A Model of the Relationship between University Computer Laboratory Environment and Student Outcomes

This study focused on the use of computer laboratory classes in university courses. Two previously developed instruments, the Computer Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI) and the Attitude towards Computing and Computing Courses (ACCC), were used. The CLEI has five scales measuring students' perceptions of aspects of their laboratory environment: Student Cohesiveness, Open-Endedness, Integration, Technology Adequacy, and Laboratory Availability. The ACCC has four scales, namely, Anxiety, Enjoyment, Usefulness of Computers, and Usefulness of the Course. These instruments were administered to a sample of 208 students taking computing courses within the Business School at Curtin University of Technology in Western Australia. The sample covered specialist programming courses as well as courses in which the students use software tools such as spreadsheets. The results showed that there were statistically significant associations between achievement and the attitudinal variables of Anxiety, Enjoyment and Usefulness of the Course. Regression analysis supported the findings that the learning environment variables made a significant contribution to the variance in attitudinal variables, and these in turn made a significant contribution to achievement variance. A two-level model was proposed and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. This supported the hypothesis that the computer laboratory environment affects achievement indirectly by directly affecting students' attitudes.     

Modeling Change in Student Attitude Toward and Beliefs About Mathematics

Abstract

The authors used data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth to investigate variables related to change in students' attitude toward and beliefs about mathematics in middle school and high school. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, the authors modeled variation in students' rate of change with variables associated with student characteristics, instructional experiences, and environment. They also identified variables that differentially affect change at different levels of secondary school (i.e., middle school vs. high school) and for different affective dimensions (i.e., attitude toward mathematics, beliefs about the social importance of mathematics, and beliefs about the nature of mathematics). Results showed a substantial negative change in students' attitudes toward and beliefs about the social importance of mathematics throughout secondary school. However, students' notions of the nature of mathematics did not change throughout secondary school. The authors identified variables related to change and found that they differed according to the level of secondary school and affective dimensions.     

学校环境对数学学习的影响

在数学教学中，数学教师、数学教材、同学关系3个因素对学生数学学习的影响极大，数学教师的教学是学生学好数学的前提；数学教材是学生进行学习的主要依据；班集体的学风不仅影响学生的学习成绩，也影响它们的学习态度和价值观，良好的学校环境会激起学生对数学学习的兴趣，加深学生对数学学科的内容，特点和规律的理解。     

Learning Environment and its Association with Student Satisfaction Among Mathematics Students in Brunei Darussalam

This article reports a study of lower secondary mathematics classroom learning environment in Brunei Darussalam and its association with students' satisfaction with learning mathematics among a sample of 1565 students from 81 classes in 15 government secondary schools. Students' perceptions of the classroom learning environments were assessed with a version of the My Class Inventory (MCI) that had been modified for the Brunei context. The study revealed a satisfactory factor structure for a refined three-scale version of the MCI assessing cohesiveness, difficulty and competition. This finding is noteworthy because the factorial validity of the MCI has not previously been established in past research in other countries. Also each scale displayed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity and was able to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classes. A one-way MANOVA revealed that students generally perceived a positive learning environment in mathematics classes. Also the study supported earlier research suggesting that boys and girls hold different perceptions of the same classroom learning environments. Relationships between student satisfaction and classroom environment were investigated using simple and multiple correlation analyses, using both the individual student and class mean as units of analysis. Associations between satisfaction and the learning environment were statistically significant both at student and class levels for most MCI scales. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

从学生数学学习的追踪研究看新课程改革的实施效果

采用追踪研究设计,以小学生数学学习为例,考察新课程改革的实施效果。研究从学生对数学的基本理解与计算能力、复杂问题解决能力、数学交流与应用意识以及对数学学习的兴趣与数学素养三个方面,实证分析参加新课程与原课程两组学生之间的差异。结果表明,使用新课程的学生对数学的基本理解与计算能力从整体上表现较好,但不如使用原课程学生在此方面的优势明显;与使用原课程学生相比,使用新课程的学生在高层次思维能力方面表现出明显优势,新课程比较明显地提高了学生的复杂问题解决能力、数学表达与交流及应用意识;新课程提高了学生学习数学的兴趣,学生也形成了良好的数学素养。     

Achievements in Mathematics and Science in an International Context

Starting from educational aims that emphasise tolerance and understanding, the focus of this article is to analyse how difference is constructed in students’ informal relations, by enactments of bullying and sex-based and racist harassment. The article also discusses how young people themselves and teachers reflect on these kinds of processes. These questions are explored using data obtained from different perspectives: 1) ethnographic observations in secondary school classes of 7th graders; 2) interviews of the students in these classes (about 13 years of age); 3) interviews of the teachers that taught these classes; and 4) follow-up interviews of the same young people at the age around 18. The findings suggest that students’ individual diversities are sometimes constructed to “different-ness” in everyday life at school. “Different-ness” might be used as a reason for bullying, racism, or sex-based harassment. In schools this is not effectively addressed by teachers.     

