培智学校协同教学的实施

当前培智学校教师缺乏多学科的专业知识和技能,学生障碍状况复杂,班级规模较大,教师需要协同教学,以更好应对综合课程的要求,并更有针对性地发展学生能力。培智学校协同教学可以按照"组建团队"、"集体备课"、"合作授课"、"共同评价反思"的程序来实施。实施过程中建议学校开设实验班,展现协同教学的成效;学校实行适度管理,体现协同教学的自主;教师之间建立平等的地位,实现教学的协同。     

Teachers’ views of the challenges of teaching grade 9 applied mathematics in Toronto schools

Mathematics teachers, mathematics department heads, curriculum leaders, and administrators from 11 schools in four school boards from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, participated in a project to improve the teaching and learning in grade 9 mathematics classrooms. In each of these schools, an implementation team was created, so that at least three teachers from every school could collaborate, in order to improve learning outcomes of their students. This article reports on the challenges identified by teachers when they taught grade 9 applied mathematics. Teachers’ views of challenges fell into five main layers: (a) teacher professional development and pedagogical skills, (b) student learning needs, (c) settlement issues and families’ social and economic background, (d) administrative difficulties and resources, and (e) curricular issues. These challenges were complex and interconnected, demanding special remedial efforts by the administration and teachers. By reflecting on the challenges and practices, these teachers made a long-term strategy to engage in professional development activities to better understand their students’ learning needs and to improve their achievement in provincial tests.     

Joining up the DOTs: authentic teaching and learning in Design and Technology education

This paper reports on an innovative approach for teaching creativity in Design and Technology education based on the notions of authentic learning. Working with secondary schools in England and Ireland, the research team has been developing an intervention known as ‘Designing Our Tomorrow’ (DOT) which introduced students to the important principles of Inclusive Design (also known as Universal Design). Through interview and survey data, the team gained insights into students’ responses to the DOT intervention and they found that students’ creativity and empathy were enhanced following their engagement with the intervention materials.     

Teaching Teamwork: Electronics Instruction in a Collaborative Environment

ABSTRACT

The Teaching Teamwork Project is using an online simulated electronic circuit, running on multiple computers, to assess students’ abilities to work together as a team. We pose problems that must be tackled collaboratively, and log students’ actions as they attempt to solve them. Team members are isolated from one another and can communicate only through an online chat channel, but modifications to the circuit made by any team member, insofar as they alter the behavior of the circuit, can affect measurements made by the others. We log all relevant student actions, including calculations (using an online calculator), measurements (using an online multimeter), inter-student communications, and alterations made by the students to the circuit itself. Automated analysis of the resulting data sheds light on the problem-solving strategy of each team, sometimes with surprising results.     

The ‘campus imaginary’: online students’ experience of the masters dissertation at a distance

Higher education research has overlooked online distance Masters students’ experiences of independent research, and this is an important gap at a time when increasing numbers of taught postgraduate programmes are delivered online. This article discusses findings from interviews with eighteen graduates from four online Masters programmes. It introduces a key theme from the research: the concept of the ‘campus imaginary’, which emerged during analysis as a way of accounting for interviewees’ tendencies to attribute challenging experiences to being at a distance from their supervisors, peers and the university campus. Common issues for Masters students, such as unexpected obstacles, difficult supervisory relationships, lack of time, and feelings of isolation were interpreted by students as features of the online dissertation process. We argue that the over-privileging of the campus and the face-to-face experience affects students’ campus imaginaries, but that imaginaries also leave space for more productive ways of engaging with online students at the independent research stage.     

Fifth Graders’ Learning About Simple Machines Through Engineering Design-Based Instruction Using LEGO™ Materials

This study is part of a 5-year National Science Foundation-funded project, Transforming Elementary Science Learning Through LEGO? Engineering Design. In this study, we report on the successes and challenges of implementing an engineering design-based and LEGO?-oriented unit in an urban classroom setting and we focus on the impact of the unit on students’ content understanding of simple machines. The LEGO? engineering-based simple machines module, which was developed for fifth graders by our research team, was implemented in an urban school in a large city in the Northeastern region of the USA. Thirty-three fifth grade students participated in the study, and they showed significant growth in content understanding. We measured students’ content knowledge by using identical paper tests and semistructured interviews before and after instruction. Our paired t test analysis results showed that students significantly improved their test and interview scores (t?=??3.62, p?<?0.001 for multiple-choice items and t?=??9.06, p?<?0.000 for the open-ended items in the test and t?=??12.11, p?<?0.000 for the items in interviews). We also identified several alternative conceptions that are held by students on simple machines.     

