What is reciprocal understanding in virtual interaction?

The aim of this study is to investigate what is reciprocal understanding in virtual web-based interaction and what does it consist of. The context of this study was an international web-based pre-service teacher education (N=116) course. The study is based on an idea of shared cognition and reciprocal understanding, in particular. It is assumed that reciprocity is an essential component not only of social interaction, but also of successful virtual interaction. Since many kinds of virtual interaction, such as e-learning, web-based courses, and virtual universities are rapidly getting more common in education, there is a need to analyse the issue of reciprocal understanding in web-based learning in order to develop more profound pedagogical models. The results widely show that during this particular web-based course there was reciprocal discussion between the participants. Participants had mutual negotiations and they discussed about issues from a variety of different viewpoints. Seven different ideas were found for the mechanisms of reciprocal understanding. It is concluded that this information is useful for developing a new pedagogical model for web-based learning and enhancing the quality of virtual interaction.     

What is a photon?

We discuss the absorber theory of radiation as put forward by Wheeler and Feynman. We show that it gives a better understanding of the photon compared to the usual quantum electrodynamics (QED) picture.     

What is a dysfunctional school?

Abstract

Whether or not a school is dysfunctional depends largely on how dysfunctionality in schools is defined and measured. Dysfunctionality, as any construct, is subject to definition and interpretation, and it is thus always marked by perspectivism. But regardless of the definition games occasionally played by academics, some form of reality takes place beyond the constructivist horizon. Moreover, perspectivism and definition games may justify and even create adverse consequences within a school's lived reality. A definition focussing on Grade 12 pass rates, for example, tends to implicate teachers, while a definition focussing on infrastructure tends to exculpate teachers and incriminate government and administration. Accordingly, this article will not end but begin with the adage that a dysfunctional school is what one defines a dysfunctional school to be, and it will explore the conditions and consequences of conceptual variations.     

What is a Significant Educational Experience?

This article analyses the nature of an educational experience by taking as its starting point Dewey's Art as Experience in order to identify what it is that counts as a significant or worthwhile experience. Dewey suggests that an experience needs to have an integral character in which the different phases of the experience are related and which tends towards a conclusion. Furthermore, an experience also needs to have the character of what Dewey calls an ‘undergoing’, an engagement with content which may be difficult or painful. It is suggested that this kind of experience may be seen in terms of a ‘light’ pedagogy in which content is allowed to unfold. This is contrasted with educational experiences that are ‘teacher‐driven’ or ‘learner‐driven’.     

What is a Species? An endless debate

Everybody is familiar with the ubiquitous term ‘species’. But what is a species? Undeniably, this is one of the most complex dilemmas in the history of biology. There is no other concept in biology as elementary yet controversial as the concept of species. In practice, a species is regarded as the fundamental unit of comparison in all biological disciplines like systematics, evolution, ecology, ethology, physiology, and genetics. However, little agreement exists in the scientific community regarding the nature of species, whether it is a real entity or a cultural artifact, its biological significance or how to delineate a species. This article is a review of the seemingly endless debate on the species concept and its implications.     

What is a p‐value?

An in‐class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p‐value and power in a statistical test.     

Can virtual schools thrive in the real world?

Despite the relatively large number of students enrolled in Ohio’s virtual schools, it is unclear how virtual schools compare to their traditional school counterparts on measures of student achievement. To provide some insight, we compared the school performance from 2007-2011 at Ohio’s virtual and traditional schools. The results suggest that Ohio’s virtual schools have grown rapidly, but also have experienced much lower levels of school performance than traditional schools. In light of these findings, we discuss factors that may be contributing to the large number of low-performing virtual schools in Ohio. Considering the lack of sufficient evidence that Ohio’s virtual schools are effective, we conclude that the relentless pursuit to expand virtual schools is problematic.     

What is Reading? A Literacy Interview with a Five and a Half Year Old

This article presents an analysis of a transcribed video recording of a child being interviewed concerning the nature of reading and her proposed strategies for improvement. Some interesting and amusing answers are given.     

What is Intended,What is Realized,and What is Learned? Teaching and Learning Biology in the Primary School Classroom

Within the framework of variation theory, 7- to 12-year-old students’ ways of understanding cellular respiration and photosynthesis were investigated against the background of their teachers’ teaching. Eighteen students were selected by the teachers and interviewed by the researcher. Lessons were observed and video recorded, and stimulated-recall interviews with the teachers were conducted. The students’ understanding of the function of oxygen and sugar in plants was described in four categories. The study concludes that young students can develop complex understanding if opportunities to learn are presented. The opportunities depended mainly on the language used by the teachers, such as metaphors, pointing out critical aspects of the object of learning. The study has implications for the relationship between teachers’ competence and students’ learning.