Investigating Greek Students' Ideas about Forces and Motion

Educational research has shown that high school and university students also follow the Aristotelian idea about motion; for example, a continuous action of a force is necessary to keep an object in motion. The survey presented in this article aims at a deeper investigation of secondary education students' ideas about the forces involved in objects moving under the sole influence of gravity. The main objectives are: (1) to investigate other ideas or difficulties, which intervene and determine students' mental models about motion and force, and (2) to reveal how the students in the sample are grouped according to their alternative conceptions. Our study has been mainly determined by the revision in Science Curriculum established in Greece three years ago. A survey has been administered to a total of 146 students (15–16 years old) attending six typical public high schools in Greece. The results presented show that the traditional instruction is pertinent while the approaches of the New Physics Curriculum have not been effectively expanded to the schools. The majority of the students exhibited the idea that the original force is continuously exerted to the ball during its motion. On the other hand, multivariate analysis has identified three discernible groups of students which have exhibited a persistent and rather consistent approach: (1) An extended group of students having the above misconception, (2) a second group of students which, generally, responded correctly to the tasks, and (3) a third group of students, which ignored the presence of the gravitational force and/or believe that the action-reaction forces are both exerted to the ball during its motion.     

‘The right path of equality’: supporting high school students with autism who type to communicate

The inclusion of students who type to communicate has been researched and strategies to accommodate such students have been recommended, but little information has been gathered about the students’ perspectives and daily school lives. This study utilises classroom observations and qualitative interviewing to explore the experiences of three high school students who type to communicate and the systems in place to support them. The study privileges and focuses on the ways that their school personnel honour the voices of those students as contributors to the construction of the spaces they enter and ways in which their active participation is supported.     

Alternative Conceptions in Animal Classification Focusing on Amphibians and Reptiles: A Cross-Age Study

This study examined students alternative conceptions of reptiles and amphibians and the extent to which these conceptions remain intact through the elementary (grades 4 and 6), junior, and senior high school years. We administered multiple-choice and free-response instruments to a total of 513 students and interviewed at least 20 students at each educational level to get an in-depth view of their original conceptions. Then, we developed and administered a two-tier multiple choice diagnostic instrumentto assess various levels of students understanding of amphibians and reptiles(N=1267). The results showed that most students were able to classify snakes as reptiles, whereas fewer than 30% of the students across different ages classified sea turtles as reptiles; the remaining 70% classified sea turtles as amphibians. More students were able to correctly classify frogs as amphibians than toads. In most instances, students correctly classified prototypical representatives of the two animal classes more readily than less exemplary representatives, a finding that supports previous research (Trowbridge, J.E. andMintzes, J.J. (1988). Alternative conceptions in animal classification: A cross-age study. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 25(7), 547–571). Interestingly, the alternative views of sea turtles as amphibians remained intact throughout the school years. Interview data indicated that students classified sea turtles as amphibians largely because sea turtles are able to live in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Semantically, amphi means living on land and in water. When asked to distinguish between reptiles and amphibians and to classify several species into those two groups, a wide range of alternative conceptions emerged and the origin of those alternative conceptions are discussed. Similar results were obtained when we applied a two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instrument to assess students understanding of amphibians and reptiles.     

Caught between a rock and a hard place: disruptive boys’ views on mainstream and special schools in New South Wales,Australia

Students with disruptive behaviour in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) are increasingly being educated in separate ‘behaviour’ schools. There is however surprisingly little research on how students view these settings, or indeed the mainstream schools from which they were excluded. To better understand excluded students’ current and past educational experiences, we interviewed 33 boys, aged between 9 and 16 years of age, who were enrolled in separate special schools for students with disruptive behaviour. Analyses reveal that the majority of participants began disliking school in the early years due to difficulties with schoolwork and teacher conflict. Interestingly, while most indicated that they preferred the behaviour school, more than half still wanted to return to their old school. It is therefore clear that separate special educational settings are not a solution to disruptive behaviour in mainstream schools. Whilst these settings do fulfil a function for some students, the preferences of the majority of boys suggest that ‘mainstream’ school reform is of first-order importance.     

中国女排荣获第九届世界杯冠军的决定因素是心理稳定

现代排球在世界级激烈地竞争中,如果体力、技术相同,最后冲破这个平衡的是运动员的心理素质;依靠人的精神力量、智慧和自信。中国现代女排正是吸取了2002年世锦赛上所受到的挫折和实战过程中错误指导思想的深刻教训,变压力为动力,坚信自己的实力,树立必胜的信念,夺取了胜利。     

Evaluation of a Local Improvement-Oriented Project for Citizenship Education

Abstract

This article reports the evaluation of a four-year ESEA Title IV political/citizenship education improvement project conducted in elementary and secondary schools of a large, southern metropolitan school system. The project designed and tested an educational improvement model which conceptualized the school as a system with interrelated components which influence student learning. The model focused on classroom teachers as change agents and provided them with five types of support channeled through other parts of the system. The model was first found effective for secondary grades and later for elementary grades. Both process and product were monitored to provide research data on the model. The results, implications and limitations are discussed.     

An evaluation of an alternative placement experience for students undertaking primary initial teacher training

This study is an analysis of the impact on students of their experience of an alternative placement. The placement was run with Year 2 students on a three-year undergraduate initial teacher education degree programme (primary, 3–11) in England. The placement enabled students to have a practical teaching experience in any setting outside the age phase they were training to teach. The analysis is based on a cohort evaluation of the placement (170 students). Data were collected in two ways: through students’ written reflections and their identification of the standards required for Qualified Teacher Status that they experienced. This approach was selected owing to the strong expectations by the UK Government to meet set criteria to qualify as a teacher. There is one direct reference in the standards to learning outside the classroom, but it was found that the students considered they had benefited from the alternative placement by offering opportunities for their professional and personal development in many more areas. The research study found that these areas included learning from other experts, working with colleagues, gaining confidence to teach, experiencing other cultural settings, working with children in informal settings, the importance of personalising learning and, in some cases, experiencing second language teaching.     

展览—图书馆的“另类”服务

展览服务作为图书馆工作内容之一,已成为图书馆的一项核心业务,并具有广阔的发展前景。通过南京信息工程大学图书馆开展展览工作的实践经验,探索展览服务的发展道路。     

涉诉上访成因分析及制度完善

涉诉上访作为一种非诉讼纠纷解决机制在这样的背景下应运而生并有迅速发展之势,造成涉诉上访的主要因素有法律真实与客观真实的偏差、司法人员和司法制度的缺陷等。而解决涉诉上访问题的对策主要有：严格遵循民事诉讼中的程序,提高司法人员素质,加强法律宣传教育等。