Walter Scott-Father of historical novel

沃尔特·司各特(1771-1832)生于苏格兰首府爱丁堡的一位律师家庭。大学毕业后,他当上了律师,但从年轻时起他就对民歌,尤其是英格兰与苏格兰交界处的古老传说和民间歌谣感兴趣。1802年他出版了《苏格兰边区歌谣集》。从1814年起,司各特写了20多部小说,但在很长一段时间里他总是慝名发表作品。所以在1796—1813年期间他是诗人,而在他40岁之后则成了小说家,他的诗名也逐渐被他的小说家的名声所遮掩。沃尔特·司各特开创了欧洲历史小说之先河。在他之前出现了一些以历史上的事件和历史人物为依据的小说,但事件和人物都过于夸大,或者浪漫过头,几…     

What you see is what you remember? Depictions of historical figures influence memory for historical facts

We investigated whether the characteristics of pictures affect memory for verbal learning materials. In the learning phase, participants watched a slideshow about historical figures that were depicted as more or as less powerful. The slideshow included spoken information that was more prototypical for either powerful or powerless people and thus semantically congruent (e.g., depiction and verbal information rated as powerful) or incongruent with the pictures. Congruency resulted in more errors when participants had to reject incorrect items in a memory test. There was no effect of congruency on verifying correct items. This pattern was observed for a slideshow that included one picture for each historical figure (Experiment 1) and for a slideshow including additional pictures (Experiment 2). Hence, both experiments provide corroborating evidence that pictures affect learners’ memory for verbal learning materials. These findings are relevant for instructional practice with regard to the design of learning materials and test items.     

Primary school pupils’ performances in understanding historical time

This study focuses on the development of the understanding of historical time of pupils in primary school. We present a developmental model with three stages: emergent, initial and continued understanding of historical time. Based on this model, we constructed an instrument to measure how pupils aged 6–12 perform. The participants were 1457 pupils from 7 Dutch primary schools. The analysis of the data showed that in all three stages pupils in higher grades significantly outperformed pupils in lower grades and that pupils’ performances were influenced by the variables gender and parents’ education. In all grades, there seemed to be room for improvement, especially in the lower grades (ages 6–9) where pupils have hardly had any teaching on the understanding of historical time. However, in the higher grades as well (ages 10–12), pupils could improve on the level of continued understanding of historical time.     

A historical‐sketch of intercollegiate debating: III

LANGUAGE AND PHILOSOPHY. Studies in Method. By Max Black. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1949; pp. xiii+264.

ELEMENTE DER LITERARISCHEN RHET‐ORIK. Eine Einführung für Studierende der romanischen Philologie. Von Heinrich Lausberg. München: Max Hueber Verlag, 1949: pp. 93.

AFRICANISMS IN THE GULLAH DIALECT. By Lorenzo Dow Turner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949; pp. xi+317. $7.50.

A WORD GEOGRAPHY OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. By Hans Kurath. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, Studies in American English, No. 1, 1949; pp. xi+88+163 maps. $4.00.

THE GOLDEN NIGHTINGALE; Essays on Some Principles of Poetry in the Lyrics of William ButlerYeats. By Donald A. Stauffer New York: The Macmillan’ Company, 1949; pp. 165‐$3.00.

STUDIES IN POETRY. An Introduction to the Critical Reading of Poems. By Neal Frank Doubleday.’ New York: Harper and Brothers, 1949; pp. xxiii+380. 52.25.

TRAVELLING TONGUES. By Kenneth Harris. London: John Murray, 1949; pp. 215. 8s 6d.

STAGE TO SCREEN. Theatrical Method from Garrick to Griffith. By A. Nicholas Vardac. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1949; pp. xxvi+283. 56.00.

ACTORS ON ACTING. Edited with Introductions and Biographical Notes by Toby Cole and Helen Krich Chinoy. New York: Crown Publishers, 1949; pp. xiv+596. $5.00.

THE IDEA OF A THEATER. By Francis Fergusson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1949; pp. xiv+240. $3.75.

STAGE MAKE‐UP. By Richard Corson. (Revised edition). New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, Inc., 1949; pp. vii+211. $3.50.

CHILDREN WITH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HANDICAPS. By J. E. Wallace Wallin. New York: Prentice‐Hall Inc., 1919; pp. xxii+ 549. $5.00.

