The story so far: a summary of the contributions to the ‘Dissertations into practice’ feature

The ‘Dissertations into practice’ feature began life in March 2012 with a dual aim: to encourage students and new professionals to write for publication and to highlight the impact of student research on policy and practice. This article reflects on the initiative and to summarise what has been achieved so far. It highlights the diverse range of contributions to the feature so far and proves that student research can and does influence policy and practice. It also demonstrates that, with a bit of encouragement and support, students are willing and able to write for academic publication. AM     

论问题解决与教学促进

大多数教育工作者都认为问题解决很重要,但是他们对什么是问题解决持有不同观点,在怎样教给学生问题解决的本领上也没有达成一致意见。各种不同观点主要集中于将问题解决视为教育目标、教育方法以及技能训练之间的差异问题上。其一,目标型问题解决不应只限于良构问题解决,而应该延伸到现实问题解决;其二,对初学者来说,方法型问题解决有其明显的局限性,给予这些学习者足够帮助,对于培养他们的问题解决能力具有重要作用;其三,技能型问题解决不应被看作是只在培养专长过程的初期才会出现,而应被视为在系统1模式与系统2模式中平行发展的一个过程。总结以上观点,综合学习设计模式完全可以用来促进此三种类型的问题解决,并其本回答了问题解决最好应该怎样教的问题。     

Effective,Sustained Inquiry-Based Instruction Promotes Higher Science Proficiency Among All Groups: A 5-Year Analysis

Student’s performance in science classrooms has continued to languish throughout the USA. Even though proficiency rates on national tests such as National Assessment of Educational Progress are higher for Caucasian students than African-Americans and Hispanics, all groups lack achieving desired proficiency rates. Further, the Next Generation Science Standards detail a new higher benchmark for all students. This study analyzes a professional development (PD) project, entitled Inquiry in Motion, designed to (a) facilitate teacher transformation toward greater quantity and quality of inquiry-based instruction, (b) improve student achievement in science practices and science concepts, and (c) begin to narrow the achievement gap among various groups. This 5-year PD study included 11 schools, 74 middle school teachers, and 9,981 students from diverse, high minority populations. Findings from the quasi-experimental study show statistically significant gains for all student groups (aggregate, males, females, Caucasians, African-Americans, and Hispanics) on all three science Measure of Academic Progress tests (composite, science practices, and science concepts) when compared to students of non-participating teachers. In addition to an increase in overall performance for all groups, a narrowing of the achievement gap of minority students relative to Caucasian students was seen. When combined with other studies, this study affirms that, when facilitated effectively, inquiry-based instruction may benefit all students, for all demographic groups measured.     

Lessons from professional identity development literature: A qualitative content analysis

The development of a professional identity as a counselor is the result of training, practice, and integration into a community of professional counselors and is defined as the synthesis of personal and professional behaviors, values, ethics, and worldview. The research on this topic has been plentiful, but this systemic and systematic review of the research literature provides a comprehensive overview of this important concept for counselor training and supervision.