Diversified professionalism of physical education teachers in the Asian context of Hong Kong

This study investigates the socialization and professional experiences of primary school physical education teachers (PSPETs) in the Asian context of Hong Kong. A qualitative research design is adopted. The researcher used semi-structured interviews, supplemented by documentary sources (diaries) for conducting data collection. Eleven PSPETs participated in this study. Data were analysed through open axial and selective coding. The concepts of organizational sensitivity, sources of satisfaction, dealing with influential persons or critical incidents, status of the profession, educational reform as a trend, and versatile roles are revealed in the theory of ‘Diversified Professionalism’. The substantive theory thus contributes to an increased appreciation of the PSPETs’ work and to the literature on physical education teachers’ professionalization and professionalism.     

The Development and Validation of a Survey for Evaluating Primary Students’ Self-efficacy in STEM Activities

STEM integration has become a popular concept not only in the context of education practices but also as a way of learning. The integration of the STEM domains is evident in students’ learning experiences when engaging in STEM activities. However, there is a lack of instruments for evaluating students’ levels of self-efficacy in these activities. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a survey for evaluating upper primary students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities and to explore whether a student’s gender, grade, and participation in STEM activities predict his or her self-efficacy in STEM activities. A total of 844 fourth- to sixth-grade primary students participated in this study. After pilot testing, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted, the survey was found to have a single-factor structure with high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .90). Linear regression analysis showed that school and out-of-school participation in STEM activities significantly predicted the students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities, while grade and gender did not. The survey developed in this study provides a reliable and valid way to measure students’ self-efficacy in STEM activities. These findings also highlight the importance of encouraging students’ participation in both formal and informal STEM activities.

     

Effectiveness of Multimedia Pedagogical Agents Predicted by Diverse Theories: a Meta-Analysis

Multimedia pedagogical agents are on-screen characters that allow users to navigate or learn in multimedia environments. Several agents’ characteristics may moderate their instructional effectiveness, including appearance, gender, nonverbal communication, motion, and voice. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to test hypotheses from diverse theories predicting the effects of these agents’ characteristics. We tested predictions of cognitive load theory, cognitive theory of multimedia learning, computers are social actors, social agency theory, uncanny valley, and the action observation network. Our meta-analysis of 32 effect sizes (N?=?2104) revealed a small overall effect (g+?=?0.20), showing that learning with multimedia pedagogical agents was more effective than learning without these agents. As predicted by the redundancy effect of cognitive load theory and the coherence principle of cognitive theory of multimedia learning, 2D agents (g+?=?0.38) tended to be more effective than 3D agents (g+?=?0.11). As predicted by the computers are social actors hypothesis, most of the agents’ characteristics, including nonverbal communication, motion, and voice, appeared not to moderate their effectiveness. We conclude that multimedia pedagogical agents help learning through multimedia, and that students may be able to learn similarly from different types of agents.

     

《科学探索者·电与磁》章节复习内容研究

从<科学探索者·电与磁>的章节复习内容分析入手,通过与国内同类型教材相比较,给出了教材章节与复习内容设计的特点,并讨论了习题教学和复习等相关内容.     

Motivation beliefs of secondary school teachers in Canada and Singapore: A mixed methods study

A mixed methods approach was used to explore secondary teachers’ motivation beliefs in Canada and Singapore. Results from Study 1 revealed that socio-economic status (SES) was the strongest predictor of school climate in Canada, and that collective efficacy mediated the effect of SES on school climate in Singapore, but not in Canada. In Study 2, interviews were conducted with 10 teachers in Canada and 14 teachers in Singapore. Teachers in both settings discussed students’ social and behavior problems, but the range of the social problems was greater in Canada than in Singapore, and had a stronger impact on teachers’ motivation beliefs.     

协同治理及其在中国的实现——基于社会资本理论的分析

协同治理是治理社会公共事务的理想模式,社会资本的充分发育则是协同治理得以实现的基础。转型时期中国社会资本“二元并存、发育不良、分布不均”的总体状况严重制约了协同治理的实现。因此,推进中国公共治理结构转型,实现协同治理,必须重构中国社会资本。     

Effect of sport education on students’ perceived physical literacy,motivation, and physical activity levels in university required physical education: a cluster-randomized trial

Higher Education - Originating from the field of physical education, physical literacy is an individual disposition that accentuates the importance of lifelong physical activity. Sport education is...     

Teaching Traditional Chinese Science as a Part of a NOS Curriculum in Hong Kong

Science & Education - Undergraduate courses on the nature of science (NOS) often involve teaching a set of core elements. Without extensive unpacking and reflection, the complexity of those NOS...     

Critical Literacy Practices Within Problem-Based Learning Projects in Science

Interchange - Digital technologies are part of many children’s everyday lives. They use them for entertainment, information seeking and connecting with friends on social media. These shifts...     

利用民间资本发展我国科技风险投资业的研究

本文认为，我国科技风险投资业应当由国有资本为主向民间资本为主转变。在分析利用民间资本发展科技风险投资业现实可行性的基础上，本文构建了四种类型以民间资本为主体的科技风险投资组织模式，并从税收、财政、市场退出、规范管理等方面提出激活民间投资进入科技风险投资业的政策支持措施。