The role of motor processes in three-dimensional mental rotation: Shaping cognitive processing via sensorimotor experience

An extensive body of literature has explored the involvement of motor processes in mental rotation, yet underlying individual differences are less documented and remain to be fully understood. We propose that sensorimotor experience shapes spatial abilities such as assessed in mental rotation tasks. Elite wrestlers' and non-athletes' mental rotation accuracy and response times were measured in three different conditions: mental rotation (a), mental rotation with visual (b) and movement (c) interference. Results showed that both groups were equally affected by the visual interference task, as hypothesized from previous literature. However, the movement interference task impacted tremendously more wrestlers' mental rotation performance. These findings suggest that experts in motor activities rely heavily on motor processes in three-dimensional mental rotation problems solving, thus performing more poorly when simultaneously holding movements. The implications of this work in providing further evidence for the close tie between perceptive, motor and cognitive processes are discussed.     

New ways of being public: the experience of foundation degrees

This article explores the recent development of new spheres of public engagement within UK higher education through an analysis of the foundation degree qualification. These, according to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), were designed to equip students with the combination of technical skills, academic knowledge, and transferable skills increasingly being demanded by employers, and they have been identified as being at the forefront of educational agendas aimed at increasing employer engagement in the higher education (HE) sector. As such, they might be regarded as an expression of the ‘increasing privatisation’ of HE. However, this article argues that, on the contrary, they have enabled the development of new areas of public engagement relating to the design and delivery of courses as well as providing new opportunities for the pursuit of public policy goals such as widening participation. Such outcomes, it is argued, are the result of a number of factors that explain the ‘publicness’ of the qualification and that should be sustained to ensure the implementation of the 2006 Leitch Report in a manner that further develops public engagement.     

Text learning strategies of good and poor learners: The quality of processing activity assessed by a secondary task method

European Journal of Psychology of Education -     

The development of mental processing: efficiency,working memory,and thinking

This Monograph aims to contribute to the information processing, the differential, and the developmental modeling of the mind, and to work these into an integrated theory. Toward this aim, a longitudinal study is presented that investigates the relations between processing efficiency, working memory, and problem solving from the age of 8 years to to the age of 16 years. The study involved 113 participants, about equally drawn among 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-olds at the first testing; these participants were tested two more times spaced one year apart. Participants were tested with a large array of tasks addressed to processing efficiency (i.e., speed of processing and inhibition), working memory (in terms of Baddeley's model, phonological storage, visual storage, and the central executive of working memory), and problem solving (quantitative, spatial, and verbal reasoning). Confirmatory factor analysis validated the presence of each of the above dimensions and indicated that they are organized in a three-stratum hierarchy. The first stratum includes all of the individual dimensions mentioned above. These dimensions are organized, at the second stratum, in three constructs: processing efficiency, working memory, and problem solving. Finally, all second-order constructs are strongly related to a third-order general factor. This structure was stable in time. Structural equation modeling indicated that the various dimensions are interrelated in a cascade fashion so that more fundamental dimensions are part of more complex dimensions. That is, speed of processing is the most important aspect of processing efficiency, and it perfectly relates to the condition of inhibition, indicating that the more efficient one is in stimulus encoding and identification, the more efficient one is in inhibition. In turn, processing efficiency is strongly related to the condition of executive processes in working memory, which, in turn, is related to the condition of the two modality-specific stores (phonological and visual). Finally, problem solving is related to processing efficiency and working memory, the central executive in particular. All dimensions appear to change systematically with time. Growth modeling suggested that there are significant individual differences in attainment in each of the three aspects of the mind investigated. Moreover, each of the three aspects of the mind as well as their interrelations change differently during development. Mixture growth modeling suggested that there are four types of developing persons, each defined by a different combination of performance in these aspects of the mind. Some types are more efficient and stable developers than others. These analyses indicated that processing efficiency is a factor closely associated with developmental differences in problem solving, whereas working memory is associated with individual differences. Modeling by logistic equations uncovered the rates and form of change in the various dimensions and their reciprocal interactions during development. These findings are discussed from the point of view of information processing, differential, and developmental models of thinking, and an integrative model is proposed.     

e-Assessment and the student learning experience: A survey of student perceptions of e-assessment

This paper describes a piece of research carried out at the University of Bradford into student perceptions of e-assessment. An online questionnaire was delivered to 130 undergraduates who had taken part in online assessment (either formative or summative) during the academic year 2007–2008. The survey looked at six main dimensions: (1) affective factors, (2) validity, (3) practical issues, (4) reliability, (5) security, and (6) learning and teaching. The aim of the survey was to identify possible risks in planning e-assessments, as well as to gauge student opinion. The findings of the survey indicated a range of opinions across the student body, with greatest concern about the fairness of item banking. It was also found that the most positive aspect of e-assessment in the eyes of students concerned the benefits that it can bring to teaching and learning. In addition, the paper concludes that age and gender did not significantly affect student responses in any of the areas studied.     

