Integrating Video Documentary Into the Classroom: A Community Assessment Assignment

Community assessment is a strategy commonly taught to social work students to identify a community’s strengths and challenges. This article describes the value of using video documentary as part of a community assessment assignment. We identify the advantages of using video documentary in the assessment process and the reporting of findings. We discuss the preproduction, production, and postproduction steps necessary to produce a video documentary and illustrate how such assignments can be incorporated into a social work course. We conclude by identifying the educational benefits accrued to students.     

The assessment of severely intellectually disabled students

In 1995 it became mandatory to establish individual educational plans (IEPs) for children with special educational needs in the Swedish compulsory school. On the basis of the pupils' needs, such a plan should contain information about the pupils' school situation and performance, the class, teaching etc. The aim of this article was to study how special educational needs are defined and described and what support measures the school is suggesting, using IEPs from a sample of Swedish compulsory schools. Our study is based on an analysis of IEPs for pupils with special educational needs in the nine‐year compulsory school in a municipality in northern Sweden. A strategic selection of three compulsory schools was made and we restricted the study to grades 3, 6 and 9. The method used to analyse the IEPs was content analysis. Using different theories within the field of special education and disability studies, we have tried to discern to what extent the problems described, and the proposed measures (intervention), are related to predetermined theoretical models of disability and special needs education. Our analysis indicates that difficulties are predominantly attributed to the pupils' shortcomings and individual characteristics, and the same holds for the recommended measures. Another interesting finding is that a number of the plans were established without involving the parents, and many of them did not even know that their child had an IEP. Finally, we discuss our findings in relation to different research traditions within the field of special education.     

Science Classroom Interactions and Academic Language Use with English Learners

Academic language is critical for English learners (ELs) to succeed in the science classroom. This study analyzed the instructional practices centered around academic language taking place in eight, fifth-grade classrooms during a grant-funded project. Observational data collected through a classroom observation instrument were analyzed to describe and compare the instructional practices occurring in treatment and control classrooms when teachers and students used academic language. Our findings show both treatment and control classrooms using academic language during the course of the intervention study, but the instruction looked markedly different in each setting. These differences provide valuable insight for practitioners and researchers concerned with the academic language development of ELs in science classrooms.     

An Onto-Semiotic Analysis of Combinatorial Problems and the Solving Processes by University Students

In this paper we describe an ontological and semiotic model for mathematical knowledge, using elementary combinatorics as an example. We then apply this model to analyze the solving process of some combinatorial problems by students with high mathematical training, and show its utility in providing a semiotic explanation for the difficulty of combinatorial reasoning. We finally analyze the implications of the theoretical model and type of analysis presented for mathematics education research and practice.     

What is the meaning of special education? Problem representations in Swedish policy documents: late 1970s–2014

In Sweden, as in many other countries, inclusion has been on the political agenda for a long time and has served as a blueprint and guiding principle for practical work in school. However, inclusive education has, by and large, been associated with special education measures, which seriously limit the chances of achieving the vision of inclusion. In this article, we analyse how the meaning of special education is constructed in policy documents from four distinct time periods of Swedish education policy from the late 1970s to 2014. The paper draws on an approach to scrutinise the process of problematisation in public policy-making. Based on the analysis, we argue that there are prospects of a hegemonic intervention regarding the meaning of special education during later years in Swedish education policy, emphasising an individual perspective and individual deficiencies. In contrast to inclusive ambitions, this perspective advocate segregated support measures. Finally, based on previous research and tendencies within the field, we present arguments in the concluding discussion why this hegemonic intervention in education policy also might attract the support of school personnel at the local school level and some potential consequences of the expansion of special education in Sweden.     

Exploring Engineering instructors’ views about writing and online tools to support communication in Engineering

To be fully prepared for the professional workplace, Engineering students need to be able to effectively communicate. However, there has been a growing concern in the field about students’ preparedness for this aspect of their future work. It is argued that online writing tools, to engage numbers of students in the writing process, can support feedback on and development of writing in engineering on a larger scale. Through interviews and questionnaires, this study explores engineering academics’ perceptions of writing to better understand how online writing tools may be integrated into their teaching. Results suggest that writing is viewed positively in the discipline, but it is not believed to be essential to success in engineering. Online writing tools were believed to support a larger number of students, but low knowledge of the tools limited academics’ understanding of their usefulness in teaching and learning. Implications for innovation in undergraduate teaching are discussed.     

General synthesis of 2D rare-earth oxide single crystals with tailorable facets

Two-dimensional (2D) rare-earth oxides (REOs) are a large family of materials with various intriguing applications and precise facet control is essential for investigating new properties in the 2D limit. However, a bottleneck remains with regard to obtaining their 2D single crystals with specific facets because of the intrinsic non-layered structure and disparate thermodynamic stability of different facets. Herein, for the first time, we achieve the synthesis of a wide variety of high-quality 2D REO single crystals with tailorable facets via designing a hard-soft-acid-base couple for controlling the 2D nucleation of the predetermined facets and adjusting the growth mode and direction of crystals. Also, the facet-related magnetic properties of 2D REO single crystals were revealed. Our approach provides a foundation for further exploring other facet-dependent properties and various applications of 2D REO, as well as inspiration for the precise growth of other non-layered 2D materials.     

On nonlinear systems diagnosis using differential and algebraic methods

In this paper we tackle the diagnosis problem in nonlinear systems under failure using differential algebra. Three examples are presented in order to apply the proposed methodology. Numerical simulations of these examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the suggested approach.     

高水平乒乓球运动员有力臂最大等长收缩力的评估

乒乓球是使用单侧上肢的一项运动,其特征是要进行重复多次高速且具爆发力的动作,无氧乳酸酵解代谢能力占有重要作用.研究对象与方法男女高水平乒乓球运动员(n=31).采用Takei5101握力计测量单侧上肢有力型和非单侧上肢有力型运动员的上肢最大等长收缩力.18名男运动员(平均年龄23.5±5.4岁)和13名女运动员(平均年龄21.3±3.3岁)均为西班牙乒乓球协会的国家联盟成员.采用SPSS v12.0 for windows和Excel v10.2软件包进行数据统计分析.研究结果发现无论男女运动员单侧上肢有力型的最大等长收缩力均高于非单侧上肢有力型,而左势手女运动员与右势手女运动员相比、右势手男运动员与左势手男运动员相比,单侧上肢有力型的最大等长收缩力均高于非单侧上肢有力型.研究还发现进攻型运动员与防守型运动员相比,单侧上肢有力型的最大等长收缩力高于非单侧上肢有力型.分析与讨论无论男女,单侧上肢有力型运动员手握力高于非单侧上肢有力型运动员.男性运动员比女性运动员的等长收缩力高,一个可以解释的事实是男性有更高的睾酮水平.肌肉力量不平衡可能发展成为脊柱侧弯姿态,这应该通过适当的力量和柔韧性训练来避免,以防止将来的运动损伤和运动成绩的下降.