“War Through Children’s Eyes” in the Archiwum Wschodnie [Eastern Archive] Collection

In 1981, Hoover Institution Press published a collection of testimonies of Polish citizens and their children deported to the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1941. War Through Children’s Eyes contained English translations of compositions, interviews, and testimonies from the Polish Government Collection at the Hoover Institution Archives. In the 1980s efforts were underway in Poland to collect similar personal stories of survivors of Soviet deportations, including children’s testimonies. The result was the creation of the Archiwum Wschodnie [Eastern Archive] and the KARTA Center in Warsaw. The archive, legalized after the fall of Communism in 1990, is a major primary source collection dealing with the history of former Polish eastern territories. The paper discusses parts of the Archiwum Wschodnie collection focusing on the testimonies of children deported to the Soviet Union. The trauma of war and displacement is examined through personal stories and testimonies of deportees.     

The materials and techniques used in the paintings of Francis Bacon (1909–1992)

Abstract

Materials from 38 paintings by Francis Bacon (1909–1992), including 21 complete works and 17 partially destroyed canvases are investigated. Observations are made of the artist's technique and details are compiled of the supports used. Samples of paint and priming were taken for analysis using polarized light microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), pyrolysis–GC–MS (Py–GC–MS), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX). Analysis of priming layers appears to show that the priming composition correlates well with particular ranges of dates. A fairly limited range of materials are found, with many of the same pigments found in works spanning Bacon's career, though other pigments were introduced at different stages in his career. Oil paints were used consistently for the painting of figures, but household paints were increasingly used in backgrounds from the 1960s onwards. A variety of different synthetic media are found in later works, including household acrylic paints and spray paints. Increased knowledge of Bacon’s materials is expected to be of great value to conservators caring for the work of this highly significant artist, and is already helping in the authentication of works attributed to him.     

Reference Education: Lessons from Our Students

Students reflecting on their time as students in a school of information provide advice and commentary for their faculty. By revealing their challenges as well as their successes, educators can themselves reflect on the impact of their teaching and the potential it has to assist students on their career paths.     

大学英语教师网络在线培训学习心得

在本文中,笔者通过参加高教司组织的"大学英语教师网络在线培训",结合自己对大学英语一线教学的经验和认识,得出了以下教学的新想法,即:要真正做到"人机交互、课上课下交互";要极大的重视学生听说能力的练习和提高;要强调"常态化的"英语环境。     

领属性保留宾语句的句法分析

领属性保留宾语句是由领属者提升推导而成的,其所在句的动词受达成范畴、时体范畴与致使范畴等扩展。致使范畴可语音实现为“把”,达成范畴选择领属者与被领属者组成一个名词性短语（DP结构）作役事。汉语的定语标记（D）可以没有语音实现,这使得役事中的领属者可以提升。领属者在不同的位置提升会推导出不同的领属性保留宾语句。在名词短语中,领属者与被领属者具有不对称性,这使得它们在互换、提取等语法行为表现出特异性。     

Longitudinal study of a cooperation-driven,socio-scientific issue intervention on promoting students’ critical thinking and self-regulation in learning science

ABSTRACT

This longitudinal study explored the effects of a Cooperation-driven Socioscientific Issue (CDSSI) intervention on junior high school students' perceptions of critical thinking (CT) and self-regulation (SR) in Taiwan. Forty-nine grade 7 students were randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) to attend a 3-semester 72-hour intervention; while another 49 grade 7 students from the same school were randomly selected as the comparison group (CG). All participants completed a 4-wave student questionnaire to assess their perceptions of CT and SR. In addition, 8 target students from the EG with the lowest scores on either CT or SR were purposefully recruited for weekly observation. These target students and their teachers were interviewed one month after the intervention in each semester. Analyses of covariance and paired-wise t-tests revealed that the EG students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science were improved during the study and were significantly better than their counterparts' at the end of the study. Systematic interview and classroom observation results were consistent with the quantitative findings. This study adds empirical evidence and provides insights into how CDSSI can be integrated into planning and implementing effective pedagogical strategies aimed at increasing students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science.     

Sources of difficulty in assessment: example of PISA science items

ABSTRACT

The understanding of what makes a question difficult is a crucial concern in assessment. To study the difficulty of test questions, we focus on the case of PISA, which assesses to what degree 15-year-old students have acquired knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. Our research question is to identify PISA science item characteristics that could influence the item’s proficiency level. It is based on an a-priori item analysis and a statistical analysis. Results show that only the cognitive complexity and the format out of the different characteristics of PISA science items determined in our a-priori analysis have an explanatory power on an item’s proficiency levels. The proficiency level cannot be explained by the dependence/independence of the information provided in the unit and/or item introduction and the competence. We conclude that in PISA, it appears possible to anticipate a high proficiency level, that is, students’ low scores for items displaying a high cognitive complexity. In the case of a middle or low cognitive complexity level item, the cognitive complexity level is not sufficient to predict item difficulty. Other characteristics play a crucial role in item difficulty. We discuss anticipating the difficulties in assessment in a broader perspective.     

Overcoming low self-efficacy beliefs in teaching English to young learners

Drawing on data from observations and interviews, this article presents a case study of one teacher’s efforts to overcome low self-efficacy beliefs in teaching English to young learners in a Middle Eastern context. It provides insights into the growth processes involved, highlighting how the teacher drew reflectively upon her experiences to develop deeper practical knowledge and stronger self-efficacy beliefs with regard to the particular task, while supported by a constructivist teacher education programme.     

US Urban Elementary Teachers’ Knowledge and Practices in Teaching Science to English Language Learners: Results from the first year of a professional development intervention

The study examined US elementary teachers’ knowledge and practices in four key domains of science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students. The four domains included: (1) teachers’ knowledge of science content, (2) teaching practices to promote scientific understanding, (3) teaching practices to promote scientific inquiry, and (4) teaching practices to support English language development during science instruction. The study was part of a larger five‐year research and development intervention aimed at promoting science and literacy achievement of ELL students in urban elementary schools. It involved 32 third grade, 21 fourth grade, and 17 fifth grade teachers participating in the first‐year implementation of the intervention. Based on teachers’ questionnaire responses and classroom observation ratings, results indicated that (1) teachers’ knowledge and practices were within the bounds of acceptability but short of reform‐oriented practices and (2) grade‐level differences existed, especially between Grades 3 and 5.     

Interactive group activity: a socially mediated tool for opening an interpretive space in classroom research

An ongoing challenge in classroom research is to understand children’s perspectives on their learning. While learning is highly individual, it is also significantly social and this raises methodological challenges. An Interactive Group Activity (IGA) is one of several data collection strategies used during the action research phase of the Connecting Curriculum, Connecting Learning project (2010–2011) focusing on arts-based curriculum integration. This article concentrates on the IGA tool as a means of uncovering children’s meaning making following an extended period of learning. Of particular note is the use of an arts pedagogical device to introduce the IGA to children, a device that frames the purpose of the task. In effect, the IGA acts as a group assessment device underlining the socially mediated nature of children’s learning. This article describes how the IGA tool evolved, gives its form and structure, argues for its affordances and suggests possibilities for its wider use.