Decentering the teacher: a practitioner's acccount

This article is an account of an action research project conducted in a first grade classroom. The practitioner-researcher describes a process of “decentering.” Realizing that centering learners necessarily means decentering the practitioner, the author collaborates with his first grade class to identify and clarify the problems associated with teacher centeredness. This article describes the groups' development and implementation of strategies and includes reflections upon understandings and project-derived assertions. The account presents students' perspectives and interpretations and the practitioner's emergent theories as they evolved throughout this collaborative endeavor. The author asserts that the research has potential relevancy to a variety of other teaching contexts.     

自组织理论及其教育研究应用前景探析

自组织理论包括新三论(耗散结构理论、协同学、突变论)和超循环理论、分形理论、混沌理论,是系统科学发展的第二阶段研究成果。在教育技术领域内,教学设计的产生直接得益于系统科学研究的第一阶段成果——"老三论",遂将其置于四大理论基础中的首位。近几年,后现代课程研究中已经率先引入了自组织理论分析研究教育教学理论与实践,教育技术领域引介与应用这一重要的科学研究思想方法也势在必行。当前引入与借鉴的落脚点,主要表现在自组织理论为数字化学习理论——关联主义(Connectivism),以及教学过程中的协同学习、协作学习提供核心理论支撑,并对整个教育技术的研究方法具有重要指导意义方面。如果在一个更开阔的研究视野下看待自组织理论与教育技术研究的结合,发现人脑(或认知结构)中知识的自组织演化问题也很有研究价值。     

Investigating learners’ use and understanding of peer and teacher feedback on writing: A comparative study in a Chinese English writing classroom

Existing comparative studies between peer and teacher feedback in English writing classes have predominantly used frequency measures of peer and teacher feedback in learners’ revisions to suggest their relative values for developing learners’ writing proficiency. However, learners do not necessarily understand the feedback that is used in their redrafts.This study distinguished learners’ use from their understanding of peer and teacher feedback. Eighteen Chinese university English learners participated in the study for sixteen weeks. Three research methods were adopted: (a) content analyses of learners’ use of feedback, (b) stimulated recall interviews on learners’ understanding of feedback, and (c) interviews on the factors that affected learners’ responses to feedback.The findings suggested that the learners used more teacher than peer feedback in their redrafts. However, interviews with these learners revealed that they used a larger percentage of teacher feedback than peer feedback without understanding its significance or value. Student interviews uncovered learners’ passive acceptance of teacher feedback and the facilitative role of first language use in peer interaction.This study suggests that learners’ understanding of feedback should be taken as at least an equally important factor as learners’ use of feedback in examining the relative value of peer and teacher feedback for developing learners’ writing proficiency.     

Fostering multiple text comprehension: How metacognitive strategies and motivation moderate the text-belief consistency effect

Learners often have difficulties comprehending multiple texts about controversial scientific issues. In particular, learners with strong prior beliefs tend to construct a one-sided mental representation that is biased towards belief-consistent information (text-belief consistency effect). In the present study we examined the effectiveness of information of three metacognitive strategies tailored to strengthen the comprehension of belief-inconsistent information during multiple text comprehension. According to theories of self-regulated learning, knowledge about relevant metacognitive strategies improves comprehension only when learners are also motivated to use these strategies. These hypotheses were investigated in an experiment in which 85 participants read one belief-consistent and one belief-inconsistent text about a controversial scientific issue. Participants either received information about three metacognitive strategies or no additional information. In addition, participants’ motivation was manipulated by providing them with either negative or positive performance feedback or no feedback. As predicted, a text-belief consistency effect was found, which was eliminated by strengthening the situation model for the belief-inconsistent text only when learners received information about relevant metacognitive strategies and were motivated to use these strategies after positive performance feedback.     

