伦敦大学与英国高等教育的近代化

伦敦大学的创立是19世纪英国高等教育改革运动的开端.在功利主义的导引下,伦敦大学对古典绅士教育传统进行必要修正,对大学目标、学科与课程等作出重大调整,全面启动英国高等教育的世俗化、平民化与泛智化进程.     

英国大学教育学院的课程及教学特征--以伦敦大学教育学院为例

伦敦大学教育学院是享有世界声誉的教育研究中心,它通过提供大量多样的课程,培养各个层次的教育人才,吸引了来自世界各国和各个地区的学者和学生.伦敦大学教育学院开设的教师职前教育课程、硕士学位课程和博士学位课程各有特色,在教学上反映出教学安排灵活、理论联系实际和导师指导与自学相结合的特征.     

Classroom-based in-service teacher education: the development and evaluation of a client-centred model : Chris Day, University of Sussex Education Area Occasional Paper 9, 1981, pp. 81 + refs., £1.75

Examinations are ofen seen as obstacles to the achievement of the higher goals of education and to making curricula relevant to the great majorities of pupils who enjoy only a basic education and who, in developing countries, are not likely to secure wage/salary employment. The expense of techniques which would both test and promote good education are sometimes thought to make them infeasible.However, the Kenya Examinations Unit (now Examinations Council) has been gradually making the exam for the Certificate of Primary Education subserve objectives beyond factual recall and the routine, abstract application of simple skills. ‘Causal’ facts, observation, discrimination, manipulation of data, reasoning, problem-solving are now given substantial emphasis. So also is knowledge useful to young people who will not be able to continue their schooling.Care is also taken to keep teachers informed of the changes. To the usual array of training channels is added a Newsletter, which analyses questions and answers and advises on effective instructional approaches.     

Research and Teaching in the Science Department of the University of London Institute of Education

This study was designed (1) to analyse the relationship between the answer profile from multiple‐choice questions on stoichiometric problems and the students’ reasoning patterns and (2) to examine the effect for certain variables on the facility values of test items. The instruments used were mainly paper‐and‐pencil tests. The subjects were 6262 grammar school students from all parts of the Federal Republic of Germany. They were randomly assigned to the test items.

The results indicated that many students arrived at their answers by mixing up amount and reacting mass, or molar mass and reacting mass. It was also found that the variables ‘easy/hard calculations’, and ‘formula given/to be developed’ determined the facility values of test items.

From the results, it was possible to make recommendations to practising teachers as well as to examiners. Knowing students’ ideas, the teacher can think of how to make use of them before entering the classroom. A teaching unit may start off with easy problems leaving the more difficult ones for later. Examiners developing new tests on stoichiometry should consider two essential preconditions for the formulae of chemical compounds, used in the item: formulae of the type AB should be avoided and the molar masses of the elements involved must be clearly different.