Fiction,history and pedagogy: a double-edged sword

There are many areas of overlap between history and fiction. Teachers of history have long recognized this connection and used a range of fictional accounts in their teaching. In this article, we argue that fiction is a double-edged sword that must be handled carefully. On the one hand, it presents compelling characters and accounts that provide powerful connections with the past often missing from school history. On the other hand, the narrative force that draws the reader in and connects him or her to the experience of the characters also mitigates against alternative readings of the situation, undercutting the reader’s ability to understand the past in complex and critical terms. We contend that in the hands of effective teachers, the double-edged sword of fiction can be a valuable and effective tool in the teaching of history. We begin by exploring three scholarly conversations around the nature of history, history education and learning theory. We then discuss the general relationship between history and fiction, move on to describe two broad categories of fiction and their particular connections to history and history teaching and consider some of the tensions between history and fiction. Finally, we investigate pedagogical implications for effective use of fiction in the teaching of history.     

The ‘double-edged sword’ of a sessional academic career

ABSTRACT

There have been widespread changes to working arrangements and employment relationships, including significant decreases in continuing/full-time employment contracts. This trend is particularly notable in academia, with more universities relying on the expertise of sessional, teaching-focused academics. This qualitative study extends understanding of this important group of professionals, identifying sessional work as a ‘double-edged sword’ and suggesting a typology of sessional academic careers to be tested in future research. It reports on the diversity among sessional academics, some enjoying the autonomy and flexibility of this working arrangement, others seeking more job security and greater alignment with continuing employment. It also identifies synergies and contradictions between sessional academic careers and key themes in the contemporary careers literature.     

Change in a culture of collegiality and consensus-seeking: a double-edged sword

ABSTRACT

The study aims to move beyond idealised and predominantly trait-based typologies of leadership and leadership roles and addresses collegial leaders’ practice of change in higher education. Collegial leaders at two research-intensive higher education institutions, who had received educational leadership training, were studied. In the study, we explored ordinary actions and change practices as a way of understanding emerging practices among collegial leaders. Five categories were identified that show how collegial leaders experience change, process change and organise the practice of change. The article also contributes a critical discussion on the notions of collegiality in a consensus-seeking context, which may be relevant for academic developers, policy makers, and researchers alike.     

利用联想发现法解数学题

联想发现法是常用的解题方法技巧,本文阐述了在求解数学问题时,根据新问题与原型的相似、接近、对比等关系,通过联想、类比、对比等探讨、发现新问题解决的方法,提供了一条新的探索新问题思路路径。     

The influence of English-Korean bilingualism in solving mathematics word problems

The purpose of this study was to investigate language related difficulties and the language of cognitive processes of English-Korean bilingual students in solving mathematics word problems. Qualitative case study research methodology was used to collect, analyze, and present data. The principle of purposeful sampling was used to select six English-Korean bilingual students. Different types of bilinguals revealed distinct patterns of difficulties and languages in solving mathematics word problems written in English and Korean. Children in the transition stage that is unstable and changing revealed more difficulties in solving the mathematics word problems overall.This article is a summary of doctoral dissertation under the direction of James W. Wilson at the University of Georgia.     

Neural network method for solving elastoplastic finite element problems

INTRODUCTION An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is an in-formation-processing paradigm that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems, such as the brain, process information. It is composed of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements (neu-rons) working in unison to solve specific problems. In recent years, neural network has been widely applied in the field of engineering construction as a large dimensional nonlinear dynamic system, because of its support for …     

Problem solving beyond the logic of things: contextual effects on understanding and solving word problems

Arguments are put forward in this paper that classroom word problem solving is more-and also less-than the urgent analysis of a factual structure, in the sense that it is essentially a species of a social-cognitive activity. Word-or story-problems, presented in classroom contexts, represent textual and pragmatic patterms of a certain grammaticality. To present a problem verbally to a student means to organize a fact in some way for the attention of a problem solver. There is not only the structure of the problem text itself by which situations are denoted, but there is also the stimulative nature of the social-pragmatic context which shapes the student's textbook-problem solving behavior over a long period of time.The present paper discusses the results of several studies showing, for example, that subject matter related attitudes towards a problem frequently do not play an important part in the problem solving efforts; that students often solve problems correctly without understanding them; and that false contextual expectations can lead to abstruse errors of understanding and to peculiar solution attempts.The studies indicate that students can become sensitive and skilful in perceiving and capitalizing on subtle textual and contextual signs pointing to the solution and anticipating its pattern. It seems that usual textbook problems let students get accustomed to certain courses of processing where a simple fact, like whether an equation works out evenly or does not, can stop the process or push it further. It is argued that the deeper reason for the observed textual and contextual influences on understanding and problem solving lies in a fundamental weakness of the student's epistemic control behavior. The psychological and instructional significance of the studies is discussed.     

