Mathematics in Physics Education: Scanning Historical Evolution of the Differential to Find a More Appropriate Model for Teaching Differential Calculus in Physics

Despite its frequent use, there is little understanding of the concept of differential among upper high school and undergraduate students of physics. As a first step to identify the origin of this situation and to revert it, we have done a historic and epistemological study aimed at clarifying the role and the meaning of the differential in physics and at improving curricular and teaching models in the sense of Gilbert et al. (Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998a, International Journal of Science Education 20(1), 83–97, Gilbert J.K., Boulter C., & Rutherford, M.: 1998b, International Journal of Science Education 20(2), 187–203). We describe the contributions of Leibniz and Cauchy and stress their shortcomings, which are overcome by the alternative definition proposed by the French mathematician Fréchet, dating from early 20th century. As a result of this study, we answer to some fundamental questions related to a proper understanding of the differential in physics education (for 17–19 years old students).     

The second year of life as a developmental turning point: Implications for «sensitive» caretaking

In the context of the transactional view on development, important changes in the second year of life are highlighted which demand parental adaptations in caregiving practice. The discontinuous growth of enriched cognitive functions in the toddler, as exemplified by Piagetian theory on development of intentionality and symbolic thinking and by recent findings about the emergence of self-awareness and mastery-motivation, meshes with changes in caregiving dimensions. The caregiver, seen as a catalyst for the development of cognitive and social competence must adjust himself to the developmental tasks the infant is coping with. The concept of sensitivity is examined in terms of two important aspects: the social and the didactic. From a Vygotskian standpoint, didactic strategies are very important for cognitive competence. Parents have to facilitate self-initiated learning and to adjust to the infant’s increasing cognitive functions. The influence of a didactic «matching» on overall parent-infant interaction quality, and especially on the quality of attachment, is stressed.     

也谈德育榜样的选取与运用

榜样示范法是德育实践中被广泛采用的方法 ,德育榜样的选取和运用直接关系到德育结果的好坏。选取德育榜样除了要考虑其典型性外还特别要考虑其真实性、针对性和时效性 ;运用德育榜样时教育者要注重对榜样进行全面的分析 ,进行德育性的引导 ,关心学习者的终身幸福 ,教育者还要积极践履     

Curriculum Design of a Flipped Classroom to Enhance Haematology Learning

A common trend in higher education is the “flipped” classroom, which facilitates active learning during class. The flipped approach to teaching was instituted in a haematology ‘major’ class and the students’ attitudes and preferences for the teaching materials were surveyed. The curriculum design was explicit and involved four major components (1) the preparation of the students; (2) the weekly pre-class work; (3) the in-class active learning strategies and (4) closing the learning loop using formative quizzes. Each of these components is discussed in detail and was informed by sound pedagogical strategies. Several different sources of information and several freely available software tools to engage the students are discussed. Two iterations are reported here, with improved pass rate for the final examination from 47 to 48 % in the traditional class to 56–65 % in the flipped classroom approach. The majority of students (93 and 89 %) came to the class prepared, after viewing the screencasts and engaged fully with the activities within the face-to-face time. The students perceived that solving case studies (93 %) was the most beneficial activity for their learning and this was closely followed by the production of essay plans (71 %). The majority of students recommended that this approach be repeated the following year (69 and 75 %).     

浅谈高校普及型竞争情报教育

随着竞争情报的发展,专业竞争情报人才的培养规模不断扩大,一种为普及竞争情报知识的普及型竞争情报教育也在各个高校悄然兴起,并不断发展。文章就高校普及型竞争情报教育发表一些看法。     

国外电子健康领域用户行为研究

文章梳理国外电子健康领域用户行为研究,揭示其研究热点,寻找研究薄弱点。研究发现,国外电子健康领域用户行为研究热点集中在远程医疗、电子健康档案、健康信息服务工具、用户健康信息学、电子健康素养、移动健康和用户健康行为变化7个主题。对未来研究的启示包括:差异化研究用户电子健康素养;探索电子健康线上线下服务结合新模式;准确掌握新信息技术在电子健康领域中的应用;多维度研究电子健康领域用户行为,避免研究的低质量重复。     

“信息疫情”之下的公众信息素养培育路径探索

“互联网+”和新媒体环境下,“信息疫情”十分严峻。认识、理解和防控“信息疫情”的根本途径在于公众信息素养的培养和提升。全面探索公众信息素养培育路径,具有重要意义。基于文献阅读的基础上,进行信息素养内涵梳理,总结公众信息素养培育目标。结合社会需求与信息环境,分析关注公众信息素养培育的现实动因与积极意义。教育与信息技术的发展,使我国公众信息素养培育已有一定成就,但仍存在培育对象较单一、培育断层等问题。由此提出公众信息素养培育应:扩大信息素养培育范围,以终身学习理论为宣传支撑,推进公众信息素养培育供给侧发展,出台国家层面的公众信息素养培育体系,净化信息素养培育的互联网环境。     

Locus and nature of perceptual phonological deficit in Spanish children with reading disabilities

The aims of this study were (a) to determine whether Spanish children with reading disabilities (RD) show a speech perception deficit and (b) to explore the locus and nature of this perceptive deficit. A group of 29 children with RD, 41 chronological age-matched controls, and 27 reading ability-matched younger controls were tested on tasks of speech perception. The effect of linguistic unit (word vs. syllable) and type of phonetic contrast (voicing, place and manner of articulation) were analyzed in terms of the number of errors and the response time. The results revealed a speech perception deficit in Spanish children with RD that was independent of the type of phonetic contrast and of linguistic unit.     

Editorial H-score as a metric of inner authenticity for national scientific journals—Pilot study for the field of pedagogy

There is evidence that national scientific journals are important for local communities despite their limited audience due to national languages and topics, like in pedagogy. However, it is not easy to assess the level of scientific rigour of local journals, as most do not have available scientometric data and are often published in minority languages. We hypothesize that a possible manifestation of a latent trait of inner authenticity of the scientific journal (meaning the journal is accepted by a community interested in developing the field which conducts internationally accepted research) could be H-index of the editorial board members. To test this approach, we evaluated H-index and gender of editorial board members (n = 490) from 17 Czech and Slovak national science-oriented scientific pedagogical journals which were not indexed or indexed in Erih+ or Scopus, and compared this with the five lowest-rated journals from the same field indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The H-index of editorial board members was somewhat higher in indexed journals with those from WoS showing higher scores, and the number of board members with no discernable H-index was far greater in non-indexed journals. Editorial boards of journals indexed in WoS were mostly male, compared to a dominance of women on boards of non-indexed journals. Acknowledging the limited sample, it appears that the H-index of editorial board members may be a way to value national scientific journals.