LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN VIETNAMESE PHYSICS TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME THROUGH THE LENS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM: A CASE STUDY OF A STATE UNIVERSITY IN MEKONG DELTA REGION,VIETNAM

Constructivism was introduced to Vietnam through many ways such as workshops, books, the Internet, and so on. However, due to the lack of professional education, fundamental ideas of constructivist learning perhaps were missing or neglected through classroom activities. Furthermore, due to the influence of culture and society, Vietnamese constructivism certainly has its own agenda. This paper adapted the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) which was originally developed by Taylor and Fraser (1991) to investigate the classroom environment in a Physics Teacher Education programme in Vietnam, as well as to illustrate Vietnamese teacher educators’ views in employing constructivist learning. Fifteen teaching periods in seven different classrooms were observed, and five teacher educators from those classes were interviewed. Participants are lecturers and bachelor students of the Physics Teacher Education programme at Can Tho University, Mekong Delta region, south of Vietnam. Results showed that all five scales of the CLES in these classrooms are at the intermediate level. All the lecturers indicated positive attitudes about constructivism and have certain methods to perform these constructivist issues in their classes, but they have problems in practical instructional strategies for some scales. Therefore, we suggest that professional development programmes on how to apply constructivist theory, based on each particular scale of the CLES, are essential. This is especially true in scientific uncertainty, critical voice, and shared control. Yet, in a country that highly appreciates Confucianism with social order, not all aspects of an ideal constructivist learning environment should be equally improved. Generally, we believe that constructivist learning will be a key answer to the problem of the generally passive learning style in Vietnam.

     

THE COMPLEXITIES OF A LESSON STUDY IN A DUTCH SITUATION: MATHEMATICS TEACHER LEARNING

This study combines the Japanese lesson study approach and mathematics teachers’ professional development. The first year of a 4-year project in which 3 Dutch secondary school teachers worked cooperatively on introducing making sense of the calculus is reported. The analysis focusses on instrumental and relational student understanding of mathematical concepts and the transition between the conceptual embodiment and the operational symbolism of the calculus. This paper reports on 2 cycles of lesson studies that took place in the first project year, the first cycle focussing on the notion of the derivative (introduced for polynomials) and the second on trigonometry (as the concepts shift from ratios in a right-angled triangle to functions in the calculus). The lesson study cycles resulted in changes in the teachers’ educational goals and instructional strategies in relation to student understanding. However, the teachers’ desire to be good teachers, their perceived need to prepare students for standard examinations and their reluctance to use computers impeded their progress in developing a lesson study approach. The introduction of a Japanese lesson study approach into a Dutch context merits further reflection in the later years of the project.     

对21世纪高校体育教师素质的再思考

面临21世纪知识经济的时代,体育作为人力资本的重要内容之一,对一个国家的兴盛与综合国力的提高,起着越来越重要的作用。本文就高校体育教师素质的现状以及高校体育教师的人文素质、专业素质、知识结构、科学素养、科研和创新能力的培养等方面进行分析。     

LESSON STUDY IN A METHODS COURSE: CONNECTING TEACHER EDUCATION TO THE FIELD

Through growing formative research, lesson study has emerged as a powerful practice that affects teachers' practical analysis of learning and teaching. Such research, however, also recognizes challenges to its implementation. In a methods course, lesson study has the potential to provide valuable links between teacher education and practice. In this article the author examines the essential factors in the implementation of lesson study in methods courses for inservice teachers and considers how collaboration, critical field observations, and the practice of teacher reflection emerge from the practice of lesson study. Lesson study challenges and methods of addressing these also are discussed.     

THE STEERING OF HIGHER EDUCATION: A HUNGARIAN CASE STUDY

The steering of higher education in Hungary is symbolized by the House of Professors in Budapest, a building owned by the Hungarian Ministry of Education and Culture, which houses a number of international programmes of importance to Hungarian higher education as well as the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference. First the article presents an over view of present trends in steering and governing higher education in western Europe. Then it compares western European tendencies with those typical of eastern and central Europe. Finally, it identifies Hungarian higher education as an intermediary case situated between the extremes of western and eastern developments. The article concludes with an exposition of how Hungarian higher education will be steered by remote control mechanisms.     

THE DYNAMICS OF LEARNING SCIENCE IN EVERYDAY CONTEXTS: A CASE STUDY OF EVERYDAY SCIENCE CLASS IN KOREA

With recognition of the importance of scientific literacy for the nation and yet the increasing students’ disinterest in science through school science curriculum, the Korea Science Foundation launched an innovative program called ‘Everyday Science Class (ESC)’ in partnership with universities and local government offices in 2003. In this work, we introduce the structure and dynamics of the ESC program in K-district through examining (1) how everyday contexts helped learners’ perceptions and attitudes toward science and (2) how the dynamics of learning environments effected learners’ learning process. We employed interviews and video recording of classes for data collection. To analyze the data, we used the process of thematic coding to understand the outcomes and effects of ESC program. The research findings showed that everyday context and a unique environment of learning with parents in the ESC program could bring forth learners’ understandings on the connection between science and their everyday lives and positive attitudes toward science learning. We also found that there were certain issues to be taken into account in terms of children’s cognitive development for further development.     

