Solving Problems in Genetics II: Conceptual restructuring

This paper presents the results of part of an investigation carried out with fourth‐level Spanish secondary education students (15 years old), in which we implemented a teaching unit based on problem‐solving methodology as an investigation to teach genetics and human inheritance curricular contents. By solving open problems, the students experienced a conceptual restructuring that stayed with them over time and involved the following specific theories: the location of hereditary information, the transmission of hereditary information, and the appearance of new characteristic. The learning connections between these specific theories were also studied. Furthermore, these results were compared with a control group that worked with closed problems, the usual approach to genetics teaching in Spanish classrooms. Consequently, we were able to verify that our methodology results in better learning.     

Why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ is a myth

The often-used phrase ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ implies a flat-surfaced Tibet rose as a coherent entity, and that uplift was driven entirely by the collision and northward movement of India. Here, we argue that these are misconceptions derived in large part from simplistic geodynamic and climate modeling, as well as proxy misinterpretation. The growth of Tibet was a complex process involving mostly Mesozoic collisions of several Gondwanan terranes with Asia, thickening the crust and generating complex relief before the arrival of India. In this review, Earth system modeling, paleoaltimetry proxies and fossil finds contribute to a new synthetic view of the topographic evolution of Tibet. A notable feature overlooked in previous models of plateau formation was the persistence through much of the Cenozoic of a wide east–west orientated deep central valley, and the formation of a plateau occurred only in the late Neogene through compression and internal sedimentation.     

“You can't play marbles—you have a wooden hand”: Communication with the handicapped 1

The influence of being in a mainstreamed class on nonhandicapped children's abilities to communicate with the handicapped was investigated in this two‐year study. The results indicate that both nonhandicapped and handicapped children have difficulty communicating with handicapped peers. Being in a mainstreamed class has no impact on the nonhandicapped children. No differences were discovered between children studied at the conclusion of the first or second years of the mainstreaming program.     

Possibility thinking: culminative studies of an evidence-based concept driving creativity?

The authors have, for some years, studied the concept of ‘possibility thinking’ (PT), or ‘what if’ and ‘as if’ thinking in children aged 3–11, which generates novelty – and the pedagogical strategies which foster it. They have argued, on the basis of previous qualitative studies, that ‘PT’ is at the core of creativity in education. Having begun as a conceptual study for 7 years, this team has undertaken empirical studies of PT in classrooms. This paper discusses findings from the third phase of empirical work focusing on 9- to 11-year olds. The particular research question addressed here is ‘What characterises possibility thinking as manifest in the learning engagement of children aged 9–11?’. In a small-scale qualitative study, involving co-participation with teachers, the paper features episode analysis of naturalistic video data featuring children aged 9–11 in two schools. It focuses on PT evidenced by children engaged in a range of classroom activities, some established as individual activities and others as group work. The study reveals some features of PT in both sites (question-posing [Q-P], question-responding [Q-R], self-determination, intentional action, development, being imaginative, play/playfulness, immersion and innovation) to differing degrees of strength. Risk-taking was absent in both and a new feature, collaboration, evident in both. Differences were documented in how Q-P and Q-R manifest, compared with earlier studies with younger children. This study seeks to make an evidence-based contribution to the characterisation of PT as driving creativity in the classroom, with implications for research and practice.     

Teaching planning or sentence-combining strategies: Effective SRSD interventions at different levels of written composition

This study tested the effectiveness of two strategy-focused interventions aimed at promoting fifth and sixth graders’ opinion essay writing. Over 12 weekly 90-min lessons, two groups of 48 and 39 students received, respectively, planning and sentence-combining instruction, which followed the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model. These intervention groups were compared with a practice control group of 39 students receiving standard writing instruction. The following main findings were noteworthy: (a) planning and sentence-combining instruction enhanced planning and sentence-construction skills, respectively; (b) both interventions increased opinion essay quality and text length; (c) planning instruction enhanced not only discourse-level writing but also some sentence- and word-level aspects of composition; (d) sentence-combining instruction enhanced not only sentence- and word-level writing but also some discourse-level aspects of composition; (e) after instruction, there was a correlation between self-efficacy and writing quality in both intervention groups; and (f) planning, but not sentence-combining, instructional effects generalized to summary writing.     

Problemática psicopedagógica de la formación profesional

Resumen

Pretendemos analizar la situación en que se encuentra el muchacho de 16 años que termina la formación profesional de primer grado y quiere empezar a trabajar. El analisis se situa en la problematica psicopedagogica que representa la F.P. cuando dice preparar para la formación personal, para proseguir estudios, una vez realizados los dos cursos iniciales, a niveles superiores de B.U.P. y también respecto a la formación profesional especifica, que inserta en el mundo del trabajo.     

A Review of Research Concerning the Implementation of Site‐Based Management∗

Seventy‐seven empirical and case studies of the implementation of school‐based management (SBM) reported between 1985 and 1995 are reviewed in order to determine obstacles typically encountered in the early to middle stages of such implementation and promising strategies for dealing with them. Results are reported in terms of obstacles relevant to teachers, principals, parents and the wider community, site councils, schools as a whole, and district administrators. These results are discussed in terms of the potential role for SBM in the creation of “high involvement” schools.