The Thinking Frames Approach: a case study of inclusion using student‐generated multiple‐representations

Many teachers struggle to provide equitable opportunities for students with special educational needs (SEN) to learn science concepts in the inclusive classroom. This study examines the experience of teaching in an inclusive classroom using a conceptual change approach, the Thinking Frames Approach (TFA), incorporating the use of discrepant events, social construction of scientific conceptions followed by the production of multiple student‐generated representations of their understanding. An in‐depth case study is presented of the experience of Wayne, a student with complex SEN and the effect on his behaviour and science learning based on video/audio recordings of lessons, teacher journal entries, student artefacts, questionnaire results and interviews. It was found that there were positive effects for Wayne's learning using this approach including improved behaviour, greater feelings of self‐efficacy, increased participation in small group and class discussions and improved outcomes on the same assessment tasks as peers. It is suggested that the structured approach of the TFA, the communication of understanding in different modalities, particularly drawing, and the support of peers enabled Wayne to more deeply engage in construction of understanding and may provide teachers with an easy and effective approach to authentic inclusion where real conceptual gains are made by all students.     

谈在高校理论教育中贯彻"三个代表"的基本思路

本文认为“三个代表”为高校理论教育及时地指明了方向,并按“三个代表”的要求审视了当前高校理论教育的现状,提出了在高校理论教育改革中贯彻“三个代表”重要思想的基本思路。     

多媒体学习的认知体系

本文对主要的认知体系进行了概述,据此可以形成多媒体教学设计的理论基础.这些认知体系包括对记忆存储、记忆编码以及认知操作的描述.与多媒体学习相关的认知体系有Paivio的双重编码理论、Baddeley的工作记忆模型、Engelkamp的多模块理论、Sweller的认知负荷理论、Mayer的多媒体学习理论以及Nathan的动画理论.本文重点讨论传统研究和教学应用之间的交互作用,教学应用主要涉及如何增加回忆率、减少干扰、降低认知负荷以及加强理解等方面.得出的初步结论是:虽然各自有所侧重,不同的理论之间仍有一些共性;这些模型中缺乏对学习者多元编码整合作用的研究;在心理模拟足够的情况下并不需要动画教学;动作必须有意义才能有效果;多模块教学比单个不同的特定模块更加有效.     

On Understanding the Notion of Limits and Infinitesimal Quantities

In this paper we explore the influence of students’ personalized notion of ‘small’ numbers based on real life experiences on their understanding of limits. Tests were conducted on two samples of students. The first sample, consisting of students in the XII grade, had been taught limits using an informal approach (i.e., without recourse to the definition) and the second sample, consisting of first year undergraduates, had been taught the formal definition of limits. Our research points out that most students in both samples round off to zero such ‘small numbers’ while evaluating limits wherever such numbers might occur because they perceive limit as a process of approximation.     

Levels of phonological representation in skilled reading and in learning to read

This paper refers to and discusses empiricalevidence supporting the general idea that bothskilled reading and learning to read capitalizeon underlying phonological representations.These representations must be specified interms of degree of abstractness, unitsrepresented and degree of conscious access tothese units. In skilled reading, pre-lexicalrepresentations, at different levels ofphonological structure, are unconsciously,mandatorily and automatically activated, inconnection with correspondent orthographicrepresentations. This process is distinct fromthe intentional and controlled phonologicaldecoding assumed by the classic dual-routemodel. Learning to read may be described as theprogression from conscious phonologicaldecoding, in which phoneme awareness plays acritical role, to the unconscious mapping oforthographic and phonological segments.Phonological dyslexia is related to someanomaly in speech perception capacities, makingit difficult both to develop efficientconscious segmentation abilities andgrapho-phonological decoding. It is suggestedthat this conscious speech segmentation deficitis caused by a lack of appropriate segmentationat the unconscious, perceptual level.     

Being-in-the-World and the Horizons of Learning: Heidegger, Wittgenstein, and Cognition

The work of Heidegger and Wittgenstein still influences research and development in such areas as sociology of science, cognitive science, and design of computer-based work environments. The purpose of this article is to show how the writings of Heidegger and Wittgenstein can be used to: (a) throw new light on studies of real-time learning in school science, (b) understand the situated nature of cognition during science activities, and (c) inform the design of new learning environments. Two case studies are used to illustrate the fruitfulness of such an approach.     

