Exploring the nature of the relation between interest and comprehension

This paper examines the complex relation between interest and comprehension recorded by postgraduate students in a language teacher education programme at various stages of two-hour lectures. The quantitative analysis suggests that its relationship with comprehension changes as the lecture continues. The analysis is also triangulated with the qualitative responses reported by students at different stages of the lecture. The type of comprehension that co-occurs with increasing interest differs from the type of comprehension that co-occurs with maintaining interest. Although the effect of comprehension on interest is low at the beginning of the lecture, its effect is more frequently noted as important at the later stages of the lecture. Postdictability (i.e., the ability to determine after the fact that unpredictability and difficulty that have been raised in the earlier parts of the lecture hang together and make sense) seems important in increasing interest, especially at the later stages of the lecture.     

The roles of teacher efficacy in instructional innovation: its predictive relations to constructivist and didactic instruction

Constructivist instruction has been implemented in the current instructional innovation in Singapore. Large scale survey study was conducted to examine the roles of teacher efficacy in implementing the innovative constructivist instruction. The results showed that the positive correlation between teacher efficacy and constructivist instruction was stronger than the correlation between teacher efficacy and didactic instruction. The study suggests that policy makers and school leaders should try to improve teacher’s efficacy beliefs so that innovative instruction could be effectively implemented by school teachers.     

An Examination of Black Science Teacher Educators’ Experiences with Multicultural Education, Equity, and Social Justice

Diversity, multicultural education, equity, and social justice are dominant themes in cultural studies (Hall in Cultural dialogues in cultural studies. Routledge, New York, pp 261–274, 1996; Wallace 1994). Zeichner (Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 737–759, 2005) called for research studies of teacher educators because little research exists on teacher educators since the late 1980s. Thomson et al. (2001) identified essential elements needed in order for critical multiculturalism to be infused in teacher education programs. However, little is known about the commitment and experiences of science teacher educators infusing multicultural education, equity, and social justice into science teacher education programs. This paper examines twenty (20) Black science teacher educators’ teaching experiences as a result of their Blackness and the inclusion of multicultural education, equity, and social justice in their teaching. This qualitative case study of 20 Black science teacher educators found that some of them have attempted and stopped due to student evaluations and the need to gain promotion and tenure. Other participants were able to integrate diversity, multicultural education, equity and social justice in their courses because their colleagues were supportive. Still others continue to struggle with this infusion without the support of their colleagues, and others have stopped The investigators suggest that if science teacher educators are going to prepare science teachers for the twenty first century, then teacher candidates must be challenged to grapple with racial, ethnic, cultural, instructional, and curricular issues and what that must mean to teach science to US students in rural, urban, and suburban school contexts.     

期刊质量、发行量、广告三者的关系--《蜜蜂杂志》办刊实践

质量是期刊永恒的主题.期刊质量直接影响到期刊的发行量,发行量又制约着发布广告的数量,广告数量对期刊质量又有影响,三者互为因果关系.正确处理好三者的关系,就能为期刊社创造良好的社会效益和经济效益,使期刊走上自我发展的良性循环道路.