Three traditions of computing: what educators should know

Educators in the computing fields are often familiar with the characterization of computing as a combination of theoretical, scientific, and engineering traditions. That distinction is often used to guide the work and disciplinary self-identity of computing professionals. But the distinction is, by no means, an easy one. The three traditions of computing are based on different principles, they have different aims, they employ different methods, and their products are very different. Educators in the field of computing should be aware of the fundamental differences between the traditions of computing so that they can offer their students a truthful and balanced view about computing branches. In this article the three traditions of computing are presented and some of their underlying assumptions, principles, application areas, restrictions, and weaknesses are portrayed. Also, some of the landmark arguments in the debates about the identity of computing disciplines are discussed.     

The teacher is a learner: Dewey on aims in education

Abstract

In Chapter VIII of Democracy and Education, Dewey objects to all three of the following propositions: (1) education serves predefined aims; (2) Education serves aims that are external to the process of education; and (3) Education serves aims that are imposed by authority. From the vantage point of policy-makers and authors of curriculum guides, these three propositions seem plausible, even self-evident. In this paper, I set forth a critical interpretation and evaluation of Dewey’s objections to them and argue that he saw the aims of education from another point of view, that of a learner. From a learner’s point of view, propositions 2 and 3 are only half-true because external aims that are not shared by the students cannot successfully guide educative activities. As regards proposition 1, Dewey’s philosophy does not accommodate the birds-eye view required to make it literally true. As learners, we cannot have an external view of our entire progress. Some of our aims are, therefore, not predefined but discovered on the way. Dewey’s stance on the role of aims in education is worth serious consideration, because the view of curriculum development and school administration that these three propositions engender is as deeply problematic today as it was when Dewey wrote against them a century ago.     

Making Science Vivid: Using a historical episodes map

Many have argued that the inclusion of the history of science in science teaching might promote an understanding of the nature of science as well as the attitudes toward science. However, its inclusion in science teaching may not have the desired effect due to the limited coverage it receives in textbooks and the limited time available for teaching. A historical episodes map (HEM) is thus developed with four storylines and more than 20 events related to the history of science and is designed to fit in with regular teaching topics. A total of 329 students in Grade 7 were involved in the experimental group and the control group. The control group was taught using the textbook only, while the experimental group was also taught using the textbook plus HEM materials and associated discussion. The intervention of such teaching lasted for a month and a half. The findings reveal that the exposure of students to HEM materials did promote the students’ understanding of the nature of science as well as their attitudes toward science.     

展望云计算技术带给教育行业的变革

云计算技术作为以并行式计算、分布式计算和网格计算为基础发展起来的一门新兴技术,将成为未来计算机技术领域发展的一个重要方向,其高可靠性、可扩展性和高度灵活性,推进IT行业的发展,也正逐步影响着教育行业．介绍了云计算的含义、特点以及服务类型,展望云计算机将给教育行业带来的变革．     

The scientific heritage of Portuguese secondary schools: a historical approach

Portuguese schools hold important collections, most organised in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This scientific heritage, however, is still to be discovered. This article focuses on the creation, development, and role of natural history collections in Portuguese secondary schools, between the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, that is, before and after the introduction of laboratory-based teaching in science education. Material culture is thus used to expand the current narrative of science teaching in Portugal, by tracking these kinds of collections. Contrary to the current view on science teaching in Portuguese secondary education, in this article I argue that by focusing on collections, and more generally on the material culture of secondary schools, a new picture emerges that contradicts the traditional discourse emphasising the scarcity of appropriate school buildings, infrastructure, and equipment. A brief overview of the current state of Portuguese natural history teaching collections is also provided, drawing attention to their vulnerability, given the absence of a general policy or guidelines orienting its conservation.     

A framework to foster problem-solving in STEM and computing education

ABSTRACT

Background: Recent developments in STEM and computer science education put a strong emphasis on twenty-first-century skills, such as solving authentic problems. These skills typically transcend single disciplines. Thus, problem-solving must be seen as a multidisciplinary challenge, and the corresponding practices and processes need to be described using an integrated framework.

Purpose: We present a fine-grained, integrated, and interdisciplinary framework of problem-solving for education in STEM and computer science by cumulatively including ways of problem-solving from all of these domains. Thus, the framework serves as a tool box with a variety of options that are described by steps and processes for students to choose from. The framework can be used to develop competences in problem-solving.

Sources of evidence: The framework was developed on the basis of a literature review. We included all prominent ways of domain-specific problem-solving in STEM and computer science, consisting mainly of empirically orientated approaches, such as inquiry in science, and solely theory-orientated approaches, such as proofs in mathematics.