语篇分析视角下的大学英语听力

听力一直是许多学生英语学习中的一大障碍。尝试把语篇分析理论引入大学英语听力教学中,根据英语语篇的特点,结合听力理解的心理过程,说明听力理解是建立在语篇分析的基础上的。认为在听力教学中应帮助学生树立语篇意识,根据语篇的一些特点,抓住所听信息的主要线索,进行主动预测,达到对所听材料全面、深刻的理解,从而有效提高听力水平。     

从建构主义观点论英语教材设计与编写

建构主义理论被认为是目前最具前景的学习理论,认为学习是学习者主动建构意义的过程。本文 阐述了建构主义全新的教学理论,并结合其基本理论阐述了对英语教材设计与编写的启示。     

Understanding Possibilities and Limitations of Abstract Chemical Representations for Achieving Conceptual Understanding

When learning with abstract and scientific multiple external representations (MERs), low prior knowledge learners are said to have difficulties in using these MERs to achieve conceptual understanding. Yet little is known about what these limitations precisely entail. In order to understand this, we presented 101 learners with low prior knowledge of abstract scientific MERs to see (a) how many, and what kind of ideas (propositions) learners remembered from these MERs and (b) what the impact of these ideas is on conceptual understanding of the content. Propositional analysis indicates that learners created flawed internal representations. The discussion analyses the potentials that the learners have in using abstract representations to increase their understanding of scientific information and possible effects of instruction.     

国外多媒体教学中学习者认知表征方式的理论

多媒体教学具有其理想功能,其实现的关键是客观上多元的刺激与学习者主观的表征方式的结合。许多认知表征理论为多媒体教学提供了理论基础和实践指导,多表现在知识的表征系统、表征资源和表征方法等方面。教师在设计和实施多媒体教学时,对于同时加工所需的感官通道的数量、知识的情境性、先前经验、信息的选择问题等方面应做良好的考量和设计。     

Discovering Plate Boundaries in Data-integrated Environments: Preservice Teachers' Conceptualization and Implementation of Scientific Practices

Drawn from the norms and rules of their fields, scientists use variety of practices, such as asking questions and arguing based on evidence, to engage in research that will contribute to our understanding of Earth and beyond. In this study, we explore how preservice teachers' learn to teach scientific practices while teaching plate tectonic theory. In particular, our aim is to observe which scientific practices preservice teachers use while teaching an earth science unit, how do they integrate these practices into their lessons, and what challenges do they face during their first time teaching of an earth science content area integrated with scientific practices. The study is designed as a qualitative, exploratory case study of seven preservice teachers while they were learning to teach plate tectonic theory to a group of middle school students. The data were driven from the video records and artifacts of the preservice teachers' learning and teaching processes as well as written reflections on the teaching. Intertextual discourse analysis was used to understand what scientific practices preservice teachers choose to integrate into their teaching experience. Our results showed that preservice teachers chose to focus on four aspects of scientific practices: (1) employing historical understanding of how the theory emerged, (2) encouraging the use of evidence to build up a theory, (3) observation and interpretation of data maps, and (4) collaborative practices in making up the theory. For each of these practices, we also looked at the common challenges faced by preservice teachers by using constant comparative analysis. We observed the practices that preservice teachers decided to use and the challenges they faced, which were determined by what might have come as in their personal history as learners. Therefore, in order to strengthen preservice teachers' background, college courses should be arranged to teach important scientific ideas through scientific practices. In addition, such practices should also reflect the authentic practices of earth scientists such as use of historical record and differentiating observation versus interpretation.     

学习分析技术:挖掘大数据时代下教育数据的价值

当前,大数据时代已经来临,教育领域同样积累了海量数据。教育领域已经部署了众多的学习管理系统,在这些软件系统中存储着海量的学习者信息及学习过程数据。如何利用这些数据,使这些数据转变为信息、知识,并为教学决策、学习优化服务,已成为教育工作者以及学习者们所关注的内容。学习分析技术有助于发挥学习过程数据的价值,使数据成为审慎决策、过程优化的重要依据。该文介绍了国内外学习分析技术研究现状,归纳出学习分析技术的关键技术及分析模式,并以实例从不同用户视角包括管理者、辅导教师、学习者展示了学习分析技术在网络学习过程分析中的应用过程。     

