Building community in academic settings: the importance of flexibility in a structured mentoring program

Academic mentoring is increasingly being used by many universities as a tool to enhance the quality of research‐led teaching, promote cross‐faculty collaboration and encourage a mentoring culture and community. This article reports on a pilot project established to investigate the benefits of building flexibility into a structured academic mentoring program at the University of Sydney. Twenty‐six academics from the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Education and Social Work participated in the program. The mentors ranged in position from lecturer to professor and the mentees from associate lecturer to senior lecturer. Flexible arrangements were shown to be important in a variety of ways, from the pairing of mentor with mentee, to focussing on issues of work survival and life balance, research outcomes and career advancement. The project highlighted the lower number of male academics involved in formal mentoring, which merits further exploration. All participants reported positive outcomes, although refinement of the pairing process was recommended. A variety of unanticipated outcomes was reported by mentees.     

The development of flexibility in equation solving

This paper explores the development of students’ knowledge of mathematical procedures. Students’ tendency to develop rote knowledge of procedures has been widely commented on. An alternative, more flexible endpoint for the development of procedural knowledge is explored here, where students choose to deviate from established solving patterns on particular problems for greater efficiency. Students with no prior knowledge of formal linear equation solving techniques were taught the basic transformations of this domain. After instruction, students engaged in problem-solving sessions in two conditions. Treatment students completed the “alternative ordering task,” where they were asked to re-solve a previously completed problem but using a different ordering of transformations. Those completing alternative ordering tasks demonstrated greater flexibility.     

The place of structured experience in early cognitive development

This paper examines the role of structured or programmed experience in early cognitive learning, as embodied in prevalent approaches to the acceleration of such learning and to preschool education. Starting from a brief overview of research on the effects of training on the acquisition of conservation, the argument is presented that this concept is normally acquired as a by-product of the child's activities forming part of his normal, unstructured experience. A research project predicated on this view, and designed to reveal the link between changes in spontaneous measuring and ordering activities and the onset of conservation, is described. In the second part of the paper a pyramidal model of cognitive development is suggested, contrasting the effects of programmed learning, emphasizing vertical transfer at the expense of horizontal, to the opposite effects of unstructured experience. Finally, young children's differential response to structured versus unstructured situations is related to the development of creative behavior, leading to a reinterpretation of the basis for their relatively poor performance on standard measures of such behavior.

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Résumé Cette communication examine le rôle de l'expérience structurée ou programmée sur le premier développement cognitif, incarné dans les approches prédominantes à l'accélération de ce dévelopement et à l'éducation pré-scolaire. A partir d'un récit bref des effects de l'instruction sur l'acquisition de la conservation, on affirme que ce concept est acquis normalement comme dérivé des activités de l'enfant et qu'il fait partie de son expérience normale qui n'est pas structurée. On décrit une enquête basée sur ce point de vue, destinée à révéler le lien entre les changements dans les activités spontanées de la mesure et de la sériation, et la commencement de la conservation. Dans la seconde partie de cet article, on suggère un modèle pyramidal du développement cognitif, en faisantl'opposition entre les effects de l'apprentissage programmé, favorisant le transfer vertical aux dépens du transfer horizontal, et les effets de l'expérience nonstructurée. Enfin, on lie la réponse différentielle de l'enfant aux situations structurées par rapport aux situations non-structurées, au développement du comportement créateur, ce qui mène à une réinterprétation de la base de leur performance relativement pauvre sur les mesures classiques de ce type de comportement.

     

Degree flexibility and university drop-out: The Italian experience

How to reduce university drop-out is a topic of increasing concern. Although several measures have been the subject of numerous debates, little attention has been given to those impacting on the duration, structure and content of the supply of university education. This paper looks at the Italian experience to see what can be learnt about the effectiveness of these measures. In 2001, the Italian university system embarked on a process of reform that introduced greater flexibility in the degree programme structure along with a wider range of services offered to students. Employing a decomposition analysis, we find that this reform is associated with changes in student behaviour leading to a decline in drop-out risk.     

Multisensory teaching approach for reading,spelling, and handwriting,Orton-Gillingham based curriculum,in a public school setting

This paper includes an overview of curriculum information and the basic techniques of a multisensory approach for teaching alphabet and dictionary skills, reading, spelling, and cursive handwriting. It also reports the results of a four-year study of reading and spelling in both remedial and nonremedial classes in a public school. The California Achievement Test (CAT) scores in reading and spelling for students in both remedial and nonremedial classes improved over baseline scores following this multisensory approach. Additionally, there was a tendency for the CAT mean scores to increase corresponding to the number of years students had been taught by the multisensory program.     