Learning to design and analyze Materials Handling systems: developing multimedia tools

In this paper, we describe aspects related to learning and learning assessment including pedagogy, cognition, pilot study and results from the study. This study is conducted for an educational module on '10 Principles of Materials Handling'. This module along with another on 'Analysis and Design of Integrated Materials Handling Systems' constitute a system of multimedia educational tools for use in materials handling classes. The former is described in Heragu et al. (2003) along with results of an evaluation conducted by a project evaluation team, whose main focus was to determine the impact of educational technology on students in their understanding of materials handling principles. The study reported in this paper, however, is entirely devoted to cognition, learning and learning assessment.     

简论大学生创业的利与弊

大学生创业的利弊分析对于大学生掌握机遇、迎接挑战、成功创业,具有十分重要的指导意义和现实意义。大学生创业的有利条件有五个方面：一是政府大力支持;二是大学生具有顽强的拼搏精神;三是大学生富于冒险精神;四是大学生有敢为人先的创新能力和一定的操作能力;五是大学生具有良好的身体素质。大学生创业的不利之处有四个方面：一是创业资金不足;二是创业教育跟不上形势的需求;三是创业团队缺乏极强的个人凝聚力;四是创业团队领导人缺乏超众的控制能力。     

Beyond the binary: rethinking teachers’ understandings of and engagement with inclusion

This article presents research into Canadian elementary and secondary teachers’ understandings of inclusion. The research investigates how a sample of 120 teachers in the southern part of Ontario defined inclusion, and the extent to which they believed an inclusive classroom is an effective way to teach all students. The article draws upon literature into how inclusion is currently defined followed by research into the politics of diversity in inclusive education; the latter signals the socio-political aporia which attends many understandings of inclusion. The study employs Nancy Fraser’s conception of justice as requiring redistribution, recognition, and representation; Fraser’s approach also demands attention to issues of recognition as intimately connected with concerns about social status. The findings reveal teachers’ relative lack of attention to issues of resourcing, but considerable emphasis upon issues of representation. While issues of recognition are largely valued, there is a tendency to reify categories of student identity, rather than challenging concerns about the lack of social status attending such foci. The research reveals a push ‘beyond the binary’ of considering teachers’ practices as either inclusive or exclusive, and how teachers’ engagement with resource provision, recognition of learners, and representation of student needs exists along contingent and intersecting spectra.     

Collecting student feedback: a comparison of questionnaire and other methods

A study was conducted comparing the feedback received from students about teaching obtained using different instruments. Twelve first‐ and second‐year undergraduate modules were selected from seven different schools within a single university. Students studying each module were allocated to ‘questionnaire’ and ‘comparator’ groups. ‘Questionnaire’ students completed the standard end‐of‐module questionnaire, whilst ‘comparator’ groups evaluated the modules using ‘rapid feedback’, ‘H form’, focus group and reflective diary methods. The responses of 335 students to questionnaires were compared with those of 160 using the other methods; no results were obtained from the reflective diary students. Only a minority of the issues raised by students using the comparator methods were covered by the questionnaire, and the comparator methods showed different rankings of the issues in common. The key difference between questionnaire and comparator methods was the use of closed and open questions respectively, with comparator methods being more appropriate for formative evaluation.     

高校图书馆个性化信息服务

在近十年的实践和研究中,高校图书馆的个性化信息服务取得一定的成就,但是还存在一些可以探索和发展的空间。就高校图书馆如何更好地以优良而专业的技术推进个性化信息服务,从而更好地为教学科研提供信息,更好地发展学生的个性的问题展开探讨。     

