Student teachers' conceptions of how to recognise a “Good” primary science teacher: Does two years in a teacher education program make a difference?

Several studies have suggested that preservice teacher education has little impact on student teacher conceptions about various facets of teaching and learning. Most of these studies refer to generic teaching and learning, and very few have related to primary science in particular. To explore this area eight primary student teachers were interviewed on six occasions during the first two years of their Bachelor of Teaching degree. This paper reports the findings from part of these interviews. It describes the (sometimes changing) conceptions which these eight students held about how they would recognise a “good” teacher of science and the people and experiences they believed influenced the formation of these views. The differential impact of past and present teachers and the teacher education program revealed possible implications for practica and science curriculum units in particular, if teacher education is going to have an influence on preservice teachers' conceptions about teaching and learning.     

Improving the quality of student learning: the influence of learning context and student approaches to learning on learning outcomes

Previous studies of the relationship between perceptions and/or evaluations of the learning environment and approaches to study have either not included measures of students' learning outcomes, or have included quantitative differences and not qualitative differences in learning outcomes. The studies reported in this paper focus on the relationship between qualitative differences in learning outcomes, perceptions/evaluations of the learning environment and approaches to study. The results support previous research in identifying relationships between perceptions/evaluations of the learning environment and approach to study and between approach to study and the quality of the learning outcomes. The second of the two studies reported also identifies a relationship between perceptions, approaches and the quality of the outcomes. The results suggest that perceived environments which encourage deep approaches are more likely to facilitate higher quality learning than environments designed to discourage surface approaches.     

Lonergan's Theory of Cognition,Constructivism and Science Education

Recent research literature in science education, sciencecurriculum documents, and science methods texts have been highly influenced by constructivist views ofhow students learn science. But the widespread and often uncritical acceptance of constructivism in scienceeducation does not reflect the heated debate between constructivists and realist science educatorsover its underlying philosophy, and the curricular and pedagogical implications of constructivism. This paperaims to show that Bernard Lonergan's theory of cognition can inform this debate by (a) suggesting ways tosee the merit in the views of constructivists and realists and bridge the gap between them, (b) illustratinghow Lonergan's thought can be brought to bear on science curriculum documents and teaching-learning resourcesfor science teachers. Lonergan's Theory of Cognition suggests that human knowing is not a singleoperation, but a dynamic and integral whole whose parts are sensory experience, understanding, and judging.     

Teaching children to do what they say they will do: A review of research with suggested applications for exceptional children

A major challenge for intervention programs involves ensuring that new response patterns occur in circumstances and at times other than the training setting. Teaching children to use verbal cues to control nonverbal behaviours is suggested as a procedure for establishing adaptive behaviours and as a self‐management strategy for ensuring generalization and maintenance of new responses.     

Teaching for Conceptual Change in a Density Unit Provided to Seventh Graders: A Comparison of Teacher- and Student-Centered Approaches

Research in Science Education - This mixed-methods study was designed to compare the learning gains of seventh-grade students (N?=?417) taught a 4-week conceptual change unit on density...     

不速之客:年轻球状星团

传统观点认为，球状星团是宇宙中一群古怪的“老家伙”，但实际上存在许多年轻的球状星团，并不断有更新的产生。     

半价以下:今天你“团”了吗?

2008年11月,团购网站Groupon在美国成立——其命名由团体(group)和优惠券(coupon)合并而来——网上团购风马上席卷全美,而今更在全世界遍地开花。团购是继偷菜和微博之后又一个成为国人现实生活一部分的网络新生事物,在繁荣发展之余也产生了不少消费纠纷。3·15临近,小编提醒各位团友:团购有风险,点击要谨慎!     

