斯蒂芬霍金警告:不要和外星生物说话

斯蒂芬·霍金是本世纪享有国际盛誉的科学家,他现年68岁,是剑桥大学应用数学及理论物理学系教授,以及当代最重要的广义相对论和宇宙论家。他在1988年出版的著作《时间简史》,至今已销售逾2500万册,是全球最畅销的科普著作之一。霍金在最近发布了关于外星生物的纪录片,让我们一同来看看他的观点吧。     

Identifying English Language Learners for Gifted and Talented Programs: Current Practices and Recommendations for Improvement

While the number and relative proportion of English language learners (ELL) in public school systems is rapidly increasing, ELL students are often overlooked for gifted programs, and for this reason are grossly underrepresented in gifted and talented education programs. Identification practices that were implemented decades ago did not take into account the linguistic and cultural diversity of students that are present in schools today. This theoretical article examines current gifted identification practices related to ELL students in public schools nationwide. The authors identify necessary components to this process that are often overlooked for ELL populations. Recommendations for best practice and future research are provided.     

Informants' Traits Weigh Heavily in Young Children's Trust in Testimony and in Their Epistemic Inferences

This study examined how informants' traits affect how children seek information, trust testimony, and make inferences about informants' knowledge. Eighty‐one 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds and 26 adults completed tasks where they requested and endorsed information provided by one of two informants with conflicting traits (e.g., honesty vs. dishonesty). Participants also completed tasks where they simultaneously considered informants' traits and visual access to information when inferring their knowledge and trusting their testimony. Children and adults preferred to ask and endorse information provided by people who are nice, smart, and honest. Moreover, these traits influenced the knowledge that young children attributed to informants. Children younger than 5 years of age reported that people with positive traits were knowledgeable even when they lacked access to relevant information.     

Pupils' views of the role and value of the science curriculum: A focus-group study

Pupils' perceptions of their experience of school science have rarely been investigated. The aim of the research reported in this paper, therefore, was to document the range of views that pupils held about the school science curriculum, the aspects they found either interesting and/or valuable, and their views about its future content. As such, the research aimed to articulate their views as a contribution to the debate about the future form and function of the school science curriculum. The method adopted to elicit their views was to use focus groups-a methodology that has not been extensively used in the science education research. Reported here are the findings from 20 focus groups conducted with 144 16-year-old pupils in London, Leeds and Birmingham, split both by gender and whether the pupils intended to continue, or not, with the study of science post-16. The findings of this research offer a window into pupils' perspective of school science revealing both their discontents and satisfaction with the existing curriculum. On the negative side, many pupils perceived school science to be a subject dominated by content with too much repetition and too little challenge. From a more positive perspective, pupils saw the study of science as important and were engaged by topics where they could perceive an immediate relevance, practical work, material that was challenging and high-quality teaching. The implications of these findings and the insights they provide for curriculum policy and school science curricula are discussed.     

Young Children's Aspirations in Science: The unequivocal,the uncertain and the unthinkable

Students' lack of interest in studying science and in science-related careers is a concern in the UK and worldwide. Yet there is limited data, particularly longitudinal, on the sources and development of science-related aspirations. In response, the ASPIRES (Science Aspirations and Career Choice: Age 10–14) longitudinal study is investigating the development of students' educational and occupational aspirations over time. In the first phase of the project, a questionnaire exploring science-related aspirations and interests was completed by over 9,000 primary school students across England. This survey allowed us to explore possible associations between attitudes and aspirations, links which have not been investigated in previous attitudinal studies of this scope. Overall, students expressed positive attitudes to science, reported positive parental attitudes to science and held very positive images of scientists. Multilevel modelling analyses revealed that aspirations in science were most strongly related to parental attitudes to science, attitudes to school science and self-concept in science, and are also associated with students' gender, ethnicity and cultural capital. However, the images students held of scientists were not as closely related to aspirations. These factors are discussed in more detail within the paper, alongside a consideration of possible school-related effects.     

Beyond Construction: Five arguments for the role and value of critique in learning science

This paper argues that science education has overemphasized the importance of construction at the expense of critique. In doing so, it draws on two key premises—Ford's argument that the construction of knowledge requires a dialectic between construction and critique and Mercier and Sperber's theory of argumentative reasoning that critique is essential for epistemic vigilance. Five separate cases are presented which argue that the absence of critique within school science limits the opportunities for students to engage in scientific reasoning making the learning of science less effective. These five arguments incorporate research literature surrounding the nature of science, epistemology, literacy, pedagogy, and motivation. Furthermore, we draw on data collected from cognitive think-aloud interviews to show that students can, with the appropriate prompts, engage in the important epistemic activity of critique. We conclude by examining the implications for the teaching and learning of science. In essence, we argue that the undervaluing of critique within the curriculum and pedagogy of school science results in a failure to develop the analytical faculties which are the valued hall mark of the practicing scientist; a misrepresentation of the nature of science; and, more importantly, a less effective learning experience. Critique, therefore, needs to play a central role in the teaching and learning of science.     

