The Impact of an Online Educational Video and a Medical Amnesty Policy on College Students' Intentions to Seek Help in the Presence of Alcohol Poisoning Symptoms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oster-Aaland, Laura; Thompson, Kevin; Eighmy, Myron

2011-01-01

This study analyzed the impact of a medical amnesty policy and an online alcohol poisoning video on college students' intentions to seek help when witnessing alcohol poisoning symptoms. Students were randomly assigned to receive an amnesty policy, alcohol poisoning video, or both. The group that received both treatments was most likely to seek…

Effects of Check & Connect on Attendance, Behavior, and Academics: A Randomized Effectiveness Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maynard, Brandy R.; Kjellstrand, Elizabeth K.; Thompson, Aaron M.

2014-01-01

The present study evaluates the effectiveness of Check & Connect (C&C) in a randomly assigned sample of students who were all receiving Communities in Schools (CIS) services. The research questions for the study include: Are there differences in attendance, academics, and behavior for CIS students who also receive C&C compared to…

A Coursework Support System for Offering Challenges and Assistance by Analyzing Students' Web Portfolios

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Liang-Yi; Chen, Gwo-Dong

2009-01-01

Students can practice skills and acquire knowledge by doing coursework. However, in conventional coursework activities, each student is assigned the same exercises, without considering learners' diversity. Moreover, students typically have difficulty in receiving assistance for completing their exercises after class. Therefore, some students…

A Stacked Approach to Reading Intervention: Increasing 2nd- and 3rd-Graders' Independent Reading Levels with an Intervention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Chase; Durham, Patricia; Rosenbaum-Martinez, Crystal

2018-01-01

Fifty 2nd- and 3rd-grade students identified as experiencing difficulty reading were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. In the experimental group, students received a reading intervention called Read Two Impress for a total of 360 min. Students in the control continued to receive regular instruction from their teacher. A 2 × 3…

Effects of Individualized and Standardized Interventions on Middle School Students With Reading Disabilities

PubMed Central

VAUGHN, SHARON; WEXLER, JADE; ROBERTS, GREG; BARTH, AMY A.; CIRINO, PAUL T.; ROMAIN, MELISSA A.; FRANCIS, DAVID; FLETCHER, JACK; DENTON, CAROLYN A.

2011-01-01

This study reports the effectiveness of a year-long, small-group, tertiary (Tier 3) intervention that examined 2 empirically derived but conceptually different treatments and a comparison condition. The researchers had randomly assigned all students to treatment or comparison conditions. The participants were seventh- and eighth-grade students from the previous year who received an intervention and did not meet exit criteria. The researchers assigned them to one of two treatments: standardized (n = 69) or individualized (n = 71) for 50 min a day, in group sizes of 5, for the entire school year. Comparison students received no researcher-provided intervention (n = 42). The researchers used multigroup modeling with nested comparisons to evaluate the statistical significance of Time 3 estimates. Students in both treatments outperformed the comparison students on assessments of decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Intervention type did not moderate the pattern of effects, although students in the standardized treatment had a small advantage over individualized students on word attack. This study provides a framework from which to refine further interventions for older students with reading disabilities. PMID:23125463

The effect of online collaborative learning on middle school student science literacy and sense of community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendt, Jillian Leigh

This study examines the effects of online collaborative learning on middle school students' science literacy and sense of community. A quantitative, quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design was used. Following IRB approval and district superintendent approval, students at a public middle school in central Virginia completed a pretest consisting of the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resources for Teachers (MOSART) Physical Science assessment and the Classroom Community Scale. Students in the control group received in-class assignments that were completed collaboratively in a face-to-face manner. Students in the experimental group received in-class assignments that were completed online collaboratively through the Edmodo educational platform. Both groups were members of intact, traditional face-to-face classrooms. The students were then post tested. Results pertaining to the MOSART assessment were statistically analyzed through ANCOVA analysis while results pertaining to the Classroom Community Scale were analyzed through MANOVA analysis. Results are reported and suggestions for future research are provided.

Interactive Learning through Web-Mediated Peer Review of Student Science Reports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trautmann, Nancy M.

2009-01-01

Two studies analyzed impacts of writing and receiving web-mediated peer reviews on revision of research reports by undergraduate science students. After conducting toxicology experiments, 77 students posted draft reports and exchanged double-blind reviews. The first study randomly assigned students to four groups representing full, partial, or no…

Feedback Providing Improvement Strategies and Reflection on Feedback Use: Effects on Students' Writing Motivation, Process, and Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duijnhouwer, Hendrien; Prins, Frans J.; Stokking, Karel M.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of feedback providing improvement strategies and a reflection assignment on students' writing motivation, process, and performance. Students in the experimental feedback condition (n = 41) received feedback including improvement strategies, whereas students in the control feedback condition (n = 41) received…

Investigating Secondary School Students' Unmediated Peer Assessment Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsivitanidou, Olia E.; Zacharia, Zacharias C.; Hovardas, Tasos

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary school students' unmediated peer assessment skills. Specifically, 36 seventh graders, without receiving any kind of support, were anonymously assigned to reciprocally assess their peers' science web-portfolios. Additionally, students' attitudes towards and intentions about the use of…

Managing Student Study Time.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, H. T.

