Classroom learning and achievement: how the complexity of classroom interaction impacts students’ learning

Background: Complexity models have provided a suitable framework in various domains to assess students’ educational achievement. Complexity is often used as the analytical focus when regarding learning outcomes, i.e. when analyzing written tests or problem-centered interviews. Numerous studies reveal negative correlations between the complexity of a task and the probability of a student solving it.

Purpose: Thus far, few detailed investigations explore the importance of complexity in actual classroom lessons. Moreover, the few efforts made so far revealed inconsistencies. Hence, the present study sheds light on the influence the complexity of students’ and teachers’ class contributions have on students’ learning outcomes.

Sample: Videos of 10 German 8th grade physics courses covering three consecutive lessons on two topics each (electricity, mechanics) have been analyzed. The sample includes 10 teachers and 290 students.

Design and methods: Students’ and teachers’ verbal contributions were coded manual-based according to the level of complexity. Additionally, pre-post testing of knowledge in electricity and mechanics was applied to assess the students’ learning gain. ANOVA analysis was used to characterize the influence of the complexity on the learning gain.

Results: Results indicate that the mean level of complexity in classroom contributions explains a large portion of variance in post-test results on class level. Despite this overarching trend, taking classroom activities into account as well reveals even more fine-grained patterns, leading to more specific relations between the complexity in the classroom and students’ achievement.

Conclusions: In conclusion, we argue for more reflected teaching approaches intended to gradually increase class complexity to foster students’ level of competency.     

The interplay of learning approaches and self-efficacy in secondary school students’ academic achievement in science

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present investigation was to analyse the role of academic self-efficacy and approaches to learning in general and in Physics and Chemistry academic achievements. The sample comprised 507 secondary school students of two Spanish schools and the study was conducted in the context of a Physics and Chemistry subject. Structural equation models showed that surface motive was the only type of learning approach directly related to performance. Besides, our models revealed that self-efficacy plays an important role as a mediating variable between the surface strategy and the deep motive learning approaches and academic achievement. Gender effects were also studied as girls showed higher levels of achievement both in general performance and in Physics and Chemistry. Implications for science education and suggestions for future research of these findings are also discussed.     

高校物理教师教育类课程设置的文本分析

通过与相关老师电子邮件联系和因特网查询,收集了全国43所高校的物理教育专业的最新培养方案。对教师教育类课程中的公共必修课、专业必修课、专业选修课的设置及其学分和课时进行统计,对统计结果分析与讨论后,总结出高校物理教师教育类课程设置的特点,发现其存在的问题,提出了课程设置与教学内容的改革建议,并得出了物理教师教育类课程的设置方案。     

Exploring woman university physics students ‘doing gender’ and ‘doing physics’

This article explores what it can mean to be a woman physics student. A case study approach is used to explore how five women who are studying physics at a Swedish university simultaneously negotiate their doing of physics and their doing of gender. By conceptualising both gender and learning as aspects of identity formation, the analysis of the interviews with the five women offers insights into the nuances and complexities of how women relate to the gendered disciplinary culture of physics. This contrasts how research on gender and physics education has been predominantly concerned with comparisons of female and male students' attitudes and/or achievements. Furthermore, the analysis brings to the fore how it is not just the masculine connotations of physics that shape the experiences of the five women, but also the expectations on female physics students.     

How Partner Gender Influences Female Students’ Problem Solving in Physics Education

Research has shown that female students cannot profit as much as male students can from cooperative learning in physics, especially in mixed-gender dyads. This study has explored the influence of partner gender on female students’ learning achievement, interaction and the problem-solving process during cooperative learning. In Shanghai, a total of 50 students (26 females and 24 males), drawn from two classes of a high school, took part in the study. Students were randomly paired, and there were three research groups: mixed-gender dyads (MG), female–female dyads (FF) and male–male dyads (MM). Analysis of students’ pre- and post-test performances revealed that female students in the single-gender condition solved physics problems more effectively than did those in the mixed-gender condition, while the same was not the case for male students. We further explored the differences between female and male communication styles, and content among the three research groups. It showed that the females’ interaction content and problem-solving processes were more sensitive to partner gender than were those for males. This might explain why mixed-gender cooperation in physics disadvantages females in high schools.     

少数民族初中生汉语能力的性别差异分析——学习过程的中介作用

基于性别差异的角度,通过测验和问卷,对青海省共和、贵德、同仁三县1072名寄宿制藏族初三学生进行调查。本研究在分析学业自我效能感、学习过程及汉语成绩的性别差异的基础上,构建了包含学生层和班级层的研究模型,进而分析学习过程的中介作用,特别是性别、表面过程、深层过程与汉语成绩的关系。结果显示,学习过程的性别差异显著,男生倾向于使用表面过程,女生倾向于使用深层过程;表面过程对汉语成绩的负效应显著,深层过程对汉语成绩的影响效应不显著,表面过程在性别与汉语成绩之间起完全中介作用。也就是说,青海藏族初中生的汉语成绩存在性别差异,进一步分析发现该差异是由男生倾向于使用基于复制、机械记忆的表面过程引起的。建议教师在日常教学活动中正视少数民族学生汉语能力的性别差异,注意提高男生学习汉语的主动性,鼓励男生降低表面学习动机和减少表面学习过程的使用,从而提升教学效果,促进学生汉语能力的提高。     

地方本科院校物理师范专业教师教育类课程的现状与对策研究——基于贵州省3所地方本科院校的调查

运用问卷调查和访谈的方法,以贵州省的3所地方本科院校为例,对地方本科院校物理师范专业教师教育类课程的设置与教学现状进行了调查,发现毕业生对课程设置的满意度较低,所存在的问题有教师教育类课程偏少、实践性课程偏少等,课程教学存在着实践性教学薄弱、教学方式单一等问题,毕业生的工作胜任力也存在着一些不足.针对所发现的问题,建议增加教师教育类课程的比重,增强课程的弹性;优化教师教育类课程结构,形成多层次、序列化的课程体系;变革教师教育类课程的教学方式,加强实践性教学.     

