Cooperative Learning and the Organization of Secondary Schools

This article describes the inter‐relationship between school organization and classroom instructional style. Two distinct models of school organization, the bureaucratic and open‐systems models, are characterized in terms of three major dimensions of school life; a. the behavior of administrators, teachers and students, b. work design and tasks, and c. space‐time allocations. It is shown that the bureaucratic model of school organization parallels, and sustains, the traditional whole‐class method of teaching in all of the three dimensions. An open‐systems model of staff organization at the school level is required to sustain an alternative form of classroom instruction such as cooperative learning. The approach presented here emphasizes the inter‐relatedness of all three dimensions of schooling at the organizational and classroom levels. It also claims that the implementation of genuine instructional change, that entails new patterns of interpersonal relations in the classroom, is contingent upon similar changes being made at the level of the school as an organization. Lack of attention to school organizational change may explain why efforts at changing instruction at the classroom level frequently fail to yield results.     

The effect of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge on children's attitudes towards science,engineering and technology

This research examines the effects of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge (HGGC), a hands-on science, engineering and technology (SET) project, on the attitudes of Year 5, primary-school children towards SET. The data collection centred on pre- and post-HGGC questionnaires using Likert scales and picture/word images of scientists and engineers. It was found that the HGGC did not significantly alter children's attitudes to SET and did not dispel previous negative images and attitudes. It was concluded that a greater understanding and acknowledgement of children's existing attitudes was required when designing initiatives aimed at dispelling negative and promoting positive images of SET.     

Conceptual change with refutational maps

ABSTRACT

This study investigated how studying a refutational map, a type of argument map, affected conceptual change. Refutational maps visually display both correct and alternative conceptions. Participants (N?=?120) were randomly assigned to (1) a refutational map condition, (2) a refutational text condition, and (3) a non-refutational text condition. The post-test results showed that studying the refutational map led to better performance on free recall and learning transfer measures. Specifically, participants who studied the refutational map performed significantly better than others on a free recall test, and they significantly outperformed the non-refutational text group on a short-answer transfer test. The multiple-choice test, another transfer measure, failed to detect any differences among the three groups. The research also found that individual differences in need for cognition and logical thinking ability interacted with the type of study materials. Participants scoring lower on logical thinking ability gained more from studying the refutational map.     

Data Mining for Web Site Evaluation

Abstract

This paper evaluates the actual use of a course Website by graduate social work students. The study utilized data mining techniques to discover meaningful trends by using the data from server logs. The course Website was accessed 24,730 times by all 49 graduate students during a semester. The students utilized the course Website 23 hours a day, 7 days a week, day and night, evening hours, and weekends. The most popular area was the course documents area and the least popular was the student area. Study findings have implications for distance learning in higher education.     

生态文明城市建设程度测评及发展策略研究——以西安市灞桥区为例

生态文明城市建设要从其目标出发,构建不同地区不同发展阶段的生态文明城市评价指标体系,并以此对生态文明城市建设程度进行测评,最终提出各个类型城市生态文明建设策略。本文以西安市生态文明建设试点区—灞桥区为例,进行了生态文明城市建设程度评价分析,结果显示灞桥区属于生态文明城市建设先进阶段,还需要从生态环境、生态经济、生态文化、生态制度建设四方面进行加强:加强生态环境建设,维护生物多样性等生态功能;加快转变经济发展方式;努力优化消费模式;完善生态制度体系。     

课程评价的符号交换

课程评价突出表现为以选拔与淘汰为价值取向的考试评价,作为分数的符号之所以大行其道．是因为分数符号具有诸多的交换价值。课程评价能以符号代替真实,其根源在于课程评价的表征要求,而质性评价主观性强,在国家层面上是无法操作的,所以课程评价最终以分数符号居于主导地位。课程评价是一种价值判断。反映了分数符号与社会的交换,分数符号代表课程的社会功能实现程度。分数符号不是简单的符号,它是有价值的,它凝结着学习者学习时间的累积,对学生来说,分数在一定意义上是时间累积的等价交换。分数符号与教学也有交换,评价与教学是一个矛盾的两个方面,忽视评价的教学就是在否定课程目标,当教学没有目标时,教学也就不存在了。     

美国科技政策浅析

美国的科技政策主要分为四个阶段建国后至二战前、二战至二十世纪六十年代末、七十年代至八十年代末、九十年代至今。每个阶段的科技政策都有不同特点。但总体来说美国的不同阶段的科技政策又有相同点,即重视科技的优良传统、历届政府重视科技、科学界内外协调、注重基础科学研究、过度和军事结合。美国的科技政策对我国有很大的启示意义。启示主要有以下几点：重视基础科学研究、完善科学界内外部关系、实时调整科技政策、培养良好的重视科学的传统。     

基于VRP的中小学虚拟科技馆的设计和实现

中小学虚拟科技馆作为建设数字化校园的一部分,可以使学生在虚拟科技馆中自由浏览,体验或操控虚拟展示的科学技术和产品,弥补实体科技馆的局限,培养学生的科学精神和素养。文章阐述了建设中小学三维立体虚拟科技馆的步骤、虚拟科技馆的数据采集与教学设计、虚拟科技馆建筑与展品的建模与烘培方法以及利用VR-Platform构建虚拟场景、实现虚拟交互控制的方法。     

新建本科院校课堂教学质量评价模型探析

课堂教学是影响教学质量的最主要因素,科学合理的评价一堂课的优劣是一项非常复杂的工作,我们旨在给出较为合理的课堂教学评价指标和课堂评价数学模型,开展教学的良性竞争,有效地提高教学质量,关注教师专业成长,不断提升办学内涵.     

推动县域义务教育优质均衡发展的实践框架、内在机理与作用路径

借鉴变革理论,对北京市推进义务教育优质均衡发展监测与督导项目的实践进行梳理,形成以评促建推动县域义务教育优质均衡发展的实践框架。围绕以评促建横向服务优质均衡创建和评估认定,纵向服务县级和省级教育行政和督导部门的架构,提出以评促建推动县域义务教育优质均衡发展的枢纽机制模型。横向来看,以评促建通过专业支持和同构协商形成促进优质均衡发展的内在机理;纵向来看,以评促建自上而下通过问题诊断、能力建设、改进提升,自下而上通过现状监测、督导评估、协同引领,形成不同作用路径。