Expectations versus reality: the case of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong’s new senior secondary reforms

This article reports the findings of a five-year longitudinal study investigating the introduction of Liberal Studies in the context of Hong Kong’s new senior secondary educational reforms. The aim of this empirical research, which adopted diachronic analysis to allow comparisons over time, was to compare teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the Liberal Studies curriculum before and after its introduction. Methodologically speaking, the study was informed by documentary inquiry, with approximately 560 newspaper articles and government reports collected to identify the issues surrounding the curriculum debate. Questionnaire-based surveys conducted in the pre- and post-reform periods revealed a sharp contrast between expectations and reality for both participant groups following the curriculum’s introduction. Whilst the students demonstrated favourable attitudes towards Liberal Studies before studying the subject, a certain degree of disappointment was expressed after the new curriculum came into effect. In follow-up interviews with teachers, they expressed a lack of confidence in teaching such a multi-disciplinary subject and criticised the overly ambitious nature of the curriculum. Liberal Studies, as currently taught, runs the risk of falling out of favour with Hong Kong secondary school teachers, and the question of whether it will play an increasingly important role in promoting patriotic education after the demise of Moral and National Education is deserving of research attention.     

高职学制改革的对策与建议

分析高等职业教育学制改革后可能面临的问题,结合无锡职业技术学院教学改革实践,提出学制缩短后在把握培养目标、找准学校定位,改革课程体系、教学内容,实施产学结合、校企合作、优化教学过程,培养"双师型"师资及专业带头人等方面的基本对策.同时,从学校角度提出实施高职学制改革的若干建议.     

树立与新课程相适应的教学观念

为了适应当前的新课程改革,需要树立先进的教学观念。教学不只是传授知识的过程,更是师生交往、积极互动、共同发展的过程;教学也不是只重结论的过程,而是一个过程、结论并重的阶段,它是学生探索新知的经历和获得新知的体验;学科教学要以学生的发展为根本,服务于学生的全面发展。     

课程改革与数学教师的定位思考

面对新一轮的课程改革，作为教学环节中起主导作用的数学教师，必须认真审视课程改革的实质，体会新课程计划所体现的新精神，并在教学中转变教育教学观念，更新知识，发展潜力，成为实施新课程计划的新型教师。     

历史教育研究的新发展——评朱煜先生新著《历史课程与教学论》

以中学历史课程与教学问题为核心，以提升历史教师专业化水平为目标，注重反映新一轮历史课程改革的新理念、新问题，体现了历史学科特色，成为朱煜专著《历史课程与教学论》一书的最大的亮点。     

教师信念与英语课堂教学设计

教师信念比教师的知识更能影响教师的备课、做各种判断以及教学实践。利用社会建构主义的教学思想指导教师反思自己的教学信念,并将其与教学设计的理论知识相结合,旨在帮助教师尽快提高他们在教学设计方面的能力。     

How to encourage a lifelong learner? The complex relation between learning strategies and assessment in a medical curriculum

Abstract

To foster lifelong learning skills, we need new didactic approaches with aligned assessment methods. Therefore, we investigated whether the outcomes of a project assignment show a different relation to learning strategies than a longitudinal knowledge-based assessment. We studied learning strategies of first year students of medicine and biomedical sciences (n?=?248) and performed hierarchical regression analyses for the learning strategies and grades of the longitudinal knowledge-based test and project assignment. Scores of students, measured with the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Likert scale 1–7), were relatively low for critical thinking (3.53), compared to rehearsal (4.40), elaboration (4.82), organisation (4.69) and metacognitive self-regulation (4.33). Knowledge based tests showed a significant relation to elaboration (p?<?0.01). For the project-based assessment, we did not find a significant relation to any learning strategy (p?=?0.074). Explained variance of the grades was low for all learning strategies (R² < 0.043). Different types of assessment did not discriminate between students with high or low scores on learning strategies associated with lifelong learning. An explanation is that the curriculum is not aligned with assessment, or students do not benefit in terms of grades. We conclude that, if assessment is to drive lifelong learning skills, this is not self-evident.     

基于EQuIP的馆校结合课程质量研究——以美国自然历史博物馆“生态系统的破坏”为例

本文介绍了美国用于评估课程与《新一代科学教育标准》一致性的教育者评估教学产品质量量规(EQuIP),并以美国自然历史博物馆开发的“生态系统的破坏”单元为例,阐明量规的使用方法。从对接NGSS三个维度的角度总结量规的特点,为我国馆校结合课程的开发提出三点建议:首先,馆校结合课程不仅要在教学的内容上,还需在教学的理念、目标、方法上全面对接课标;其次,馆校结合课程需要以学生及其学习为中心,注重课程资源、教学的目标、方式、评价的整体设计,深入地对接课程标准;最后,需要为开发基于课标的馆校结合课程提供相应的软件和硬件保障。     

高中化学新课程呼唤“最近发展区”

结合高中化学新课程的教学理念及教材编排特点,从化学教学、作业布置及非智力因素等方面阐述如何运用"最近发展区"理论。     

高职高等数学"2+1"教学模式研究与实践

针对目前高职数学课程教学内容体系一成不变,教学方式单一,教学模式陈旧的现状,高职院校要转变教学思想,改革课程体系,以应用能力培养为主线,通过构建“2＋1”（二年理论教学＋一年实践教学）模式来提高教学效率,并通过改革教学方法和教学手段以保证“2＋1”教学模式的顺利实施。