职校生数学成绩影响因素的累积LOGISTIC模型分析

利用累积Logistic模型对影响职校生数学成绩的因素进行了实证分析,研究结论显示,影响职校生数学成绩的主要因素是学生的计算能力、学习主动性以及家长对学生学习的关注,这与职业学校生源的复杂性和职业学校数学教育的特殊性有关.ROC分析表明,利用计算能力、学习主动性、家长的关注三个因素诊断学生数学成绩是合适的,提示教师要特别关注学生计算能力、学习能力的培养,督促家长关注孩子的学习.     

Modification and validation of the mixed-format Engineering Concept Assessment for middle school students using many-facet Rasch measurement

Integrating engineering into the K-12 science curriculum continues to be a focus in national reform efforts in science education. Although there is an increasing interest in research in and practice of integrating engineering in K-12 science education, to date only a few studies have focused on the development of an assessment tool to measure students’ understanding of engineering design. Most of the existing measures focus only on knowledge and understanding of engineering design concepts using multiple-choice items with the exception of the mixed-format Engineering Concept Assessment (ECA). Also, advanced measurement models are lacking application in the testing of such mixed-format assessments in science education. This study applied many-faceted Rasch measurement to the modified ECA for eighth-grade (ECA/M8) and a newly constructed rubric applied by five judges across 497 eighth-grade students’ responses after experiencing an integrated learning unit on the engineering design process. The results supported the fit of the items and rubric rating scales to the Rasch specifications. Recommendations are made for item wording, and further reliability and validity testing of the ECA/M8, and use of the ECA/M8 in science education and research.     

Mathematical digital escape rooms

Escape rooms have been receiving more attention for use in education. Escape rooms are games in which teams solve multiple puzzles and challenges using clues, hints, and strategy to determine how to escape from a locked room. The implementation of escape rooms has the potential for increasing students' mathematical understanding and engagement. They also enable students to develop teamwork and communication skills which are essential for work, everyday life, and being a productive citizen. The importance of technology for use in education has also received more attention of late. Technology can be utilized with escape rooms for the development of digital escape rooms. This article describes a mathematical digital escape room that was implemented with a class of middle school students. Important principles for developing escape rooms are described and how they were integrated with the digital escape room entitled, Blanca's Building.     

Putting People Back Into Science: Using Historical Vignettes

Current science education research reports that students do not embrace an understanding of the nature of science. Furthermore, few curriculum materials emphasize the nature of science. This paper suggests an effective technique for including the nature of science in existing courses. Using Wandersee's story form model, historical vignettes describe brief episodes from the lives of scientists. They are designed to take only about ten minutes of class time, provide content information, and promote examination of the nature of the scientific enterprise by generating discussion. They help students connect the present and past, show the evolution of the ideas they are learning, and make the information more interesting.     

Students' Understanding of the Particulate Nature of Matter

The particulate nature of matter is identified in science education standards as one of the fundamental concepts that students should understand at the middle school level. However, science education research in indicates that secondary school students have difficulties understanding the structure of matter. The purpose of the study is to describe how engaging in an extended project‐based unit developed urban middle school students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter. Multiple sources of data were collected, including pre‐ and posttests, interviews, students' drawings, and video recordings of classroom activities. One teacher and her five classes were chosen for an indepth study. Analyses of data show that after experiencing a series of learning activities the majority of students acquired substantial content knowledge. Additionally, the finding indicates that students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter improved over time and that they retained and even reinforced their understanding after applying the concept. Discussions of the design features of curriculum and the teacher's use of multiple representations might provide insights into the effectiveness of learning activities in the unit.     

African Science,African and African-American Scientists and the School Science Curriculum

The need for multicultural science education for all students is discussed in this paper. The nature of science in Africa is compared to traditional Western science and the pros and cons of each are examined, Contributions to scientific knowledge by Africans and African-Americans are then considered. Finally, suggestions are given on integrating the contributions of Africans and African-Americans into the science classroom and curriculum.     

Teachers Describe Epistemologies of Science Instruction Through Q Methodology

Creating scientifically literate students is a common goal among educational stakeholders. An understanding of nature of science is an important component of scientific literacy in K‐12 science education. Q methodology was used to investigate the opinions of preservice and in‐service teachers on how they intend to teach or currently teach science. Q methodology is a measurement tool designed to capture personal beliefs. Participants included 40 preservice and in‐service elementary and secondary science teachers who sorted 40 self‐referential statements regarding science instruction. The results identified three epistemologies toward teaching science: A Changing World, My Beliefs, and Tried and True. Participants with the A Changing World epistemology believe evidence is reliable, scientific knowledge is generated in multiple ways, and science changes in light of new evidence. The My Beliefs epistemology reflects that scientific knowledge is subject to change due to embedded bias, science is affected by culture and religion, and evolution should not be taught in the classroom. The Tried and True epistemology views a scientific method as an exact method to prove science, believes experiments are crucial for scientific discoveries, absolute truth exists in scientific knowledge, and society and cultural factors can be eliminated from investigations. Implications for preservice teacher education programs and in‐service teacher professional development are addressed.     

