KDU e-Community Network

The democratization of education has brought forth an unprecedented demand for education by the masses, especially at the tertiary level. However, the availability of education is hampered by limited resources to provide pervasive and effective teacher–student interaction, changing lifestyle patterns, changing expectations of the students, and the problems associated with the great urban–rural divide and nonuniform access. The problem of availability of education is compounded by the tide of globalization and the Internet that demands not only high efficiency but also competitive delivery of services and goods in all sectors of our economy, including education. Education is not immune to these current trends. It is imperative that education institutions rise up to the challenge in meeting the demand of a more discerning, discriminating, mobile, and selective student population. It is imperative that education institutions reconsider the necessary ingredients to make learning effective, relevant, and fun for the students. Our company, Kolej Damansara Utama (KDU), has embarked on an education experiment begun almost 3 years ago to implement a student-centered, teacher-facilitated, Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-enabled and knowledge-based initiative. The goal of this experiment has been to create an active learning environment, and to promote learning for our students. The knowledge ecosystem, comprising students, teachers, administrators, parents, partner institutions, employers, and the community at large, forms the KDU e-Community Network (KCN). The KCN enables passive, interactive, collaborative, and constructive learning to take place as long as the stakeholder has a connection to the Internet.     

Pre-service teachers' reasons for choosing teaching as a career in Singapore

As the national teacher education institute in Singapore, the National Institute of Education (NIE) prepares all teachers seeking to be employed within the education service in Singapore. In the last decade, NIE's enrolment for initial teacher preparation programmes has grown significantly, with peaks in numbers during the recession years. There is also some evidence of attrition when beginning teachers complete their 3-year bond with the Ministry of Education, which sponsors their teacher education programme. It is thus important to determine empirically the reasons why pre-service teachers join the teaching profession, to see whether this can inform us about measures that can be taken to ensure they stay on in the profession. As part of a longitudinal study on beginning teachers' attitudes towards teaching and professional development, a research survey, the first of three data collections, was administered to whole cohorts of pre-service teachers entering NIE's three main teacher preparation programmes in July 2004. This paper presents the survey findings on pre-service teachers' reasons for choosing teaching as a career and discusses the differences between cohorts of different programmes. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of informing future policy and practice in the areas of teacher recruitment, retention and professional development.     

Can weekly discussions in a sensory science course influence student's perception and confidence in their professional success skills?

The Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) success skills highlight the importance of developing professional skills in the food science curriculum. On the other hand, many students in higher education report that the public school system feels disconnected and unrelated to their future. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate student's perceived importance of professional skills, as well as to enhance their awareness and confidence in them. Students in a sensory science class at the University of Illinois completed a questionnaire at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester to assess their opinion of and self‐assurance in professional skills, such as writing technical reports, providing leadership, making formal presentations, and applying critical thinking. During the semester, students received basic training and guidelines on each skill and were given assignments and activities to practice them as part of their coursework. Results showed increased knowledge about the existence of IFT core competencies, as well as an increased motivation to practice success skills regularly. They also showed an increased perceived importance of presentation skills, leadership, dealing with group conflict, researching scientific information, and library resources. Confidence in 80% of the skills increased significantly by the end of the semester, after students had been presented with opportunities to practice and discuss the skills in groups. Students were also able to relate their learning of specific success skills to different course assignments. This study concluded that a general exposure to the importance of practicing professional skills in a college setting enhanced student's experiences and awareness by connecting them to their future professional careers.     

新加坡高中H2华文与文学新课程的评估研究

新加坡于2014年推行了新的H2华文与文学课程。为了考察新课标实施的状况以及实施可能带来的变化,教育部课程规划与发展司委托新加坡华文教研中心进行一项为期三年的评价性研究。研究主要分为学习评估与教学评估两方面,前者主要关注学生华语文状况与学习前后的语言能力表现;后者关注华语课堂的教学实践、教师对新课程的期望及调适等。本研究将对高中新课标的实施,从教师、学生、课堂教学以及教学效果各个方面进行全方位的扫描,并为教育决策者提供较为真实、全面的高中H2华文与文学教与学的状况信息。     

