The influence of social interaction on meaning construction in a virtual community

As proposed by social constructive theorists, meaningful learning and individual development were achieved through social interaction. To foster social interaction among students, this study formed an online learning community in which they played multiple roles as writers, editors and commentators. In playing different roles, they read peers' texts, edited peers' errors, evaluated peer editors' corrections and finally reconstructed their own texts. Results of this study showed that the multiple roles they played allowed them to have opportunities to view their own texts from others' perspectives. Based on these perspectives, they were more willing to acquire information from and contribute information to peers. All of this extensive information acquisition and contribution resulted in meaning construction of texts as active students improved their final drafts in both local revision (grammatical correction) and global revision (the style, organisation and development of a text) after receiving and evaluating feedback from peer editors. Their final drafts were very different from those of passive students whose first and final drafts were almost the same despite some grammatical revisions. This study suggests that, rather than relying only on an examination of students' final drafts, there may be benefits in teachers encouraging students to actively participate in social interaction by reading peers' texts, editing peers' errors and evaluating peer editors' corrections during text revisions.     

The joint contribution of early parental warmth, communication and tracking, and early child conduct problems on monitoring in late childhood

The relationship of parental warmth, communication, and tracking (WCT), and child conduct problems in early elementary school (age 5.5 years) to monitoring in late elementary school (age 9.5 years) was longitudinally examined in a sample of 267 boys and girls. WCT in kindergarten was associated with lower kindergarten levels and less growth of conduct problems into the first grade, and was prospectively associated with effective monitoring in the third and fourth grades. Overt and covert conduct problems in kindergarten and growth in covert problems during kindergarten and first grade were associated with less effective later monitoring. Early conduct problems mediated the prospective association of WCT on later monitoring. The results are described in a transactional model of parent-child relationships and child problem behavior.     

COMBINING SELF‐MONITORING AND AN INTERDEPENDENT GROUP CONTINGENCY TO IMPROVE THE BEHAVIOR OF SIXTH GRADERS WITH EBD

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self‐monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth‐grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on‐task, off‐task, and disruptive behaviors exhibited during language arts. Following baseline, the classroom teacher implemented an interdependent group contingency using randomized criteria for reinforcement and randomized reinforcers. Next, a self‐monitoring intervention procedure was added to the existing interdependent group contingency intervention. The self‐monitoring procedure was then withdrawn and reinstated. Results indicated that though there were improvements in behavior from baseline upon intervention implementation, the self‐monitoring procedure did not increase the effectiveness of the interdependent group contingency intervention. Limitations and suggestions for future research investigating the influence of self‐monitoring on group contingency interventions are discussed.     

白芷的核型研究及其分类意义

The present paper deals mainly with the karyotype analysis of five materials in Angelica dahurica collected in Yanbian of Jilin, Anguo of Hebei, Yuxian of Henan, Hangzhou of Zhejiang and Suining of Sichuan.  They are under the names “Dongbeidahuo”, “Qibaizhi”, “Yubaizhi”, ”Hangbaizhi” and “Chuanbaizhi” respe- ctively.  Among then “Dongbeidahuo” is a wild plant, which occurs in  northeastern China, and the others are cultivated as important crude drugs in some provinces. “Qi- Baizhi” and “Yubaizhi” have been identified as conspecific with the wild Baizhi-“Do- Ngbeidahuo” (A. dahurica) according to the external morphological features, whereas the other cultivated ones, “Hangbaizhi” and “Chuanbaizhi”, treated as a variety (A. dahu- rica var. formosana).      The results of karyotype analysis are shown in Plate 1, 2, with the formula 2n=22 =12 m+2 mSAT+4sm+4st. The karyotypes described here are constantly characterized by satellites attached to the fourth pair of metacentric chromosomes and differ from the pu- blished reports on the other species of the genus.  It is reasonable to say that the five materials collectively named “Baizhi” are taxonomically closely related to each other and could be regarded as conspecific.  Since the second chromosome pair is submetacen- tric in “Dongbeidahuo”, it may be justifiable to separate the wild plant from the cul- tivated ones and treat them as two separate varieties.     

