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This study investigated outsourcing of the development of visual, animated and interactive learning objects for mathematics education by a Norwegian university to software vendors in China. It sought to understand the challenges in this outsourcing engagement and competences needed to meet the challenges. The authors tested outsourcing strategies and summarized their experiences with the ordering and production process. The test design included preliminary prototyping with four software vendors and a test production with one of them. The outcome of the outsourcing engagement was five complex, game-like learning objects. (Contains 5 figures and 2 tables.)

Describes impressions of Chinese education from an August 1978 visit and the changes in the educational system since 1949, when the communist party came to power, to increase political study, practical learning, and manual labor. Individual development is only a means to the goal of national growth. (MF)

Compares the educational systems, particularly nonformal education, of India and China, and the impact on education of sociopolitical factors, history, government, ideology, languages, and cultures. Includes differences and similarities in educational facilities, personnel, methods, some national statistics, and charts of the education systems in both countries. (MF)

Observations of the Chinese educational system made during a two-week tour are recounted. (LH)

Background: The convenience of online learning helps physical education teachers overcome geographic barriers and promotes safe, accessible, highquality education. This three-stage study developed an evaluation index system for online learning literacy of physical education (PE) teachers (OLLPET). Methods: Using two rounds of the Delphi method and one round of the Expert ranking method, consult with 15 PE experts from universities, primary and secondary schools, and teaching-research staff to draw up, revise, and finalize an evaluation index system for OLLPET. Results: Our OLLPET evaluation index system includes three first-level indicators, seven second-level indicators and 30 third-level indicators. The first-level indicators includes online learning values (OLV), online learning essential character (OLEC), and online learning key competencies (OLKC)--with equal weighting given to OLV (0.367) and OLKC (0.367) and slightly less given to OLEC (0.267). Conclusion: The OLLPET evaluation index system is a theoretical yet practical tool that governments, schools, and teachers can use to evaluate PE teachers' online learning literacy to improve their learning capacity in a targeted manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several issues with traditional classroom teaching, including the sporadic presentation of lecture materials, the reliance on a single, traditional teaching method, and a lack of student engagement and initiative. These problems seriously impact the quality of engineering education. Combining the advantages of mobile learning and multi-screen displays, this paper proposes a smart classroom architecture based on a multi-screen interactive learning system (MSILS). The proposed smart classroom system supports students in conducting learning activities in a multi-screen learning environment. Its goal is to enhance interaction and increase student satisfaction in engineering classroom learning. For the evaluation, an experiment was conducted in a science and engineering-related course at a university in China. The research results show that students who received instruction with the proposed system reported higher satisfaction in four areas: information technology, teaching methods, perceived value, and learning satisfaction. Approximately 90% of the 629 undergraduate students who participated in the experiment expressed their desire to continue their studies in this smart classroom. This indicates that students are more interested, expectant, helpful, and engaged in the target courses they are taking after using the smart classroom system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) is a 3D space created by computer graphics technology and immersive devices. In addition to providing a new visual experience, users can also interact with others in the virtual world to address any of their needs. In recent years, the application of virtual reality in the field of education has attracted the attention of more and more people. This study combined virtual reality and concepts of spatial memory in wayfinding and memory palace to develop a VR memory maze learning system based on the seven large-scale expedition voyages of Zheng He (1405–1433) in the early Ming Dynasty of imperial China. The objective is to improve memory and efficiency in learning social science by correlating spatial information and organizational skills in the virtual environment. A teaching experiment has been conducted to explore its impacts on learning effectiveness, learning motivation, and cognitive load, as well as learners' technology acceptance of the VR system. The analysis results indicate that using the VR system for learning social science can improve learning effectiveness; it can also increase learning motivation and reduce cognitive load. The questionnaire results of the technology acceptance model analysis show that most learners were satisfied with various aspects of this system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Screening for hyperthyroidism using gold-standard diagnostic criteria in the general population is not cost-effective, leading to a relatively high rate of undiagnosed and untreated patients. This study aimed to establish a deep learning-based system to detect hyperthyroidism based on retinal photographs. Methods: The multicenter, observational study included retinal photographs taken from participants in two hospitals and 24 health care centers throughout China. We first trained two models to identify hyperthyroidism: in model #1, the non-hyperthyroidism individuals were randomly selected, while in model #2, the non-hyperthyroidism group was matched for age and gender with the hyperthyroidism group. After internal validation, we selected the better model for further evaluation using external validation datasets. Results: The study included 22,940 retinal photographs of 11,409 participants for the model development, and 3862 retinal photographs (1870 participants) which were obtained from two hospitals and four medical centers as the external validation datasets. Model #1 achieved a higher area under the receiver operator curve (AUC) than model #2 (0.907, 95% CI: 0.894–0.918 versus 0.850, 95% CI: 0.832–0.866) in the internal validation so that model #1 was used for further evaluation. In external datasets, model #1 reached AUCs ranging from 0.816 (95% CI 0.789–0.846) to 0.849 (95% CI 0.824–0.874) and achieved accuracies between 0.735 (95% CI 0.700–0.773) and 0.796 (95% CI 0.765–0.824). Heatmaps showed a focus of the DL-algorism on large fundus vessels and the optic nerve head. Conclusions: Retinal fundus photographs may serve for DL systems for a cost-effective and non-invasive method to detect hyperthyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although instructional feedback plays an essential role in regulating learning and improving performance, few studies have systematically investigated the needs of teachers and students for instructional feedback systems or developed designs and experiments, especially at the high school level. To address this research need, the present study investigated the needs of selected students and teachers in a high school in Hubei Province, China, and designed and developed a diagnostic visual feedback system for an experimental study with 125 students from a 10th-grade biology class in the same high school. The results showed that this diagnostic visual feedback report improved student performance (ES = 0.37) and that functions such as misconception location, knowledge diagnosis, and knowledge alert were well received by students. These findings have multiple implications for facilitating the design and development of diagnostic visual feedback systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive learning systems personalize instruction to students' individual learning needs and abilities. Such systems have shown positive impacts on learning. Many schools in the United States have adopted adaptive learning systems, and the rate of adoption in China is accelerating, reaching almost 2 million unique users for one product alone in the past 3 years. Given such rapid adoption in China, it is useful to examine the efficacy of adaptive learning within that country's educational system. This study aimed to compare the learning impacts of individualized adaptive learning courseware to two common instructional approaches in China: large-group and small-group classroom instruction. This paper describes the results of two efficacy studies of one of China's first adaptive learning systems, Squirrel AI Learning. One study compares classroom-based individualized adaptive learning instruction to large-group instruction, and another to small-group instruction. Chinese eighth-grade students from two provinces randomly assigned to use Squirrel AI Learning showed greater gains on a mathematics test than those randomly assigned to whole-class or small-group instruction led by expert teachers. Findings provide a basis for further research into the selection, use, and impact of adaptive learning systems in Chinese education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the explosive growth of atmospheric data, machine learning models have achieved great success in air pollution forecasting because of their higher computational efficiency than the traditional chemical transport models. However, in previous studies, new prediction algorithms have only been tested at stations or in a small region; a large-scale air quality forecasting model remains lacking to date. Huge dimensionality also means that redundant input data may lead to increased complexity and therefore the over-fitting of machine learning models. Feature selection is a key topic in machine learning development, but it has not yet been explored in atmosphere-related applications. In this work, a regional feature selection-based machine learning (RFSML) system was developed, which is capable of predicting air quality in the short term with high accuracy at the national scale. Ensemble-Shapley additive global importance analysis is combined with the RFSML system to extract significant regional features and eliminate redundant variables at an affordable computational expense. The significance of the regional features is also explained physically. Compared with a standard machine learning system fed with relative features, the RFSML system driven by the selected key features results in superior interpretability, less training time, and more accurate predictions. This study also provides insights into the difference in interpretability among machine learning models (i.e., random forest, gradient boosting, and multi-layer perceptron models). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to evaluate effects of self-directed training on teachers’ ability to implement computer-assisted instruction (CAI) designed to teach bi-directional naming (BiN), a skill that involves incidental learning, to children with developmental delays. Three special education teachers in China participated in this fully online study. A single case design with multiple probes across participants was used. At baseline, we conducted 1.5-2 hours of online lecture-based training about BiN and its teaching procedures, followed by evaluation of teacher implementation using picture cards. In the intervention condition, we provided teachers access to the web-based CAI BiN program and its accompanying manual in order for them to learn the system and evaluate their implementation of BiN instruction. Compared to baseline, all three teachers implemented BiN instruction with greater accuracy and in less time in the intervention condition. Implications for training special education teachers to use CAI to teach BiN for students with developmental delays are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the explosive growth of atmospheric data, machine learning models have achieved great success in air pollution forecasting because of their higher computational efficiency than the traditional chemical transport models. However, in previous studies, new prediction algorithms have been tested only at stations or in a small region; a large-scale air quality forecasting model remains lacking to date. Huge dimensionality also means that redundant input data may lead to increased complexity and therefore the over-fitting of machine learning models. Feature selection is a key topic in machine learning development, but it has not yet been explored in atmosphere-related applications. In this work, a regional feature selection-based machine learning (RFSML) system was developed, which is capable of predicting air quality in the short-term with high accuracy at the national scale. Ensemble-Shapley additive global importance analysis is combined with the RFSML system to extract significant regional features and eliminate redundant variables at an affordable computational expense. The significance of the regional features is also explained physically. Compared with a standard machine learning system fed with relative features, the RFSML system driven by the selected key features results in superior interpretability, less training time, and more accurate predictions. This study also provides insights into the difference in interpretability among machine learning models (i.e., random forest, gradient boosting, and multi-layer perceptron models). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual simulation teaching system combined with computer technology and artificial intelligence has become the key to effectively improving students' learning. This system is an important direction for the development of education informatization. The virtual simulation teaching system constructs real scenes with high simulation degree, effectively realizes the vivid reproduction of real-life scenes in the information system, improves the learning motivation of learners, and increases students' learning. On the basis of constructivism and self-learning theory, this study determines the construction elements of virtual teaching system and conducts a questionnaire on students majoring in engineering technology from seven universities in Jiangxi province of China. The influence of the four aspects of virtual teaching system on students' learning is calculated. Results show that the exceptional reliability and validity of the questionnaire, which can significantly improve learning of students majoring in engineering technology from three aspects of virtual simulation teaching method, virtual simulation teaching resources, and experience of learners. Various resources and platforms did not have a significant difference in the learning effect. This study provides a reference value for improving the application effect of virtual teaching systems, enhancing the teaching incentive mechanism of virtual simulation teaching system participants, and improving the effect of virtual teaching on students majoring in engineering technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many machine learning approaches have been widely applied to power system online dynamic stability assessment, how to sufficiently learn spatial-temporal correlations from system transients without losing the interpretability is still a challenging issue. In this paper, a novel networked time series shapelet learning approach is proposed to learn spatial-temporal correlations for transient stability assessment (TSA) in an interpretable manner. Specifically, a network impedance-based adjacency matrix is first introduced to characterize spatial networked correlations. Based on graph structural regularization, this matrix is effectively incorporated into the subsequent learning procedure as spatial constraints. Taking time series trajectories acquired from multiple buses as the inputs, networked shapelet learning is heuristically performed to learn critical sequential features, i.e., networked shapelets, for TSA model derivation. With the learning procedure strategically guided by inherent spatial-temporal correlations of the system, the obtained data-driven TSA model is able to perform highly reliable and interpretable online TSA. Numerical test results on the IEEE 39-bus test system and the realistic GD Power Grid in China verify the superior performances of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, several machine learning-based experimental methods are used to analyse firms' research and development (R&D)-related activities and predict their technological innovation performance. Using unbalanced panel data from the CSMAR database for all listed firms in China from 2008 to 2018, we analyse the firms' basic information, R&D investment, patent application and authorization activity, financial status, and human capital. We use a logistic regression model, decision tree model, three weak classifiers random forest model, XGBoost model, and two weak classifiers gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) model to integrate strong classifiers separately. A comparison of the results produced using the different models shows that the performance of the XGBoost model is better than that of the other models in terms of net profit, total sales revenue, and the number of invention patent applications as a proportion of the total number of patent applications. However, the performance of the GBDT model is significantly better than that of the other models in terms of the number of patent applications per 100,000 yuan of R&D expenditure. The results of this study can help scholars to accurately predict the innovation performance of firms and help business managers to make better decisions to improve the innovation performance of their firms in the current era of rapid technological change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teaching research system was established after the founding of New China in emulation of the Soviet Union for the purpose of learning, research and teaching management, with the aim of promoting improvement in the caliber of primary and secondary school teaching and guaranteeing the quality of education. The system played an important role in the construction and development of education in New China and ensuring the quality of education. The system also made unique contributions with respect to teacher learning: the routine practice of teaching research which it established fostered habits of daily learning and research in teachers, with the result that this practice permeated teachers' careers, spurring their professional development. This design also caused teachers' daily work to be rooted in research, raising the level of professionalism in teaching, and ensuring the basic quality of education. It gave rise to a teaching professional learning community in the Chinese environment, moving teachers' work out of isolation, and allowing it to unfold within a supportive peer environment. However, in the face of the new era, there is still considerable room for the improvement of teaching research organizations as learning communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese-style teaching research is rooted in a well-established culture of observation and introspection, in a tradition which has experienced two thousand years of permutations, leading up to the introduction of new perspectives from modern teaching. The essential characteristics of Chinese-style teaching research