From Theory to Practice: A Cognitive Systems Approach

Theories of learning and teaching have tended in the past to have been derived top‐down, from existing theory. It is increasingly recognised today that such a strategy oversimplifies a complex reality, in which there is a great deal of mutual interaction. One way of handling the situation is to derive contextualised theories, such as phenomenography. Such theories are however part of a more general model based on systems theory, in which all parts of the teaching‐learning context are seen as seeking equilibrium. A “system” may exist at several levels: The student, the classroom, the institution, the community. The task of teacher and of staff developer is to achieve those good teaching practices that are viable within the existing matrix of systems and subsystems. Implications in such areas as improving teaching and assessment, using questionnaires for assessing teaching, training in study skills, and conducting research, are discussed.     

Hope,Friends, and Subjective Well‐Being: A Social Network Approach to Peer Group Contextual Effects

Research on adolescence has previously shown that factors like depression and burnout are influenced by friendship groups. Little research, however, has considered whether similar effects are present for variables such as hope and subjective well‐being. Furthermore, there is no research that considers whether the degree of hope of an adolescent's friends is associated with well‐being over the individual's level of hope. Data were collected in 2012 from a sample of 15‐year‐olds (N = 1,972; 62% Caucasian; 46% identified as Catholic; 25% had professional parents) from the East Coast of Australia. Findings suggest that individuals from the same friendship group were somewhat similar in hope and well‐being. Multilevel structural equation modeling indicated that friendship group hope was significantly related to psychological and social well‐being.     

规律:复杂的动态网络系统

文章对规律的复杂动态网络系统作了系统的研究。首先论述了提出规律的复杂动态网络系统的客观根据和认识根据，然后着重阐明了规律的复杂动态网络系统的丰富内容，接着探讨了辩证思维方法是把握规律的复杂动态网络系统的关键。     

基于关系网络的教育中同伴效应估计 ——来自一所初中的证据

同伴效应是近年来教育和经济相关研究的热点话题之一,学生在成绩上的同伴效应格外引人关注,而这一效应不仅受同伴特征影响,更受同伴间关系影响。基于在浙江省一所初中调查所获得的学生成绩和朋友关系网络信息,本文将同伴效应的核心研究对象从同学间转向朋友间,并基于关系网络信息构建工具变量,消除择友导致的内生性。研究发现,朋友间在数学和英语成绩上存在显著的同伴效应,并且在数值上远大于此前研究基于外生群组估计的同学间同伴效应。本文的结果意味着,只有将学生间关系网络的作用纳入分析框架之中,才有可能深入理解同伴效应,并基于此来指导相关的政策和教学实践。     

The Systems Approach to Education: A Practical Viewpoint

The purpose of the foregoing articles is to consider a specific approach to education: a systems approach. A school system consists basically of a collection of individuals connected together through the community. The system may be the entire school, the common room, one class, one class plus its teacher, one pupil plus one teacher, etc. The number and types of systems within a school are many, and because education deals with the brains and minds of individuals, it is dealing with the complex probabilistic system in every person and their complex probabilistic inter-relations. It is an environment in which control is apparent, and, therefore, well suited to a cybernetic study using a systems approach.     

Discussing Sexual Orientation and Gender in Classrooms: A Testimonial-Based Approach to Fighting Homophobia in Schools

Abstract

To fight homophobia in schools in Québec, many teachers rely on community organizations such as the Groupe de Recherche et d’Intervention Sociale (Research and Social Intervention Group) to address sexual diversity in class. This article documents major outcomes of these workshops as seen by students. Students identified topics related to sexuality and gender inversion as controversial, especially when involving men. The authors present how GRIS leaders decided to adapt intervention practices following such findings.     

Quality in Kindergarten Classrooms: Observational Evidence for the Need to Increase Children's Learning Opportunities in Early Education Classrooms

Research Findings: Using observational data gathered in 730 kindergarten classrooms in 6 states, the present study focuses on the quality of children's learning opportunities in kindergarten classrooms. Findings show that overall, children experience moderate to low levels of quality in the areas of classroom organization and instructional support in kindergarten. Results are also presented in comparison to children's experiences in the pre-kindergarten year. These comparisons indicate that kindergarten children spend a greater proportion of the school day in language arts, math, and whole-group instruction and less time in centers than they do in pre-kindergarten. An examination of predictors of kindergarten classroom quality indicated that program characteristics (i.e., adult–child ratio, length of school day) and teacher psychological variables (i.e., beliefs and depressive symptoms) were stronger predictors of classroom quality than were teacher experience and educational background. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of implications for children's academic and social development in kindergarten as well as for kindergarten teacher preparation and development.     

