An evaluation of a professional learning network for computer science teachers

This paper describes and evaluates aspects of a professional development programme for existing CS teachers in secondary schools (PLAN C) which was designed to support teachers at a time of substantial curricular change. The paper’s particular focus is on the formation of a teacher professional development network across several hundred teachers and a wide geographical area. Evidence from a series of observations and teacher surveys over a two-year period is analysed with respect to the project’s programme theory in order to illustrate not only whether it worked as intended, by why. Results indicate that the PLAN C design has been successful in increasing teachers’ professional confidence and appears to have catalysed powerful change in attitudes to learning. Presentation of challenging pedagogical content knowledge and conceptual frameworks, high-quality teacher-led professional dialogue, along with the space for reflection and classroom trials, triggered examination of the teachers’ own current practices

Reform of Economic Instruction in the Former Soviet Bloc

This article suggests that the reform of economic instruction in the Former Soviet Union should focus on both learning and action. The incorporation of mathematical methods into the new economic curriculum will occur based on close cooperation among mathematicians and economists. The new economic instruction will have an interdisciplinary character and a multidisciplinary setting. There are several second order organizational changes that need to be made. Bachelor and Master’s Degrees should replace the five-year degree. Changes in the curriculum should include separation of core courses and electives including those from other majors, detail-oriented content of the courses, a decreased number of classes per semester and increased time for each class. Faculty retraining should be coordinated both within and between the universities. Financial incentives should be created to encourage the instructors to participate in retraining, to change the content and method of the instruction, and to work effectively in the classroom.economics, economic instruction, education, reform, transition, former Soviet Bloc

Information and Communication Technologies as means for self-improvement at remote universities: the example of Urgench State University, Uzbekistan

This paper describes the research conducted at the Information Resource Center of Urgench State University, located in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, on the possibilities and challenges the students and lecturers face in their pursuit for self-improvement and self-education. The article discloses new qualitative approaches and IT methods in the teaching and educational processes in higher education of Central Asian countries in transition, the overall aim of which is to close the gap and shape the spiritual values of the young generation in the globalizing world. The framework conditions for this have been set by the Government of Uzbekistan through particular Decrees, aiming at the creation of e-education at universities and institutions throughout the country and specifically in the remote regions as to improve the access to regularly updated information, to motivate the use of IT in classes as well as to enhance the responsibility of the information services of universities for assuring the quality of research and teaching (pedagogical) activities of the lecturers. The research showed that the Internet can function inter alia as a controlling device when education is delivered through the web. Collection, analysis and preparation of educational-methodological materials on specific subjects and extracurricular activities require specific knowledge on IT and information literacy both in the teaching staff and the students

Facilitating economic development through the reform of economic instruction

Economic development in many ways depends on the level of human capital in the national economy, including that of economists. Market reforms in the former Soviet Bloc urged drastic changes in economic curriculum necessary to prepare the next generation of economic leaders. This paper states that the reform of economic instruction in the Former Soviet Union should focus on both learning and action. The incorporation of mathematical methods into the new economic curriculum will occur based on close cooperation among mathematicians and economists. The new economic instruction will have an interdisciplinary character and a multidisciplinary setting. There are several second order organizational changes that need to be made. Bachelor and Master’s Degrees should replace the five-year degree. Changes in the curriculum should include separation of core courses and electives including those from other majors, detail-oriented content of the courses, a decreased number of classes per semester and increased time for each class. Faculty retraining should be coordinated both within and between the universities. Financial incentives should be created to encourage the instructors to participate in retraining, to change the content and method of the instruction, and to work effectively in the classroom.economics, economic instruction, education, reform, transition

Post \u3ci\u3eDoi Moi\u3c/i\u3e Urban Higher Education in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: The Case of Hong Duc University

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is experiencing unprecedented peace and prosperity. Although Vietnam\u27s war-damaged economy continued to decline for ten years after hostilities ended in 1975, everything changed in 1986 when doi moi, a moderate economic reform program, was introduced. Doi moi put enormous stress on higher education, whose function in the past had been to train workers for the state sector. Suddenly, higher education had to respond to the changing needs of Vietnamese society. A 1992 educational sector study found that higher education was irrelevant to the needs of the transitional Vietnamese society. Universities were too small and too diffuse to be effective. A plan was drafted to consolidate single-focus institutions into larger multidisciplinary universities, to revise curricula and to improve the quality of teaching faculty. In Thanh Hoa Province, Thanh Hoa Teacher Training College, Thanh Hoa Medical College and Thanh Hoa Agricultural and Technical College formed Hong Duc University (HDU) which opened in 1997. This study examines Hong Duc University and discusses the university\u27s impact on Thanh Hoa Province. This case study is based on information collected from interviews, informal conversations, observations, document analysis and archival record analysis made during a three-week field visit in the summer of 2001. The findings show that Hong Duc University has a positive effect on the region. Localized academic programs and research opportunities assist with regional development. Furthermore, Hong Duc University, although in transition itself, is relevant to the changing needs of the transitional society. Finally, the data revealed that HDU has stimulated economic growth in the city of Thanh Hoa. The study concludes with several recommendations. First, the university funding base must be diversified. Once the university has sufficient educational resources, access to technology must be improved and the university infrastructure must be upgraded. Second, a plan for professional development, recruitment and retention of adequately trained faculty must be established. Next, the curriculum must be upgraded to reflect workplace realities. Access to the university must be assured for the region\u27s ethnic minorities and the very poor. Finally, the continued conduct of scientific research is recommended to increase HDU\u27s regional influence

E-Learning in Business

e-Learning is replacing face-to-face classroom instruction in a growing number of businesses, but what is the prospect for the continued proliferation of e-learning in business? On one hand, the quality of instruction, the cost effectiveness of new technology, a supportive e-learning educational culture, an expansion of the Internet, an increase in online courses, shorter business cycles, mergers, and increasing competition encourage business use of e-learning. On the other hand, employee reticence in using learning technologies, insufficient corporate investment, lack of business-relevant university courses, narrow bandwidth, and Internet access issues are constricting the business use of these technologies

Just in Time: The Beyond-the-Hype Potential of E-Learning

Based on a year of conversations with more than 100 leading thinkers, practitioners, and entrepreneurs, this report explores the state of e-learning and the potential it offers across all sectors of our economy -- far beyond the confines of formal education. Whether you're a leader, worker in the trenches, or just a curious learner, imagine being able to access exactly what you need, when you need it, in a format that's quick and easy to digest and apply. Much of this is now possible and within the next decade, just-in-time learning will likely become pervasive.This report aims to inspire you to consider how e-learning could change the way you, your staff, and the people you serve transfer knowledge and adapt over time

English language in rural Malaysia: situating global literacies in local practices

This paper claims that underlying the naturalisation of teaching and learning of English in the Malaysian education system are ideological pressures and political dogmas, often emerging from colonial, urban/rural and even local ethnic conflicts and hierarchies. It suggests therein lie the inherent difficulties of teaching and learning English in rural communities in Malaysia. Three paradigms frame this view in the paper: the overarching view of literacy as a situated and variable social process; the use of an ethnographic perspective in investigating English language and literacy education in Malaysia; the stance on the need for Malaysians to acquire English as an additive rather than as a deficit philosophy