The contribution of phonological awareness and receptive and expressive english to the reading ability of deaf students with varying degrees of exposure to accurate english

This study was planned with the knowledge that the tasks of reading require the same acquisition of skills, whether a child is hearing or deaf, monolingual, or bilingual. Reading and language research literature was reviewed. Subjects were 31 deaf students (7.9-17.9 years of age) who attended one of three U.S. programs. Performance on 15 language and literacy measures was analyzed. Results were that students who scored highest on a passage-comprehension measure also were more able (a) to provide synonyms, antonyms, and analogies of read words and phrases, (b) to read more listed words, and (c) to substitute one phoneme more correctly for another to create new words than were readers with lower scores. Two groups of students also were compared: a Longer Exposure to English Group (n = 22) who used Signing Exact English (SEE) for 5 years or more and a Shorter Exposure Group (n = 8) exposed to SEE for less than 2 years. A correlational analysis revealed that there were no significant relationships among 14 background variables with the exception of age of identification of hearing loss, a variable then covaried in subsequent analysis of covariance. Students in the Longer Exposure Group scored higher on all measures. Significant differences were found between groups for short-term memory, receptive and expressive English, and five phonological subtests. Mini-case studies and the performance of eight students in the Longer Exposure Group who scored lowest on the comprehension measure also are discussed.     

Development of mental attention in gifted and mainstream children: the role of mental capacity, inhibition, and speed of processing

The study examined performance of 6- to 11-year-old children, from gifted and mainstream academic programs, on measures of mental-attentional capacity, cognitive inhibition, and speed of processing. In comparison with mainstream peers, gifted children scored higher on measures of mental-attentional capacity, responded more quickly on speeded tasks of varying complexity, and were better able to resist interference in tasks requiring effortful inhibition. There was no group difference on a task requiring automatic inhibition. Comparisons between older and younger children yielded similar results. Correlations between inhibition tasks suggest that inhibition is multidimensional in nature, and its application may be affected by task demands. Measures of efficiency of inhibition and speed of processing did not explain age or group differences on a complex intellective measure of mental-attentional capacity.     

论人生境遇与大学生抗挫折能力

人生境遇是人生道路上出现的顺境和逆境,困难和逆境也是人生进步和成功的机遇,是当代大学生必须面对和正确思考的课题.本文力图论述人生境遇及其对大学生的作用;分析大学生境遇的特殊性;探索大学生应对挫折的能力;培养大学生抵抗挫折能力,使其抓住机遇,发展自己.     

学业不良儿童基本学习能力培养的研究与训练

学业不良儿童基本学习能力培养的研究对当前基础教育课程改革具有现实意义。只有提高学生的学习基本能力,学生在学习中遇到困难的种种表现都会得到缓解和克服。对学业不良儿童的概念要作出界定和分类,目的是确定学业不良儿童诊断的模式与方法,并在吸收国外对学习能力困难学生干预的基础上,提出符合中国教育实际的学习能力优化训练的新模式与操作方法,从而从根本上解决学习困难儿童存在的问题。     

贝尔实验室创新经验的启迪

介绍美国著名的贝尔实验室发展的成功经验.该室从基础研究起步,把创新放在首要的地位,培养出了11位诺贝尔物理学奖的获得者,发明了许多划时代的产品,不但使贝尔实验室获得了巨大的经济效益和声誉,而凡使美国经济的发展上了一个新台阶.贝尔实验室的成功经验值得我们研究和学习.     

Assessing perceptions of the environment in elementary classrooms: the link with achievement

This paper examines students' perceptions of their classroom environment and the possible effect of these perceptions on math and reading achievement. Additionally, the paper investigates the significance of gender and grade level on students' perceptions of the classroom environment.

