Teaching and learning in microsystems engineering

Whereas research in MicroSystems Technology (MST) has grown rapidly over the last twenty years, the education of engineers at postgraduate level is still in its infancy. The number of dedicated MST research institutions, companies and university laboratories worldwide has grown at a dramatic rate and all require trained individuals who can be immediately operational in the workplace. With the possible exceptions of Germany and Switzerland, the authors of this article believe that the training requirements for such scientists, engineers and technicians have not been satisfactorily addressed as yet. Realising the need for adequate training in MST, the British funding agency for research in science and engineering, the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) awarded a substantial grant to Heriot-Watt University in order to set up a Masters Training Package (MTP). The context of this grant, the syllabus developed for this Master of Science as well as its implementation are presented in this article. Advantages and drawbacks of block-based delivery of the course are presented from a pedagogical point of view for the different categories of students (full-time students, part-time students and company delegates).     

The inadequacy of individual educational program (IEP) goals for high school students with word-level reading difficulties

This investigation analyzed goals from the Individual Educational Programs (IEPs) of 54 high school students with diagnosed reading disabilities in basic skills (decoding and/or word identification). Results showed that for 73% of the students, the IEPs written when they were in high school failed to specify any objectives regarding their acute difficulties with basic skills. IEPs from earlier points in the students’ educations were also reviewed, as available. For 23 of the students, IEPs were present in the students’ files for three time points: elementary school (ES), middle school (MS), and high school (HS). Another 20 students from the sample of 54 had IEPs available for two time points (HS and either MS or ES). Comparisons with the IEPs from younger years showed a pattern of decline from ES to MS to HS in the percentage of IEPs that commented on or set goals pertaining to weaknesses in decoding. These findings suggest that basic skills deficits that persist into the upper grade levels are not being sufficiently targeted for remediation, and help explain why older students frequently fail to resolve their reading problems.     

The Talking Drawings Strategy: Using Primary Children’s Illustrations and Oral Language to Improve Comprehension of Expository Text

Listening and reading comprehension can be assessed by analyzing children’s visual, verbal, and written representations of their understandings. “Talking Drawings” (McConnell, S. (1993). Talking drawings: A strategy for assisting learners. Journal of Reading, 36(4), 260–269 is one strategy that enables children to combine their prior knowledge with the new information derived from an expository text and “translate” those newly-acquired understandings into other symbol systems, including an oral discussion with a partner, a more detailed drawing, and written labels for the drawing. The Talking Drawings strategy begins by inviting children to create pre-learning drawings. These initial drawings are a way of taking inventory of a child’s current content knowledge about a particular topic. After pre-learning drawings are created and shared, children listen to or read an expository text (e.g., information book, passage from a textbook) on the same topic as their drawing. Pairs of students discuss the information and either modify their pre-learning drawings to be more detailed or create completely new drawings that reflect the recently-acquired information. Students are encouraged to label their drawings with words in a diagram or schematic fashion. By evaluating the “before” and “after” artwork, educators can identify advances in students’ reading and listening comprehension of the terminology, facts, and principles on a particular topic.     

Making broadcast television participative: Eliciting mathematical behavior throughSquare One TV

The current reform movement in mathematics education has called for new ways of teaching that encourage children to become active participants in mathematical problem solving. In this article, the potential of educational television to elicit such behavior is investigated by reviewing research on theSquare One TV television series. A sizable body of evidence indicates that, through viewer participation,Square One TV can promote mathematical behavior directly among its target audience of 8- to 12-year-olds. Described in the article are the types of viewer participation that have been observed, threeSquare One TV formats that have consistently been found to elicit participative behavior, and several characteristics of these formats that may have been responsible for increased viewer participation. If these characteristics are incorporated into future television-based materials, they may increase the potential of the materials to elicit active participation among viewers. The production ofSquare One TV and the research described here were supported by the National Science Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Carnegie Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Education. Production of the first season was also supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and by the IBM Corporation. Additional funding for the fourth and fifth seasons was provided by the Intel Corporation. This article is based on a paper presented at the 1993 meeting of the American Educational Research Association in Atlanta, Georgia.     

Informed learning design: teaching and learning through engagement with information

ABSTRACT

While higher education teachers are able to use information in sophisticated ways to learn and communicate within their disciplines, they may not be accustomed to teaching their students to use information creatively and reflectively to support their work in a course. This article introduces informed learning design, a curriculum design model by which teachers specifically enable students to learn course content through intentional engagement with information. Drawing from informed learning pedagogy and the variation theory of learning, the design model outlines an instructional pattern for enabling student awareness of critical aspects and features of the object being studied related to both information use and course content.     

Children's attitudes towards disability: A review and analysis of the literature

A first step towards the design and implementation of a successful mainstreaming program requires a careful examination of two key issues. First, what are children's attitudes towards disability, and second, what are the critical elements involved in facilitating attitude change? This paper examines the current research literature on children's attitudes towards disability and programs aimed at attitude change. The review culminates in a synthesis of the key themes and issues involved and provides a foundation for further study.     

职业教育基本问题访谈录(Ⅰ)职业教育是什么

全国教育科学“十五”规划国家一般课题《职业教育几个基本问题研究》（BJA010100）课题组就“职业教育的基本问题”对国内外职业教育界的专家、学者进行了访谈，使我们看到了对此问题的不同角度和层面的理解。这是一次思想的碰撞，有利于我们深化对职业教育基本问题的认识。本刊特将访谈记录分专题编辑处理，并从本期起连续刊发，本期论题为“职业教育是什么？”[编者按]     

Cognitive performance and mental ability: Implications for learning in the later years

Both cross sectional and longitudinal studies of change with age in mental ability and cross sectional studies of change with age in cognitive performance indicate that the ability to learn generally does not decline in adulthood but continues at a stable and responsive level well into the later years. This conclusion is not only supported by psychological research but also confirmed by the rapidly growing numbers of older persons who are returning to and succeeding in the pursuit of educational activities. If and when decline does occur, it is usually modest, often reversible, rarely extreme, and rarely if ever great enough to preclude the possibility of learning that may be highly meaningful to the older learner.Howard Y. McClusky is the charter President of the Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is currently active as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education and Faculty Associate in the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109.