How to Help Teachers Develop Inquiry Teaching: Perspectives from Experienced Science Teachers

This study has two purposes: the first is to explore experienced science teachers’ perspectives on inquiry teaching, and the second is to categorize these perspectives into patterns. Fifteen junior high school science teachers experienced at inquiry teaching were selected, and a semi-structured interview was conducted to collect the teachers’ perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The findings indicate that these experienced science teachers hold multiple perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The two patterns generated from these teachers’ perspectives of inquiry and inquiry teaching were systematic-based inquiry instruction and learning-based inquiry instructions. Suggestions for science teacher educators are discussed in this paper.     

台湾高等教育“追求卓越”论述分析

以论述分析方法探讨当前台湾高等教育追求卓越的论述背景与内容,并对于台湾高等教育系统追求卓越的论述实践途径加以分析,由相关论述内容勾勒出台湾高等教育发展趋势,提供高等教育经营者决策参考。     

Young children's number sense in Finland,Hong Kong and Singapore

This study examines young children's number sense in subjects from Finland (n=254), Hong Kong (n=246), and Singapore (n=130). Chinese, English and Finnish versions of the Early Numeracy Test (ENT; Van Luit et al., 1994) were used. Two highly correlated aspects of number sense were measured, one reflecting children's abilities to organize and compare quantities (i.e. relational skills), and the other pertaining to their ability to operate with number-word sequence (i.e. counting skills). The results showed significant age-related gain on the relational and counting scales. No gender or language differences were found. The children in Hong Kong and Singapore outperformed those in Finland in relational and counting tasks starting at the age of four years. The children in Singapore also had better relational and counting skills than those in Hong Kong. Differences in teaching were assumed to explain the findings.     

Fostering a collaborative and creative climate in a college class through idea-centered knowledge-building

This study explored the effects of student engagement in a knowledge-building (KB) environment on their collaborative learning process and the perceived creative climate of that environment. The participants were 30 college students who undertook a living technology course in which KB were employed. The main data sources include students’ online discourse and a creative climate questionnaire. The findings indicate that the students became progressively more collaborative and productive over time, and they also tended to perceive the climate of the learning environment as highly supportive of knowledge creation. Implications for designing creative learning environments are discussed.     

Book reviews

The purpose of this study was to find out: (a) pupils' attitudes towards open-ended science investigations, and (b) the problems that pupils encounter when carrying out such investigations in groups. The study was conducted in a class of 39 primary 6 pupils of mixed ability who carried out four investigations. Data were based on pupils' responses on an attitude survey questionnaire, interviews, video tapes of pupils performing the investigations and field notes. The majority of the pupils liked conducting such investigations. Reasons for positive responses were that the pupils had the freedom to explore and devise their own procedures to find out things that they wanted to know about, they could work together and discuss with friends, the investigations were interesting and it was a valuable learning experience. Reasons for negative responses included the difficulty of coming up with good ideas to design the investigations, and group conflicts. The findings also indicate that group dynamics played an important role in influencing pupils' attitudes towards the investigations.     

Posing Problems for Open Investigations: What questions do pupils ask?

The purpose of this study was to (a) find out the types of questions that pupils ask for open-ended science investigations, and (b) discuss how teachers can help pupils to identify problems and pose questions that are feasible for investigations. The study was conducted in a class of 39 primary 6 pupils of mixed ability. The pupils wrote down questions for two investigations that they would like to work on. The questions for the first investigation were generated individually, but those for the second investigation were posed in groups after the pupils were shown some examples of investigable questions. Among the questions that were posed individually, only 11.7% could be answered by performing hands-on investigations. Most of the questions asked were based on general knowledge and covered a wide range of topics. However, when questions were generated in groups after examples were shown, there was a significant increase in the number of questions that were amenable to science investigations (71.4%) but they related to fewer topics. A typology of investigable and non-investigable questions is proposed. Suggestions on how teachers can help pupils to pose problems and questions that are feasible for investigations are given.     

低效水驱稠油油藏蒸汽吞吐热采可行性论证——以林东馆三段出砂强敏感稠油油藏为例

稠油油藏水驱采收率低,因其原油黏度高,不适合转化学驱,但转热采可大幅提高采收率。林樊家油田林东馆三段地质条件复杂,地层敏感性强,供液差,产能低,油稠,出砂严重,多年来采用了各种工艺措施,均未取得好的水驱开采效果。在分析低效水驱原因的基础上,论证了水驱转蒸汽热采可行性。开发实践表明,低效水驱稠油油藏通过转热采可大幅提高采收率,同时研究成果对同类油藏的开发具有重要指导意义。     

Effects of an acute bout of exercise on serum soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) levels

Abstract

We investigated the effects of an acute bout of exercise on serum soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R) concentrations. Eighteen male participants completed two different exercise sessions with intensities of 25% and 65% maximal aerobic capacity (VO₂max). In addition to the energy expenditure during exercise sessions being measured, blood samples were collected before exercise, and immediately, at 24 h, and at 48 h post-exercise to analyse sOB-R, leptin and insulin levels. At 24 h post-exercise, sOB-R and leptin concentrations at the 65% VO₂max were significantly different from those at the 25% VO₂max. Leptin levels at 48 h post-exercise were also significantly lower for the 65% VO₂max than for the 25% VO₂max (P < 0.01). In the 65% VO₂max session, the energy expenditure during exercise was significantly associated with leptin concentrations at 24 h and 48 h and sOB-R concentrations at 24 h post-exercise. However, no correlations were found between sOB-R and leptin at the three post-exercise time points. In conclusion, an acute bout of exercise with 920 kcal of output resulted in an increase in sOB-R levels at 24 h post-exercise. However, the changes in sOB-R levels due to an acute bout of exercise might not contribute to the delayed decrease observed for leptin.