FORM AND STRUCTURE OF CHINESE CHARACTERS AND CHILDREN��S UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE

The written representation in Chinese can be considered as a pictorial or a symbolic representation which is very different from English where the pronunciation is related to how the word is spelt. Students face challenges of a very different nature when science is learnt in Chinese compared with English. In Hong Kong, students are making translations between the language they use in their daily lives, the science concepts and the scientific terms. The research team designed an interview protocol for primary school pupils in order to identify the pupils’ alternative concepts of science and if these alternative concepts are related to the structure of the Chinese language. The findings suggest that there are alternative conceptions related to (a) the form of the Chinese character—for example, the Chinese character for crocodile includes a radical meaning fish, and so pupils may take it that a crocodile is a fish; (b) the meaning of the Chinese character—for example, an electronic buzzer is a device used to attract bees as in Chinese, the character contains the word meaning “bees producing sound”. The findings provide important data for future endeavours aiming to compare the learning of science using different languages and on ways in which primary teachers may better facilitate their pupils in learning science.     

CHILDREN��S GESTURES AND THE EMBODIED KNOWLEDGE OF GEOMETRY

There is mounting research evidence that contests the metaphysical perspective of knowing as mental process detached from the physical world. Yet education, especially in its teaching and learning practices, continues to treat knowledge as something that is necessarily and solely expressed in ideal verbal form. This study is part of a funded project that investigates the role of the body in knowing and learning mathematics. Based on a 3-week (15 1-h lessons) video study of 1-s grade mathematics classroom (N = 24), we identify 4 claims: (a) gestures support children’s thinking and knowing, (b) gestures co-emerge with peers’ gestures in interactive situations, (c) gestures cope with the abstractness of concepts, and (d) children’s bodies exhibit geometrical knowledge. We conclude that children think and learn through their bodies. Our study suggests to educators that conventional images of knowledge as being static and abstract in nature need to be rethought so that it not only takes into account verbal and written languages and text but also recognizes the necessary ways in which children’s knowledge is embodied in and expressed through their bodies.     

UN/DOING GENDER? A CASE STUDY OF SCHOOL POLICY AND PRACTICE IN ZAMBIA

This article explores an attempt to disrupt gender inequality in a unique, low-cost private school in Ndola, Zambia. It examines deliberate school policies aimed at “undoing gender” or fostering greater gender equity. These include efforts to maintain gender parity at all levels of the school and the requirement that both young men and women carry out cleaning tasks generally viewed as “women’s work”. Observations, interviews, student diaries and surveys from this school and from government schools provide the basis for a comparison, indicating how the former strives to interrupt the transmission of gender inequalities as well as how students respond to these practices. The findings suggest that the pedagogical practices deployed by this school have generally succeeded in destabilising norms of gender subordination and gender-based violence, though the replicability of these practices is interrogated given broader questions about the country’s public resources and political will.     

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PROFICIENCY AND CONFIDENCE LEVELS IN DISPLAYING THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC ELECTROLYSIS CONCEPTS

This study was conducted with 330 Form 4 (grade 10) students (aged 15??C?16?years) who were involved in a course of instruction on electrolysis concepts. The main purposes of this study were (1) to assess high school chemistry students?? understanding of 19 major principles of electrolysis using a recently developed 2-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instrument, the Electrolysis Diagnostic Instrument (EDI), and (2) to assess students?? confidence levels in displaying their knowledge and understanding of these electrolysis concepts. Analysis of students?? responses to the EDI showed that they displayed very limited understanding of the electrolytic processes involving molten compounds and aqueous solutions of compounds, with a mean score of 6.82 (out of a possible maximum of 17). Students were found to possess content knowledge about several electrolysis processes but did not provide suitable explanations for the changes that had occurred, with less than 45?% of students displaying scientifically acceptable understandings about electrolysis. In addition, students displayed limited confidence about making the correct selections for the items; yet, in 16 of the 17 items, the percentage of students who were confident that they had selected the correct answer to an item was higher than the actual percentage of students who correctly answered the corresponding item. The findings suggest several implications for classroom instruction on the electrolysis topic that need to be addressed in order to facilitate better understanding by students of electrolysis concepts.     

IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF TAIWANESE CHILDREN’S CONCEPTIONS OF LEARNING MATHEMATICS

The aim of the present study was to identify children’s conceptions of learning mathematics and to assess the identified conceptions. Children’s conceptions are identified by interviewing 73 grade 5 students in Taiwan. The interviews are analyzed using qualitative data analysis methods, which results in a structure of 5 major conceptions, each having 2 subconceptions: constructivist (interest and understanding), interpretivist (liberty and innovation), objectivist (academic goal and perseverance), nativist (confidence and anxiety (reverse)), and pragmatist (vocational goal and application). The conceptions are assessed with a self-developed questionnaire, titled “the Conception of Learning Mathematics Questionnaire” (CLMQ), which is administered to 513 grade 5 students in Taiwan and examined with a reliability measure, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlations with 2 criteria: mathematics achievement and approaches to learning mathematics. The results show that the CLMQ has desirable internal consistency reliability and construct validity. The conceptions are also sensibly in relation to the 2 criteria, suggesting that the CLMQ is a valid measure for evaluating the quality of children’s learning mathematics in relation to teaching contexts.     

UNDERSTANDING ACID�CBASE CONCEPTS: EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF A SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-CENTRED INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM IN INDONESIA

This study was a mixed quantitative–qualitative research to evaluate the efficacy of a designed student-centred instructional (DSCI) program for teaching about acids and bases. The teaching innovation was designed based on constructivist, hands-on inquiry and context-based approaches and implemented in seven 45-min lessons with a class of 36 grade 11 students (experimental group) from a public senior high school in Indonesia. Another class of 38 students (comparison group) from the same school was instructed using a traditional teacher-centred approach. Data were obtained using a (1) 12-item achievement test on acids and bases that was administered to both groups as a pretest and a posttest, (2) self-evaluation 13-item questionnaire on students’ perceptions of their competence and confidence in carrying out the inquiry activities that was administered to the experimental group and (3) 3-item open-ended questionnaire on students’ perceptions of the instructional process using the DSCI that was administered to the experimental group. The results of the study showed that the teaching innovation was effective in improving students’ understanding of acid–base concepts with significant difference between the two groups on the posttest mean scores. Moreover, the effectiveness of the innovation was supported by an increase in students’ interest in learning science as indicated by their (1) positive perceptions of their engagement and competence in doing inquiry activities, (2) positive perceptions of the learning environment and (3) positive outcome expectations. The findings have implications for chemistry teaching in any institution with similar achieving students as well as for the professional development of teachers.     

THE ROLE OF TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND PRACTICES ON UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS�� MATHEMATICS SELF-EFFICACY IN NYANZA PROVINCE OF KENYA: A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

The study identified two dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and practices and five dimensions of students’ mathematics self-efficacy and sought to determine the extent to which teacher characteristics and practices can enhance secondary school students’ self-efficacy. Data were collected from 13,173 students in 193 teachers’ classrooms from 141 schools in the 10 districts of Lake Victoria Region of Kenya. Two-level hierarchical linear model revealed that teachers’ frequent use of mathematics homework, their level of interest and enjoyment of mathematics, as well as their ability and competence in teaching mathematics were found to play a key role in promoting students’ mathematics self-efficacy. Teachers’ ability and competence in teaching were also found to be effective in narrowing the gender gap in students’ self-confidence and competence in mathematics. The study recommends that teacher training colleges emphasize such teacher practices and values in order to enhance students’ mathematics self-efficacy, reduce their level of anxiety and fear of mathematics, and consequently, enhance their achievement in mathematics. Professional development opportunities should also be made available to in-service teachers to continually update their knowledge and skills and develop new strategies for teacher effectiveness.     

EVALUATING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF KINETIC PARTICLE THEORY CONCEPTS RELATING TO THE STATES OF MATTER, CHANGES OF STATE AND DIFFUSION: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY

This paper reports on the understanding of three key conceptual categories relating to the kinetic particle theory: (1) intermolecular spacing in solids, liquids and gases, (2) changes of state and intermolecular forces and (3) diffusion in liquids and gases, amongst 148 high school students from Brunei, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore using 11 multiple-choice items that required students to provide explanations for their selection of particular responses to the items. Students’ responses to the items revealed limited understanding of the particle theory concepts, with nine alternative conceptions held by more than 10% of various samples of students. Also, 40.5–78.4% of all students indicated consistent understanding relating to the three conceptual categories based on their responses to the 11 items. However, when their explanations were taken into account, very few students displayed consistent understanding of the related concepts.     