1981-01-01

Large lecture sections of science staffed by a single instructor make it impossible to provide individual student attention and lead to high dropout and failure rates. Daily assignments are used to encourage students to identify areas that need remediation, maintain a steady study pace, receive positive reinforcement, and learn methods of solving…

Assessment Feedback Using Screencapture Technology in Political Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anson, Ian G.

2015-01-01

This article serves to introduce a new technology for student feedback on written assignments to political scientists. Developed in the field of composition studies, screencapture commentary is a novel technique designed to provide audiovisual responses to student writing. To receive feedback, students watch a recorded video of the instructor's…

A comparison of students' and jury panelists' decision-making in split recovery cases.

PubMed

Fox, Paul; Wingrove, Twila; Pfeifer, Courtney

2011-01-01

This study was designed to assess jury decision-making for 289 participants reading a medical malpractice vignette as a function of participant type (undergraduate students or jury panelists), punitive damage award apportionment (none, half, or all to the plaintiff), and compensation previously assigned to the plaintiff (low, medium, or high). We found several sample differences. Overall, jury panelists awarded more money for punitive damages. Jury panelists were also more affected by compensatory-relevant information when making punitive decisions, including assigning punitive damages and rating the fairness of the traditional apportionment scheme, where the plaintiff receives all of the money. Compared with students, more jury panelists were in favor of the plaintiff receiving the entire punitive award. Most students endorsed split recovery. The authors suggest that psycholegal research conducted solely with student samples, rather than community members, may misestimate the likely behavior of actual juries. The implications of the study for split recovery policy are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect on One's Own Performance of Evaluating Peers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Stuart J.

Fifty-three high school males took a minicourse on library usage. All were randomly assigned a topic and given response sheets requiring the use of dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, and books. In a discussion session, all received instructional handouts. Students were assigned either to evaluating two peers' pretests (experimental) or…

Use of an Experiential Learning Assignment to Prepare Future Health Professionals to Utilize Social Media for Nutrition Communications.

PubMed

Twynstra, Jasna; Dworatzek, Paula

2016-03-01

Social media has become a popular platform for reputable health organizations to disseminate health information to the public. However, future health professionals may receive little training in social media communication. To train future dietetic professionals, we incorporated a social media assignment into a Communications course curriculum to facilitate effective use of social media for the profession. For the assignment, students were instructed to make 2 posts on Facebook. The posts were due 3 weeks apart so that students received feedback on their first post before making their second post. To demonstrate the type of social media communication commonly used by reputable health organizations, the first post raised awareness or provided nutrition education. The second post used Facebook's "comment" feature, to respond to another student's first post, demonstrating the use of social media for community engagement. Both posts included a hyperlink that the user could click to get more information. Students were evaluated on the hook, main points, professionalism, credibility, and effectiveness of inviting the reader to the hyperlinked website and its ease of navigation. Dietetics educators should be encouraged to incorporate social media education into their curriculums for the benefit of future dietitians and their clients.

Audio versus Written Feedback: Exploring Learners' Preference and the Impact of Feedback Format on Students' Academic Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Cecile; Chikwa, Gladson

2016-01-01

Very little is known about the impact of the different types of feedback on students' academic performance. This article explores students' preference in the use of audio and written feedback and how each type of feedback received by students impacts their academic performance in subsequent assignments. The study involved 68 students who were…

Assessing the Impact of ADHD Coaching Services on University Students' Learning Skills, Self-Regulation, and Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, Sharon; Parker, David R.; Sawilowsky, Shlomo; Rolands, Laura

2013-01-01

The effects of coaching on learning and study skills, self-regulation, and subjective well-being of students with ADHD attending 2- and 4-year colleges or universities was examined. Students were randomly assigned to participate in coaching or comparison groups. Coaching students received weekly phone-based coaching sessions and additional…

Effectiveness of provider incentives for anaemia reduction in rural China: a cluster randomised trial

PubMed Central

Luo, Renfu; Zhang, Linxiu; Sylvia, Sean; Shi, Yaojiang; Foo, Patricia; Zhao, Qiran; Martorell, Reynaldo; Medina, Alexis; Rozelle, Scott

