Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE): An Effective Approach to Science Education

Prediction-observation-explanation (POE) as a teaching strategy was advanced by Australian researchers White and Gunster in 1992. It has been primarily adopted in science education and project-based learning. With POE, the students develop the understanding of a specific scientific concept through the exploratory process consisting of hypothesis (prediction), experimentation (observation), and analysis/presentation (explanation) (Yurtyapan & Kandemir, 2022). Each of the three steps of POE has its own purpose (White & Gunstone, 1992; Nalkiran & Karamustafaoglu, 2020; Baydere, 2021). “Prediction” is for the students to make hypotheses about inquiry on a concept or an event in question and give their justifications. This step is to awaken the students to prior knowledge relevant to the new concept and identify possible gaps or misconceptions in them. “Observation” is for the students to observe the inquiry process of the concept or event. The teacher may present the concept or event through explanations, demonstrations, or experiments, and the students are required to record observations before, during, and after the experiment. “Explanation” is for the teacher to elaborate on the concept or event and give explanations of the discrepancies between the students’ predictions and observations, in order to enhance their grasp of the subject matter

How Can We Map Our Brains?

Understanding the human brain—arguably the most complex structure in the known universe—has long been a goal of science, medicine, and philosophy. Recent technological advancements have made the ambitious task of brain mapping more plausible than ever before. This essay explores the multidimensional approach needed to map the brain, emphasizing the roles of neuroimaging technologies, computational modeling, genetics, and artificial intelligence. It argues that while we are making rapid progress, truly mapping the human brain requires not just technical precision but also ethical mindfulness, global collaboration, and interdisciplinary innovation. Brain mapping is not only a scientific journey but also a humanistic one, requiring us to ask who we are and how our minds work

Is There Neuroscientific Evidence of Burst of Lucidity in Dying People?

Reports of dying individuals exhibiting brief episodes of unexpected clarity, known as terminal lucidity or end-of-life rallies, have intrigued physicians, caregivers, and families for centuries. These moments, when people with advanced dementia, neurological decline, or prolonged unresponsiveness suddenly regain coherent speech, recognition, or purposeful behavior, raise profound questions about the brain at the threshold of death. Neuroscientific investigations into this phenomenon remain limited but increasingly suggest plausible mechanisms. Emerging evidence points to surges of neural activity, altered neurotransmitter dynamics, and cortical disinhibition during the dying process. Studies of near-death experiences, electroencephalographic recordings in humans, and experimental work in animals all reveal transient bursts of organized brain activity in the minutes surrounding cardiac arrest. While definitive proof is elusive, these findings indicate that lucidity in dying people may not be purely anecdotal but rather linked to measurable neurobiological processes. Understanding this mystery could illuminate consciousness itself and reshape perspectives on dying

The Necessity of Transitioning from Traditional Class Management to Student Autonomous management in Chinese Basic Education

Class management is a basic component of school governance in basic education. Traditional class management in China has overemphasized teacher control, discipline, and order, restricting students’ all-round development. In the context of intensified educational reforms, there is a need for transitioning to student autonomous management, a more student-centered class management style. This article gives a brief overview of the evolution of class management in modern China, expounds on the necessity of introducing student autonomous management as well as its chief features, and proposes pathways for its implementation, with the view to providing insights for ongoing educational reform in China

Standardized Reading Assessment Tools: Indispensable, Though not without Limitations

Reading ability is fundamental to individuals’ academic success and lifelong learning as it plays a pivotal role in knowledge acquisition, thinking skill development, and even social participation. Reading is a complicated cognitive process, and reading ability is deemed an intricate construct, ranging from the mastery of lower-level processing like decoding skills to that of higher-level processing like reading comprehension (Sprenger-Charolles & Messaoud-Galusi, 2009). The issue of how to scientifically and systematically assess students’ reading proficiency has been a highly debated topic in the education research community.&nbsp

Is Prescribing Physical Activity for Older Adults Reliable and Applicable?

This article critiques a proposed solution for enhancing the health of elderly individuals through exercise, highlighting two key areas for improvement. First, it argues for more precise exercise descriptions tailored to specific races and sexes, citing differences in physiology and disease outcomes that necessitate individualized approaches to avoid potential harm. Second, it addresses the lack of guidance on monitoring patient compliance and assessing the effectiveness of prescribed physical activities, as current recommendations, including those from the WHO, fail to provide methodologies for post-prescription follow-up

Academic Tribe-Based Master Teacher Studios in China: New Characteristics and New Mechanics

The academic tribe-based master teacher studio, as a new pattern of teacher professional development in China, has the potential to circumvent the limitations of traditional master teacher workshops, such as insularity, experience-focused tendency, insensitivity to emerging technologies, unbalanced engagement between members, and rigid mechanisms. This article is a discussion of the chief characteristics and working mechanics of the academic tribe-based master teacher studio. The studio provides an open, intelligent platform for teacher professional growth with the adoption of distributed leadership, collaborative research, and intelligent technology. Focusing on learning, research, and scaling as three core tasks for its teacher members, it plays the concomitant roles as an intelligent learning center, an authentic teaching issue-focused lab, and a research outcome scaling center, aiming to offer the teachers all-round support in personalized learning, teaching problem solution, and research outcome dissemination

How Do Teacher Workloads Affect Student Development?

Based on data from the China Education Panel Survey 2013-2015, the study examines the effects of teacher workloads on student development, with the view to providing evidence for the implementation of China’s “teacher burden reduction” policy and Double Reduction policy

Socio-Scientific Issue-Based Instruction in Science Education Necessitates Unconventional Approaches

Socio-scientific issues (ssis) are real-world questions that are scientific in nature but also involve social, ethical, economic, political and other concerns. decision-making for these issues, typically contentious and lacking easy solutions, requires multidimensional evidence and judgements. common ssis include the possibility of banning disposable plastic products, legitimacy of further developing nuclear energy, appropriateness of legalizing euthanasia, etc. incorporating ssis in the science education curriculum is deemed of vital significance in that it not only assists students in developing scientific literacy but also helps foster their morality, character, and senses of social responsibility (zeidler, 2014)

Artificial Intelligence-Integrated Dynamic Prostheses

Artificial intelligence-integrated dynamic prostheses will represent a transformative leap in rehabilitative and assistive technologies, offering amputees and individuals with limb deficiencies unprecedented mobility, adaptability, and user-centered control. These advanced prosthetics combine cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning algorithms, neural interfaces, and biomechanical engineering to create responsive, intuitive devices that mimic the complexity of natural limb movement. Unlike traditional static prostheses, AI-enhanced models learn from users' motion patterns, adjust to environmental variables, and improve over time through continuous feedback loops. Their development involves multidisciplinary collaboration between data scientists, engineers, neuroscientists, and clinicians. While the field shows immense promise—improving functional outcomes, enhancing quality of life, and reducing physical and psychological burdens—challenges remain in accessibility, affordability, neural integration, and long-term user adaptability