Concepts in Change

In this article we focus on the concept of concept in conceptual change. We argue that (1) theories of higher learning must often employ two different notions of concept that should not be conflated: psychological and scientific concepts. The usages for these two notions are partly distinct and thus straightforward identification between them is unwarranted. Hence, the strong analogy between scientific theory change and individual learning should be approached with caution. In addition, we argue that (2) research in psychology and cognitive science provides a promising theoretical basis for developing explanatory mechanistic models of conceptual change. Moreover, we argue that (3) arguments against deeper integration between the fields of psychology and conceptual change are not convincing, and that recent theoretical developments in the cognitive sciences might prove indispensable in filling in the details in mechanisms of conceptual change.     

Learning from Organizations: Mobilizing and Sustaining Teacher Change

Peter Senge's (1990) theory of organizational change includes teams that perceive the whole of the organization; grow professionally; navigate short- and long-term organizational experiences through exposed mental models; share a vision; and hear each voice in an ongoing communal learning process. The Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching and Learning is changing teacher education and professional development by employing Senge's model of learning organizations.

When you ask people what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It becomes quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit. (Senge 1990, 13)     

Sustaining professional learning communities: Case studies

The purpose is to document the ongoing development of two schools in becoming professional learning communities and the effects of meaningful collaboration on teacher learning. The question that guides this research is: How does a school become a sustainable professional learning community? The theoretical framework is based on the work of Senge, Hord, Fullan, Hargreaves and Fink, and Stoll, McMahon and Thomas and includes the areas of professional learning community, change and sustainability. Finally, the study addresses the relationship between professional learning community and school culture. The methodology involves a qualitative case study approach designed to gain information regarding two emerging schools in their journeys toward developing learning community cultures. Findings reveal the stories of each school as they evolved as PLCs and the similarities and differences that emerged. Knowing that sustaining the culture of a PLC is complex, and not to be achieved without determination and growth, we look ahead at challenges to be addressed and further research to be conducted. Finally, we offer some concluding statements and attempt to relate findings to the literature on PLCs. The intent is to identify some of the intricacies in building cultures of learning for adults and students. As we have learned through these two stories, many things happen simultaneously, to greater or lesser degrees, at varying points in time over a period of years that seem to influence the development of a PLC. Such development seems so complex that to be able to describe discrete steps or stages is unlikely. Still we are beginning to see that some categories of activities and issues must be developed before others can emerge.     

美国大学终身教职制度的现行政策与发展趋势——以四所美国大学为案例

本文主要采用内容分析法,以斯坦福大学(Stanford University)、密歇根大学(the University of Michigan)、匹兹堡大学(University of Pittsburgh)和佛罗里达州立大学(Florida State University)四所学校为案例,以《教师手册》(Faculty Handbook)的文本为主要研究对象,总结了美国大学对终身教职的最新界定,分析了它们在终身教职的现行政策中所广泛采用的做法,并在此基础上结合文献调研预测了终身教职的发展趋势.     

Fortress State,Cultural Continuities and Economic Change: Higher education in mainland China and Taiwan

Since 1949, the higher education systems in mainland China and Taiwan have been developed in disparate geopolitical and social contexts, but have faced similar dilemmas between economic and cultural tasks. The dilemma has lasted in China for more than two centuries and nowadays can also be located in many developing industrializing countries. The article offers the concept of 'fortress state' to explain how between 1949 and 1995 these two were affected by both domestic and international factors. In particular, the role of higher education as an agent of both political socialization and economic modernization is analyzed in the context of the transformations in the two contemporary Chinese societies. The article also examines how cultural traditions, the upholding of a national belief system, nation building and the foreign relations of mainland China and Taiwan help maintain the two-century old tension between economic modernization and the preservation of a cultural and national identity.     