2012-01-01

Objectives To test the impact of provider performance pay for anaemia reduction in rural China. Design A cluster randomised trial of information, subsidies, and incentives for school principals to reduce anaemia among their students. Enumerators and study participants were not informed of study arm assignment. Setting 72 randomly selected rural primary schools across northwest China. Participants 3553 fourth and fifth grade students aged 9-11 years. All fourth and fifth grade students in sample schools participated in the study. Interventions Sample schools were randomly assigned to a control group, with no intervention, or one of three treatment arms: (a) an information arm, in which principals received information about anaemia; (b) a subsidy arm, in which principals received information and unconditional subsidies; and (c) an incentive arm, in which principals received information, subsidies, and financial incentives for reducing anaemia among students. Twenty seven schools were assigned to the control arm (1816 students at baseline, 1623 at end point), 15 were assigned to the information arm (659 students at baseline, 596 at end point), 15 to the subsidy arm (726 students at baseline, 667 at end point), and 15 to the incentive arm (743 students at baseline, 667 at end point). Main outcome measures Student haemoglobin concentrations. Results Mean student haemoglobin concentration rose by 1.5 g/L (95% CI –1.1 to 4.1) in information schools, 0.8 g/L (–1.8 to 3.3) in subsidy schools, and 2.4 g/L (0 to 4.9) in incentive schools compared with the control group. This increase in haemoglobin corresponded to a reduction in prevalence of anaemia (Hb <115 g/L) of 24% in incentive schools. Interactions with pre-existing incentives for principals to achieve good academic performance led to substantially larger gains in the information and incentive arms: when combined with incentives for good academic performance, associated effects on student haemoglobin concentration were 9.8 g/L (4.1 to 15.5) larger in information schools and 8.6 g/L (2.1 to 15.1) larger in incentive schools. Conclusions Financial incentives for health improvement were modestly effective. Understanding interactions with other motives and pre-existing incentives is critical. Trial registration number ISRCTN76158086. PMID:22842354

Media Images: Do They Influence College Students' Body Image?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Gina Jarman

2009-01-01

Body image perception and body mass index (BMI) among college students exposed and not exposed to photographs of models were compared. Classes were assigned to receive a presentation with or without photographs of models incorporated. Students (n = 184) completed a survey about body/weight satisfaction, height, weight, and the Contour Drawing…

A Short Take on: Value in Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bramhall, David D.

2009-01-01

Each year college students in America spend approximately $5.5 billion on textbooks. With each student spending roughly $900 on books assigned by professors, are these dollars being well spent and are students receiving a fair return on their investment? More importantly, do these texts serve the integral function in the courses as described in…

A comparative study of assessment grading and nursing students' perceptions of quality in sessional and tenured teachers.

PubMed

Salamonson, Yenna; Halcomb, Elizabeth J; Andrew, Sharon; Peters, Kath; Jackson, Debra

2010-12-01

Although the global nursing faculty shortage has led to increasing reliance upon sessional staff, limited research has explored the impact of these sessional staff on the quality of teaching in higher education. We aim to examine differences in (a) student satisfaction with sessional and tenured staff and (b) assessment scores awarded by sessional and tenured staff in students' written assignments. A comparative study method was used. Participants were recruited from students enrolled in the three nursing practice subjects across the 3 years of the baccalaureate program in an Australian university during the second semester of 2008. This study collected student data via an online version of the Perceptions of Teaching and Course Satisfaction scale and compared the grades awarded by sessional and tenured academics for a written assessment in a single assignment in each of the nursing practice subjects. Of the 2,045 students enrolled in the nursing practice subjects across the 3 years of the bachelor of nursing (BN) program, 566 (28%) completed the online teaching and course satisfaction survey, and 1,972 assignment grades (96%) were available for analysis. Compared with tenured academics, sessional teachers received higher rating on students' perception on teaching satisfaction by students in Year 1 (p= .021) and Year 2 (p= .002), but not by students in Year 3 (p= .348). Following the same trend, sessional teachers awarded higher assignment grades to students in Year 1 (p < .001) and Year 2 (p < .001) than tenured academics, with no significant disparity in grades awarded to students in Year 3. The higher grades awarded by sessional teachers to 1st- and 2nd-year students could be one explanation for why these teachers received higher student ratings than tenured teachers. Not discounting the possibility of grade inflation by sessional staff, it could be that tenured teachers have a higher expectation for the quality of students' work, and hence were more stringent in their assessment grading. Sessional teachers did not receive a higher rating from 3rd-year students, and this could be attributed to a change in student perception as they progress through the course, valuing a broader and more professional aspect of nursing knowledge, which is more likely to be the strength of tenured staff. These findings highlight a need for the development and implementation of strategies to facilitate the inclusion of sessional staff teaching in a BN program, in order to prepare graduate nurses that are well-equipped for clinical practice. © 2010 Sigma Theta Tau International.

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Student Achievement and Motivation in a High School Geometry Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nichols, Joe D.; Hall, Neff

In this study, the effects of a form of cooperative group instruction (Student Teams Achievement Divisions) on student motivation and achievement in a high school geometry class were examined. Ninety (mostly 10th-grade) students were randomly assigned to either a control group receiving traditional instruction or one of two treatment groups…

The Effect of Teacher-Family Communication on Student Engagement: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraft, Matthew A.; Dougherty, Shaun M.

