Systems Modelling and the Development of Coherent Understanding of Cell Biology

This article reports on educational design research concerning a learning and teaching strategy for cell biology in upper‐secondary education introducing systems modelling as a key competence. The strategy consists of four modelling phases in which students subsequently develop models of free‐living cells, a general two‐dimensional model of cells, a three‐dimensional model of plant cells, and finally they are engaged in formal thinking by modelling life phenomena to a hierarchical systems model. The strategy was thought out, elaborated, and tested in classrooms in several research cycles. Throughout the field‐tests, research data were collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, audio‐taped discussions, completed worksheets, written tests, and questionnaires. Reflection on the research findings eventuated in reshaping and formalizing the learning and teaching strategy, which is presented here. The results show that although acquiring systems thinking competence at the metacognitive level needs more effort, our strategy contributed to improving learning outcomes; that is, acquisition of a coherent conceptual understanding of cell biology and acquisition of initial systems thinking competence, with modelling being the key activity.     

Validation of the use of foreign gas rebreathing method for non-invasive determination of cardiac output in heart disease patients

INTRODUCTION In the arsenal of cardiac functional parameters,cardiac output(CO),cardiac index(CI),and strokevolume(SV)are potentially important determinantsof hemodynamics,the measurement of which relieson complicated and sometimes invasive techniques.In the case of congestive heart failure,non-invasivemethods to provide accurate measures of these pa-rameters during exercise stress testing would addsignificant objectiveness to the test result.This couldbe of considerable importance for …     

Learning environments research in English classrooms

Although learning environments research has thrived for decades in many countries and school subjects, English classroom environment research is still in its infancy. This article paves the way for expanding research on English classroom environments by (1) reviewing the limited past research in English classrooms and (2) reporting the first study of English learning environments in Singaporean primary schools. For a sample of 441 grade 6 students, past research in other subjects was replicated in that a modified version of the What Is Happening In this Class? questionnaire was cross-validated, classroom environment was found to vary with the determinants of student sex and ethnicity, and associations emerged between students’ attitudes and the nature of the classroom environment.     

Children With Dyslexia: Not Necessarily at Risk for Elevated Internalizing Symptoms

The risk for internalizing disorders in children with learning disabilities is frequently debated in the research community and empirical responses are equivocal. For educators and clinicians, the frequent assumption is that children with dyslexia also have at least subtle emotional problems. In this study, school-age children with reading problems and their siblings (N=79) were referred for neuropsychological evaluation. As part of the assessment process, parents, teachers, and the child were asked to rate the child’s level of internalizing symptoms on several behavior rating scales. Results from analyses of the data, using both discrepancy and reading cut scores for diagnosis of dyslexia, suggest that children with dyslexia are not at elevated risk for behaviors related to anxiety, depression, and somatization. Additionally, children at the lowest end of the reading distribution were no more likely to have significant internalizing symptoms than children with less impaired reading.     

SCHOOL ANXIETY INVENTORY: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY EVIDENCE IN A SAMPLE OF SLOVENIAN ADOLESCENTS

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the School Anxiety Inventory (SAI) using a sample of 646 Slovenian adolescents (48% boys), ranging in age from 12 to 19 years. Single confirmatory factor analyses replicated the correlated four‐factor structure of scores on the SAI for anxiety‐provoking school situations (Anxiety about School Failure and Punishment, Anxiety about Aggression, Anxiety about Social Evaluation, and Anxiety about Academic Evaluation), and the three‐factor structure of the anxiety response systems (Physiological Anxiety, Cognitive Anxiety, and Behavioral Anxiety). Equality of factor structures was compared using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Measurement invariance for the four‐ and three‐factor models was obtained across gender and school‐level samples. The scores of the instrument showed high internal reliability and adequate test–retest reliability. The concurrent validity of the SAI scores was also examined through its relationship with the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SASA) scores and the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (QIDA) scores. Correlations of the SAI scores with scores on the SASA and the QIDA were of low to moderate effect sizes.     

Characterization of cellulose acetate micropore membrane immobilized acylase I

This paper describes an innovative method for the immobilization of acylase I, which was entrapped into the CA-CTA micropore membrane. The most suitable casting solutions proportion for immobilizing the enzyme was ob tained through orthogonal experiment. Properties of the enzyme membrane were investigated and compared with those of free enzyme and blank membrane. The thermal stability and pH stability of the enzyme inside the membrane were changed by immobilization. The optimum pH was found to be 6.0, which changes 1.0 unit compared with that of free acylase I. The optimum temperature was found to be about 90 ℃C, which is higher than that of free acylase I (60 ℃). Experimental results showed that immobilization had effects on the kinetic parameters of acylase I.     

依法行政的法理思考

:依法行政就是行政主体行使行政权力 ,管理公共事务必须有法授权 ,依法办事、合乎法意 ;依法行政是依法治国的关键 ,将为社会主义市场经济发展提供合理有序空间 ;依法行政有利于保护人权 ,有助于确立人们的法律信仰 ;要实现依法行政还应调动社会各方面力量对权力实施有效监督制约     

综合理科课程理解的几个误区

通过详实的资料 ,对综合理科课程的涵义、产生和发展、课程类型、教学目标、教学评价特征以及与分科理科课程和理科综合考试的关系进行了全面论证 ,从而澄清了当前对于综合理科认识的几个误区     

Benchmarking academic standards in the UK

Abstract

The Dealing Report in the UK supported the use of benchmarking in higher education, taking as its stimulus the use of benchmarking in industrial and commercial contexts. The UK Government's concern regarding academic standards has raised the question of whether benchmarking could be applied to them.

This article reports on a pilot study of the benchmarking of academic standards in the UK, and demonstrates ‐ with reference to empirical data ‐ that benchmarking in this context needs to be approached differently from benchmarking in industrial/commercial milieux, since it requires a combination of finely‐drawn comparisons and professional judgements if valid conclusions are to be drawn. It is argued that the complexity which underpins academic standards is inimical to the production of statements about standards that will be applicable across the span of a diverse national system of higher education. The argument presented can be applied, mutatis mutandis, to systems of higher education beyond the UK.