and explanatory potential in research in the fields of school effectiveness and school improvement. In distinguishing collegial cultures from collaborative styles, the article advances recent writing on collaboration. From the theory hypotheses about the relationship between school culture and school effectiveness and improvement can be derived as well as techniques to test such hypotheses.     

Leadership and The Effective School

The article examines the origins and purposes of assessment for learning (AfL) within the National Curriculum Assessment context in England. As a part of the Primary Strategy, AfL became part of the government's drive to improve standards through measuring school outcomes. The authors describe their investigation into teachers' understandings of AfL, how AfL has influenced teaching, learning and assessment in the intervening six years and whether it has established a presence as part of teaching pedagogy.     

远程教育、网络教育与虚拟游戏世界的教育

远程教育的研究已经有了相当长的历史, 并且对于远程教育机构教师的职能也非常熟悉.博客、维基以及播客的应用弥补了电子邮件、虚拟学习环境、计算机会议等的不足.到目前为止, 在三维多用户虚拟环境下的远程教育的研究已经问世.远程教育专家可能会问远程教育和网络教育的经验能否应用到与这种虚拟学习环境不一样的环境中去.为论证哪些在三维多用户虚拟环境下可行或不可行, 通过由莱斯特大学跨距离联盟创设的虚拟游戏世界岛屿来解释虚拟游戏世界的教育.此外, 还分析虚拟游戏世界的教育怎样才能满足学生的需求, 并且探讨老师和学生适应该环境存在的机遇和挑战.     

补习与中学生英语学业成绩的相关性研究

基于文献综述和问卷调查,本文就补习对中学生英语学业成绩的相关性进行了探讨。结果表明,补习与英语学业成绩的提高并没有必然关联,真正与学业成绩相关的因素是学习者可控因素——英语学习信念：高低分组在学习焦虑、信心、兴趣和态度方面表现出显著差异,高分组学生比低分组学生更积极。研究表明,对英语补习应持理性判断,更应谨慎行事。     

Inspection and School Improvement

This paper questions a central assumption of OFSTED, that inspection is an effective and, moreover, a cost‐effective method for improving schools. In particular, doubts are expressed about the capacity of OFSTED inspections to identify the ‘worst’ schools and provide them with a sure mechanism for improvement. It is argued that applying OFSTED inspections to all schools discourages diversity and encourages conformity to the OFSTED school model. This would appear to be in contradiction to the Government's avowed policy of diversity and choice. A case is made for ‘reforming’ OFSTED so as to carry out a modified form of the original HMI functions of monitoring, identifying good practice and offering advice and assistance. Some further specific suggestions are given as to how the new OFSTED would operate     

小学文化课课外补习的问题研究

当前小学文化课补习的现状为:课外补习主体低龄化与边缘化,课外补习规模不断扩大,课外补习内容超前、目的单一,课外补习教师队伍复杂,课外补习导致学校教学陷入"怪圈"。家长的急功近利和盲目攀比是小学文化课课外补习发生的心理诱因;现行教育制度不完善是小学文化课课外补习产生的制度诱因;相关教育政策的误导与冲突是小学文化课课外补习产生的政策诱因。解决小学文化课课外补习问题的对策为:促进学生家长形成科学的教育观念;建立课外补习的市场准入制度;充分整合公共教育资源。     

中小学生考试焦虑及其心理辅导

考试焦虑是中小学生常见的一种心理问题。过度的考试焦虑严重地影响着中小学生正常的学习生活以及身心健康,是中小学生学习过程的主要困扰之一。了解考试焦虑的成因,寻找降低过度考试焦虑的方法,对中小学生进行必要的心理辅导实属必要。