Using a modified argument-driven inquiry to promote elementary school students’ engagement in learning science and argumentation

This study explored the effects of a modified argument-driven inquiry approach on Grade 4 students’ engagement in learning science and argumentation in Taiwan. The students were recruited as an experimental group (EG, n?=?36) to join a 12-week study, while another 36 Grade 4 students from the same schools were randomly selected to be the comparison group (CG). All participants completed a questionnaire at the beginning and end of this study. In addition, four target students with the highest and the other four students with the lowest pretest engagement in learning science or argumentation to be observed weekly and interviewed following the posttest. Initial results revealed that the EG students’ total engagement in learning science and argumentation and the claim and warrant components were significantly higher than the CG students. In addition, the EG students’ anxiety in learning science significantly decreased during the study; and their posttest total engagement in learning science scores were positively associated with their argumentation scores. Interview and observation results were consistent with the quantitative findings. Instructional implications and research recommendations are discussed.     

The engagement agenda,multimedia learning and the use of images in higher education lecturing: or,how to end death by PowerPoint

This article is concerned with student engagement and understanding in large group teaching in Higher Education (HE). Specifically, it is concerned with the application of Multimedia Learning (MML) methods in Politics, History, International Relations, Sociology, Social Work, and Business and Economics teaching that privilege the use of images to complement text in lecture presentations. This ‘visual’ method, it is claimed in the literature, generates engagement and understanding better than text alone. This article develops, applies and empirically tests with students, MML methods across a range of Higher Education disciplines over three years. The research deploys Participatory Action Research (PAR) methods engaging students as active agents of investigation and change. It finds evidence to support the hypothesis that apposite images combined with reduced text increases students’ engagement and understanding with academic content, but that much formal research needs to expand on the range of demographics tested.     

Parent question use during shared reading time: How does training affect question type and frequency?

This study was designed to examine whether participation in a shared reading workshop alters the frequency with which parents ask their children questions during book reading sessions, particularly questions designed to strengthen component reading skills that they may not have known about before training. Participants in the reading workshop series (N = 57) were taught strategies for asking questions about story content and word structure to build children's language and literacy skills. Findings suggest that parents may be somewhat familiar with traditional dialogic reading strategies focused on story content and utilize them without instruction, whereas parents may be less knowledgeable about sound or print‐focused skills and do not employ strategies focused on word structure until instructed to do so. It is also notable that parents do not use all story content prompts equally. This information can be used by school psychologists to refine the messages educators share with parents about how to best support their children's reading development.     

Pedagogical practices of NetNZ teachers for supporting online distance learners

A supportive online learning environment entails teachers using effective pedagogical practices to meet the needs of their students and developing a positive teacher–student relationship to foster learner motivation and engagement. This paper reports a study investigating how 32 secondary teachers in New Zealand taught their online distance classes and how they related to their students. These classes were administered by NetNZ, an online distance education community. An online survey conducted in 2016 found that NetNZ teachers used inquiry-based practices including flipped learning and knowledge-building pedagogies to support agency, autonomy, collaboration, and community development. They also used synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies to overcome barriers of relationship building in online settings. NetNZ was unique in delivering distance education in the New Zealand context in that it used a community approach to encourage a more active participation of its member schools and teachers in delivering distance courses to secondary students.     

高校教师职务聘任制存在的问题及对策

聘任制作为高校人事制度改革的核心,一直为高校专业技术人员所密切关注。文章对我国现行的高校聘任制存在的弊端做出分析,并就如何改进高校聘任制提出对策。     

我国农村居民消费需求发展趋势及动力探究

农村居民消费需求增长的主要动力来源于农村居民收入的增加、社会保障体系的建立、消费环境的改善。我国农村居民消费力和城镇相比弱小得多,制约农村居民消费力提升的因素有三方面:一是未能建立农村家庭长效增收机制,消费增长乏力;二是农村社会保障体系不健全,农民消费后顾之忧重影响农村消费力的提升;三是农村消费环境不完善制约农村消费能力。提升农村居民消费力重在有效落实惠农政策、构建农村剩余劳动力转移机制、推动特色农业的发展使农村居民收入逐步增加,同时进一步建立健全农村社会保障机制和改善农村消费环境。     

Health literacy and consumer health information

The rigours of the past few years have demonstrated the importance of good health literacy levels with the imperative of being able to obtain and interpret information to maintain and improve one's health never more apparent. With this in mind, this issue is focused on consumer health information, the gender and population group differences that exist in information seeking behaviour, the challenges of understanding medical explanations and terminology, and existing criteria to assess and ultimately produce better consumer health information.     

消费社会“名人符号”分析

名人符号是特定社会结构与意识形态的表征。消费社会符号消费逻辑改变名人符号生产机制与内涵所指,使名人符号的生产机制由意识形态宣传、公共知识传承转向娱乐化、大众化,自身沦为一种可以消费的商品,同时造成信道资源被抢占、无效信息的广泛传播与信息污染等一系列问题。在分裂破碎、结构松散的后现代社会里,名人符号也是一种联结社会的工具与纽带。消费社会大众传媒与广告主要制造了三种类型的名人叙事:偶像神话型、肥皂戏剧型与恶搞反叛型,形成了文化传播中的一种特殊的形态。     

Prediction of self-reported knowledge with over-claiming, fluid and crystallized intelligence and typical intellectual engagement

We investigated the usefulness of the Over-Claiming Questionnaire (OCQ) as a measure of cognitive abilities. In OCQs respondents are asked to rate their familiarity with items of academic or everyday knowledge (Paulhus, Harms, Bruce, & Lysy, 2003). Some items exist in reality (reals), and others do not (foils). We developed four OCQs, each consisting of 40 reals and 8 foils from the domains of Science, Humanities and Civics. The OCQs were administered in a longitudinal rotation design to 112 participants who attended the 9th school grade at the beginning of the study. In latent variable regression analyses 53% of variation in the reals could be explained by fluid and crystallized intelligence and over-claiming as indicated by responses to foils. Further variation in responses to reals and foils was explained by intellectual engagement. Our results show that self-reported knowledge, although positively related to measures of ability, to a large extent reflects over-claiming.     

《让子弹飞》：消费文化语境下文学电影改编的典型文本

电影《让子弹飞》的改编是消费文化语境下文学电影改编的典型案例,消费文化的各种要素深刻地影响了它的改编策略：充分发掘文学原著中故事元素,用电影的方式重写文学原著中的故事,保持流行艺术中＂大团圆＂的结构模式,对原著中的人物角色重新设置,突出丑角人物与理想人物,发挥电影的视觉文化功能,创制视觉奇观,变原著的评书体语言为戏谑化的对白。