The rapid structured literature review as a research strategy

A diversity of sources of literature encompassed by the management disciplines appears to result in a growing need for a systematic methodology to map the territory of management theory. As such, when scoping out a study, structured literature review （SLR） can be considered as a means by which any critical, central literature might be considered. However, there is little guidance, or evidence, of this being undertaken for the purposes of small scale projects such as undergraduate or masters＇ dissertations. This paper reports four case studies of master＇s degree students following management programmes of undertaking a structured literature review （SLR） and the issues and problems they had to encounter during their journey. The findings from the case studies suggest that in terms of time to complete and the volume of output required in terms of word count, Tranfield, et al＇s （2003） approach to SLR＇s, whilst suited to doctoral level research is not appropriate generally when dealing with undergraduate and masters research projects. Therefore, this paper provides accounts of the experiences of four students who undertook SLR for their undergraduate or master＇s degree dissertation. The paper identifies that these students had to deal with a new set of conceptual problems relating to this ＂unorthodox＂ approach to a postgraduate research dissertation in coming to terms with new paradigms of enquiry that are not normally taught as part of a traditional research methods course. This was despite gaining a greater depth of insight into the subject area through a more rigorous and structured manner. The paper presents alternative remedies by way of a rapid structured literature review （RSLR） model. This would appear to be more appropriate to the conducting of small scale literature based research projects when used with undergraduate and master＇s degree students than SLR identified for other research activities.     

浅析《左传》词类活用

在古代汉语中,词类活用是一种普遍的语法现象。正确认识它,对我们阅读古籍,特别是理解汉语语法有重要的意义。上古经典名著《左传》中有充分的论据,可以证明词类活用是有规律可寻的,据此可归纳判断词类活用的标准。     

体操运动员柔韧素质的培养

艺术体操是展示运动员柔韧性的最强的一项体育项目,其也是对体操运动员的柔韧素质要求较高的一项体育项目.良好的柔韧素质不仅能够使运动员完美的完成较高难度的动作,而且通过柔韧素质的艰苦磨练,还有助于运动员树立良好的体育精神.本文首先对柔韧素质的相关概念进行了分析,然后又提出了艺术体操柔韧性训练的方法、规则演变对艺术体操柔韧素质的影响,在文章的最后对我国柔韧素质的培养与国外柔韧素质的培养进行对比.     

The role of orthographic flexibility in Chinese word reading among kindergarten children

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the potential importance of orthographic flexibility for Chinese reading acquisition. Orthographic flexibility is a novel concept that represents the ability to manage and switch attention among multiple aspects of orthographic information. A total of 92 Chinese kindergarten children at age 6 were assessed on measures of orthographic flexibility, orthographic knowledge, executive functions (EF) skills (i.e. cognitive flexibility and working memory) and Chinese word reading. Results of hierarchical regressions showed that orthographic flexibility uniquely and significantly contributed to word reading beyond the effects of established predictors, namely orthographic knowledge and EF skills. Path analysis further indicated that orthographic flexibility significantly mediated the contribution of EF skills to word reading. These findings provided theoretical insights into the linkage between domain-general EF skills and domain-specific reading ability. The present study also provided practical implication that training on orthographic flexibility in addition to orthographic knowledge could be beneficial to early acquisition of Chinese word reading.     

The interactive effects of rules on teaching timetable flexibility and resource utilization

This paper explores issues involved in scheduling teaching in a higher education institution. The goal is to provide a theoretical framework in which to understand why problems occur while generating teaching timetables. The paper proposes three likely effects of rules: One, that rules interact with other rules to produce greater rigidity than individual rules would appear to do alone. Two, that changes to the timetable cause greater disruption the more rigid the timetable has become. Three, there is a threshold point at which the rules set will prohibit the creation of any workable timetable for the required teaching using the available room and staff resource. The recommendation of this paper is for institutes of higher education to articulate and study their existing rules, as well as their expectations that guide the creation of their yearly timetables.     