Teacher Education Programmes and Their Contribution to Student Teacher Efficacy in Classroom Management and Pupil Engagement

This study focuses on how different educational programmes contribute to student teachers efficacy for classroom management and their abilities to provide learning opportunities and good classroom outcomes. Data were gathered from 491 student teachers attending different teacher education programmes in Norway and analysed via structural equation modelling. The results revealed the following: (1) problem behaviour in the classroom has a negative effect on student teacher efficacy, (2) students' perceptions of the integration of pedagogic knowledge and practice supports students' efficacy beliefs, (3) support from supervisors contributes positively to student teachers' efficacy beliefs, and (4) student teachers in university college programmes for primary school teaching report higher teacher efficacy than students in university programmes for secondary school teaching.     

Evaluation of an Innovative Mathematics Program in Terms of Classroom Environment,Student Attitudes,and Conceptual Development

Dull classroom environments, poor students’ attitudes and inhibited conceptual development led to the creation of an innovative mathematics program, the Class Banking System (CBS), which enables teachers to use constructivist ideas and approaches. To assess the effectiveness of the CBS, the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), Test of Mathematics-Related Attitudes (TOMRA), and concept map tests were administered to two groups of fifth-grade students as pretests and posttests over an academic year. To enrich the data collected from those questionnaires, three case studies (one for the experimental group and two for the control group) were undertaken based on observations and interviews of selected students. Relative to non-CBS students, CBS students experienced more favorable changes in terms of mathematics concept development, attitudes to mathematics, and perceived classroom environments on several dimensions of the CLES (e.g., Personal Relevance, Shared Control) and the ICEQ (e.g., Participation and Differentiation). Qualitative information based on classroom observations and student interviews reinforced and enriched the patterns of results obtained from the concept test and questionnaires.     

谈谈数学的应用与中学数学教育

数学在其他学科中,在国民经济重大问题中,在国家安全重大问题中,在培养人才方面都有巨大作用。数学是学习其他课程的重要基础,当前的中学数学教育存在一些不正常的现象:教学和复习比例失调;片面追求应用和现代化;平面几何缺失;奥数屡禁不止。当代中学生要有远大理想和抱负,要有强烈、浓厚的兴趣,要有执著的精神、坚定的毅力,要勤奋努力;中学数学教学应该做到以下三点:一是少而精,二是让学生多动脑、动手,三是要培养学生的自学精神。     

数学教学中学生创造性思维能力的培养

学生创造性思维能力的培养是数学教学的任务之一.旨在通过对典型例题的解析,探讨如何在教学中渗透创新思想,培养学生的创造性思维能力.     

Measuring the Impact of Professional Accreditation on Student Experiences and Learning Outcomes

This research uses a conceptual model to examine the influence of a change in accreditation standards on a representative national sample of 203 engineering programs at 40 institutions. Based on data collected from more than 140 program chairs, 1,200 faculty, 4,300 graduates of 2004, and 5,400 graduates of 1994, the study investigates the differential impact of the change in accreditation standards on programs reviewed in different years during the period of transition. Despite significant variation across most of the measures and groups in 1994 (before the introduction of the new accreditation criteria), the 2004 evidence demonstrates a surprisingly uniform level of student experiences and outcomes. These findings suggest that engineering accreditation is beginning to accomplish its quality assurance goals. This is a revised version of a research paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, May 17, 2006, Chicago, IL.     

