BLACK HAWK DOWN: FILM ZWISCHEN REFLEKTION UND KONSTRUKTION GESELLSCHAFTLICHER WIRKLICHKEIT

International Review of Education - Am Beispiel von Ridley Scotts Kriegsfilm Black Hawk Down (USA 2001) geht dieser Artikel der Frage nach, ob Film in erster Linie eine vorhergehende Wirklichkeit...     

An example of the use of dynamic mathematics software to create problem-solving environments that serve multiple purposes

Problem-solving is regarded as a major component of mathematical performance, and well-designed problem-solving-based learning environments have the potential to assist students in developing a meaningful understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures. In this respect, given its various features, dynamic mathematics software has been regarded by mathematics educators as a promising tool for designing such environments. This study presents an example of the use of technology to create a dynamic learning environment through a discussion of the pedagogical value of a problem selected for an activity, followed by the implementation sequence of the problem-solving activity in the classroom. The students’ experiences during the implementation of the activity are also discussed; and finally, an additional version of the problem is recommended for use in the classroom.     

What motivates students? A study on the effects of teacher leadership and students’ self-efficacy

Students’ educational motivation is significant for performance and achieving learning, but little is known about what fuels such motivation. Educational motivation is regarded as the drive and inner state that energise educational activities, facilitate learning and channel behaviour towards achieving educational goals. Educational motivation paves the way for students to learn and acquire the knowledge that is essential for successful study outcomes. This article aims to explore what determines students’ educational motivation. Building on the self-determination theory, we modelled the influence of teachers’ leadership and students’ self-efficacy on students’ educational motivation. We used survey data from a sample of upper secondary school students in Sweden; we received a total of 993 answers, equal to a response rate of 74%. The results show that students’ self-efficacy and teacher leadership are of extreme importance for students’ educational motivation, and that highly efficacious students lose most educational motivation when the teacher’s leadership is poor. The results thus support the importance of teachers’ leadership for encouraging student learning.     

Main trends in graduate study in basic sciences in Turkish universities: a quantitative overview

This paper seeks to trace the development of graduate studies in basic sciences in Turkish universities from origins to the present day. The study includes a sketch of the historical background of higher education from its start in medieval madrasahs and Istanbul Darulfunun (The House of Sciences), to the transition into present-day university education, i.e., to the beginnings of modern graduate study and the emergence of new universities. Empirical statistics are given to substantiate the rapid growth of graduate study and of the number of degrees produced since the 1980s. The mean number of Ph.D. Degrees per year has increased from a few in a single university in the 1930s to nearly a hundred in today's twenty seven universities in Turkey in the 1980s. Finally, a quantitative overview of the growth trends in graduate study in basic sciences as well as an assessment of the present degree productivity of Turkish universities are presented.     

Computer-aided Hypermedia for Learning and Self Studies

A complete coverage of the course content does not lead the student to explorative curiosity and to a scientific attitude to knowledge and learning. Interactive hypermedia use will lead to an epistemological quality raising since in that way students’ independence in planning, knowledge acquisition and problem solving might be facilitated and since at the same time tutorial supervision and guidance can be included. Hypermedia have possibilities to provide students with large quantities of information. With network interfacing learning can take place independent of time and place and individualized education will be possible. Combined with CMC (computer mediated communication) and educational software the student has a tool for life-long education within the classroom. At the Växjö University text, images and simulations have been integrated within a hypertext system: Hyperbook (for Macintosh). At the Royal Institute of Technology we develop this concept to use it with computer-based self-study material in mechanics, a project which started in autumn 1990 using HyperCard. At the University of Lund a development of hypertext material in the form of computer illustrated text for a thermodynamics textbook has just started. An example of limits of models will be demonstrated by a computer simulation of a linearized and a non-linearized pendulum.     

