Observational learning from animated models: effects of studying–practicing alternation and illusion of control on transfer

Animated models explicating how a problem is solved and why a particular method is chosen are expected to be effective learning tools for novices, especially when abstract cognitive processes or concepts are involved. Cognitive load theory was used to investigate how learners could be stimulated to engage in genuine learning activities. It was hypothesized that illusion of control would impede transfer performance compared to a condition without illusion of control. Moreover, we hypothesized that learners who first studied an animated model and then solved the same problem would perform better on transfer than learners who studied the same animated model twice or who first solved the problem and then studied the animated model. In a 2 × 3 factorial experiment (N = 90) with the factors illusion of control (yes vs. no) and instruction method (study–practice, practice–study, study–study) only the first hypothesis was confirmed. Implications for the design of animated models are discussed.     

Are boys left behind? The evolution of the gender achievement gap in Beijing's middle schools

Using one cohort of 7235 middle school students in Beijing, China, we examined the evolution of the gender achievement gap in middle school. Our study found a more significant female dominance than in U.S. studies: even though boys gradually caught up during middle school, especially in Math and Science, and the gender achievement gap decreased over the distribution of test scores, girls outperformed boys throughout primary and middle school and in each quartile of the performance distribution. As well, girls had a more positive school experience than boys, and boys had a higher dropout rate by the end of middle school. Despite significant gender differences in various important characteristics that have explained the gender achievement gap in the U.S., in our study, primary school test scores seemed to be the only significant source of the gender achievement gap at the end of middle school, indicating the importance of early intervention.     

Teacher development under curriculum reform: a case study of a secondary school in mainland China

In 2003, a curriculum reform of education was initiated in mainland China to improve the quality of senior secondary education. The major purpose of this reform was to move from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach in teaching. In order to find out how teachers coped with the challenges of the reform and how their work was affected, an in-depth study was conducted at a senior secondary school in City B, Guangdong, using qualitative research. While the curriculum reform was found to offer teachers an opportunity for re-professionalisation, teacher development in the sample school was revealed as having changed towards an assigned professionalism. In addition, teaching research officers limited themselves to instruction on practical teaching techniques. Furthermore, the existence of teacher leadership on a subject panel was heavily dependent on the panel head’s leadership style. On the whole, the tendency was for teachers to be explicitly instructed to partake in contrived collegiality and imposed reflection.     

义务教育校际均衡发展研究

义务教育校际差距过大既影响义务教育的健康发展,也违背了教育公平原则。为了解决义务教育校际差距过大问题,国家出台了有关政策,取得了积极效果。但在推进过程中,仍存在若干理论和实践误区。为了更好地促进义务教育校际均衡发展,必须坚持发展理念,树立科学的策略观。     

Pedagogy for Equity: Teaching in a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Three female tenure-track faculty members at a Hispanic-Serving Institution explored how their cultural backgrounds inform their pedagogical approaches toward equity. They drew upon Mills’s (1959) and Collins’s (1993) frameworks to examine how their personal biographies, local social contexts, and broader systemic institutions affect their teaching processes for diverse students. These teaching processes include limiting assumptions about students, encouraging students to consider their own personal biographies in relation to the social world, welcoming students’ multiple modes of expression, serving as role models, and challenging inequities in schooling. They conclude with recommendations for enhancing inclusivity in student learning and faculty development.     

Looking at the keyboard or the monitor: relationship with text production processes

In this paper we explored text production differences in an expository text production task between writers who looked mainly at the keyboard and writers who looked mainly at the monitor. Eye-tracking technology and keystroke-logging were combined to systematically describe and define these two groups in respect of the complex interplay between text production and the reading of one’s own emerging text. Findings showed that monitor gazers typed significantly faster and were more productive writers. They also read their own text more, and they frequently read in parallel with writing. Analysis of fixation durations suggests that more cognitive processing is in use during reading in parallel with writing than during reading in pauses. Keyboard gazers used the left and right cursor keys significantly more. We suggest that this is because they revised their texts in a much more serial mode than monitor gazers. Finally, analysis of the characteristics of the final texts showed no differences between the groups.     

优秀射箭运动员训练及比赛周期唾液Cortisol与SIgA变化的规律性研究

以国家射箭队24名集训队员在集训期和参加国际比赛的唾液Cortisol和SIgA变化作为研究数据,观察训练期和比赛期两者的差异,分析运动员的应激状况,查看比赛期的变化规律,探求合理的干预手段。研究发现：比赛期与训练周期的基础值相比较,运动员的唾液Cortisol上升,而SIgA则下降,其中男运动员在第1、4天升高显著（P〈0.01）,女运动员头3天上升明显（P〈0.01）;男运动员的SIgA在第1天下降明显（P〈0.01）,吃得开女运动员前3天的都有显著下降（P〈0.01）;优秀射箭运动员唾液Cortisol在比赛周期上升,SIgA则下降,两者存在着一定的负相关;男子射箭运动员的应激反应上比女子更加敏感和迅速,女子运动员则表现缓慢而平稳。     

韩山师院校园网设计技术方案

本文介绍了韩山师院校网的设计和建设概况，提出了组建园网的策略和方案。