Factors contributing to mathematical problem-solving performance: An exploratory study

This paper describes differences in mathematical problem-solving performance of third-grade gifted and fifth-grade average students observed during an eight week period. Results indicated that such factors as attitude, motivation, and belief systems were important to performance. In addition there were major differences in problem-solving behavior between the girls and boys in this study. Because these results were incidental to the original questions of the study (Buchanan, 1984), they were deemed especially significant. Four groups, one of third-grade gifted boys, one of third-grade gifted girls, one of average boys and one of fifth-grade average girls met with the experimenter twice a week for eight weeks to solve a variety of mathematical problems. In the global analysis of video tapes of all sessions and post hoc statistical analysis of selected quantifiable variables, differences in problem-solving performance were best described in terms of motivation, beliefs about mathematics, problem-solving strategies, and means of achieving satisfaction. In addition, the girls' groups were more ego-involved and social; they completed fewer problems and had longer solution times than the boys' groups. Further holistic research is needed to describe the complex interaction that occurs during mathematical problem solving in group situations. Then, appropriate intervention might be designed to assure that both boys and girls have an opportunity to perform at optimum levels.     

Reputation and reality: ranking major disciplines in Australian universities

League tables that rank universities may use reputational measures, performance measures, or both. Each type of measure has strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we rank disciplines in Australian universities both by reputation, using an international survey of senior academics, and with actual performance measures. We then compare the two types of measures to see how closely they match. The criterion we use for both sets of measures is ‘international academic standing’. We find a high correlation between the survey results and the various measures of research performance. We also find a correlation between the quality of student intake and the survey rankings, but the satisfaction levels of recent graduates do not correlate well with the rankings by academics. We then construct an overall measure of performance, which gives very similar rankings to the survey results, especially for the top-ranked institutions.

Extension for organic agriculture: a comparative study between Baden-Württemberg,Germany and Crete,Greece

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to compare the extension services offered in the field of organic agriculture (OA) in Baden-Württemberg (BW), Germany and Crete, Greece.

Design/methodology approach: 16 in-depth interviews, 10 in BW and 6 in Crete, were carried out with representatives of OA extension providers; interviews were qualitatively analyzed and overall results compared between the two areas.

Findings: The structure along with extensionists' capacities and methods employed are rich, appropriate, and well functioning in BW. On the contrary, poor structure, lack of networking and facilitation in Crete jeopardizes extension performance and impact. Practical implications: Contrary to BW, the situation in Grete does not allow for much optimism concerning the successful development of OA and the implementation of European Innovation Partnerships.

Theoretical implications: Further elaboration of the characteristics of extension/advisory services and their interlinkages, including the role of the state in facilitating pluralistic services, is needed.

Originality/value: The paper demonstrates the importance of the structure of extension services and the central facilitation role of the state; furthermore, the interdependency of structure, capacity and the methods employed is demonstrated which, in turn, influences extension performance and impact especially networking and facilitation for social learning and innovation co-creation.     

Peer feedback mediates the impact of self-regulation procedures on strategy use and reading comprehension in reciprocal teaching groups

The goal of this research was to highlight the role social regulatory processes play in making students’ teamwork in reciprocal teaching (RT) groups (a classroom activity in which students take the teacher’s role in small group reading sessions) effective. In addition to teamwork quality, we expected peer feedback to be a key factor in enhancing students’ reading comprehension achievements. Because previous research (Schünemann et al. in Contemp Educ Psychol 38:289–305, 2013) has shown that procedures of self-regulated learning (SRL) augment the effects of RT methods, we further assumed that such procedures would promote the quality of students’ collaborative efforts. In a cluster-randomized trial, students in 12 fifth-grade classes practiced a strategic approach to reading either in a RT condition or in a RT + SRL condition. In one of the 14 sessions, students’ interactive behavior was videotaped. Strategy use and reading comprehension were assessed at pretest, posttest, and maintenance. Performance differences between conditions were reliable only at maintenance. A multilevel mediation analysis showed that relative to RT students, RT + SRL students were better able to provide their teammates with informative feedback and organize their group work in a task-focused manner. Only feedback quality mediated the sustainability of treatment effects on strategy use and reading comprehension. In essence, this research suggests that effective reading comprehension trainings should integrate explicit instruction and practice in reading strategies, SRL, and focus on supportive peer processes in small groups with extensive instruction and practice in peer feedback.     

