Using examples and analogies to remediate misconceptions in physics: Factors influencing conceptual change

Examples are often recognized as important in teaching conceptual material, yet little research has been done concerning the best use of examples in attempts to remediate misconceptions. This study questions the effectiveness of a traditional teaching-by-example technique. Results indicate that when students hold a misconception, presenting a principle with supporting examples to show the range of application of the principle may be ineffective. Rather, it appears that examples are more effective when they help students draw on and analogically extend existing valid physical intuitions in constructing a new conceptual model of a target situation. To help students in this constructive effort, first, the examples used must be understandable and believable to the students, not simply to the teacher or textbook author. Second, even when an example is compelling to the student, it may not be seen as analogous to target problems drawing out a misconception. In that case, analogy relations may need to be explicitly developed. Third, qualitative, visualizable models may need to be developed which give mechanistic explanations for phenomena.     

Factors influencing recruitment in educational psychology

This paper reports an investigation of the factors that educational psychologists in training (EPiTs) look for when applying for jobs in educational psychology services. Relevant literature on ‘job attraction’ is reviewed and a three-stage research process employed. This involved a focus group approach to questionnaire generation followed by questionnaire studies involving 87 EPiTs and 22 recently qualified educational psychologists. Results identify key aspects of service and staff development as crucial in recruitment. These are discussed within the broader context of psychological theory on job satisfaction in considering implications for both recruitment and retention.     

Factors influencing success in introductory college chemistry

Previous research has found a wide range of predictors of student performance in introductory college chemistry. These predictors are associated with both the students' backgrounds and their high school learning experiences. The purpose of this research study was to examine the link between high school chemistry pedagogical experiences and performance in introductory college chemistry while accounting for individual educational and demographic differences. The researchers surveyed 1531 students enrolled in first‐semester introductory college chemistry courses for science and engineering majors at 12 different U.S. colleges and universities. Using multiple regression analysis, the researchers uncovered several interesting high school pedagogical experiences that appeared to be linked with varying levels of performance in college chemistry. Most notably, the researchers found that repeating chemistry labs for understanding was associated with higher student grades, whereas overemphasis on lab procedure in high school chemistry was associated with lower grades in college. These results suggest that high school teachers' pedagogical choices may have a link to future student performance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 987–1012, 2005     

影响中国公民社会政策参与范围的因素分析

公民政策参与已成为现代政府推动公共事务不可或缺的重要资产.但在公民社会的利益取向及其对政策过程的关注度、政策过程的开放程度、参与的成本与效率因素以及政府的信任程度等五大因素的影响和制约下,中国公民社会实际参与和影响政策过程的范围呈现出不均衡的态势,这不但会影响中国公民社会成为政策过程中一股正向有序的建设性力量的进程,而且易制约具有民意基础的政策过程的良性运行.因此,在追求和实现政府善治和社会和谐双重发展目标的当下,对上述五大因素的分析和探究显得尤为必要.     

台湾问题中的美国因素

美国一直是台湾问题中挥之不去的阴影。台湾问题中的美国因素在政治上表现为注重发展美台实质关系，支持台湾“拓展国际生存空间”；经济上密切合作，以经促政，以台制华；军事上强调对台安全承诺；扩大对台军售。虽然今后美国在台湾问题上的影响力将越来越大，干预台湾问题的可能性在增加，但受中国因素，国际环境因素等的制约，其影响也将在某种程度上受限，美台关系在一定时间内不会有突破性进展。     

Factors influencing international student satisfaction in Korean universities

Despite South Korea emerging as one of the new players in the international education market over the last decade, our knowledge of the extent of international students’ satisfaction studying in South Korean universities is modest. To fill this research gap, our study used 873 valid survey responses from international students originating from 69 countries studying at 62 Korean universities. An exploratory factor analysis was first used to extract a set of important factors from a number of variables. Then an ordered-logistic regression was conducted to identify factors influencing international students’ overall satisfaction. A number of recommendations and areas of intervention have been identified ranging from learning experience to living and support services. Equally important, this study confirms the validity of the hypothesis that international students from the East Asian cultural sphere attain more satisfaction than other international students who are more culturally dissimilar from members of the host population. The findings of this study contribute to the overall effort of raising student satisfaction and thereby supporting the enrollment of additional students and managing attrition and retention problems through continuous improvement.     

