Science,Education, and the Ideology of “How”

The aim of this work is to relate discussions of ideology and science within the Radical Science movement of the 1960s–1980s with present conversations on the integration of biology, psychology, and education. The argument is that an ideological analysis yields useful direction with respect to how a learning science might develop and how we might appeal to our best aspirations while avoiding our worst. The ideology of “how” in the title refers to beliefs about research strategies: In an ideology of “how,” the aim is discovery and there is an appreciation of complexity. This stands in opposition to an ideology of “what,” which focuses on diagnosis and categorization.     

Mapping a sustainable future: Community learning in dialogue at the science–society interface

In 2015, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) announced that the Science Year 2015 would focus on the “City of the Future”. It called for innovative projects from cities and communities in Germany dedicated to exploring future options and scenarios for sustainable development. Among the successful respondents was the city of Lüneburg, located in the north of Germany, which was awarded funding to establish a community learning project to envision a sustainable future (“City of the Future Lüneburg 2030+”). What made Lüneburg’s approach unique was that the city itself initiated the project and invited a broad range of stakeholders to participate in a community learning process for sustainable development. The authors of this article use the project as a blueprint for sustainable city development. Presenting a reflexive case study, they report on the process and outcomes of the project and investigate community learning processes amongst different stakeholders as an opportunity for transformative social learning. They discuss outputs and outcomes (intended as well as unintended) in relation to the specific starting points of the project to provide a context-sensitive yet rich narrative of the case and to overcome typical criticisms of case studies in the field.     

Education,Measurement and the Professions: Reclaiming a space for democratic professionality in education

Abstract

In this article, I explore the impact of the contemporary culture of measurement on education as a professional field. I focus particularly on the democratic dimensions of professionalism, which includes both the democratic qualities of professional action in education itself and the way in which education, as a profession, supports the wider democratic cause. I show how an initial authoritarian conception of professionalism was opened up in the 1960s and 1970s towards more democratic and more inclusive forms of professional action. I then show how, in the wake of the transformation of the welfare state and the rise of neo-liberal forms of governing, the democratic dimension of professionalism became distorted. I discuss three distortions: having to do with the position of clients, the nature of accountability and the status of professional knowledge. While at first sight, the developments in each of these areas can be seen as furthering the democratisation of the professions, I argue that in fact they have eroded the democratic dimension of the professions and show the contribution of the culture of measurement to this erosion process. In the final step of my argument, I suggest how a more democratic mode of professional action might be regained and how such a mode of professional action might contribute to wider processes of democratisation.     

A study of technical signs in science: implications for lexical database development

Both classroom instruction and lexical database development stand to benefit from applied research on sign language, which takes into consideration American Sign Language rules, pedagogical issues, and teacher characteristics. In this study of technical science signs, teachers' experience with signing and, especially, knowledge of content, were found to be essential for the identification of signs appropriate for instruction. The results of this study also indicate a need for a systematic approach to examine both sign selection and its impact on learning by deaf students. Recommendations are made for the development of lexical databases and areas of research for optimizing the use of sign language in instruction.     

Factors predicting recall of mathematics terms by deaf students: implications for teaching

In this study of deaf high school students, imagery and familiarity were found to be the best predictors of geometry word recall, whereas neither concreteness nor signability of the terms was a significant predictor variable. Recall of high imagery terms was significantly better than for low imagery terms, and the same result was found for high- over low-familiarity and signability. Concrete terms were recalled significantly better than abstract terms. Geometry terms that could be represented with single signs were recalled significantly better than those that are usually fingerspelled or those represented by compound signs. Teachers with degrees and/or certification in mathematics had significantly higher self-ratings for the strongest predictor variables, imagery (visualization), and familiarity, as compared with those without such formal training. Based on these findings, implications for mathematics instruction, teacher education, and research are provided.     

论葛兰西的科幻小说观

对科幻小说审美特征的论述是葛兰西文艺思想和政治思想的重要组成部分。葛兰西重点论述了凡尔纳和威尔斯等人的科幻小说作品。他对凡尔纳科幻小说的科学性、幻想性和乐观精神等特点给予了高度评价,也指出这些特点给凡尔纳创作所带来的局限性;他重点论述了威尔斯科幻小说的现实批判性特征,对威尔斯小说中的道德说教倾向进行了批评。葛兰西对科幻小说审美特点的论述具有理论家的深刻性和革命家的现实性。由于从既定的理论出发,葛兰西对科幻小说审美特征的分析也有先入为主的缺陷。     

转型中的新建院校教学质量保障体系建设思考

教学环节是高校最基础、最本质的工作,高等教育质量的提高从本质上说是通过教学实现的,新建本科院校转型发展的过程,是其教学质量保障体系不断完善的过程,转型中的新建本科院校要提高教学质量,培养社会所需的应用型人才和创新人才,必须按照全员参与、以学生为主、以应用型人才培养为主、持续改进的原则,从提高教学质量意识、加强质量文化建设、制定科学合理质量标准、建立执行力强的运行管理体系、加强资金投入、构建有效的质量监控评价体系等方面建设和完善教学质量保障体系.