继续教育对改变弱势群体边缘化地位的效用-北京大学平民学校的探索

近年,随着工业化与城市化进程的不断推进,大量农业人口向城市转移已成为中国劳动力供给的一个重要趋势。作为城市中一个特殊的亚文化群体,进城务工人员处于城市主流社会的边缘,陷于社会排斥的困境,其结果形成了一个规模日益扩大、脆弱化程度不断加深的新的弱势群体,直接威胁社会经济的持续发展与和谐社会的构建。在这样的背景之下,本文通过北京大学平民学校的探索,思考继续教育培训在缓解社会排斥、消除进城务工人员群体的边缘特征、提供公平性补偿中的运作方式及其功能。     

SOMETHING UP THE SLEEVE: FRAUD IN EDUCATION,OR THE LEARNING OF CORRUPTION

This article deals with the low profile issue of educational fraud. The author defines educational fraud in terms of a range of illegitimate practices in which students engage in order to inflate their recorded levels of academic performance. Four subtypes of fraud are identified. The cultural and social correlates of fraud are then considered. This discussion leads to suggestion that fraud may in certain circumstances be fostered by the hidden curriculum. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications of educational fraud and an exploration of some possible means by which it could be combatted. Central issues here are (1) the links between fraud and dominant forms of educational evaluation which stress outcomes over process, and (2) the relevance of fraud to notions of citizenship and citizenship education.     

THE INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH,EDUCATION, AND PRACTICE IN GERONTOLOGY: SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

This article focuses on the development of education relating to aging in a specific professional education program: social work at the University of Queensland. A brief outline of features of the aged population and services for the aged in Queensland, an Australian state, is given as a background for describing one approach to gerontology education with the University of Queensland social work faculty. The challenges and tasks of curriculum development in relation to gerontology in a generic undergraduate course are described. Specific training in gerontology at a theoretical and practical level is provided through field practicums in an institution for the aged and proposals to extend this to a community‐based practice research program for the aged are outlined. To give a combined approach to social work, current research programs relating to this program — social policy and aging — are described.     

研究型大学组织整合机制的案例研究

本文以中国两所大学为案例 ,分析了研究型大学组织整合机制的特点。分析表明 ,文化机制在研究型大学组织整合中具有重要作用 ,但大学组织整合也同时运用科层机制 ;不同大学、同一大学的学术领域和管理领域 ,其整合机制存在很大差异 ;学术领域的管理存在着科层化的倾向     

A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN CHEMISTRY CLASSES AT ALBANIAN,KOSOVAR, ROMANIAN AND TURKISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS

This study is part of a cross-national research entitled In the past and now: Constructivist practices in teaching chemistry—Bulgaria, the Balkans and Europe. The purpose of the research is to explore science secondary classroom environments in terms of the constructivist approach. The study has been carried out at international schools and state schools in Albania, Kosovo, Romania and Turkey. The data collection methods were three surveys: the What Is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC), the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). The questionnaires were given to 747 secondary school students. The results show that in the majority of the surveyed classrooms, a blended traditional-constructivist type of environment is present. The highest scores for all three questionnaires were given by students of the international school in Kosovo. The traditional and test-oriented teaching in the Turkish schools surveyed explains the low degree of satisfaction and enjoyment of science lessons among Turkish students.

     

A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN CHEMISTRY CLASSES AT ALBANIAN,KOSOVAR, ROMANIAN AND TURKISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS

This study is part of a cross-national research entitled In the past and now: Constructivist practices in teaching chemistry—Bulgaria, the Balkans and Europe. The purpose of the research is to explore science secondary classroom environments in terms of the constructivist approach. The study has been carried out at international schools and state schools in Albania, Kosovo, Romania and Turkey. The data collection methods were three surveys: the What Is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC), the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) and the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). The questionnaires were given to 747 secondary school students. The results show that in the majority of the surveyed classrooms, a blended traditional-constructivist type of environment is present. The highest scores for all three questionnaires were given by students of the international school in Kosovo. The traditional and test-oriented teaching in the Turkish schools surveyed explains the low degree of satisfaction and enjoyment of science lessons among Turkish students.     

以历史文化资源促进环巢湖地区旅游产业的开发

环巢湖地区历史文化资源非常丰富,要促进环巢湖旅游业的可持续发展,必须深入挖掘其文化底蕴.但环巢湖旅游业发展在融合历史文化资源方面存在认识不到位、优势没有充分发挥、文化品牌打造不够等问题.针对环巢湖旅游业发展存在的问题,提出了以下建议'政府、企业、学界要加强合作;研究过程要多学科参与;学界要进行有重点、分专题的挖掘;要重视新媒体的信息扩散作用;要采取以开发促保护的策略.     

AN ATTITUDE STUDY OF STUDENTS IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE,A STATE UNIVERSITY,AND A TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

The purpose of this study in college student culture was to determine whether students entering different types of postsecondary institutions have value systems and/or personality characteristics which differ according to the type of institution they select An assessment of the attitudes and traits students bring with them to college was made at a comprehensive state university, a technical institute, and a community college.

The 16 Personality Factors Test of the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing (16 PF of the IPAT) was administered to 269 students in selected freshman level mathematics classes at the three schools. Individual factor scores were used to compute group means for each type of school on the 16 personality factors. The t test applied to differences in group means revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) among groups on several factors. The results support the hypothesis that student personality factors are related to the type of college selected.

If further research as recommended by the authors reinforces these findings, there are implications for many areas of the educational experience; e.g., college selection, programming activities, choosing instructional methods, counseling.     

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN TEACHER EDUCATION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DIAGNOSTIC LANGUAGE TEST FOR TRAINEE TEACHERS OF GERMAN

ABSTRACT:  This article describes the development and validation of a diagnostic test of German and its integration in a programme of formative assessment during a one-year initial teacher-training course. The test focuses on linguistic aspects that cause difficulty for trainee teachers of German as a foreign language and assesses implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge as well as students' confidence in this knowledge. Administration of the test to 57 German speakers in four groups (first-year undergraduates, fourth-year undergraduates, postgraduate trainees, and native speakers) provided evidence of its reliability and validity.