Alumni Relations in Chinese HEIs: Case Studies of Three Major Universities

Good alumni relations are key to universities and colleges winning support from their graduates. With reference to social capital theory, an important problem in establishing strong alumni relations is how to turn alumni resources, an important university social network, into productive, public, and abundant capital. Based on the established alumni relation framework, the authors have investigated three major universities in China by means of interview so as to source factors that affect their social capital transformations. The three dimensions of cognition, relationship, and structure are the focus of this paper. The authors probe into solutions as follows: Firstly, establishing clear and appropriate values between institutions, alumni, and other stakeholders, and striving to reach the greatest degree of consensus possible; secondly, forming a partnership to meet needs in general based on close personal relations; thirdly, making sure that there are enough functional organizations, venues and channels to establish and maintain relationships with alumni in a holistic and well structured way.     

转型期地方大学的战略变革管理——以广东外语外贸大学为例

地方大学转型期的显著特点是经费紧张却急剧扩张。文章认为战略变革管理是地方大学实现跨越式发展必须重视的一个重要方面,强调地方大学战略变革管理的重要性;认为地方大学应强调战略思维、注重战略管理、灵活制定适应战略变化的战略规划、强调战略变革管理的有效执行。通过研究广东外语外贸大学的战略变革管理,发现该大学战略变革中既有优势也有薄弱环节,既有难得的机遇也面临严峻的挑战;总体上,该大学的战略变革管理是卓有成效的。建议战略变革管理中应注重学校文化的革新从而确保大学的可持续发展。     

Scaling and Sustaining an Intervention: The Case of Reading Recovery

ABSTRACT

In every school district across the country, every year, initiatives are adopted with the goal of improving the literacy performance of young students, and, just as frequently, these initiatives fail or quickly become passing fads. In this article, Rodgers reviews literature related to scaling educational innovations and describes challenges and barriers to implementing and maintaining evidence-based reform. Using Reading Recovery as a case example, she describes features of the intervention that are thought to be linked to its longevity in terms of scalability and sustainability. She also shares lessons learned from the most recent period of its expansion with the 5-year grant to scale up Reading Recovery across the county. Implications from this article include the importance of adopting an initiative that has a well-articulated design, collecting data on the progress of the students served, and having a person in the district who acts as a redirecting agent, maintaining the design of the initiative and guarding it against tendencies to pare down the design.     

Life and Literature: Continuities and Discontinuities

This essay calls attention, first, to some of the significant discontinuities between life and literature, living and telling. Perhaps foremost among them is the fact that while living takes place now, in the present moment, telling must await the passage of time. This element of delay, it is argued, underscores the potential importance of narrative: in the context of moral life especially, it can serve a kind of rescue function, allowing for a measure of insight often unavailable in the flux of the moment. These discontinuities between life and literature notwithstanding, it is maintained herein that there also exist deep continuities between life and literature, and that literature can illuminate life precisely because it articulates and binds those features of experience that reach for narrative. By spelling out these continuities, we open the way toward deepening our understanding of the narrative fabric of life itself.     

Facilitating Conceptual Change in Gases Concepts

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of conceptual change oriented instruction (CCOI) over traditionally designed chemistry instruction (TDCI) on overcoming 10th grade students’ misconceptions on gases concepts. In addition, the effect of gender difference on students’ understanding of gases concepts was investigated. The subjects of this study consisted of 74 10th grade students from two chemistry classes. One of the classes was assigned as experimental group and the other group was assigned as control group. The experimental group was instructed with CCOI and the control group was instructed by TDCI. Gases Concept Test (GCT) was administered to both groups as pre- and post-tests to measure the students’ conceptual understanding. The results showed that students in the experimental group got higher average scores from Gases Concept Test. Also, a significant difference was found between the performance of females and that of males in terms of understanding gases concepts in favor of males.     

