High School Students’ Informal Reasoning Regarding a Socio‐scientific Issue,with Relation to Scientific Epistemological Beliefs and Cognitive Structures

This study investigated the relationship among 68 high school students’ scientific epistemological beliefs (SEBs), cognitive structures regarding nuclear power usage, and their informal reasoning regarding this issue. Moreover, the ability of students’ SEBs as well as their cognitive structures for predicting their informal reasoning regarding this issue was also examined. The participants’ SEBs were assessed with a quantitative instrument; their cognitive structures were assessed through tape‐recorded interviews and were further analyzed with the ‘flow map method’; their reasoning regarding nuclear power usage was assessed with an open‐ended questionnaire; and, then, their responses were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. It was revealed that students’ beliefs about the justification of scientific knowledge (an aspect of the beliefs on the nature of knowing science) were significantly correlated with their reasoning quality; the extent and the richness of students’ cognitive structures as well as their usage of the information processing mode, ‘comparing,’ were positively correlated with their reasoning quality. A series of regression analyses further confirmed that students’ use of the information processing mode, ‘comparing,’ was the most significant factor for predicting reasoning quality, while their beliefs regarding the justification of scientific knowledge was the other important predictor.     

对大学健康教育体系的研究

通过调查研究 ,分析了我国高校实施健康教育的现状及存在的认识不足、内容和方式方法简单、组织实施不规范等问题 ,进而构建了大学健康教育的目标、内容、途径和方法体系 ,以及管理机制。为强化高校健康教育工作 ,提出了新的发展思路和基本框架。     

The Project on Innovative Teaching Methods — An Overview

Over the past several years, the education system in Singapore has undergone very significant and far-reaching changes, especially in terms of the programmes and resources available to teachers and pupils. New textbooks and teaching materials have been introduced into the schools by the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS). Within the Institute of Education (IE), teacher education programmes for pre-service trainees and in-service teachers have also undergone review and change to meet new needs and expectations.     

Simplification and improvement of prediction model for elastic modulus of particulate reinforced metal matrix composite

1 Introduction a Elastic modulus is an important index to reflect the resistance of a composite against deformation under an applied force. Elastic modulus measurement of a composite is restricted by some factors, for instance, test samples need to confor…     

Courseware development with animated pedagogical agents in learning system to improve learning motivation

The addition of animated pedagogical agents (APAs) in computer-assisted learning (CAL) systems could successfully enhance students' learning motivation and engagement in learning activities. Conventionally, the APA incorporated multimedia materials are constructed through the cooperation of teachers and software programmers. However, the thinking and technical gap between two roles, a concept/content provider (teacher) and an implementer (software programmer), may lead to the concept distortion and loss in the final teaching material implementations. This often results in preventing a teacher from preparing his or her own APA-based multimedia learning systems. This study aims to develop a courseware to facilitate the CAL through the combination of the two roles into a single one and then teachers can use it freely by themselves. The courseware can help teachers to develop appropriate multimedia instructional materials incorporating APAs, which attracts students' attention and enhances their interest in learning. Furthermore, in this study two separate trial experiments were conducted to measure the teachers' satisfaction with the courseware and students' learning motivation after using APA-based multimedia learning systems. The results show that the participating teachers were satisfied with the courseware and would like to apply it in their instruction. Moreover, the participating students were strongly motivated by the customized APA-based multimedia learning systems. Therefore, the proposed courseware could give teachers a good opportunity to add pedagogical value to the curriculum, so that students' learning interest and motivation could be enhanced.     

Dynamic processes of conceptual change: Analysis of constructing mental models of chemical equilibrium

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' mental models of chemical equilibrium using dynamic science assessments. Research in chemical education has shown that students at various levels have misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. According to Chi's theory of conceptual change, the concept of chemical equilibrium has constraint‐based features (e.g., random, simultaneous, uniform activities) that might prevent students from deeply understanding the nature of the concept of chemical equilibrium. In this study, we examined how students learned and constructed their mental models of chemical equilibrium in a cognitive apprenticeship context. Thirty 10th‐grade students participated in the study: 10 in a control group and 20 in a treatment group. Both groups were presented with a series of hands‐on chemical experiments. The students in the treatment group were instructed based on the main features of cognitive apprenticeship (CA), such as coaching, modeling, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration. However, the students in the control group (non‐CA group) learned from the tutor without explicit CA support. The results revealed that the CA group significantly outperformed the non‐CA group. The students in the CA group were capable of constructing the mental models of chemical equilibrium—including dynamic, random activities of molecules and interactions between molecules in the microworld—whereas the students in the non‐CA group failed to construct similar correct mental models of chemical equilibrium. The study focuses on the process of constructing mental models, on dynamic changes, and on the actions of students (such as self‐monitoring/self‐correction) who are learning the concept of chemical equilibrium. Also, we discuss the implications for science education. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 688–712, 2002     

Terminus Amnesia: Cherokee Freedmen,Citizenship, and Education

In 2007, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma amended its constitution to limit membership to only those who can trace lineal descent to an individual listed as Cherokee by Blood on the final Dawes Rolls. This exercise of sovereignty paradoxically ties the Dawes Rolls, the colonial instruments used to divide the lands and peoples of the Cherokee Nation, and self-determination. In the process, it effectively disenrolls Cherokee Freedmen, the descendants of Blacks enslaved by the Cherokee Nation. In this article, we explore the implications of this history in the context of self-determination and sovereignty, particularly looking at the influence of colorism on the Dawes Rolls and its ongoing effects. Our goal is to share a piece of history that is often obscured or unknown; to explore how and to what extent the exercise of self-determination and sovereignty in Indigenous nations is impacted by colorism; and finally to consider implications for practice created by the disenfranchisement of peoples from Indigenous nations.     

One for Nine Ten: Cataloging for Consortia Collections,a UC model

ABSTRACT

In January 2000, the University of California created the Shared Cataloging Program (SCP). Based at the University of California, San Diego, the SCP is a “centralized cataloging model” for the California Digital Library consortium collections. This article will take an evolutionary look at the perpetual challenges of sustaining a consortial cataloging model and highlight the efforts of the SCP in the ongoing quest to eliminate the redundancy of efforts by centralizing the optimization of cataloging efficiency.