2013-01-01

In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of teacher communication with parents and students as a means of increasing student engagement. We estimate the causal effect of teacher communication by conducting a randomized field experiment in which sixth- and ninth-grade students were assigned to receive a daily phone call home and a text/written…

Teacher-Child Interaction Training: A Pilot Study With Random Assignment.

PubMed

Fernandez, Melanie A; Adelstein, Jonathan S; Miller, Samantha P; Areizaga, Margaret J; Gold, Dylann C; Sanchez, Amanda L; Rothschild, Sara A; Hirsch, Emily; Gudiño, Omar G

2015-07-01

Teacher-Child Interaction Training (TCIT), adapted from Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), is a classroom-based program designed to provide teachers with behavior management skills that foster positive teacher-student relationships and to improve student behavior by creating a more constructive classroom environment. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate TCIT in more classrooms than previously reported in the literature, with older children than previously reported, using random assignment of classrooms to TCIT or to a no-TCIT control condition and conducting all but two sessions within the classroom to enhance feasibility. Participants included 11 kindergarten and first grade classroom teachers and their 118 students from three urban, public schools in Manhattan, with five classrooms randomly assigned to receive TCIT and six to the no-TCIT control condition. Observations of teacher skill acquisition were conducted before, during, and after TCIT for all 11 teachers, and teacher reports of student behavior were obtained at these same time points. Teacher satisfaction with TCIT was assessed following training. Results suggested that after receiving TCIT, teachers increased rates of positive attention to students' appropriate behavior, decreased rates of negative attention to misbehavior, reported significantly less distress related to student disruptive behavior, and reported high satisfaction with the training program. Our study supports the growing evidence-base suggesting that TCIT is a promising approach for training teachers in positive behavior management strategies and for improving student disruptive behavior in the classroom. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Predicting Success in Upper-Division Business Communication Classes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Barbara; Plutsky, Susan

1997-01-01

Scores of 102 business communication students on the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills (DTLS) and grades on analytical reports, short assignments, and the overall course were examined. Females received higher course and report grades. The DTLS was a weak predictor of student performance. (SK)

CAI: Overcoming Attitude Barriers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Netusil, Anton J.; Kockler, Lois H.

During each of two school quarters, approximately 60 college students enrolled in a mathematics course were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The control group received instruction by the lecture method only; the experimental group received the same instruction, except that six computer-assisted instruction (CAI) units…

Using History of Science to Teach Nature of Science to Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fouad, Khadija E.; Masters, Heidi; Akerson, Valarie L.

2015-01-01

Science lessons using inquiry only or history of science with inquiry were used for explicit reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction for second-, third-, and fourth-grade students randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments. Students in both groups improved in their understanding of creative NOS, tentative NOS, empirical NOS, and…

Making Connections: Technological Interventions to Support Students in Using, and Tutors in Creating, Assessment Feedback

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glover, Ian; Parkin, Helen J.; Hepplestone, Stuart; Irwin, Brian; Rodger, Helen

2015-01-01

This paper explores the potential of technology to enhance the assessment and feedback process for both staff and students. The "Making Connections" project aimed to better understand the connections that students make between the feedback that they receive and future assignments, and explored whether technology can help them in this…

The Effects of Digital Storytelling on Student Achievement, Social Presence, and Attitude in Online Collaborative Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nam, Chang Woo

2017-01-01

This study investigated the effects of digital storytelling on student achievement, social presence, and attitude in online collaborative learning environments. Students in one middle school course were randomly assigned to one of the two treatment groups after they received initial general instruction regarding teamwork skills. The "digital…

Setting out the Role of Feedback in the Assessment Process through Both the Student and Tutor Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hepplestone, Stuart; Glover, Ian; Irwin, Brian; Parkin, Helen J.

2016-01-01

Despite assessment and feedback being important elements of the student experience, it is not clear how students connect these two elements together to improve their learning. What are students doing with the assignment feedback that they receive from tutors, and how do they make use of this feedback in their future assessments? A research study…

Improvement of Rural Children's Asthma Self-Management by Lay Health Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horner, Sharon D.; Fouladi, Rachel T.