透视美国高等教育中的学生学习结课评价

学生学习结果评价是美国高等教育评价由关注资源输入到全面注重受教育者学习结果的一次转变。它侧重评价学生学习后所获得的各方面知识、能力和品质。该评价成为一场运动的主要原因是培养高技能劳动力的需求、政府问责的加强以及认证组织的推动。学生学习结果评价的实施在政府、高校以及专业、课堂等众多层面展开,并表现出以学生为中心的价值取向、评价参与者广泛以及评价方法灵活多样等特点。     

The Methodological Challenges of Measuring Student Learning,Degree Attainment,and Early Labor Market Outcomes in Higher Education

The main objective of this study is to empirically test a number of theory-based models (i.e., fixed effects [FE], random effects [RE], and aggregated residuals [AR]) to measure the generic knowledge as well as the degree attainment rates and early labor outcomes gained by students in different programs and institutions in higher education. Our results show the importance of addressing the issue of student selection into programs and institutions in order to reduce selection bias, and they provide suggestive evidence in favor of using FE models. Our findings also confirm our hypotheses that rankings of specific college-program combinations change depending on the different educational and labor outcome measures considered. This finding emphasizes the need to use complementary indicators related to the mission of the specific postsecondary institutions that are being ranked. Given the sensitivity of the models to different model specifications, it is not clear whether they should be used to make any high-stakes decisions in higher education. They could, however, serve as part of a broader set of indicators to support programs and colleges as part of a formative evaluation.     

刍论以学生为本与中学数学教育

当今社会,以人为本已成为人们共识的理念,而在数学教育中,如何体现以学生为本的教学理念,则是不少人感到的困惑的.在此试加阐述,以便与同行共同商榷.     

Student perceptions of predictability of examination requirements and relationship with outcomes in high-stakes tests in Ireland

Entirely predictable examinations are ones for which the questions are known in advance. Some assessments are designed this way, but in public examinations, predictability is subtler. Students familiarise themselves with the requirements broadly: likely topics that will come up, question formats and how to maximise their marks. If students can predict what they have to do, they can memorise performances, such as essays, and restrict their learning to fit only with examination requirements. The danger is that this focus could undermine curriculum aims. Further, examinations that are overly predictable might produce results that do not generalise to other performances or have predictive validity. This paper presents part of a broader project investigating whether the Higher Level Irish Leaving Certificate (LC) examinations were too predictable. Here, the development of a rating scale for students’ views of examination predictability is described. Data were collected from 1002 Irish LC students taking higher level examinations in biology (n?=?536), English (n?=?749) and geography (n?=?387). Students’ views on predictability of the examination could be grouped consistently across subject areas into three factors: valuable learning, predictability and narrowing of the curriculum. Belief that narrowing of the curriculum was a good examination preparation tactic had a negative relationship with examination scores and perceived learning value of examinations was positively associated with students’ scores in biology and English. These findings indicate that the scoring system rewards students who believe they must study the discipline broadly.     

数学课堂教学生态化下的审美教育

数学课堂教学生态化是以课堂为落脚点,用生态的理念,力求营造一种和谐的、动态的、充满生命力、可持续性教授知识、学习知识和交流知识的数学课堂教学生态环境。而数学审美教育在促进数学课堂教学生态中有着积极的作用。     

促进数学教学过程中学生参与的策略探究

学生在数学教学中的参与是影响数学教学质量的重要因素.明确数学教学中学生参与的概念和内涵,认识学生参与对数学教学的意义,分析影响学生参与数学教学的原因,并在此基础上探索促进数学教学中学生参与的策略,对提高数学教学质量,实现新一轮数学课程教学改革的目标有十分重要的现实意义.     

浅谈在高中数学教学中渗透数学史教育

改变传统的教学方式才能为学生高效学习打下基础,将数学史教育和数学教学相融合,丰富数学课堂教学内容显得比较重要。本文主要就高中数学教学渗透数学史教育的价值以及现状和措施详细探究,希望能为实际教学工作开展起到积极作用。     

Perceived Classroom Interaction,Goal Orientation and Their Association with Social and Academic Learning Outcomes

This study aimed to investigate students’ perceptions of classroom interaction and goal orientation in association with academic achievement, school non-attendance, and disobedience among students in lower-secondary schools. The sample contained 1975 students from grades 8–10 (age 14–16) in 11 Norwegian lower-secondary schools. The results generally supported the theoretical model in which classroom interaction is significantly associated with goal orientation, which in turn is associated with academic achievement, school non-attendance, and disobedience. However, some grade-specific relations were observed.     

现代远程开放教育环境下的学生管理

接受现代远程教育的学生呈现出不同的特点；不少学生心理异常的现象呈上升趋势。应根据学生的特点，引导学生克服心理障碍，顺利完成学业。本文应用学校管理心理学的有关理论，初步探讨了现代远程开放教育环境下的学生管理。