EIGHTH GRADE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN SES-DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS: A TAIWAN STUDY

In this qualitative case study, the researchers explored 3 8th grade teachers?? formative assessment practices as it occurred during their mathematics instruction at socioeconomic status (SES)-different schools in Taiwan. Instructionally embedded formative assessment we refer to as discourse-based assessment practice (DAP). In Taiwan, there is a large mathematics achievement gap among high SES and low SES and minority students in 8th grade. Addressing this issue at the level of classroom practice, we attempt to document teachers?? DAP using a parsimonious, but practical framework for analyzing classroom discourse in 23 lessons. For the purpose of this study, 3 lessons for each teacher are represented. The extended sequence (Mehan, 1979) was the primary unit of analysis, to which we applied our framework for illuminating and differentiating the teachers?? press for student understanding through questions and feedback. The analysis of the teacher??s instruction at the high SES indicated that it was more formative than the others, pressing for mathematical understanding. The 2 teachers at the low SES schools pressed for rote understanding, though there were qualitative differences between them. The findings raise more questions and implications for research and education policy. In Taiwan where there is scant research on classroom practices, DAP as an instructional improvement may be a starting point for educational improvement for all its students.     

ENGINEERING IN CHILDREN’S FICTION - NOT A GOOD STORY?

Responding to concerns that engineering is a poorly understood occupation and that young people are exposed to stereotyped images of scientists and engineers at an early age, this investigation sought to identify how science and engineering is portrayed in contemporary junior fiction (ages 8–12) and to what extent. An examination of 4,800 junior fiction titles in one region in New South Wales, Australia, identified as few as 71 titles that addressed themes related to engineering and the sciences. While the crazy, nerdy, scientific stereotype exists in these stories, mostly in humorous vein, we found that fictional characters were split between the nerdy, eccentric, and the more serious and professional types who were depicted as more popular. The emphasis was on male characters, but not exclusively so. There were limited details that could be associated with engineering. Where building, making, and working with machines featured, they were depicted as male activity and primarily connected to vehicles, mostly cars. We concluded that while young people, particularly girls, were unlikely to gain accurate or compelling images about engineering as an occupation from this source at present, as a medium for informing the young and their parents, the potential of fiction was considerable.     

INDIGENOUS STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY IN NEW ZEALAND AND TAIWAN

The tacit messages transmitted to indigenous learners in the science classroom provide a lens through which indigenous disengagement with school science can be better understood. In this paper, the findings of a cross-national comparative study conducted with indigenous Maori students in New Zealand and Seediq/Atayal students in Taiwan are discussed from a sociological perspective. The purposes of the present study were to explore the ways in which indigenous elementary school students in two industrialized nations experience the science curriculum and to identify the socialization processes through which patterns of indigenous under-achievement in science are maintained and reproduced. The findings suggest that the peripheral positioning of indigenous culture and knowledge within the science curriculum in developed nations underpins a series of tacit pedagogical codes that contribute to indigenous student disengagement with the subject.     

THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF CHURCH LEADERSHIP IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION FROM THE SUNDAY‐SCHOOL VIEWPOINT

Dorothy Day's love of the poor originated from reading novels that portrayed the poor as persons worthy of respect. This article explores how Day's reading novels opened her mind and heart to the realities of poverty. The methodology is literature-based. Dorothy Day's autobiography reveals the novelists who captivated her mind and cultivated a religious heart: Charles Dickens, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and the Russian authors Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. As a journalist and writer, Day described how the poor struggled to survive and how love is needed to counter the challenges that poverty presents. Finally, two novels by authors favored by Day will serve as examples for educating young adults religiously and encouraging love for the poor.     

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.     

A STUDY ON THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS IN DEVELOPMENT OF FRESHWATER FARMING

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IN‐SERVICE TRAINING IN GERONTOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF STATEWIDE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

This report describes the design and conduct of a statewide training needs assessment based on joint state agency and university planning. Sample findings are presented for both the statewide population (N = 736) and various job function groupings. Differences in expressed training needs across job function groups are examined, and strategies for providing effective and efficient training are discussed.     

A MODEL OF COAL COMBUSTION AND SULFUR RETENTION IN PFBCs

A mathematical model of coal combustion and sulfur retention in pres-surized fluidized beds(PFBs)has been developed.It considers most essential process-es in PFB combustion,such as fluid hydrodynamics,devolatilization,char combus-tion,sulfur retention,elutriation and attrition,especially the random movement ofparticles in bed and the gas concentrations along the bed height.Compared with theexperimental data,the calculation results show that the model is satisfactory.