Using Wikipedia to enhance student learning: A case study in economics

Currently, there is widespread interest in how Web 2.0 tools can be used to improve students’ learning experiences. Previous studies have focused either on the advantages of wikis or on concerns over the use of Wikipedia. In this study, we propose to use Wikipedia as a classroom wiki. In doing so, we discuss how students can improve their standard written assignments using Wikipedia instead of a module wiki. Compared to traditional essay assignments, students’ submission of articles to Wikipedia can address many of the problems faced by instructors of traditional assignments, such as students’ poor writing skills, lack of primary source research, and poorly balanced discussions. Our study was based on our experience in teaching an upper-level economics module at the National University of Singapore over two semesters: 121 students who were enrolled in semester 1 submitted a traditional writing assignment, while 124 students enrolled in semester 2 contributed two short entries to Wikipedia. The results showed a large increase in the number of students checking their assignment feedback. Further, students’ writing quality improved noticeably in the Wikipedia assignment, and they were able to put forth more balanced discussions of relevant issues and include a greater number of primary sources. Despite the challenges faced when using Wiki markup language, the students enjoyed the overall experience.     

Assessing Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Students with Mental Health Disorders in 16 Postsecondary Institutions in Quebec

The number of students with mental health disorders (MHDs) in postsecondary institutions is increasing. Teachers’ attitudes are among the main factors that influence these students’ academic success. Unfortunately, their attitudes are little studied, in part because of lack of validated scales. Therefore, this article has two purposes: (1) analyse the construct validity of new scales assessing teachers’ attitudes, as well as existing scales without an established construct validity; and (2) report the correlations between the variables assessed in these scales, with a special focus on two variables: (a) teachers’ negative attitudes; and (b) the measures offered to students by teachers. The participants are 232 teachers from 16 French and English CEGEPS in Quebec, Canada. The questionnaire includes three scales created by the research team and three scales from the Mental Illness Awareness Survey. Correlational and factor analyses were conducted. The scales present good construct validity. Four variables were associated with the two variables of interest: confidence in one’s ability to convince a student to seek help; familiarity with MHDs; knowledge and understanding of MHDs; favourable perception of the accommodations offered by adapted and psychosocial services. Based on these results, strategies are proposed to improve teachers’ attitudes.     

Computer conferencing with access to a 'guest expert' in the professional development of special educational needs coordinators

This article describes and outlines the implications of a one‐year case study of students’ use of the computer conferencing facility of a postgraduate module for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) at a distance‐learning institution. This facility incorporates a virtual space for a ‘guest expert’. The aim of the study was to inform future development of courses at a time when computer conferencing was just becoming widespread in the university concerned. Quantitative data associated with the volume and patterns of individual participation in the computer conference were collected as well as interview material from students, tutors and the ‘guest expert’. Findings from the study indicate that computer conferencing has the potential to facilitate the professional development of teachers as reflective practitioners and researchers. However, they also point to a number of barriers to student participation that must be addressed. These include access issues related to time constraints, unfamiliarity with the medium, and lack of confidence in expressing personal views in a public arena. A major conclusion drawn from this study is that it may be appropriate to consider future developments which incorporate the assumption that, in computer conferences of large professional development courses, students are much more likely to participate through reading rather than making personal contributions to conference discussions. This opens the possibility of reconceptualising the role of the ‘guest expert’ as two or more discussants with relevant expertise dialoguing with each other while students follow a threaded discussion and/or make personal contributions.     

Learning to fly? First experiences on team learning of Icaros cooperative

Icaros is an information technology (IT) cooperative that was originally owned by 11 IT degree programme students of Saimaa University of Applied Sciences. This article describes experiences and challenges of team building of these students who are called ‘teampreneurs’ during their first year as team entrepreneurs. The findings provided here are based on theme-based interviews and direct observations. The team learning experiences gained during their first year were related to lack of risks and challenges in team building. Previous studies related to team development suggest that cooperation and conflict, and also openness and confrontation, are essential elements for team development. Based on the findings, teampreneurs of Icaros were avoiding confrontation and conflict. These facts inhibited their development to a potential team and they were stuck in the pseudo-team stage with several parallel challenges. Later, after four teampreneurs decided to leave the Icaros cooperative, it created a crisis within the team and the Icaros was able to further develop as a team. The results suggest that team building needs lots of time and patience and cannot be hurried. Furthermore, the role of team coach is crucial in supporting the teampreneurs to confront their challenges related to relationships between each other within the team.     

