The role of stroke knowledge in reading and spelling in Chinese

The present study examined the types of orthographic knowledge that are important in learning to read and spell Chinese words in a 2‐year longitudinal study following 289 Hong Kong Chinese children from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Multiple regression results showed that radical knowledge significantly predicted children's word reading and spelling performance across the years. Stroke knowledge contributed both concurrently (Grade 1) and longitudinally (Grade 2) to children's spelling performance after controlling for rapid naming, phonological awareness, morphological awareness and radical knowledge. These findings support the significance of radical knowledge in Chinese reading and spelling and the specific role of stroke order knowledge in Chinese spelling. The findings have implications for the design of an effective curriculum for teaching children to spell Chinese characters.     

Bridge pressure flow scour at clear water threshold condition

Bridge pressure flow scour at clear water threshold condition is studied theoretically and experimentally. The flume experiments reveal that the measured scour profiles under a bridge are more or less 2-dimensional; all the measured scour profiles can be described by two similarity equations, where the horizontal distance is scaled by the deck width while the local scour by the maximum scour depth; the maximum scour position is located just under the bridge about 15% deck width from the downstream deck edge; the scour begins at about one deck width upstream the bridge while the deposition occurs at about 2.5 deck widths downstream the bridge; and the maximum scour depth decreases with increas-ing sediment size, but increases with deck inundation. The theoretical analysis shows that: bridge scour can be divided into three cases, i.e. downstream unsubmerged, partially submerged, and totally submerged. For downstream unsubmerged flows, the maximum bridge scour depth is an open-channel problem where the conventional methods in terms of critical velocity or bed shear stress can be applied; for partially and totally submerged flows, the equilibrium maximum scour depth can be described by a scour and an inundation similarity number, which has been confirmed by experiments with two decks and two sediment sizes. For application, a design and field evaluation procedure with examples is presented, including the maximum scour depth and scour profile.     

Issues and Strategies Involved in Helping Homeless Parents of Young Children Strengthen Their Self-Esteem

Homeless parents of young children face many stressors that erode their self-esteem. This article articulates these stressors and how they negatively impact homeless parents and their children. Strategies for helping parents empower themselves and their children are explained.     

Differential scanning calorimetry: Fundamental overview

This paper discusses the fundamentals of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) including functions and outputs of a Differential Scanning Calorimeter along with common uses in academia and industry.     

Problem-based learning and the development of metacognition

This study samples first year undergraduates from two programmes at a Hong Kong University (N = 66). One programme uses an entirely problem-based approach to learning and teaching, whilst the other uses more traditional methods. Using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) as a measure of student perceptions of their thinking, or metacognition it explores differences in metacognitive development between each group of students between the beginning and end of their first year in each programme. The paper argues that, in addition to the formal learning context, everyday challenges emerging from the additional new social contexts provided by problem-based curricula provide fertile environments for the development of metacognition because whilst the highest ‘meta-level’ of cognition is usually not implicated when we receive an outside task and when the task solution is known, the meta-level does tend to be consulted when things go wrong or when the situation is new. In other words, when we are faced with finding solutions to a problem whether posed by the teacher as part of a problem-based curriculum or a new social environment, we are more likely to develop generic, as well as subject specific skills.     

What are secondary students’ expectations for teachers in virtual school environments?

A recent evaluation of the new North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA revealed numerous expectations for virtual school teachers from secondary students. Specifically, students expected their teachers to actually teach rather than moderate a course shell, supplement course shells with content and projects that illustrate relevance, provide for both content and peer interaction, and respond to questions and provide feedback quickly. The data suggest a possible content‐related interaction where a limited course shell can be bolstered by a proactive teacher, but potentially flounder among teachers who do not expect or know how to supplement an online course. Data further suggest a potential communication‐related interaction where increased opportunities for student–student and student–teacher interaction could potentially decrease the actual or perceived need for individualized attention that is particularly challenging for virtual teachers to provide. These results can be used to establish teacher expectations and design professional development experiences that prepare teachers to undertake divergent roles unique to online instruction.     

Responding to the Voices of Homeless Preschool Children and Their Families

By utilizing all of the voices of homeless children and families we can gain a better understanding of their needs and thus be more effective in designing programs that can support them in becoming more independent. This article reviews the importance of the voices of homeless preschool children and their parents as well that of the professionals who work with them in developing responses to this problem. Strategies that empower homeless preschool children and their families are noted. These strategies include: quality preschool care, therapeutic practices that empower the entire family, case management schemes that provide support to homeless children and families, and societal changes that empower the family. Critical roles that early childhood education professionals can carry out in this empowerment process are delineated and discussed.     

Tin Oxide Chemistry from the Last Decade of the Nineteenth Century to the First Decade of the Twenty-First Century: Towards the Development of a Big-Picture Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry While Focussing on a Specific Compound or Class of Compounds

The discovery of the electron in 1897 deeply impacted the nature of chemistry in the twentieth century. A revolution in the theoretical structure of chemistry as well as in the instrumental tools used in chemical analysis occurred as a result of this discovery. The impact of this revolution on tin oxide chemistry over approximately a 100 year period is the focus of this paper. Important questions addressed include the following: Are tin oxides of importance in our current society or are they only of quaint academic interest? In what way has chemistry as a discipline added to our understanding of the tin oxides and has this added any technological value to these compounds? Does the historical approach followed in this paper offer chemistry educators the opportunity to place current chemical knowledge in a broader epistemological framework? The impact of the answers to these questions on chemistry education is discussed.