PUBLIC SCHOOL AUDIOMETRY. Principles and Methods. By Loraine Anson Dahl. Danville, Illinois: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, Inc., 1919; pp. 290. $3.00.

CLINICAL AUDIOLOGY. By Maurice Saltzman, M.D. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1919; pp. xiii+195. $5.00.

ACUTE LARYNGOTRACHEOBRONCHITIS. By A. Harry Neffson, M.D. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1949; pp. vii+197. $5.00.

YOUR CHILD'S SPEECH AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT. By Amy Bishop Chapin and Ruth Lundin. Cleveland: The Press of Western Reserve University, 1949; pp. 30. 75c.

THE COMMAND OF WORDS. By S. Stephen‐son Smith. (Second edition). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1949; pp. xii+ 305. $3.50.

PORTFOLIO OF TEACHING TECHNIQUES. New Facts and Techniques to Invigorate Classroom Teaching—Including Tested Practices in Group Dynamics for the Classroom Teacher. Edited by the Staff of the Educator's Washington Dispatch. New York, New London, and Washington: Educator's Washington Dispatch, 1949; pp. 31. 75c.

TWO LESSONS OF GROUP DYNAMICS. So You Appointed a Committee. When a Schoolman Runs a Conference. By the Staff of the Educator's Washington Dispatch. New York, New London, and Washington: Educator's Washington Dispatch, 1948; pp. 10. 25c.

WEBSTER'S GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. John P. Bethel, General Editor. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. &; C. Merriam Company, 1949; pp. xxx+1293. §8.50.

DIPHTHONGS IN AMERICAN SPEECH. By George Whiting Hibbitt. New York: Columbia University Bookstore, 1948; pp. 86. $2.50.

GENERAL SPEECH. An Introduction. By A. Craig Baird and Franklin H. Knower. New York: McGraw‐Hill Book Company, Inc., 1949; pp. ix+500. $3.50.     

Can virtual environments enhance the learning of historical chronology?

Historical time and chronological sequence are usually conveyed to pupils via the presentation of semantic information on printed worksheets, events being rote-memorised according to date. We explored the use of virtual environments in which successive historical events were depicted as “places” in time–space, encountered sequentially in a fly-through. Testing was via “Which came first, X or Y?” questions and picture-ordering. University undergraduates experiencing the history of an imaginary planet performed better after a VE than after viewing a “washing line” of sequential images, or captions alone, especially for items in intermediate list positions. However, secondary children 11–14 years remembered no more about successive events in feudal England when they were presented virtually compared with either paper picture or 2-D computer graphic conditions. Primary children 7–9 years learned more about historical sequence after studying a series of paper images, compared with either VE or computer graphic conditions, remembering more in early/intermediate list positions. Reasons for the discrepant results are discussed and future possible uses of VEs in the teaching of chronology assessed.     

The notion of historical “parallelism” revisited: historical evolution and students’ conception of the order relation on the number line

This paper associates the findings of a historical study with those of an empirical one with 16 years-old students (1st year of the Greek Lyceum). It aims at examining critically the much-discussed and controversial relation between the historical evolution of mathematical concepts and the process of their teaching and learning. The paper deals with the order relation on the number line and the algebra of inequalities, trying to elucidate the development and functioning of this knowledge both in the world of scholarly mathematical activity and the world of teaching and learning mathematics in secondary education. This twofold analysis reveals that the old idea of a “parallelism” between history and pedagogy of mathematics has a subtle nature with at least two different aspects (metaphorically named “positive” and “negative”), which are worth further exploration.

Geotechnical research on Jiangnan Tu-Dun tomb historical remains in China

INTRODUCTIONHistoricalremainswerenormallymadefromsoilorrocks,andconstructedin/ontheground;soitdidnotcomeasasurprisewhentheywerefoundtoberelatedtogeotechnics.Ontheotherhand,sincethesehistoricalremainsoftencontainedlong-terminformationonpropertychangeandstabilitychangeofearthworks,analysisofsuchinformationmayhelptoclarifysomeageingeffectsproblemsinsoilmechanics(Nishida,1992).Thisgeotechnicalengineeringresearchinvestigatedtheearthfillcha-racteristicsandconstructiontechniquesemployedinthecons…     

Exploring historical ‘frameworks’ as a curriculum goal: a case study examining students’ notions of historical significance when using millennia-wide time scales