are founded in classroom practices, differing to some extent from purely rational introspection, leading to the formation of practice- and evidence-based action plans. Over the last sixty years or so, China's teaching research organizations for multiple stages of education have developed into a formidable, multi-tiered network without any neglected corners; in addition, the introduction of online management in recent years will certainly create even more space for innovation within the system of community learning for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valid measures of student motivation can inform the design of learning environments to engage students and maximize learning gains. This study validates a measure of student motivation, the Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (RIMMS), with a sample of Chinese middle school students using an adaptive learning system in math. Participants were 429 students from 21 provinces in China. Their ages ranged from 14 to 17 years old, and most were in 9th grade. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) validated the RIMMS in this context by demonstrating that RIMMS responses retained the intended four-factor structure: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. To illustrate the utility of measuring student motivation, this study identifies factors of motivation that are strongest for specific student subgroups. Students who expected to attend elite high schools rated the adaptive learning system higher on all four RIMMS motivation factors compared to students who did not expect to attend elite high schools. Lower parental education levels were associated with higher ratings on three RIMMS factors. This study contributes to the field's understanding of student motivation in adaptive learning settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical study on the integration of an intelligent teaching system, Moso Teach (MT), into an English curriculum in a top-ranked four-year university in China. Data sources include the reports and analysis generated by the learning analytics tools in MT, a survey of students, final exam scores, and the instructor's observation of classroom activities. Findings suggest that an intelligent and adaptive learning platform coupled with well-designed team-based activities can indeed increase students' engagement in learning in a wide variety of activities and contexts, from personalized learning to team collaboration, and including classroom participation and asynchronous postings on a discussion forum. These findings are significant because Chinese universities tend to have large-size classes with few opportunities for interaction. Most importantly, this study reveals the impact of collaborative mobile learning on STEM students in both learning engagement and learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this research is to determine the usability of augmented reality in open and distance learning environments in accordance with universal design principles, and to make predictions for the future by gathering expert opinions on this subject using the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique was applied to 14 expert participants for 3 rounds as the primary data collection tool with open ended questions based on the theoretical framework. Structured interview questions were used as a secondary data collection tool and were applied during an academic exchange in China. In the Delphi technique used as the primary data collection tool, 92 themes were evaluated by experts and accepted as usability principles by end of this research. Therefore, 92 themes under 21 titles were presented for the use of augmented reality within the framework of universal design principles in open and distance learning. This research may be the first unique study on the usability of augmented reality not just as the convergence of this technology with open and distance learning environments but also incorporating the learning and communication dimensions of this convergence, thereby contributing to the literature of the field. It is imperative to determine the usability of augmented reality in open and distance learning, along with the "how" of this use in application. In this regard, the findings of this study are significant in shedding light to the enrichment, diversification and increased interaction of open and distance learning environments in accordance with universal design principles, bringing a new perspective to how a different technology convergence may be conducted, providing further accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalized learning is tailored to each student's strengths and needs. For personalized learning in the classroom, feedback is an essential part, which can provide useful guidance on how to improve learning and/or teaching. Based on the cognitive diagnosis theory, the Chinese Learning Diagnosis System (CLDS) offers timely feedback on student learning and teacher instruction. This study mainly describes the feedback of the CLDS in two parts. Part I introduces the feedback reports of the CLDS, and part II illustrates its application effectiveness in learning and teaching. Based on students' mastery of an attribute, teachers can modify their teaching contents and schedules, and students have the opportunity to remedy their learning by themselves. As to the application effectiveness of the CLDS, the experiment results show that students enrolled in the experimental school with CLDS in 2012 had a significant improvement in their self-efficacy and achievement. Furthermore, most teachers pointed out that instructional time used for classroom unit tests was reduced by one third to one half, allowing them plenty of time to provide more detailed and individualized instructions to students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's comments on the educational crisis faced by China as it seeks to open universities after four years of closure prior to 1971. A debate has raged over division of power, the nature of the curriculum and the democratization of the schools, against the day of reopening. The author suggests that if China would compare with the U.S. educational system and understand the similarities, differences become less threatening and politics will become more manageable because both are understandably seeking for ways to make the college curriculum more relevant to social needs, new teaching methods which show greater sensitivity toward the quality of the learning experience itself and chances of providing economically underprivileged groups with a higher education.

