Utilising social networking sites to improve writing: a case study with Chinese students in Malaysia

With the advancement of technology, writing in English is no longer confined to the classroom as nowadays students are exposed to various forms of writing on the Internet. Specifically with Generation Y in mind, online writing is a new method that needs to be implemented to enhance Malaysian students’ writing skills. This article aims at identifying what motivates English as a Second Language students to write in English on Facebook. Ten Chinese-speaking students from a private urban school were selected for this study. These students had just started secondary education after being educated in Chinese-vernacular elementary schools for six years. The students were required to participate in an ongoing discussion on their Facebook class page in order to complete a writing task. Data for this study comprised both online discussions and interviews. The findings suggest that peer influence and school surroundings motivated the students to write better in English on Facebook. The findings also imply that the use of technology in writing tasks made students write better in English owing to the exchanges of feedback and ideas that took place through this social networking site.     

英国首先发生工业革命原因之新解

工业革命首先发生在英国和英国特有的心理文化因素有着紧密的联系,心理的动力对英国经济增长产生了强烈的作用力。市民等级追求财富自由的欲望、清教的宗教意识以及从17世纪就开始的为个人追求私有财产正名的思想运动,这些都促使了英国工业民族精神特别是“合理谋利”精神的产生。     

Factors associated with students’ attitude change in online peer assessment – a mixed methods study in a graduate-level course

Abstract

Positive student attitude towards peer assessment can be demonstrated through high-quality peer assessment activities. Research findings on students’ attitudes before and after such activities were mixed. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to investigate the underlying factors influencing students’ attitude change. Participants were students enrolled in an online graduate-level assessment course in the college of education in a university in the southeast United States in the fall of 2017 (N?=?31). Surveys and interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data separately, both of which indicated that perceived accurate and specific feedback tended to help students shift to more positive attitudes towards online peer assessment. In addition, final task score improvement after the activity was correlated with positive attitude change. Qualitative results also identified other factors, such as communication with the peers’ work and logistic concerns. The current study offers insights for researchers and instructors to promote positive attitude changes in online peer assessment activities.     

TaChord:利用拓扑相关路由算法和超级节点的Chord系统

由于未考虑实际网络拓扑结构,当前结构化对等网络系统存在高延迟低效率的毛病. 本文提出一种与实际网络拓扑结构相关的路由方法,并开发出一种基于Chord的TaChord系统. 在仿真系统中, 用物理跳数、域间延迟和每个消息占用的带宽来衡量TaChord和其他系统的路由性能. 仿真结果表明,TaChord系统的路由性能有了极大的提高, 如平均物理跳数是Chord的一半,并且不同路由缓存管理策略对TaChord的路由性能能产生重要的影响.     

美国社会能力培养研究与启示

作为儿童能力发展的重要组成部分 ,社会能力不仅影响着儿童的个性发展和社会适应性 ,而且还影响着儿童未来的社会生活。从 2 0世纪 70年代开始 ,社会能力培养的研究受到美国教育界的高度重视 ,关于社会能力的理论和实践不断得到拓展 ,并在促进儿童的社会性发展上起到了重要的作用。本文着重介绍美国社会能力培养研究的发展以及社会能力研究发展的新特点 ,并在此基础上进一步探讨美国社会能力培养研究对我国素质教育的启示。     

What catches the eye in class observation? Observers’ perspectives in a multidisciplinary peer observation of teaching program

Peer Observation of Teaching has raised a lot of interest as a device for quality enhancement of teaching. While much research has focused on its models, implementation schemes and feedback to the observed, little attention has been paid to what the observer actually sees and can learn from the observation. A multidisciplinary peer observation of teaching program is described, and its data is used to identify the pedagogical aspects to which lecturers pay more attention to when observing classes. The discussion addresses the valuable learning opportunities for observers provided by this program, as well as its usefulness in disseminating, sharing and clarifying quality teaching practices. The need for further research concerning teacher-student relationships and students’ engagement is also suggested.     

An Analysis of Peer Feedback Exchanged in Group Supervision

The authors examined the peer feedback exchanged in 2 supervision groups of counselors‐in‐training (CITs). CITs generated 169 statements grouped into 10 clusters representing 5 regions of peer feedback: counselor focus and engagement, insight‐oriented skills, exploratory skills, therapeutic alliance, and intervention activities. Both positive and corrective peer feedback was exchanged on topics ranging from counselor performance skills to case conceptualization.     

Peer perceptions of students receiving pull-out services in elementary school: A multi-age study

This study examined the peer nominations of 213 children in Kindergarten (90), 3rd grade (58), and 5th grade (65) to examine their perceptions of peers who received pull-out services for unique needs. Using Coie, Dodge, and Coppotelli’s[1982. “Dimensions and Types of Social Status: A Cross-age Perspective.” Developmental Psychology 18 (4): 557–570] protocol for assessing sociometric status in children, the results revealed that peer perceptions of most liked (ML) and least liked (LL) in the classroom were associated with pull-out status, with those students who did not receive pull-out services receiving more nominations as ML than their peers who did leave the classroom for pull-out services. Social impact scores for children who received pull-out services were not significantly different from those of children who did not receive pull-out services, but significant differences were revealed for social preference scores. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Cognitive regulations in ICT-supported flipped classroom interactions: An activity theory perspective

In recent years, most studies on flipped classrooms or flipped learning have focused on learners’ motivation, academic achievement and teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the flipped classroom. Little research has involved interactions in the flipped classroom. This study aims to show that in-class collaborative learning in the flipped classroom can not only be conceived as a collective activity consisting of discrete actions, but also as a systematic activity. From the activity-theoretical perspective, contradictions were found between components of an activity such as subject, tools, rules, community, division of labor, object and outcome. This study conducted a pre-experiment, selecting one lesson of the seventh-grade Information Technology Course as the learning content, conducted in a flipped classroom. Three triads with different compositions were specifically observed by recording their interactions. More second-level contradictions existed between subject and tools, and division of labor within the low-level triad than within the other two triads, and more first-level contradictions also occurred within the low-level triad than within the other two triads. Most second-level contradictions within the high-level triad were resolved by self-regulation of cognition. Instead, most second-level contradictions within the mixed-level triad were overcome by co-regulation or shared regulation of cognition. This study sheds light on how to effectively design and implement flipped learning, and provides a new approach for analyzing interactions in the classroom.     

混龄走班游戏中无结构小组对幼儿同伴交往的影响

同伴交往是幼儿社会学习的重要内容。混龄走班游戏有助于创设一种无结构小组活动形式,有利于促进不同年龄幼儿在游戏过程中的自由结伴、协同合作与交往沟通。为探究此种无结构小组对幼儿同伴交往行为的具体影响,本研究采取观察法与访谈法,对实施混龄走班游戏的H市B园进行研究,结果发现,在B园实施混龄走班游戏之后,由于幼儿在这一游戏模式下能够组成无结构小组,所以他们更偏向于选择积极的同伴交往策略,在交往方式的选择上也呈现出多样化的特点,幼儿的游戏体验以正面和积极的体验为主,不同年龄、不同性别幼儿之间能够形成交往默契与协同合作意识,促使交往多朝着成功的方向发展。社会网络分析结果进一步表明班级幼儿没有形成以某些幼儿为中心的社交活动模式,相反,每个幼儿都能在同伴交往中找准自己的位置,积极参与到各种活动中,形成了多个相对独立的团聚子群,同时又通过群体共享成员紧密联系在一起。幼儿园应创设具有无结构小组特征的游戏环境,激发幼儿的交往热情,正确发挥教师的引导作用,提升幼儿的交往水平。