Mathematics Education & Digital Technologies: Facing the Challenge of Networking European Research Teams

This paper introduces the IJCML Special Issue dedicated to digital technologies and mathematics education and, in particular, to the work performed by the European Research Team TELMA (Technology Enhanced Learning in Mathematics). TELMA was one of the initiatives of the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence established by the European Community (IST-507838—2003–2007) to promote the joint elaboration of concepts and methods for exploring the future of learning with digital technologies. TELMA addressed the problem of fragmentation of theoretical frameworks in the research field of mathematics education with digital technologies and developed a methodology based on the in field cross-experimentation of educational digital environments for maths. Six European research teams engaged in cross-experimentation in classrooms as a means to begin to develop a common language and to analyse the intertwined influence played, both explicitly and implicitly, by different contextual characteristics and theoretical frames assumed as reference by the diverse teams participating in the initiative.     

Mathematical modelling in engineering: an alternative way to teach Linear Algebra

Technological advances require that basic science courses for engineering, including Linear Algebra, emphasize the development of mathematical strengths associated with modelling and interpretation of results, which are not limited only to calculus abilities. Based on this consideration, we have proposed a project-based learning, giving a dynamic classroom approach in which students modelled real-world problems and turn gain a deeper knowledge of the Linear Algebra subject. Considering that most students are digital natives, we use the e-portfolio as a tool of communication between students and teachers, besides being a good place making the work visible. In this article, we present an overview of the design and implementation of a project-based learning for a Linear Algebra course taught during the 2014–2015 at the ‘ETSEIB'of Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).     

The Effect of Area Measurement Tools on Student Strategies: The Role of a Computer Microworld

This study focuses on the role of tools, provided by a computer microworld (C.AR.ME), on the strategies developed by 14-year-old students for the area measurement of a non-convex polygon. Students' strategies on a transformation and a comparison task were interpreted and classified into categories in terms of the tools used for their development. The analysis of the data shows that an environment providing the students with the opportunity to select various tools and asking them to produce solutions `in any possible way' can stimulate them to construct a plurality of solution strategies. The students selected tools appropriate for their cognitive development and expressed their own individual approaches regarding the concept of area measurement. The nature of tools used affected the nature of solution strategies that the students constructed. Moreover, all students were involved in the tasks and succeeded in completing them with more than one correct solution strategy thereby developing a broader view of the concept, although not all of them realized the same strategies. Three different approaches to area measurement emerged from the strategies which were constructed by the students in this microworld: automatic area measurement, provided by the environment, the operation of area measurement using spatial units and the use of area formulae. Almost all the students experienced qualitative aspects of area measurement through being involved in the process of covering areas using spatial units. Students also managed to use the area formulae meaningfully by studying it in relation to automatic area measurement and to area measurement using spatial units. Through these strategies, the concepts of conservation of area and its measurement as well as area formulae were viewed by the students as interrelated. Finally, some basic difficulties regarding area measurement were overcome in this computer environment.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Digital Tools for Algebra Education: Criteria and Evaluation

In the Netherlands, as in many other countries, the algebraic expertise of students graduating from secondary education is an issue. The use of digital tools for algebra education is expected to change epistemologies, activity structures and student achievement. Therefore, a study was set up to investigate in what way the use of ICT in upper secondary education might enhance the algebraic expertise of students. One of the first decisions to be made concerned the choice of appropriate digital tools. This paper describes the process of designing and using an instrument for evaluating digital tools. The conceptual framework guiding this process includes notions on symbol sense, instrumental genesis and formative assessment. The evaluation instrument is designed through a Delphi method and provides a blueprint of tool features that are relevant for the purpose of this study. The results show that such an evaluation instrument is valuable both for choosing appropriate digital tools and for making concrete the aims and expectations that researchers have on the issue of integrating technology in algebra education. The final instrument is presented and illustrated through examples implemented in different digital algebra tools.     

The Effects of a STEM Intervention on Elementary Students' Science Knowledge and Skills

The purpose of the study was to assess elementary students' science process skills, content knowledge, and concept knowledge after one year of participation in an elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. This study documented the effects of the combination of intensive professional development and the use of inquiry‐based science instruction in the elementary classroom, including the benefits of using rigorous science curriculum with general education students. The results of the study revealed a statistically significant gain in science process skills, science concepts, and science‐content knowledge by general education students in the experimental group when compared with students in the comparison group. Moreover, teacher participation in the STEM program had a statistically significant impact on students' variability in posttest scores. These interim student performance data support the implementation of rigorous differentiated science curriculum focused on improving science concept, content knowledge, and process skills.     

