TEACHING AND LEARNING ABOUT MATTER IN GRADE 6 CLASSROOMS: A CONCEPTUAL CHANGE APPROACH

The purpose of this study was to enhance the teaching and learning of matter and its properties for grade 6 students. The development of a conceptual change approach instructional unit was undertaken for this purpose. Pre- and post-concept surveys, classroom observations, and student and teacher interviews were used to collect data. The teaching activities not only challenged and encouraged students’ conceptual change but also indicated that teachers needed to develop their content knowledge and teaching strategies. The participants developed more scientific conceptions and were able to apply these in appropriate contexts. This study illustrates how a conceptual change approach can be accomplished in the Thai context.     

THE PRACTICALITY OF IMPLEMENTING CONNECTED CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY IN SECONDARY MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE CLASSROOMS

Connected classroom technology (CCT) is a member of a broad class of interactive assessment devices that facilitate communication between students and teachers and allow for the rapid aggregation and display of student learning data. Technology innovations such as CCT have been demonstrated to positively impact student achievement when integrated into a variety of classroom contexts. However, teachers are unlikely to implement a new instructional practice unless they perceive the practical value of the reform. Practicality consists of three constructs: congruence with teacher’s values and practice; instrumentality—compatibility with the existing school structures; and cost/benefits—whether the reward is worth the effort. This study uses practicality as a framework for understanding CCT implementation in secondary classrooms. The experiences of three science teachers in their first year implementing CCT are compared with matched-pair mathematics teachers. Findings suggest that despite some differences in specific uses and purposes for CCT, the integration of CCT into regular classroom practice is quite similar in mathematics and science classrooms. These findings highlight important considerations for the implementation of educational technology.     

20世纪中国写作理论史研究的几个问题

《20世纪中国写作理论史》是现代写作学研究领域中的一中史学著作。它立足于世纪之末，千年之交，回眸一百来我国写作理论的变迁，试图以史为鉴，促进现代写作学的新发展。其超越前代的基本特征可以用“变革”二字加以概括。主要表现在以下5个方面：（1）文章功利性质的变革；（2）文章写作语言的变革；（3）文体地位的变革；（4）写作理论本体内涵的变革；（5）高科技发展和应用，促进了写作理论的变革。     

MATHEMATICS HOMEWORK: A STUDY OF THREE GRADE EIGHT CLASSROOMS IN SINGAPORE

This paper explores the nature and source of mathematics homework and teachers’ and students’ perspectives about the role of mathematics homework. The subjects of the study are three grade 8 mathematics teachers and 115 of their students. Data from field notes, teacher interviews and student questionnaire are analysed using qualitative methods. The findings show that all 3 teachers gave their students homework for instructional purposes to engage them in consolidating what they were taught in class as well as prepare them for upcoming tests and examinations. The homework only involved paper and pencil, was compulsory, homogenous for the whole class and meant for individual work. The main source of homework assignments was the textbook that the students used for the study of mathematics at school. ‘Practice makes perfect’ appeared to be the underlying belief of all 3 teachers when rationalising why they gave their students homework. From the perspective of the teachers, the role of homework was mainly to hone skills and comprehend concepts, extend their ‘seatwork into out of class time’ and cultivate a sense of responsibility. From the perspectives of the students, homework served 6 functions, namely improving/enhancing understanding of mathematics concepts, revising/practising the topic taught, improving problem-solving skills, preparing for test/examination, assessing understanding/learning from mistakes and extending mathematical knowledge.     

PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF CULTURALLY RELEVANT SCIENCE TEACHING IN AMERICAN INDIAN CLASSROOMS

This study explores the perceptions of culturally relevant science teaching of 35 teachers of American Indian students. These teachers participated in professional development designed to help them better understand climate change science content and teaching climate change using both Western science and traditional and cultural knowledge. Teacher perceptions of practices using culturally relevant instruction were evaluated. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results from the survey analysis show that the teachers’ existing practices of culturally relevant science teaching were limited in choosing topics relevant to American Indian culture. We found three common themes from the teachers’ perceptions of culturally relevant science teaching, meaning of culturally relevant science teaching, teaching strategies, and purpose of culturally relevant science teaching from the qualitative data. We also found that teachers with higher survey scores perceive culturally relevant science teaching differently than teachers with lower survey scores, specifically for the purposes and teaching strategies of culturally relevant science teaching. The results show that teachers with higher survey scores tended to perceive culturally relevant science teaching as a two-way learning process between teachers and students where the teachers can learn traditional science knowledge from the students. They also tend to perceive using concrete traditional science examples as effective teaching strategy for culturally relevant science teaching and building strong relationships with American Indian students as the most important purpose of culturally relevant science teaching. We also discuss common challenges faced by science teachers when trying to implement culturally relevant science teaching with American Indian students.     

