Volunteer guides in nature reserves: exploring environmental educators’ perceptions of teaching,learning, place and self     

Emily Evans  Cynthia Carter Ching  Heidi L. Ballard 《Environmental Education Research》2012,18(3):391-402

In the following case study, we examine the interplay between self-perception, environmental perception, and the interests and practice of volunteer trail guides who were recruited to provide educational services for visitors to a natural reserve in Northern California. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 guides and observations of training sessions and educational walks, we found that although individual perspectives of volunteers varied regarding the role of an educator for the reserve, guides shared common interests in teaching and learning and in the place itself. Active guides were drawn to the program by an interest in teaching and learning, had a previous relationship to the place, and held an image of themselves that matched their perceived image of a guide. These findings on the relationship of perception and participation support existing research on issues of identity in environmental education, and extend our current understanding of volunteer participation in interpretation and education programs.  相似文献   

Mobile computer‐supported collaborative learning: A review of experimental research     

Yu‐Chang Hsu  Yu‐Hui Ching 《British journal of educational technology : journal of the Council for Educational Technology》2013,44(5):E111-E114

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香港特别行政区高等院校图书馆统计指标的发展研究     

景祥祜  梁惠卿 《大学图书馆学报》2012,(6):44-56

图书馆统计指标与规范直接关系着图书馆历史数据的准确性与有效性.自2000年6月香港特别行政区大学图书馆长联席会达成建立通用统计指标意向开始,历经12年的发展,现在香港地区高校图书馆已建立较为完善的统计指标体系.该文对香港地区高等院校图书馆统计指标与规范的发展历程进行回顾梳理,对比分析不同时期的统计指标的差异及最新指标与美国研究图书馆学会统计指标的差异,并对香港地区高校图书馆现行统计指标进行详细解读.  相似文献   

Teaching large classes in an increasingly internationalising higher education environment: pedagogical,quality and equity issues     

Felix Maringe  Nevensha Sing 《Higher Education》2014,67(6):761-782

Marketisation, increased student mobility, the massification of Higher Education (HE) and stagnating staff numbers in universities have combined to cause a ripple effect of change both in the demography and size of university classes across the world. This has implications for the quality and equity of learning and the need to examine and to transform pedagogical practices. Despite the growing attention of literature on teaching large classes, there is a scarcity of research addressing the twin issues of large classes in an increasingly internationalised context. This paper seeks to contribute towards filling this gap. The paper provides a theoretical exploration of the causes of such classes in HE, reviews the empirical evidence against large class teaching and examines the difficulties associated with teaching demographically diverse classes in HE. The paper identifies eight pedagogical strategies to address the issues of class size and diversity, which relate to increasing student participation and engagement; increasing curricula access and the language of instruction; increasing staff intercultural understanding; increasing opportunities for deep learning for all; on-going monitoring of student satisfaction; increasing opportunities to achieve; diversification of assessment; and the merit of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS). It calls for new research on global learning cultures; reviews of global assessment and promising pedagogical practices and processes.  相似文献   

Fostering a collaborative and creative climate in a college class through idea-centered knowledge-building     

Huang-Yao Hong  Yu-Hui Chang  Chin Sing Chai 《Instructional Science》2014,42(3):389-407

This study explored the effects of student engagement in a knowledge-building (KB) environment on their collaborative learning process and the perceived creative climate of that environment. The participants were 30 college students who undertook a living technology course in which KB were employed. The main data sources include students’ online discourse and a creative climate questionnaire. The findings indicate that the students became progressively more collaborative and productive over time, and they also tended to perceive the climate of the learning environment as highly supportive of knowledge creation. Implications for designing creative learning environments are discussed.  相似文献   

Nonlinear H_∞ feedback control with integrator for polynomial discrete-time systems     

Shakir Saat  Sing Kiong Nguang  A.M. Darsono  Noorazma Azman 《Journal of The Franklin Institute》2014

This paper investigates the problem of designing a nonlinear _H∞$H_{\infty }$ feedback controller for polynomial discrete-time systems with and without polytopic uncertainties. The objective is to design a controller such that the ratio between the energy of the regulated outputs and the energy of the exogenous disturbance/inputs is minimized or guaranteed to be less or equal to a prescribed value. It is well known that the state dependant or parameter dependant Lyapunov function is always chosen for synthesizing polynomial discrete-time systems. This leads the solution to be nonconvex because the Lyapunov function and the controller matrix are coupled and therefore cannot be solved by semidefinite programming (SDP). Hence, in this paper, an integrator is proposed to be incorporated into the controller structure. In doing so, the coupling of Lyapunov function and controller matrix can be eliminated effectively. This somehow simplifies the numerical solution of the problem. Then, by using SOS decomposition approach, sufficient conditions for the existence of the proposed controller are provided in terms of solvability of the state-dependent linear matrix inequalities (SDLMIs) which can be solved by SDP. A tunnel diode circuit is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this integrator approach.  相似文献   