From Walking to Running: Applying a Dynamical Systems Approach to the Development of Locomotor Skills

Developmental transitions of complex systems may be studied by selecting (collective) variables that constrain the degrees of freedom for each developmental state. In a dynamical systems approach, the transitions from state to state are engendered through the scaling of contributing subsystems (control parameters). In this study, the locomotor skills of walking and running were compared in newly running infants by observing several likely collective variables including relative stance, estimated pathway of center of mass, and segmental/joint action. 4 children were filmed longitudinally at 5.5, 7.5, and 9.5 months of independent walking and then at 3 years of age. 3 trials per gait were selected for single stride analysis and compared with data from 4 adults. In general, the proposed collective variables showed transitional forms over the first few months of running, indicating a relatively continuous change between the 2 gait forms. Coordination of the knee joint was very similar between gaits and across age, but the ankle joint was less consistent for both gaits in the infants. Relative stance and stride length data indicated that the children could not generate vertical and horizontal displacement. These findings echo those found in newly walking infants and suggest that similar rate-limiting parameters are present for both gaits.     

Peer Perceptions of Counselor Effectiveness: A Multiple Regression Approach

The present study investigates the relationship between the personal preferences of beginning counselor education students and the sociometric choices of their peers. Fifty-four subjects, who were enrolled in the entry-level guidance seminar at the University of Akron between March and December 1971 were administered the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS). At the end of the seminars the students were asked to respond to a sociometric technique. The data from the EPPS (predictor variables) and from the sociometric technique (criterion) was then subjected to multiple regression analysis, which revealed that students with higher sociometric ratings demonstrated greater manifest needs for dominance, change, succorance, order, nurturance, and achievement than did those with lower sociometric ratings.     

汉英语同辈亲属称谓语研究——以伦理观为视角

中国和英语国家存在着巨大的文化差异,伦理观则是其中之一。该文探讨了因为伦理观的不同,导致双方汉英语同辈亲属称谓的不同。因为中国长期存在着重男轻女的思想,所以在中文中,指陈对象"男"的称谓要多于指陈对象"女"的称谓。而正是由于同一指陈对象有两个及两个以上的词汇,故在中国,同一指陈对象产生的不同词汇在人们的心理距离上有远近差别。指陈对象"男"的称谓在人们心理中的距离要近于指陈对象"女"的称谓。而在英语国家,由于长期奉行的男女平等观念,所以在同辈亲属词汇的创造上不存在指陈对象"男"方面的词汇大于指陈对象"女"方面的词汇,当然也不存在同一指陈对象有两个或两个以上的不同词汇及在人们的心理距离有远近的不同。     

Feedback (F) Fueling Adaptation (A) Network Growth (N) and Self-Organization (S): A Complex Systems Design and Evaluation Approach to Professional Development

This paper reports on the efficacy of a professional development framework premised on four complex systems design principles: Feedback, Adaptation, Network Growth and Self-organization (FANS). The framework is applied to the design and delivery of the first 2 years of a 3-year study aimed at improving teacher and student understanding of computational modeling tools. We demonstrate that structuring a professional development program around the FANS framework facilitates the development of important strategies and processes for program organizers such as the identification of salient system variables, effectively distributing expertise, adaptation and improvement of professional development resources and activities and building technological, human and social capital. For participants, there is evidence to show that the FANS framework encourages: professional goal setting, engagement in a strong professional community and personal autonomy by enabling individualized purpose—all fundamental components in promoting self-organization. We discuss three meta-level themes that may account for the success of the FANS framework: structure versus agency, exploration versus exploitation and short-term versus long-term goals. Each illustrates the tension that exists between competing variables that need to be considered in order to work effectively in real world complex educational systems.     

从联结主义到联通主义:学习理论的新取向

联结成为探究和解释个体学习现象的一个视角,从行为主义学习观、认知主义学习观到新近的联通主义各个学习流派都曾把联结看成学习发生的基础。而随着信息时代个体学习的社会化和学习情景的复杂化,联结主义学习理论正面临新的挑战。有必要提出一种新的认识框架和联结主义体系来重新建构学习,这将成为指导知识时代学习设计的新基础。     

从人力资本到社会资本:教育经济学研究的新视角

舒尔茨的人力资本理论虽然对教育经济学的建立作出了很大贡献，但是，人力资本理论对经济增长的解释只是单纯的经济资源要素分析，忽视了人作为资源运用的主体的作用。社会资本理论强调人的资源运用主体作用，并从微观层面为主的分析扩展到宏观层面，从群体人力资本的角度研究社会经济增长，把社会心理关系引入分析中。社会财富的增长有社会的人际关系、组织结构等构成的一切社会资本的作用。     

Assessment Theory and Research for Classrooms: From Taxonomies to Constructing Meaning in Context

Why should we take a broader view of assessment theory and research when constructing measures of school achievement? How might we incorporate a learner's awareness of his or her own learning strategies into the assessment process? How could an assessment developer combine the use of psychological constructs and varying contexts for learning in the assessment of competence in mathematics?