理解儿童文化

一、儿童文化的本质儿童文化是指儿童在与同伴交往的过程中形成的并以儿童自己的思想和行为来决定其价值和标准的文化。它的形成离不开儿童的身心特征、群体同伴交往、师生关系及家庭社会的影响。与成人文化相比，儿童文化有着自己的特点，如，儿童文化是充满热情、易变的，凭感觉的成分多，而成人文化相对来说则体现为科学性、理性化，具有客观冷静和稳定的特性；儿童文化是充满张扬和想像的，而成人文化却表现为现实性和重复性;儿童文化的价值观具有多样化、易变性的特点，成人文化的价值观则更体现为固定化和不灵活性；儿童文化大多数是…     

论儿童精神的诗性逻辑

儿童的逻辑不同于成人世界中的概念性逻辑。儿童的逻辑汇入了并充盈着鲜明而强烈的感性色彩和浪漫主义审美意蕴的诗性精神。诗性的逻辑是展现儿童精神之特质的基本表达形式，也为人类理性精神插上了想像的翅膀。     

论影响法律词汇翻译的主要因素

法律翻译的准确性及精确性原则要求译本措辞考究、字斟句酌;清晰和简练原则要求译本言简意赅,晓畅自然.翻译过程中,译者既是读者、作者,同时又是创造者、研究者,在创造性地再现原文信息时,必须遵守这两个原则,以实现法律译本与原文对等的提供信息功能和规范功能.要达到这一目标,译者应该深刻把握影响法律词汇翻译的各个因素.     

Factors influencing anaphoric processing in ESL reading comprehension

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of some factors that influence English as Second Language (ESL) readers’ ability to resolve anaphoric expressions. Fifty full-time ESL students randomly drawn from three different proficiency levels served as unpaid volunteers for the project. Data were elicited by means of multiple-choice and cloze tests. The experimental design contains one between-subjects factor (proficiency level) and three within-subjects factors, all orthogonally manipulated (number of antecedents, case of pronominal anaphor, and propositional distance from antecedent). A four-way mixed ANOVA for the multiple-choice tests indicated significant effects for proficiency level, case of anaphor, and the interaction of case and number of antecedents. A similar four-way ANOVA for the cloze tests indicated significant effects for proficiency level, number of antecedents, case of anaphor, distance from antecedent, and for the interactions of case and antecedents, antecedents and distance, and case and distance. Similarities in the findings from this study and other first and second language studies are noted. Latent trait measurement procedures were employed to produce a rank order of difficulty for the different item types examined in this study.     

Factors influencing assessment quality in higher vocational education

The development of assessments that are fit to assess professional competence in higher vocational education requires a reconsideration of assessment methods, quality criteria and (self)evaluation. This article examines the self-evaluations of nine courses of a large higher vocational education institute. Per course, 4–11 teachers and 3–10 students participated. The purpose of this article is to critically examine the quality of assessment in higher vocational education, to identify critical factors influencing assessment quality and to study whether self-evaluation leads to concrete points for improvement. Results show that strong points are fitness for purpose, comparability and fairness. Weak points are reproducibility of decisions and development of self-regulated learning. Critical factors are the translation of competences into assessment criteria to be used in daily lessons and the involvement of the work field. The self-evaluations generated many points for improvement, but not all were translated into actions. Altogether, this article provides a rich picture of assessment quality in higher education and identifies quality aspects that need improvement, (partly) confirming other research on current assessment methods.