Concept or computation: Students' understanding of the mean     

A. Pollatsek  S. Lima  A. D. Well 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》1981,12(2):191-204

In statistics, and in everyday life as well, the arithmetic mean is a frequently used average. The present study reports data from interviews in which students attempted to solve problems involving the appropriate weighting and combining of means into an overall mean. While mathematically unsophisticated college students can easily compute the mean of a group of numbers, our results indicate that a surprisingly large proportion of them do not understand the concept of the weighted mean. When asked to calculate the overall mean, most subjects answered with the simple, or unweighted, mean of the two means given in the problem, even though these two means were from different-sized groups of scores. For many subjects, computing the simple mean was not merely the easiest or most obvious way to initially attack the problem; it was the only method they had available. Most did not seem to consider why the simple mean might or might not be the correct response, nor did they have any feeling for what their results represented. For many students, dealing with the mean is a computational rather than a conceptual act. Knowledge of the mean seems to begin and end with an impoverished computational formula. The pedagogical message is clear: Learning a computational formula is a poor substitute for gaining an understanding of the basic underlying concept.Research support: Research reported in this paper was supported by NSF research award No. SED78-22043 in the Joint National Institute of Education-National Science Foundation Program of Research on Cognitive Processes and the Structure of Knowledge in Science and Mathematics.  相似文献   

The ‘course-of-action’ method in the study of lived experience of learners     

Gilles Dieumegard  Erica de Vries  Nicolas Perrin 《International Journal of Research & Method in Education》2021,44(1):67-81

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浅议中国加入WTO后高教的机遇和挑战     

胡之德 《绵阳师范学院学报》2003,22(2):5-10

从五个方面论述了新世纪高等教育发展的趋势和特征；评述了加入WTO后我国高等教育面临的机遇和挑战以及九条对策；提出了高等学校的管理者要有战略眼光和战略思维。  相似文献   

Analyzing the use of history in mathematics education: issues and challenges around Balacheff’s cKȼ model     

Thomas de Vittori 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2018,99(2):125-136

Part of the international reflection on the use of history in mathematics teaching consists in a quest of frameworks and models suitable for empirical studies. Following this demand, this paper explores the way Balacheff’s cK? model, a model taken from the didactics of mathematics, can be used in the analysis of learning at student level. In the first part of this paper, Balacheff’s cK? model (conceptions, knowledge, ?oncepts) is shortly presented, and in the second part, the relationship between the epistemological background of the model and the use of the history of mathematics is explored in order to show a possible suitableness. The third part addresses an example of a school activity (about ancient Indian geometry) in which the model is applied and the historical issues clarified. Questioning the role of problems both in the cK? model and in the use of history, the last part shows how a study at the students’ conception level enlightens the way in which historical elements can interact with contemporary mathematical learning.  相似文献   

Using Mind Maps to Make Student Questioning Effective: Learning Outcomes of a Principle-Based Scenario for Teacher Guidance     

Stokhof  Harry  de Vries  Bregje  Bastiaens  Theo  Martens  Rob 《Research in Science Education》2020,50(1):203-225

Research in Science Education - Student questioning is an important learning strategy, but rare in many classrooms, because teachers have concerns if these questions contribute to attaining...  相似文献   

TechCheck: Development and Validation of an Unplugged Assessment of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education     

Relkin  Emily  de Ruiter  Laura  Bers  Marina Umaschi 《Journal of Science Education and Technology》2020,29(4):482-498

Journal of Science Education and Technology - There is a need for developmentally appropriate Computational Thinking (CT) assessments that can be implemented in early childhood classrooms. We...  相似文献   

西班牙医学教育的现状和面临的挑战     

Jorge Pales  Arcadi Gual  梅人朗 《复旦教育论坛》2008,6(6):89-92

西班牙的医学教育可分成三个不同的阶段,即本科生医学教育、毕业后医学教育和继续医学教育.本文介绍这三个阶段的现状、各阶段的优势和弱点、各阶段面临的挑战,以及如何看待国际社会对改革的支持.  相似文献   

Prenatal Predictors of Postnatal Quality of Caregiving Behavior in Mothers and Fathers     

Christine Hechler  Roseriet Beijers  Marianne Riksen-Walraven  Carolina de Weerth 《Parenting, science and practice》2019,19(1-2):101-119

SYNOPSIS

Objective. The quality of parental caregiving has been shown to affect children’s development from birth onward. Therefore, it is important to detect parents at risk for low-quality caregiving as early as possible – preferably before birth. Design. Observations of expectant mothers’ and fathers’ behavior when exposed to infant crying were examined as predictors of the quality of caregiving toward their own infant 6 weeks postpartum. Eighty-eight expectant mothers and 57 of their male partners were tested during the third trimester of pregnancy. Parents were filmed individually while caring for a crying Simulator Infant for 15 min; the quality of their caregiving was rated on sensitivity and cooperation. Also, cognitive interference on a working memory task and the ability to regulate physical force when exposed to infant crying were assessed. When their baby was 6 weeks old, parents were filmed and rated for sensitivity and cooperation during a 15-min interaction with their own infant at home. Results. Prenatal quality of caregiving behavior toward a simulator infant predicted postnatal quality of caregiving toward the own infant in both mothers and fathers. Cognitive interference and the ability to regulate physical force did not predict postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Conclusions. Expectant parents’ quality of caregiving behavior toward a crying simulator infant predicted both mothers’ and fathers’ postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Future research is needed to determine whether the simulator infant may be a useful screening instrument and training tool for parenting skills in at risk groups of parents-to-be.  相似文献   

PISA mathematics and reading performance differences of mainstream European and Turkish immigrant students     

Serkan Arikan  Fons J. R. van de Vijver  Kutlay Yagmur 《Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability》2017,29(3):229-246

Lower reading and mathematics performance of Turkish immigrant students as compared to mainstream European students could reflect differential learning outcomes, differential socioeconomic backgrounds of the groups, differential mainstream language proficiency, and/or test bias. Using PISA reading and mathematics scores of these groups, we examined the role of bias and various measures related to immigrant integration policies of the host societies. Results of a multilevel analysis of reading and mathematics tests demonstrated that at individual level, students with higher scores on an index of economic, social, and cultural status obtained higher achievement scores. At country level, MIPEX scores of education and the human development index of participating countries could predict differences in reading results but not in mathematics. After correction for background characteristics, effect sizes showed a difference of .65 SD (down from a value of .96 before correction) for reading and .58 SD (down from .78) for mathematics. However, a similar correction for background variables increased the score differences between Turkish immigrants and mainstreamers.  相似文献   

Von der Wissensvermittlung zur pädagogischen Kommunikation     

Jochen?KadeEmail author  Wolfgang?Seitter 《Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft》2003,6(4):603-618

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