Assessing the impact of a university teaching development programme

Four different indicators are used to assess the impact of a year‐long university teaching development programme in an Australian research‐led university. All four indicators show small positive outcomes. Teachers who complete the programme have higher rates of receipt of teaching awards and teaching development grants than their colleagues who do not participate in the programme. Students in the classes of teachers who complete the programme report, on average, higher satisfaction scores than students in the classes of the same teacher before she/he completed the programme. Students in the faculties where the programme is completed by a higher proportion of academic staff report greater change to levels of satisfaction in the quality of their degree over the seven‐year period of the study. The methodology adopted involves several new approaches to evaluation and confirms the need for the use of an evaluation framework and multi‐indicator strategy.     

Getting in Step: Accountability,accreditation and the standardization of teacher education in the United States

The background to the 'standards movement' in education in the United States is explained. It is argued that it has had a negative impact on teacher education and teacher education accreditation. An illustrative example is provided from a recent accreditation review of the application of an overly narrow understanding of standards and of legitimate evidence, and a possible alternative and more responsive and responsible view of assessment is suggested. The value of standards as guidelines for improving practice in teacher education is not questioned. Rather we aim to cast light upon what we see as their troubling reduction to templates under the often unrecognized influence of market assumptions about teaching and learning.     

Legal instruction within initial teacher training

England's Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) requires that students, in order to qualify for teacher status, must undertake the study of law. This article reviews the TDA standards and considers its rationale for the selection of law. Such selection and the need, if any, to study law are contrasted with texts written for teachers wishing to study law. It is evident that the need to study law is now even greater because of the increased role that regulations play, particularly with regards to children's rights, and the willingness of parents to challenge decisions. Empirical research was undertaken to review the initial level of legal knowledge of trainee teachers. This indicated that there is a need for a robust approach to law as there is evidence of trainees' confusion about such matters. The article recommends that there should be greater emphasis given to enabling students to further their studies through understanding legal principles, that some subjects should be given greater priority in initial training whilst others, though introduced to students, could be left to the induction period. It is also of concern that the current approach to the subject ignores its potential for problem based learning and the use of case material.     

爱丁堡学派强纲领的相对主义表征

“强纲领”是以布鲁尔和巴恩斯为代表的爱丁堡学派主张的核心理论.简而言之,“强纲领”的主旨就是主张对科学知识的成因进行社会学说明,其坚持的基本原则就是因果性、公正性、对称性、反身性.“强纲领”的本质是相对主义的,而且,它既具有哲学史上传统相对主义的一些共性,又具有其独特的内容和特征,即拒斥科学理性、消解科学真理、解构科学方法、彰显科学文化.     

From policy to practice: applying educational change in Israeli schools for students at high academic risk

This short report identifies the academic and environmental experiences that support the reclaiming of students at high academic risk and describes an applicable school‐wide programme emanating from the call for educational change in Israel. The proposed structured academic programme demonstrates how schools can achieve broad student knowledge and set high performance standards while accommodating diverse student needs. As such, the programme provides school practitioners with intervention targets that promote school engagement and higher school performance. In addition, the report provides illustrative examples of the implemented programme within schools for students at high academic risk in Israel. It is argued that a movement towards an adaptive model of schooling as portrayed within the structured academic programme may prove to be effective in academically engaging students at academic risk, thus providing all students with democratic possibilities for learning and knowing.     

Benefits of computer‐assisted instruction for struggling readers in middle school

This study investigated the benefits of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) for middle‐school students attending remedial reading classes. As a supplement to a strong language‐based reading curriculum, a CAI programme that works on strengthening phonics word identification skills was provided to students in the treatment group. These students were compared with control students taught by the same teacher but without CAI support. Students in the treatment group showed greater reading gains than control students. Group differences in gain scores were significant in the area of decoding skills. These results show that a skills‐based CAI programme can boost decoding for struggling readers in middle school.     

The relationship between biology teachers’ understanding of the nature of science and the understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of the theory of evolution (TE) to scientific knowledge, a number of misconceptions continue to be found among biology teachers. In this context, the first objective of this study was to identify the impact of professional development programme (PDP) on teachers’ understanding of nature of science (NOS) and evolution and on the acceptance of this theory. Its second objective was to study the relationship among these variables. Three instruments were used to quantify these variables: the Views of the Nature of Science Version D (VNOS D+), the Assessing Contextual Reasoning about Natural Selection (ACORN), and the Measure of Acceptance of Theory of Evolution (MATE). The results indicate that the PDP had a positive impact on teachers, significantly improving their understanding of the NOS and natural selection, as well as their acceptance of the TE. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the understanding of the NOS obtained by teachers in the first part of the PDP and the understanding and acceptance of evolution that these teachers showed at the end of the programme was determined. However, no relationship between an understanding of the NOS and gains in the understanding and acceptance of evolution was found.     

应用型国际化工科专业新课程体系的构建与实践

传统工科专业的培养模式与现代工业实践对高级工程人才的要求不相适应。为此,在对临沂师范学院部分工科专业进行深入研究与剖析的基础上,对比国际先进的高等工程教育模式,借鉴CDIO工程教育的培养理念,提出了工科专业＂应用型国际化人才培养方案＂。并以机械设计制造及其自动化专业为例,构建了新的课程体系,并进行了实践教学,为其它工科专业应用型国际化人才培养方案的实施积累了丰富的经验和基础。     

Prospect and Limits of China-EU Relations in Higher Education: A Danish Case Study

Along with China’s economic growth, the notable rise of its universities and innovation system has inspired growing interest in how the higher education institutions (HEIs) of the European Union (EU) cooperate with Chinese HEIs. Beginning with a review of China-EU higher education relations, this paper presents a case study of a Sino-Danish collaborative programme in which cooperation and programme quality were limited by both partners’ different aims over time, and their alternate quality assurance systems. We suggest a proper collaborative level and discipline should be developed before the establishment of cooperation by taking relevant policies, merits and disadvantages of both partners, into consideration. This paper also points out that limits in collaboration can be alleviated, if a number of elements can be used effectively, such as China’s significant EU knowledge diaspora. Given this and other listed factors, including favorable policies introduced by the Chinese government, there are substantial prospects for extending China-EU collaborative relations and exchanges.