Troubling talk: assembling the PhD candidate

When PhD students complain it is assumed there are problems and that troubles talk is evidence of a ‘sick’ research candidature or culture. This paper argues that such a one-dimensional reading fails to attend closely to the academic identity work that is done when students talk together. Identity work has become a useful way of thinking about the nature of PhD study in the production of thesis texts, the development of PhD students as scholars and in the practices of everyday doctoral life. This paper extends this work by analysing various instances of PhD student ‘troubles talk’ in everyday interactions between peers and in online spaces where PhD students congregate. Attention to troubles talk allows us to explore how doctoral students might do academic identity work in the ‘hinterlands’ where academic subjectivity and other forms of subjectivity (wife, husband, parent, son, daughter etc.) start to blur into each other.     

论课堂教学中的对话教育

新一轮课程改革是在全面推进素质教育的背景下实施的。课程改革的目标是围绕着人的培养目标来设计和确定的,强调教学过程是教师与学生积极互动、共同发展,通过对话交流,创设能引导学生主动参与的教育环境,在课堂中创设良好的教育沟通环境,把课堂改造成为师生对话、交流、探究的舞台。     

Going to War with the 3 Rs

This article describes the experiences of a mature dyslexic university art student in a predominantly word-based education system. An autobiographical form is used, placing the writer's personal experience into broader contexts where commentary is made on typical as opposed to good practice. The paper concludes by offering some recommendations which would be beneficial for all art students, but are absolutely vital for dyslexic students.     

Balancing Faculty and Student Preferences in the Assignment of Students to Groups

This article describes a practical methodology for assigning students to groups where the goal is to create diversity within the groups while taking into consideration the preferences of the students. A motivating application of this work is the assignment of students to first‐year seminars. In this common scenario, students select and rank a small subset of seminars from the list of those available. The academic institution then attempts to assign students to a seminar on their list, while maintaining course capacities. Faculty are interested in having seminars that are balanced with regards to gender and the number of international students, while students are interested in being assigned to one of their higher ranked seminars. In this article, we develop a simple multi‐objective convex quadratic program that can determine assignments that are well balanced and satisfy the highest preferences of the students. The advantage of our approach is that the model can be submitted directly to a standard optimization software package, eliminating the need for a specialized algorithm.     

Developing Digital Literacy in the Middle School Classroom

Students are growing up in a digital world where technology is constantly changing and evolving. However, their use of these technologies is often more social rather than academically as a way to advance their understanding of key concepts or skills as it relates to instructional content. Teachers know how to teach, and our students are definitely not afraid of digital tools, so our job as teachers is to merge good, sound teaching practices with media that helps students tap into the digital world in which they live. This article shares the process that was followed as 36 Grade 7 and Grade 8 students participated in a 9-week digital media course. The framework of the course used a highly scaffolded format that incorporated various technology tools while also exposing students to aspects of language arts and process writing. Throughout the 9-week course, the role of teacher and students constantly shifted as new roles were taken on by “experts” (the students) who emerged as part of the process.     

A sense of belonging among Australian university students

ABSTRACT

This study was designed to explore what students perceive as essential factors influencing their sense of belonging. Gaining insight into what students perceive as influencing their sense of belonging enables design of interventions to foster that sense of belonging. Two hundred and nine students from a university in Sydney responded to the question: ‘What would help you to feel that you belong at Macquarie University?’ Results showed students most frequently identified people as instrumental in feeling that they belonged at university. Students also reported that places where there is respect, and where others are accepted, contributed to their feelings of belonging. Lastly, opportunities to interact with other students, such as within clubs, societies and at events, were reported by students to contribute to their feelings of belonging. Findings of the current study are discussed in relation to existing literature, to develop approaches that may enhance university students’ sense of belonging.     

"大一新生综合症"剖析

经过十多年的勤奋学习,许多中学生跨进了向往已久的大学校园。但是,一些新生对这个全新的环境一时还难以适应,产生了“大一新生综合症”。出现这种情况主要有新生自己的原因,当然也有大、中学校、家长和教师方面的因素。为使新生尽快适应新环境,需要上述各方的共同努力。     

In between self-knowledge and school demands: policy enacted in the Swedish middle-year classroom

In this article, we focus on the interaction in a Year 5 classroom where students fill in a ‘self-evaluation form’ as a preparation for a forthcoming discussion on progress aiming at the production of an Individual Developmental Plan. Drawing on the theoretical concepts of fabrications and performativity, we understand this as an enactment of policy where both teacher and students become actors and subjects. From using document analysis together with conversation analysis as a methodological approach, we show how the ‘self-evaluation’ in interaction becomes a successful exercise in fabrications as teacher and student negotiate conceptions of the ideal student in relation to self-knowledge and school demands. The article is an empirically grounded contribution to the understanding of how policies are interpreted and made into being by local actors in everyday practices, in this case teachers and students in schools.     