Relationships between cognitive diagnosis, CTT, and IRT indices: an empirical investigation

Cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) continue to generate interest among researchers and practitioners because they can provide diagnostic information relevant to classroom instruction and student learning. However, its modeling component has outpaced its complementary component??test construction. Thus, most applications of cognitive diagnosis modeling involve retrofitting of CDMs to assessments constructed using classical test theory (CTT) or item response theory (IRT). This study explores the relationship between item statistics used in the CTT, IRT, and CDM frameworks using such an assessment, specifically a large-scale mathematics assessment. Furthermore, by highlighting differences between tests with varying levels of diagnosticity using a measure of item discrimination from a CDM approach, this study empirically uncovers some important CTT and IRT item characteristics. These results can be used to formulate practical guidelines in using IRT- or CTT-constructed assessments for cognitive diagnosis purposes.     

A longitudinal study of career maturity of Korean adolescents: the effects of personal and contextual factors

The purpose of this longitudinal study is to examine the effects of personal factors and contextual determinants on the career maturity change of Korean adolescents over a 5-year period. This study used data from the Korea Youth Panel Survey which was administered to 3,449 junior high students from Grades 8 to 12, starting in 2003. A linear mixed-effects regression was used to test the study model. The results showed the levels of Korean adolescents?? career maturity were significantly influenced by personal predictors (gender, work values, career efficacy, self-efficacy, career development activities, school achievement, sex-role stereotyping, pressure for academic achievement, and part-time experiences) and contextual predictors (career conversations with parents, relationships with friends, and private education expense). Among career-related variables, only work values affected the slope of the career maturity growth curve. Implications for career counselors and educators are discussed.     

The urban–rural gap: project-based learning with Web 2.0 among West Virginian teachers

To overcome the digital divide in West Virginia, schools are urged to integrate emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as Web 2.0 and alternative pedagogies to develop students’ twenty-first-century skills. Yet, the potential effects of the digital divide on technology integration have not necessarily been part of planning for professional development programmes. As a first step to identify the potential digital divide between rural and urban school settings, this study examined West Virginian teachers’ Web 2.0 access levels – namely, motivation, physical, skills and usage accesses. Analysis of the survey responses from 161 teachers suggested that the divide persisted at physical and usage access levels, signifying teachers’ unique needs and conditions for the use of emerging technologies. While teachers’ usage access was observed to be a significant factor for their Web 2.0-associated project-based learning, attending professional development programmes seemed to minimally benefit such practices.     

Children’s Physical Activity and On-Task Behavior Following Active Academic Lessons

Sitting for extended periods of time is detrimental to children’s physical health and may cause off-task behavior in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a classroom physical activity (PA) program, TAKE 10!®, on children’s PA and on-task behavior. Participants in the program included 137 children from six classes (third to fifth grades) in one ethnically diverse elementary school in the Southwestern United States. Classroom teachers implemented 10-minute bouts of active academic TAKE 10!® lessons for 12 weeks (four weeks baseline and eight weeks intervention). PA was measured using pedometers and on-task behavior was measured using systematic observation in the classrooms. Children’s step counts increased significantly (p < 0.05) by 853 from baseline to end-intervention. There was also significant (p < 0.05) improvement in on-task behavior of 5.5%. Active academic lessons were effective in increasing children’s in-school PA and on-task behavior in the classroom.     

Balancing the tensions and meeting the conceptual challenges of education for sustainable development and climate change

This paper addresses one of the key challenges for work on education, sustainable development and climate change: the overall conceptualisation of central ideas such as Environmental Education (EE), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Climate Change Education (CCE). What do these concepts mean in diverse contexts and amongst diverse actors? The paper draws on evidence from Denmark, Singapore, Canada and the UK to highlight both the similarities and differences found within national discussions around these essentially contested concepts and their relationships to policy and practice. It further argues that such debates about how EE, ESD and CCE are conceptualised remain highly relevant, not just to academic work itself, but also to wider international discussions regarding both the current and potential relationships between conceptual understanding, policy and practice.