美国儿童博物馆的社会经济效益研究 —— 基于15家儿童博物馆的访谈调查

发源于美国的儿童博物馆至今已有一百多年的历史.采用分层随机抽样与典型抽样相结合的抽样方式,通过对美国15家儿童博物馆负责人的访谈研究发现,作为以教育儿童为目的的非营利性社会组织,美国儿童博物馆承担着服务促进社会发展的重要责任,其社会经济效益与教育功能一样不容忽视.其产生的社会经济效益主要包括:为家庭教育提供有利场所,传播和培养启发式、互动式和参与式的教育理念;注重对儿童文化欣赏力、多元文化包容力和跨文化交际能力的培养;整合社会资源服务社区,与当地学校、高校和其他社会机构保持紧密联系;关注社会弱势群体,促进当地经济文化发展.     

我国义务教育人员性投入价格指数的构造与应用——以城镇地区为例

本文利用2005年全国1%人口抽样调查数据,通过构建模型,对我国义务教育投入中占最大比例的人员性投入的价格差异及其在地区间的配置状况进行了研究。实证结果表明,我国城镇地区间义务教育人员性投入的价格差异很大,生均人员性投入的实际差异远小于生均教育经费中个人部分的支出差异。但城镇地区间生均人员性投入差异依然存在,因此,政府仍需努力促进地区间义务教育财政公平的实现,并对地区间义务教育价格指数进行常规测算,以掌握教育资源的真实配置状况。     

High school students' evolving alternative conception related to the volume of gas: A Lakatosian perspective

The purpose of this case study, informed by a Lakatosian perspective, is to identify how an alternative conception that originates in present learning but is related directly to subsequent learning contexts can be constructed. Before the study, one of the authors found by accident that a student who had learned about Avogadro's principle and chemical reaction in South Korea constructed an alternative conception related to the volume of gas. Later, we identified seven Korean high school students with the alternative conception through a test and analyzed their underlying understandings qualitatively through interviews. The results show that they had a scientific conception—core conception—and intuitive assumptions about implicit information of external representations—implicit assumptions—in common. The students' implicit assumptions could be divided into three types again: core assumption, auxiliary assumption, and context-inducing assumption. The core assumption, like the core conception, played a significant role in constructing the alternative conception (hard core), while the auxiliary assumptions were incomplete implicit assumptions to protect the alternative conception (protective belt). The context-inducing assumption was an implicit assumption bringing the context of the subsequent curriculum, and the core conception and the core assumption could be interpreted in this induced context. At the end of the study, the implications related to learning progressions were discussed.     

初中生课外补习城乡差异分析——基于甘肃、湖南和江苏3省的初中学生课外补习调查

面对巨大的升学压力,学生和家长纷纷选择课外补习,使得课外补习在各地蔓延.不同级别城市、来自不同家庭背景、学校教育条件等都会对学生参与课外补习的选择产生影响.本文主要关注省城中学和县城中学的学生在选择课外补习上的差异,深入探讨这些学生参与课外补习与家庭背景的关联性,特别是城乡差别对课外补习的影响.本研究基于对3个不同经济发展水平省份的初中学生课外补习调查.     

A study on the motivational aspects of information management practice

This research investigates the motivational aspects of information management practice by developing and performing an initial test of the theorization on the components and structural properties of a new variable, called information management motivation (IMM). Based on a synthesis of the motivation and information processing literature in the information systems, psychology, management, and information technology training fields, we theorize IMM as a second order construct composed of formative sub-constructs of proactiveness, sharing, transparency, and formality. New measures were developed for the constituent constructs of IMM and refined through two studies involving 120 knowledge workers. The model of IMM was tested, confirming the proposed structural relationships between the constituent constructs and IMM. The study findings provide important insights on understanding and improving individual knowledge workers’ information management activities.     