CLASSROOMS AND CULTURE: THE ROLE OF CONTEXT IN SHAPING MOTIVATION AND IDENTITY FOR SCIENCE LEARNING IN INDIGENOUS ADOLESCENTS

Many rural indigenous communities rely on science knowledge and innovation for survival and economic advancement, which requires community members to be motivated for learning science. Children in these communities have been viewed by some as unmotivated due to their low science achievement as they progress in school, particularly into majority secondary schools. Current theories of motivation, such as achievement goal theory, take classroom context into account when examining individual motivation. However, motivational climate can also be considered as tightly woven with the cultural and social practices of a community rather than individual perception. In this study, researchers spent time in two indigenous villages observing classrooms, participating in community events, and talking with community members. During those visits, Attayal/Sediq children in Taiwan (n?=?18) and Mopan Mayan children in Belize (n?=?18) participated in three semi-structured interviews about their experience learning science in school, home, and community. Results indicate that motivation for learning science is closely linked with their identity as science learners. Three themes emerged to illuminate how social practices may or may not support individual identity, and consequently motivation, for learning science—student/teacher relationships, support for learning, and motivational climate. Differences between children in Taiwan and Belize are explored. Implications for motivation theory, educational practice, and policy are discussed.     

EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH AND WRITING OF EDUCATIONAL HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES(1)

For two decades, during the 1920s and 1930s, hundreds of communists and representatives of national‐liberation movements from all over the world came to Moscow to study at “Communist Universities"‐ educational institutions which were created, funded and controlled by the Communist International, an international communist organisation which united and directed the activities of the overwhelming majority of communist parties throughout the world from 1919 until 1943. Graduates returned to their countries equipped with theoretical and practical knowledge of revolutionary struggle.

The Comintern's universities must have had an enormous influence on the history of the 20th century but until recently virtually nothing was known about them. They operated under conditions of such strict secrecy that even decades later most of their graduates refused to speak about them. It was not known who studied at these universities, and when, and what was taught there. It took the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of the Comintern archives to begin to understand the activities of educational affiliates of this organisation.

This article deals with one such institution, the Communist University of the Toilers of the East, and with one category of its students, namely students from African countries. The picture that emerges from the article gives the reader a clearer understanding of how Comintern universities operated and what the significance of their activities was.     

MEASUREMENT OF CHANGE IN THE MEANING OF WRITING IN FRESHMAN ENGLISH

This study had a two‐fold purpose: first, to determine whether a measurable change in the meaning of the word writing could occur during a writing course; and second, to measure meaning rather than merely student attitudes toward writing. To satisfy these purposes, a semantic differential was administered to students in both regular and developmental classes in a two‐year campus at the beginning and the end of the 10‐week term. The scale measured the meaning of the term writing according to three dimensions: evaluation, activity, and potency. Scores were compared for each student and for each class of students. A significant increase occurred in the activity dimension for students in the regular classes by the end of the term; however, their evaluative rating decreased. Developmental students showed no change. Correlations with other measures of student performance were performed: final grades in the writing course, high school G.P.A., and verbal SAT scores. Regular students’ final grades correlated positively with the evaluation dimension of writing, and their verbal SAT scores correlated positively with the activity and potency dimensions. An inverse correlation was obtained between the developmental students’ verbal SAT scores and their evaluative rating. All correlations were stronger by the end of the term. Implications for writing teachers are discussed. Use of this instrument for measuring change in students’ perceptions of writing is recommended.     

