自然科学与人文科学大数据——第六届中德前沿探索圆桌会议综述

大数据是知识经济时代的战略高地,是国家和全球的新型战略资源。作为思维的革命性创新,大数据为科学研究带来了新的方法论。第六届中德前沿探索圆桌会议以"自然科学与人文科学大数据"为主题,在"生物医药大数据"、"物理、化学与地球科学领域大数据"、"人文与社会科学领域大数据"和"大数据处理技术与方法"4个领域进行研讨,总结了大数据对于科学发现的重要作用、意义以及面临的重大问题,形成了关于发展科学大数据研究的相关建议。     

Teachers’ beliefs, instructional behaviors, and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures

This study investigated the relations between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers’ instructional behaviors and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures were assessed by means of student ratings. Teachers’ beliefs about using texts with instructional pictures in their teaching were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the more teachers believed that students should be taught clear strategies on how to learn from texts with instructional pictures the more engagement was reported by their students. A multilevel mediation model showed that the association between teachers’ beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement was mediated by teachers’ perceived instructional behavior.     

Discipline orientations of pre‐service teachers before and after student teaching

This study examined the classroom discipline orientations of pre‐service elementary teachers both before and after the student teaching experience. Prior to beginning and immediately after completing their full‐time student teaching experience, pre‐service teachers (N = 220) from three southeastern universities in the USA completed a discipline belief instrument which identified their preferred model of classroom discipline. The results showed that the student teaching experience significantly increased beginning teachers’ preferences toward a more assertive discipline model (Rules and Consequences) and decreased their preferences toward the humanistic discipline model (Relationship–Listening). These results demonstrate that the student teaching experience may be creating a dissonance in prior knowledge and beliefs, and experiences of pre‐service teachers in classrooms. The results of the study suggest that teacher education programs can help pre‐service teachers transition more smoothly into classroom teaching by providing a school–university partnership as well as more lessons and advice on handling specific classroom management situations.     

Prediction of academic performance prior to intersections within a multi-tiered school system

Diagnostic information is a centrepiece of educational decision making. Far-reaching decisions like placements within multi-tiered school systems may have a huge long-term impact on the achieved level of education. Therefore, such decisions should be substantiated or complemented by objective and prognostically valid information. To this end, we assessed academic self-concept, reading comprehension, orthographic abilities, and geometric and problem-solving skills prior to the selection of subsequent school forms in Grade 4 in order to model the pedagogical decisions of the teachers (Lenhard, Hasselhorn, & Schneider, 2011 Lenhard, W., Hasselhorn, M., & Schneider, W. (2011). Kombiniertes Leistungsinventar zur allgemeinen Schulleistung und für Schullaufbahnempfehlungen in der vierten Klassen (KLASSE 4) [Combined performance inventory for the determination of school performancy and schooling recommendations in Grade 4]. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe. [Google Scholar]). The article describes the longitudinal results of an independent sample of 76 students and how well their academic performance was predicted 18?months later by the psychometric approach compared to teacher recommendations. Standardized tests had a high prognostic validity and predicted the choice of higher educational levels in subsequent school years. Teachers were more successful in determining grouping decisions for students with lower educational attainments.     

Editorial

WAPOR's Berlin conference in September 2007 has produced importantnews for this journal. The WAPOR Council and the PublicationsCommittee Chair have nominated Peter Neijens of the Universityof Amsterdam as Editor, along with Wolfgang Donsbach and MichaelW. Traugott, who will continue their work for the journal. TheEditors then decided to charge Peter Neijens with the responsibilitiesof the journal's Managing Editor. At the time of writing, Peter     

The Max Planck Guest Laboratory at the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology

It has become a unique link between Europe and China in the field of modern biology and has fulfilled its purpose not only in science education, but also with respect to establishing reliable contacts between Europe and China.     

Longitudinal effects of verbal ability,memory capacity,and phonological awareness on reading performance

This study addresses the longitudinal relationship among verbal ability, memory capacity, phonological awareness, and reading performance. Data from 92 German children were used to explore the exact relation among these variables. Indicators of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness were assessed in kindergarten and again after the first grade. The interrelationships among these factors, and the subsequent influence they have on decoding speed and reading comprehension during the second grade were examined via structural equation modeling procedures. Overall, the results of the longitudinal analyses show that the relationship of memory capacity and phonological awareness remains stable over time, and that memory capacity predicts performance on phonological awareness tasks in both kindergarten and second grade. Phonological awareness proved to be a significant predictor of decoding speed, which in turn considerably influenced reading comprehension.