The time course of the syllable frequency effect in visual word recognition: evidence for both facilitatory and inhibitory effects in French

The present study tracked the time course of the syllable frequency effect in French visual word recognition, by varying the strength of spreading activation between letters and phonological syllables. The frequency of phonological first syllables and the frequency of orthographic first syllables were conjointly manipulated in two lexical decision tasks. In Experiment 1, word parsing into syllable units was supported by orthographic redundancy. No interaction between orthographic and phonological syllable frequency was found. In Experiment 2, word parsing into syllables was not marked by orthographic redundancy. Results showed an interaction between orthographic and phonological syllable frequency: the syllable frequency effect was inhibitory when orthographic syllable frequency was high, whereas it was facilitatory when orthographic syllable frequency was low. Decreasing the strength of syllable activation (i.e., with orthographic syllables of low frequency and ambiguous syllable boundaries) prevented the activation of lexical competitors before target word recognition, leading to a facilitatory effect of syllable frequency. The present study provides evidence that the net effect of syllable frequency is strongly related to its time course, and that the strength of syllable activation, which depends on orthographic properties, determines the direction of the net effect.     

Measurement Invariance of Socioeconomic Status Across Migrational Background

Socioeconomic status (SES) is often used as control variable when relations between academic outcomes and students' migrational background are investigated. When measuring SES, indicators used must have the same meaning across groups. This study aims to examine the measurement invariance of SES, using data from TIMSS, 2003. The study shows that a latent SES variable has the same meaning across sub-populations with Swedish and non-Swedish background. However, the assumption of scalar invariance was rejected, which is essential for estimation of differences in latent means between groups. Comparisons between models assuming different degrees of scalar invariance indicated that models allowing partial scalar invariance should not be used when comparing latent variable means across groups of students with different migrational backgrounds.     

Life skills for ‘real life’: How critical thinking is contextualised across vocational programmes

Background: This article presents an analysis of how critical thinking is contextualised in everyday teaching in three vocational education and training (VET) programmes: Vehicle and transport, Restaurant and management, and Health and social care.

Purpose: The main question addressed is: What knowledge discourses permeate different VET-contexts, and hence what kinds of opportunities for critical thinking do they offer students?

Method: The qualitative analysis draws on data from a four-year ethnographic project exploring learning processes that can be characterised as civic education in Swedish vocational education. The analysis presented here used data collected during 85 days of observations of teaching in six VET classes, interviews with 81 students and 10 teachers, and collected teaching material. To explore why some contextualisations provided more opportunities and encouragement for critical thinking than others, we applied Bernsteinian concepts of ‘horizontal and vertical knowledge discourses’ and ‘discursive gaps’.

Findings and conclusions: Overall, teaching that was observed focused primarily on ‘doing’. However, in all three programmes, the analysis identified that there were also situations that touched upon critical thinking. Three major themes were identified: critical thinking related to ‘Personal experiences’, ‘The other(s)’ and ‘Wider perspectives’. It appeared that the frequency and nature of such situations varied with the knowledge discourses permeating the programme. Furthermore, we discuss the manifestations of critical thinking in relation to the wider context of what Bernstein refers to as pedagogic rights; individual enhancement, social inclusion and development of the competence and confidence to participate in political processes.     

科技发展要素分析及区域创新力比较研究

一个地区科技发展受多方面因素的影响,通过对各指标要素进行因子分析,我们从具有复杂关系的原始指标中提取五个因子,利用因子得分比较各地区科技创新的能力,解释差异形成的原因,并提出相关政策建议.     

Factors affecting departmental peer collaboration for faculty development: Two cases in context

This paper extends current research on departmentalpeer collaboration as a means of faculty development. Given the potential advantages of such situateddevelopmental activities, the need for furtherresearch is pressing. The study reported hereexamines two different cases of department-based,practice-centered peer inquiry projects; one set in adepartment of history and one in a department ofmechanical engineering. Both departmental projectswere part of a larger initiative on the peer review ofteaching coordinated by the American Association forHigher Education.The aim of this study is to illuminate factors thatcan influence the nature, development and impact ofsuch collaborative activities. The leadership,structure and outcomes of each department's projectare compared and contrasted. The role of departmentalculture is considered, through an investigation ofpotential influences from the discipline andinstitution, as well as from departmental history. Factors such as the norms of scholarly collaboration,standard work patterns, the presence or absence ofexternal curricular standards, university status,faculty autonomy and morale are discussed.     

试论完善普通话水平测试机制的有效途径

普通话水平测试是一项国家级的测试，属于政府行为。要保证普通话水平测试的信度和效度，必须从以下几个方面完善它的机制：1．建立完整的试题库，实行教考分离的原则；2．细化评分的标准，使评分有据可依；3．加强测试员队伍的培养和考核；4．加强考前辅导工作，做好考后复审工作；5．启动大中小学教师队伍的测试工作，为以后公务员的测试做好准备。     

Compulsory Higher Education Teacher Training in Sweden: Development of a national standards framework based on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Today visible proofs of excellence in teaching and learning are increasingly important aspects of institutional branding in higher education (HE). Teaching competence is brought forward as a central aspect of the quality of programmes. Still, the induction of new university teachers is managed in many different ways. Approaches may vary according to how teaching competence is perceived; as growing from practice only, requiring formal courses or, for instance, outlined in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement. In Sweden, the HE Ordinance from 2002 states that to get permanent positions, lecturers should have completed Compulsory HE Teacher Training (CHETT). The size and organisation of the courses were not regulated in the Ordinance and institutional practices varied. In a three-year project intended learning outcomes for CHETT was suggested. These outcomes are based on SoTL and linked to an estimated workload of 10 weeks. Based on a national survey in 2006, institutional responses to the proposals are analysed.

     

Auto-Instructional Methods in Great Britain

Great Britain has a very active Association for Programmed Learning, started in 1962. It arranges courses in programming, publishes research and other P.I. information, and organizes conferences. At the latest annual general meeting (March 31, 1967) Professor E. A. Peel (The University of Birmingham) was re-elected as President, and Dr. C. K. Rouse (Goldsmith's College) as Chairman. Among those labelled ‘Vice-Presidents’ (no less than a dozen individuals hold this glittering title) or ‘Council members’ are many persons well known internationally through their publications within the P.I. field, among others: Dr. J. Annett, Professor K. Austwick, Dr. J. Hartley, J. F. Leedham, G. O. M. Leith, Derek Rowntree and D. J. Unwin. Dr. J. Hartley serves as a Foreign Liaison Officer and would therefore be a natural contact for individuals from other countries. The association will extend its name to be somewhat more inclusive: ‘Association for Programmed Learning and Educational Technology’.     

瑕不掩瑜 精益求精——对新编英语教材的几点想法

对人教社与英国朗文出版集团合编的两套英语教科书JEFC与SEFC中出现的一些问题提出探讨及修正。问题范围：中文释义、背景信息、拼写错误、翻译不当、磁带录音、编印错误等。