Where knowledge construction,equity, and context intersect: Student learning of science in small groups

To provide insight into the strengths and limitations of using groupwork to promote excellence and equity in science education, the researcher investigated how students using the Complex Instruction model of groupwork constructed scientific knowledge. Eighty sixth-grade students and one life science teacher at an urban middle school participated in this study. Qualitative analysis of videotapes and interviews makes clear that group discussions rarely moved beyond observational or procedural matters, that students of high status (perceived academic ability and popularity) had greater access to their groups' materials and discourse, and that students made few connections among the contexts of school, science, and everyday life. Quantitative analyses of participation during groupwork and performance on unit tests show that high-status students had significantly higher rates of on-task talk than their middle- or low-status counterparts, and that those students who talked more learned more as well. Thus, although groupwork should not be summarily dismissed as an instructional strategy, group tasks and implementation must be further refined to adequately address the dual goals of excellence and equity: Students need greater guidance in how to talk and do science, and teachers, greater assistance in eliminating differences in student participation and achievement. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 1039–1065, 1997.     

生物开放实验室的建设与管理

生物学作为农业院校大学生的公共基础课,其实验室的开放对提高相关专业大学生的综合素质有重要作用。介绍了实验室开放的方式以及存在的问题,针对问题逐一分析解决,在实验室安全、设备及学生管理、实验技术人员及开放实验室的经费管理等方面提出建设性建议。     

Transactional school-home-school communication: Addressing the mismatches between migrant parents' and teachers' views of parental knowledge,engagement and the barriers to engagement

Applying organisational communication theory, this article advocates transactional systems for school-home-school communication with parents of pupils who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). The article draws on a mixed-methods case study of two secondary schools in England, including survey data from 64 parents of EAL pupils and from 407 EAL/non EAL students, plus data from semi-structured interviews with 10 recently arrived migrant parents and 18 teachers. The findings highlight deficiencies in transactional school-home-school communication, reflected in mismatches between parents’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding parental knowledge of their children’s schooling, levels of parental engagement and barriers to parental engagement.     

高校体育教学中教学交往的缺失与建构

随着教学交往在高校体育教学中的作用日益凸显,人们开始注重于构建教学交往这一体系。但理想很丰满,现实很骨感,在目前的高校体育教学活动中,教学交往的结果并没有让他们感到满意。由于教师与学生之间未能有充分的交流,使教学交往单边化、形式简单化,导致了教学交往流程的缺失,这样极大地影响了体育教学的进度。对于促进高校体育教学的稳步发展,处理好体育教学中的教学交往这一步棋至关重要。     

Using videotapes to study the construction of mathematical knowledge by individual children working in groups

Videotaping small groups of students in a regular classroom environment makes it possible to study individual student cognitive growth in a social setting. The present report deals with student development of some new mathematical ideas over an extended period of time.     

Flipping the laboratory: improving student engagement and learning outcomes in second year science courses

The flipped classroom pedagogy was implemented in two core undergraduate science courses; Animal and Plant Biochemistry II (APB) and Microbiology and Invertebrate Biology II (MIB) to encourage students to prepare for laboratory classes. Students often attend class without little understanding or appreciation of what they are going to learn in the laboratory, the types of techniques they are going to use or the safety precautions required. This is not only hazardous for students but also requires detailed explanations from teaching staff at the start of class, overloading students with information. This disconnection between theory and practice was overcome by ‘flipping the laboratory’ to integrate online, interactive pre-laboratory activities into the curriculum. The aims of this study were to: (1) evaluate student engagement with pre-laboratory content; (2) investigate student performance and learning outcomes; (3) review failure rates following implementation of pre-laboratory activities. Students agreed that the pre-laboratory activities bridged the gap between theory and practice (65%) and enhanced their engagement with course material (79%). The integration of pre-laboratory activities significantly increased student learning outcomes immediately after implementation into the curriculum, despite a 26.8% increase in enrolments from 2011 to 2017. Failure rates significantly decreased in both APB and MIB over three consecutive years.     

体育高职院校运动人体科学实验室建设存在的问题及对策

体育高职院校对培养体育行业应用技术型人才起着重要的作用。本文分析了目前多数体育高职院校运动人体科学实验室建设中存在的问题,如经费投入不足、管理体制不完善等,并依据相关文件精神,对体育高职院校运动人体科学实验室建设提出自己的观点,以供参考。     

An action research process on university tutorial sessions with small groups: presentational tutorial sessions and online communication

We describe and analyse the action research process carried out by us as teachers in a general didactics course in the University of Malaga (Spain). The course methodology combined lectures to the whole class and small-group work. We were in charge of guiding small-group work. In the small groups, students researched on an educational innovation guided by a teacher from the educative system (primary, secondary, ‘A’-level). Students used theoretical concepts explained in lectures to analyse educational innovative realities. Students met with the lecturers at Faculty periodically. These lecturers used online tools to guide small group work between meetings. Specifically, students developed a diary using the ad hoc tool in Online Campus, based on Moodle. Lecturers read the diaries on a regular basis and offered feedback to the students. Additionally, students and lecturers kept in contact between meetings by email and forums. Finally, students submitted a report of their research and lecturers offered feedback before a final version of the report. We carried out an action research process to explore the fit between the general purposes of the course and our work as lecturers with the small groups of students. Moreover, we studied the interrelationship between the meetings at Faculty and the online communication via diaries, email and forums.     