试论12—13世纪蒙古地区的农业

12－13世纪，蒙古统洁者为了巩固边疆，同时为了保证商人，使者往返交通的安全，从色楞格河流到阿尔泰，南至长城北至贝尔湖地区开垦屯田，农耕是畜牧业发展的内在要求，发展农业是改善蒙古民族饮食结构的有效途径，城镇的形成促进了农业的发展。     

白话文章作法的繁荣（1920－1949年）

192 0— 194 9年的写作理论发展过程 ,大体可以划分为三个阶段 :192 0— 192 7年 ,属于新的写作理论建设初创时期 ;192 8— 1937年 ,属于新的写作理论深入发展时期 ;1938— 194 9年 ,属于新的写作理论持续发展时期。从总体看 ,这一时期的写作理论都是在“五四”新文化运动和文学革命运动、西方文化影响下开展的 ;现代写作理论的基本思想有了根本性的转变 ;格外侧重写作方法的研究 ,改变了以往以读促写或以读带写的传统模式     

APPLICATION OF GENERALIZABILITY THEORY IN THE INVESTIGATION OF THE QUALITY OF JOURNAL WRITING IN MATHEMATICS

This study examined the use of generalizability theory to evaluate the quality of an alternative assessment (journal writing) in mathematics. Twenty-nine junior college students wrote journal tasks on the given topics and two raters marked the tasks using a scoring rubric, constituting a two-facet G-study design in which students were crossed with tasks and raters. The G coefficient was .76 and index of dependability was .72. The results showed that increasing the number of tasks had a larger effect on the G coefficient and index of dependability than increasing the number of raters. Implications for educational practices are discussed.     

对实施科教兴国战略的思考

科教兴国战略实施过程中，取得了许多显著的成就，但也存在一些有悖于科教兴国实质精神的作法和认识，如注重引进，忽视吸纳创新；注重结果，忽视过程和基础；重学历，轻能力，高学历与高素质脱节现象严重。这与我国大众缺乏忧患意识和科技意识是密不可分的。     

英文写作教学改革新方法探索

作者根据长期英文写作教学的实践,结合中国学生的实际,运用语言学习中的认知理论及二语习得理论,探索出一套提高学生英文写作能力和水平的教学新的方法：教学内容上,抛弃传统的基础知识板块,确立写作方法和技能在教学中的核心地位;教学主体上,改以教师为中心为以学生为中心;教学过程中,坚持师生互动的原则;教学手段上,变单一语言交流为多媒质的集体介入.     

纵横捭阖 鞭辟入里——谈鲁迅杂文创作中的立体思维特点

鲁迅的杂文作为特定思想形式和艺术形式，在很高的程度上显示出立体思维的特点，这在我国的杂文创作中是独树一帜、非常罕见的。我们探讨鲁迅的这种思维特点，不仅有助于我们对鲁迅文学创作的全面认识，也可为当今的杂文创作提供借鉴。     

制约应用写作课教学效益的主要因素分析

根据现代教育理论与技术的发展，通过调查研究表明，低效益仍然是困扰应用写作教育质量的重要因素。为此，运用巴班斯基教学最优化理论，对制约应用写作课效益的诸多因素进行了分析，并提出了提高应用写作课效益的若干建议。     

写作知识体系的建构（1950－1979年）

1950— 1979年的写作理论发展 ,大致可分为三个阶段 :( 1)从新中国成立到反右派前夕 ;( 2 )从反右派之始到“文化大革命”前夕 ;( 3)从“文化大革命”初始到党的十一届三中全会前后。其主要特点是 :( 1)它从属于政治 ,受制于形势 ,带有深刻的时代烙印 ;( 2 )它主要是以高等学校写作教材的形式出现的 ,有了更高的理论与实践相结合的学术品位 ;( 3)它以文章构成的内容和形式为研究对象 ,兼及写作的实践过程 ,具有“文本”与“人本”、“静态”与“动态”相互参证的性质     

ASSESSMENT OF ENTERING STUDENT WRITING SKILL IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

This article describes an assessment of writing skills (writing sample, objective test, and self‐assessment) made by one community college. Information was gathered to design an entry‐level assessment procedure for placement in English composition and developmental writing courses. Comparing the three approaches, each of which measured different aspects of writing ability, showed that the best predictor of grade in an English composition course was the objective test. However, the statistical results of the study form only one component of an entry‐level assessment program. It may be that a writing sample is needed as part of entry‐level assessment because it points out the value of writing skill in attempting college‐credit courses.