聚类分析技术在招生宣传工作中的应用研究

针对学校录取的学生数据,通过聚类分析技术对录取学生所在学校的特征进行分析和研究,并利用K—means算法对录取学生所在学校进行细分,归纳出各个簇中的学校的共同特征及生源所在学校的独特特征,采取有效的针对性的宣传渠道,避免因盲目的招生宣传工作造成的人力、财力的损失,提高学校招生宣传工作的效果。     

What counts as a flexible representational choice? An evaluation of students’ representational choices to solve linear function problems

This study evaluated students?? representational choices while they solved linear function problems. Eighty-six secondary-school students solved problems under one choice condition, where they chose a table, a formula, or both to solve each problem, and two no-choice conditions, where one of these representations was forced upon them. Two conceptualisations of representational flexibility were used: a groupwise conceptualisation, where group-based measures of students?? fluency with the different representations were used to determine which representational choices could be considered flexible, and an individualised conceptualisation, where each individual student??s fluency with each of the representations to solve each problem type was taken into account when determining which choices could be considered flexible for that particular student. A strong correlation between groupwise flexibility and choice condition accuracy, and an even stronger correlation between individualised flexibility and choice condition accuracy were found. The implications for research and instruction are discussed.     

Designing Authentic Learning Environments in Chemistry Lessons: Paving the Way in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Authenticity has recently become a popular term in science education. A study focusing on authenticity in the sense of making chemistry lessons better resemble chemistry practice is carried out at the University of Cologne in the Institute of Chemical Education, where prospective chemistry teachers are trained. In the long run an innovative module shall be developed, which challenges teacher students’ pre-conceptions about characteristics of chemistry practice and supports them in translating their conceptions into authentic learning environments. This paper presents the first part of the project in which course elements to stimulate reflection on students’ attitudes were evaluated. Moreover the students were given an opportunity for teacher students to create a practical activity for pupils in order to detect aspects in which the students need more support, for example possible ways for this transformation or more experience with inquiry-based learning.     

Test Takers and the Validity of Score Interpretations

This article argues that test takers are as integral to determining validity of test scores as defining target content and conditioning inferences on test use. A principled sustained attention to how students interact with assessment opportunities is essential, as is a principled sustained evaluation of evidence confirming the validity or calling into question the inferences for individual students. Three innovative assessment systems are highlighted to illustrate where and how the developers might handle diverse test taker needs and learning characteristics. ONPAR measures challenging content using multisemiotic methods and novel item types, designing items to handle multiple profiles so they are accessible for most students. Dynamic Learning Maps has built an innovative network of learning maps, and multiple pathways designed to model how diverse students acquire knowledge. To support their assessments, the National Center and State Collaborative has built an exemplary web of educator resources such as content modules and guides in order to support differentiated learning.     

设疑·讨论·点拨·实践"古代汉语四步教学法——论古代汉语教学方法的改革

如果我们把学生获取知识、发展能力的过程比喻为学生到知识的宫殿去发掘知识宝藏的过程,那么古代汉语四步教学法的意义就在于:"设疑"激发了学生敲开知识宫殿大门的兴趣;"讨论"引导学生踏上了通往知识宫殿的征途;"点拨"使学生获得了开启知识宫殿大门的金钥匙;"实践"就能让学生进入知识的宫殿去获取无尽的宝藏。     

论高等院校育人环境的构筑

我国高等院校是培养高级专门人才的地方 ,不仅要重视学校自然环境的优化 ,而且要加强校园精神文化的建设 ;积极倡导全体师生员工共同营造健康的育人环境 ,充分发挥校园环境育人的功能 .     

