Assessing university students' perceptions of their Physics instructors' TPACK development in two contexts

Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been gaining traction among educational researchers; however, studies documenting university students' perceptions of their teachers' TPACK remain limited. This study intends to investigate the professional development of two physics instructors through the lens of the TPACK framework. Moreover, this study spans an 18‐week semester within both the contexts of Taiwan and China. Multiple data were collected and analyzed, including the pretest and posttest TPACK surveys, instructor interviews, in‐class observations and students' feedback and opinions. The results revealed that John's instructional representations and strategies and technology integration and application scores increased significantly, as well as Mike's knowledge of students' understanding score showing a significant increase from the middle to the end of semester. John (Taiwan) emphasized life examples and the use of multimedia while Mike (China) chose to emphasize students' knowledge and evaluation. Such results showed different teaching characteristics in the two contexts. Implications and suggestions are put forward based on the results of this study.     

基于专利演化模型的机构专利分析

近年来,科学技术发展日新月异,每天都会出现各种新型研究领域,众多研究成果被发表与公布。为此,来自各个国家的组织机构做了巨大的努力要为自己的机构带来外部与内部的变化。事实上,对于很多机构来说,研究的意义在于通过分析研究成果得到有意义的结论。因此,本文通过对具体机制下的专利标题（发明名称）进行分析从而提出一种演化模型。首先,我们根据关键词的特性对标题的关键词进行分类,然后定义专利的相互关系。我们建议演化模型的相互关系建立在时间轴基础上,并且可以适用于实际数据。通过应用于实际数据的模型可预测出未来专利的关键词。     

Latent profiles of attitudes toward print and digital reading among adolescents

Reading and Writing - A growing body of research has highlighted the important role attitudes play for adolescent readers, but few have examined differences in attitudes across purposes and...     

Sensitivity to orthotactic rules in visual word recognition by below average readers

The study reports 2 lexical decision experiments on below average readers' sensitivity to Basic Orthographic Syllabic Structure (BOSS) of Taft in visual word recognition. In Experiment 1, 20 words and 20 pseudo words with BOSS and non-BOSS conditions (e.g., tractOR, tracTOR; BLUNDin, BLUNdin) were presented on a microcomputer screen to 75 grades 4, 5, and 6 poor readers divided into poor reading/spelling subgroups. ANOVA of the correct reaction time scores shows significant main effects for grade, reading/spelling subgroup and lexicality with both word and pseudo word BOSS condition being the most discriminating. Experiment 2 provides a stronger test for the BOSS parsing principle with 48 items of correctly affixed real words (e.g., reTURN), pseudo-affixed words (e.g., ENTer), and incorrectly affixed pseudo words (e.g., AVOIDer) presented on the microcomputer screen for lexical decision. The target subjects were 20 grade 6 and 22 grade 7 below average readers compared with 23 above average chronological age control readers in each of the same grades 6 and 7. ANOVA results of the correct RT scores show significant main effects for reding level and affixation condition with the correctly affixed BOSS condition being the most discriminating. Taken together, the 2 experiments suggest that children are sensitive to the BOSS parsing principle and this could be used in promoting word knowledge.     

Worked Examples Versus Non‐goal‐specific Problems: a test of schema development in geometry

A multiple baseline across subjects experimental design was used to compare the effects of a teaching programme designed to enhance schemata acquisition with that of worked examples, traditionally used to teach geometry to high school students. In the first treatment, students were guided to form their own personal, independent schema through the use of non‐goal‐specific questions, that is, questions that did not ask to find a single, specific unknown. The second treatment introduced students to solved examples of problems asking for specific values. Following exposure to one or other of the treatments, measures were obtained of students’ success in problem solving, the time taken and the processes used. Results show that students in both groups had gains in the number of problems solved following intervention, with those exposed to the non‐goal‐specific procedure showing greater rates of improvement and greater efficacy in their problem‐solving strategies. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for a schemata acquisition and problem‐solving hypothesis.     

Multiple dimensions of adolescents’ reading attitudes and their relationship with reading comprehension

Reading and Writing - Despite a growing research base that explores motivational constructs in reading and their relationship to achievement, nuanced questions remain. The present study examines...     

Problem Solving in Geometry: Comparing the effects of non-goal specific instruction and conventional worked examples

This study examines the extended effects of an instructional program designed to enhance schema development by using non-goal specific problems, in the teaching of geometry to high school students in need of remedial tuition. A multiple baseline across-subjects experimental design was used to compare the effects of this program with another method of teaching this subject--that is, using worked examples. This methodology provides detailed information on the shifts and changes associated with learning processes for particular individuals during the actual process of schema acquisition. Dependent measures included test performance, error analysis, time analysis, directionality and generalisation. Results indicate that participants in the non-goal specific group showed greater improvements, solving problems faster, more efficiently, more accurately and with fewer errors and greater consistency. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the design of mathematics instructional material.     

Leadership that Transforms and Transacts: A Case of More Inspiration and Less Charisma

Bass' (1985) model of transformational leadership was largely confirmed in this study of school-level leaders in Singapore. However, instead of three factors of transformational leadership only two were obtained. Charismatic Leadership failed to emerge. It was replaced by an Inspirational Leadership factor that also included Bass' Intellectual Stimulation factor. The two transactional leadership factors of Contingent Reward and “passive” Management-by-Exception were obtained, but not the more recent addition, the “active” Management-by-Exception factor. Contrary to expectation, no gender difference was obtained with regard to the four factors.