Portraits of PBL: students' experiences of the characteristics of problem-based learning in physiotherapy,computer engineering and psychology

The present study is part of acomprehensive research project with the generalaims of comparing how problem-based learning isrealised in three different professionaleducational programmes. The specific aims ofthis study are to describe and analyse howstudents in the three different programmesconceive of the meaning of problem-basedlearning and how they experience their studieswithin a problem-based learning programme. ThePBL programmes are a Bachelor's programme inPhysiotherapy, a Master's programme inPsychology, and a Master's programme inComputer Engineering. Data were analysedqualitatively. The results reveal differencesin how the students in the three programmesconceive of their autonomy as learners,co-operation with their counterparts and theauthenticity of the learning task. The findingspossibly also reflect the taken-for-grantedperspectives of knowledge, embedded in thecultures of the professional practices and thescientific disciplines to which the programmespertain.     

Questioning to learn and learning to question: Structure and function of problem-based learning scenarios in environmental science education

In problem-based learning, scenarios relating to real life areused as a point of departure for the learning process. Eventhough the importance of suitable cases or scenarios in bringingabout a fruitful learning process is emphasised in theliterature, few studies focus on how they actually function inthe learning process. This study focuses on how the scenariosused in a ten-week introductory course of a new four-yearundergraduate programme in environmental science functioned interms of the structure and content of the questions they evoked.Data were gathered through diary notes from nine groups ofstudents, comprising 5–8 students per group. The data weresubjected to a qualitative analysis aimed at describing thestructure and content of the questions generated by the groups.Five different kinds of questions were identified and labelled;encyclopaedic, meaning-oriented, relational,value-oriented and solution-oriented. All scenarios generated questions pertaining to all five categories in all groups, butthe emphasis varied. The results are discussed in relation to thedesign of scenarios, and in relation to students' approaches tolearning.     

University students' situational reaction tendencies: Reflections on general study orientations,learning strategies,and study success

The purpose of the study was to bridge the gap between situational and more general measures in investigating university students' studying. More precisely, the aim was to establish a connection between students' situational reaction tendencies and their general study orientations. Furthermore, situational reaction tendencies were related to the applied learning strategies and actual study success. The participants in the study were 578 second year students in a multi-disciplinary Finnish university. A questionnaire was used including the Inventory of General Study Orientations (IGSO) and measures concerning situational reaction tendencies, learning strategies, self-efficacy and self-evaluated expertise. Archive data from the university's student register were utilized to objectively examine study success. The following four groups of students with differing situational reaction tendencies were distinguished: performance-oriented students, task-oriented students, socially oriented students and avoiders. It was found that the groups differed from each other regarding general study orientations, applied learning strategies and study success.     

国家精品课程与国外开放网络课程的学习资源比较研究

本研究从资源开发理念、资源开发政策、资源体现的学习方式和资源体现的评价方式四个维度．对国家精品课程和国外开放网络课程学习资源进行了深入地比较和分析．以启发对国家精品课程学习资源建设的思考,并提供建设性的构想。     

Case study: use of problem-based learning to develop students' technical and professional skills

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a pedagogy that has attracted attention for many biomedical engineering curricula. The aim of the current study was to address the research question, ‘Does PBL enable students to develop desirable professional engineering skills?’ The desirable skills identified were communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-directed learning. Forty-seven students enrolled in a biomedical materials course participated in the case study. Students worked in teams to complete a series of problems throughout the semester. The results showed that students made significant improvements in their problem-solving skills, written communication and self-directed learning. Students also demonstrated an ability to work in teams and communicate orally. In conclusion, this case study provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of PBL on student learning. We discuss findings from our study and provide observations of student performance and perceptions that could be useful for faculty and researchers interested in PBL for biomedical engineering education.     