Frailty in transition? Troubling the norms,boundaries and limitations of transition theory and practice

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on ‘transition’ and how it is understood within higher education. Drawing on data from concept map-mediated interviews at two institutions, we examine the conceptions of transition held by academic and professional staff, who work to support students’ learning into and through higher education. We suggest that normative understandings of transition often draw upon a grand-narrative that orchestrates and reiterates a stereotypic understanding of students’ experiences. Often this narrative involves students’ interpellation into a field of discourse where the subject is constructed as both homogeneous and in deficit: ill-prepared, lacking in independence, as vulnerable and in need of support. However, this study suggests that beneath this discourse lies a more nuanced picture: one where students’ experiences can be conceptualised as diverse and fluid. Moreover, we employ the concept of pedagogic ‘frailty’ to expose the significance of the environments and wider contexts in which students ‘transition’, and to explore the impact of systemic tensions upon students’ experiences. This article further argues that future research should shift discussions away from the deficits of students, and examine how we can make underlying environmental and systemic challenges more explicit, in order to widen our understanding and discussions of these constraints.     

Small Group Work in Accounting Education: an evaluation of a programme for first‐year students

One important skill many students develop during their secondary schooling is the ability to work in groups, using the group both as a resource and a support system. At the tertiary level, where the traditional lecture/tutorial format is the main means for course delivery, these skills are not generally afforded formal recognition and often remain under‐utilised. Group work programmes in higher education that have been reported generally describe situations where group work is integrated into tutorials and lectures. This article explores the potential of group work schemes which operate outside the regular timetable. It describes a programme of small collaborative working groups which was offered to students in a first‐year accounting degree course and evaluates the programme's effectiveness in assisting students with their studies, and with their overall integration into university culture. The results, practical considerations for any academics wishing to duplicate the scheme, as well as areas for further research are discussed.     

The DIYLab project (Do It Yourself in Education: Expanding Digital Competence to Foster Student Agency and Collaborative Learning) / El proyecto DIYLab (Do It Yourself in Education: Expanding Digital Competence to Foster Student Agency and Collaborative Learning)

The DIYLab project aims to promote lifelong learning by expanding students’ digital competences, autonomy and creativity through collaborative and meaningful learning. DIYLab locates students at the centre of the learning experience, turning them into the producer of their own learning material. This three-year-old project has been implemented in primary schools, secondary schools and universities in three European countries, where students create digital products that are subsequently published through a Hub or digital centre.     

An evaluation of the learning of structural engineering concepts during the first two years of a project-based engineering degree

In the modern working environment it is essential for a structural engineer to have an understanding of abstract concepts in structural behaviour and an ability to use them qualitatively. This paper presents the findings of a study on how effectively students acquire such conceptual understanding within a new project/design focused degree course. The new degree programme is described. The first-year students experience a mixture of learning opportunities, including model building/testing, laboratories, workshops/tutorials, and lectures. In the second year there are two design exercises but no formal structural theory course. Specific concepts-based learning material was introduced into the first-year course at mid-semester and the effectiveness of this examined by tests and interviews. The performance of the first-year students is compared to that of the second-year students. The findings show that there is good student engagement and satisfaction with the course and that basic skills are successfully being acquired throughout both years. However, the study highlights areas where concepts are not being adequately developed in the first year and subsequently show little enhancement in the second year.     

专科院校学生心理幸福感研究

采用Ryff心理幸福感量表对专科院校学生心理幸福感进行研究,结果表明,不同年级的学生在心理幸福感中的掌控环境、自我接纳方面有显著性差异;男生和女生在自我接纳、生活目标方面存在显著性差异;不同来源的学生自我接纳、自主性方面存在显著性差异．建议充分利用心理咨询、课堂教学、开设心理教育必修课、加强校园文化建设等途径提高学生的心理幸福感．     

Design-Based Research Within the Constraints of Practice: AlgebraByExample

Superintendents from districts in the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) challenged the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) to identify an approach to narrowing the minority student achievement gap in Algebra 1 without isolating minority students for intervention. SERP partnered with 8 MSAN districts and researchers from 3 universities to design and rigorously test AlgebraByExample, a set of 42 Algebra 1 assignments with interleaved worked examples that target common misconceptions and errors. In a year-long random-assignment study, students who received AlgebraByExample assignments had an average 7 percentage point boost on a posttest containing released items from state assessments, and students in the bottom half of the performance distribution where minority students are disproportionately concentrated had an average 10 percentage point boost on a researcher-designed assessment of conceptual understanding. AlgebraByExample is easily incorporated into any existing curriculum, and naturally serves as a launch point for mathematically rich discussion.