师生性别因素与英语教学效果的关系研究

我国高校英语专业学生对于同性教师和异性教师教学风格和效果的评价存在差异,师生性别的异同与学生学习成绩具有相关性。问卷调查和课堂观察的结果表明：在英语学习中,高比例的女教师授课应当是女学生英语成绩明显高于男学生的重要原因之一;成绩优秀的学生更能有效地减少教师性别因素对其学习造成的负面影响;性别不同的教师所擅长讲授的科目和内容有所不同。     

How do teachers learn in the workplace? An examination of teacher learning activities

In this study, two data collection instruments were used to examine how Dutch secondary school teachers learn in the workplace. Firstly, they completed a questionnaire on their preferences for learning activities on two occasions. Secondly, during the intermediate period, they reported learning experiences in digital logs. Results of both instruments indicate that teachers often learn by critical individual reflection and by involving colleagues in particular challenging or problematic situations. An additional finding concerns the reporting of sequences of learning activities in the digital logs which is clearly different from the focus on single learning activities as found in most literature and as used in the questionnaire. Furthermore, the digital logs provided a fine‐tuning of the concepts of ‘involvement of colleagues’ and ‘experimentation’ in relation to teacher learning. The study concludes with a critical reflection on both data collection instruments. Finally, implications for future research on how teachers learn are discussed.     

技术支持的教师学习研究综述

以信息技术为核心的现代技术被越来越多地应用到向教师传播知识和信息当中,文章系统地分析了技术与教师的关系,发现技术的介入为教师的实践活动提供了有力的资源和工具支持,并且成为教师专业的构成要素,能有效地促进教师的专业成长。对技术支持的教师学习方式,信息时代教师认知的个性化、社会化、分布式和情景化特征变迁,以及技术支持的教师学习活动方式及其效用进行了文献研究,对国内外利用技术支持教师学习的主要项目和平台进行了介绍。     

How do teachers learn together? A study of school-based teacher learning in China from the perspective of organisational learning

Studies of professional development have examined the influence of school-based approaches on in-service teacher learning and change but have seldom investigated teachers’ job-embedded learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in school-based settings. A qualitative comparative case study based on the framework of organisational learning was conducted to analyse the ways that 17 teachers from two school-based communities in a secondary school in Shanghai, China, experienced learning through various learning activities. The findings showed that the two group teachers had actively developed implementation-oriented and experimentation-oriented processes of learning. The former process is referred to as exploitation learning. Exploitation learning helps teachers by creating a stable environment to learn the existing knowledge and norms of practice of a school organisation. The latter process is referred to as exploration learning. Exploration or exploratory learning provides a platform for new knowledge construction aimed at improving existing practices in a more radical way. Teachers’ perceptions of and participation in school-based learning activities shape their learning experiences in different ways. Specifically, the support of school leaders is necessary to promote teachers’ exploratory learning in school-based settings. However, the leadership strategies that best support teachers’ learning require further investigation.     

成人学习理论视角下的“教师学习”解读：回归教师的成人身份

本文从成人学习理论视角,运用其中成人教育学理论、余力理论和熟练理论、知觉转换理论,自我指导学习理论以及嬗变学习理论的基本观点来解读教师学习的取向、目标、动机和途径,希望能为理解教师学习的内涵提供一个理论视角。     

性别对非英语专业大学生英语学习的影响

性别差异对非英语专业大学生英语学习是否造成影响?会造成什么样的影响?研究发现被调查的男女大学生的英语成绩有着显著的差别,女生的英语成绩普遍高于男生;在学习观念方面,被调查的男生英语学习的兴趣以及学习动机水平明显低于女生;男生在英语的学习行为上也是稍逊于女学生;在英语学习策略的使用上,女生也是技高一筹。因此,如何减少因性别差异对非英语专业大学生英语学习的影响显得尤为重要,探究出相应的应对策略也是势在必行。     

Moderation of the effects of scientific inquiry activities on low SES students’ PISA 2015 science achievement by school teacher support and disciplinary climate in science classroom across gender

Scientific inquiry activities are considered as productive science instruction to improve students’ science learning and achievement. Supportive teacher-student relationships and positive disciplinary climate in the classroom are also two important factors that could facilitate student learning. This study investigates whether the association between the inquiry-based science activities and student science achievement varies by teacher support and disciplinary climate in science classrooms, particularly when taking into consideration of student gender difference and socioeconomic status (SES). This study performed regression analyses using Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Guangdong (B-S-J-G-China) students’ science performance and background survey data of 2015 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Results showed that disciplinary climate, rather than teacher support, could moderate the association between inquiry-based science activities and student science achievement for both genders. Implications for instruction and further research were discussed as well.