Lifelong learning ecologies in online higher education: Students' engagement in the continuum between formal and informal learning

Lifelong learning opportunities are readily accessible through the hybridization of digital learning contexts—from formal to informal—in today's globally networked knowledge society. As such, expanded learning opportunities generate a continuum of learning contexts and experiences mediated through digital technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to actively examine the interconnections and complex relations between what is learned in formal university scenarios and the everyday learning that happens outside of the classroom, particularly the informal learning that is afforded through expanded and emerging digital contexts. The current research problem illustrates that expanded and emerging professional development scenarios require new pedagogical designs for empowering lifelong learners to harness the affordances of the web across both formal and informal contexts and practices. This study outlines ways in which students shape their learning ecologies in virtual contexts to support formal academic learning in online higher education. The paper presents qualitative results from a larger mixed methods interpretive case study. The multicase and multisite study examines three fully online graduate programmes in Education and Digital Technology during the 2017–18 academic year, collecting data in the form of online programme documentation, student interviews and online participant observation. Purposeful and criterion sampling were used to select 13 participants across three sites in Spain, the UK and the USA. The study was underpinned by a lifelong learning ecologies theoretical perspective to analyse learning processes across a continuum of practices and contexts. Findings illustrate how students conceive of, as well as how they organize their learning ecologies through a unique configuration of activities, digital resources and networked social support, indicating that academic programmes and teachers have an essential role in empowering student learning ecologies across contexts, recognizing past trajectories and supporting the development of valued disciplinary practices and perspectives across a continuum of learning.     

美国核心知识课程与生物学课程改革

美国近 2 0年以来最引人注目且最有影响的课程改革 ,一是科学教育课程的改革 ,另一就是 1990年开始的核心知识课程 (ＣｏｒｅＫｎｏｗｌｅｄｇｅＣｕｒｒｉｃｕｌｕｍ)改革。核心知识课程改革 ,它侧重于普及普通的文化知识 ,这项由语言学家希尔斯所倡导 ,由美国核心知识基金会 (ＣＫＦ)所资助的课程改革运动的成功实践已在国际上引起了高度重视和关注。1　核心知识课程的知识结构作为语言学教授 ,希尔斯早在 1983年起就与历史学教授凯特 (ＪｏｓｅｐｈＫｅｔｔ)和物理学教授特雷费尔(ＪａｍｅｓＴｒｅｆｉｌ)合作 ,编选一份力图反映共同文化…     

Effects of subject-matter knowledge in the teaching of biology and physics

The aim of this study was to describe science teachers' knowledge of specific biology and physics topics and trace the effects of this knowledge on their planning for instruction and on simulated teaching. Six experienced secondary-school teachers — three specializing in physics and three in biology — participated in the study. Each teacher's knowledge of a biology topic and a physics topic was assessed using summary free recall, concept-map line labeling, and sorting tasks. A small number of schemata described each teacher's subject-matter knowledge. The teachers planned instruction in the biology and physics topics based on content in textbook chapters provided by the investigator. The planning took place in thinking-aloud sessions. The influence of the teachers' prior subject-matter knowledge was evident in their modifications of textbook subject-matter content and through their use of explanatory representations. Simulated teaching consisted of a critical-incidents technique. The effects of subject-matter knowledge were apparent here through the teachers' use of evaluative structures and responses to critical incidents.     

Institutionalizing the intangible through research and engagement: Indigenous knowledge and higher education for sustainable development in Zambia

Universities have an integral role in the development of communities. This is underpinned by the notion that universities possess a social responsibility to be agents of change in relation to society’s socio-economic, political, and environmental issues. In Africa, the quest for sustainable development necessarily engages a consideration of the different forms of knowledge available. This is as a result of the rich and varied patterns of beliefs, behaviour, and values that permeate the continent and have persisted despite colonialism. In this paper, we assert that there is much to be gained from engaging Indigenous knowledge through scholarship and public responsibility. Through a qualitative case study design based on relational dialogues with academic researchers and university managers, we emphasize the attributes associated with constructing and acting upon Indigenous knowledge at one university in Zambia and the ways in which Indigenous knowledge can contribute to sustainable development through a community engagement remit. This work also seeks to centre African research and researchers in the discourse on higher education in Africa.     

