In search of meaningful assessment in the university curriculum: the case for culturally relevant pedagogy

ABSTRACT

The poor performance of Pacific students at university is a concern for every level of society. Conventional models of teaching, learning and assessment have overlooked the cultural background of students, yet the effects of this oversight have been disastrous, alienating and disempowering. Studies of and developments in education in the Pacific and elsewhere offer opportunities to rethink the methods of teaching, learning and assessment of Pacific students in ways that are congruent with their home culture. Informed by the principle of so’a lau pule (the Samoan concept of consensus through consultation and conversation) and ethnographic research methods, this study describes an attempt to rethink ways of teaching, learning and assessing student performance in a third-year course on Resource Conservation and Management in the School of Geography, Earth Science and Environment at the University of the South Pacific. Introduced in 2007, the Student Innovative Contribution to Knowledge (SICK) allows students to participate in key decisions concerning teaching, learning and assessment. SICK is grounded in the principles of inclusiveness and participation. It takes account of the skills and abilities of Pacific students and is aligned with the philosophical basis of Pacific cultures. One hundred and fifty-eight students took part in this study over a 5-year period. Analysis was based on students’ written reviews of the semester’s work, in-depth conversation with individual students and the end-of-the-course evaluation. The findings show that, while students embrace the need for non-conventional forms of teaching, learning and assessment, the most frequently cited responses for non-participation are poor time management and varying perceptions of what is considered an innovative assessment. This study shows that understanding the cultural background of students is critical to creating culturally inclusive learning environments.     

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地下水弥散系数的测定

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土层锚杆抗拔力的影响因素及其计算公式的修正

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固壁紊流流速分布指数型公式和阻力规律——(Ⅱ)过渡区

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迭代扩展卡尔曼滤波用于实时GPS数据处理

标准的卡尔曼滤波可以扩展到非线性模型,即将泰勒公式应用于状态方程和观测方程,得到扩展卡尔曼滤波公式。首先推导了计算公式,研究了迭代计算方法,并将其用于ＧＰＳ数据的实时处理。     

气象用重力加速度计算方法的研究

发现使用了几十年的《气象常用表》重力计算公式有较大的误差;对ＷＭＯ推荐的气象用重力计算公式进行了讨论,指出公式中对Ｈ’的定义是错误的;实例验证证明用布格修正法获得的重力值可以满足气压观测的准确度要求。最后提出了３点建议。     

云南地区震源破裂长度与震级的经验关系

从云南地区１９６５ 年有台网记录以来主震震级 Ｍ Ｓ≥４ ．９ 的地震序列中选取５１ 个序列,根据直接余震的平面分布统计得到震源的破裂长度,用最小二乘线性回归模型得到了３ 种震级范围的破裂长度与主震震级的经验关系式     

重力场向下延拓Milne法

重力场向下延拓能够突出局部和浅部的异常信息,分离叠加的异常特征.但是向下延拓通常具有过程不稳定、下延深度小、结果不准确等问题.针对向下延拓所存在的不足,本文利用重力场及其垂向一阶导数,基于辛普森(Simpson)求积公式,推导出重力场向下延拓米尔尼(Milne)公式.将本文向下延拓方法应用于模型数据,向下延拓模型结果及误差曲线表明,相对于向下延拓快速傅里叶变换(FFT)法和积分迭代法,向下延拓Milne法的深度更大,相对误差更小;相对模型值,向下延拓Milne法能够获得稳定且准确的结果.对加拿大乃查科(Nechako)盆地地区实测航空重力数据进行本文方法向下延拓验证,处理结果表明,相对于实测异常,本文方法向下延拓结果能够很好还原实测数据,并且在进一步向下延拓中反映原始异常的趋势,增强局部和细小异常信息.