Exclusion and Inclusion in New Zealand Early Childhood Education: Disability,discourses and contexts Exclusion et Inclusion dans l'E´ducation des Jeunes Enfants en Nouvelle Ze´lande: Handicap,discours et contextes Exclusio´n e Inclusio´n en la Discapacidad Educativa de los Menores de Nueva Zelanda,discursos y contextos

This paper addresses some issues relating to the inclusion and exclusion of young children with disabilities in regular early childhood settings. Statements from parents, early childhood educators and support staff are analysed and presented as representing a number of discourses that are the context within which disability and provisions for children with disabilities are created. Exclusionary discourses include a theme of disability as difference, whereby disabled children are considered not to be the responsibility of ordinary early childhood educators or services. Inclusionary discourses, on the other hand, have as a central theme the 'humanness' of disabled children, supporting a rights discourse and a view of disabled children as belonging in ordinary early childhood settings. Cet article s'adresse àdes sujets concernant l'inclusion et l'exclusion des jeunes enfants incapacités dans les milieux ordinaires de la première enfance. Les discours des parents, des éducateurs de la première enfance et du personnel de soutien sont analysés et présentés comme représentant de nombreux discours qui sont le contexte dans lequel l'incapacitéet les services spécialisés pour les enfants incapacités sont créés. Les discours de l'exclusion incluent un thème de l'incapacité comme la différence par laquelle les enfants incapacités ne sont pas considérés comme la responsabilitédes éducateurs ou des services ordinaires de la première enfance. En revanche les discours de l'inclusion ont l'humanitédes enfants incapacités comme un thème principal, soutenant un discours de droits et une opinion des enfants incapacités comme faisant partie des milieux ordinaires de la première enfance. Este art ¤ Iculo discute cuestiones relacionados con inclusión y exclusión de nin~os incapacitados en escenarios preescolar regular. Declaraciones de padres, educadores preescolares y personal soporte estn analizados y presentados como representando un nmero de discursos que estn en el contexto donde incapacidades, y provisiones para nin~os incapacitados, estn creados. Discursos de exclusio´n incluyen un tema de incapacidades como diferencia, donde los nin ¨ os incapacitados no estn considerados como la responsibildad de los educadores o los servicios regulares. Discursos de inclusio´n tienen como tema central 'lo humano' de los nin ¨ os incapacitados, apoyando un discurso de derechos y una vista de nin ¨ os incapacitados como s ¤ I, pertenecen a escenarios preescolar regular.     

Temperament and Parenting Antecedents of Individual Differences in Three-Year-Old Boys' Pride and Shame Reactions

To examine individual differences in pride and shame reactions of 3-year-olds and their temperamental and parenting antecedents, 110 boys were studied at ages 36 and 37 months in a "rigged" achievement situation. After being trained to complete explicitly stipulated "easy" and "difficult" tasks before a buzzer sounded, success and failure were manipulated by artificially "rigging" how much time the child had to work on these tasks. Children's facial, verbal, and postural reactions to success and failure were composited to create pride scores following success and shame scores following failure. As expected, pride reactions were greater following success on the difficult than on the easy task, and shame reactions were greater following failure on the easy than on the difficult task. Early temperament (at 12/13 months) proved unrelated to pride and shame. With respect to parenting, measurements composited across 15, 21, 27, and 33 months showed that mothers and fathers who were more positive in their parenting had children who displayed less pride, and that children whose parents (especially mothers) were more negative in their parenting evinced less shame. These counterintuitive findings are discussed in terms of differences between assessments of parenting obtained in this investigation of parenting antecedents and those obtained in other studies of parental responses in the achievement situation itself. Directions for future research are outlined.     

Re-visiting Hiroshima: The Role of us and japanese history textbooks in the construction of national memory

This paper originates from the perspective that school textbooks are crucial organs in the process of constructing legitimated ideologies and beliefs and are a reflection of the values considered important by powerful groups in society. This claim is explored through investigating the manner in which a selection of history textbooks in use in US and Japanese schools invites students to understand the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Linking narrative with historical analysis, the paper presents evidence which suggests that US and Japanese children are provided with a narrow view of the past which in promoting asense of unity and patriotism limits the development of a critical historical consciousness.