The Story of Phoenix Quest: How girls respond to a prototype language and mathematics computer game     

Jillian De Jean  Rena Upitis  Corina Koch  Jonathan Young 《Gender and education》1999,11(2):207-223

This article describes a case study of six girls' experiences with the Phoenix Quest computer game. In addition to the case study, a supplementary large-scale study of the reactions of both boys and girls to the same computer game was conducted for comparative analysis. Phoenix Quest (PQ) was designed not only to encourage children to explore language and mathematics, but also to offer game features that would especially appeal to girls. Participants in the case study were given opportunities to become acquainted with PQ for several months before being observed and interviewed. Four issues that emerged as being important to the participants were (a) presentation of the story in a non-linear format, (b) appreciation for the problem-solving elements of PQ, (c) identification with the main character (female), and (d) lack of awareness of the mathematics embedded within the game. The findings provided evidence that PQ appealed to girls because the protagonist was of their age and gender, and because the puzzles and searches were engaging throughout the game. Some aspects of the game, however, were less successful; for instance, the non-linear story format was disconcerting to all but one of the participants, and only one student identified the mathematics in the game structure. The large-scale study involved 41 boys and 57 girls, aged 8-12, from four junior school classes (Grades 4, 5 and 6). The aggregate data collected showed that more girls than boys used the postcard-writing feature of PQ and appreciated following the adventures of a female protagonist. More boys than girls were reported to offer advice to other students, discuss the game during their free time, and observe others playing the game. Some boys even formed groups to exchange information and game-playing strategies. Also, more boys than girls recognised the mathematics embedded within the game. Although these studies did not focus on teacher-student interaction, the finding that more than 25% of participating students were not able to identify the mathematics embedded in PQ, supports supplementary instruction on the part of a teacher as a requirement for making the mathematics more salient. Further research to address this issue is strongly recommended. Both the case study and the large-scale study revealed that among computer games, PQ's uncommon approach of celebrating and challenging a female protagonist is important to girls. This does not suggest that the presentation of a female protagonist will discourage boys from playing and enjoying the game. On the contrary, our findings showed that boys were also engaged by PQ, a game that encourages cooperative play and group problem-solving. In the realm of computer games, gender identification plays a key role, in first capturing the attention of girls, and then sustaining their interest, enjoyment and participation.  相似文献   

The effects of professional development on science teaching practices and classroom culture     

Jonathan A. Supovitz  Herbert M. Turner 《科学教学研究杂志》2000,37(9):963-980

The current science education reform movement emphasizes the importance of professional development as a means of improving student science achievement. Reformers have developed a vision for professional development based upon intensive and sustained training around concrete tasks that is focused on subject‐matter knowledge, connected to specific standards for student performance, and embedded in a systemic context. Using data from a National Science Foundation Teacher Enhancement program called the Local Systemic Change initiative, this study employs hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relationship between professional development and the reformers' vision of teaching practice. The findings indicate that the quantity of professional development in which teachers participate is strongly linked with both inquiry‐based teaching practice and investigative classroom culture. At the individual level, teachers' content preparation also has a powerful influence on teaching practice and classroom culture. At the school level, school socioeconomic status was found to influence practice more substantially than either principal supportiveness or available resources. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 963–980, 2000  相似文献   

Big change question: can and should school change in the developing world be guided by research from the developed world?     

Jonathan Jansen 《Journal of Educational Change》2009,10(2-3):239-243

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Launching Interdisciplinary Programs as College Signature Areas: An Example     

Tammy Stone  Kathleen Bollard  Jonathan M. Harbor 《Innovative Higher Education》2009,34(5):321-329

Increasingly administrators are concerned with inspiring and supporting faculty members in the creation of interdisciplinary programs in response to research and funding shifts and public need. This article presents an initative undertaken at the University of Colorado Denver, demonstrating a method for identifying and launching a set of signature interdisciplinary programs for a diverse college environment that overcomes hesitancy and hindrances at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels.  相似文献   

Optimising the use of note-taking as an external cognitive aid for increasing learning     

Tamas Makany  Jonathan Kemp  Itiel E. Dror 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2009,40(4):619-635

