The unintended consequences of school inspection: the prevalence of inspection side-effects in Austria,the Czech Republic,England, Ireland,the Netherlands,Sweden, and Switzerland

It has been widely documented that accountability systems, including school inspections, bring with them unintended side effects. These unintended effects are often negative and have the potential to undo the intended positive effects. However the empirical evidence is limited. Through a European comparative study we have had the rare opportunity to collect empirical evidence and study the effects (both intended and unintended) of school inspections (a key system of accountability) in a systematic way, across seven countries. We present the findings of the unintended effects in this paper. Survey self-report responses from school principals in each country, with differing school inspection systems, are analysed to measure the prevalence of these unintended effects and to investigate the part played by pressure to do well in inspections. A key finding is that increasing pressure in school inspection systems is associated with the undesired effect of the narrowing and refocusing of the curriculum and instructional strategies. We also show that a proportion of school principals admit to misrepresenting the school in data sent to the inspectorate and show evidence for formalisation/proceduralisation (excessive focus on records) and ossification (fear of experimentation in teaching), although these factors are less related to changes in pressure.     

基于工作过程的网站开发课程教学改革实践

对基于工作过程的网站项目开发课程进行了分析,给出了网站项目开发的工作过程和学习任务,在此基础上对典型学习任务——商品信息列表模块进行了设计与实现.在项目开发过程中,要准确把握用户意图,着力培养学生的综合开发能力.     

生物电信号激励与探测用微电极阵列

介绍了一种微电极阵列(MEA),该MEA包含60个独立的电极,其中59个为工作电极,一个为参考电极.工作电极成对排列,每一对工作电极分别包含一个激励电极和一个探测电极.结合外围电路,每一对工作电极的组合都可以实现对电极表面培养的生物组织或切片进行4种状态(激励、探测、同时激励和探测、隔离)的控制.MEA采用PCB工艺制...     

关于正态总体抽样分布定理的证明和思考

用数学归纳法,对正态总体抽样分布中的两个定理给出了一种简单的证明,以期为概率论与数理统计的有效教学提供借鉴.     

The etiology of mathematical self-evaluation and mathematics achievement: understanding the relationship using a cross-lagged twin study from age 9 to 12

The genetic and environmental origins of individual differences in mathematical self-evaluation over time and its association with later mathematics achievement were investigated in a UK sample of 2138 twin pairs at ages 9 and 12. Self-evaluation indexed how good children think they are at mathematical activities and how much they like those activities. Mathematics achievement was assessed by teachers based on UK National Curriculum standards. At both ages self-evaluation was approximately 40% heritable, with the rest of the variance explained by non-shared environment. The results also suggested moderate reciprocal associations between self-evaluation and mathematics achievement across time, with earlier self-evaluation predicting later performance and earlier performance predicting later self-evaluation. These cross-lagged relationships were genetically rather than environmentally mediated.     

Comparing active delay and procrastination from a self-regulated learning perspective

Researchers have proposed that the act of postponing academic work may be divided into a traditional definition of procrastination, viewed as maladaptive, and adaptive forms of delay. Adaptive forms of delay may be more consistent with certain facets of self-regulated learning. The current study investigated this issue by examining whether the relations between aspects of self-regulated learning and active delay may be distinct from the relations these aspects of self-regulated learning have with procrastination. Among 206 undergraduates, procrastination was positively predicted by mastery-avoidance goals and negatively by metacognitive strategy usage, whereas active delay was negatively predicted by avoidance goals and positively by self-efficacy. Furthermore, students who reported higher levels of active delay also received better grades. These findings provide support that active delay is a distinct form of delay from procrastination that may be more positive due to its associations with some adaptive self-regulatory processes and academic achievement.     

Relations of Children's Effortful Control and Teacher-Child Relationship Quality to School Attitudes in a Low-Income Sample

RESEARCH FINDINGS: The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of children's effortful control and quality of relationships with teachers to school attitudes longitudinally in an ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged sample. Data were collected as part of a larger intervention project during mid-fall, winter, and late spring (ns = 823, 722, and 758, respectively) for 2 cohorts of 3- to 5-year-olds (collected during 2 different school years). Children's effortful control was assessed in the fall with parents' and teachers' reports and 2 behavioral measures. Teacher-child relationship quality was assessed mid-year with teachers' reports of closeness and conflict. Attitudes toward school were assessed in late spring using teachers' and students' reports of school avoidance and liking. Effortful control, in general, was positively correlated with teacher-child closeness and school liking and negatively correlated with conflict and school avoidance. Using structural equation modeling and controlling for sex and ethnicity, we found that effortful control was positively related to teacher-child relationship quality, which in turn was positively related to school attitudes. Furthermore, the relation of effortful control to school attitudes was mediated by teacher-child relationship quality. PRACTICE OR POLICY: Results provide evidence for the importance of relational processes that take place within the classroom context and have implications for teachers and clinicians working to increase school success in ethnic minority and low-income children.     

The design of motivational agents and avatars

While the addition of an anthropomorphic interface agent to a learning system generally has little direct impact on learning, it potentially has a huge impact on learner motivation. As such agents become increasingly ubiquitous on the Internet, in virtual worlds, and as interfaces for learning and gaming systems, it is important to design them to optimally impact motivation. The focus of this paper is on the design of agents and avatars (one’s self-representation as a visual agent) for enhancing motivational and affective outcomes, such as improving self-efficacy, engagement and satisfaction, moderating frustration, and/or improving stereotypes. Together with motivational messages and dialogue (which are not discussed here), the agent’s appearance is the most important design feature as it dictates the learner’s perception of the agent as a virtual social model, in the Bandurian sense. The message delivery, through a human-like voice with appropriate and relevant emotional expressions, is also a key motivational design feature. More research is needed to determine the specifics with respect to the ideal agent voice and the role of other nonverbal communication (e.g., deictic gestures) that may contribute to the agent’s role as an embodied motivator, particularly in the long-term.     

If We Teach Them, They Can Learn: Young Students Views of Nature of Science During an Informal Science Education Program

There have been substantial reform efforts in science education to improve students’ understandings of science and its processes and provide continual support for students becoming scientifically literate (AAAS, Benchmarks for science literacy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993; NRC, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996; NSTA, NSTA position statement: The nature of science, , 2000). Despite previous research, it is still unclear whether young children are actually developmentally ready to conceptualize the ideas that are recommended in the reforms (Akerson and Volrich, J Res Sci Teach 43:377–394, 2006). The purpose of this study was to explore how explicit-reflective instruction could improve young students’ understanding of NOS. During an informal education setting, the authors taught NOS aspects using explicit-reflective instruction. Overall the students participating in the program improved their understanding of the target aspects of NOS through use of explicit reflective instruction. However, the levels of improvement varied across different aspects. Students improved the most in their understanding of the tentative nature of science and the roles of observation in scientific work, although there was still some confusion regarding the distinction between observation and inference. More work needs to be done exploring these specific topics and the role explicit reflective practice can play in identifying the particular problems students have in distinguishing these constructs.