2008-01-01

Background: The purpose of the present analysis is to examine changes in rural children's asthma self-management after they received lay health educator (LHE)-delivered classes. Methods: Elementary schools were randomly assigned to the treatment or attention-control condition and their participating students received either asthma education or…

The University Experiences of Students with Learning Disabilities

PubMed Central

McGregor, Karla K.; Langenfeld, Natalie; Van Horne, Sam; Oleson, Jacob; Anson, Matthew; Jacobson, Wayne

2016-01-01

To explore the university experiences of students with learning disabilities (LD), 63,802 responses to the 2014 Student Experience in the Research University Survey were analyzed. Compared to other students, those with self-reported LD (5.96%) had difficulty with assignments and had more obstacles caused by non-academic responsibilities and imposed by their skill levels. Students with self-reported LD sensed more bias towards people with disabilities on campus, and they were less satisfied with their overall experience. Interactions between disability status and age suggested even more challenges for older students who self-reported LD. Approximately one-third of students who self-reported LD received accommodations. The rate of accommodations was higher among individuals who were wealthy, who lived alone, and who were out-of-state students. Compared to students who self-reported LD but reported no accommodations, those with accommodations had more contact with faculty and less difficulty with assignments. PMID:27667902

Pueblo Community College, Dual Credit Handbook, 1998-99.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffith, Mary

This Dual Credit Handbook from Pueblo Community College (CO) provides information and guidelines to assist instructors in meeting their assignment. These guidelines apply to dual credit courses offered to high school students during their regular school hours, for which students receive high school- and college-level credit simultaneously. This…

Collaborative Strategic Reading for Students with Learning Disabilities in Upper Elementary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boardman, Alison G.; Vaughn, Sharon; Buckley, Pamela; Reutebuch, Colleen; Roberts, Greg; Klingner, Janette

2016-01-01

Sixty fourth- and fifth-grade general education teachers were randomly assigned to teach Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR; Klingner, Vaughn, Boardman, & Swanson, 2012), a set of reading comprehension strategies, or to a business-as-usual comparison group. Results demonstrate that students with learning disabilities (LD) who received CSR…

Impacts of Professional Development in Classroom Assessment on Teacher and Student Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randel, Bruce; Apthorp, Helen; Beesley, Andrea D.; Clark, Tedra F.; Wang, Xin

2016-01-01

The authors describe an impact study of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning (CASL), a widely used professional development program in classroom and formative assessment. Researchers randomly assigned 67 elementary schools to receive CASL materials or continue with regularly scheduled professional development. Teachers in CASL schools formed…

What Does Financial Literacy Training Teach Us?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlin, Bruce Ian; Robinson, David T.

2012-01-01

The authors use data from a finance-related theme park to explore how financial education changes investment, financing, and consumer behavior. Students were assigned fictitious life situations and asked to create household budgets. Some students received a 19-hour financial literacy curriculum before going to the park, and some did not. After…

Midwifery students' evaluation of team-based academic assignments involving peer-marking.

PubMed

Parratt, Jenny A; Fahy, Kathleen M; Hastie, Carolyn R

2014-03-01

Midwives should be skilled team workers in maternity units and in group practices. Poor teamwork skills are a significant cause of adverse maternity care outcomes. Despite Australian and International regulatory requirements that all midwifery graduates are competent in teamwork, the systematic teaching and assessment of teamwork skills is lacking in higher education. How do midwifery students evaluate participation in team-based academic assignments, which include giving and receiving peer feedback? First and third year Bachelor of Midwifery students who volunteered (24 of 56 students). Participatory Action Research with data collection via anonymous online surveys. There was general agreement that team based assignments; (i) should have peer-marking, (ii) help clarify what is meant by teamwork, (iii) develop communication skills, (iv) promote student-to-student learning. Third year students strongly agreed that teams: (i) are valuable preparation for teamwork in practice, (ii) help meet Australian midwifery competency 8, and (iii) were enjoyable. The majority of third year students agreed with statements that their teams were effectively coordinated and team members shared responsibility for work equally; first year students strongly disagreed with these statements. Students' qualitative comments substantiated and expanded on these findings. The majority of students valued teacher feedback on well-developed drafts of the team's assignment prior to marking. Based on these findings we changed practice and created more clearly structured team-based assignments with specific marking criteria. We are developing supporting lessons to teach specific teamwork skills: together these resources are called "TeamUP". TeamUP should be implemented in all pre-registration Midwifery courses to foster students' teamwork skills and readiness for practice. Copyright © 2013 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Literacy Learning of At-Risk First-Grade Students in the Reading Recovery Early Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Robert M.

2005-01-01

This study investigated the effectiveness and efficiency of the Reading Recovery early intervention. At-risk 1st-grade students were randomly assigned to receive the intervention during the 1st or 2nd half of the school year. High-average and low-average students from the same classrooms provided additional comparisons. Thirty-seven teachers from…

Case in Point: Stronach v. Virginia State U. (2008): Does Academic Freedom Give a Professor the Final Say on Grades?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Lawrence

2008-01-01

Virginia State University Carey E. Stronach assigned an undergraduate a final grade of D after the student had failed three classroom quizzes. The student, who claimed to have received A's on two of the quizzes, submitted fax copies of his score sheets to Stronach, who concluded that the student had doctored his scores. The student appealed to the…

Teaching elementary students with developmental disabilities to recruit teacher attention in a general education classroom: effects on teacher praise and academic productivity.

