突出生命科学跨学科性的普通化学教学

随着时代的发展,订正生命科学教学的相关课程非常必要。一个重要的策略是要重新设计诸如生物、化学和物理等入门课程,更好地反映其学科的相互依存性,加强学生学习生命科学的准备工作。本文介绍一个与医学相关的普通化学教学方法,充分演示生物学和化学的跨学科性质。这一创新方法提供了一种模式,使得学科壁垒在本科生的早期自然科学课程中可极大地消除。这一修订的课程分为三个主要教学模块:(1)普通化学原理,(2)炎症的医疗方法,(3)连接化学、生物学和心理学的神经科学。与预期相符,这个修改后的普通化学教学方法极大地提高了学生的兴趣,在生物学和化学之间架起了桥梁。这为培养21世纪的科学家奠定基础提供了一种跨学科教学的模板。     

Computer self-efficacy of university faculty in Lebanon

Faculty use of technology is a critical issue in higher education; administrators and students are expecting faculty instruction to incorporate technology in classroom and distance education. Competition is demanding technologically proficient graduates for schools and colleges. Research indicates that computer self-efficacy (CSE) may be one determinant of who uses technology and who does not. A survey of education faculty at the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon, conducted in 2006, revealed varying degrees of CSE; of 127 respondents, 14 had low levels of CSE; 68 were at a moderate level, and 45 self-evaluated themselves to have high CSE. Although other barriers may deter the implementation of technology in teaching, strategies and techniques for increasing CSE should be developed. For those with low CSE, special attention must be given to enhancing their levels of CSE.

Effects of class size on alternative educational outcomes across disciplines

This is the first study to use self-reported ratings of student learning, instructor recommendations, and course recommendations as the outcome measure to estimate class size effects, doing so across 24 disciplines. Fixed-effects models controlling for heterogeneous courses and instructors reveal that increasing enrollment has negative and significant effects on student satisfaction in Sociology, Political Science, Computer Science and Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Educational outcomes in Linguistics, Psychology, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Math, Physics, Cognitive Sciences, Visual Arts, History, and Philosophy are unaffected by class size. Other disciplines, including Economics, have inconclusive findings. No discipline benefits from increasing enrollment.     

Improving teaching in different disciplines of natural science and mathematics with innovative technologies

Education and Information Technologies - The study describes an innovative methodology for teaching natural and mathematical sciences in the context of distance learning using modern technological...     

Changes in the relation of self-efficacy beliefs and behaviors across development

Many social science theories that examine the connection between beliefs and behaviors assume that belief constructs will predict behaviors similarly across development. Converging research implies that this assumption may not be tenable across all ages or all belief constructs. Thus, to test this implication, the relation between behavior and beliefs about the self was examined in 2 independent data sets with 2 different constructs: aggression and achievement. The respondents were 6-18 years of age and predominately Caucasian. Results using quasi-simplex structural equation models suggest that self-beliefs become more strongly related to behavior as children grow older independent of the reliability of the measures used. Possible limitations in the use of self-report methodology with young children are discussed.     

Preparing professionals to serve infants and toddlers with handicaps and their families: an integrative analysis across eight disciplines

This article summarizes the status of, and recommendations for, preparation programs for early intervention personnel across eight disciplines. Surveys were conducted to determine the extent to which entry-level students in each discipline receive academic preparation and clinical experiences to provide services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Although considerable variability was found across disciplines, the average student receives little specialized information--practical knowledge--relative either to the infancy period or to working with families. Alternative strategies for improving infant personnel preparation are discussed and policy implications of each are addressed.     

Disentangling the Nexus: Attitudes to Mathematics and Technology in a Computer Learning Environment

Gaining insights into students' attitudes and beliefs is a crucial step in understanding how the learning environment for mathematics is affected by the introduction of computers and other technology. We review research into the impact of technology on the teaching and learning of mathematics, although systematic evaluations are sparse. We discuss the relationship between affective variables and performance and having constructed appropriate measures of attitude, we present results from an extensive initial study. The study disentangles affects relating to mathematics and to computing and in doing so identifies attributes which are important where mathematics and computing interact. We report on the application of six Galbraith–Haines scales to 156 students, we discuss the implications of confidence, motivation, engagement and interaction with the technology in the learning environment and we demonstrate that the computing and mathematics attitude scales capture distinctive properties of student behaviour in this respect.     

Variations in portfolio assessment in higher education: Discussion of quality issues based on a Norwegian survey across institutions and disciplines

In this article, we present findings from a survey study of portfolio assessment practices in four Norwegian higher education institutions after a major educational reform had introduced more varied assessment forms, more compulsory writing and closer follow-up of students. The purpose behind the study was to map these newly emerging writing and assessment practices in order to find out how teachers conceptualized portfolio assessment in different types of institutions and disciplines, and what this meant for how portfolios were used and assessed. Our findings show that the portfolios were all text based, but with great variations in genres and overall structure as well as in formative and summative assessment practices. The general tendency was that ‘soft’ disciplines had more reflection based and varied portfolio models than the ‘hard’ disciplines (maths, sciences and engineering). This same tendency goes for peer response, which was less used in hard than in soft disciplines. The focus of the article is to discuss the implications of some of the major findings for the quality of assessment, particularly the disciplinary diversity issue, feedback practices and explicit criteria.     

