The role of children's journals in elementary school science activities

Abstract: This article reports on a study that investigated the ways that children's use of science journals aided their acquisition of science understandings in one kindergarten and one fourth‐grade classroom. The questions for investigation were: how does the child contextualize the science experience on the journal page? How do child‐produced graphics on the journal page reflect the children's experiences with other school texts? The study found that children recontextualized their understandings of the science investigation and phenomena by using three types of mental contexts that were reflected in their science journals: these contexts were imaginary, experienced, and investigative worlds. By drawing on these three worlds or internal contexts, the children were able to pull the external phenomenon into an internal context that was familiar to them. The child's construction of ideas about a current science experience as expressed on the journal page may reflect experiences with other conventional texts. In this study the children's representations of their imaginary, experienced and/or investigative worlds were shaped by other texts and structures such as school science texts. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 43–69, 2001     

Paradise elementary school

This paper is a fictionalized account of the development, within an elementary school, of four distinctive schools-within-schools. Questions and issues arising in developing such programs are discussed, the theme of each of these four is described, and advantages that staff find in the arrangement are presented.     

Assessing elementary school support for inquiry

Increasingly in elementary schools, there has been a focus on the influence of school-level factors on students’ learning. The way in which the learning environment is organised in schools and classrooms is likely to influence students’ opportunities to carry out inquiry. Most studies have focused on the effects of the amount of schooling, rather than effects attributable to support for inquiry in the school context. This study clarifies aspects of school contexts that support inquiry at the school level and describes the development of an inventory to assess school contexts. The Primary School Characteristics Inventory has three components named Motivation for Student Inquiry, Organisational Structures to Support Inquiry and Structures to Support Inquiry Strategies in School. The instrument was effective for identifying schools with varying levels of support for inquiry, suggesting that some schools might need to modify the school context if students are to carry out inquiry in a self-directed way.     

参观日本小学随感

在仙台东北大学国际交流会馆住的许多中国人看来,日本的小学简直可以说是孩子们的游乐场:上课时老师不批评学生,孩子们和老师的关系就是朋友关系,没有家庭作业,班里不设班干部,等等.     

Children's literature for the gifted elementary school child

Long range planning for the gifted should not be limited to our present education systems. Today's educational structures do not provide the best opportunities for these youngsters.     

Guidelines for early admission to elementary school

An early admission procedure is the first step in adjusting formal educational programming to meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of intellectually advanced children. In view of the benefits to the child and potential benefits to society of meeting the intellectually advanced child's needs, it is important that school systems establish early admission policies. This article presents 12 guidelines for processing an early admission applicant.     

Computer assisted counseling — model for the elementary school

Computers are now part and parcel of the instructional process in many elementary schools. In addition to Computer Assisted Instruction, it is possible to utilize the school computer for other educational purposes such as data storage and information retrieval which can conceivably increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the counseling process. The model described in this paper was built so as to provide the school counselor with an instrument which, although based on traditional counseling methods, is immeasurably more accurate in the provision of updated information for diagnostic and other counseling activities and thus contributes to greater counseling efficiency.     

小学语文课堂教学发散性思维训练

培养和发展小学生的创造力是我国当前基础教育改革的重点,也是我国经济发展、社会发展的迫切需要。在相关的理论指导和实践探索的过程中,我们总结出了将学生的发散性思维培养与语文日常课堂教学相结合的训练模式,大大促进了学生创造力的发展,取得了较好的教育效果。     

Math-gender stereotypes in elementary school children

A total of 247 American children between 6 and 10 years of age (126 girls and 121 boys) completed Implicit Association Tests and explicit self-report measures assessing the association of (a) me with male (gender identity), (b) male with math (math-gender stereotype), and (c) me with math (math self-concept). Two findings emerged. First, as early as second grade, the children demonstrated the American cultural stereotype that math is for boys on both implicit and explicit measures. Second, elementary school boys identified with math more strongly than did girls on both implicit and self-report measures. The findings suggest that the math-gender stereotype is acquired early and influences emerging math self-concepts prior to ages at which there are actual differences in math achievement.     

小学科学课程实验研究

本文介绍了小学科学课程实验研究的概况,小学自然课的改革首先是个观念问题,其次才是技巧问题.目前的自然课教学,仍然是重视知识结论而不是提高学生认识事物的能力,应体现科学教育基本理念和整体目标,引导学生获取丰富的事实材料,加以整理综合得出结论,并解释其结果有何意义,从整体上把握科学、技术、社会、个人等因素之间的联系.提高学生的科学素质.     

Needs of elementary and middle school teachers developing online courses for a virtual school

Eight teams of elementary and middle school teachers developed pilot online courses for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA. A qualitative case study with focus groups and a follow‐up survey helped to identify common needs of these non‐traditional course designers during course development efforts. Findings suggest virtual schools can better support non‐traditional course designers by providing leadership components such as technical expertise, regular feedback, and clear expectations, including an understanding of the target students. Findings further suggest designers need a range of bite‐sized professional development on replicating model courses, using course management systems, assessing learners online, designing with copyright and safety issues in mind, integrating Web tools, and developing course documentation for deployment. The article concludes with a discussion of support structures that may aid instructors tasked with online course development.     

Effects of a divorce group intervention for elementary school children

The study investigated the effectiveness of a primary prevention educational support group for children of divorce. Subjects were 60 children, ages 9–11, paired for sex and time since parental separation. Experimental subjects participated in eight weekly group sessions while their yoked controls attended regular classes. Subjects completed pre-and posttest measures of depression, anxiety, divorce information, and feelings about divorce. The group intervention resulted in significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative feelings about divorce. Experimental group scores increased significantly on divorce information. The study suggests that preventive group interventions can result in improved adjustment outcomes for children of divorce.     

Effects of affective education interventions in the elementary school

Affective education programs have had an uneven impact upon children, teachers, and school systems, as have also affective interventions. By integrating environmental press research with Aptitude × Treatment Interaction (ATI) inquiry, affective education appears to be able to merge individual differences with assessment, intervention, and evaluation. This paper describes an experimental intervention and two active control programs and uses an ATI analysis for reporting their impact in the affective domain.