The Use and Misuse of Standardized Testing: A Whiteheadian Point of View

First an overview is given about the actual national and international situation concerning standardized testing. Then two major reasons are presented why accountability systems based on standardized testing have become so widespread: (a) the missing validity and reliability of teachers’ assessment of students’ achievement, and (b) the important role standardized testing plays for out-put management in educational systems.On the basis of these considerations Alfred North Whitehead’s critical remarks on external standardized testing are presented. Whitehead’s main point is that external standardized testing limits the freedom of teachers to adapt to the complex, situation specific circumstances in order to obtain a maximum of the creative learning process for students who are conceived as specialists. Instead external testings lead to “teaching to the test.” As a consequence, the attitude of creative, adventurous exploration is undermined and substituted by simple pattern recognition, narrow visions, and even boredom. Finally, the question is raised whether there is any possibility of developing a measurement tool which on the one side meets scientific test criteria, and on the other side is still flexible enough to do justice to needs of individual schools – which according to Whitehead are the essential educational unit – and not vice versa, as it is the case at present with external standardized testing. That such a flexible approach to evaluation is possible is demonstrated by the presentation of the basic ideas of the MSS (Module Approach to Self-Evaluation of School Development Projects) which has been developed and examined in ten schools by the author and his collaborators.     

"发展性的教与学互动"教学模式研究

"发展性的教与学互动"是"学、教、研"相结合的教学模式,是推行高难度教学的有效形式之一.该教学模式运行的关键是创设适合学生思考的发展区,基本条件是教师了解学生、教学民主和适宜的难度.     

论生命视角下的教师教育

教育的起点是“人”的教育,教师的责任是教人做人。教育不仅要关注学生的生命成长,也需要关注教师的生命成长。在以往的教师教育中,我们过分注重教师的技能化培训,而忽视了教师生命的完善与发展。因此,要实现人的完整性,使之走向完美境界,就必须完善教师的生命价值,使其在帮助学生完整实现自己的同时也创造着属于教师自己的生命意义与自身价值。     

中学物理探究性教学现状及其影响因素的调查

就中学物理教学中开展探究性教学情况进行了调查研究,以湖北省、山东省部分中学物理教师为主要研究对象,以问卷调查为主要方法,根据中学物理教师探究性教学的切身体会和所掌握的中学物理教师开展探究性教学的第一手资料,探寻影响中学物理课程开展探究性教学的制约因素,为探究性教学在中学顺利、深入地开展提出建议。     

《软件工程》课程教学的若干思考

文章分析了《软件工程》课程教学特点,讨论了《软件工程》课程教学对学生软件开发习惯的一些影响,提出了《软件工程》课程教学对教师素质的一些特殊要求。     

Teaching Traditions in Science Teachers’ Practices and the Introduction of National Testing

Our main interest in this article is to explore whether Swedish teachers changed their teaching and assessment practices in relation to the new national tests in science education that were introduced 2009. Data was collected using a web-distributed questionnaire, which was answered by 407 teachers. The concept of teaching traditions is used to capture patterns of what is emphasized by teachers in terms of goals and content in teaching and the design of the questionnaire was based on the concept of curriculum emphases. The results show two distinct groups of focus, which are compared with two traditions within science education: the Academic and the Moral tradition. The main content where teaching has been changed is in making science more applied than before, where applied not only means the application of science knowledge to practical technical issues, but also to moral and political issues.     

Developing a communal identity as beginning teachers of mathematics: Emergence of an online community of practice

The aim of this study is to investigate how a community of practice focused on becoming a teacher of secondary school mathematics emerged during a pre-service teacher education programme and was sustained after students graduated and began their first year of full-time teaching in schools. Bulletin board discussions of one pre-service cohort are analysed in terms of Wenger’s (1998) three defining features of a community of practice: mutual engagement of participants, negotiation of a joint enterprise, and development of a shared repertoire for creating meaning. Emergence of the online community was associated with our own role in facilitating professional dialogue, the voluntary and unstructured nature of participation, initial face-to-face interaction that created familiarity and trust, and the convenience of using email rather than logging on to a website. The study shows that the emergent design of the community contributed to its sustainability in allowing the pre-service and beginning teachers to define their own professional goals and values.

“课程思政”的内涵、问题及建设路径

"课程思政"是高校当前思政教育的一种新理念和新模式,它不是要取代以前通过思政课程进行思政教育的模式,而是要与思政课程同向同行,协同育人。"课程思政"不是一门课或几门课,也不是一项活动,而是一种全新的教育教学理念。高校"课程思政"建设中出现缺乏协同合作机制、专业课教师无法有效找到"融入点"、理工科"课程思政"更为复杂困难与"课程思政"形式化、同质化现象等问题。据此,需要从高校的顶层设计和整体规划、专业课教师尤其是理工科教师的"课程思政"教育能力提升、学生思政的自我提升几个方面着手进行"课程思政"建设。     

一带一路背景下南亚东南亚来华留学生学习动机对学业成绩的影响研究

对留学生的个人特征、学习动机与学业成绩进行比较分析,学习动机主要从学习成就、职业价值、社会取向成就、技能成就四方面进行调查研究。采用随机抽样的方法选取100名学生,利用SPSS 19.0对样本数据进行分析,结果表明:年级、年龄及性别对留学生的学习动机水平和学业成绩均无显著性影响;不同学科对学生学业成绩有一定影响;学业成绩与学习动机呈显著正相关,与职业价值动机相关程度最高;社会取向动机对学习动机水平相关程度最高;学习动机水平与学业成绩呈极显著正相关关系。同时,针对留学生的学习动机与学业成绩现状,提出针对性的建议。     

论教师对学生的理解

教师对学生的理解是教育和发展学生的第一要素，是实现教育效能、促进学生心理健康等的基础和手段，是教师智慧与德行的融合，它有着丰富的内涵。提高教师德行与个性修养、对学生生活的全方位关注、确立师生之间的对话关系等，是提高教师对学生理解力的重要途径。