Main argument: Since there is an increasing demand for integrated STEM and computer science education when working on natural phenomena and authentic problems, a problem-solving framework exclusively covering the natural sciences or other single domains falls short.

Conclusions: Our framework can support both practice and research by providing a common background that relates the ways, steps, processes, and activities of problem-solving in the different domains to one single common reference. In doing so, it can support teachers in explaining the multiple ways in which science problems can be solved and in constructing problems that reflect these numerous ways. STEM and computer science educational research can use the framework to develop competences of problem-solving at a fine-grained level, to construct corresponding assessment tools, and to investigate under what conditions learning progressions can be achieved.     

Pedagogical content knowledge in computing education: a review of the research literature

This review synthesizes literature on computing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Shulman introduced PCK in the 1980s to describe the amalgam of knowledge teachers draw upon in their work and use of the construct is increasing in the computing education community. From a systematic search of the literature, I identified 19 articles drawn from 9 countries for review and summarize how computing PCK is conceptualized and investigated in the data set. Five conceptualizations of computing PCK were present: (a) two models of computing PCK components, (b) one model of PCK development and (c) two models focused on the metaphoric and problem-solving nature of computing. The most common research lines addressed were the nature and development of individual PCK. Mostly qualitative methods created by authors were employed. A focus on discipline-specific approaches for future computing PCK research is recommended.     

HPS教育及对我国科学教育改革的启示

HPS教育是近年来在西方比较有影响的一种科学教育观。HPS教育理论、HPS课．程以及HPS课程的实施对我国当前的科学教育改革都具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Historical writing on science education: a view of the landscape

This article surveys historical scholarship on science education over the last 15 years and lays out a map of the different approaches to writing about this topic found in a variety of disciplines and fields. The hope is to provide scholars interested in science education past and present a better understanding of how this enterprise has functioned in western culture, both in terms of training future scientists and managing the relationship between science and the lay public. Highlighted in this article is the compartmentalised nature of current work which, I argue, presents an obstacle to more productive thinking about the history of science education in modern society.     

Promoting science and technology in primary education: a review of integrated curricula

Integrated curricula seem promising for the increase of attention on science and technology in primary education. A clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of integration efforts could help curriculum innovation. This review has focused on integrated curricula in primary education from 1994 to 2011. The integrated curricula were categorised according to a taxonomy of integration types synthesised from the literature. The characteristics that we deemed important were related to learning outcomes and success/fail factors. A focus group was formed to facilitate the process of analysis and to test tentative conclusions. We concluded that the levels in our taxonomy were linked to (a) student knowledge and skills, the enthusiasm generated among students and teachers, and the teacher commitment that was generated; and (b) the teacher commitment needed, the duration of the innovation effort, the volume and comprehensiveness of required teacher professional development, the necessary teacher support and the effort needed to overcome tensions with standard curricula. Almost all projects were effective in increasing the time spent on science at school. Our model resolves Czerniac’s definition problem of integrating curricula in a productive manner, and it forms a practical basis for decision-making by making clear what is needed and what output can be expected when plans are being formulated to implement integrated education.     

论心理史学取向的中国教育史研究

心理史学理论与方法是研究中国教育史的新视角。从西方心理史学及其研究领域和发展方向看,心理史学理论与方法在中国教育史研究中也是可行的,心理史学理论与方法在中国教育史研究中已见端倪,但在研究过程中应把握心理学理论与中国教育史实的关系、个性与共性的关系、局限性与广泛性的关系等问题。     

`A historical angle’, a survey of recent literature on the use and value of history in geometrical education

In this article we give a survey of recent literature on the use and value of the history of geometry in mathematics education. It turns out that many authors have contributed to the debate why we should apply history. Their arguments can be divided into conceptual, (multi-) cultural and motivational ones. The number of authors who concentrated on the methodological question “How could we introduce history into mathematics lessons?” is considerably smaller. Those who want to make history an integral part of mathematics education have to bridge the gap between theoretical arguments and practical ideas, and, connected with this,between historians and teachers, and ultimately between mathematicians from the past and present day students. We divided the various surveyed publications, mainly journal articles, into categories according to a framework in order to clarify the discussion on the role of the history of geometry in education. Details about content and purpose of the articles are presented in two appendices, which make the articles more accessible both for further research and for practical teacher purposes.     

美国追求基础教育公平的历史渊源

美国是一个新型移民国家,在殖民地教育基础上,开始了基础教育公平的尝试和努力推进,所有的努力和成败值得当代去探源.     