Taking notes is of uttermost importance in academic and commercial use and success. Different techniques for note-taking utilise different cognitive processes and strategies. This experimental study examined ways to enhance cognitive performance via different note-taking techniques. By comparing performances of traditional, linear style note-taking with alternative non-linear technique, we aimed to examine the efficiency and importance of different ways of taking notes. Twenty-six volunteer adult learners from an information management course participated in this study. Cognitive performance scores from a traditional linear note-taking group were compared with another group by using a commercially available non-linear note-taking technique. Both groups were tested in two settings: after a classroom lecture and a panel forum discussion. Tasks included measures on story comprehension, memory, complexity of mental representations and metacognitive skills. Data analysis revealed that the non-linear note-takers were significantly better than the linear group both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the learned material. This study demonstrates the importance of using cognitively compatible note-taking techniques. It identifies the cognitive mechanisms behind effective note-taking and knowledge representation. Using such techniques enables deeper understanding and more integrated knowledge management.  相似文献   

Crisis counseling: An overview     

Jonathan Sandoval  Amy Nicole Scott  Irene Padilla 《Psychology in the schools》2009,46(3):246-256

Psychologists working in schools are often the first contacts for children experiencing a potentially traumatizing event or change in status. This article reviews basic concepts in crisis counseling and describes the components of psychological first aid. This form of counseling must be developmentally and culturally appropriate as well as individualized. Effective intervention can prevent post‐traumatic stress syndrome and facilitate normal mourning processes associated with any losses experienced. These prevention activities are also discussed. Some children may need resources beyond those that the school can provide, and appropriate referrals can link children and adults to a variety of treatments such as psychotherapy and medication, also briefly outlined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.  相似文献   

Motivational influences on school‐prompted interest     

Keith Ciani  Yuna Ferguson  David Bergin  Jonathan Hilpert 《教育心理学》2010,30(4):377-393

Some argue that the goal of education is to influence out‐of‐school learning activity, yet little research exists on how teachers can help students develop an interest in a topic and continue to pursue that interest outside of school. The current study tested classroom context variables from self‐determination theory (teachers’ autonomy support) and from achievement goal theory (teachers’ mastery goals) that may predict students’ school‐prompted interest above and beyond students’ mastery goals and self‐efficacy. Survey data were collected from 178 high school students in 15 mathematics classes. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that students’ perceptions of a teacher who focuses on mastery goals account for little variance above and beyond students’ own motivation, whereas perceived teachers’ autonomy support emerged as a significant predictor. While the results are correlational and do not support causal claims, they suggest that teachers who support student autonomy might foster school‐prompted interest.  相似文献   

发展超常教育需要解决的三个问题     

乔纳森·普拉克 《教育研究》2010,(2)

大多数的文化都重视人的才智,然而,很少有国家能够形成持久的文化氛围让这种才智自由发展。缺乏通用定义,过分强调超常学生的学习成就以及缺乏相关的学术研究和评价机制是造成这种困境的原因。要营造超常教育文化氛围,需要找到天赋、天才以及创造力等概念的通用定义;同时,必须承认天才是一个多层面的复杂概念而非仅仅是学习成就上的或者认知性的。另外,必须有效地做好成果的评估工作以及超常儿童的扎实培育和后天开发工作。  相似文献   

Preschoolers Continually Adjust Their Epistemic Trust Based on an Informant's Ongoing Accuracy          下载免费PDF全文

Samuel Ronfard  Jonathan D. Lane 《Child development》2018,89(2):414-429

Children aged 4–7 years (N = 120) played four rounds of a find‐the‐sticker game. For each round, an informant looked into two cups and made a claim about which cup held a sticker. At the end of each round, children guessed the sticker's location, and then the sticker's actual location was revealed. For three of the rounds, the informant accurately reported the sticker's location. But critically, for one round—either Round 1, 2, or 3—she was inaccurate. Children continually adjusted their trust in the informant as they obtained more information about her accuracy. Relations between the informant's pattern of accuracy and children's trust were robust, neither mediated nor moderated by children inferences about her intent or traits.  相似文献   

The impact of austerity on Irish higher education faculty     

Marie Clarke  Jonathan Drennan  Abbey Hyde  Yurgos Politis 《Higher Education》2018,75(6):1047-1060

Given the impact of austerity on higher education systems, an intellectual concern with the impact of austerity on faculty seems appropriate. In this article, austerity is explored through the everyday lived experience of faculty and its impact on both their personal and professional contexts. This aspect has been under-researched in the higher education literature and addresses the complexities and contradictions that the austerity can create for faculty. The study located in the Republic of Ireland provides an interesting context as the global financial crisis in 2008 resulted in 9 years of austerity measures that impacted on all aspects of the economy and particularly on the higher education sector. A social realist approach using Archer’s morphogenetic framework was employed. The framework facilitated an in-depth understanding of the relationship between structure, culture and agency and how austerity was experienced by faculty within their institutions.  相似文献