补偿法求解物理问题3例

求解物理问题，常用的思维方法是根据问题给出的条件建立起物理模型，如果这个模型是一个完整的标准模型，则容易解决．但有时由题给条件建立的模型不是一个完整的标准模型，比如说是模型A，这时需要给原来的问题补充一些条件，由这些补充条件建立另一个容易求解的模型B，并且模型A与模型B恰好组成     

Smoothing inexact Newton method for solving P 0-NCP problems

Based on a smoothing symmetric disturbance FB-function, a smoothing inexact Newton method for solving the nonlinear complementarity problem with P0-function was proposed. It was proved that under mild conditions, the given algorithm performed global and superlinear convergence without strict complementarity. For the same linear complementarity problem （LCP）, the algorithm needs similar iteration times to the literature. However, its accuracy is improved by at least 4 orders with calculation time reduced by almost 50%, and the iterative number is insensitive to the size of the LCP. Moreover, fewer iterations and shorter time are required for solving the problem by using inexact Newton methods for different initial points.     

Radial point collocation method （RPCM） for solving convection-diffusion problems

INTRODUCTION Meshfree methods are increasingly becoming popular as they are effective for dealing with com-putational mechanics problems including both solid and fluid problems. Most of various approaches proposed in (Liu, 2002) are based on Galerkin form (weak form) which need background meshes for numerical integrations, and are actually not truly meshfree methods. Other approaches are based on collocation form (strong form), such as finite point method (FPM) (Onate et al., 1996), ra…     

极端假设法在化学解题中的妙用

假设是科学研究中常用的一种思维方法,也是化学学科解题中常用的技巧和策略之一.华罗庚先生说过:"把一个比较复杂的问题‘退'成最简单最原始的问题,把这最简单最原始问题想通了、想透了.然后再……来一个飞跃上升."这是一个非常精辟的思维方法,这里的"退"是为了"进","退"够了,"退"到"起始点"正是为了看清问题的一般规律,就会有左右逢源,水到渠成的功效.极端假设就是从某个极限状态去考虑问题,并对其进行分析、判断、推理的一种方法,一般是先把思路引向极端状态,使问题简化,从而找出规律,再回过头来认识现实问题.     

浅谈化归方法在解决数学问题中的作用

通过4个例题阐述了化归方法在解决数学问题中的作用,对师范院校的学生学习数学教法有一定的参考价值.     

关于BOX约束优化的有限记忆BFGS算法

研究一种求解有界优化约束的有限记忆BFGS算法．在适当的条件下,证明了算法的全局收敛性．数值实验表明这种算法优于一般的算法．     

新情境试题的结构特点及解题方法

1新情境试题的特点 新情境试题往往是以自然界、社会现实生活中的某一热点,或以科学领域的某一最新科技成果,或以工农业生产中的某一原理,也可能是高中化学知识为“生长点”将触角引伸到未曾深入学习过的某一领域。以全新的知识为切入点把考生导向新情境之中,然后提出问题让学生作答,旨在启发学生用化学视角去关注社会生产、生活。关注科学发展,提高科学素养。     

Realistic considerations in solving problematic word problems: Do Japanese and Belgian children have the same difficulties?

The aim of this study was to compare Japanese and Belgian elementary school pupils' (lack of) activation of real-world knowledge during understanding and solving arithmetic word problems in a school context. The word problem test used in a study by Verschaffel, De Corte, and Lasure (1994) was collectively administered to 91 Japanese fifth graders. Besides standard problems which can be modeled in a straightforward way by one or two basic arithmetic operations with the given numbers, this test contained a series of problematic items which cannot be modeled and solved in such a way, at least if one seriously takes into account the realities of the context evoked by the problem statement. The results of the study revealed that Japanese pupils, similarly to Belgian children, have a strong tendency to neglect commonsense knowledge and realistic considerations during their solution of word problems. Moreover, a comparison of Japanese pupils with and without extra hints aimed at improving the disposition towards more realistic mathematical problem solving revealed that these extra hints had only a small effect.     

化学教学中结构不良问题的解决策略

结构不良问题主要可以分为三种不同的类型,本文结合结构良好问题与结构不良问题的异同,利用几个具体化学实例来分析化学教学中不同类型结构不良问题的解决策略.     

简单两步计算的应用题的基本训练

目前学生普遍感到解答应用题难、解答复合应用题就更难。如何教好简单应用题是最关键的一环。在教学简单应用题时需要一定的训练 ,才能提高解题能力 ,我常使用的解题训练主要有以下一些方法。一、抓关键词、句的训练。应用题是数量关系和语言文字的综合体。因此解答应用题必须具备坚实的语言文字基础 ,如果学生连题都读不通 ,那就谈不上正确的解答。例如 :一年级一班有 13名“三好学生” ,二班和一班同样多 ,两班一共有多少名“三好学生” ?让学生读题后 ,问这道题说了什么事 ?是哪个年级的事 ?有几个班 ?如果学生答不出来 ,再读 ,并让学生…