Empowerment and relationships: A classroom model to enhance student motivation

This project focused on the goal of establishing a classroom model of motivation in which the source of student motivation is based on internal mechanisms or structures, along with the establishment of greater self-regulatory opportunities for students, and which results in greater student empowerment and motivation. One-hundred current elementary and secondary teachers and 100 university preservice teacher education students completed a 40-item Likert-type questionnaire that focused on four classroom dimensions of affirmation, rejection, student empowerment and teacher control. The results of this project suggested that, although veteran and preservice teachers agreed on the need for teacher control in the classroom, there was less agreement about their perceptions of the need to create a classroom environment of positive affirmation and student empowerment. Implications for future research and the need for creating an affirming, empowering, motivational classroom environment are discussed in light of the limitations for teachers and schools to encourage these constructs associated with recent federal legislative policies.     

Genes, environment, and dyslexia the 2005 Norman Geschwind memorial lecture

This article presents an overview of some methods and results from our continuing studies of genetic and environmental influences on dyslexia, and on individual differences across the normal range that have been conducted over the past 25 years in the Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center (CLDRC) and in related projects. CLDRC investigators compare the similarities of identical twin pairs who share all their genes and fraternal twins who share half their segregating genes to assess the balance of genetic, shared family environment, and nonshared environment influences on dyslexia and on individual differences across the normal range. We have learned that among the children we have studied in Colorado, group deficits in reading (dyslexia) and individual differences in reading across the normal range are primarily due to genetic influences, and these genetic influences are often shared with some of the same genetic influences on deficits and individual differences in language and ADHD. We have also learned from our molecular-genetic linkage studies that there are regions on several chromosomes likely to contain genes that influence dyslexia. Several specific genes within these regions have been tentatively identified through molecular-genetic association analyses, but much more research is needed to understand the pathways among specific genes, regions of noncoding DNA that regulate the activity of those genes, the brain, and dyslexia. I conclude with a discussion of our research on individual differences in early reading development, on the role of early learning constraints in dyslexia, and on how genetic influences are expressed through their interaction and correlation with the environment.     

Using the known to chart the unknown: A review of first-language influence on the development of English-as-a-second-language spelling skill

Currently, there is a practical demand and necessity for research on how English-as-a-second language (ESL) learners acquire literacy skills, such as spelling. One important issue of this research agenda is how ESL learners apply first-language knowledge to learning to spell in English. Twenty-seven studies were reviewed that investigated the influence of the first language on ESL learners’ development of English spelling skill. Evidence was found for both positive and negative transfer of first-language knowledge and processes to ESL learners’ English spelling. These results are in agreement with theoretical propositions about the interdependence between first- and second-language academic skills [e.g., Cummins, J. (1981). In California State Department of Education (Ed.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3–49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles]. The findings are discussed in relation to the ESL learner’s first-language proficiency level and distance between first language and English. Comparisons are drawn between ESL learners’ and English monolinguals’ spelling development and suggestions for future research are provided.     

均衡发展:我国义务教育发展的战略选择

新中国建立后,共和国就把提高民族素质、普及义务教育当做崇高而神圣的责任。从把义务教育作为教育工作的重中之重,到把农村义务教育作为教育工作的重中之重,再到把均衡发展作为义务教育的重中之重,是教育思想的升华、教育工作重点的转变。均衡发展是我国义务教育发展历史和现实的双重选择。在整个国家教育体系和教育战略布局中,必须始终把义务教育作为教育改革发展的重中之重,把均衡发展作为义务教育的重中之重。积极推进县(市、区)域内率先实现义务教育均衡发展,依法保证每个适龄儿童接受义务教育的基本权利和享有均等的受教育机会,着力统筹地区、城乡、学校、群体教育均衡发展,构建教育均衡发展制度机制。     

青年实验教师业务能力及素质的培养与提高措施

针对普通高等教育工科院校的青年教师业务能力及素质的培养与提高问题,提出了具体地教学改革措施。教学实践证明,该措施是行之有效的;教学改革措施不但对普通高等教育工科院校的青年教师能力及素质的培养与提高可以起到极大的促进作用;同时,对普通高等教育理科及其它工科院校的青年教师业务能力及素质的培养与提高也有借鉴作用。     

Are Canadian adolescents happy？ A gender-based analysis of a nationally representative survey

In this study, the authors analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of youth to study happiness amongst Canadian adolescents aged 12-17. Testing for differences in the level of happiness between female and male adolescents was conducted. Following this, multivariate analysis was employed to determine which factors were associated with adolescent happiness. The authors determined that the level of happiness appeared to vary between the genders, as the males reported a higher level of happiness than the females. However, the difference between the genders in terms of reported happiness was modest. The authors detected some gender differences in regards to determinants of happiness. The study＇s theoretical and practical implications are also considered.     

大学计算机基础与高中信息技术课程教学内容适切性讨论

随着高中信息技术课程的普及,高校计算机基础教育原来从"零起点"开展教学的模式已不再适应所有新生的要求.为此,文章在分析高中信息技术课程与大学计算机基础教学内容的基础上,根据对大一新生和大学毕业生的问卷调查,适时调整大学计算机基础的教学内容,使大学计算机基础与高中信息技术在教学内容方面做到适切性.     

Re-Examining the Similarities Between Teacher and Student Conceptions About Physical Science

There is a large body of research that has explored students’ misconceptions about science phenomena. Less research, however, has been devoted to identifying teachers’ misconceptions, but the results of the few existing studies demonstrate that teachers and students possess similar misconceptions. This study explored the physical science conceptions of 103 elementary science teachers to determine whether, after three decades of misconception research, teachers still possess conceptions similar to those held by students. We found that our teachers expressed misconceptions regarding gravity, magnetism, gases, and temperature that were similar to common student misconceptions. Suggestions for improving science professional development programs are discussed.     

一个新的声压级测试实验方案

通过对声压级的若干概念讨论,阐述了声压级的各种计量值以及A计权与线性计权之间的关系,根据讨论设计了一个新的声压级测试实验方案。该方案分为:①从声压级大小与波形的关系体现声压级的有效值、峰值之间的区别和联系;②利用滤波器改变待测信号的幅度频率特性,分别测试其A计权声压级、线性计权声压级以及幅度频率特性。根据声压级的计算公式,利用测试得到线性计权声压级和信号的幅度频率特性计算得A计权声压级,并与测试值对比,结果大致相符。通过实验体现了声压级的丰富内涵,避免了传统声压级测试实验方案的内容单一性。     

论高校学生管理中自由与秩序的限度

我国高校学生管理中存在自由与秩序限度模糊问题。在高校内,秩序是达成教育活动、实现人的自由全面发展教育目的的必要而非充分条件,而自由是实现这一教育目的的充分条件。高等学校内部需要最低的秩序和最大化的自由。从低度人权与低度义务来看,低度行为规范应该成为自由与秩序限度的校规落脚点。