Students’ Perceptions of Their Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a type of teacher knowledge to be developed by a teacher. PCK is said to contribute to effective teaching. Most studies investigated the development of PCK and its influence on students’ learning from the teachers’ perspectives. Only a limited number of studies have investigated the components of science teachers’ PCK that helped students’ learning from the perspective of students. Thus, it is the aim of this study to investigate the level of science teachers’ PCK from students’ perspective, in particular whether or not students of different achieving ability had different views of teachers’ PCK in assisting their learning and understanding. Based on the PCK research literature, six components of PCK have been identified, which were as follows: (1) subject matter knowledge, (2) knowledge of teaching strategies, (3) knowledge of concept representation, (4) knowledge of teaching context, (5) knowledge of students, and (6) knowledge of assessment in learning science. A questionnaire consisting of 56 items on a five-point Likert-type scale were used for data collection from 316 Form Four students (16 years old). One-way analysis of variance revealed that the differences in science teachers’ PCK identified by students of different achieving abilities were statistically significant. Overall, students of various academic achieving abilities considered all the components of PCK as important. The low-achieving students viewed all the components of PCK as being less important compared to the high and moderate achievers. In particular, low-achieving students do not view ‘knowledge of concept representation’ as important for effective teaching. They valued the fact that teachers should be alert to their needs, such as being sensitive to students’ reactions and preparing additional learning materials. This study has revealed that PCK of science teachers should be different for high and low-achieving students and knowledge of students’ understanding plays a critical role in shaping teachers PCK.     

Evaluating research performance of research institutes within Malaysian universities: an alternative assessment framework

Tertiary Education and Management - Evaluation of research performance has significantly increased in importance, particularly in many emerging higher education systems. In Malaysia, the Malaysian...     

民族地区突发事件的特殊性与应急管理体系研究

我们要结合民族地区特殊的区情,认真分析民族地区突发事件的特殊性,准确把握突发事件的表现形态与特征,根据突发事件产生的原因,认真解决民族地区面临的各种突发事件。围绕国家对于应急管理的＂一案三制＂的制度设计,尽快构建和完善适合我国民族地区实际情况的应急管理体系。重点是提高民族地区各级政府应对和处理各种突发事件的能力,以保证我国少数民族人民的生命安全和少数民族地区经济社会的可持续发展。     

《国富论》的中国观——纪念《国富论》出版230周年

亚当.斯密的《国富论》是马克思主义东方学的思想来源。该书的每一篇都论及东方大国中国的政治制度、经济制度及文化传统。斯密正确地指出中国社会长期停滞的深层原因。重视农业而抑制工商业,小农经济为基础的专制政治,阻碍中国社会过渡到近代生产方式;农业、农民、农村问题是社会进步和经济发展的最大课题。其论点的准确度和论述的深刻性,至今具有借鉴意义。