Teacher,team, and school change through reciprocal learning

This paper documents the first year of a qualitative case study investigating the experiences of reciprocal learning teams of teachers within a small, rural secondary school. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers experienced collaborative professional development (PD) and how their experiences contributed to developing the culture and structure of their school. Collected data were analyzed using an iterative process of coding, categorizing, and abstracting data. Three themes emerged: (a) self- and co-regulated learning in teams invigorated collegial relationships and contributed to a sense of agency toward change at the school level; (b) differentiating support for collaborative inquiry among teachers and within teams is critical; and (c) creating structures to support collaborative inquiry among teachers engages teachers in their ongoing professional learning. This case study of a rural secondary school demonstrates how deep and substantial school change can happen when teachers co-construct and co-regulate their PD.     

抗日根据地社会教育对我国农村社区教育改革的启示

抗日战争时期,根据地的社会教育在中国共产党的领导下获得了充分的发展,这对提高民众的素质和取得抗日战争的胜利做出了突出贡献,并积累了丰富的社会教育经验。在今天,社会教育的成功经验对我们改革农村社区教育提供了许多可借鉴之处。进行农村社区教育改革要加强政府管理和领导,建立农村社区教育的管理体制和运行机制,采取多种多样的教学方法,灵活设置课程内容,加强师资队伍建设,加大教育经费投入。     

信息生态群落演化机理研究

针对信息生态群落的演化,综合运用系统论、协同论、信息论和突变论的相关原理对信息生态群落的演化机理进行探讨,总结出社会传播机理、支配机理、协同机理、互动机理、突变机理几种主要演化机理,以期为信息生态群落演化的后续研究提供一些参考。      

“村委直选”与乡土中国——李洱长篇小说《花腔》到《石榴树上结樱桃》阅读随笔

李洱的长篇小说《石榴树上结樱桃》在德国读者中受到欢迎,首版已卖出一万册。这是一部继《花腔》之后见出李洱的独特与深刻的小说,一幅21世纪初的“乡土中国浮世绘”。作者选择农村村委直选与计划生育这两个相互联系的政治性与政策性较强的事件构成小说的中心情节,是需要相应的智慧与勇气的。小说女主人公孔繁花是一个权力欲极强的复杂而又单纯的乡村女性,她谋求村长连任及其最大化运用权力资源的活动之最终的失败,呈现出中国乡土社会覆盖面极广的由利益链连接的权钱交易网。贯穿全篇的标题“石榴树上结樱桃”,表现了李洱在《花腔》中已成功运用的喜剧美学修辞：反讽与荒诞。     

湖北恩施民族地区立法回顾与思考

改革开放30多年来,我国的民族法制建设取得了巨大的成就,但也存在着诸多的问题。加强民族法制建设,进一步完善、健全民族法律体系,是建设社会主义法制国家的需要,也是促进民族地区经济发展的要求。     

Why users keep answering questions in online question answering communities: A theoretical and empirical investigation

This study theorized and validated a model of knowledge sharing continuance in a special type of online community, the online question answering (Q&A) community, in which knowledge exchange is reflected mainly by asking and answering specific questions. We created a model that integrated knowledge sharing factors and knowledge self-efficacy into the expectation confirmation theory. The hypotheses derived from this model were empirically validated using an online survey conducted among users of a famous online Q&A community in China, “Yahoo! Answers China”. The results suggested that users’ intention to continue sharing knowledge (i.e., answering questions) was directly influenced by users’ ex-post feelings as consisting of two dimensions: satisfaction, and knowledge self-efficacy. Based on the obtained results, we also found that knowledge self-efficacy and confirmation mediated the relationship between benefits and satisfaction.     

高校图书馆应向社区开放

高校图书馆面向社区开放,对于加强社区文化建设、提高图书馆资源利用率等方面具有积极的作用。高校图书馆一方面要争取政府的支持,另一方面通过努力,给社区提供高质量的服务,加速构建和谐社区的进程。     

Building an online community to support the professional development of casual teachers

Abstract

With the burgeoning casualisation of the higher education workforce, the precarious nature of casual teaching has become increasingly well documented. Universities are recognising that enhancing quality learning and teaching must include attention to the provision of services, support, and professional development for teachers employed on a sessional or casual basis. This paper presents a study investigating an online course for supporting and connecting dispersed and diverse casual teachers at an Australian university. The study explores the role of community and the impact of professional development for casual teachers across discipline boundaries in an institution-wide online course.     

Exploring the link between experienced teachers’ learning outcomes and individual and professional learning community characteristics

The continuous professional development of teachers is crucial in our current knowledge-based society, yet empirical research on experienced teachers’ learning outcomes is scarce. In this study, we examine perceived changes in classroom practices and in competence as outcomes. By making these outcomes measurable, we can relate them to several individual teacher characteristics and professional learning community characteristics. A questionnaire was administered to 490 experienced teachers from 48 Flemish (Belgian) primary schools. Multilevel analyses show that of the professional learning community characteristics, only reflective dialogue is significant for perceived changes in practices. As for individual characteristics, self-efficacy relates positively to both perceived changes in practices and in competence. The relationship between teaching experience and both learning outcomes, however, is negative.     

The challenges of establishing social learning spaces at a Johannesburg university student residence: Student views

This article reports on two cycles of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study on student experiences of the process of establishing social learning spaces in a Johannesburg university student residence. We draw on Wenger’s (2009) notion of ‘social learning spaces’ to explore the manner in which students mediate their social and institutional identity, expose power imbalances in terms of decision-making and determine influences on their learning. We argue that learning is facilitated by social engagement and suggest that the conceptualisation and implementation of social learning spaces, although a complex and protracted process, is valuable for students’ social and academic development, particularly in a residence environment. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews, analysed using content analysis, and interpreted through a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) lens. The findings point to the complexity of establishing social learning spaces (SLS) in a student residence environment with students experiencing multiple tensions in the process, including struggles with collaborative learning, difficulties in developing agency and the challenges of traversing power relations.