Relationship Between Professional Development,Teachers' Instructional Practices,and the Achievement of Students in Science and Mathematics

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between different types of professional development, teachers' instructional practices, and the achievement of students in science and mathematics. The types of professional development studied included immersion, examining practice, curriculum implementation, curriculum development, and collaborative work. Data regarding teachers' instructional practices and the amount of professional development were collected using teacher surveys. Ninety‐four middle school science teachers and 104 middle school mathematics teachers participated in the study. Student achievement was measured using eighth grade state science and mathematics achievement test data. Regression analyses suggested that for both science and mathematics teachers, examining practice and curriculum development were significantly related to the use of standards‐based instructional practices. Only curriculum development for mathematics teachers was significantly related to student achievement. Implications of results for the professional development of science and mathematics teachers are discussed.     

Knowing more than their students: Characterizing secondary science teachers’ subject matter knowledge

Despite agreement among teacher educators, scholars, and policymakers on the importance of teachers’ subject matter knowledge (SMK), existing models provide limited information about the nature of this foundational component of teacher knowledge. The common assumption is that teachers need to know more about the science subject matter than their students are expected to learn, but what and how much more is underspecified. In order to more characterize science teachers’ SMK, we present the science knowledge for teaching (SKT) model, which has been adapted from the mathematics education literature to apply to science education. The SKT model includes three domains: core content knowledge, specialized content knowledge, and linked content knowledge. We used this model to explore the SMK new secondary chemistry teachers in South Africa and the United States drew on when they explained the conservation of mass and analyzed a related teaching scenario, two important tasks of teaching. Findings indicated these new teachers drew on knowledge from all three SKT domains in order to engage in these tasks of teaching. This result suggests the potential of the SKT model to characterize the nature of science teachers’ SMK and thereby better inform teacher preparation and professional development programs.     

A practical exercise in simulation model validation

The validation of continuous system simulation models is a matter of great practical importance. Unfortunately, however, it often receives very little attention in university-level courses on modelling and simulation. The paper considers some possible reasons for the lack of emphasis given to model validation issues in education and describes an exercise which has been designed to introduce students to some practical aspects of internal verification and external validation of nonlinear dynamic models. The work involves a laboratory-scale system based on two inter-connected tanks of liquid and also demonstrates some important limitations of a widely-used nonlinear model. Features which make the chosen system particularly suitable for this teaching application include the relatively simple physical nature of the system and the fact that all the key variables of the model are accessible for measurement. Students are exposed to a range of practical issues, such as the selection of the sampling rate for data collection and the design of experiments to provide data sets appropriate for external validation purposes. Dealing successfully with such questions and carrying out validation tests exposes students to concepts of model credibility and the whole process of model development and application. They are also challenged in terms of their practical abilities to use computer simulation techniques and in their understanding of the mathematical model and the physics of the real system. It is argued that an exercise of this type can have very important educational benefits.     

Integrating Science and Mathematics Education: Historical Analysis

A number of national science and mathematics education professional associations, and recently technology education associations, are united in their support for the integration of science and mathematics teaching and learning. The purpose of this historical analysis is two‐fold: (a) to survey the nature and number of documents related to integrated science and mathematics education published from 1901 through 2001 and (b) to compare the nature and number of integrated science and mathematics documents published from 1990 through 2001 to the previous 89 years (1901–1989). Based upon this historical analysis, three conclusions have emerged. First, national and state standards in science and mathematics education have resulted in greater attention to integrated science and mathematics education, particularly in the area of teacher education, as evidenced by the proliferation of documents on this topic published from 1901–2001. Second, the historical comparison between the time periods of 1901–1989 versus 1990–2001 reveals a grade‐level shift in integrated instructional documents. Middle school science continues to be highlighted in integrated instructional documents, but surprisingly, a greater emphasis upon secondary mathematics and science education is apparent in the integration literature published from 1990–2001. Third, although several theoretical integration models have been posited in the literature published from 1990–2001, more empirical research grounded in these theoretical models is clearly needed in the 21st century.     

Virtual encounters: the murky and furtive world of mathematical inventiveness

Based on Châtelet’s insights into the nature of mathematical inventiveness, drawn from historical analyses, we propose a new way of framing creativity in the mathematics classroom. The approach we develop emphasizes the social and material nature of creative acts. Our analysis of creative acts in two case studies involving primary school classrooms also reveals the characteristic ways in which digital technologies can occasion such acts.