大学: 三种意义上的释读

地方应用型大学是中国高校的一个重要类别,个性化、特色化是地方应用型大学生存和发展的必然战略选项。当今中国大学的特色发展通常局限于解决个体行为趋同化问题,这种单一的定位不但有悖于特色本义,而且难以反映对现代大学的多重解读。应然意义的地方应用型大学特色发展包括国家特色、大学特色、类特色、校本特色等多维指向,每一指向都有其丰富的、具体的内涵。地方应用型大学特色发展从理念构想向实践层面的转化,关键在于明晰地方应用型大学特色发展的主体结构及其关系,并明确地方政府、学校与社会在推动特色发展中的实践策略。     

学习者中心的技术设计:理念、方法与案例

随着教育范式总体朝向“以学为基点”的革命性转变,教育设计的重心开始从传统的支持“教”转向支持“学”。以往,教育技术研究者对“学习者中心设计”的讨论集中在总体的教学设计层面,而在具体的技术设计层面关注较少。学习者中心的技术设计基于学习科学研究,重点关注“技术支持的逼真学习环境设计以及其中帮助学习者跨越专长知识鸿沟的支架设计”。国际教育领域正在兴起的“设计研究”为促进学习者中心技术设计的持续革新提供了新的研究范式,而Model-It作为学习者中心技术设计的成功案例,为我们提供了有益的设计参考。     

大学研究型课程的建设理念与实践

文章以“分子植物病理学”进行研究型课程改革建设为例,对建设过程进行了分析和总结,提出研究型课程在高等院校生命科学领域的开设,不仅起到了培养学生实践创新能力的重要作用,也是有效实现理论与实践相结合的重要途径之一。同时指出研究型课程的建设,还需要通过激发教师的改革热情,让研究生参与教学,合理设立考核方式等措施来实现。     

在素质教育中转变教师的教育观念

在素质教育中教师要转变教育观念，包括目标观的转变、人才观的转变、施教观的转变。为此，在教学中要强化学生的主体意识，引导学生积极主动地学习，要在传授知识的过程中开发智力、培养能力、提高教师自身的素质。     

Organizational Learning Is Essential to Achieving and Sustaining Change in Higher Education

Organizational change is often temporary or unsuccessful. This literature review of organizational change in higher education explores research in higher education, sociology, and organizational studies focusing on the problem of sustaining successful change. Indicators of successful change are distilled from the recent research. Establishing conditions for continued organizational learning in a college or university is identified as an essential aspect of sustaining successful organizational change.     

Strategies for Effecting Strategic Organisational Change in Teaching Practices: Case Studies at Deakin University

The vision of Deakin University is, in part, to be recognized as a world leader in flexible and lifelong professional learning and in the innovative and timely applications of information and communications technologies to teaching and learning. This paper describes aspects of the university's Online Teaching, Learning and Enhancement Project, which sought to bring about faculty change by adopting a combination of institutionally imposed and faculty-driven strategies to expand the use of information and communications technologies in programs across the university. In particular, the paper describes and analyzes the models of change underpinning the project, discusses the ways in which the adoption of information and communications technologies for teaching and learning were used as a mechanism to effect and encourage desired change, contrasts the approaches used to implement the project in three faculties, and identifies several key pedagogical and administrative outcomes of the project. Finally, the paper draws some tentative conclusions regarding critical success factors for the adoption of technology-based teaching and learning in higher education.     

转变教育观念 更新教育思想

教育思想是整个社会的和教育的客观实际及其要求在教育者意识中的反映，它对教育起着定向和指导的作用，在进行高教诸多方面改革的时修，应该把教育思想的改革放在首要的位置上，重点加以考虑，当前主要应该注意改革单纯传播知识的旧观念，树立知识、能力、素质直辖市发展的新思想，转变只注重教学生学会的旧观念，树立教学生会学、培养自学能力和自学习惯的新思想；转变以“教”为中心的旧观念，树立教师为主导，学生为主体的新思想,转变只重视统一要求和同化训练的旧观念，树立在统一要求的前提下，注意因材施教，促进学生个性全面发展的新思想。     

我国高校师资管理的人本思想和模式

以教师为本,是我国高校师资管理的人本思想。该思想体系的主要内容是：坚持教师的全面发展,坚持教师的发展性评价,坚持教师队伍的梯队建设,坚持教师培养的可持续发展。只有坚持用科学发展观调整现有的管理模式,才能使我国高校目前正在进行的人事制度改革不断健康地向前发展。