Engaging in research: challenges and opportunities for health library and information professionals

This year's virtual issue (the 6th in the series) has been published to coincide with the European Association for Health Information and Libraries’ (EAHIL) 2015 workshop (10–12 June, Edinburgh): Research‐Minded: Understanding, Supporting, Conducting Research. This event is being run in collaboration with the International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists and the International Clinical Librarian Conference. Although research has always been a central part of any librarian's role, until recently health librarians and library users and funding bodies assumed that librarians were ‘midwives’ – there to assist students, clinicians, academics and managers set up and carry out their research. The notion of the librarian as a professional with a research agenda, who understands research methods, submits research grants, and publishes, is a relatively new perspective. If librarians are to take an evidence‐based approach to their profession they need to acquire research skills. This is the rationale for the 2015 EAHIL workshop. To support the workshop, this virtual issue contains six original articles published in Health Information and Libraries Journal over the last 2 years that demonstrate the range of research activities carried out by health librarians, as well as a review article and articles from each of the three feature columns. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

搜索引擎的互动问答平台及其对数字参考咨询服务的启示

介绍搜索引擎互动问答平台的发展现状与基本运作流程,分析图书馆数字参考咨询服务的发展历史与存在问题,提出图书馆应该吸取互动问答平台的优点,可以从建立创新动态机制、加强与用户的互动、引入激励措施、深化自导式服务、加强竞争意识、调整运营模式等方面来创新和改进数字参考咨询服务。     

对大学生高年级持续进行体育教育的探讨

在揭示大学高年级学生体育课程学习与锻炼间断 ,使体质健康严重下降的基础上 ,探讨高校高年级学生持续进行体育教育的重要意义及其必要性。提出高年级开设体育课程、授课形式及教学管理方法的构想。     

新世纪体育教育专业人才培养模式探析

为适应市场经济体制改革和高等教育发展的需要,对体育教育专业人才培养目标进行重新定位,实施素质教育,改革课程体系、创新教学内容、改变教学方法等一系列问题上,提出新的构思和设想。提出面向21世纪,培养具备创新精神的体育人才的教学模式,为进一步深化教学改革,培养具有“宽基础、厚知识、高素质”的体育教育复合型的通用人才提供有益思路。     

The role played by grandparents in family support and learning: considerations for mainstream and special schools

The twenty‐first century family faces many demographic changes. Despite this, the importance of intergenerational relationships remains. This article initially reviews the literature surrounding the role that grandparents play in their children's families, highlighting a growing body of research demonstrating the important support role that grandparents play in the lives of families with non‐disabled children. In contrast, there is limited research on the role played by and support needs of grandparents to families with disabled children. Recognising the significance of ‘family’ rather than purely ‘parent’‐based partnerships in UK schools, this article considers the role and importance of grandparents in schools; in particular, intergenerational learning, and how schools can begin to include grandparents and also provide support to meet grandparents' own support needs. Despite a limited literature on schools working specifically with grandparents of children with SEN, some policy and practice issues are discussed and areas for future consideration suggested.     

The development of seventh graders' views of nature of science

This study investigated the development in students' nature of science (NOS) views in the context of an explicit inquiry‐oriented instructional approach. Participants were 18 seventh‐grade students who were taught by a teacher with “appropriate” knowledge about NOS. The intervention spanned about 3 months. During this time, students were engaged in three inquiry‐oriented activities that were followed by reflective discussions of NOS. The study emphasized the tentative, empirical, inferential, and creative aspects of NOS. An open‐ended questionnaire, in conjunction with semi‐structured interviews, was used to assess students' views before, during, and after the intervention. Before instruction, the majority of students held naïve views of the four NOS aspects. During instruction, the students acquired more informed and “intermediary” views of the NOS aspects. By the end of the intervention, the students' views of the NOS aspects had developed further still into informed and “intermediary.” These findings suggest a developmental model in which students' views develop along a continuum during which they pass through intermediary views to reach more informed views. Implications for teaching and learning of NOS are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 470–496, 2008     

Seeking effectiveness and equity in a large college chemistry course: an HLM investigation of Peer‐Led Guided Inquiry

This study employed hierarchical linear models (HLM) to investigate Peer‐Led Guided Inquiry (PLGI), a teaching practice combining cooperative learning and inquiry and tailored for a large class. Ultimately, the study provided an example of the effective introduction of a reform pedagogical approach in a large class setting. In the narrative, the strengths of HLM as a statistical technique are discussed in the context of pedagogical reforms, and the case is made for the use of HLM in rigorous determinations of both effectiveness and equity associated with reform practices. The implementation of PLGI in a college‐level general chemistry course is also described. For the study, two general HLM models suited to investigating reform were developed and utilized to examine the effectiveness and equity of PLGI as implemented in this setting. The models showed that the reform was associated with statistically significant improvement over traditional pedagogy in terms of academic performance on multiple measures, but achieving equity remained elusive: the consequences of pre‐existing achievement gaps did not lessen as a result of reform implementation. The analysis led to several implications for educational research, particularly in terms of evaluating pedagogical reforms, as well as for teaching. Choosing effective and equitable pedagogies for classroom implementation remains a critical goal for classes of any size. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 794–811, 2008     

基层公共图书馆合作数字参考咨询模式研究

文章在分析我国基层公共图书馆合作数字参考咨询发展现状的基础上,探讨了适合我国同情的基层公共图书馆发展合作数字参考咨询服务的模式,并提出我国公共图书馆合作数字参考咨询服务模式的发展建议。     

Re-engaging disengaged pupils in physical education: an appreciative inquiry perspective

Many children and young people enjoy physical education (PE), yet many do not, and subsequently become disengaged from PE. Previous research that has explored pupil disengagement from PE has focused on what teachers should do to re-engage their pupils, or has encouraged dis-engaged pupils to create a curriculum that they perceive to be socially and culturally relevant. While this research is extremely important, it does not highlight enough what teachers bring to the teaching and learning process. An alternative approach to understanding (dis)engagement in PE is to start by asking both teachers and pupils: what is currently working, why is it working, and what could be in the future? This ‘appreciative inquiry’ (AI) approach is underpinned by the belief that everyone and everything has strengths that can be developed, and that those strengths should be the starting point for change. Consequently, in establishing the use of AI as an important means of understanding and potentially enhancing PE pedagogy, this research sought to understand the successful teaching strategies developed by PE teachers to re-engage disengaged pupils. Importantly, in recognising the value of understanding pupil experiences we also explored and shared the success stories of the ‘re-engaged’ pupils. Finally, in extending the research in this area, we examined the impact that teacher engagement in the AI process had on their professional learning. As the teachers engaged in the AI process, they discussed, listened to (each other and their pupils), reflected and shared their success stories. This, in turn, appears to have encouraged them to re-articulate and re-enact their practice and learning within the context of a more positive future. They designed (and in some cases, co-design with their pupils) meaningful and empowering PE programmes for their ‘disengaged’ pupils and have subsequently made a commitment to future professional learning and inquiry.     

大学公共体育课运动处方实施综合课程模式实验研究

运用问卷调查、教学实验和数理统计法,对在我国普通高校公共体育课中开设"主题探究式"综合课程的可行性进行了实验研究,旨在为我国普通高校公共体育课教学改革提供借鉴。