Students’ writing ‘in transition’ from A-levels to university: how assessment drives students’ understandings,practices and discourses

The lament that ‘students can’t write’ remains loud and defiant, even after years of research pointing to the myriad factors that make students’ writing challenging, particularly when they move into university. This paper reports on a longitudinal, ethnographic study which explored students’ writing ‘in transition’, from A-levels to university in the UK, through the critical lens offered by the academic literacies conceptual framing. This paper offers critical analysis of the ways that students, teachers and institutions position writing at A-level and university, exploring the assumptions and beliefs that underpin their understandings and practices using Ivani?’s framework of discourses of writing. The analysis proposes that the centrality of assessment in the treatment of language at both levels creates an ‘assessment discourse of writing’, which originates in school, and becomes a defining and restrictive frame for students’ writing as they move into higher education. The analysis further suggests that assessment is the principal cause for the students’ challenges with adapting to the writing requirements of university. Moreover, assessment is used as a metalanguage for discussing writing at A-levels, and can become an unhelpful ‘anchor of continuance’ for students as they move into university.     

中外区域经济政策的比较及其对西部大开发的启示

中国的区域经济政策与其他国家实施的区域经济政策相比,在政策目标、政策的制定与实施和政策内容方面有很大差异。西方发达国家的区域经济政策在长期的实践中已具有了一定的规律。本文旨在通过对西欧、美国、日本及一些亚洲国家与中国在区域经济政策上的比较,从中总结出对我国西部大开发中制定和实施区域经济政策的启示。     

三类集群的转化关系分析及其对我国集群发展的启示

在借鉴中外集群模式演化研究成果的基础上，着重探讨了马歇尔集群、卫星式集群及轮轴式集群之间的正向和逆向转化关系，结合我国产业集群发展现状，阐述了这两种转化的实际意义。     

具有中断算子进程的语义动作精化的操作语义

以SOS规则的方式定义了含中断和精化算子的进程代数LOTOS的操作语义 ,使得这一操作语义与指称语义相对应 ,即 :由指称语义导出的传输系统和操作语义定义的传输系统双模拟 .操作语义的基本思想是 :重新命名被精化的动作并且使所有与之相关的选择都被激发 .     

教师教育新体系下省级教育学院的发展

论述了我国教师教育新体系的构建使得省级教育学院目前的办学状态已难以为继，必须进行新的抉择。转型或改制是教师教育新体系下省级教育学院实现可持续发展的必由之路。省级教育学院转型为综合性普通高校符合高等教育的未来发展趋势。     

Prior learning in biology at high school does not predict performance in the first year at university

Students in their first year of university face a number of transition issues that can make realising their academic potential difficult. In the sciences, first-year courses cover a large amount of material across broad subject areas, which can make them troublesome for students without background knowledge, and students need to adapt to typically large class sizes and develop active, independent learning skills. We expected a student's prior learning to be important to their academic performance in a large, first-year introductory biology subject and analysed the relationships between students' results in this course with their senior high school results in related subjects over three years from 2007 to 2009. We predicted that students with prior learning in biology would have higher results than those without it, but that chemistry might also be important, given the biochemical nature of much of the course content. Students who completed biology at the senior high school-level did perform better than those who had not, but only if they also completed chemistry. Prior learning in biology was of no benefit to students in first-year biology, except when combined with chemistry, suggesting that potential differences in biology curricula between high school and the first year at university may need to be addressed.     

Transition to formal schooling: Do transition practices matter for academic performance?

This study examined whether the transition practices implemented in preschool-elementary school pairs contribute to children's academic development during the first year of elementary school. Participants were 398 children who moved from 36 preschools to 22 elementary schools in two Finnish towns. Children were tested in respect to their reading, writing, and math skills in the preschool spring and in the grade 1 spring. The most common practices reported by preschool teachers were discussions about the school entrants and familiarizing preschool children with the school environment and the new teacher. Multilevel latent growth modeling showed that the more the preschool teachers and elementary-school teachers implemented various supportive activities during the preschool year, the faster the children's skills developed from preschool to grade 1 spring. Co-operation over curricula and passing on written information about children between the preschool and the elementary school were the best predictors of the children's skills, although they were the least commonly used practices. The need to restructure the transition to elementary school and the use of multiprofessional resources are discussed.     

社会转型时期的利益分化与政治认同

目前中国处于社会转型的关键时期,现代化进程所导致的利益分化成为众多社会问题和矛盾产生的根源。政治认同作为社会成员对社会公共权力、政治制度等的赞同、认可与支持,也受到了强烈冲击,表现为政治认同危机的出现。在利益分化时代的大背景下,必须以利益协调为着眼点,化解利益矛盾冲突,才能有效地增进和提高社会成员的政治认同,从而推动整个社会的稳定。     

Assisting transition to university: using assessment as a formative learning tool

This study explores the effectiveness of an intervention involving formative assessment in a first‐year core business subject. Students were invited to receive feedback on a draft of their first written assessment during the early weeks of the semester. Consideration is given to the economic and ethical issues raised by the intervention. A multi‐method approach of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis is used. The research finds that the intervention facilitates significantly higher marks in assessments and grades, while assisting student learning overall. Findings are reinforced by comparison with a subject where the intervention was not offered.     

新课程背景下初高中英语教学衔接探究

随着我国新课程改革的不断推进,高一英语教师应针对学生的特点,从英语学习兴趣、英语学习习惯、英语语言知识与语言技能三个方面,有效进行初高中英语教学衔接,以进一步提高学生的综合语言运用能力。