Высшее образование в университетах Китая

Данная статья представляет собой сравнительный анализ двух систем образования: китайской и американской. Основанием для сравнения служит критерий эффективности практического обучения в рамках высшей школы. Необходимость расширения практического обучения в высших учебных заведениях Китая является центральным тезисом данной статьи.This article gives a comparative analysis of the following education systems: Chinese and American. The basis for such a comparison is the criterion of effectiveness of practical training within the higher school. The need to expand practical training in higher educational institutions of China is the central thesis of the article

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

Innate talents: reality or myth?

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence

Creativity in the Brazilian Culture

Research has pointed out creativity as a sociocultural and contextually embedded phenomenon. As a consequence, the effect of cultural factors on the manifestation of creativity has been discussed worldwide. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to analyze the development of creativity in the Brazilian culture. A brief description of the Brazilian culture is provided. Models of creativity developed by Brazilian researchers, as well as a review of creativity studies conducted in the educational environment, are presented. Guidelines for future cross-cultural studies on creativity are also suggested

Evaluation of Changes in Ghanaian Students’ Attitudes Towards Science Following Neuroscience Outreach Activities: A Means to Identify Effective Ways to Inspire Interest in Science Careers

The scientific capacity in many African countries is low. Ghana, for example, is estimated to have approximately twenty-three researchers per a million inhabitants. In order to improve interest in science among future professionals, appropriate techniques should be developed and employed to identify barriers and correlates of science education among pre-university students. Young students’ attitudes towards science may affect their future career choices. However, these attitudes may change with new experiences. It is, therefore, important to evaluate potential changes in students’ attitudes towards science after their exposure to experiences such as science outreach activities. Through this, more effective means of inspiring and mentoring young students to choose science subjects can be developed. This approach would be particularly beneficial in countries such as Ghana, where: (i) documented impacts of outreach activities are lacking; and (ii) effective means to develop scientist-school educational partnerships are needed. We have established an outreach scheme, aimed at helping to improve interaction between scientists and pre-university students (and their teachers). Outreach activities are designed and implemented by undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants, with support from faculty members and technical staff. Through this, we aim to build a team of trainee scientists and graduates who will become ambassadors of science in their future professional endeavors. Here, we describe an approach for assessing changes in junior high school students’ attitudes towards science following classroom neuroscience outreach activities. We show that while students tended to agree more with questions concerning their perceptions about science learning after the delivery of outreach activities, significant improvements were obtained for only two questions, namely “I enjoy science lessons” and “I want to be a scientist in the future.” Furthermore, there was a generally strong trend towards a change in attitude for questions that sought information about students’ perceptions about scientists (both positive and negative perceptions). In addition, outreach providers reported that their involvement in this public engagement scheme helped them acquire several transferable skills that will be beneficial in their studies and career development. These include vital skills in project and time management, teamwork and public speaking. Altogether, our findings provide novel indications that the development of scientist-school outreach partnerships in Ghana has valuable implications for science education and capacity development

Shear resistance improvement of oil-contaminated ballast layer with rubber shred inclusions

Railway ballast, which form an integral part of rail tracks, is highly susceptible to subsistence due to both vibration transmitted by the passing trains, as well as the breakage of ballasts with repeated impact. The resulting subsistence necessitates regular monitoring and maintenance, involving cost- and time- consuming remedial actions, such as stone-blowing and ballast renewal. Measures to minimize the wear and tear effect are therefore desirable to prolong the lifespan of the ballast layer. It is even more critical when the ballast is contaminated with oil and grease from braking wheels and leakages. This paper describes the inclusion of rubber shreds (≤10 mm in length, 1.5 mm thick) derived from the inner tubes of motorcycle tyres in oil-contaminated ballast layer for shear resistance improvement. The tests are mainly carried out in a standard direct shear test setup, i.e. shear box measuring 60 mm x 60 mm. Granitic stones of suitable sizes were sieved and used as representative samples of typical ballast. The samples were soaked in lubricant oil for 14 days to simulate the contamination. The direct shear test results indicated rubber shreds inclusion could effectively improve the shear resistance of ballast and expedient in deformation control with increased ductility of the composites. This could potentially improve absorption of impact, hence reduction of breakages of the ballasts. Clearly both mechanisms contribute to the overall reduced subsistence, accompanied by an increase in the shear resistance. However, further investigations in a dynamic test setup are necessary for verifications prior to field implementation

Организація освітнього процесу в сучасному закладі вищої освіти на засадах фасилітативного підходу

The article elucidates the peculiarities of reforming the educational process in institutions of higher education and defines the relevance of the activities of the modern teacher of institution of higher education institution as a facilitator; analyzes and summarizes the features of the implementation facilitative approach in the educational space of the modern HEI; the publication contains generalizations and conclusions about the content and peculiarities of implementation facilitating approach in the professional activities of scientific and pedagogical workers of HEI.В статті висвітлено особливості реформування освітнього процесу у закладах вищої освіти; визначено актуальність діяльності сучасного викладача закладу вищої освіти як фасилітатора; проаналізовано та узагальнено особливості впровадження фасилітативного підходу в освітній простір сучасних ЗВО; публікація містить узагальнення та висновки щодо змісту та особливостей впровадження фасилітативного підходу в професійній діяльності науково-педагогічних працівників ЗВО

Cultivating Interdisciplinary Foreign Language Talents in Higher Education in Western China under the Background of the “B&R”

There is an increasing demand for interdisciplinary foreign language talents who master multiple foreign languages and cultures, innovation ability, and management ability, especially under the “Belt and Road” background. However, cultivating interdisciplinary foreign language talents in western China is facing many dilemmas. In order to meet the interdisciplinary foreign language talents demand of the international economic development along the “Belt and Road”, the author puts forward some strategies based on symbiosis theory adopting a comparative method. This article aims to explore methods of cultivating interdisciplinary foreign language talents in higher education in western China and supply high-quality interdisciplinary foreign language talents for the “Belt and Road”

Research on Innovation Mechanism and Path of Engineering Talents Cultivation in Applied Colleges and Universities in the Context of “Made in China 2025”

This paper examines the essential attributes of engineering and the new requirements of the development of the times for talent cultivation, probes into the existing problems in engineering talents cultivation in applied colleges and universities and proposes the innovative mechanism of engineering talents cultivation and corresponding talents cultivation paths in the context of “Made in China 2025”