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

The lesson study approach is a systematic process for producing professional knowledge about teaching by teachers, and has spread rapidly and extensively in the United States. The learning study approach is essentially a kind of lesson study with an explicit learning theory—the variation theory of learning. In this paper, we argue that having an explicit learning theory adds value to lesson study, as the variation theory of learning serves as a source of guiding principles for the teachers when they engage in pedagogical design, lesson analysis and evaluation. Through the use of two Hong Kong learning study cases, one from each of the two major ways of conducting learning study, we demonstrate the power of variation theory in explaining and predicting the relationship between what has taken place in the classroom and what the learners learn, and subsequently identifying ways to improve student learning through promoting teacher professional learning in a learning study setting.     

Exploration of Korean Students’ Scientific Imagination Using the Scientific Imagination Inventory

This article reports on the study of the components of scientific imagination and describes the scales used to measure scientific imagination in Korean elementary and secondary students. In this study, we developed an inventory, which we call the Scientific Imagination Inventory (SII), in order to examine aspects of scientific imagination. We identified three conceptual components of scientific imagination, which were composed of (1) scientific sensitivity, (2) scientific creativity, and (3) scientific productivity. We administered SII to 662 students (4th–8th grades) and confirmed validity and reliability using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach α coefficient. The characteristics of Korean elementary and secondary students' overall scientific imagination and difference across gender and grade level are discussed in the results section.     

Teaching and Learning in STEM Enrichment Spaces: From Doing Math to Thinking Mathematically

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enrichment programs can meet the needs of gifted students by providing an intellectual challenge, a motivated peer group, and skilled teachers. In the Saturday Enrichment Program (SEP), 40 students (Grades 4–8) explored challenging math topics not typically taught in their schools. Pre and post questionnaires, video documentation of classes, and field notes indicated that students were less interested in the content of their school math classes after participation in SEP. They also reported that SEP provided a more appropriate pace, challenge, and fun. Analysis of classroom videos revealed four major strategies teachers utilized: (a) fostering of a supportive and collaborative environment, (b) developing the identity of a mathematician, (c) open-ended questions for conceptual exploration, and (d) discovery through play.     

中国义务教育资源利用及配置不均衡研究

本研究利用1997年到2000年的全国县级数据对中国义务教育的资源利用和配置不均衡状况进行了描述性统计分析。研究发现,虽然不同地区之间资源利用模式相近,但地区之间的生均支出水平差异很大,特别是农村与城市之间、沿海省份与其它地区之间的支出差异非常明显。虽然非民族地区的支出水平高于民族地区,但差距相对较小。本研究计算的生均教育支出的不平等指数一致反映,2000年小学和初中阶段生均支出不均衡程度非常高。塞尔系数分解发现,省内不平等占到总不平等指数的三分之二到四分之三之间,省间不平等占到总不平等指数的四分之一到三分之一。而城乡不平等占省内不平等的比重全国平均为三分之一。城乡之间的巨大差距因地区间差距过大在总不平等中不能凸显。比较1997年和2000年的计算结果发现,总不平等程度在这3年中有所增加但变化并不明显。但是,支出分布上端与下端的相对差距拉大了。本最后探讨了以上研究结果相应政策的含义。     

Using Socioscientific Issues to Enhance Students’ Emotional Competence

The premise of our study is that emotional competence (EC) serves as a foundational contributor to the achievement of science education goals in the context of socioscientific issues (SSIs). EC is a set of abilities necessary to accomplish adaptive goals in emotionally arousing situations. We contend that the development of EC is conducive to learning and character development in the SSI context. Therefore, we set out to develop and implement an EC intervention SSI program (called EC-SSI) and to verify the program’s effect on students’ EC, and “character and values.” We developed a nine-lesson program using two SSI scenarios: the Coltan mining problem and a designer baby dilemma. We collected data using questionnaires and student worksheets from 26 tenth graders and applied a mixed method approach to data gathering and analysis. We found that the program significantly improved students’ EC and “character and values.” From these results, we conclude that instructional strategies to improve students’ EC can be applied in SSI instruction and can positively affect student’s empathy and emotion regulation. We suggested that SSIs can provide an appropriate context for the improvement of students’ EC in science education and educators consider EC training integration at appropriate stages of science learning. We also recommend follow-up research to examine how students’ EC development impacts their SSI decision-making.