Understanding of structured problem solutions

Much of the material provided in science courses consists of sample solutions to problems. This study is concerned with how such structured material is understood, what is earmarked for storage, what remains stored and how useful this is for later ability to recreate the problem solution. Understanding was assumed to be the result of a cognitive process in which information about the material understood is stored in memory. Twelve S's were required to “think aloud” as they understood three problem solutions: the solution of the Missionaries and Cannibals problem, a geometry proof, and a plan for another geometry proof. Each solution was presented step by step as requested by S. Immediately after he had understood the solution S was asked to recall the “outstanding points.” A week later he was asked to repeat the recall and to reproduce the solution. A hand coding of the “thinking aloud” protocol was analysed by a computer programme. Patterns detected by the programme suggest that the understanding process of an S has some consistency for different tasks. An analysis of the recalls of outstanding points showed that the kinds of points best retained were the context of the problems and subproblems within the solution. In the Missionaries and Cannibals task subproblems were positions reached. S's who recalled positions rather than moves reproduced the solution faster. In the geometry tasks the subproblems were steps with two or more premises. S's who recalled more of these reproduced the solution faster. In the geometry proof these S's had more adequately processed these steps when they were attempting to understand the solution. The importance of the S's method for deciding when he understands is suggested.     

APL-based flexibility analysis of manufacturing grid

With the characteristics of diversity, randomness, concurrency and decomposability, tasks in manufacturing field are very complicated, and so manufacturing grid(MG)should have considerable flexibility to deal with this problem. With the definition of node and arc, MG structure is converted into a small-world network. Given construction cost constraint, the problem of shortest task waiting time is transformed into the constrained optimization problem, and a corresponding flexibility analysis model based on average path length(APL)is proposed, and the premise of arc-length and node-distance are defined. The results of application example show that the analysis model is effective.     

Creating contexts conducive to flexibility

’We've got no option. Everyone else is doing it.’ In the context of the challenges facing continuing and professional education,flexible learning represents both a predicament and a panacea. In this paper I will explore some of the challenges facing educators generally, and how the move toward flexible learning has been experienced in different organisational settings. I will introduce and use the concepts of ‘tribalism’ and territory as ways of both representing and exploring multiple perspectives on those challenges. My purpose is to question some of the assumptions that underlie teachers’ responses to the move to flexible learning, and to suggest some ways of thinking and acting which focus on negotiation and agreement rather than on tradition, as a means for the development ofprofessional identities. My argument is forward looking; it points to interesting and pragmatic possibilities and to some strategically significant challenges which I hope will invite a pro‐active rather than reactive response.     

论桂林住宅建筑的美学构建

桂林作为风景旅游城市,住宅建筑的美学评价影响着人居生活的价值.住宅建筑的时代和审美要求在发展.构建有生命力、人与自然和谐、健康的住宅建筑,是生态美学形态的体现,也是桂林住宅建筑发展的人文关怀的必然要求.     

聚丙烯酸酯弹性乳液聚合研究

介绍在丙烯酸酯乳液共聚反应中，在乳化剂总用量一定的条件下，改变阴离子型和非离子型乳化剂的配比关系以及改变非离子型乳化剂的种类，制得一系列Tg=-10的弹性乳液和Tg=27℃度乳液．用这两种乳液做与水泥配伍实验和用这种乳液与一定浓度(20％或饱和钙离子溶液)相混合，检测乳液与它们相互混合的性能．     

The impact of structured teaching methods on the quality of education in Brazil

This paper estimates the impact of the use of structured methods on the quality of education for students in primary public school in Brazil. Structured methods encompass a range of pedagogical and managerial instruments applied in the educational system. In recent years, several municipalities in the state of São Paulo have contracted out private educational providers to implement these structured methods in their schooling systems. Their pedagogical proposal involves structuring of curriculum content, development of teacher and student textbooks, and the training and supervision of teachers and instructors. Using a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, we find that the 4th- and 8th-grade students in the municipalities with structured methods performed better in Portuguese and mathematics than did students in municipalities not exposed to these methods. We find no differences in passing rates. A robustness test supports the assumption that there is no unobserved municipal characteristics associated with proficiency changes over time that may affect the results.     

试论翻译单位的灵活性

翻译单位的研究和确定 ,对于翻译批评和翻译实践都有重要意义。但是以什么为翻译单位 ,人们的认识并不完全相同。实际上翻译单位具有一定的灵活性 ,可以经常替换 ,翻译者的任务就是要按照具体情况寻找合适的翻译单位。当然 ,灵活性并不是随意性。大量的翻译实践表明 ,我们通常以句子作为翻译单位比较可行 ;如句子不能解决问题 ,再从高于句子的层面上 ,即句群、段落、语篇的层面上去解决。