Rapid automatic naming: Easy to measure,hard to improve (quickly)

One explanation for the relationship between serial rapid naming (SRN) and reading is that SRN affects the temporal proximity of the phonological activation of the letters in a word, which, in turn, influences the acquisition of orthographic knowledge. To test this hypothesis, a group of Dutch first grade children was trained in the rapid serial naming of letter sounds. In addition, a no-training control group and a serial addition training group were included. Various measures of SRN and of reading were administered to evaluate the effect of the training. Before the training, we found a symbol-specific relationship between SRN and reading: the relationship of reading with letter-sound naming was higher than its relationship with number naming. The training of serial letter-sound naming was not successful. In contrast, the serial addition training was highly effective. We conclude that it might be difficult to quickly improve the serial rapid naming of letter sounds in beginning readers.     

Statistical edutainment: An experimental way to teach for good measure

Concepts of experimentation and measurement are explored using statistics educational fun items and illustrated by sharing our process in conducting an experiment on cartoon captions.     

解构"负责":当前校长负责制的症结与出路分析

我国中小学实行“校长负责制”至今已20年,但存在的问题依然很多.要解决校长负责制的症结,找出出路,我们就要从“负责”入手,明确校长向谁负责,负责什么,负什么责以及怎么负责等问题.     

溶液表面张力测定的实验数据处理分析与改进

对最大气泡压力法测定正丁醇(n-G4H9OH)溶液表面张力的实验数据处理进行了分析与改进,用改进后的方法计算得到正丁醇分子的横截面积与文献吻合得较好.     

How to measure university environment? Methodological implications and some empirical findings

Referring to and in critical appreciation of the traditional college environment research in the USA theoretical premises and methodological problems of measurement are discussed. The own approach, established within the framework of a German panel-study includes mainly three components of university environment's measurement, which are to presented in this contribution: the criteria of how to choose relevant dimensions out of the universe of indicators, the multi-level conception of university environment, and the association of individual's perception and evaluation. The longitudinal empirical findings which are to be shown then are selected examples for demonstrating the fruitfulness of our proposal. They examine how students perceive various levels of their environment, and how they evaluate it. Both aspects as well as the configuration of perception and evaluation give hints on the importance of measuring university environment in the manner proposed and also on its relevance for the investigation of students' socialisation.The article is translated from the German by Peter Williams, University of Constance.     

Intuitive rules: A way to explain and predict students' reasoning

Through our work in mathematics and science education we have observed that students react similarly to a wide variety of conceptually unrelated situations. Our work suggests that many responses which the literature describes as alternative conceptions could be interpreted as evolving from common, intuitive rules. This paper describes and discusses one such rule, manifested when two systems are equal with respect to a certain quantity A but differ in another quantity B. We found that in such situations, students often argue that Same amount of A implies same amount of B. Our claim is that such responses are specific instances of the intuitive rule Same A—same B. This approach explains common sources for students'; conceptions and has strong predictive power.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

以礼制利:外部性的克服及其局限——对我国古代经济思想义利观的现代思考

我国古代经济思想里一直存在的经济假设这一命题 ,趋利避害的人性假定是各学派阐释其理论的出发点。各学派的分歧点是在对经济人行为外部不经济的解释上。以西方经济学的理论对外部性概念进行学理抽象 ,便可诠释我国古代经济思想义利观形成的合理性 ,从而探析出以礼制利的时代局限     

生评教:课程与教材改革的新途径

文章论述了将学生对课程、教材的评价纳入“生评教”范围的必要性 ,分析了对这两项评价偏低的原因 ,主张高校应促进课程改革 ,加快教材内容建设 ,提高教学服务质量。     

Reviewing literature to inform policy: some complexities and tensions

Drawing on the experience of carrying out a literature review commissioned to support the Review of Teacher Education in Scotland, this paper discusses the role of literature reviews within the movement for ‘evidence-based policy’ making. The first part of the paper discusses the purposes of such reviews and some of the misconceptions that may be associated with them. Several critical questions that shape the work of reviewing are identified. By examining the particular case in which the authors were involved, it is demonstrated how the establishment of terms of reference and definitions of scope are critical factors in determining the outcome of such a project. But so too are the relationships established between those undertaking the project and the commissioners of the work. The conclusion is that reviewing literature is much more of a deliberative process than is commonly understood.     

