Beliefs about teaching and uses of technology among pre‐service teachers

In the current learning environments, technology is integrated in different ways. Teachers acting in the capacity of main change agents bring with them beliefs about teaching which effects their use of technology in the classroom. This study aims to examine the possible relationship between teachers' beliefs about teaching and uses of technology. Unlike past research on this issue, the results from this study show that belief in constructivist teaching correlates significantly with both constructivist and traditional uses of technology. However, a belief in traditional teaching is only significantly correlated (negatively) with constructivist use of technology. Implications for teaching training and future research are discussed.     

Cultivating sustained teachers’ professional learning within a centralised education system

This study investigates how sustained professional learning for teachers within a centralised system was cultivated. Specifically, the sustained professional learning was initiated by officers from the headquarters (HQ) and involved interested teachers across schools in Singapore. Qualitative instruments were used to collect and analyse the data in examining the partnerships perceived by the participants. The enablers responsible to bring about sustained professional learning are proposed. A contribution of this study is to clarify how resources in the HQ and its schools can be bridged. Deliberate bridging of resources is critical particularly at the initial stage of the partnerships. This bridging is made possible through dedicated appointed champions. The appointed champions are passionate about the educational innovations and are willing to invest their time to understand the teachers’ needs. This paper argues that the enablers can offer opportunities for lateral networks to be forged within a hierarchical system.     

Enhancing systems‐thinking skills with modelling

Systems thinking is an essential cognitive skill that enables individuals to develop an integrative understanding of a given subject at the conceptual and systemic level. Yet, systems thinking is not usually an innate skill. Helping students develop systems‐thinking skills warrants attention from educators. This paper describes a study examining the effects of utilising systems modelling as a cognitive tool in enhancing a group of graduate students' systems‐thinking skills. A significant improvement was observed in the systems‐thinking practises of the students. A theoretical rationale for enhancing systems‐thinking skills with modelling and the results of the study will be discussed.     

Finite element analysis of helical flows in human aortic arch: A novel index

This study investigates the helical secondary flows in the aortic arch using finite element analysis. The relationship between helical flow and the configuration of the aorta in patients of whose three-dimensional images constructed from computed tomography scans was examined. A finite element model of the pressurized root, arch, and supra-aortic vessels was developed to simulate the pattern of helical secondary flows. Calculations indicate that most of the helical secondary flow was formed in the ascending aorta. Angle α between the zero reference point and the aortic ostium (correlation coefficient (r) = −0.851, P = 0.001), the dispersion index of the cross section of the ascending (r = 0.683, P = 0.021) and descending aorta (r = 0.732, P = 0.010), all correlated closely with the presence of helical flow (P < 0.05). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis confirmed angel α to be independently associated with the helical flow pattern in therein (standardized coefficients = −0.721, P = 0.023). The presence of helical fluid motion based on the atherosclerotic risks of patients, including those associated with diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or renal insufficiency, was also evaluated. Numerical simulation of the flow patterns in aortas incorporating the atherosclerotic risks may better explain the mechanism of formation of helical flows and provide insight into causative factors that underlie them.     

Using comparative genomics for inquiry-based learning to dissect virulence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Yersinia pestis

Genomics and bioinformatics are topics of increasing interest in undergraduate biological science curricula. Many existing exercises focus on gene annotation and analysis of a single genome. In this paper, we present two educational modules designed to enable students to learn and apply fundamental concepts in comparative genomics using examples related to bacterial pathogenesis. Students first examine alignments of genomes of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains isolated from three food-poisoning outbreaks using the multiple-genome alignment tool Mauve. Students investigate conservation of virulence factors using the Mauve viewer and by browsing annotations available at the A Systematic Annotation Package for Community Analysis of Genomes database. In the second module, students use an alignment of five Yersinia pestis genomes to analyze single-nucleotide polymorphisms of three genes to classify strains into biovar groups. Students are then given sequences of bacterial DNA amplified from the teeth of corpses from the first and second pandemics of the bubonic plague and asked to classify these new samples. Learning-assessment results reveal student improvement in self-efficacy and content knowledge, as well as students' ability to use BLAST to identify genomic islands and conduct analyses of virulence factors from E. coli O157:H7 or Y. pestis. Each of these educational modules offers educators new ready-to-implement resources for integrating comparative genomic topics into their curricula.     

To work or to continue to higher education? The choice of senior secondary students in Shenzhen, China

In the planning and development of highereducation, it is necessary to understand the majorfactors affecting senior secondary students' decisionson whether to continue to higher education or to enterinto labor force. This is particularly important incountries shifting from a centrally-planned economy toa market-oriented economy where individuals areallowed free choice. This study in 1997 surveyed theeducational intentions of 1,513 senior secondarystudents in Shenzhen, the first and largest SpecialEconomic Zone (SEZ) in China which has adopted amarket-oriented economy and an open door policy for thelast two decades. Ninety percent of students in thestudy opted to continue into higher education oncompletion of senior secondary education. Theyexpected a much higher rate of return to highereducation than the remaining ten percent of studentswho opted to work after completing senior secondaryeducation. The analysis of logistic regression usedin this study reveals that students' expected rate ofreturn to higher education has a positive andsignificant effect on their intention to pursue highereducation, after controlling for the effects of thestudents' gender, family background and ability. Itis evident that students in this study acted inaccordance with predictions in the human capitaltheory in making their choice of higher education orwork in the market-oriented economy sector of China. This pattern of educational choice has importantbearing on the development of higher education indeveloping countries.