Item validation of online postsecondary courses: rating the proximity between similarity and dissimilarity among item pairs (Validation study series I: multidimensional scaling)

The purpose of this study was to identify and validate items applicable to evaluating online courses at the postsecondary level. Items were derived from a review of the literature. Four judges rated the similarity of the items by making pair-wise comparisons utilizing multidimensional scaling (MDS). The study consisted of five stages. Stage I involved identifying items. Stage II involved validating items. Stage III involved sampling. Stage IV involved developing an online MDS instrument accommodating the 4,851 ([99 * 98]/2) pair-wise comparisons and rating them. Stage V involved data collection and analysis. The results of the MDS study indicated a three-dimensional solution (Accessibility, Adaptability, and Clarity of Communication) as the appropriate model for analysis. The three-dimensional solution indicated .24222 for the fit values of STRESS and .74 for R-squared. Four clusters were identified as Contextual Accommodation, Instructional Access, Guided Learning, and Organizational Clarity.

The Creation of the ‘Hong Kong Visual Arts Education Web’ and the Use of the Inquiry‐Based Teaching Approach

This article describes a collaborative action research conducted by a lecturer and several primary school art teachers, who between 2001 and 2006 created the Visual Arts Education Web (‘iii web’) in Hong Kong. The creation of the ‘iii web’ was accomplished through research that employed questionnaires, focus group discussions and individual interviews. Teachers' perceptions of using websites in teaching were examined, art education websites from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and the USA were compared, in order to create a website that could meet the needs of Hong Kong primary school art teachers. Inquiry‐based learning is one of the important teaching approaches that were introduced during the Hong Kong Education Reform in 2003. An example of using the ‘iii web’ to teach public art is described to illustrate how the teacher and students used inquiry‐based learning in art education.     

Transformation of students into active and participatory citizens: an exploratory study in Hong Kong

Based on the data collected from focus groups and individual interviews with secondary school students and civic education teachers, this article explores how young people are transformed to become active and participatory citizens. The findings show that the roles and personal beliefs of civic education teachers are of critical significance at the very first stage whereas their teaching methods help enable students to construct the notion of active and participatory citizenship at the second stage. Eventually students gradually develop a strong sense of civic responsibility and competence through social inquiry and political action in the transformation process.     

Hydrogel discs for digital microfluidics

Hydrogels are networks of hydrophilic polymer chains that are swollen with water, and they are useful for a wide range of applications because they provide stable niches for immobilizing proteins and cells. We report here the marriage of hydrogels with digital microfluidic devices. Until recently, digital microfluidics, a fluid handling technique in which discrete droplets are manipulated electromechanically on the surface of an array of electrodes, has been used only for homogeneous systems involving liquid reagents. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that the cylindrical hydrogel discs can be incorporated into digital microfluidic systems and that these discs can be systematically addressed by droplets of reagents. Droplet movement is observed to be unimpeded by interaction with the gel discs, and gel discs remain stationary when droplets pass through them. Analyte transport into gel discs is observed to be identical to diffusion in cases in which droplets are incubated with gels passively, but transport is enhanced when droplets are continually actuated through the gels. The system is useful for generating integrated enzymatic microreactors and for three-dimensional cell culture. This paper demonstrates a new combination of techniques for lab-on-a-chip systems which we propose will be useful for a wide range of applications.     

Profiling learners’ achievement goals when completing academic essays

This study explored adult learners’ goal profiles in relation to the completion of a compulsory academic essay. Based on learners’ scores on items assessing mastery, performance‐approach, and work‐avoidance goals, cluster analyses produced three distinct categories of learners: performance‐focused, work‐avoidant, and multiple‐goal learners. These three groups of learners differed in terms of perceptions about the academic essay, self‐belief in completing it, use of strategies, responses to marker feedback, and, most importantly, level of achievement. The results attest to the importance of endorsing multiple goals for completing compulsory academic essays at the tertiary level.     

International Counseling Trainees’ Experiences and Perceptions of Their Multicultural Counseling Training in the United States: A Mixed Method Inquiry

This study examined international counseling students’ (ICTs) experiences and perceptions of their multicultural counseling training (MCT) in the United States. The focus was on (a) relevance of the training, (b) effectiveness of the training methods, and (c) development of cross-cultural competence as trainees. Major findings indicated that ICTs found their MCT to be more useful in the areas of knowledge and awareness rather than in skill development. Dissatisfaction was expressed with training received; limited applicability to country of origin was noted. MCT in the US appears to reflect primarily a Westernized approach to teaching and learning related competencies. Implications and recommendations for counselors and educators are discussed.     

Why Are Chinese Mothers More Controlling Than American Mothers? “My Child Is My Report Card”

Chinese parents exert more control over children than do American parents. The current research examined whether this is due in part to Chinese parents' feelings of worth being more contingent on children's performance. Twice over a year, 215 mothers and children (M_age = 12.86 years) in China and the United States (European and African American) reported on psychologically controlling parenting. Mothers also indicated the extent to which their worth is contingent on children's performance. Psychologically controlling parenting was higher among Chinese than American mothers, particularly European (vs. African) American mothers. Chinese (vs. American) mothers' feelings of worth were more contingent on children's performance, with this contributing to their heightened psychological control relative to American mothers.     

Examining the self-congruent engagement hypothesis: the link between academic self-schemas,motivational goals,learning approaches and achievement within an academic year

Academic self-schemas are important cognitive frames capable of guiding students’ learning engagement. Using a cohort of Year 10 Australian students, this longitudinal study examined the self-congruence engagement hypothesis which maintains that there is a close relationship among academic self-schemas, achievement goals, learning approaches, learning attitudes and achievement levels in learning mathematics. Students completed a survey and attempted an achievement test at the beginning and close to the end of the academic year. Two hypotheses in relation to the notion of self-engagement congruence were examined. The first hypothesis assumes that students holding a specific academic self-schema will maintain a pattern of engagement and achievement congruent with their specific self-conception over time. The second hypothesis postulates that a change in academic self-schemas will be associated with a corresponding shift in students’ engagement and achievement patterns. Cluster analyses provided clear evidence supporting these two hypotheses.