Using Research Based Assessment Tools in Professional Development in Current Electricity

We present a practical way of adapting and using four research-based assessments for different purposes in an electricity and magnetism course for K-8 science teachers. The course is designed to accomplish conceptual change toward accepted scientific conceptions as well as introducing teachers to materials and activities appropriate for their classrooms. Our data support that using the research-based tests to identify alternative conceptions and discuss test results with teachers is a promising way to use the knowledge of alternative conceptions in professional development. We also identify some mismatches between the research of conceptual change and its use in programs of professional development.

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Providing Bottom-Up Support to Middle School Science Teachers’ Reform Efforts in Using Inquiry-Based Kits

Middle grades science teachers need professional support in practice as they implement new inquiry-based science. Professional development schools can provide this bottom-up support through connecting preservice and inservice teacher education programs in classroom practice. In this study, coteaching arrangements with secondary science education majors provided additional teachers in the classroom to support a materials-rich curriculum and the needed associated pedagogies. Science education majors provided needed assistance in troubleshooting difficulties with the new curriculum. They also provided needed content knowledge to support inquiry, along with creating moments and space for teachers to reflect on inquiry practice. Ongoing assistance by preservice teachers allowed inservice teachers to progress from logistical concerns in implementing kit curriculum to concerns regarding student learning and the supporting professional development.

Addressing sexuality and pregnancy in childbirth education classes

A positive, nonjudgmental, and informed approach to sexual health during pregnancy promotes acceptance of the normal functioning of women's bodies. It also encourages the development of close and supportive relationships that are so essential during pregnancy and birth. Common concerns do not need to become problems. Concerns include issues of libido, positioning, and preterm labor or fetal health, as well as myths and cultural attitudes. Childbirth educators can use tools such as the PLISSIT model to approach the topic of sexuality during pregnancy. In addition, opportunities are available in every childbirth class to acknowledge or ignore sexual issues. Perinatal educators who take responsibility for addressing this often-taboo topic can enhance women's feelings of safety and their confidence in normal birth.     

Analytic Frameworks for Assessing Dialogic Argumentation in Online Learning Environments

Over the last decade, researchers have developed sophisticated online learning environments to support students engaging in dialogic argumentation. This review examines five categories of analytic frameworks for measuring participant interactions within these environments focusing on (1) formal argumentation structure, (2) conceptual quality, (3) nature and function of contributions within the dialogue, (4) epistemic nature of reasoning, and (5) argumentation sequences and interaction patterns. Ultimately, the review underscores the diversity of theoretical perspectives represented within this research, the nature of dialogic interaction within these environments, the importance of clearly specifying theoretical and environmental commitments throughout the process of developing or adopting an analytic framework, and the role of analytic frameworks in the future development of online learning environments for argumentation.

Explanations of attitudes to change: Colombian mathematics teachers’ conceptions of the crucial determinants of their teaching practices of beginning algebra

This article arises from a study whose overall purpose was to investigate the relationship between Colombian mathematics teachers’ conceptions of beginning algebra and their conceptions of their own teaching practices. The teachers’ understandings of their teaching practices were explored with a view to unravelling their conceptions of change in their teaching. Focusing on the perspectives of teachers afforded opportunities that exposed the powerful role that the teachers’ conceptions of social/institutional factors of teaching played in their conceptions of their practices. The degree to which the teachers attributed these (external) factors as crucial reasons for what they do in their teaching was the basis of a categorisation of their conceptions of the crucial determinants of their teaching practices into three types. The findings are particularly relevant to our understanding of the stability of mathematics teaching approaches in the Colombian context but have likely implications for a range of international education contexts. Specific implications for the development of the research into teachers’ conceptions of mathematics and its teaching, and for teacher education programmes are presented.

教育中的新制度主义

制度理论一直将教育领域作为一个重要的研究对象。近十几年来,在教育领域出现了三个显著的变化,它们分别是教育服务提供从单一走向多元、教育系统结构从松散变为紧密以及教育制度重要性的增加。这些教育制度变化的新对于以往制度理论的基本命题提出了挑战,要求重新审视一些制度关系,如同形性与多样性、合法性与效率、松散性与紧密性、制度约束与制度创新、政府与市场等。这预示着对于教育领域进行制度研究的广阔前景。     

基于AHP的大学利益相关者分类研究

建立利益相关者共同参与治理机制是大学治理研究和实践的重要目标.本文利用层次分析法(AHP),结合利益相关者理论,对通过问卷调查所获数据进行分析,获得大学利益相关者的权重排序,并在排序的基础上认为大学治理的主体应该是关键利益相关者.     

美国研究型大学的院长任用方式及启示

"院为实体"和学院拥有强大权力的管理体制有利于提升大学管理的效能,其中,院长任用方式又是学院管理的关键.本文基于对美国多所研究型大学的研究,对美国研究型大学学院管理模式、院长的遴选程序、岗位职责、权力范围、考核机制、监督保障等问题进行了分析,同时结合我国大学的实际特点,对改进大学院长任用方式提出了若干有针对性的建议.     

我国研究型大学校级行政管理结构优化的思考——基于密西根州立大学的案例分析

针对大学内部行政管理的批评不绝于耳,批评的焦点主要集中在行政管理岗位过多、行政权力过大等,但总体而言,面上的评论多,深入分析少,尤其对大学行政管理结构的优化,还缺乏清晰的、可操作的研究.本研究试图从案例分析的角度,以美国一流公立研究型大学的内部管理体制为例,解读其校级行政管理结构的基本状况,以期为我国研究型大学内部管理中校级行政管理结构优化提供借鉴.