Exploring the potential common psychotherapeutic factors: use of cognitive behavioural therapy,mindful yoga and positive psychology in enhancing the well-being of students with SENs in Hong Kong     

Hiu Wo Chan  Daniel Fu Keung Wong  Sylvia Lai Yuk Ching Kwok  Herman Hay Ming Lo  Ting Kin Ng 《Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs》2023,23(3):228-243

This study examined the effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindful yoga and positive psychology interventions and identified common psychotherapeutic elements that exert critical treatment effects on Hong Kong Chinese students with special educational needs (SENs). Forty-seven participants received CBT intervention while 42 and 41 participants received mindful yoga and positive psychology interventions, respectively (N = 130). Mixed ANOVAs revealed no significant interaction effect between time and intervention condition on any outcome variables. However, within-subjects ANOVA revealed significant improvements in some dimensions within each intervention, including areas of behavioural problems, positive feelings and positive relationships. Changes in negative automatic thoughts were also found to lessen negative emotions in all three interventions. This study ascertained the differential effects of the selected approaches in ameliorating negative emotion, reducing behavioural problems and enhancing positive relationships among students with SENs in various treatment approaches. In addition, this study highlighted several common psychotherapeutic elements, which could potentially serve as important factors and constitute the formulation of an integrative psychotherapeutic framework for enhancing the well-being of students with SENs in Hong Kong. Finally, implications for practice and the possible development of an integrative intervention model were discussed.  相似文献   

An evaluation of the dynamics of the plan to develop first-class universities and top-level research centers in Taiwan     

Dian-fu Chang  Cheng-ta Wu  Gregory S. Ching  Chia-wei Tang 《Asia Pacific Education Review》2009,10(1):47-57

The recent rise in globalization has brought forth a global wave of academic competitiveness, which has taken its strongest hold in East Asia. In order to attain world class status, Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MoE) initiated a project called Plan to Develop First-class Universities and Top-level Research Centers. The project is often coined the “Five-Years-50-Billion Project,” due to the fact that the MoE will invest 50 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$1.64 billion) in the plan over a five year span. First, the authors will attempt to investigate and analyze the difference in funding rationale and policy between the periods before and after implementation. Second, this study seeks to evaluate the plan’s efficiency on an institutional level by using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Findings suggest that the current funding policy has indeed increased Taiwanese universities’ levels of internationalization and global academic competitiveness. However, comparisons among those universities suggest that despite the relative degree of efficiency, more investment did not ensure better university performance. Guidelines for allocating funding should be regularly revised in order to reflect any changes in relevant conditions and in universities’ overall performance and efficiency.  相似文献   

The change in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about teaching and learning: a study among pre-service teachers   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Ching Sing Chai  Timothy Teo  Chwee Beng Lee 《Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education》2009,37(4):351-362

This study investigated the change in Singaporean pre-service teachers' epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching over the course of a teacher preparation program. An online survey was administered during the first week of a nine-month program and the same survey was administered after the 413 participants had completed all their course work and teaching practice. Participants exhibited significant changes in epistemological beliefs and beliefs about learning and teaching – participants indicated more relativistic epistemological outlooks and less constructivism in beliefs about teaching. At the end of the teacher preparation program, they seemed to less value effort in learning and believed more in innate ability.  相似文献   

HF RFID versus UHF RFID — Technology for Library Service Transformation at City University of Hong Kong   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Steve H. Ching  University Librarian  Alice Tai  Unit Coordinator 《The Journal of Academic Librarianship》2009,35(4):347-359

Since libraries first used RFID systems in the late 1990's, more and more libraries have identified the advantages of the technology. With advances in HF and UHF RFID, both alternatives are now viable in library applications. While some librarians are still skeptical towards UHF RFID as unproven in the library arena, the City University of Hong Kong implemented two pilot tests of the technologies. The Library formulated a set of criteria to evaluate UHF RFID against HF RFID as a possible library service transformation tool. This is to ensure that the selection of UHF or HF RFID is a rational one that is based on objective observation and analysis. The article provides background on the service transformation needs at the Library of the City University of Hong Kong. It reviews the use of HF RFID in the library arena and presents the latest development of UHF RFID. Results of the two pilot tests and how the University Library evaluated the two technologies are covered.  相似文献