Distributed delay input shaper design by optimizing smooth kernel functions

The aim of this paper is the development of a general class of input shapers with distributed time delay which leads to retarded spectral properties. The design of the shaper is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem, where response time and robustness, expressed in terms of residual vibrations, are the main objectives. As a part of the optimization formulation, common requirements for input shapers such as non-decreasing step response and unity steady state gain are considered in the design. Moreover, additional optional requirements, such as smoothness of a step response, jerk and even jounce limits can be added to optimization procedure. The resulting problem can be solved using convex optimization techniques. Several illustrative examples are presented in comparison with classical input shaping techniques. Finally, implementation aspects are discussed. The paper is accompanied by an implementation in MATLAB, including a user-friendly interface for the interactive shaper design.     

Teaching and learning in a multilingual Europe: findings from a cross-European study

School classrooms within the EU are multilingual learning environments. The diversity of pupils in classrooms raises significant challenges for teachers, but to date, there are no data from large-scale surveys that compare views within and across European countries. A bespoke questionnaire was designed to examine views of current classroom learning environments with respect to the multilingualism. The questionnaire was piloted and subsequently completed by 2792 teachers across different European countries. Eleven countries provided sufficient data for analyses. Results from structural equation modelling showed that teachers’ attitudes could be reliably measured across Europe with the use of carefully devised questionnaire, whose loading and factor structure remained invariant across countries. Teachers’ views about multilingualism were most challenged by the numbers of children in their classes, not the percentage of multilingual pupils in the class. Countries differed in how they perceived multilingualism, with their differences leading to distinctive country clusters. Gender and education level (elementary vs. secondary) differences were also observed irrespective of country. These findings enhance our understanding of the role that the characteristics of teachers and their classrooms play in a multilingual setting across diverse European settings. The practical relevance of the results and new opportunities for teacher training are discussed.

     

Teacher–student relationship and academic achievement: a cross-lagged longitudinal study on three different age groups

Although the relation between teacher–student relationship and academic achievement has been addressed in many studies, the reciprocal relations between these two constructs have not been explored sufficiently. The aim of the present study was to test three competing models that hypothesized directionality of influence in relations between teacher acceptance, student-perceived teacher support, and academic achievement. Eight hundred sixteen students from 3 different grade levels in Slovenian elementary and secondary schools, covering the age range from late childhood through early-to-middle adolescence, participated in the study at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Structural equation modeling was used. Different models of relations between teacher acceptance, student-perceived teacher support, and academic achievement were analyzed using the cross-lagged panel correlation technique. The results supported the hypothesized reciprocal model, indicating the relation between teacher acceptance and academic achievement in both directions. Student-perceived teacher personal support partially mediates the relation between teacher acceptance and achievement in both directions on the whole sample but not in specific age groups. Finally, we found some age-specific differences in the relations between teacher acceptance, teacher personal support, and achievement.     

Differences between Czech and Slovak economic higher education from 1945 to 1953

This paper discusses the development of economic higher education in Czechoslovakia from 1945 to 1953, ie before the emergence of new economic universities with the same name: University of Economics (Vysoká ?kola ekonomická) in Prague and Bratislava. Its aim is to determine possible similarities and differences in economic education between the Czech lands and Slovakia. Although the paper embraces the issue comprehensively, the main focus is on the comparison of two of the most important colleges, the Commercial College in Prague and Slovak College of Commerce in Bratislava. It concludes and claims that despite the Czechoslovak uniform policy in tertiary education, there were undoubtedly some national differences. Essentially, they stemmed from different networks and the number of economic schools in the Czech lands and Slovakia and from different prior traditions. Overall, Slovaks endeavoured to continue with the preceding development more than Czechs.     

REACTION TIME AND INTELLIGENCE

The limited capacity theory is often cited to account for negative correlations between choice reaction time and different IQ measures. It is claimed, since working memory has strictly limited capacity to process a great amount of vital information and STM information decays if not rehearsed, that speed is an indispensable condition of efficient dealing with cognitive tasks. It ensures good performance before important information is forgotten. In the present experiment a special kind of task was applied‐one which supposedly puts a substantial load on the system of working memory. It was hypothesized that subjects dealing well with this task would also obtain high scores on general ability tests. The data obtained from 48 psychology students in the self‐paced, computer assisted study did not confirm this hypothesis. The data are interpreted as posing a challenge for the limited capacity theory, which must either be reformulated or replaced by better elaborated theoretical constructions.

     

The reasons students choose teaching professions

The purpose of the paper is to present the reasons students at the Faculty of Education in Maribor, Slovenija, chose pedagogy for their study direction, and therefore becoming a teacher. A total 237 second‐year students of the academic year 2003/04 were included in the research. Of the five groups of reasons for choosing this program (altruistic, material, self‐realization and alternative, and reasons arising from aspiration stereotype), students most often asserted self‐realization, including: teaching provides a useful public function for the whole society; as a teacher, I can be an example to children and young people; this profession will give me a chance for professional development during my whole career; and teaching will enable me to use all my abilities (and talents—for example, music, verbal, dancing, etc.) Important differences were found to exist between students of different disciplines.     

Teacher Education in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

Teacher education in Czechoslovakia is part of a unified national provision of education; this covers in‐service as well as pre‐service training. The basis is that of training at Higher education level followed by life‐long upgrading.

The Marxist‐Leninist view is that the quality of the teacher is central to the educational process. Consequently, the initial and in‐service training of the teacher are of paramount importance, and the Czechoslovak system aims at an integrated approach to the entire process. In this process, acquisition of ideological, as well as professional, maturity, is seen as essential. Equally, the teacher must master his chosen discipline (s) in the scientific sense.

Additionally, it is important that the teacher be able to participate actively in the community—in, for example, family education, health care and concern for the environment.

Against this background of goals, the author outlines the Czechoslovak institutional provision for initial training, conditions for enrolment and the process of obtaining a post, before providing an in‐depth examination of the country's provision of in‐service education. A final section emphasises the position of the teacher in society, and specifically in socialist society. The teacher is, quite simply, a key figure and teacher education has to be built around this fact.

Svatopluk S. Petrá?ek is Professor of Education and Director of the European Centre of the Charles University for Further Education of Teachers.     

Teaching about thermal expansion: investigating the effectiveness of a cognitive bridging approach

Background: It is widely known that for many students it is very difficult to correctly predict how thermal expansion affects the appearance of a metal plate with a circular hole. Interviews with school teachers show that the source of this difficulty could stem from the fact that students’ internal visualizations of an arbitrary object’s thermal expansion often boil down to visualizing changes along one dimension only.

Purpose: In this study, we investigated how students’ mental models about one-dimensional expansion can be extended for purposes of running mental simulations about expansion along two dimensions.

Sample: To that end a pretest-posttest quasi-experiment has been conducted, with 100 students in the control group and 95 students in the experimental group.

Design and methods: Whereas control group students received traditional instruction with a focus on formal representations, in the experimental group the students were led to draw an analogy between heating of a straight rod and a circular rod of same length, whereby the internal structure of the rods was represented by springs.

Results: Eventually, it has been found that students from the experimental group were significantly more successful at predicting the effects of thermal expansion, especially within contexts of objects with holes.

Conclusion: Analogies and extreme case reasoning can be effectively used for helping the students to correctly transfer their mental models about one-dimensional expansion to situations that require reasoning about expansion along two dimensions.