从生态视角看混合学习应用于网上英语写作

数字化学习强调以学习为中心受到了人们的关注,然而这种新方法在教学实践中逐渐显示出其存在的弊端,混合学习的理念应运而生。本文引入生态学视角观察混合学习方式应用于网络写作课堂的尝试,并运用生态学原理考察整个网上英语写作生态系统的运作,观察混合学习所起的作用,以期进一步促进混合学习的应用研究和提高网络学习的效率和质量。笔者以第二军医大学参与博士生网上英语写作课程的22名学生为研究对象,将学生前后测的写作水平成绩及调查问卷的数据进行比较和分析。实验结果表明,混合学习方式能够在一定程度上弥补纯网络学习存在的不足,提高学生的学习效率、学习兴趣、写作信心以及英语写作水平。这充分说明混合式学习在网络写作课程中是可行且有效的。     

The difficult bridge between university and industry: a case study in computer science teaching

Recently, there has been increasing criticism concerning academic computer science education. This paper presents a new approach based on the principles of constructivist learning design as well as the ideas of knowledge transfer in communities of practice. The course ‘High‐tech Entrepreneurship and New Media’ was introduced as an interdisciplinary project management lab in which students collaborate in groups to develop software solutions for authentic problems. Main goals were the tighter integration of university and local start‐up companies, an intense knowledge transfer on software engineering methods, as well as the implementation of constructivist learning principles in academic teaching. This paper presents the background and structure of the course as well as the results of a formative evaluation. While being successful in introducing a course based on digital‐media assisted, constructivist learning arrangements, establishing lasting communities of practice between university and industry is still an open issue. After discussing several reasons, the paper concludes with a list of general recommendations on how to improve the approach and its implementation.     

《结构动力学》本科课程中数值计算内容调研:国际研究型高校土木工程专业比较

动力响应数值计算是分析结构动力学中“三非”(非线性、非稳态、非定常)问题的重要理论方法和技术手段。本文调研了十余所国际著名研究型高校土木工程专业本、硕、博阶段《结构动力学》课程教学计划,比较了《结构动力学》本科初级课程中单自由度系统动力响应数值计算和响应谱的相关内容设置,通过比较相关内容的知识点设置等方面对我国土木工程专业《结构动力学》课程的教学改革提供了若干有意义的建议。     

语言学习策略对比及运用

本简述外语学习策略理论。主要通过对国内外学使用同一语言学习策略量表(SILL)对外语学习策略所作的调查进行对比研究，并结合笔所做的一份英语学习策略的开放式问卷的分析，寻找影响语言学习策略选择的有关因素和学生在英语学习策略使用方面存在的问题。旨在探求在大学英语教学条件下，语言学习策略的选择和运用。     

新课程中教学仪器的设计思路与策略

课程整合、研究性学习、模型方法是新课程的几个亮点，是我们以后进行教学仪器设计的思路与方向，本文就从这几点来谈教学仪器的设计与开发。     

基于OBE理念的课程目标构建与实践 ——以过程流体机械课程为例

课程目标是对课程学习成果的预期,是评估学生课程学习效果的基础.基于OBE理念,剖析了课程目标与毕业要求、课程目标与课程学习成果评估的关系,论述了课程目标的特点及撰写方法.以过程流体机械课程为例,构建了课堂教学目标与课程目标,为落实课堂教学改革与考核奠定了基础.     

通用英语、特殊用途英语、双语课英语词句特征之比较——特殊用途英语教学衔接作用研究(2)

该文运用定量的方法统计、归纳、比较通用英语、特殊用途英语和双语课英语文本在词汇和句法方面的特征,并借此探讨特殊用途英语的过渡衔接性学科定位。     

浅谈学案设计的几个问题

在教学实践中,本人对学案学习效果不佳产生了疑问,进行了观察和反思,认为问题主要出在学案设计上.本文探讨了究竟怎样才能设计出适合学生学习的学案,使学案学习更有效果.主要从转变观念、理解什么是学案和怎样合理设置学案的学习目标、学法指导,安排习题等方面进行讨论的.认为只有这几方面工作做好,才能真正调动学生,增进学案学习的效果.     

A case study on project led education in engineering: students' and teachers' perceptions

This paper explores the extent to which students and teachers are able to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of a shift in the approach to teaching and learning from a traditional, teacher-centred perspective towards project- and learner-centred education. It reports on a case study aimed at exploring students' and teachers' perceptions of a project-led education course carried out at an engineering course at a Portuguese university. Data were collected through questionnaires, letters and interviews. Findings suggest, in spite of some negative experiences and final results for some of the students, a clear recognition of the benefits of a project-based approach to both the teaching staff as well as the students. Both are able to identify interdisciplinarity, high student motivation and the acquisition of soft skills as key features of project-led education.     

