Can middle‐school science textbooks help students learn important ideas? Findings from project 2061's curriculum evaluation study: Life science

The transfer of matter and energy from one organism to another and between organisms and their physical setting is a fundamental concept in life science. Not surprisingly, this concept is common to the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993 ), the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996 ), and most state frameworks and likely to appear in any middle‐school science curriculum material. Nonetheless, while topics such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration have been taught for many years, research on student learning indicates that students have difficulties learning these ideas. In this study, nine middle‐school curriculum materials—both widely used and newly developed—were examined in detail for their support of student learning ideas concerning matter and energy transformations in ecosystems specified in the national standards documents. The analysis procedure used in this study was previously developed and field tested by Project 2061 of the AAAS on a variety of curriculum materials. According to our findings, currently available curriculum materials provide little support for the attainment of the key ideas chosen for this study. In general, these materials do not take into account students' prior knowledge, lack representations to clarify abstract ideas, and are deficient in phenomena that can be explained by the key ideas and hence can make them plausible. This article concludes with a discussion of the implications of this study to curriculum development, teaching, and science education research based on shortcomings in today's curricula. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 538–568, 2004     

EVALUATION OF A DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE IN GERIATRIC INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMING

approach are advantageous in a rapidly changing health care system where managed care and integrated services are of increasing importance. A statewide Geriatric Education Center, in cooperation with faculty from multiple disciplines at a state-supported major medical college and other nationally known experts in this area, developed a graduate level distance learning course to enhance awareness of the importance of interdisciplinary teaming. Evaluation results documented an increase in the skills important to effective interdisciplinary team functioning. Greater improvements in attitude toward health care teams occurred among students employed in jobs where they worked primarily with older adults. Pre-training and post-training motivational differences were also found to distinguish students engaged in direct care, geriatric employment. Results are discussed in relation to other evaluation studies in this area and the advances likely to be documented with increased recognition of the benefits in employing geriatric interdisciplinary teams.     

Social Interactions of Retarded Children: Generalization from Mainstream to Special School

Seven IH children attending a special school were integrated into a mainstream school on a part‐time basis over a period of 18 weeks. Effects were evaluated using behavioural measures of activity participation and social interactions during class time and free‐play periods in both the mainstream school and the special school which the children continued to attend. Compared to IH children who remained in the special school, the integrated children showed larger increases in Associative play in the special school free‐play period, but no differential change in classroom behaviour. In the mainstream school, social interactions between IH and non‐handicapped children occurred at high levels in both class and playground periods.     

美国教育博士学位的背景与发展

本文简要记载美国基础教育在改革大环境中对领导管理人员专业培训的需要,以皮博迪学院教育博士学位的定位框架和规格标准为例,在治学宗旨、办学对象、教学方式等方面综述当前美国学术界对教育博士的定位和改良的探讨,为中国高校探索教育领导管理专业学位的设置和发展提供参考.