远程初学者自我导向学习准备度的实证研究

开放远程教育的辍学现象主要集中在初学阶段,因而面向初学者的学习支持服务尤为重要。初学者对开放远程学习方式的适应程度在一定程度上取决于自我导向学习的准备度。根据某开放大学初学者自我导向学习准备度的实证调研,初学者总体的自我导向学习准备度较好,男性学员略高于女性学员,已婚学员显著高于未婚学员。年龄和从业年限与自我导向学习准备度没有显著相关关系,但学历水平与初学者的主动学习和效率学习的倾向性显著相关,普通专科和本科毕业的初学者在这两方面显著低于成人专科和本科毕业的初学者。开放大学在初学者的学习支持服务中,需要加强对女性学员承担多重角色和压力的人文关怀,注重增强未婚学员在开放远程学习中的责任感和成就感,更要高度关注普通专科和本科毕业的学员,提升他们对开放远程学习的认同感、主动性及自我效能感。     

Pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions,readiness to learn,and attitudes about learning and behavioural difficulties in students

This self‐report study investigated 274 pre‐service teachers’ attitudes toward students with learning and behavioural difficulties (LBD) and the factors that predict their attitudes. Using four scenarios describing students with LBD, we investigated the degree to which pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions, readiness to learn about students with LBD, beliefs about the role of regular classroom teachers in providing for these students, and emotions in relation to dealing with these students’ difficulties predict their likelihood of engaging in punitive reactions (e.g., giving a timeout) and planned behaviours (e.g., adapting instruction). Teachers with more open‐minded thinking dispositions and readiness to learn about students with LBD reported a higher likelihood of adapting instruction. Pre‐service teachers’ negative emotions partially mediated the relationship between their beliefs and punitive reactions and fully mediated the relationship between their open‐minded thinking dispositions and punitive reactions.     

开源硬件程序自动测评系统的研究与设计

面向开源硬件的编程教学在人工智能教育与创客教育中占有重要地位,但开源硬件程序的人工测评过于复杂,限制了开源硬件编程教学的普及。基于此,文章设计并实现了一套面向使用MicroPython语言编程的开源硬件程序自动测评系统,提出了开源硬件执行效果数字化表征和自动测评算法解决方案,实现了开源硬件程序的自动测评。实验结果表明,该开源硬件程序自动测评系统达到了与人工测评相当的一致性,基本可满足大规模在线学习的自动评测需求。     

Motivational readiness and the participation of children with learning and behavior problems in psychoeducational decision making

Efficacy of a brief cognitive-affective intervention to enhance motivational readiness for participating in a psychoeducational decision-making conference was explored. Although outcomes specific to the preconference intervention were not found, findings of relevance to the hypothesized positive relationship between motivational readiness and actual participation in decision making are reported. The positive and negative findings are discussed in terms of implications for enhancing motivational readiness and for understanding the limited impact of skill training to improve participation and decision making.     

Pathways to School Readiness: Executive Functioning Predicts Academic and Social–Emotional Aspects of School Readiness

The current study specified the extent to which hot and cool aspects of executive functioning predicted academic and social‐emotional indicators of school readiness. It was unique in focusing on positive aspects of social–emotional readiness, rather than problem behaviors. One hundred four 3–5‐year‐old children completed tasks measuring executive functioning, social–emotional readiness, academic readiness, and vocabulary. As expected, age predicted executive functioning components and social–emotional readiness. Moreover, working memory and inhibitory control directly predicted academic readiness, whereas delay of gratification predicted social–emotional readiness. Working memory and inhibitory control predicted delay of gratification, consistent with the notion that simpler executive functions may set the stage for more complex executive functions. Interestingly, social–emotional readiness predicted academic readiness. These findings confirm that hot and cool aspects of executive functioning are related to social–emotional and academic school readiness.     

Predicting students' ratings of the importance of strategies to facilitate self‐directed distance learning in Taiwan

Distance students' ratings of the importance of strategies to facilitate self‐directed learning were evaluated. Students from an open university in Taiwan (449 current and 140 inactive) participated in this study. Current students scored significantly higher than inactive students on internal motivation, insight about self, and self‐directed learning readiness. A combination of high internal and external motivation and high self‐directed learning readiness predicted ratings of the importance of five sets of strategies for helping students become self‐directed learners. The study provides information to help distance learning professionals enhance the effectiveness of self‐directed learning and reduce the number of students who become inactive.     

Measuring School Readiness: Conceptual and Practical Considerations

Recent interest and investment in early childhood education as a means of promoting children's school readiness has prompted the need for clear definitions of school readiness. Traditionally school readiness has been viewed within a maturationist frame, based on a chronological set-point, which led to the emergence of readiness testing. Following a brief review of this literature, this article provides an overview of the conceptual and practical considerations that must be given to such a definition. Among conceptual concerns are the lack of agreement about the key components of school readiness and theoretical models to connect them. Also of concern is the need to consider multiple purposes of assessment, and the appropriate use of assessments. Practical considerations include the need to incorporate multiple stakeholders' views in a definition, the availability of adequate measurement tools and how resultant data can be used. The article closes with a discussion of possible future directions by laying out a series of assumptions about the nature of school readiness.     

