A Quantitative Stability Analysis of the Solutions to the Carson-Cambi Equation

A quantitative stability analysis of the Carson-Cambi equation [(1 + ε cos t)(d²y/dt²) + py = 0] is carried through, using a new, effective approach. The results are compared with a recent perturbation analysis, and show that this should not be used for ε0.4. In the present analysis we go up to ε = 0.8, and, in fact, with less effort than the perturbation analysis involves. Detailed stability diagrams are presented.     

Quality of geometry instruction and its short-term impact on students' understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem

This article presents findings from a German–Swiss video-based classroom study. The research examines how three basic dimensions of instructional quality impact the development of students' understanding of the Pythagorean Theorem. The study sample comprised 19 German and 19 Swiss mathematics classes. A three-lesson introductory unit on the Pythagorean Theorem was videotaped in all classes. Multilevel analyses revealed both classroom management and cognitive activation to have positive effects on mathematics achievement. The results also provide empirical evidence that cognitive activation and a supportive climate moderate the relationship between mathematics-related interest and mathematics achievement.     

High-School Students’ Epistemic Knowledge of Science and Its Relation to Learner Factors in Science Learning

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an online contextualized test for assessing students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science. In addition, how students’ understanding of epistemic knowledge of science interacts with learner factors, including time spent on science learning, interest, self-efficacy, and gender, was also explored. The participants were 489 senior high school students (244 males and 245 females) from eight different schools in Taiwan. Based on the result of an extensive literature review, we first identified six factors of epistemic knowledge of science, such as status of scientific knowledge, the nature of scientific enterprise, measurement in science, and so on. An online test was then created for assessing students’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science. Also, a learner-factor survey was developed by adopting previous PISA survey items to measure the abovementioned learner factors. The results of this study show that; (1) by factor analysis, the six factors of epistemic knowledge of science could be grouped into two dimensions which reflect the nature of scientific knowledge and knowing in science, respectively; (2) there was a gender difference in the participants’ understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science; and (3) students’ interest in science learning and the time spent on science learning were positively correlated to their understanding of the epistemic knowledge of science.     

Supporting Technology Integration through Action Research

New demands and high attrition levels of special education teachers have created a crisis for education and extensive additional stress for special education directors and principals. The critical shortage of highly qualified special education teachers has significantly increased the pressure to hire and retain them. This article discusses factors that affect teacher attrition and proactive recommendations to address the shortage. In addition, the authors make suggestions for systemic reform and improvement of the level of job satisfaction for special education teachers.     

Service-Learning for Remedial Reading and Writing Students

In 2008, Queensborough Community College incorporated service learning into 15 remedial reading and writing courses. To determine its impact, statistical analyses were performed, and they demonstrated significantly (a) higher GPAs, (b) improved rates of retention, and (c) the completion of more college credits among service learning participants. In addition, an ANOVA revealed insights into the individual service-learning projects. It was determined that the most effective programs (a) directly connected the service-learning activity to the course curriculum, (b) provided multiple experiences performing tasks, and (c) placed students in community-based organizations appropriate for their level of literacy.     

List of Reviewers 2006

ASCTRACT

This study aims to analyze the potential and constraints of group-based extension approaches as an institutional innovation in the Vietnamese agricultural extension system. Our analysis therefore unfolds around the challenges of how to foster this kind of approach within the hierarchical extension policy setting and how to effectively shape and enable learning groups. The analysis draws on qualitative data from case studies of five newly established extension groups in Son La province, collected between 2007 and 2008. Content analysis was applied as the main analytical tool. The basic principles of group-based learning approaches are still underdeveloped, mainly due to a non-supportive institutional environment and a command-and-follow mentality. Extension groups suffer from an insufficient distinction between social processes and technical procedures. Finding an appropriate balance between enhancing leadership and supporting collective responsibility is identified as key to sustain groups. The research identified room for adjustments in group-organizational issues since the external institutional environment is hard to change. The particular value of this paper lies in addressing how to organize group-extension approaches in the context of reformed extension systems in a transitional socialist setting.     

From Best Practice to Best Fit: A Framework for Designing and Analyzing Pluralistic Agricultural Advisory Services Worldwide

Abstract

We assess the long-term effectiveness of outreach and education efforts associated with a water quality improvement project in a watershed located in northern Utah, USA. Conducted 15 years after the original project began, our research examines the lasting impacts of different extension activities on landowners’ motivations to participate and their awareness and understanding of the water quality problem. Data were gathered by reviewing annual project reports, interviewing project staff about outreach and education efforts, and conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a majority of the farmers and ranchers who participated in the project. The findings suggest that landowners were motivated to participate in the programme more by practical farm and household considerations and available cost-share opportunities than by particular environmental concerns. Previous relationships between farmers and government programme staff and one-on-one visits with landowners played an important role in their decisions to participate, while demonstration projects and peer-to-peer social diffusion processes played a much smaller role than expected. Although participants had a good grasp of the project goals, they did not have a strong sense of ownership of the water quality problem. These results suggest that education and outreach approaches centred only on the environmental dimensions of conservation projects may be insufficient to motivate changes in conservation behaviour. The results also suggest that conventional outreach strategies often did not have their presumed impact on landowners.     

Being an Elbow: A Phenomenological Autoethnography of Faculty-Student Collaboration for Accommodations

Hybrid and online courses and advances in assistive technologies make accommodating students with disabilities ever-changing, requiring innovation. This reality, coupled with students’ reluctance to disclose disabilities, points toward a need for replacing accommodations directed at those with disabilities with universal design whereby they become accessible to all—virtually eliminating the need for accommodations. In this paper, a master's of social work student (Chad) and his instructor (Regina) document their collaborations to revise a social work research course to meet his request for accommodations to make options more universally accessible. These revisions are done through reflections from both Chad and Regina from a phenomenological autoethnographic perspective—depicting their lived experiences.     

Pre-service primary teachers’ shame experiences during their schooling time: characteristics and effects on their subject-choices at university

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Emotions play an essential role in pre-service teachers’ competence development, particularly in mathematics. However, the emotion of shame in mathematics...