Retrieval Practice Enhances Analogical Problem Solving

The impact of retrieval practice on analogical-problem-solving performance was investigated using a complex, educationally relevant task. Participants studied a statistical hypothesis testing scenario and practiced recalling the material or repeatedly studied it. Participants then completed a final test either 5 minutes or 1 week later involving a novel hypothesis-testing scenario that shared an intermediate procedural strategy and superficial and structural similarity with the study scenario but that differed at a specific procedure level. When the final test was given after 5 minutes, no differences in performance were observed across conditions (d = 0.01). Crucially, on the delayed test, retrieval practice produced superior performance than did repeated studying (d = 0.81), whereby participants were better at applying learned knowledge to solve a novel problem.     

How do teachers learn together? A study of school-based teacher learning in China from the perspective of organisational learning

Studies of professional development have examined the influence of school-based approaches on in-service teacher learning and change but have seldom investigated teachers’ job-embedded learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in school-based settings. A qualitative comparative case study based on the framework of organisational learning was conducted to analyse the ways that 17 teachers from two school-based communities in a secondary school in Shanghai, China, experienced learning through various learning activities. The findings showed that the two group teachers had actively developed implementation-oriented and experimentation-oriented processes of learning. The former process is referred to as exploitation learning. Exploitation learning helps teachers by creating a stable environment to learn the existing knowledge and norms of practice of a school organisation. The latter process is referred to as exploration learning. Exploration or exploratory learning provides a platform for new knowledge construction aimed at improving existing practices in a more radical way. Teachers’ perceptions of and participation in school-based learning activities shape their learning experiences in different ways. Specifically, the support of school leaders is necessary to promote teachers’ exploratory learning in school-based settings. However, the leadership strategies that best support teachers’ learning require further investigation.     

中国文化与学校道德领导

中国文化历来重视领导价值，并以道德背景作为储备领导的条件。近年来，“道德领导”这一领导模式在英语国家引起了广泛关注。中国文化传统对学校领导实践的影响为领导理论、尤其是教育领导理论提供了一个本土视角。     

Contextual Impact on Educational Management and Leadership

From the early 1950s until the late 1970s China adopted a closed-door policy. It went its own way in its socio-economic and political development until the early 1980s when China opened up to the world again. After this, more researchers from outside visited schools in China and began to realize how the highly centralized school system was different from the West. What was perhaps surprising was that the Chinese had developed a number of features similar to current theorizing on sustainable systems promoted recently in western cultures. This essay studies some of those features and explores their possible causes and influence. Two case studies are included to illustrate how decision-making was affected.     

Aspects of Mathematical Understanding

“Teaching for understanding” is often considered to be an important educational objective. For instance, the Singapore Elementary Mathematics Syllabus (1981) states that “… pupils should know and understand mathematical ideas and principles, including the techniques and skills in mathematical computation” (p.2). As the computer is used more frequently in education and society, the aim of education should shift from training for specific skills to understanding. However, “understanding” may mean different things to different people. This paper provides an analysis of the concept of understanding and reports on a survey about mathematical understanding.     

The International Baccalaureate: international education and cultural preservation

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an internationally accepted pre-university qualification which, since its origins in the 1960s, has increased in popularity to the point where it is now offered in more than 70 countries worldwide. As a university entrance qualification accepted internationally, it aims not only to provide an appropriate academic curriculum, but also to support geographic and cultural mobility and to promote international understanding. It claims to do so by both inculcating international attitudes in its students and by encouraging the maintenance and development of their cultural identities. This study examines the extent to which the IB actually appears to achieve these aims, by exploring the views of an opportunity sample of ex-IB students, IB teachers and staff at the University of Bath who have direct experience of the IB programme. The findings indicate that the IB can clearly facilitate mobility and can contribute to the development of international understanding, whilst at the same time supporting the preservation of individual cultures and national identities, provided contextual factors are appropriately arranged.     

The Ph.D. versus the Ed.D.: Time for a decision

In this study, U.S. institutions that offer doctoral programs in education were surveyed and institutional catalogues of the past decade were reviewed to determine trends regarding the Ph.D. versus the Ed.D. Results of the study showed that (a) there is no clear institutional movement toward one degree title or the other; (b) research universities are increasingly reluctant and comprehensive colleges and universities are increasingly likely to offer the Ed.D. as their only doctoral degree title, and (c) requirements for the two doctoral titles are remarkably similar, including competencies in research and statistics. Findings are discussed in relation to three common positions of those who favor the Ed.D. over the Ph.D.: (a) the professional school argument, (b) the unification argument, and (c) the autonomy argument. The article concludes with a call for increased national dialogue to strengthen the education profession by reducing confusion between its two doctoral degree titles.Russell T. Osguthorpe, Associate Dean of Brigham Young University's College of Education, has done research in special education, instructional design and technology, and teacher education. He is presently responsible for graduate programs, research, and technology in the College. Dr. Osguthorpe received his education at Brigham Young University. Mei Jiuan Wong, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Instructional Science, Brigham Young University, has done research on instructional design and technology and teacher education. She is currently completing her dissertation on decision making in instructional design.     

LX—286和单片机组成的分层分布式实时监控系统

本文介绍由LX—286系统机和MCS—96系列单片机组成1:5分层分布实时监控系统,主要阐述IBM ROM BIOS扩充扩展内存中断调用通讯,多机通讯,RTU远方终端装置及其软件构成。