Teachers' technological readiness for online professional development: evidence from the US e-Learning for Educators initiative

Although online professional development (OPD) is recognised as a viable alternative to face-to-face professional development, there are some obstacles to the delivery of effective OPD. This study examines one such obstacle, teachers' technological readiness for OPD participation. In particular, this study examines six research questions regarding the technological readiness of US elementary and secondary educators who participate in OPD. The data source was ‘e-Learning for Educators', a large-scale OPD initiative implemented between 2006 and 2011 in the US. The data show that this population of teachers, in general, report that they believe online professional development is as effective as face-to-face professional development; have easy access to the required technology; possess the required computer/technical skills; and perceive some of these skills to improve with course participation. Though these findings are largely favourable from the perspective of OPD stakeholders, this study also finds some variability among teachers that might warrant possible mitigation strategies.     

Social Relationships and School Readiness

Definitions of school readiness tend to focus on social and academic competencies that children are presumed to need to start school ready to learn. However, a child-focused definition of school readiness is limited because it neither identifies processes that lead children to acquire these competencies, nor does it recognize children's dependence on opportunities within settings that support development of these competencies. The model of school readiness presented in this article broadly defines school readiness as a function of an organized system of interactions and transactions among people (children, teachers, parents, and other caregivers), settings (home, school, and child care), and institutions (communities, neighborhoods, and governments). We propose that the primary mechanisms through which children acquire readiness-related competencies are social relationships children form with peers, parents, and teachers. This perspective on school readiness, emphasizing the mediating role of relational processes, offers guidance for designing interventions to improve school readiness through strengthening relationships between parents and children, parents and teachers, and teachers and children.     

Behavior Concerns Among Low-Income,Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Children in Child Care: Importance for School Readiness and Kindergarten Achievement

Research Findings: Recent research and teacher reports have highlighted the importance of early behavior skills for children’s school readiness and academic success in elementary school. Significant gaps in school readiness and achievement exist between children in poverty and those more affluent. Low-income children are also more likely to exhibit behavior concerns than their more financially advantaged peers. The current study examined the importance of behavior skills at age 4 for school readiness and academic achievement in kindergarten among an ethnically diverse sample of 1,618 low-income children (63% Latino, 37% Black) in an urban setting. Children’s early behavior concerns at age 4 were significantly associated with children’s school readiness scores and end-of-year kindergarten grades above and beyond the contributions of family and child demographics and children’s early cognitive and language skills. In addition, behavior problems were more strongly related to school readiness and kindergarten performance within English-dominant Latino children as opposed to Spanish-dominant Latino children. Practice or Policy: The findings from the current study provide support for targeting behavior skills, and not just preliteracy and/or number skills, prior to school entry as a strategy to increase the likelihood of low-income diverse children’s school readiness and school success. Behavior interventions are discussed.     

Exploring patterns of Latino/a children's school readiness at kindergarten entry and their relations with Grade 2 achievement

This study contributed to the school readiness literature by taking an intrachild perspective that examined the relations between Latino/a children's school readiness profiles and later academic achievement. Teachers rated the school readiness of 781 Latino/a kindergartners during the first month of school using the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP). Latent class analysis (LCA) examined KSEP profiles across social-emotional, physical, and cognitive domains and identified five distinct school readiness classes that described students’ strengths and weaknesses at kindergarten entry. Among the predictors examined, gender was the only significant difference among the top two readiness classes, with girls less likely to be in the lower of these two classes (OR = 0.38). In addition, children in the bottom three readiness classes were significantly less likely than students in the top readiness class to have preschool experience (ORs = 0.02–0.19) and had significantly lower levels of English proficiency (ORs = 0.51–0.72). Class membership was significantly associated with scores on the Grade 2 California Standards Tests and only the top two readiness classes had reading fluency rates near or above a national benchmark at the end of Grade 2. The variation of early achievement found across readiness classes also showed that considering the pattern of a child's social-emotional and cognitive readiness might enhance school readiness assessment. Implications for integrating universal school readiness screeners within a comprehensive multigating assessment model are also discussed.     

Developing life-role readiness in a multicultural society: Topics to consider

In this paper a conceptual framework for developing life-role readiness in a multicultural society is presented. Life-role readiness is defined as the possession of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for effective life-role participation. Life-role salience, cultural influences on life-role salience, and specific activities to foster life-role readiness are addressed. Interventions are identified for each topic.     

