Collaborative Group Work and Individual Development of Metacognition in the Early Years

This paper tracks the individual development of metacognition in two five year old children over an academic year as they engage in a cognitive acceleration through science education programme CASE@KS1. Using qualitative analysis and case study methods it demonstrates how collaborative group work with small children impacts on the development of their individual metacognitive processing. Important variables that facilitate or hinder this development are teased out and relationships between the groups and the individual are analysed. Difficulties with the concept of metacognition and in particular how to assess and measure it are discussed. A framework of analysis based on verbal interactions is developed from the early theories of metacognition and this is combined with an in-depth grounded analysis. This approach provides insight into what we can mean when we speak of young children being metacognitive.     

Progression in learning science

A national curriculum comprising statements of attainment at different levels must be underpinned by some idea of “progression” in learning. Questions arise as to the nature and meaning of progression. To gain a deeper insight into how children progress in their understanding of science, this research involves the construction and testing of a hypothetical learning sequence for the topic of forces. This interim report explains how children aged 7 to 13 are being interviewed to explore their explanations of phenomena involving forces. These explanations will be mapped onto the sequence to provide a multi-dimensional model of progression. Specializations: assessment, curriculum development. Specializations: assessment, investigations in science, progression in learning science.     

Program and institutional predictors of environmental justice inclusion in U.S. post-secondary environmental and sustainability curricula

Environmental justice (EJ) issues and perspectives, which emphasize the disproportionate environmental hazards experienced by low-income communities and communities of color, are often excluded from higher education sustainability discourses and curriculum. Utilizing a national sample of 297 interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability (IES) degree programs, this study identifies program-level values and student racial/ethnic demographics, as well as institutional structural characteristics influencing the inclusion of EJ content in IES curriculum. The findings have important implications for IES curriculum and program development, and racial/ethnic and class dynamics in this emerging field.     

CRIS Power! Taming the Reporting Requirements of Open Access

In the United Kingdom, librarians are adapting their roles to support researchers with the Open Access publication of their research in a post-Finch world, including grappling with reporting requirements at the institutional level. Particularly challenging is the need to provide high-level analysis for strategy makers while also extracting low-level detail for service provision and reporting in order to meet the needs of stakeholders across the university and numerous national external bodies. David Walters of Brunel University London describes how the library maximized its reporting capability by using the research management information in the university’s instance of Symplectic Elements, along with other Open Access data sources to establish the effective management of the institution’s Open Access publications data. Monitoring institutional data in real-time is guiding the development of library services and has allowed library staff to tailor appropriate training to researchers in very different disciplines.     

工程教育的变革与挑战

今天，当我们讨论工程教育时不得不首先谈论工程学。同时，在我们谋划未来的变革之前，我们需要知道：我们从哪里来，现在处在什么位置，以及我们将向何处去。说到工程学，人们必然会说到变革。在这简要的论述之后，我将探讨工程教育的含义。我也将告诉你们一些伦塞勒理工学院     

Importance of Biology in Environmental Education

One of the aims in the Singapore Green Plan is to maintain a more proactive and environmentally conscious population. This can be met through the education of the people. The Plan recognises that one of the most important target groups is the student population. For this to be achieved, a case can be made for the teaching of biology as a core subject in both the primary and secondary schools. According to the Biological Science Inquiry Model, a teaching model designed for instructing and nurturing the learning process of students, a good foundation in biology will enable students to be more open minded, more inquiring into related issues and apply biological principles to rationalise such issues. A good grounding in biology will therefore help students to have a better understanding of environmental issues as these issues are extensively related to biological principles. This can be illustrated by the ten issues concerning the global environment highlighted at the United Nations Conference on the Environment in June 1992. Through a systematic discussion of each of these issues, this paper illustrates the importance of biological knowledge in understanding the problems, implications and consequences of these issues.     

Home and School Support for Gifted Children

GIFTED EDUCATION programs typically underrepresent children from minority ethnic and low income backgrounds. In this study, uncommon screening measures were used to identify an equity sample of 68 potentially gifted youngsters in the United States who would participate in a summer institute. The instruction offered these preschool and primary grade students was complimented by a learning component for their parents. A common and differentiated curriculum was developed for Anglo and Hispanic parents based on their expressed expectations regarding child development. Findings show that schools can serve communities better when opportunities for growth are provided to parents as well as their children.