中国内地教师的考评观:类型、特点与启示

回顾考评观的概念和国际上有关教师考评观的研究,对中国内地六项考评观研究的方法和结果进行归纳、整理和重构,得出中国内地教师所具有的六类共同的考评观,构建了中国内地教师考评观的模型。通过与国外同类研究的比较、考评观与教师实践的探讨,以及影响教师考评观的要素的分析,可以看出中国内地教师考评观是复杂的、多向度的,考评观对中国内地的教学以及课程改革实践具有一定的启示。     

Comparing different measures of affective attributes relating to sustainability

A survey was developed to benchmark the affective sustainability characteristics of an incoming cohort of students in a Polytechnic in New Zealand, with the intention to monitor changes in these attributes as the students experience higher education over subsequent years. The survey contained a number of research instruments as we were interested in exploring how best to record these attributes. This article reports on the comparative efficacy of four of these instruments in describing the affective characteristics of the students. All the instruments depended on respondents’ self‐reporting in the absence of researchers or interviewers. The results do encourage us to have some confidence that students’ sustainability characteristics may be researched using a variety of survey‐based research instruments, and particular confidence in ongoing use of the Revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale.     

Assessing the Validity of a Stage Measure on Physical Activity in a Population-Based Sample of Individuals With Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes

This study was designed to test the validity of a transtheoretical model's physical activity (PA) stage measure with intention and different intensities of behavior in a large population-based sample of adults living with diabetes (Type 1 diabetes, n?=?697; Type 2 diabetes, n?=?1,614) and examine different age groups. The overall specificity (classified correctly as inactive) for Type 1 diabetes was 69.3% based on the percentage of individuals in precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation not meeting Canada's PA guidelines. Sensitivity (classified correctly as active) was 82.5% based on the proportion of active participants in action and maintenance. In the Type 2 diabetes group, the overall specificity and sensitivity was 63.9% and 88.2%, respectively. No significant differences were found between the diabetes groups for stage distribution patterns, and sensitivity and specificity values. The majority of the study hypotheses related to intention and behaviors were confirmed, providing further supportive evidence for the utility of this PA staging measure for the diabetes population.     

Creating culturally responsive environments: ethnic minority teachers' constructs of cultural diversity in Hong Kong secondary schools

One of the challenges facing Hong Kong schools is the growing cultural diversity of the student population that is a result of the growing number of ethnic minority students in the schools. This study uses semi-structured interviews with 12 American, Canadian, Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani teachers working in three secondary schools in the public sector to examine how school teachers are handling this challenge. The study uses these interviews to establish a model for the creation of culturally responsive environments that may help to improve the academic performance and promote the personal growth of students in Hong Kong's secondary schools. Five aspects of cultural responsiveness are identified: conceptualising cosmopolitanism, raising sensitivity to “minor acts of racism”, managing the diverse learning needs of students, promoting a deep understanding of cultural values and helping students deal with the challenges of trilingualism. This study argues that ethnic minority teachers are engaged in a continuing cross-cultural process through which they make sense of the cultural diversity of students and re-learn their own beliefs and practices. The implications for the creation of a culturally responsive environment are also presented.     

Mapping the terrain: Teach For America,charter school reform,and corporate sponsorship

In this paper we illustrate the relationships between Teach For America (TFA) and federal charter school reform to interrogate how policy decisions are shaped by networks of individuals, organizations, and private corporations. We use policy network analysis to create a visual representation of TFA’s key role in developing and connecting personnel, political support, and financial backing for charter reform. Next we examine how the networks unfold at a local level by zooming in on a case study of New Orleans. By mapping out these connections, we hope to provide a foundation for further investigation of how this network affects policies.     

Using innovative teaching practices to inspire critically engaged reading and writing in a neoliberal university environment

ABSTRACT

This article presents the authors’ successful experiences with Cirrus, a purpose-built Digital Humanities teaching and learning platform developed at The University of Queensland between 2016 and 2018. Our case studies in teaching the crafts of close reading, critical analysis, and writing show that Cirrus’s annotation tools enable teachers to push students towards close critical engagements with the material they are studying – across textual, image, audio, and video formats – while the exhibition-building software allows for the transformation of the classic essay into a multi-faceted online presentation combining words, images, and other resources. However, we problematise our own involvement in the development of the platform by considering the ways such tools may become implicated in the negative impacts of neoliberalisation on the university sector in Australia and internationally. We are concerned that universities are using digital tools and innovative teaching practices to further reduce their investment in teaching.     

An examination of the CTONI utilizing Gc‐Gf theory: A comparison of the CTONI and WJ‐III

The present investigation examined the validity of the Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (CTONI) with the Woodcock‐Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ‐III COG) by administering these instruments in counterbalanced order to 60 college students. Results indicated that the mean CTONI NIQ score was not significantly different from the mean WJ‐III COG General Intellectual Ability (GIA) score. However, mean score differences were found between the CTONI NIQ and the WJ‐III COG Verbal Ability, Thinking Ability, Comprehension‐Knowledge, and Fluid Reasoning cluster scores. Although the correlations between the CTONI and the WJ‐III COG cluster scores were generally of small magnitude, the CTONI Geometric Nonverbal IQ composite score demonstrated construct specificity, whereas the CTONI Pictorial Nonverbal IQ scale did not. The implications of the findings are discussed and practitioners are asked to use caution when using this instrument to assess the fluid reasoning abilities of college students. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

‘It’s small steps,but that leads to bigger changes’: evaluation of a nurture group intervention

This article presents the results of a small-scale research project that aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a part-time nurture group recently established in one primary school. Qualitative interviews were used to gather staff, pupil and parental perceptions about the nurture group. These focused not only on what difference the nurture group was making to the pupils concerned but also on views about what factors contributed to noted changes. All stakeholder groups identified areas of development for nurture group pupils. These included improved social skills, growth in personal confidence, greater engagement with academic tasks and fewer incidences of undesirable behaviour. The evidence suggests that the nurture group offered an effective way of supporting the social, emotional and behavioural skills of a group of ‘at-risk’ pupils. Nine practices thought to be important in achieving these outcomes are highlighted.