Identifying young gifted children and cultivating problem solving abilities and multiple intelligences

The “Enrichment Program for Cultivating Problem Solving Abilities and Multiple Intelligences for Gifted Preschoolers” (PSMIGP program) was the first enrichment program for young gifted children in Taiwan. It was an extra-curricular program that was implemented over a 3-year period. The assessment and curriculum were designed by adapting the main part of the DISCOVER curriculum.The purpose of this paper was to introduce the identification model and to analyze the participants' performance in problem solving activities and in demonstrating their special talents. To offer enrichment services for gifted young children, the researchers developed an identification model to discover more young gifted children and serve their needs in learning, regardless of the nature of their talents, disabilities, or cultural or socio-economical status. All participating young children were screened in a three-stage process that included both objective and subjective assessments, including checklists, interviews, portfolio assessment, group intelligence tests, observation in the play corner, individual intelligence tests, and structured observation activities. It was also necessary to adjust the standardized test procedure to fit the needs of twice exceptional young children.In total there were sixty-one preschoolers participated in this three-year program, including eleven twice exceptional children and one child from a new immigrant home. Among these sixty-one preschoolers, eight of them participated in two years of the program; the others only participated in one year of the program.The results of this enrichment program found significant correlations among the measurement scores; the scores of teacher assessment of problem solving abilities also showed that most students performed well on all five kinds of problem solving types. From children's archives, participating children presented scientific thinking characteristics, such as rich knowledge with fascinating imagination and the ability to seek many approaches to solving problems. They were delighted to challenge others and pleased to be challenged. The twice exceptional children also performed well in the program, especially those children with autism whose progress in social skills and group adaptability were remarkable. In sum, the researchers in this program had a belief that children, whether gifted or not, did not get the satisfaction of making progress until they had opportunities to find and develop their potentials.     

Student evaluation in “individualized” science programs

In recent years there has been increasing focus, particularly in the USA and England but also elsewhere, on individualizing instruction in the school. The techniques of such endeavors, especially as they relate to student evaluation, will be the major theme of this paper.     

核心期刊评价的分学科方法解析——以《中文核心期刊要目总览》为例

大多数期刊评价体系都是分学科进行评价,但是不同的评价体系在进行期刊分学科评价时,对于期刊分类归属的方法都不相同.文章针对北京大学图书馆主持的《中文核心期刊要目总览》的分学科方法进行详细解读,分析了按学科论文入手进行指标值统计,然后根据期刊所载论文和施引论文的分类进行综合计算给期刊自然归类的方法,并提出进一步研究的设想.     

CALIS联合目录西文数据预处理及机读目录问题探讨

通过列举实例,分析了在CALIS联合目录数据库建设中各成员馆提交的数据在MARC格式、书目著录以及系统数据转换中存在的一些问题,提出了解决办法,指出机读目录数据的规范化和标准化是联合目录质量的基本保证。     

A Shoelace Left Untied: Teachers Negotiate Class and Ethnicity in a City of Northern England

Using qualitative research methods supported by demographic data, the role of castelike class patterns in British schooling and the participation of teacher mentalities in maintaining images of working-class students and their families within urban communities were examined. The common American assumption that race is the most salient, if not the sole, designator of resistance to schooling was challenged as teachers and administrators in three urban schools in the north of England presented their experiences and views of working with low-income urban students. In returning as an American researcher to the city of her British family, the author brings a unique cross-cultural lens to the analysis of ethnicity and class.