Abstract: This study comprehensively examines pairs trading in Chinese commodity futures markets, which, although less researched, represents an important scenario for analysing commodity price behaviour. Based on a sample of daily future returns from 2006 to 2016, we propose a cointegration model that employs an adaptive learning process, and we show that our model yields an average annualised return of 26.94 percent before trading costs, using a closed‐loop strategy. Our results are robust to various tests, including parameter uncertainty, holding period constraints, trading period selection and trading costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to examine the determinants of effective web-based teaching and learning processes, using MEBIR (Management Education by Internet Readiness) Scale. Data were obtained from 407 students studying in a number of universities in China. The results demonstrate that the perceived quality of the web-based international management courses offered in the Chinese universities hinges on a number of factors such as course interaction, and course satisfaction. The study identified the Internet readiness of students at universities in China and paved avenues for asynchronous learning networks with the use of collaborative Internet technologies in interuniversity instructions. The implications surrounding the effect of the web-based management programs on students, staff, and universities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive Diagnostic Computerized Adaptive Testing (CD-CAT) is an innovative development in psychological and educational measurement. The CDCAT is designed to select items sequentially during the process of assessment to provide accurate information about examinees' cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This paper introduces the development and implementation of a web based CD-CAT program for a large-scale English test in China, the Level 2 English Achievement. The paper is organized as follows. First, the main components of the CD-CAT design will be introduced, such as identification of attributes, Q-matrix formation, choice of CD model, item bank and calibration, item selection strategy, the parameter estimation, and design of CAT delivery system. Next, a study investigating an adequacy of model fitting for a large-scale pretest is described. This is followed by a classification accuracy study using the item parameters calibrated from the pretest. An ensuing section presents the results of a field CD-CAT test with 582 students in Beijing. A validity study of the computer-generated diagnostic results was also conducted. The final section discusses directions for future work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the case of mathematics, this paper reviews debates on China's new Basic Education Curriculum Reform program, including the status of knowledge within the reformed curriculum, the arrangement of the curriculum system, and the push toward real-life applicability and hands-on participation. It discusses the related challenges that teachers face in the implementation of the new curriculum reform. Lastly, this paper reviews how to promote the further development of this new reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China has appeared only recently as an important knowledge producer with growing global economic significance, little is known internationally about how these processes develop and are managed within China. The rapidly expanding Chinese higher education system is playing an increasingly important role in China’s knowledge economy and therefore in the global knowledge society. This paper reviews historically the changing role of Chinese universities from the planned economy to the knowledge economy, analyses their contribution of knowledge and knowledge workers, and critically reflects on the mechanisms driving or confining their future contribution to the knowledge economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the interrelationship between student learning experiences and study behaviour in explaining academic achievement. The participants were 541 final year students from a university in Hong Kong. Students' learning experiences and study behaviour were measured using the Course Experience Questionnaire and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory. Structural equation modelling demonstrated that different learning experience factors have differential influences on student study behaviour. Students' perception of teaching quality and generic skills development were found to be most influential in terms of motivation and attitude towards study, which were most predictive of academic performance. The implications for curriculum design and instructional practice on university student learning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined how two selected expert teachers improved their expertise in mathematics instruction through participating in the development of exemplary lessons throughout the years. The main data for this study included the lesson designs at two crucial stages (with relevant video-taped lessons), teachers' reflection reports, written surveys, and a phone interview. These two case studies showed that the teachers continuously developed their proficiency in the following four aspects: obtaining a better understanding of content knowledge; becoming more skillful in addressing difficult content points; having a more purposeful organization of problem sequences; and developing more comprehensive and feasible instructional objectives. Both teachers appreciated the learning experience from outside experts' critical feedback, collaborative teaching experiments, self-reflection on teaching, and helping other teachers. They also realized a tension between exemplary lesson development and the reality of examination-driven teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the past decade, China has shown rapid improvement in technological infrastructure and network access within the K-12 system. While the technology-rich resources offer new possibilities and approaches to teaching and learning, the teacher is the key factor to effective utilization of technology. This study was conducted to investigate how Chinese elementary in-service teachers use new technologies in instruction, their beliefs toward technology, and the kind of support that they receive in using technology. Data was collected through a survey from a