Studying the Use of Peer Learning in the Introductory Computer Science Curriculum

This paper reports the results of studying the use of peer learning in the introductory computer science curriculum. The project involves educators from a variety of institutions who participated in two summer workshops and either introduced or continued their use of peer learning at their institutions as part of this project. The results of the collective work include much experience with different types of peer learning in different settings. Overall, the results indicate that peer learning is a valuable technique that should be used as one pedagogical approach in teaching the introductory computer science curriculum.     

Pedagogical Media Competencies of Preservice Teachers in Germany and the United States: A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice

Teachers need knowledge and skills to make effective use of the growing variety of media and technology texts and tools available for use in elementary and secondary education. For this reason, pedagogical media competencies are highly relevant for teachers’ professional development. The theory of media pedagogical competencies is first defined and then located in the context of the relevant scholarly literature from both Germany and the United States. We conducted a comparative analysis of German and U.S. pedagogical media competency models and report data on a survey of teacher education programs in Germany and the United States to identify the proportion of programs of study that include courses in media didactics, media and school reform, and media education. We consider the implications of the missing connections between the theoretical framework of pedagogical media competencies and the current practice of media pedagogical teacher training, revealing implications for further work needed to improve the integration of media in various school-related contexts.     

An exploration of school mobility: Risks and protective factors in late elementary

This study explored negative emotional, behavioral, and academic performance outcomes for highly mobile students and potential protective factors. Participants were fourth and fifth-grade students (N = 647, 51% male) from three schools with low socioeconomic status, highly mobile student populations within a large, suburban school district in the midwestern United States. Data were collected through student self-report surveys, teacher-report surveys, and school records. Multilevel moderation analysis tested whether school connectedness (SC) or social and emotional competence (SEC) acted as protective factors for highly mobile students, moderating the effect of school mobility on emotional problems and academic performance. Student mobility was associated with more emotional problems and lower academic performance. In contrast to past research, there was not an association between mobility and behavior problems. Although they did not act as protective factors, SC and SEC were independently associated with fewer emotional problems and stronger reading performance for all students, controlling for mobility. Results build on existing evidence that student mobility has negative effects on emotional and academic outcomes and lend support for interventions focused on enhancing SC and SEC of all students, including those at increased risk due to high mobility.     

Exploring high school students' and teachers' preferences toward the constructivist Internet‐based learning environments in Taiwan

This paper explores high school students' and teachers' preferences towards constructivist Internet‐based learning environments. The study proposes a framework, including two dimensions and five aspects, to illustrate the features of the Internet‐based learning environments. Based upon this framework, the Constructivist Internet‐based learning environment survey improvement (CILESI) was developed, which includes the scales of ease of use, multiple sources, student negotiation, reflective thinking, critical judgement and epistemological awareness. Questionnaire responses gathered from 630 high school students in Taiwan suggested that the CILESI showed adequate reliability in assessing students' preferences. Male students placed more emphasis on the student negotiation, critical judgement and epistemological awareness enhanced by the Internet‐based learning environments than female students did. In addition, the teachers of the sampled students (n?=?78) were also surveyed by CILESI. The teachers tended to express stronger preferences on the ease of use of the Internet‐based learning environments than did their students. However, students, when compared with their teachers, seemed to express more preferences towards the features of student negotiation, reflective thinking, critical judgement and epistemological awareness of Internet‐based learning environments.     

伞形科植物染色体数目报告

本文报道了伞形科15属24种和交种的染色体数，其中18个种和变种是首次报道。研     究表明， 我国天胡荽属 (Hydrocotyle L．)是伞形科多倍体比较普遍的类群。柴胡属(Bupleu-     rum L.)分别有4、6、7、8等基数，茴芹属(Pimpinella L.)的毛果组(Sect. Tragium)和光     果组(Sect．Tragoselinum)的代表种类的基数分别为9和10，因此，染色体基数可作为深入     研究某些属内种类演化的细胞学资料之一。思茅独活(Heracleum henryi Wolff)的花粉母细    胞在终变期时出现了4体环，说明结构杂合体可能是伞形科种类分化的一个因素。     

The Project on Innovative Teaching Methods — An Overview

Over the past several years, the education system in Singapore has undergone very significant and far-reaching changes, especially in terms of the programmes and resources available to teachers and pupils. New textbooks and teaching materials have been introduced into the schools by the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (CDIS). Within the Institute of Education (IE), teacher education programmes for pre-service trainees and in-service teachers have also undergone review and change to meet new needs and expectations.