IMPROVEMENT OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION—THE CASE OF SUBTRACTION

The research study this article is based on aims to implement research knowledge to teaching, that is, the concept of critical aspects and dimensions of variation used in the variation theory. To do this, the researchers worked with willing teachers to explore how to make mathematics teaching more effective. This paper illustrates how teachers make use of a learning theory, the variation theory, as well as their own professional expertise and collaboration to help students improve their mathematical understanding of subtraction as well as their learning of it. The students’ tests, examinations of students’ mathematical work, the teachers’ lessons plan and reports of the instructions for lessons form the data base for the article. The analysis indicates that one of the critical aspects in the process of implementation of the variation theory in the teachers’ practice was to identify the critical aspects in students’ learning. Another critical aspect in the implementation of the variation theory was to open up dimensions of variation in the identified critical aspects of the students. By giving teachers the possibility to develop the ability to identify critical aspects in students’ learning, dimensions of variation are opened up in these aspects, and by applying this knowledge in the daily teaching, they have the possibility to improve students’ learning. The findings suggest that developing an understanding of the students’ critical aspects can be a productive basis in helping teachers make fundamental changes in their instructions and improve students’ learning.     

A SUPERFICAL VIEW OF THE OBJECT TEACHING METHOD IN JUNIOR MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHING

ＡＳＵＰＥＲＦＩＣＡＬＶＩＥＷＯＦＴＨＥＯＢＪＥＣＴＴＥＡＣＨＩＮＧＭＥＴＨＯＤＩＮＪＵＮＩＯＲＭＩＤＤＬＥＳＣＨＯＯＬＥＮＧＬＩＳＨＴＥＡＣＨＩＮＧＬｕｏＪｉａｎｈｕａＫｅｙｗｏｒｄｓ：ＯｂｊｅｃｔＴｅａｃｈｉｎｇ；ＪｕｎｉｏｒＭｉｄｄｌｅＳｃｈｏ...     

SCHOOLING FOR A NEW MYTHOS: RACE,ANTI‐SEMITISM AND THE CURRICULUM MATERIALS OF A NAZI RACE EDUCATOR

The formation and teaching of race biology and anti‐ Semitism represented one of the darkest legacies left by Nazi Germany to the history of education In the West. Alfred Vogel, a biology curriculum writer and elementary school principal in Baden during the Third Reich, published a series of racist and anti‐Semitic teaching charts in 1938 to accompany a teacher's textbook on race biology intended for the instruction of elementary pupils. Unlike numerous other race eugenists in the field of education, Vogel went beyond the textbook to create with artist Eberhard Brauchte a series of pedagogical images using the latest technology of the period in color printing. This study examines the significance of the Vogel collection within, the larger context of Nazi race education. A special emphasis is given to the anti‐Semitic aspects of Vogel's race pedagogy. The investigation offers the disturbing affirmation that school curriculum can all too easily be used to pervert science and advance racism under the evil arm of the state.     

A SUPERFICIAL VIEW OF THE OBJECT TEACHING METHOD IN JUNIOR MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHING

Object Teaching is an ancient form of teaching, through which the teacher uses material things-models,pictures, gestures combined with livhlg words, to direct the students to the full sense of the teaching materials, to enrich the students‘ direct experience and perceptual knowledge, and to help them lay a foundation for a deep understanding of the learning contents.     

FROM A BRITISH GIRL

我是来自英国谢菲尔德市的苏菲,我今年11岁,每周六下午是我学习汉语的时间。今年我和我妈妈还到中国来旅游和探亲呢!我们玩得很快乐!大家还可以在本期光盘里看到我呢!     

ANALYSIS OF THE FIELDS SCATTERED FROM A TWO－DIMENSIONAL CYLINDER ILLUMINATED BY A POINT SOURCE

ＡＮＡＬＹＳＩＳＯＦＴＨＥＦＩＥＬＤＳＳＣＡＴＴＥＲＥＤＦＲＯＭＡＴＷＯ－ＤＩＭＥＮＳＩＯＮＡＬＣＹＬＩＮＤＥＲＩＬＬＵＭＩＮＡＴＥＤＢＹＡＰＯＩＮＴＳＯＵＲＣＥＣｈｅｎｇＣｈｏｎｇｈｕ（程崇虎）ＺｈａｎｇＷｅｎｘｕｎ（章文勋）（ＳｔａｔｅＫｅｙＬａ...     