History teachers, teacher–researchers, government agencies and history education academics in England often report that students are frequently incapable of producing complex, polythetic or developmental narratives over long time scales. This lack of an overview tends to result in deficiencies in their application of the key concepts of the discipline. Consequently Shemilt has recommended the use of synoptic, millennia-wide ‘frameworks’ of knowledge in order to counteract these issues. With some notable exceptions, however, practising history teachers have appeared sceptical of the benefits of such an approach. I conducted an exploratory case study investigating in what ways a pre-taught framework, in which I had responded to some practitioners’ criticisms, appeared to be manifested in my students’ subsequent thinking regarding historical significance. My goal was to contribute to professional curricular theorising about what constitutes a framework and how it might be expressed as a curricular goal. Themes were derived from pupils’ writing, lesson evaluations, group interviews and observations. Possible curricular goals that were characterised in the students’ work included the pupils producing millennia-wide narratives based on colligatory generalisations and assessments of historical significance incorporating scale-shifting over long time scales.     

How can historical understanding best be assessed? Use of prediction tasks to assess how students understand the role of causal factors that produce historical events

The main objective of this research is to study the viability of using hypothetical problems that need the application of causal models for their solution, as a method for assessing understanding in Social Sciences. So, this method was used to describe how seventh grade students understand causal factors affecting the “discovery and colonization of America”. First, the causal model expected to have been understood was made explicit. Then, eight problems were designed to assess whether students were able to deduce the implications of past conditions and to use these implications to anticipate what consequences would most likely follow in each of the hypothetical problems. 51 seventh graders were interviewed with this purpose, and their answers were coded and analysed. The results have shown that 60 to 100% of seventh graders understand correctly the role of most factors that eased the discovery and the colonization. However, students often had previous ideas that caused them to make erroneous predictions The same results were found when examining whether students had a mental model integrating the different causal factors studied. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Holding the severed finger: Korean students’ understanding of historical significance

This study investigated students’ ideas about historical significance in Korea. Using qualitative, task-based interviews, I interviewed 28 secondary students who had taken Korean and world history courses. In response to various historical contexts, these Korean students relied primarily on a schematic narrative template consisting of ‘tragedy,’ ‘struggle,’ and ‘freedom and equality’ to judge historical significance. This schematic narrative template reflected the national identity which Korea established in the postcolonial context after independence in 1945. By applying this template to world history, moreover, students showed strong sympathy towards the oppressed, and this reflected their resistance to colonial and class hegemony. However, imposing this template resulted in significant omissions and distortions that might hinder the development of critical historical thinking. These findings suggest that a variety of cultural tools are necessary for Korean students to develop more complete and nuanced historical understanding.     

The politics of historical discourse analysis: a qualitative research method?

This article deals with the ways in which historical discourse analysis is at once different from and similar to research described as qualitative or quantitative. It discusses the consequences of applying the standards of such methods to historical discourse analysis. It is pointed out that although the merit of research using historical discourse analysis must not be judged by the standards of qualitative methods alone, it can be easier to admit the influence of the discourse on methodology. Therefore, the article considers whether and how the ideas of validity, reliability, sample, and transferability can be used to explain the merit of study using historical discourse analysis. The author also discusses the basic concepts and principles of historical discourse analysis, and he describes step-by-step a particular way of conducting historical discourse analysis.     

The Language of the Geography Text‐book: an historical appraisal

Graphic elicitation, i.e. asking participants to draw, is an interview technique used to focus the interviewee on the given topic or gain extra meaning not covered verbally as part of the interview. This study analyses two interview contexts which included visual elicitation. It describes a successful example in which the researcher maintained control over the mode of the planned research task (diagram) as well as another example in which slippage occurred between the mode of the planned research task (drawing) and the resulting artefact (diagram). Through this analysis, strategies for maintaining researcher control over the mode of elicitation are identified, increasing our understanding about the theory and practice of both drawings and diagrams as two different modes of visual elicitation. The paper concludes that the required control does not necessarily comprise an increase in task structure (directing participants as to how to draw). Moreover, the subject and purpose of the task are equally important. Successful researcher control then comprises a careful balance between all the three aspects of purpose, structure and subject.     

