Problems in the context evaluation of individualized courses

From 1970 to 1974 an Individualized Study System (ISS) for mathematics courses for first year engineering students was developed. Because of changes in the curriculum, new courses had to be developed from August 1974. The context evaluation of these new courses (ISS-calculus) consisted mainly of the evaluation of the mathematics courses developed during the preceding years. After a year the Department decided to suspend ISS as a teaching system for calculus partly because of dissatisfaction of the teachers with ISS-calculus.This paper consists of two parts. Part one (sections 1,2) is a case study and summarizes the development of the system from 1970 to 1975. It examines in detail the problems encountered in this development with special attention to the role of the executive teacher. The organization of an ISS-course and the planning decisions to be taken become more complex according to the number of executive teachers. In part two (sections 3,4) we provide a classification of ISS courses to illustrate the complexity of the system and we offer some general advice on the management of individualized study systems.     

The role of two reading strategies in text comprehension: An eye fixation study in primary school children

This study examined whether 10–12‐year‐old children use two reading strategies to aid their text comprehension: (1) distinguishing between important and unimportant words; and (2) resolving anaphoric references. Of interest was the question to what extent use of these reading strategies was predictive of reading comprehension skill over and above decoding skill and vocabulary. Reading strategy use was examined by the recording of eye fixations on specific target words. In contrast to less successful comprehenders, more successful comprehenders invested more processing time in important than in unimportant words. On the other hand, they needed less time to determine the antecedent of an anaphor. The results suggest that more successful comprehenders build a more effective mental model of the text than less successful comprehenders in at least two ways. First, they allocate more attention to the incorporation of goal‐relevant than goal‐irrelevant information into the model. Second, they ascertain that the text model is coherent and richly connected.     

Non‐at‐risk adolescents' attitudes towards reading in a Singapore secondary school

In this paper, we examine the various nuanced dimensions of adolescents' dispositions towards reading in one secondary school in Singapore, where a high‐stakes examination culture often threatens to colonise the practices of leisure reading. Our focus is on the better and more avid readers as they were the ones that developed the more negative attitudes towards reading at the end of their first year in secondary school. Our analysis found that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in their declining attitudes, and that for both ‘intrinsic motivation’ saw the greatest decline. However, attitudes related to learning orientation remained stable, suggesting both the impact of constraints in an exam‐oriented educational structure as well as possibilities for developing reading pedagogy and adolescent reading programmes. We argue that the more educators are aware of the multidimensionality and complexity of the attitudes and values that students bring to their reading, the more effectively they will be able to design and implement programmes and pedagogy to foster positive attitudes and promote a lifelong love for reading.     

Going to Prison: The Effect of a Prison Tour on Students’ Attitudes Toward Punitiveness

The pedagogical approaches of a criminal justice education affect the attitudes and perceptions of those most likely to develop and administer criminal justice policies in the future. This study examines the effect of a prison tour on students’ understanding of prison and attitudes about punishment. Undergraduate criminal justice students were given a survey to assess their attitudes about prisons, prisoners, and alternative sanctions before and after a field trip to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Post-survey responses showed changes in students’ perceptions regarding punitiveness, prisons, prisoners, and rehabilitation. We discuss this finding within the framework of the contact hypothesis, and we recommend including this type of first-hand exposure as part of a criminal justice curriculum.     

合作体验学习法

合作体验学习法（Tribes Learning Communities）是北美学校教育改革比较成功的一种尝试,打破传统的教师为中心的课堂管理模式,创造以学生为中心的课堂氛围,将课堂重心从教师教转到学生学。本文介绍几种在这样的教学指导思想下的教学策略框架,供课改中正在探索的老师们借鉴参考。     

Pedagogical constraints of physical literacy based on cognitive load theory

PROSPECTS - While numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of physical activity on cognitive health, learning, and executive function, maintaining physical activity throughout one’s...