PubMed Central

Craft, M A; Alber, S R; Heward, W L

1998-01-01

Four fourth graders with developmental disabilities were trained to recruit teacher attention while they worked on spelling assignments in a general education classroom. The students were taught to show their work to the teacher two to three times per session and to make statements such as, "How am I doing?" or "Look, I'm all finished!" Training was conducted in the special education classroom and consisted of modeling, role playing, error correction, and praise. A multiple baseline across students design showed that recruitment training increased (a) the frequency of students' recruiting, (b) the frequency of teacher praise received by the students, (c) the percentage of worksheet items completed, and (d) the accuracy with which the students completed the spelling assignments. PMID:9757582

Technology-Enhanced Peer Review: Benefits and Implications of Providing Multiple Reviews

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadopoulos, Pantelis M.; Lagkas, Thomas D.; Demetriadis, Stavros N.

2017-01-01

This study analyses the impact of self and peer feedback in technology-enhanced peer review settings. The impact of receiving peer comments ("receiver" perspective) is compared to that of reaching own insights by reviewing others' work ("giver" perspective). In this study, 38 sophomore students were randomly assigned in two…

Memorisation methods in science education: tactics to improve the teaching and learning practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pals, Frits F. B.; Tolboom, Jos L. J.; Suhre, Cor J. M.; van Geert, Paul L. C.

2018-01-01

How can science teachers support students in developing an appropriate declarative knowledge base for solving problems? This article focuses on the question whether the development of students' memory of scientific propositions is better served by writing propositions down on paper or by making drawings of propositions either by silent or muttering rehearsal. By means of a memorisation experiment with eighth- and ninth-grade students, we answer this question. In this experiment, students received instruction to memorise nine science propositions and to reproduce them afterwards. To support memorisation students were randomly assigned either to a group that received instruction to write each proposition on paper or to a group that received instruction to make a drawing about the content of the proposition. In addition, half of the students in both groups received instruction to mutter and the other half of them received instruction to write or draw in silence. The main conclusion from the experiment is that after four weeks students who had made a drawing remembered significantly more propositions than those who had memorised the propositions by writing them down. Our research further revealed that it did not matter whether students muttered or memorised silently.

A Semantic Differential Evaluation of Attitudinal Outcomes of Introductory Physical Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hecht, Alfred Roland

This study was designed to assess the attitudinal outcomes of Introductory Physical Science (IPS) curriculum materials used in schools. Random samples of 240 students receiving IPS instruction and 240 non-science students were assigned to separate Solomon four-group designs with non-equivalent control groups. Random samples of 60 traditional…

"Retarded?" Who Still Says that? An Adapted Physical Education Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarr, Susan J.

2011-01-01

By assigning students a label from one of the 11 disability categories, schools receive money from the government to provide appropriate educational assistance to facilitate student learning (e.g., special equipment, paraprofessional support). But educators often think of this labeling as a double-edged sword: children must have the label to…

Classroom Tests and Achievement in Problem Solving in Physical Geography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, Janice J.; Stallings, William M.

1975-01-01

Two hundred students in an undergraduate physical geography course were assigned to a group which received either factually oriented quizzes or quizzes which stressed higher level behaviors such as application and analysis. Evaluation of the results indicated that the variation in testing procedures had no discernable effect on student scores in…

Effects of Early Writing Intervention Delivered within a Data-Based Instruction Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Pyung-Gang; McMaster, Kristen L.; delMas, Robert C.

2017-01-01

We examined effects of research-based early writing intervention delivered within a data-based instruction (DBI) framework for children with intensive needs. We randomly assigned 46 students with and without disabilities in Grades 1 to 3 within classrooms to either treatment or control. Treatment students received research-based early writing…

The Effects of a Multilinguistic Morphological Awareness Approach for Improving Language and Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolter, Julie A.; Dilworth, Valisa

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a multilinguistic intervention to improve reading and spelling in primary grade students who struggle with literacy. Twenty second-grade students with spelling deficits were randomly assigned to receive a multilinguistic intervention with a phonological and orthographic awareness…

Effects of Enhanced Anchored Instruction on Skills Aligned to Common Core Math Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottge, Brian A.; Cho, Sun-Joo

2013-01-01

This study compared how students with learning difficulties in math (MLD) who were randomly assigned to two instructional conditions answered items on problem solving tests aligned to the Common Core State Standards Initiative for Mathematics. Posttest scores showed improvement in the math performance of students receiving Enhanced Anchored…

The Effect of Class Session Length on Student Performance, Homework, and Instructor Evaluations in an Introductory Accounting Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trout, Brian

2018-01-01

The author examines the effect of class format on student performance, time spent on homework, and instructor evaluations. The findings are unique and add to a limited body of literature. Each group comprised similar undergraduate students who received the same number of instructional hours, same assignments and were taught by the same instructor.…

