Beyond inductive and deductive reasoning: The search for a sense of knowing

Examination of data from several mathematics education research projects has led the author to postulate a form of mathematical reasoning that learners engage in spontaneously and that is not inherently inductive or deductive. Transformational reasoning is generated through the learner's inquiry into how a mathematical system works. This sense of how it works may lead to a sense of understanding that may not be provided by inductive and deductive reasoning.     

Inklusion – Interdisziplinäre Kritik und Perspektiven von Begriff und Gegenstand

The term and schope ‘inclusion’ features prominently in public, political and pedagogical discussion. However, from an academic point in view there is neither a clear understanding of the term, nor it is clarified how the partially contradictory ideas of inclussion as a social principle and inclusion in its realisation in the field of education are related to one another. The article clarifies the term of inclusion by an interdisciplinary academic reflection of the normative settings and single patterns of logic. Therefore, the relationship between ideal and the reality is elaborated by referring to an ethical and philosophical body of thought. Then educational theory is used to reconsider how inclusive principle of the school system can be understood. Finally, implementation measures of the inclusive principle and the aporia linked with them are discussed, amongst others referring to discourses in sociology, school pedagogy and school psychology. Academic perspectives and profession-related implications are discussed using the example of teacher education.     

Extinction of enhanced latent inhibition

Hungry rats were used in a classical conditioning procedure in which visual stimuli were paired with food. Conditions in which nonreinforced exposure to a nontarget stimulus was followed by exposure to a simultaneous compound nontarget/target stimulus (a blocking procedure) resulted in enhanced latent inhibition to the target relative to exposure to the nontarget, followed by exposure to the target stimulus alone. A third phase of nonreinforced exposure training, in which the target was exposed alone following the compound, reduced levels of latent inhibition relative to results obtained with the blocking procedure. Experiments also suggested that this was not the result of restoration of associability by the omission of an expected presentation of the nontarget stimulus in the final preexposure phase. These results suggest that enhanced latent inhibition is due to summation of a direct-target-no-event association and a second-order association of these elements via target-nontarget and nontarget-no-event association. Exposure to the target after compound exposure extinguished the target-nontarget association and reduced the sources of no-event learning for the target.     

从大众高等教育到普及高等教育

新信息技术的发展要求对普及高等教育的本质进行反思 ,并对其所需条件的认识进行更新 ,这涉及到高等教育制度结构和对待高等教育态度的深刻变革。精英形式的高等教育需进行重新定位。本文在比较的背景下主要分析了美国及欧洲社会的高等教育在走向普及形式的过程中面临危机的原因 ,认为美国特有的结构特征和文化特征赋予了其独特优势。而技术发展的不确定性及各国经济、社会结构的差异性决定了通过新技术扩大入学机会将采取不断实验的方式进行     

A performance technologist's approach to process performance improvement

Process performance management provides detailed understanding of the design of a process to improve performance. This article highlights a process performance model aligned with the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) steps of the Six Sigma model, but with additional substeps to guide process improvement. It thus identifies process improvement as one of the key tools in the performance technologist's toolkit and provides recommendations for methods, practices, and tools.     

Adult-child interaction in children’s learning from “Sesame Street”

This study examined whether children’s learning from “Sesame Street” could be improved by having adults ask the children questions and provide them with feedback while they watched the show. Subjects were 23 three- and four-year-old, white, middle-class children who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Children in both conditions watched three specially edited versions of “Sesame Street” with an adult. While they did so, children in the experimental condition were asked to name the letters and numbers shown on the programs. Results indicated that 3 days after watching the last program, children in the experimental condition were better able to name and identify the letters and numbers they had seen (p < .01). Three features of the experimental treatment that may have contributed to these results are discussed, as are the implications of the findings.     

Notes on Classroom Practice and the Ownership and Use of Personal Computers Amongst Egyptian Science and Mathematics Teachers

This paper reports a study of the acquisition and use of personal computers by Egyptian science and mathematics teachers. Self-report data was collected from the same teachers on how they had changed their classroom activities and professional practice since their return to Egypt following a twelve-week in-service course in the United Kingdom. The data from this sample of teachers is compared with that from a second sample, who also attended the same in-service programme, but did not report the purchase of a personal computer. Analysis indicates that the Egyptian teachers with personal computers have tended to concentrate on improving the quality of current practice, through better preparation and student testing, rather than introducing major, paradigmatic, changes to their teaching.     

Preparing preservice teachers to use computers effectively in elementary schools

Abstract

Computers and computer software have become integral components of the elementary school curriculum. Classroom teachers often express concern about the inadequate training they receive in the use of technology in the classroom. To meet the needs of future teachers, three university professors added issues related to using technology with young children to existing courses for elementary education majors. In addition, they introduced criteria for evaluating software and gave students opportunities to select software for instruction. After completing the courses, students were more comfortable with using computers, felt more competent about reviewing software, and were more aware of the issues related to using technology for instruction.