The process,dialogues, and attitudes of vocational engineering high school students in a web problem-based learning (WPBL) system

This study aims to explore how high school students collaboratively solve problems in a web problem-based learning (WPBL) system in an 8-week digital logic course using discourse analysis. Employing in-depth interviews, this study also investigated the students' attitudes toward the WPBL system. The number of teaching assistants' responses had a negative relationship with the number of peer responses. Regarding dialogue quality, extended questions and brainstorming stimulated each other. Elaboration facilitated problem solving, whereas organizing knowledge from books or websites decreased reflection. Students affirmed the usefulness and effectiveness of the web system because it created an interactive, flexible, comfortable and collaborative learning environment.     

Conditions,processes and consequences of technology use: a case study

Abstract

The conditions, processes and consequences of technology implementation were explored in order to develop a holistic view of technology use in a typical elementary school (ages 6-11 years). This qualitative case study employed a symbolic interactionist conceptual framework, an interpretivist research paradigm and analytic induction strategies. Assertions generated from the process of analytic induction suggest that even when conditions appear ripe for transformational uses of technology, these uses often do not occur. The study raises questions about whether school-wide transformational uses of technology can occur without an organized reform effort and whether the conditions for transformational use of technology advocated in the literature are sufficient to facilitate such use. The study also supports the need to consider stages of adoption when planning for technology integration within a school and adds another dimension to the question of whether constructivist teaching strategies enable transformative uses of technology or whether the transformational uses of technology lead to more constructivist tendencies.     

综合实践活动课程:我国新世纪的课程创新和历险--与日本"综合学习时间"之比较及反思

新世纪之初,中日两国基础教育课程改革都把课程综合化作为改革的重要目标,分别推出“综合学习时间”和“综合实践活动”课程。两相比较,我们可以从日本的综合学习时间课程中受到启示,同时也能更深刻地理解和把握我国的综合实践活动课程,进而引发我们对当前“综合实践活动”课程研究与实验中的问题进行深度透视和反思。     

上海开放大学课程开放学习支持系统的功能设计与研究

在倡导终身学习的学习型社会中,在开放教育普及化的背景下,以精品课程和公开课为代表的课程开放已经被广大市民学习和使用,但各层面的课程开放学习支持系统建设还不够完善,有些还是空白。在课程开放、自适应、标准化等建设原则的基础上,通过多层次、立体化、多通道等多维的设计思路,我们为全民终身教育设计了灵活、开放、高效、便捷的学习支持系统。课程开放学习支持系统不单单是一个狭义上的网上学习平台,它更是一个能够容纳课程开放规则、管理、运行的立体化系统平台,包括学习平台、管理平台、学分银行以及其他课程开放所必备的支持环境。我们还将课程开放学习支持系统与现有的网络教学平台作对比研究。     

The differential development of epistemic beliefs in psychology and computer science students: A four-wave longitudinal study

This article analyses the differential development of discipline-specific epistemic beliefs (i.e., beliefs about the nature of knowledge) in computer science and psychology. With regard to computer science, a “hard” discipline, we expected absolute beliefs (knowledge as objective “truths”) to increase over time. In contrast, in the more “soft” discipline of psychology, we expected absolute beliefs to be low and stable, and multiplistic beliefs (knowledge as subjective “opinions”) to follow an inversely U-shaped trajectory. Hypotheses were tested in a three-semester long four-wave study with 226 undergraduates. Data were analysed by multi-group growth modelling for parallel processes. In computer science, absolute beliefs indeed increased over the study period. In psychology, an initial increase in multiplistic beliefs was followed by a steep decrease. We therefore suggest that epistemic “sophistication” should be conceived of as a flexible adaptation of epistemic judgments to the characteristics of specific contexts, and not as a generalized developmental sequence.     

教学改革实验初期学生学习心理和自学能力培养研究

化学程序启发教学是在教师指导下以学生自学为主的教学模式。文章对教学改革实验初期学生的心理进行了分析 ,并根据学生的心理特点研究了培养学生自学能力的具体措施