HIGHER EDUCATION STATISTICAL INDICATORS FROM FOUR EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES ‐ AN OVERVIEW

Statistical indicators can be developed into an appropriate instrument for comparing national education and higher education systems. The present survey, which covers the four European Union countries of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, picks up certain of the topics included in the International Education Indicators (INES) project of OECD, and goes on to expand and to examine them in greater depth with special reference to higher education. Quantitative and other data show that the expansion of higher education is typical not only of the Federal Republic of Germany, but also of its western European neighbours. Regulations governing entry into higher education vary substantially among the four countries. Close coordination between school and higher education, rigorous selection procedures, along with intensive monitoring and supervision at the higher education institution explain not only the high success rate of British university students but also ‐ in conjunction with clearly defined curricula ‐ the relatively short period which British students spend there. The higher expenditure on supervision at British and Dutch higher education institutions is reflected in the burden on public finances. However, given the shorter period of study and the higher student success rate in the United Kingdom, one student completing higher education probably costs the British state less than one student completing higher education in Germany.

     

FROM “EXPLORING THE MIDDLE ZONE” TO “CONSTRUCTING A BRIDGE”: EXPERIMENTING IN THE SPIRAL BIANSHI MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

The spiral bianshi curriculum, an improvement on bianshi teaching developed by Gu (2000) and in line with Marton’s theory of variation (Marton & Booth, 1997), was tried out in a primary school in Hong Kong. This improved theoretical framework for the spiral bianshi curriculum comprises four types of bianshi problems—the inductive bianshi, the broadening bianshi, the deepening bianshi, and the applicative bianshi. Based on this framework, the research team developed a set of teaching materials on the three topics of division of fraction, speed, and volume. The materials were tried out in 21 Primary 6 classes (a total of 686 students) in a school. The effect was compared with a reference group using standard textbook materials in Hong Kong. A series of instruments, pre-tests, and post-tests were administered to gauge the effects on students’ performance in solving routine and non-routine problems, as well as the affective outcomes including self-concept, attitude towards learning mathematics, approaches to learning, and conceptions of mathematics. The intervention effects of the experimental design were examined by hierarchical regression analysis. The research reveals that students using spiral bianshi teaching materials performed significantly better than their counterparts using standard textbook materials. However, no significant differences were identified among affective learning outcome variables despite the positive results on cognitive learning outcomes. The findings indicate that spiral bianshi curriculum has high potential in enhancing students’ learning effectiveness. However, further studies are needed to map its strengths in detail.     

THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF CHURCH LEADERSHIP IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION FROM THE SUNDAY‐SCHOOL VIEWPOINT

Dorothy Day's love of the poor originated from reading novels that portrayed the poor as persons worthy of respect. This article explores how Day's reading novels opened her mind and heart to the realities of poverty. The methodology is literature-based. Dorothy Day's autobiography reveals the novelists who captivated her mind and cultivated a religious heart: Charles Dickens, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, and the Russian authors Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. As a journalist and writer, Day described how the poor struggled to survive and how love is needed to counter the challenges that poverty presents. Finally, two novels by authors favored by Day will serve as examples for educating young adults religiously and encouraging love for the poor.     

NEW TAXA OF ILEX FROM THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

llex strigillosa T.R.DUDLEY,sp.nov. 〔Section Pseudoaquifolium S.-Y.HU(1950)Series Lougecaudatae S.-Y.HU(1950)〕. DIAGNOSIS: A I.kengii S.-Y.HU(1950)affinis sed ramulis et gemmis terminalis,dense cinerascentibus puberulento-strigillosis,stipulis tenuiter membranaceis minutis0.1mm longis vel minus fugacibus cito caducis,petiolis denso cinerascentibuspuberulento-strigillosis aliquado subglabris laminis versus,laminis foliorum mino-ribus 4—7.5cm longis 1—2cm latis basibus acutis ad attenuatis apicibussensim acuminatis vel caudato-acuminatis acuminibus brevioribus 5—10(—15)mm longis marginibus integris vel subintegris conspicue sinuolatis et apicibus     

THE DESIGN,CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF STANDARDISED TESTS ‐ Part 1

This paper contains an account of three patterns of induction and some of their effects on the teachers involved. Two experimental groups of probationers were released from teaching duties for the equivalent of one day per week for the autumn term of their first year in post. One group was subject to supervision during its release‐time, the other was not but took advantage of any resources available to construct its own ‘programme’. A control group consisted of probationers who were not released from teaching duties. The ways the probationers spent their release‐time and their ‘spare’ time during the rest of the week are described. An instrument designed to measure the probationers’ ‘adjustment’ was used to compare the effects of treatments with each other and with the control group. In general, the case for giving probationers 20 per cent release is supported.     