Using portfolios: a way to improve performance and self-esteem with poor readers?

The main questions answered by the intervention of using portfolios during reading and spelling lessons were: do poor readers in the intervention condition perform better and do they show a higher self-esteem than poor readers in the control condition? A post-hoc design was used to compare an intervention group with a control group. The independent variable was using portfolios as part of reading and spelling instruction. The dependent variables were literacy skills, conceptual knowledge on reading and writing, and self-esteem. Intelligence score was used as a covariable. The study included 92 students from grade 3 (six to seven-year-olds) from two schools providing regular education. The results on the quantitative measurements indicated that using portfolios did not improve performance with reading and spelling and self-esteem. The qualitative findings with respect to the 14 poor readers of the participating subjects revealed that their reading performance and self-esteem decreased further in both conditions. It is argued that teachers should explicitly use portfolios as a way to evaluate and discuss performance with poor readers so as to better understand the student's level of instruction and feelings of competence, and actually apply that knowledge during instruction.     

Investing in children: The best way to prevent separation from parents and families

The reliable and disaggregated data on children deprived of family care, living in different forms of public care is essential information to implement the UN Guidelines on Alternative Care of Children and its principle on necessity and suitability. At the same time all needed information and data would also be needed on all forms of support, universal, targeted and specialized services provided or not provided to children and their families locally to prevent separation of children, on different forms of informal care. While there have been many efforts made to prevent institutionalization of children worldwide especially in the most developed countries, placement of children out of their families for different reasons, many of them closely related to poverty is still too often accepted. Some current programs in Europe described in the article can contribute to better implementation of the current policies and recommendations globally, however there is a parallel movement towards emphasizing the need and value of institutional care and the lack of alternatives in many cases, that should also be taken into consideration. More research, evidence and data is needed to defend the arguments for deinstitutionalization.     

实验教学是实现生物学教学创新的重要途径

本文从变验证性实验为探索性实验、变无实验为设计实验、变先讲后实验为边实验边讲、变课内实验为课外实验四方面沦述了实验教学是实现生物学教学创新的重要途径。     

大学生“网络班委”功能发挥的条件与问题研究

"网络班委"是在班级学生干部中专门设立的网络委员,通过建立班级博客群、QQ群的方式,把全体师生的网络信息资源汇聚在一起,以打造健康的校园上网环境,并在老师、家长、学生之间增加一个快捷的沟通平台.     

The social marketing approach: a way to increase reporting and treatment of sexual assault

OBJECTIVE: Too often communities remain silent in response to cases of sexual assault of children. Members of the community are afraid to report such incidents and victims are reluctant to seek and accept treatment. The purpose of the paper is to examine whether application of a social marketing approach may serve as an effective means for motivating communities to report and victims to seek professional treatment. METHODS: The paper is based on a case study of an ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Israel, where an informal campaign of silence developed. Using content analysis of documents and in-depth interviews, the research examines the implementation of a social marketing approach by a multidisciplinary team of professionals in the community. It focuses on developments in the community's attitude to sexual abuse, especially with regard to reporting assault and seeking and accepting treatment. RESULTS: The findings show a considerable reduction in the fear that victims and other members of the community felt with regard to exposing the issue; a change among the community leaders, some of whom initially objected to reporting and treatment; introduction of an alternative community dialogue that advocated reporting and treatment; and a rise in the number of reports and of people in treatment. CONCLUSION: The paper recommends the integration of principles of social marketing in community programs aimed at dealing with sexual assault. In particular, it suggests the identification of competing groups in the community, construction of specific programs for different segments, addressing the no-monetary prices that the change may incur on the different groups, location of appropriate places for distribution of messages, and use of effective personal, as well as public means of communication and promotion.     

