Effect of language of instruction on physics achievement

This study investigated the relationship between physics achievement and language of instruction in a situation where instruction was in the second language of both students and teachers. One hundred and seventy-six grade ten physics students (first language was Chinese) were selected from four classes of two secondary schools in Hong Kong. For three months (with four lessons per week), two classes of students learned the content material (light and sound) in Chinese and two classes learned the material in English. Group differences were controlled by using individual aptitude scores as covariates in the analysis. There were no differences in achievement, students' motivation, and effort spent in physics in that controlled teaching period. This was probably because the Anglo-Chinese group was sufficiently proficient in English so they did not encounter additional difficulty in learning physics when compared with the Chinese group.     

Globalization and the freedom of knowledge

This article considers the transmission of knowledge in higher education. It takes the metaphor of the music industry that pre‐selects the music people can buy. The sales potential is the leading principle in the selection process. Often the small producer is excluded because his or her music is not of commercial interest. The end‐customer does not know what he or she is missing because he or she has never heard the music. It is to be feared that a similar market principle will also influence the selection of knowledge and affect the capacity of higher education institutions to freely generate and transmit new knowledge. The globalization of higher education risks homogenizing the cultural traditions of the non‐Western world through a process of Western cultural domination. On the other hand, the Internet, via open source software like LINUX, might serve to democratize higher education and allow greater grassroots input.     

The cooking teacher: investigating gender stereotypes in a Korean kindergarten

This article discusses some findings from a small‐scale investigation of children's gendered beliefs and behaviours in a Korean kindergarten which was attempting to challenge gender stereotyping through the anti‐bias intervention of a ‘cooking curriculum’. A sample of 14 children, some with ‘working’ mothers and some with ‘housewife’ mothers, was observed for two months, and informally interviewed on several occasions. The children's mothers were also interviewed. The findings are situated in the context of the changing, but still traditional, culture of Korean society, as well as in the contexts of early childhood education and theories of gender acquisition. They confirm that, although children are highly likely to reproduce the beliefs current in their home environment, they are open to reconstructing these views when actively challenged to consider alternatives, either by the school curriculum or by engaging in debate with a researcher or practitioner. The nature of the ‘alternative’ views available may however be problematic.     

中国薯蓣属根状茎组系统分类的初步研究

   本文根据我国薯蓣属(Dioscorea L．)根状茎组(Sect.  Stenophora Uline)的外部形态特征、细胞染色体数、花粉形态、植物化学成分、地理分布等的规律，证明根状茎组是该属中的一个比较原始的自然类群：1．具横走的多年生地下根状茎，其它组是一年生或多年生的块茎；2．大部分是2倍体，其它组是多倍体；3．花粉粒单沟型，外壁纹饰网纹或颗粒条纹，其它组为双沟型，外壁纹饰网纹；4．含甾体皂甙元(steroidal sapogenin)，其它组不含。   我们的研究观察证明，N．N．TepaCNMeHKO根据R.Knuth系统(1924)提出的薯蓣皂甙元在该属中无分布规律的说法是无充分依据的。   本文讨论了某些组或种的划分及系统位置：取消sect.Illigerestrum Prain et Burk.；将马    肠薯蓣(D．simulans Prain et Burk．)改属根状茎组；触丝薯蓣(D．tentaculigera Prain et Burk.)应列入顶生翅组  (Sect．shannicorea Prain et Burk．)，  并提出了盾叶薯蓣  (D. zingiberensis  Wright)和穿龙薯蓣(D．nipponica Makino)种的划分和定名的意见。     

Closing the Gap: Fostering Successful Research‐Practice Partnerships in Counselor Education

Research‐practice partnerships offer counselor educators an opportunity to generate scholarship that can promote client welfare and create systemic change in practice and policy. The purpose of this article is to articulate strategies for building and sustaining research‐practice partnerships, as well as suggest methods for evaluating these partnerships.     

Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance

The federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED) has been heavily criticized as vaguely defined and poorly operationalized yet there has not been a formal analysis of the reliability of the ED criteria. This study examined the reliability of the federal criteria for a special education designation of ED. A total of 179 school psychologists reviewed a mock special education report, made an eligibility determination, and provided information about their eligibility decision. In all, 56 participants found the student met ED eligibility criteria using 16 different combinations of the five criteria. Krippendorff’s α, a statistic preferred for content analysis, was calculated as a measure of criterion reliability. Results indicated extremely poor reliability (α = 0.2011). These findings demonstrate the importance of redefining the existing criteria.     

传热学多层次、创新性实验教学模式的研究

实验教学作为传热学这门课程的重要组成部分,对于加深学生对热量传递过程物理机制的认识,了解其工程应用情况,掌握基本的传热测试方法,提高学生的创新能力和对知识的综合应用能力,起着极其重要的作用。我们从对实验教学内容进行优化整合、实验课件的开发、网络实验教材的建设以及自主研发综合性实验台,到学生自发进行创新性实验,建立起了多层次的创新性实验教学体系。