Does a Combination of Metaphor and Pairing Activity Help Programming Performance of Students with Different Self-Regulated Learning Level?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hui, Tie Hui; Umar, Irfan Naufal

2011-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effects of metaphors and pairing activity on programming performance of students with different self-regulated-learning (SRL) level. A total of 84 computing students were involved in this seven-week study, and they were randomly assigned either to a group that received a combination of metaphor and pair…

Partially Nested Randomized Controlled Trials in Education Research: A Guide to Design and Analysis. NCER 2014-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lohr, Sharon; Schochet, Peter Z.; Sanders, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Suppose an education researcher wants to test the impact of a high school drop-out prevention intervention in which at-risk students attend classes to receive intensive summer school instruction. The district will allow the researcher to randomly assign students to the treatment classes or to the control group. Half of the students (the treatment…

A Randomized Intervention Study to Evaluate Whether Electronic Messaging Can Increase Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Completion and Knowledge among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richman, Alice R.; Maddy, LaDonna; Torres, Essie; Goldberg, Ellen J.

2016-01-01

Objective: To evaluate an intervention aimed at increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine completion of the 3-dose series and knowledge. Participants: Two hundred sixty-four male and female US college students 18-26 years old who were receiving HPV vaccine dose 1. Methods: Students were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group.…

“Writing in Neuroscience”: A Course Designed for Neuroscience Undergraduate Students

PubMed Central

Adams, Joyce

2011-01-01

Although neuroscience students may learn to write in a generic fashion through university writing courses, they receive little training in writing in their field. Here I describe a course that was created at the request of a Neuroscience Department with the intent to teach neuroscience students how to write well in their discipline. I explain the purpose for creating the “Writing in Neuroscience” course and offer a brief overview of the course curriculum, including pertinent pedagogical outcomes for such a course. I describe in depth the major assignment for the course, the literature review, and provide examples of paper titles that students wrote to fulfill the assignment. I briefly describe other relevant course assignments. I evaluate the course and include an overview of who should teach such a course, what support might be helpful, and what can be learned from formative assessment of the course. Using these insights can help others determine whether such a course is a good fit for them. PMID:23626493

Randomized Controlled Evaluation of the "Too Good for Drugs" Prevention Program: Impact on Adolescents at Different Risk Levels for Drug Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Bruce W.; Bacon, Tina P.; Ferron, John M.

2013-01-01

Sixth graders participating in the "Too Good for Drugs" (TGFD) prevention program in comparison to 6th graders not participating show different results by student risk level. Sixth graders from 20 middle schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention and those from 20 paired middle schools assigned to serve as controls (N =…

Celebration Intoxication: An Evaluation of 21St Birthday Alcohol Consumption

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neighbors, Clayton; Spieker, Casey J.; Oster-Aaland, Laura; Lewis, Melissa A.; Bergstrom, Rochelle L.

2005-01-01

The authors designed this study to evaluate the prevalence and magnitude of heavy drinking among college students in celebrating their 21st birthdays and the impact of a birthday card suggesting moderation. The authors randomly assigned subjects to receive or not receive the card approximately 1 week prior to their birthday. Approximately 1 week…

The Cheer Study to Reduce BMI in Elementary School Students: A School-Based, Parent-Directed Study in Framingham, Massachusetts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Resnick, Elissa A.; Bishop, Marilyn; O'Connell, Anne; Hugo, Beverly; Isern, Germinal; Timm, Alison; Ozonoff, Al; Geller, Alan C.

2009-01-01

Childhood obesity may be lessened by parent-focused interventions. A pilot parent-directed trial with 46 parents of overweight and obese elementary school students was conducted at two ethnically diverse public schools in Framingham, Massachusetts. Parents were randomly assigned to either the Materials Group, which received mailed educational…

Using Rubrics to Increase the Reliability of Assessment in Health Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silvestri, Lynette; Oescher, Jeffrey

2006-01-01

This study examined the use of rubrics in scoring a performance-based assessment. After receiving a health lesson of ways to have a healthy brain, fifth grade students were given an assignment to illustrate and write a booklet that demonstrated their knowledge of the topic. From students' responses the researchers constructed four sample papers…

The Effect of Randomized Homework Contingencies on College Students' Daily Homework and Unit Exam Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galyon, Charles E.; Voils, Kyle L.; Blondin, Carolyn A.; Williams, Robert L.

2015-01-01

Students in an introductory educational psychology course submitted answers to daily homework questions for which they received credit either for percentage of questions answered in every homework assignment or for the accuracy of their answers to 10% of randomly selected questions. Potential credit was the same under both homework contingencies,…

Effectiveness of Using Screencast Feedback on EFL Students' Writing and Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Amira Desouky

2016-01-01

This mixed-methods research was carried out to investigate the effect of screencast video feedback on the writing of freshmen, studying academic writing course at a university in Egypt, and explore their perception towards receiving screencast feedback. Two classes of 63 students were chosen to participate in this study and were assigned into two…

Point of View Speech (A Speech Assignment in Critical Thinking).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brydges, Michael E.