Another way to think about the work we do: counselling for work and relationship

Counselling for work and relationship is proposed as another way of thinking about vocational psychology and vocational guidance. It can contribute to the search for a new paradigm for these fields. Central to this way of thinking are two shifts. A shift from a discourse about career to a discourse about work, and a shift to expand the focus of attention beyond the occupational domain to include multiple social contexts of work and relationship across both occupational and personal domains of life. The ways in which these shifts are responsive to theoretical and social contexts is considered.     

Self-assessment instrument to measure the competencies of Namibian graduates: Testing of validity and reliability

Namibia has been reported to be one of the countries with the highest unemployment rates. In this work, the reliability and validity of the self-assessment instrument used to measure competencies of graduates in Namibia were assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EFA results demonstrated that the twenty indicators can be categorized into five factors, namely, “management and resilience”, “professional and communication”, “teamwork and critical thinking”, “self-control”, and “achievement motive”. The CFA results showed that all of the factors and indicators are highly reliable with good construct validity. Students and graduates could employ this validated self-assessment instrument to assess or diagnose a pattern of strengths and weaknesses in their own competencies and provide themselves with a realistic and objective estimate of their employability, as well as help them increase effectiveness in their workplace.     

Breaking away to find a way: poverty and school failure in a Spanish adolescent life-history

This article is part of a biographical research study, and explores the social path that an adolescent from a marginal background in Malaga (Spain) has travelled throughout his life. The research shows a class differentiation that divides society in two: you, who control the means of production, impose your culture, and define the policy and the school; and we, who live in poor houses and districts, learn in the street and do things that are worthy of punishment – the bad ones. School failure, the result and cause of this division, leads to social failure, provoking ‘guerrillas against the good ones’ (teachers, peers, guards, police, judges, etc.) of youngsters who have learned to devalue themselves as people and as a group: youngsters who have to break away to find a way.     

When teachers learn how to provide classroom structure in an autonomy-supportive way: Benefits to teachers and their students

In two experimentally-based and longitudinally-designed studies, secondary-level PE teachers were randomly assigned to participate or not in a new intervention to help them learn all of the following: support autonomy, provide structure, and provide structure in an autonomy-supportive way. In Study 1, teachers who participated in the intervention showed longitudinal gains in all five hypothesized teacher benefits (e.g., teaching efficacy, job satisfaction). In Study 2, students of teachers who participated in the intervention showed longitudinal gains in all four hypothesized student benefits (e.g., classroom engagement, skill development). Overall, teachers and students benefited after teachers provided structure in an autonomy-supportive way.     

A critical-realist response to the postmodern agenda in instructional design and technology: a way forward

Although providing an invigorating foundation for instructional design and technology theory and research, the postmodern agenda would benefit from clearer articulation and further refinement of ontological, epistemological, and methodological positions. Consequently, we reveal possible weaknesses in the radically constructivist-inspired position and, in the spirit of scholarly dialogue, counter with a critical-realist perspective that presents a potentially more innovative and defensible approach to the discovery of scientific knowledge about teaching and learning infused with technology. Without doubt, we concur with postmodernists that issues of agency, identity, race, gender and ethnicity must be addressed and given a central position in instructional design and technology research and practice. Under the critical-realist designator, case study, ethnographic, arts-based, and phenomenological methodologies are appropriate and can co-exist. Our point of distinction is that as a scientific venture, instructional design and technology as a discipline must be more public and transparent in warrants, claims and discourse for proposed change to take place. We conclude by indicating future lines of inquiry inspired by the critical-realist perspective, detailing topics in technology integration and digital games.