Turning in or tuning out? Listening to silences in education for critical political consciousness

What happens when a team of university education researchers initiates a social justice learning project in a local high school, and – despite the overall project’s considerable successes in cultivating students’ critical political ‘voice’ – is confounded by the periodic, apparent ‘silences’ of some of its young female students? Drawing on eight years of fieldwork in a groundbreaking high school social justice education classroom, this article examines the presumptions inherent in certain forms of social justice pedagogy, and the ways in which ensuing classroom disjunctures may, in fact, lead to deeper insights about education for youth critical social consciousness. The article focuses on two, interrelated issues: the unsettling and sometimes confounding ‘silences’ of female students and the correlation between such silences and social justice educators’ attenuated ability to recognize and support the myriad ways in which minority female students may encounter, negotiate, and articulate their own particular forms of Freirian conscientización.     

A Democracy of Children’s Literature Critics? The Opportunities and Risks of Paying Attention to Open Reviews and Mass Discussion

Drawing on the outputs of a wider democracy of online reviewers presents the academic study of children’s literature with opportunities and challenges, and can enhance critical discussion. As it is now easy to locate a large number of online reviews, it is argued that children’s literature studies needs to make room for a wider range of critical voices. This article reports on the work of two cohorts of over a thousand students. Each cohort, in consecutive years, researched online reviews as part of their studies in contemporary children’s literature on a one year part-time module at a distance learning university. Despite the perceived lack of status of non-academic, non-professional critiques, students’ and tutors’ experiences of these tasks showed the value of researching online reviews. This work also allowed for alternative forms of writing and assessment alongside more conventional academic essays, and encouraged students to develop their skills of critical digital literacy. Module leaders recommended basic initial research methods for student use, but for more extensive or larger scale research it will be important to address methodological issues and understand how online reviewer communities operate. Such changes in approaches to teaching and learning also need to take into account the issues surrounding social media usage, ownership and control.     

Design Issues in a Cross‐institutional Collaboration on a Distance Education Course

Collaborative learning has been gaining momentum as a promising pedagogy in higher education. Research on student collaboration is increasing. However, one arena is often overlooked—faculty collaboration. In this article, a cross‐institutional faculty collaboration is presented. The context is faculty collaboration on the design of an undergraduate engineering course. Specifically, this paper examines design issues encountered in the faculty collaborations associated with developing, delivering, and redesigning a senior‐level engineering design course that was taught simultaneously at two universities. This course was taught in state‐of‐the‐art distance learning classrooms. Both within class and outside class, participating students and faculty made use of a Web‐based environment that supported a variety of synchronous and asynchronous interactions. The course itself focused on team design projects and provided instruction on the engineering design process, in various specific skills needed for the students’ projects, and on how to function effectively as part of a geographically distributed engineering design team. The participating faculty members represented different backgrounds, academic disciplines, and academic cultures. Issues related to collaborations on development, delivery, and redesign are elaborated. Based on the lessons learned, suggestions for future cross‐institutional faculty collaboration in course development are provided.     

泛在学习环境下跨文化交际能力的培养策略

跨文化交际能力的培养是英语教学改革的方向。项目组将原有的Moodle网络学习平台的基础上进行移动化改造,增设文化教学动态管理模块,构建职业英语跨文化交际泛在学习环境。以系统而丰富的文化资源的输入,培养学生对英语语言及文化的认知能力;通过教学引导、激发学生非言语交际意识,提高学生的跨文化交际敏感度;采用综合文化教学法,提高学生的跨文化交际宽容度;运用英语在线互动功能,提高学生的跨文化教学灵活度。     

Problem solving and engineering design,introducing bachelor students to engineering practice at K. U. Leuven

A present-day engineer has a large scientific knowledge; he is a team-player, eloquent communicator and life-long learner. At the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, the course ‘Problem Solving and Engineering Design’ introduces engineering students from the first semester onwards into real engineering practice and teamwork. Working in small groups, the students integrate basic principles of all regular scientific courses to solve real-life engineering problems. This makes the coursework more interesting and helps the students to master the abstract theories presented in lectures. Through the increasing complexity of the assignments, the students are gradually confronted with technical and social competencies such as a systematic approach to problem solving and engineering design, teamwork, project management and communication skills. ‘Problem Solving and Engineering Design’ has been implemented in the bachelor of engineering since September 2003. The current paper describes the course objectives, the way the course is implemented to support project-based learning and the feedback obtained from the didactic team and the students.