设计思维导向的开源硬件教学模式构建与应用研究

作为一种开放、智能、灵活的数字化学习工具,开源硬件是培养中小学生设计思维能力的重要载体。为了探索设计思维培养与开源硬件教学实践双向耦合的新路径,文章首先解析了设计思维概念内涵,对典型设计思维培养模型及特征进行分析,并将其解构为更具显性化操作意义的五大核心能力:换位思考、抽象定义、创意构想、原型迭代和迁移应用;其次,汲取设计型学习理论核心要义,借鉴“基于设计的双循环探究模型”,构建了设计思维导向的开源硬件教学模式,从“调查/探究”“设计/再设计”“反思”三个循环过程对其具体应用进行阐释;最后,以“智慧校园生活”为项目主题开展开源硬件教学实践,为新版高中信息技术课程标准中“开源硬件项目设计”模块的教学实施提供范例。     

The genetic-environmental etiology of cognitive school readiness and later academic achievement in early childhood

Using a genetic design of 840 60-month-old twins, this study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to (a) individual differences in four components of cognitive school readiness, (b) the general ability underlying these four components, and (c) the predictive association between school readiness and school achievement. Results revealed that the contribution of the shared environment for cognitive school readiness was substantial. Genetic effects were more important for the core abilities underlying school readiness than for each specific skill, although shared environment remained the largest factor overall. Genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors all accounted for the predictive association between school readiness and early school achievement. These results contribute to a better understanding of the early determinants of school readiness.     

Authority Structure,Classroom Openness and Student Outcomes

The effects of open education on student outcomes were investigated using classroom authority structure analysis. It was maintained that student outcomes are contingent on the congruence between formal and informal authority structure. The former is determined by the educational policy of the school, while the latter reflects pupils’ ratings of teacher readiness to share classroom decision making with them. A Student Decision Making Scale was devised to assess shared authority as perceived by students. Three open elementary schools with 274 students in 10 classes, and two comparable traditional schools with 224 students in nine classes were included in the present sample. Results indicated that more congruent authority structure was related to higher reading comprehension and vocabulary attainment, as well as to lower social desirability scores. This was true both when (a) shared authority was higher at the formal as well as the informal level (open schools with high shared authority in the classroom), and (b) shared authority was lower at the formal and the informal level (traditional schools with little authority shared in class).     

The Case for a Middle School College Readiness Index: Rejoinder to Lazowski,Barron, Kosovich,and Hulleman and Mattern,Allen, and Camara

This rejoinder provides a reply to comments on a middle school college readiness index, which was devised to generate earlier and more nuanced readiness diagnoses to K‐12 students. Issues of reliability and validity (including construct underrepresentation and construct‐irrelevant variance) are discussed in detail. In addition, comments from Lazowski et al. and Mattern et al. provide a useful summary of areas where more college readiness research is needed. This rejoinder elaborates on those essential next steps, including deploying readiness indicators in school settings. Advances in the measurement of noncognitive skills will require more validity research using more contemporary data from authentic school settings. Still, the middle school college readiness index is a promising proof of concept, demonstrating the utility of diverse, early measures to support targeted, timely interventions.     

美国学前教育改革的新动向——入学准备研究

学龄前儿童的入学准备研究,是目前美国学前教育改革的一个热门话题。文章揭示了影响入学准备的两个重要因素:学生和学校,并概述当前美国各州入学准备研究的情况以及对我国学前教育改革的一些启示。     

开放源码软件与校园网应用平台建设

开放源码软件运动为校园网的建设提供了丰富的软件应用，通过对开放源码软件的分析以及与传统商业软件的比较，阐述了开放源码软件的经济性、灵活性、可扩展性及实践性与研究性等特点．用开放源码软件实现DNS、WWW、Mail、FTP等多种网络应用服务及数据库系统的应用，体现了其在校园网应用平台建设中的重要作用。     

Parental Conceptions of School Readiness: Relation to Ethnicity,Socioeconomic Status,and Children's Skills

Research Findings: This study analyzed the school readiness beliefs of parents of 452 children from public pre-kindergarten and the relations of these beliefs to socioeconomic status and children's readiness skills. Parents conceived readiness largely in terms of the ability to name objects, letters, or numbers, but few included inferential skills. Readiness beliefs were related not to socioeconomic status but to ethnicity. Readiness beliefs about the importance of independence, social competence, nominal knowledge, and inferential skills were related in expected ways to children's skills. Practice or Policy: Infrequent inclusion of inferential skills among parents' readiness beliefs may not bode well for children. Informational programs for parents about the critical role of higher order cognitive skills and ways to promote them are needed.     

Defining and Measuring College and Career Readiness: A Validation Framework

This article reviews the intended uses of these college‐ and career‐readiness assessments with the goal of articulating an appropriate validity argument to support such uses. These assessments differ fundamentally from today's state assessments employed for state accountability. Current assessments are used to determine if students have mastered the knowledge and skills articulated in state standards; content standards, performance levels, and student impact often differ across states. College‐ and career‐readiness assessments will be used to determine if students are prepared to succeed in postsecondary education. Do students have a high probability of academic success in college or career‐training programs? As with admissions, placement, and selection tests, the primary interpretations that will be made from test scores concern future performance. Statistical evidence between test scores and performance in postsecondary education will become an important form of evidence. A validation argument should first define the construct (college and career readiness) and then define appropriate criterion measures. This article reviews alternative definitions and measures of college and career readiness and contrasts traditional standard‐setting methods with empirically based approaches to support a validation argument.