Instructional improvement and student engagement in post-secondary engineering courses: the complexity underlying small effect sizes

The current study leveraged a professional development programme for engineering faculty at a large research university to examine the impact of instructional improvement on student engagement. Professors who participated in the professional development were observed three times and rated using an existing observation protocol. Students in courses with instructors who participated and did not participate in the professional development were surveyed about their classroom engagement. The responses were used to conduct quasi-experimental comparisons. Results indicated that students in courses with professors who participated in the professional development self-reported 3% more behavioural and 2% more cognitive engagement than students with professors who did not participate. Within professional development group, follow-up comparisons showed that students in courses with the highest rated instructors self-reported 7% more cognitive engagement than students with lower ranked professors. Thematic coding of the qualitative data suggests that the highest rated instructors may have achieved these gains through the use of three domain general instructional strategies: activating prior knowledge, facilitating classroom interaction and promoting reflection. Findings are contextualised within extant literature reporting similar effect sizes, and implications for future engagement research from a classroom systems perspective are discussed.     

Learning outside the laboratory: Ability and non-ability influences on acquiring political knowledge

The purpose of this study was to identify sources of individual differences in knowledge acquired under natural conditions. Through its direct influence on background knowledge, crystallized intelligence (Gc) had a major impact on political knowledge, acquired over a period of more than 2 months, but there were independent influences of personality and interest factors, via exposure to political information through activities like reading the newspaper. We also found sex differences in political knowledge, favoring males, and these differences could not be explained in terms of any of the predictor variables we modeled. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the results.     

Keeping their attention: Classroom practices associated with behavioral engagement in first grade mathematics classes in China and the United States

This study investigated variation in students’ behavioral engagement across mathematics classes in China and the United States. Student behavioral engagement was examined along with two aspects of the classroom (group size and teacher instructions given about classroom behavior). Video observational data were collected and coded over 1051 time intervals in 35-minute mathematics sessions in Chinese classrooms (n = 8) and comparable American classrooms (n = 7). Latent growth analyses revealed that overall, behavioral engagement declined over time, although the drop-off was dramatically sharper in American classrooms relative to Chinese classrooms. In addition, larger group size and the timing of teacher instructions (given before versus after the behavior) were significantly associated with increased engagement. This study revealed compelling cultural differences as well as patterns in student and teacher behaviors associated with students engaging in on-task behaviors in the classroom. Implications for ways to promote effective classroom behavior are discussed.     

加强高校实验技术队伍建设

实验技术队伍是实验室工作开展的主体，也是学校教学、科研工作的重要力量，目前实验技术队伍中存在的一些问题，有人事管理制度上的因素，也有队伍自身的原因，更有对实验室工作认识上的不足。根据高等教育事业发展的需要和现有实验技术人员情况，采取培养、调整等办法优化实验技术人员结构，建设一支综合素质好、技术水平高、结构合理的实验技术队伍，是保障实验室建设与管理工作顺利开展、完成实验教学任务以适应人才培养需求的关键。     

The effects of microcomputer-based laboratory exercises on the acquisition of line graph construction and interpretation skills by high school biology students

Effects of microcomputer-based laboratories and level of cognitive development on tenth-grade biology students' ability to construct and interpret line graphs was investigated. Fortysix students enrolled in general biology classes at a rural high school volunteered to participate in the study. These students were administered instruments to assess level of cognitive development and line-graphing ability. Ten students that scored between zero and three and ten students that scored between six and ten on the graphing assessment were chosen to participate in the study. The 20 students were then assigned to either experimental or conventional groups to achieve a matched design with relation to gender and line-graphing ability. Statistical analysis of the data indicated no effect due to instructional method on graph-interpretation abilities. An instructional effect was demonstrated for graph-construction tasks (p < 0.10) with the conventional group outperforming the microcomputer-based laboratory group. Effect sizes of ?1.01 and 0.48 were found for graph-construction and -interpretation skills, respectively. Effects related to cognitive development were indicated with those students classified as high cognitive development outscoring those classified as low (p < 0.10) This was true for both graph-construction and graph-interpretation tasks. No two-way interactions were found.     

History of education in Brazil: the construction of a knowledge field

This article analyses the general characteristics of the construction of the field of history of education in Brazil. To do so, it highlights the existing historiography and aims to describe the process of institutionalisation of this knowledge field, which, in general terms, has been focused on the area of teacher training. Since the nineteenth century, however, it has also been possible to identify systematic historiographical efforts in Brazil that are not directly related to the school system, but rather to the teaching of and research into the history of education within Brazilian universities. The article addresses the organisation of the field, the ways in which it has been structured and the strategies of academic legitimisation employed to achieve this. These include the regular production of dissertations and doctoral theses, the publication of books and journals, academic events and the creation of research groups and scientific associations, through which research findings have found national and international circulation. This set of indicators creates conditions for an understanding of the expansion and reconfiguration of the field of history of education that began in the 1980s, as well as of the challenges this phenomenon presents to current historiography and teacher training in Brazil.