Primary School Teachers' Understanding of Environmental Issues: An interview study

In the light of an increased emphasis on environmental education in revisions of the National Curriculum to be introduced in September 2000, this study used in-depth interviews to explore the understanding of a non-random sample of 12 practising primary school teachers in four areas: biodiversity, the carbon cycle, ozone and global warming. A methodological innovation in this research was the prior identification of basic scientific explanations of each area for a primary teachers, and the use of these as benchmarks for judging understanding. The study was able to identify those underpinning science concepts which were well understood, and those which were not so well understood. Some missing concepts and misconceptions are also reported. Although the findings cannot be generalised to all primary teachers, the fairly strong science backgrounds of eight teachers in the sample suggest that some of the difficulties reported may be found more widely. It is suggested that both the basic explanations and the difficulties of understanding displayed by the teachers can usefully inform programmes of professional development for environmental education. An outline of a guide for teacher education adopting this approach is provided.     

The tortoise and the hare enigma in e-transformation in Japanese and Korean higher education

Japan and Korea have highly developed information and communications technology infrastructures and have recently reformed their higher education systems and encouraged e-transformation. However, Japanese universities have not embraced e-learning as wholeheartedly as their Korean counterparts. The paper concludes that this is due to governmental and institutional failure to develop a cogent vision and strategic plan for e-learning, to recognise the need for fundamental shifts in organisational cultures and structures and pedagogy and to provide training, funding, recognition and reward for such development. It attributes this to differences in the cultural perspectives, values and customs of the two countries' policy makers, managers and faculty members. The findings are seen to hold important lessons for other countries embarking on e-transformation.     

Don''''t Punish Every Mistake

In one of my assignments as a young infantry(步兵)officer,I was sent tothe 48th Infantry near Frankfurt,Germany.In those days our prize weaponwas a huge 280-mm atomic cannon. One day Captain Tom Miller assigned my platoon to guard a 280.Ialerted my men,loaded my.45 caliber(口径)pistol and jumped into my jeep.I     

The probability distribution for a biased spinner

This article advocates biased spinners as an engaging context for statistics students. Calculating the probability of a biased spinner landing on a particular side makes valuable connections between probability and other areas of mathematics.     

AN APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF TEACHING COMPANY PROGRAMMES

In this paper we consider the problems associated with the evaluation of Teaching Company Programmes. These programmes involve Universities and Colleges, together with manufacturing companies, in efforts to improve manufacturing methods and to develop graduates for careers in manufacturing industry. We introduce a framework for the evaluation of these programmes and apply it to one in which the authors have been involved. The paper reports a number of results from the Teaching Company Programme involving Molins Ltd., Brunel University and Henley, the Management College.     

Thirty trends shaping the future of academic libraries

This collection of observations, insights, and strategies summarizes the findings from the Education Advisory Board's 2011 research initiative, ‘Redefining the Academic Library: Managing the Migration to Digital Information Services‘, which was conducted on behalf of its membership of over 200 provosts and vice‐presidents for academic affairs at institutions across North America. The full report is freely accessible at http://www.educationadvisoryboard.com/pdf/23634‐EAB‐Redefining‐the‐Academic‐Library.pdf