Participants were elementary school students in a large urban school district in the western part of the US. Data collected were based on test scores on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) and scores on the My Classroom Inventory (MCI) to measure perceptions. Correlation analyses and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedures were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that the perceptions of the general classroom environment were significantly related to math and reading achievement, although this was not the case for the individual dimensions of the classroom environment. Gender had no statistically significant association with the students' perceptions of the classroom environment, whereas the grade level had a statistically significant relationship with the perceptions.     

知人善任:近代企业经营与管理——以李鸿章与唐廷枢为中心的探讨

洋务运动时期,李鸿章起用了买办出身的唐廷枢来经营管理轮船招商局等民用企业,李鸿章知人善任,唐廷枢务实负责,二人相得益彰,为中国早期工业化作出了贡献。     

Coping with high-achieving transnationalist immigrant students: The experience of Israeli teachers

Little attention has been paid to teacher attitudes toward high-achieving culturally diverse student groups. This in-depth study focuses on the experience of Israeli teachers who tell the story of a decade and a half of educational work with their highly motivated, academically successful immigrant students from the Former Soviet Union. The paper explores the differential effect of subject matter and seniority on teachers’ experience. It analyzes communication patterns between teachers and their high-achieving transnationalist immigrant students according to these parameters. Implications for the educational treatment of academic excellence among immigrant students in a globalized context are considered.     

The delicate dance: the assessment implications of awarding students vocational qualifications within university degrees

This paper explores the implications for assessment of embedding qualifications from the vocational education and training (VET) sector within university qualifications. As VET qualifications are now all competency based, assessment in the two sectors is quite different, since universities have generally eschewed competency‐based training and assessment. A general discussion of the issues is followed by the results of a small‐scale research study carried out in the VET discipline area itself, with participants drawn from the AVTEC list of VET teacher‐educators. Telephone interviews were conducted with nine Australian university academics involved with such qualifications; and data were extracted from a broader study of students who had undertaken the Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training embedded within degrees and graduate diplomas in VET at one of these universities. It is clear that there are many assessment challenges involved with the practice of embedding, which have not yet been systematically addressed.     

培智数学课堂教学社区化的实践

数学是一门逻辑思维比较强,内容比较广泛、抽象的学科。智障儿童的思维肤浅．各方面的思维活动大大落后于正常的同龄孩子,对他们来说,学习数学是一件很不容易的事。特别是重度智障学生,经过多年的课堂教学．最简单、最基础的数学知识也很难习得。在教师的千遍万遍教学之下,有些学生好不容易学会的点滴知识却不会运用于现实的生活之中,[第一段]     

The Logic of Loans: students' perceptions of the costs and benefits of the student loan

Government policy towards financial support for students means that students increasingly have to bear the costs of their education, often through acquiring significant student debt. This policy is largely justified with reference to the private benefits (through enhanced life-time earnings) that university graduates can expect to enjoy. Using evidence from a qualitative study of 49 students, this paper analyses the extent to which students are engaged in a process of rational weighing-up of the costs and benefits of higher education as implied by the policy stance. It also explores their interpretation of their financial position and Government policy towards them. It argues that students are very poorly informed about both the costs and benefits of higher education, and that financial outcomes are not created in an essentially private and individual fashion, but instead are strongly mediated by cultural and familial resources.     

Becoming a physician: The influence of the undergraduate experience

This study employed a national sample of college students who initially aspired to be, or later became, physicians to determine the influence of precollege characteristics, college origins, and the academic and social experience of college on the likelihood of becoming a physician. Estimates of a 14-variable causal model indicated that the major direct effects on attainment were attributable to college characteristics and the academic experience of college. Net of other causes, the selectivity/prestige of the undergraduate institution attended, collegiate academic achievement, and majoring in the physical or life sciences each had significant direct effects on becoming a physician. The direct positive influence of college quality, however, was partially counterbalanced by its negative indirect effect. Moreover, the greatest advantage in attending an elite institution accrued to those students with relatively high levels of academic performance. As academic performance declined, so did the positive effect of college quality. The effects of precollege characteristics on becoming a physician were largely indirect, mediated by the student's college experience. Net of other factors, women were no less likely than men to become physicians, but being female had a significant negative indirect effect. Conversely, secondary school achievement did not directly influence attainment but did have a large positive indirect influence.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, San Diego, February, 1987.