Relationship between gender identity,perceived social support for using computers,and computer self-efficacy and value beliefs of undergraduate students

This study investigated relationship between gender identity, social support for using computers and computer self-efficacy and value beliefs. Data was collected from first year undergraduate students at a university near Bangkok (72.3 % females, mean age?=?18.52 years). The respondents in our survey did not intend to major in computer sciences. Results show parental and peer support for using computers were positively associated with computer self-efficacy and value beliefs for both males and females. Gender typicality was positively associated with the level of computer self-efficacy for males and personal endorsement of gender-stereotypes was negatively associated with the level of computer self-efficacy for females. Students who responded “yes” to whether they would pursue employment in a job that may require them to work with computers reported significantly higher computer self-efficacy and value for using computers than students who responded “no” or “undecided”. Gender role socialization and expectancy-value theories are used to interpret group differences in computer self-efficacy and value beliefs.     

面向21世纪电子信息类专业计算机基础教育课程的改革

针对电子信息专业人才培养目标,重新设计了计算机基础教育的课程体系和教学内容。     

Universals and specifics of math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety across 41 PISA 2003 participating countries

The overarching goal of the present study is to investigate the factorial structure of three closely related constructs: math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety. The factorial structure consisting of three factors, each representing math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety, is supported in all 41 countries employed in this study. This same factorial structure is achieved at both between- and within-country levels. This study also reveals some country specific information, including country-level mean differences and within-country importance of these three math self-constructs in predicting math performance. For instance, Asian countries such as Korea, and Japan, demonstrate low math self-concept and math self-efficacy and high math anxiety in spite of their high scores on math performance. On the other hand, some of the Western European countries such as Finland, Netherlands, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland show “balanced” outcomes, with high math performance and low levels of math anxiety.     

The Gender Stereotyping of Computer Use Among Female Undergraduate Students in Israel and the Relationship with Computer‐related Attitudes

The Computer Attitude Scale was completed by 298 female undergraduate students in Israel, together with an index of the gender stereotyping of computer use. The data demonstrate that female undergraduate students in Israel are much more likely to regard men as better at using computers than women than was found to be the case in a comparable study in the UK. Nevertheless there is little evidence from these data to support the suggestion that the gender stereotyping of computer use as masculine is itself detrimental to female students' attitudes toward computer use.     

Attitudes and self-efficacy as significant predictors of intention of secondary school teachers towards the implementation of inclusive education in Ghana

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The intention of teachers towards adopting inclusive practices is vital to determining teaching behaviour in classrooms. Although some previous studies...     

Reputation and reality: ranking major disciplines in Australian universities

League tables that rank universities may use reputational measures, performance measures, or both. Each type of measure has strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we rank disciplines in Australian universities both by reputation, using an international survey of senior academics, and with actual performance measures. We then compare the two types of measures to see how closely they match. The criterion we use for both sets of measures is ‘international academic standing’. We find a high correlation between the survey results and the various measures of research performance. We also find a correlation between the quality of student intake and the survey rankings, but the satisfaction levels of recent graduates do not correlate well with the rankings by academics. We then construct an overall measure of performance, which gives very similar rankings to the survey results, especially for the top-ranked institutions.

Teacher self-efficacy: a classroom-organization conceptualization

In current conceptualizations teacher sense of self-efficacy relates mainly to teaching tasks, in particular within the classroom context. This article offers a new conceptualization of teacher self-efficacy based on a broader work spectrum, comprising classroom and school-organizational contexts, with empirical evidence to support its validity. Participants were 555 teachers who served as respondents, filling out a self-report questionnaire. In a factor analysis of the scores, a two-factor structure emerged which consisted of teacher self-efficacy in the classroom and in the school-organizational domain. Each factor possessed professional tasks and inter-relation elements. The study suggests a new definition of teacher self-efficacy.     

Creative self-efficacy: An intervention study

This study examined the effects of creativity training on creative self-efficacy. We developed a creativity course based on social cognitive theory. The course was conducted in two formats: a five-day course and a condensed one-day course. Samples consisted of students and municipality employees (five-day course), and special education teachers (one-day course). Students from a mathematics and statistics course constituted a control group. We measured creative self-efficacy before and after the intervention, and self-efficacy improved significantly for both the five-day and the one-day courses, while the control group showed no changes in creative self-efficacy. Self-efficacy levels increased significantly for both students and municipality employees. A follow-up assessment two months after completing the five-day course showed no decline in creative self-efficacy.