‘Read a hundred times and the meaning will appear ...’ Changes in Chinese University students’ views of the temporal structure of learning

It has been shown earlier that while some high school students (younger on the average) do not differentiate between memorization and understanding, others (older on the average) do so (Marton, Watkins and Tang, Learning and Instruction 7, 21–48, 1997). Those who do differentiate impose a sequential ordering on the two: When you learn you memorize first and understand subsequently or When you learn you understand first and memorize later. This sequential ordering is expressed both through the students account of their theory of learning and their account of their own study practices. In the current study a group of 20 students of an elite University in mainland China were interviewed about learning, memorization and understanding in the context of their studies upon entering the University and 1.5 years later. It was found that while on the first occasion the predominant mode of talking about memorization and understanding was by discussing them in terms of either of the two above ways of sequentially ordering them. On the second occasion the most frequent way of talking about memorization and understanding was in terms of two simultaneous events, simply two different aspects of the very same learning process. The students spoke about using both repetition and variation in their study practice at the same time. Unlike when you read the same presentation of something several times in the same way and thus repeat the same thing again and again, when you read different presentations of the same thing or when you read the same presentation in different ways, something is repeated and something is varied. To the extent that repetition enhances remembering and variation enhances understanding – as the students seem to believe – they will likely remember that which is repeated and understand that which is varied. And when the two are intertwined they will remember what they understand.     

Learning Theory as Teaching Resource: Enhancing Students’ Understanding of Economic Concepts

A group of experienced secondary school teachers used a novel learning theory as a resource for planning and carrying out their teaching of a difficult economic concept. Their students mastery of this concept after a series of three lessons was compared with the mastery of the same concept by students who were taught by another group of teachers under the same conditions except for the use of the theory. The difference in learning outcomes was extreme. Observations of what was happening in the classrooms showed subtle but decisive differences correlated with the differences in outcome. These differences were interpreted in terms of the theory used by the first group, and the results seem to give support to the theoretical claim that for any specific object of learning there is a necessary pattern of variation and invariance that the learners must experience in order to appropriate the object of learning in question and thus by bringing out that pattern in the learning situation, the likelihood of that object of learning being appropriated is enhanced. Furthermore, this study shows how the understanding of the simultaneous change in the supply of and the demand for a certain good affects its market price can be brought about in a powerful way.     

Beyond ``lesson study': Comparing two ways of facilitating the grasp of some economic concepts

During three discussion sessions, two groups offive teachers each developed a shared lessonplan, one for each group, for the teaching of adifficult economic concept, the incidence of asales tax. In one of the groups (the lessonstudy group), the lesson plan was based on thepool of the participants' experience andintuition in accordance with the Japanese``lesson study'. In the other group (thelearning study group), the lesson plan wasbased on the participants' experience andintuition as made sense of in terms of alearning theory introduced by a researcher inaccordance with the idea of ``the learningstudy', in which the Japanese lesson study iscombined with a ``design experiment'. Thestudents' understanding was probed after theseries of lessons. In the classes of the lessonstudy group, fewer than 30% of the studentsdeveloped a good grasp of the concept, comparedto over 70% of the students in the learningstudy group. The differences in learningoutcomes are interpreted in the light ofobserved differences in how the concept wasdealt with in the different classrooms.     

Comparing variation theory with Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: more similarities than differences?

ABSTRACT

Lo’s variation theory is a learning and teaching theory based on Marton’s phenomenographic approach and is one of the most important backbones of learning studies. The proponents of variation theory demarcate their approach from constructivist learning approaches, stressing constructivism as philosophical framework, but not as learning theory. At the same time, the phenomenographic approach emphasizes the importance of Piaget’s work about the cognitive development, which should be considered when talking about learning and teaching. We argue that – from a theoretical point of view – Piaget’s theory of how cognitive schemata are developed and how variation theory proposes that learning can be fostered entails many similarities which are not apparent at first glance. We demonstrate the similarities and differences using a teaching example from an English as second language classroom and show the implications for practical instructional work. Finally, we discuss concrete suggestions how variation theory could benefit even more from Piaget’s theory.     

文化视域下的汉字教学观

汉字教学既是我国语文教育,也是整个科学文化教育的基石,在基础教育中占有重要的位置。汉字是记录语言的符号,同时也具有一定的构形理据,蕴含着丰富的历史文化信息,利用汉字的文化属性进行汉字教学既有利于提高汉字教学的效果和质量,也能提高汉字教学的文化底蕴,培养学生的文化意识和文化认同感。构建一个系统合理的汉字文化教学观指导汉字教学实践,使汉字教学更加适应学生和社会发展的需要就显得非常重要。     

Orthographic Knowledge Promotes Young Chinese Children’s Character Writing Performance

Abstract

The present study aimed at developing young children’s knowledge of the structure and function of orthographic components of Chinese characters and words. Grade 2, eight-year-old Chinese children (N = 541) were taught a twelve-week training programme in two quasi experimental conditions: analytic and synthetic approach (ASA), and integrated analytic and synthetic approach (INA). A traditional memorisation and drill approach (TRA) was the control condition. MANOVAs and hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed the INA was more effective as compared with the ASA and the TRA in the post-training character writing performance. The groups performed differentially in the eight bujian (‘radical’ components) processing tasks as indicators of their character and word writing performance. A confirmatory factor analysis found these eight indicator tasks subserved well the three latent constructs of Word Form Retrieval, Bujian Analysis and Synthesis and Bujian Compounding. Bujian analysis and synthesis are emphasised in the character-centred approach in learning and teaching Chinese lexical items.     

汉字教学中的语言文字观

汉字与汉字教学关系是密不可分的,如何将文字学恰当运用于汉字教学,保证汉字教学的健康发展和更好传承与发扬华夏文明。本文试从教材字量的选定,相关政策法规的制定影响与常见汉字教学中问题的讨论方面入手,以期获取一些历史经验教训与汉字教学方法改进。     

论汉字的形义关系

汉字的形义关系是由汉字的表义性质决定的。汉字采用的是记录语义的方式,造字之初,根据语义来构造字形,形义关系完全一致。但汉字本身及其所记录的汉语语词的发展变化,使汉字的形义关系发生了变化。这种变化影响了对汉字性质的认识,影响了对汉字与汉语关系的解释。本文从造字时代的汉字构形、汉字应用中的特殊现象、字形与语义的变化三个方面阐述汉字的形义关系及其演变,以探讨汉字的本质特征。     

Variation in Finnish students' understanding of Lutheranism and its implications for religious education: a phenomenographic study

This article contains the results of how a selected group of Finnish upper secondary students understand Lutheranism. The data consisted of 63 students' responses to a writing task together with complementary interviews of 11 students. The outcomes of phenomenographic analysis of variation in the students' understanding of Lutheranism are presented in five hierarchically ordered categories. The implications for religious education are discussed in terms of what teachers could learn from differences in students' understandings of the subject matter in order to enhance their learning of it.     

对外汉字教学的实践探索

在汉语教学中,会发现留学生,特别是以拼音文字为母语的留学生普遍认为汉字难写、难记。教学中应充分了解汉字教学中存在的问题及冲突,结合汉字教学的传统经验和最新探索,提高汉字教学效果。