THE FUTURE OF TWO‐YEAR COLLEGES: AN ADMINISTRATOR'S‐EYE VIEW

Individuals in eight different types of administrative positions in two‐year colleges were asked to rate the importance of a variety of external and internal issues in the next five years. The purpose of the study reported here was first to identify those internal and external issues that administrators viewed as being of high importance. A second purpose was to assess the degree of consensus among differing types of administrative positions. The third objective was to identify differences between public and independent two‐year college, between men and women, and minority and white administrators perceptions of issues identified as being most important. There was a high degree of agreement across administrative groups as to the importance of five external issues; and when asked to indicate the two most critical issues, administrators were almost unanimous in their assessment. There is less agreement on the two critical internal issues. Some differences by gender and racial/ethnic group were noted, but the differences were not as great as might have been expected.     

“REINVENTING” TECHNIQUES FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THE AREA OF IRREGULAR PLANE FIGURES: FROM THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TO THE MODERN CLASSROOM

The issue of the area of irregular shapes is absent from the modern mathematical textbooks in elementary education in Greece. However, there exists a collection of books written for educational purposes by famous Greek scholars dating from the eighteenth century, which propose certain techniques concerning the estimation of the area of such shapes. We claim that, when students deal for an adequate period with a succession of carefully designed tasks of the same conceptual basis—in our case that of the area of irregular shapes—then they “reinvent” problem-solving techniques for the estimation of their area, given that they have not been taught anything about these shapes. These techniques, in some cases, are almost the same as the abovementioned historical ones. In other cases, they could be considered to be an adaptation or extension of these.     

MAPPING OF THE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IN BOHAI FROM AVHRR DATA

提出了利用遥感热红外数据估算海洋表面温度场的简单可行的方法，即用一个线性模型简化复杂的热红外传输方程，研究了天气以及海水表面比辐射率等参数对估算温度场的影响．以渤海为研究对象，利用ＮＯＡＡ第四波段ＡＶＨＲＲ数据，绘制出相应的海区表面温度场，与地面同步测量比较，最大估算误差小于０．６℃．     

DOES THE SCHOOL COMPOSITION EFFECT MATTER? EVIDENCE FROM BELGIAN DATA

ABSTRACT:  Even if the literature on the effects of pupil composition has been extensive, no clear consensus has been reached concerning the significance and magnitude of this effect. The first objective of this article is to estimate the magnitude of the school composition effect in primary schools (6th grade) in French-speaking Belgium. Different indicators of school composition are used: academic, socio-cultural, 'language' and sex composition. Except for sex composition, the results show that the school composition effect explains significant amount of between schools variance even after controlling for pupils' initial performance, socio-cultural background, and non-cognitive dispositions. The second objective is to examine covariance between school composition and several organisational variables and their joint effect on school performance. The second set of analyses is intended to question the conceptual nature of the school composition effect, establishing whether it is direct or indirect.     

Structuring the Institution for Improved Effectiveness ‐ A University Perspective

This paper examines the involvement of academic staff in the management and administration of Australian higher education institutions, particularly universities.

An early focus is on the maelstrom of change from 1960 until the mid 1970s when change was generally equated with expansion and growth often without integrative forward planning. Three positive outcomes of this period of change are identified: an expansion of the passive concept of administration to include management and entrepreneurship as legitimate activities in the operation of universities and colleges; a greater involvement by academics in institutional management because, among other reasons, of the availability of enlarged data bases and heightened competition for diminishing resources; and the increasingly definitive forms of professionalisation among career administrators.

The deficient preparation of academics for management roles in Australian universities and colleges is contrasted with evidence of increased participation by administrators in management development activities including graduate programmes. Trigger films which are designed to provoke opportunities for learning in a peer group situation are presented as a particularly powerful remedy for this deficiency.

An evaluation of the TERC trigger film, “Decisions in Academic Departments”, by a small group of professional administrators from eight countries is then analysed. Such trigger films provide a stimulating and easily used resource for the improvement of management and administration in higher education.