Journal of Educational Practice and Research

• First Graders’ Abilities of Number and Operations in Pingtung County

  Kuo-Heng Wang & Ching-Hua Chien

   

   

  The purpose of this study is to understand the number and operation abilities of first grade students when entering elementary school, and to discuss the effects of pre-schooleducation. The study was conducted on sixty-nine students in Pingtung County fromelementary schools during the first four weeks of the fall semester. “TEMA-2” was adoptedas the measuremen instnrument. Data were analyzed by “One-way ANOVA”. Results are asfollows: (1)Most subjects performed well on numbers under ten in all aspects. (2)The firstgrade students in Pingtung County can already recognize two digits numbers in readingand writing in spite that the materials are not covered in the formal mathematicalcurriculum. (3)Different years of pre-school education experiences do not significantlyaffect first graders’ performances on reading and writing for two digits numbers, neither on counting, calculating, number comparisons for the one digit numbers.

   

  Keyword：first grade, formal mathematical ability, informal mathematical ability, number and operation ability, Pingtung County, pre-school

• Integrating Digital Storybooks into Teaching to Promote Children’s Cognitive Concepts of Animal Growth

  Chow-Chin Lu & Yueh-Yun Chen

   

   

  In order to assist school-children in learning descriptive concepts of animal growth, the researchers compiled seven digital storybooks in CD-ROM form, and integrated them into “Water Creatures” and “Insects on Campus” units in the elementary school science curriculum. Quasi-experimental design was implemented with two instruments to describe students’ concept growth: “Achievement Test of Animal Curriculum (ATAC)” and “Open Questionnaires of Descriptive Concepts (OQDC)”. Results indicated that the sixty-five fourth-graders in experimental group who were taught with digital storybooks had better achievement in ATAC and OQDC than the sixty-five students in control group who were taught with traditional narration instruction. Results from OQDC, students’ self-made illustrated booklets, classroom observations, and teachers’ reflection diary showed that the control group students could only described simple animal concepts according to the lines of the textbooks and network materials, but the experimental group students were more capable of thorough descriptions of animal growth in their own words through observing and imitating the animated characters in the digital storybooks. This research implies that digital storybooks integrated into teaching as an alternative teaching method can provide science teachers with multimedia resources. Science teachers are free to copy the digital storybooks designed by the authors for students to use so that students can study with it in classroom and learn the concept by themselves at home.

   

  Keyword：animal growth knowledge, descriptive concepts, digital storybooks integrated into teaching

• The Practice and Reflection of School-Based Teacher Evaluation

  Chih-Lin Sun

   

   

  Teacher evaluation is an important mechanism for enhancing teacher professional development and student learning achievement. The main purpose of this study was to create a framework focused on school-based viewpoints to improve teacher evaluation in a remote elementary school in Taipei County. It also reflected the possibilities and challenges of school-based teacher evaluation from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Results indicated that teachers enhanced evaluation understanding and professional growth after participating in the processes of teacher evaluation. Secondly, teachers could continue to reflect on their teaching practice and build self-confidence. Furthermore, the case school established a professional learning culture through the implementation of teacher evaluation. Overall, the school-based teacher evaluation mechanism had positive effects on teachers’ development and school improvement, with the creation of a link between theory and practice. These results should be generalized and implemented in other schools in the quest to enhance teachers’ professional development. However, there were some problems in school-based teacher evaluation, including: reconstruction of the evaluation concept, heavy workload and the lack of time management, establishment of the evaluation culture, and the feasibility of empowerment evaluation. Finally, some implications initiated from the practice of school-based teacher evaluation were discussed.

   

Keyword：school-based evaluation, teacher evaluation, teachers’ professional development

• Gender Differences and Differential Item Functioning in Mathematics Basic Competence Test for Junior High School Students

  Sheue-Mei Lu & Kuo-Nan Mao

   

   

  This research investigated gender differences and differential item functioning (DIF) on Mathematics parts of the Basic Competence Test for Junior High School Students (BCTEST) from its 2001 to 2005 administrations. Data for each administration were a sample of 5000 examinees randomly drawn from its examinee population. In the study of gender differences, we calculated and compared the effect size, female/male standard deviation ratio and female/male ratio for total-group, low- achieving (bottom 10%) and high-achieving groups (top 10%) across test administrations. Results based on overall performances indicated that there were no visible gender differences among total groups and low-achieving groups. However, males performed slightly better than females amongst high-achieving groups. Results based on performance of math contents and processes indicated that there were no visible gender effect sizes among total, low-achieving and high-achieving groups with only a few exceptions. The exceptions were that males performed slightly better on problem solving among total groups and on geometry among high-achieving groups. In the study of gender DIF, Mantel-Haenszel procedure was used. And results showed that the average percentage of items displaying gender DIF across administrations were low, at about 2.5%. There appeared associations of gender DIF with item characteristics, DIF in favor of females on algebraic items, and DIF in favor of males on geometry and problem solving items.

   

Keyword：Basic Competence Test for Junior High School Students, gender differences in mathematics, gender DIF in mathematics 

• A Preliminary Study on the Status Quo and Difficulties of the Secondary Education in Lanyu Island

  Chuan-Rong Yeh, Wei-Chi Chung, & Chio-Wei Hong

   

   

  There is a great difference in ethnicity and culture between Lanyu Island and Taiwan. Apart from its isolation from the outside world, the educational environment and the choices in schooling are very different from those in Taiwan. This study selected Lanyu high schools as its subjects and adopted document analysis and interview as the methods to explore the current practices in education in Lanyu, and the rebirth and transformation brought about by the present national education system and cultural crush. The study concludes that: first, Taiwanese education system has greatly neglected the influence of geological location on Lanyu’s education. Secondly, the sources and quality of teachers greatly impacted the enforcement of educational policies. Finally, there is a paradoxical relationship between education and Lanyu’s local culture. We also proposed six suggestions for the excellent educators to turn the limitations between social structures and spaces in Lanyu Island into the vital spark for the future.

   

Keyword：aboriginal education, Lanyu education (Botel Tobago education), Lanyu high school, multiple entrance schemes