Number magnitude processing and basic cognitive functions in children with mathematical learning disabilities

The study sought out to extend our knowledge regarding the origin of mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) in children by testing different hypotheses in the same samples of children. Different aspects of cognitive functions and number processing were assessed in fifth- and sixth-graders (11–13 years old) with MLD and compared to controls. The MLD group displayed weaknesses with most aspects of number processing (e.g., subitizing, symbolic number comparison, number-line estimation) and two cognitive functions (e.g., visual–spatial working memory). These findings favor the defective approximate number system (ANS) hypothesis, but do not fit well with the access deficit hypothesis. Support is also provided for the defective object-tracking system (OTS) hypothesis, the domain general cognitive deficit hypothesis and to some extent the defective numerosity-coding hypothesis. The study suggests that MLD might be caused by multiple deficits and not a single core deficit.     

Zur Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses in Österreich – ein Bericht

Am 24. August 2012 fand in Form einer Kooperationsveranstaltung von bmwf, IST Austria, FWF und Österreichischem Wissenschaftsrat im Rahmen der Technologiegespräche des Europäischen Forum Alpbach der Workshop "Klettersteig in die Karriere" statt. Aufgabe des Wissenschaftsrates war es unter anderem, die Ergebnisse in einem Bericht darzustellen. Dazu sollten auch die thematischen Schwerpunkte einer leidenschaftlich geführten Diskussion nachgezeichnet werden. Der Wissenschaftsrat arbeitet gegenwärtig selbst an einer Empfehlung zu den Governance-strukturen der Universitäten, in der auch auf das Thema wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs eingegangen wird.     

The Intercultural Dimension in EFL‐Teaching: A Study of Conceptions Among Finland‐Swedish Comprehensive School Teachers

The overall aim of this study is to deepen our knowledge about the attitudes of teachers at the upper level of the Finland‐Swedish comprehensive school towards the treatment of culture in English foreign language (EFL) teaching. More specifically, the questions are how teachers interpret the concept “culture” in English foreign language teaching, how the cultural objectives are specified and what teachers do to attain these objectives. The study strives to reveal whether or not language teaching today can be described as intercultural in the sense that culture is taught with the aim of promoting intercultural understanding, tolerance and empathy. The empirical data consists of verbatim transcribed interviews with 13 Finland‐Swedish teachers of English at grades 7–9. The findings are presented according to three orientations. Within the cognitive orientation, “culture” is perceived as factual knowledge and the teaching of culture is defined in terms of the transmission of facts. The action‐related orientation sees “culture” as skills of a social and socio‐linguistic nature and the teaching aims at preparing students for future intercultural encounters. Within the affective orientation, “culture” is seen as a bi‐directional perspective. Students are encouraged to look at their own familiar culture from another perspective and learn to empathise with and show respect for otherness in general, not just concerning representatives of English‐speaking countries.     

Spirituality And The Body

Modern spirituality is still challenged by the age-old opposition between matter and spirit. But this traditional dualism has lost some of its sting because modern science itself has been forced to countenance the existence of invisible realities. This article presents some areas of contemporary life in which the spiritual is conspicuously entwined with the material even though the relationship often goes unnoticed. If spirituality can be helped to confront its own tacit acceptance of the material, then it may be possible to move toward a postmodern spirituality, one in which there will be less animosity against, and more acceptance of, the material dimensions of existence.     

Learning,Theories of Learning,and Units of Analysis in Research

Over the past decades research on learning has become more diverse and complex. The concern expressed by Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds (2009 Alexander, P. A., Schallert, D. L. and Reynolds, R. E. 2009. What is learning anyway? A topographical perspective considered. Educational Psychologist, 44: 176–192. this issue[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]/this issue) is that this diversity of theoretical perspectives has resulted in a fragmentation that is destructive to the field. Although it is important to engage in explicit discussions of how learning is construed in different traditions, Alexander et al. do not give sufficient recognition to the significant epistemological and theoretical differences between traditions; differences that make them incompatible in important respects, for instance, with respect to their units of analysis. An acceptance of incompatibilities in perspectives is not necessarily a problem. In fact, such a situation may, if the debates are grounded in a mutual acceptance of the diverse manners in which knowing and learning may be theorized, give us a richer frame of reference from which to analyze learning in its various manifestations in complex societies.