Recollections of Exhibits: Stimulated‐recall interviews with primary school children about science centre visits

One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of schoolchildren’s interactions with science centre exhibits. These stimuli were used to facilitate reflection about those interactions in follow‐up interviews. The data for this study were 63 small group interviews with UK primary school children (129 students, ages 9–11). Interviews were transcribed and then analysed for common themes. The analysis presented here explores how students explain or interpret particular exhibits and the extent to which they were cognitively engaged by the process of observing their interactions with exhibits. The findings show that digital media enable students to re‐visit their experience and engage them with the content underlying science centre exhibits. There was, however, little difference between the patterns of response stimulated by video as opposed to photographs. It seems that such “re‐visitations” of exhibit interactions could serve as a valuable means of developing further students’ scientific concepts and exploiting the value for learning from the experience afforded by informal contexts.     

A theoretical framework for building online communities of practice with social networking tools

This paper proposes a theoretical framework as a foundation for building online communities of practice when a suite of social networking applications referred to as collective intelligence tools are utilized to develop a product or solutions to a problem. Drawing on recent developments in Web 2.0 tools, research on communities of practice and relevant theories of learning, and the authors' own action research experience in collaborative knowledge creation utilizing Web 2.0 tools, this paper discusses a learning community's spiraling process as it moves from a given sociocultural context through discourse, action, reflection, and reorganization toward socially mediated metacognition.

Un cadre théorique pour construire des communautés de pratique en ligne en utilisant des outils de maillage social

Cet article propose un cadre théorique sur lequel édifier des communautés de pratique en ligne lorsqu'on utilise, pour mettre au point un produit ou des solutions à un problème, une série d'applications destinées à la construction de réseaux humains et connues sous le nom d'outils d'intelligence collective. En s'appuyant sur les évolutions récentes des outils Web 2.0, sur les recherches sur les communautés d'usage et les théories de l'apprentissage pertinentes ainsi que sur l'expérience propre aux auteurs en matière de recherche action sur la création collaborative de savoir en utilisant le Web 2.0, le présent article examine le processus en spirale d'une communauté d'apprentissage qui part d'un contexte socio culturel donné et qui passe par le discours, l'action la réflexion et la réorganisation pour atteindre la métacognition reposant sur la médiation humaine.

Ein Theorierahmen für den Aufbau von “Online‐Communitives of Practice” mit Hilfe von Anwendungen für Social Networking

In diesem Beitrag wird ein theoretischer Rahmen als Grundlage für den Aufbau von Online‐Praxis‐Gemeinschaften vorgestellt, wenn eine Reihe von Social Networking Anwendungen, auf die man sich als kollektive Intelligenz‐Tools beziehen kann, benutzt wird, um ein Ergebnis oder eine Problemlösung zu entwickeln. Wenn man den neuesten Entwicklungsstand bei den Web 2.0 tools mit einbezieht, die Forschung im Kommunikationsbereich, die relevanten Lerntheorien und die eigenen Forschungen und praktischen Erfahrungen des Autors in der Benutzung von Web 2.0‐Anwendungen auf dem Gebiet der gemeinschaftlichen Wissensermittlung, belegt dieses Papier den spiralförmigen Prozess beim Bewegen von einem bestimmten soziokulturellem Kontext aus durch Diskurs, Aktion, Reflektion und Reorganisation hin zu sozial vermittelter Metaerkenntnis.

Un marco teórico para la construcción de comunidades de práctica en línea con herramientas de creación de redes sociales

Este artículo propone un marco teórico como base para la construcción de comunidades de práctica cuando se utiliza una serie de aplicaciones sociales en redes (conocidas como herramientas de inteligencia colectiva) para desarrollar un producto o solucionar tal o tal problema. Basandose en las evoluciones recientes de las herramientas Web 2.0, en las investigaciones sobre las Comunidades de Uso y las teorías del aprendizaje más pertinentes así como en la experiencia propia de la investigación/acción por parte de los autores sobre la creación colaborativa de conocimiento a través del uso de herramientas Web 2.0, este artículo examina la evolución « en espiral » de una comunidad de aprendizaje que sale de un contexto socio cultural determinado y pasando por el discurso, acción, reflexión, alcanza la metacognición basada en la mediación humana.     

An Attachment Model of University Connectedness

Students with high levels of connectedness to the university have been found to be more likely to complete their college degree than are students with low levels of university connectedness. This study examined the role of parental and peer attachment as distal predictors of school connectedness. As predicted, it was found that attachment style to parents predicted attachment style to peers. An avoidant attachment style to peers predicted negative perceptions of peer support and support services. An anxious attachment style to peers predicted negative perceptions of faculty support. Perceptions of peer support, support services, and faculty support then predicted feelings of connectedness to the university. Classroom comfort also predicted university connectedness, although it was not found to be related to attachment style to parents or peers. Implications for college students and college/university administrators are discussed.