With the advent of the digital age, traditional didactic teaching and online learning have been modified and gradually replaced by "Blended Learning." The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of blended learning pedagogy on junior high school student learning achievement and the students' attitudes toward mathematics. To investigate the outcomes of the combination of Moodle online teaching platform and traditional instruction, a quasi-experiment was conducted using a pre-test-post-test control group design. ANCOVA and MANCOVA analyses showed that the blended learning experience benefitted students in the experimental group by having a positive effect not only on the learning outcomes, but also on their attitudes toward studying mathematics in a blended environment. Preliminary results indicated that male students and high-ability students were more motivated in the blended learning environment. Students gave positive feedback on the use of the Moodle learning platform for mathematics after experiencing blended learning.

We propose a realistic process for the excitation of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes in a silicon photonic waveguide (WG). The process involves the placement of buried oxide (BOX) composed of silica between a WG and silicon substrate. When the BOX thickness is manipulated, different amounts of modal power leak toward the BOX into the substrate and simultaneously acquire compensation from a semiconductor located on the WG. The compensation related to the leakage can be used to infer transparency gain. Similar to the case for a semiconductor laser cavity, the lowest transparency gain among WG modes can be favored; thus, only one mode can survive in the WG, and it is in the region with the specified BOX thickness. Finally, we propose a credible mechanism suitable for demonstrating the region requirements of the existence of SPP modes.

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