sample of 507 elementary in-service teachers and 2501 students in Shanghai, China. The data show that the in-service teachers held positive attitudes about the benefits of technology for teaching and learning and routinely used a variety of common computer applications in instruction. However, inconsistent with their beliefs, their technology use was limited to teacher-centered purposes, rather than student-centered activities. The findings also indicate that there is a strong correlation among teachers' attitudes toward technology, their frequency of using technology, and technological supports from school district. These findings suggest that the needs for Chinese in-service teachers are not functional computer skills, but more professional development in instructional design skills in technology integration that promote student-centered practices. The results have significant implications for teacher-education and professional development programs and policymakers to redirect their effort to improve in-service teachers' competence in pedagogical design that integrates content, technology, and student-centered learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay reflects on the opportunities and challenges offered by the rise of India and China for teaching and research in global media studies in the U.S. The author believes that incorporating the rise of China and India into the global media studies curriculum offers educators a pedagogic avenue to strengthen students' thinking skills in globalization. The author observes the absence of historical research material on media culture in India and China, and the urban middle class bias in the field of research in global media studies on India and China.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been recently recognized as an important area in the new Chinese educational reform. As teachers play a pivotal role, knowing and developing an effective and easy-to-use instrument for tapping teachers’ beliefs is essential. This article reports an attempt to develop an instrument with mixed methods. The finalized instruments comprise two subscales with satisfactory reliability indices obtained. Sustainability values (VSD) consists of four dimensions: respect and care for the community of life; ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence, and peace. Teaching beliefs of ESD (TESD) consists of three dimensions: relevance to daily life; students’ need in the future; and integrated teaching. With these validated instruments, future research and potential problems will be less strenuous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students are faced with an ever-increasing amount of information everyday. Teaching them how to select and utilize the information so obtained is therefore of paramount importance. In this research with 401 Secondary 6 (Grade 12) students, we compared the effectiveness of the direct instruction and issue inquiry methods. The latter can be conducted through the analyses of popular films and TV programs and is the approach adopted by the Hong Kong new senior secondary school curriculum. Results showed that, as compared to the control group, both approaches were able to enhance students' critical thinking competence. Furthermore, the research also indicated that teachers should not underestimate the benefits of direct instruction. Under systematic instruction and with good summaries, students can grasp the main content and transfer the skills to new situations easily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous language learning requires not only initial planning of self-directed study efforts, but also modification and improvement of strategies after such efforts begin. As language teachers consider how best to support students in their early experiences with autonomous modes of language learning, and also how to help learners become more effective strategy users, a deeper understanding of the early phases of self-directed study efforts is valuable because it helps teachers know how best to offer support. This paper reports on a journal study that examines the experience of a group of language learners in China as they design and carry out self-directed language learning projects. The study concludes that, for a significant number of learners, the process of adapting and modifying their plans is not completed during the first few weeks, which suggests that support over longer periods may be valuable. The study also concludes that combining strategy instruction with a language learning task results in more serious attention to strategizing on the part of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both China and England require state-funded schools to teach a national curriculum. While policy congruence in terms of overall intention is apparent, there are major differences between each country’s approach to systemic curriculum reform which highlight contrasting attitudes to how best to effect change in schools and widely differing views on curriculum design, particularly in relation to pedagogy, and its significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibet Class and the Xinjiang Class in the interior regions are typical models of cross-cultural education. Studies targeted at the difficulties encountered by ethnic minority students during their interior-region (neidi) cross-cultural studies and the implementation of effective countermeasures to overcome such difficulties are urgently required to bring greater efficiency to the special ethnic minority education policy of managing schools in the interior regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Alternate location schooling" (yidi banxue), a special measure adopted in China to advance ethnic minority education and especially basic education, adheres to the principle of providing focused educational support in Tibet and Xinjiang and giving consideration to education in ethnic minority regions nationwide. Since the founding of the People's Republic, and particularly since the mid-1980s, the Party and the state have gradually increased financial investment in, and policies tilting toward, ethnic minority "alternate location schooling"; steadily increased the scale of alternate location schooling; and accelerated the pace of alternate location schooling. This article will, on the basis of describing several forms of ethnic minority alternate location schooling, conduct a preliminary analysis of the problems existing