Sound representations in preschool students / Las representaciones del sonido en estudiantes de educación preescolar

Abstract

Studies of the representations that students construct, within the framework of embodied cognition, have shown that perception, action and cognition are linked and are the basis of these representations. From this framework of analysis, this study attempted to identified the representations of 23 preschool students (ages four and five) of sound production, perception and propagation. In-depth interviews were conducted using hypothetical situations and experimental tasks. Three representations were identified. The first one shows a conception of sound centred on objects. Representation 2 also focuses on objects and their relationship with the subject, but it begins to attribute characteristics to the sound itself, and in representation 3, sound has more intrinsic characteristics that expand its possibilities of interacting with the subject and other objects. We conclude that the construction of representations of sound starts from perceptual elements and is linked to actions, although its complexity also shows that they incorporate characteristics that go beyond this corporal correlate.     

Revisiting curriculum inquiry: the role of visual representations

Curriculum materials and knowledge about curricular purposes and structures are valuable tools that teachers often draw upon to organize instruction and facilitate student learning. Careful analysis of teachers’ curriculum implementation and the decision-making that undergirds their curriculum use is critical for fully understanding enactment. This paper compares how integrity analyses of implementation of curriculum materials and actor-oriented analysis of teachers’ curriculum use can help researchers, teacher educators, and curriculum designers interpret teachers’ decisions about what aspects of new materials to use and how to use such materials. Drawing on evidence from teacher interviews and observations, we compare two teachers’ enactments of a new elementary-level environmental biology unit. Our analyses of integrity point to differences in teachers’ adaptations with respect to their consistency with the purposes and structures of curriculum materials as construed by designers. By contrast, our actor-oriented analysis explain how the teachers’ different approaches to interpreting the goals and structures of the curriculum unit partly account for patterns in their enactment in ways that can inform refinements to materials and the design of professional development supports for teachers. In so doing, we show how implementation integrity and actor-oriented analyses offer complementary perspectives to inform curriculum research and development.     

Students' mental load,stress, and performance when working with symbolic or symbolic–textual molecular representations

In science education, representations are necessary inter alia for the understanding of relationships between structures and systems. However, several studies have identified difficulties of students when working with representations. In the present study, we investigated students' responses (regarding their preference, test performance, mental load (ML), and stress) toward two kinds of representations: symbolic representations, which only use abstract symbols, versus combined symbolic–textual representations, which additionally comprise textual elements. Therefore, students were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: one group worked on test tasks accompanied by symbolic representations, and the others worked on the same tasks, but with symbolic–textual representations. Thereafter, the students' test performance and ML were assessed. The level of perceived stress and the salivary cortisol concentration were measured before and after the test and again a few minutes later. Additionally, heart rate variability parameters were assessed continuously. We found a strong preference of the test version with symbolic representations. Additionally, the students showed better test performance and lower ML when they worked with symbolic representations. However, the level of perceived stress was comparable between both groups and there was no strong physiological stress response: The cortisol concentration decreased in both groups and the heart rate was relatively similar. However, during the second half of the test, we observed a significantly higher ratio between low and high heartbeat frequencies in the group with symbolic–textual representations and we found an indirect influence of the kind of representation on test performance through its effect on ML. The poorer test performance and higher ML in connection with symbolic–textual representations confirm previous studies, which found that symbolic–textual representations pose major problems for students. Thus, teachers should enable students to understand symbolic–textual representations and consider carefully whether they can use symbolic representations instead, especially when they teach complex content.     

二语词汇习得心理表征的产出性词汇能力探究

二语学习者的产出性词汇能力研究是二语习得领域中的薄弱环节。通过分析二语词汇习得在不同阶段的不同心理表征,探寻其背后的形成机制,对症下药,以期找到能促进二语学习者产出性词汇能力发展的方法,减少二语词汇发展中的石化现象,实现大学英语教学改革的目标。