The Chinese “Open Class”: a conceptual rendering and historical account

The intent of this paper is to make sense of and share with a broader community of teachers and teacher educators a professional development phenomenon that is peculiar to the Chinese elementary and secondary school context. This practice, known as the Open Class, has at least three forms: intra-school, inter-school, and competitive. These forms are defined and delineated at the outset of the paper with particular attention to the distinguishing characteristics of each. This conceptual groundwork paves the way for a detailed historical accounting of this phenomenon over the past 65 years. What we learn is that the Open Class, as a professional development strategy, has waxed and waned based on the political and educational emphases of the day but nonetheless is alive and well in modern-day China. Indeed, it is so commonplace that it has become a norm in Chinese schools. While there remains much to be learned about the Open Class, four lessons learned as a result of the exposition offered in this paper provide a strong basis and valuable springboard for further exploration.     

In search of ‘time-tested truths’: historical perspectives on educational administration

This article has a dual purpose. The first is to pay tribute to the work of Richard Selleck and Geoffrey Sherington; the second to argue that historians of education can make substantial contributions to current and future educational policy and practice by identifying what Ravitch has called ‘time-tested truths’. The nature and purpose of historical study are examined with particular reference to education and to making maps of the past. Examples are provided of the application of historical perspectives to contemporary education issues in 1985 and 1996. The final section draws upon an analysis by leading historians in the USA of the failures of school reform, and a research project into the establishment, nature and likely fate of the Department for Education and Employment in the UK. The basic conclusion is that the development of the field of educational administration requires both specialist historical studies and those informed by a broader understanding of educational and human perspectives.     

University students＇ conceptions about the concept of gene： Interest of historical approach

Concepts of genetics are often difficult to teach, specifically the central concept of gene. Even the scientists disagree when defining this concept. This paper investigates university students＇ understanding about the gene and its functions. The results show the dominance of two conceptions of the gene： the Neoclassical model and the Mendelian model. The existence of hybrid conceptions and the lack of the modern model show that students are unable to mobilize the knowledge taught in biology. These results suggest to improve the teaching methods of genetics, for instance, by developing activities that bring students face to face with their conceptions.     

Raising the participation age in historical perspective: policy learning from the past?

The raising of the participation age (RPA) to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 marks a historic expansion of compulsory education. Despite the tendency of New Labour governments to eschew historical understanding and explanation, RPA was conceived with the benefit of an analysis of previous attempts to extend compulsion in schooling. This paper assesses the value of a historical understanding of education policy. The period from inception to the projected implementation of RPA is an extended one which has crossed over the change of government, from Labour to Coalition, in 2010. The shifting emphases and meanings of RPA are not simply technical issues but connect to profound historical and social changes. An analysis of the history of the raising of the school leaving age reveals many points of comparison with the contemporary situation. In a number of key areas it is possible to gain insights into the ways in which the study of the past can help to comprehend the present: the role of human capital, the structures of education, in curriculum development and in terms of preparations for change.     

Cultural–historical activity theory perspectives on constructing ICT-mediated metaphors of teaching and learning

The identification of personal teaching metaphors is a potentially effective means of assisting pre-service teachers to become reflective teachers. However, although metaphors are often viewed as a way to facilitate self-reflection, teacher education programmes have shed little light on effective communication and collaboration that are essential to enhancing and mediating the construction of metaphors by pre-service teachers. Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), this study explores ways of using information and communication technology (ICT) tools in pre-service teacher education to enhance and mediate the construction of metaphors of teaching and learning. Data included Singaporean pre-service teachers’ ICT-mediated teaching metaphors and online messages. Qualitative analysis revealed that ICT-mediated metaphors provided a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to interact with teacher educators and peers and it empowered them to reflect on the teaching and learning process critically.     

The effect of an historical perspective on prospective teachers’ beliefs in learning mathematics

Many learners hold traditional beliefs about mathematics that can hamper their learning in the discipline. To address this issue, a “history-based” intervention program entailing problem-solving and writing activities that instigate cognitive conflict was implemented. Data sources were pretest and posttest scores of a 12-theme questionnaire designed for this study called “Prospective teachers’ beliefs questionnaire about mathematics learning” and written reflections of prospective teachers. The survey of the prospective teachers beliefs related to the nature of mathematics and the way it is learned, taught, and practiced showed a great majority of them failed to hold progressive beliefs. Fortunately, the intervention program has helped the prospective teachers revise and correct their beliefs, thoughts, and understandings. Study of the prospective teachers’ written reflections and observations of their oral presentations during whole-class discussions strengthen the results of the quantitative study.