in them. The experts and scholars concerned are respectfully invited to offer criticism and comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I touch upon the complex and largely ignored controversy surrounding the Tibet question. Casting a critical eye on the 'official' or dominant stature of the Dalai Lama in the West, I examine the socio-cultural construction of the common view of him. Specifically, I explore the question: what social discourses have contributed to the making of the master narrative about Tibet in the USA? I also discuss the 'Tibet question' in education and offer some suggestions for educators to consider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although experimentation with English as an instructional medium for majority-language students in mainland China started at only the turn of the 21st century, this form of language provision has made significant inroads in the school system within several years. Despite being exalted by the mainstream educational discourse as a highly commendable reform initiative and a cornerstone of quality education, the spread of English-medium instruction has given rise to many thorny issues that deserve serious attention. This article presents an overview of the English-provision initiative. After a historical review, the article describes the impact of the initiative on the school system, outlines the main types of English-medium instruction that have been adopted, and examines major constraints on this type of language provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese characters, based on and originated from pictographic characters, have a decisive impact on Chinese people's thinking habits. It makes the Chinese people accustomed to thinking, but not good at abstract logical reasoning. It makes the Chinese think more of the phenomenon of the formation of the world but less to the pursuit of scientific spirit during thousands of years. Chinese culture is therefore a clear manifestation of the spirit of practical rationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Chinese colleges, there exist many problems on the guiding principle, content of courses, methods of psychological experiment teaching (PET), which influence the efficiency of teaching negatively. After the thorough analysis on the need and characteristics of psychological experiment teaching, the researchers propose that the innovation of PET should be implemented with the guidance of research-based teaching theory, understand the targets of experiment teaching holistically, unscramble the relation between the experimentation curriculums, carry out the aim of PET in three phases, utilize the apparatus sufficiently and explore creative method of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The computer science classes in China's institutions of higher education often have large numbers of students. In addition, many institutions offer "blended" classes that include both on-campus and online students. These large blended classrooms have long suffered from a lack of interactivity. Many online classes simply provide recorded instructor lectures to which distance students listen after downloading. This format only reinforces the negative effects of passive nonparticipatory learning. At a major university in Shanghai, researchers and developers actively seek technological interventions that can greatly increase interactivity in blended classes. They have developed a cutting-edge mobile learning system that can deliver live broadcasts of real-time classroom teaching to online students with mobile devices. Their system allows students to customize their means of content-reception, based on when and where the students are tuning into the broadcast. The system also supports short text-messaging and instant polls. Through these features, students can ask questions and make suggestions in real time, and the instructor can respond immediately. This paper describes this system in detail and also reports results from a formal implementation of the system with a blended classroom of 562 students (of whom 90% were online). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reading literacy of fourth-grade students in Hong Kong showed a remarkable improvement from 2001 to 2006 as shown by international PIRLS studies. This study identified various aspects of the teacher factor contributing to the significant improvement among students. A total of 4,712 students and 144 teachers from 144 schools were randomly selected using probability proportional-to-size technique to receive the Reading Assessment Test and complete the Teacher's Questionnaire, respectively. A number of items pertaining to teachers' instructional strategies and activities, opportunities for students to read various types of materials, practices on assessment, and professional preparation and perception, were found to be significantly correlated with the outcome of students' reading literacy. Stepwise regression procedure revealed four significant predictors for students' overall reading achievement. The most powerful predictor was the use of materials from other subjects as reading resources. Suggestions to improve quality of teaching of reading and further studies are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decade, the issue of reading difficulties has received increasing attention in Hong Kong. A recent Education Bureau mandate calls for the development of effective instructional methods based on the 3-tier model to address the diverse learning needs of our students. Following a thorough review of the relevant research literature, we attempted to utilise a peer support learning system both as a Tier 1 preventive reading programme for beginning readers and as a Tier 2 supplementary remediation programme for struggling adolescent learners. Our investigative efforts indicate that the proposed peer support reading scheme shows promise as a preventive procedure for reducing reading failure in beginning readers. However, turning this scheme into a feasible and effective intervention for older students remains a challenge to be resolved by further consolidation and investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

♦ Examines the Chinese culinary instruction genre ♦ Analyzes culinary texts produced from 500 BC to the present ♦ Argues for a historicized and contextualized understanding of technical communication in China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]