Children’s Participation in a Virtual Epidemic in the Science Classroom: Making Connections to Natural Infectious Diseases

This study investigated students’ understanding of a virtual infectious disease in relation to their understanding of natural infectious diseases. Two sixth-grade classrooms of students between the ages of 10 and 12 (46 students) took part in a participatory simulation of a virtual infectious disease, which was integrated into their science curriculum. The results from our analyses reveal that students perceived the simulation as similar to a natural infectious disease and that the immersive components of the simulation afforded students the opportunity to discuss their understandings of natural disease and to compare them to their experiences with the virtual disease. We found that while the virtual disease capitalized on students’ knowledge of natural infectious disease through virtual symptoms, these symptoms may have led students to think of its transfer more as an observable or mechanical event rather than as a biological process. These findings provide helpful indicators to science educators and educational designers interested in creating and integrating online simulations within classroom environments to further students’ conceptual understanding.     

我国义务教育信息化均衡性评价指标体系的构建及应用

义务教育信息化均衡既是实现我国义务教育均衡发展的有效途径,也是义务教育均衡发展的重要构成因素,因此有必要研究测量工具对义务教育信息化均衡状态进行监测和评估。在借鉴教育均衡评估、教育信息化评估等研究基础上构建的义务教育信息化均衡性评价指标体系,包含“教育信息化投入均衡”、“教育信息化基础设施建设均衡”、“教育信息化应用水平均衡”和“教育信息化人才培养均衡”4项一级指标和24项二级指标。这些指标在北京市义务教育信息化评估中的应用显示：该指标体系具有可行性,评估结论对于现实情况具备一定的诊断性,可为后续建设提供较明确的指导。     

What’s in a Name: Differential labelling of plant and animal photographs in two nationally syndicated elementary science textbook series

This study investigated plant and animal photographs in elementary science textbooks to discern whether there were disparities in the number of plant and animal photographs or in how those photographs were labelled. We examined the Life Science sections of two nationally syndicated (USA) textbook series. For each text, we identified the photographs with plant and/or animal content and evaluated them for two features: (1) the subject of the photograph, and (2) the specificity of the label (name) provided. We found that photographs with animal subjects were more numerous than those with plant subjects; they also represented a greater diversity of animals and had a higher instance of repetition than did plant photographs. We also found a significant naming disparity: animal photographs were three times more likely to be provided with a specific label (common name) than were plant photographs. Not only were plant photographs less likely to be provided with a specific name for the plant (e.g. orchid or dandelion), but also they were commonly identified only by the name for a plant part (such as flower or leaf) or life‐form (e.g. tree or shrub). To address the disparity revealed by this study, and to encourage student interest in and knowledge about plants, we recommend that educators go beyond textbooks to expose students to a diversity of named plants, and present plants as distinct organisms rather than as a collection of parts.     

Uncovering influence through Social Network Analysis: the role of schools in Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

This paper examines the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Germany and explores the possibilities of Social Network Analysis (SNA) for uncovering influential actors in educational policy innovation processes. From the theoretical perspective, an actor’s influence is inferred from its relative position within issue-specific information flows and the trust placed in its capacities and expertise, instead of relying on an actor’s openly expressed role and policy preferences. Drawing on techniques from quantitative SNA enables to analyse the social interactions as well as the frequency and type of information exchange amongst actors in a particular issue area. Empirically, I focus my attention on the educational innovation of ESD, which has been initiated at the global level, but is mainly put into practice at the national or regional level. Data for the study come from mixed mode interviews with a standardised questionnaire. The interviews were conducted and analysed using egocentric and complete SNA. I find, amongst others results, that NGOs and governmental actors occupy significantly more central, prestigious and influential network positions than schools in the course of implementing ESD in Germany. Furthermore, school representatives exhibit few and weak relations, and mostly share links with other formal education actors.     

Assessing term effectiveness in the interactive information access process

This study addresses the question of whether the way in which sets of query terms are identified has an impact on the effectiveness of users’ information seeking efforts. Query terms are text strings used as input to an information access system; they are products of a method or grammar that identifies a set of query terms. We conducted an experiment that compared the effectiveness of sets of query terms identified for a single book by three different methods. One had been previously prepared by a human indexer for a back-of-the-book index. The other two were identified by computer programs that used a combination of linguistic and statistical criteria to extract terms from full text. Effectiveness was measured by (1) whether selected query terms led participants to correct answers and (2) how long it took participants to obtain correct answers. Our results show that two sets of terms – the human terms and the set selected according to the linguistically more sophisticated criteria – were significantly more effective than the third set of terms. This single case demonstrates that query languages do have a measurable impact on the effectiveness of query term languages in the interactive information access process. The procedure described in this paper can be used to assess the effectiveness for information seekers of query terms identified by any query language.