日本放送大学广播电视手段应用现状及借鉴意义

通过对日本放送大学近年来的办学成果数据、广播电视手段应用现状和广播电视课程服务提供等的介绍分析,可以得出日本放送大学在坚持广播电视手段应用体现办学宗旨和特色、满足学习者需求,以及需要信息服务支持等方面,对中国的开放大学具有借鉴意义。     

Exploring teachers' language use in university foreign language classes and its effects on students' second language learning

This study aims to explore teachers' language use in foreign language classes and its effects on students' second language learning. Data was collected from postgraduates class in a quantitative way, the research findings showed that students have positive attitude towards the first language use in foreign language classes, which is for better understanding and acquire other information out of the class. Students, for their part,based on their previous socialization as instructed FL classroom learners, may also not realize that they are entitled to and might benefit from greater exposure to the TL in these courses.     

论大学英语自主学习的评估模式

自主学习是当今教育界提倡的基于人本主义“以学习者为中心”理念的一种学习方式,但其需要一个科学有效的评估模式来保证学习质量。文章分析指出,自主学习的评估模式是以形成性评估为主、总结性评估为辅的评估模式,并结合黑龙江大学大学英语自主学习教学改革的经验从评估的四大参与者（教学管理部门、教师、学生和家长）的角度,提出了该模式在具体操作上的建议。     

A systematic review of empirical studies using log data from open-ended learning environments to measure science and engineering practices

Technology-based, open-ended learning environments (OELEs) can capture detailed information of students' interactions as they work through a task or solve a problem embedded in the environment. This information, in the form of log data, has the potential to provide important insights about the practices adopted by students for scientific inquiry and problem solving. How to parse and analyse the log data to reveal evidence of multifaceted constructs like inquiry and problem solving holds the key to making interactive learning environments useful for assessing students' higher-order competencies. In this paper, we present a systematic review of studies that used log data generated in OELEs to describe, model and assess scientific inquiry and problem solving. We identify and analyse 70 conference proceedings and journal papers published between 2012 and 2021. Our results reveal large variations in OELE and task characteristics, approaches used to extract features from log data and interpretation models used to link features to target constructs. While the educational data mining and learning analytics communities have made progress in leveraging log data to model inquiry and problem solving, multiple barriers still exist to hamper the production of representative, reproducible and generalizable results. Based on the trends identified, we lay out a set of recommendations pertaining to key aspects of the workflow that we believe will help the field develop more systematic approaches to designing and using OELEs for studying how students engage in inquiry and problem-solving practices.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Research has shown that technology-based, open-ended learning environments (OELEs) that collect users' interaction data are potentially useful tools for engaging students in practice-based STEM learning.
• More work is needed to identify generalizable principles of how to design OELE tasks to support student learning and how to analyse the log data to assess student performance.

What this paper adds

• We identified multiple barriers to the production of sufficiently generalizable and robust results to inform practice, with respect to: (1) the design characteristics of the OELE-based tasks, (2) the target competencies measured, (3) the approaches and techniques used to extract features from log files and (4) the models used to link features to the competencies.
• Based on this analysis, we can provide a series of specific recommendations to inform future research and facilitate the generalizability and interpretability of results:
  • Making the data available in open-access repositories, similar to the PISA tasks, for easy access and sharing.
  • Defining target practices more precisely to better align task design with target practices and to facilitate between-study comparisons.
  • More systematic evaluation of OELE and task designs to improve the psychometric properties of OELE-based measurement tasks and analysis processes.
  • Focusing more on internal and external validation of both feature generation processes and statistical models, for example with data from different samples or by systematically varying the analysis methods.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Using the framework of evidence-centered assessment design, we have identified relevant criteria for organizing and evaluating the diverse body of empirical studies on the topic and that policy makers and practitioners can use for their own further examinations.
• This paper identifies promising research and development areas on the measurement and assessment of higher-order constructs with process data from OELE-based tasks that government agencies and foundations can support.
• Researchers, technologists and assessment designers might find useful the insights and recommendations for how OELEs can enhance science assessment through thoughtful integration of learning theories, task design and data mining techniques.