Student performance in computing education: an empirical analysis of online learning in programming education environments

The benefits of using online exercises have been analysed in terms of distance learning, automatic assessment and self-regulated learning. In this study, we have not found a direct proportional relationship between student performance in the course exercises that use online technologies and the exam grades. We see that the average submission rate to these online exercises is not positively correlated with the exercise points. Yet, our results confirm that doing exercises along supports student learning and skill accumulation equipping them with the knowledge of programming. While the student performance in programming courses is affected by factors such as prior background in programming, cognitive skills and the quality of teaching, completing the course exercises via learning-by-doing is an indispensable part of teaching. Based on the student feedback from the course survey, the students are highly satisfied with using online technologies as part of learning.     

论怀特海的教育目的观

怀特海是过程教育哲学的创始人,其教育目的就是要造就有业余爱好者基本优点的专家,或者说培养既有专门知识又有文化的人才。这一教育目的观的现实依据是怀特海个人的经历,其哲学基础则是怀特海的过程哲学思想。怀特海的教育目的观超越了历史上诸多教育思想,在教育史上占有重要地位。文中对怀特海的教育目的观及其历史意义进行了论述。     

Scientific literacy: Its real origin story and functional role in American education

It has been widely accepted in the science education research community that scientific literacy as a concept and phrase was introduced by Paul deHart Hurd in 1958. Recent research into the origins of the phrase, however, has shown this to be incorrect. Its first published use can be traced back, in fact, to 1945, and the phrase was frequently invoked in popular and research publications throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Exploring the historical circumstances of the phrase's introduction into popular discourse, it is argued, reveals that despite the rhetorical power and widespread adoption of the idea, scientific literacy (as others have pointed out) has proven to be little more than an empty slogan that offers no substantive guidance for thinking about the goals of science education. This essay argues that rather than continue to cling to the idea, the field of science education can more productively consider the most relevant and appropriate goals of science teaching by dispensing with the concept altogether.     

西方科学教育与人文教育关系的历史演变

科学教育与人文教育是一对对立统一的矛盾。在西方历史上,人文教育以人的心性完善为目标,注重理智的培养,率先在历史上确立了自己的地位。近代科学的发展促成了科学教育的形成,它的实用性和针对性适应了社会的发展,并逐渐取代了人文教育的社会主导地位。然而,科学教育的过度膨胀带来了对文明社会的破坏,人们重新呼唤人文教育的复归。科学教育与人文教育从相互排斥逐步走向相互融合是一种趋势。     

关于理工类学生科学史教育的几点思考

科学史在沟通人与科学、发扬科学本身蕴含的人精神、提高人素质等方面有着很重要的作用。然而在目前我国理工类大学的教学中,科学史尚未发挥出应有的作用。各院校应把科学史融入专业课教学之中。     

The pedagogy of multiliteracies as a code breaker: A suggestion for a transversal approach to computing education in basic education

While computing has been (re)introduced into the basic education curricula in various countries, its actual implementation appears to be inconsistent. There are schools in which computing education is commonplace, while the implementation seems to be lagging behind in others. There is emerging evidence that some teachers do not consider computing education relevant, meaningful and important and, thus, intentionally neglect its provision. This is problematic as understanding the principles of code and computing is crucial for agentic citizenship in the post-digital era. This paper argues that one main reason for these teachers' reluctance is the economy-driven discursive framing of computing education, which is in contrast with the socialization-oriented manner in which teachers approach their work. To contribute to resolving this issue, the present paper introduces a transversal approach to computing education. It conceptualizes code as a sociomaterial text with social and societal histories and consequences. Theoretically and conceptually, the approach draws on the pedagogy of multiliteracies. The leading idea is that digital technologies are examined with students from functional and critical dimensions and through micro and macro perspectives. The use of wearable sports technologies, such as activity wristbands, are used as practical examples to put the theoretical ideas into context.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Computing has been (re)introduced in the curricula of basic education in various countries.
• Some teachers are found to be reluctant to teach computing in basic education.

What this paper adds

• This paper introduces a transversal multiliteracies-based approach for computing education.

Implications for practice and policy

• Computing should be included in curricula and classrooms in a holistic manner that includes both functional and critical approaches to computing.

     

Reading biographical texts: a gateway to historical disciplinary reading

We examined the response of high school students in Israel to biographical texts. Students were exposed to three sub-genres of biographical texts (a literary-biographical text, an autobiographical text and a scientific-biographical text). These texts all differ from the conceptual schema of ordinary school texts. The data were collected from 64 participants from three classes in two different public schools in Israel. The ability of students to apply historical disciplinary reading skills was evaluated for each text, with an emphasis on ‘sourcing’ and ‘corroboration’. The basic premise was that the texts the students are exposed to influence not only their level of knowledge but also their disciplinary concepts and skills.

We contend that it might be that biographical texts, and especially autobiographical and literary-biographical texts, evoked historical reading in students, and strengthened their disciplinary reading abilities.