Transformation for adults in an Internet‐based learning environment—is it necessary to be self‐directed?

This research explores the relationships between self‐directed learning readiness and transformative learning theory (TLT) reflected by the Constructivist Internet‐based Learning Environment Scale (CILES). A questionnaire survey about adult learner's perceptions of Internet‐based learning was administered to adults enrolled in classes in community colleges in Taiwan. A total of 593 valid questionnaires were used for the structural equation modeling analysis. The findings confirmed a second‐order hierarchical factor relationship of TLT (technical, dialectical and emancipatory learning interests) from CILES. Moreover, the three domains of learning interests of transformative learning were proved to have a developmental relationship, moderated by the readiness of self‐directed learning for adult learners in Internet‐based learning.     

Knowledge sharing among Malaysian universities’ students: do personality traits,class room and technological factors matter?

Active and voluntarily sharing of knowledge is an essential element of effective and meaningful learning at university level. Recognising the role and importance of Big Five personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and openness) in encouraging knowledge-sharing behaviour, this paper adds the classroom (instructor support and degree of competition) and technological factors (technology availability and support) to model general knowledge-sharing patterns. Survey instrument was used to collect from six private and six public universities in Malaysia. Out of 700 surveys distributed, 474 data were used for analysis representing the response rate of 67.71%. Extraversion, conscientiousness, instructor support, degree of competition and technology support are found to have positive relationship with knowledge-sharing patterns. However, emotional stability is found to have negative relationship. A practical implication of these results is that instructors could advance knowledge sharing via personnel screening in forming assignment groups in their class as well as providing sufficient support and technology support to promote knowledge sharing among students.     

Perspectives on learning to teach science: insights and dilemmas from a collaborative practicum project

In this article we discuss the theoretical and practical rationale for establishing a collaborative science practicum project and report on the findings of the first two years. The project was designed to strengthen the communication links among the school‐based educators, the pre‐service teachers, and the university‐based educators, in order to address the seemingly intractable problems associated with initiating new science teachers into the varied social practices of the teaching profession. Our findings are organized and discussed in the form of three dilemmas (Cuban 1992). These dilemmas are associated with the difficulties the pre‐service teachers had in connecting the propositional knowledge presented in the university setting with the procedural knowledge required in the school setting, and the lack of familiarity by the university and school‐based educators of each other's practice setting. We describe results that resonate with similar issues reported in other collaborative projects, and propose an alternative approach for preparing science teachers. This approach is based on conceptualizing learning to teach as a cognitive apprenticeship (Hennessy 1993) which prepares pre‐service teachers to enter the ‘community of practice’ called teaching. We argue that the success of such an approach requires the development of a collaborative community in which all participants engage in meaningful and supportive discourse concerning what, when and how science is taught in the classroom.     

Identification of dysfunctional cooperative learning teams and troubled individuals

In cooperative learning, students work together as a team to maximize the academic success of all the team members. The failure of even a single member can compromise the success of the entire team. Thus, to evaluate the functioning of the team reliably, it is necessary to consider both the performance of the individual team members and the interactions among them. In this study, a method was developed for identifying dysfunctional teams and troubled individuals by examining the correlation between the team scores obtained in sequential tests and the correlation between the scores obtained by the different team members. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated via field experiments. Forty‐eight students were randomly assigned to cooperative learning teams and their learning performance assessed by four‐unit tests. The results indicated that the proposed method can identify the most troubled individuals in a team even when the team performance/grouping information is not taken explicitly into account. Furthermore, when the team information is considered, the method can identify both the dysfunctional teams and the troubled individuals within the teams. Therefore, the proposed method provides a useful basis for the development of computer‐assisted solutions for assessing the performance of cooperative learning teams.     

伞形科植物染色体数目报告

In the present paper, chromosome numbers are reported for 33 species and varieties of Chinese Umbelliferae which belong to 17 genera in the subfamily Api- oideae.  Chromosome number of each species is shown in Table I.  Eighteen countings are newly reported.  Chromatin bridges and fragments were observed at anaphase I in some materials.  It is suggested that the fertility reduction in some species is due to the chromosome aberrations.     

Word processing in dyslexics

Dyslexic children (n=21, mean age=10.2 years) were compared with normal readers of the same age, normal readers of the same reading-age, and poor readers of the same reading-age on measures of phonological decoding and automatic word processing. Three different tasks, varying in phonological demand, were used: a naming task, an auditory-visual matching task, and a lexical decision task. On each task, word-pseudoword profiles were obtained to test phonological decoding skills and unspeeded-speeded profiles were assessed to test automaticity in word processing. Main results indicated that dyslexics have a deficit in automatic phonological decoding skills. The results are discussed within the framework of the phonological deficit and the automatization deficit hypothesis.     

上饶市老年人日常生活活动功能评价及其影响因素

采用日常生活活动功能指数、丧失率、L ogistic回归分析 ,对江西省上饶市老年人日常生活活动独立自理能力进行评价并对其影响因素进行研究。结果表明 ,江西省上饶市老年人日常生活活动功能的丧失率随年龄的增长而增大 ,男性高于女性 ,下肢高于上肢 ,丧失率随活动的复杂程度及难度的增大而上升。身体健康是影响老年人日常生活活动功能的最主要因素 ,其次是社会经济、心理、精神等因素。