This paper delineates an exercise where students are encouraged to give their point of view to a quotation received (the activity is an adaptation from the Impromptu Speaking event in Competitive Forensics). The paper states that students are to explain the meaning of a quotation (topic themes may be from ecology, education, environment, life,…

The Effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rafdal, Brooke H.; McMaster, Kristen L.; McConnell, Scott R.; Fuchs, Douglas; Fuchs, Lynn S.

2011-01-01

This study determined the effectiveness of Kindergarten Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (K-PALS) for students with disabilities. The researchers randomly assigned 89 kindergartners with individualized education programs (IEPs) from 47 classrooms to control (n = 9); K-PALS Level 1 (teachers received 1-day workshop; n = 19); or K-PALS Level 2…

Outcome Measure of L2 Writing as a Mediator of the Effects of Corrective Feedback on Students' Ability to Write Accurately

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riazantseva, Anastasia

2012-01-01

This study used longitudinal data and a pre-post test design to examine the effect of the outcome measure of L2 writing on the accuracy rates of thirty-two international graduate students enrolled in a semester-long content-based EAP course. As part of the coursework, the students completed weekly written assignments on which they received weekly…

A longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled study on the accumulating effects of individualized literacy instruction on students' reading from first through third grade.

PubMed

Connor, Carol McDonald; Morrison, Frederick J; Fishman, Barry; Crowe, Elizabeth C; Al Otaiba, Stephanie; Schatschneider, Christopher

2013-08-01

Using a longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled design, we examined whether students' reading outcomes differed when they received 1, 2, or 3 years of individualized reading instruction from first through third grade, compared with a treated control group. More than 45% of students came from families living in poverty. Following students, we randomly assigned their teachers each year to deliver individualized reading instruction or a treated control condition intervention focused on mathematics. Students who received individualized reading instruction in all three grades showed the strongest reading skills by the end of third grade compared with those who received fewer years of such instruction. There was inconsistent evidence supporting a sustained first-grade treatment effect: Individualized instruction in first grade was necessary but not sufficient for stronger third-grade reading outcomes. These effects were achieved by regular classroom teachers who received professional development, which indicates that policies that support the use of evidence-based reading instruction and teacher training can yield increased student achievement.

Online Prelectures: An Alternative to Textbook Reading Assignments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadaghiani, Homeyra R.

2012-05-01

To engage students in a more meaningful discussion of course material and prompt their higher thinking skills, most instructors expect students to read the course textbook for initial exposure to the course content before class. However, as many instructors are aware, most students do not read their textbook throughout the quarter.1,2 At California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) we have adopted web-based multimedia learning modules (MLMs) as prelecture assignments to help students to prepare for the class activities. The MLMs place lecture contents into the hands and control of the learners; similar to "flipped"3 or "inverted"4 classroom approaches, this method allows students to receive key course content outside of class and apply and analyze the content actively during class. In addition to initial exposure to basic principle, the MLMs provide additional worked examples that cannot be thoroughly covered in class.

Personality's Top 40: An Assignment to Motivate Students to Apply Personality Concepts to Their Favorite Songs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesselmann, Eric D.; Kassner, Matthew P.; Graziano, William G.

2016-01-01

We created an activity in an upper-level personality psychology course in which interested students created an "entry" for a contest in which they chose a popular song that illustrated a course concept. The class evaluated these entries and voted on their favorites in a tournament-style bracket system; winners received extra credit.…

Teaching Healthful Food Choices to Elementary School Students and Their Parents: The Nutrition Detectives[TM] Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, David L.; Katz, Catherine S.; Treu, Judith A.; Reynolds, Jesse; Njike, Valentine; Walker, Jennifer; Smith, Erica; Michael, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrition education program designed to teach elementary school students and their parents, and to distinguish between more healthful and less healthful choices in diverse food categories. Methods: Three schools were assigned to receive the Nutrition Detectives[TM] program and…

How Do Higher-Education Students Use Their Initial Understanding to Deal with Contextual Logic-Based Problems in Discrete Mathematics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lubis, Asrin; Nasution, Andrea Arifsyah

2017-01-01

Mathematical reasoning in logical context has now received much attention in the mathematics curriculum documents of many countries, including Indonesia. In Indonesia, students start formally learning about logic when they pursue to senior-high school. Before, they previously have many experiences to deal with logic, but the earlier assignments do…

Teaching children with dyslexia to spell in a reading-writers' workshop.

PubMed

Berninger, Virginia W; Lee, Yen-Ling; Abbott, Robert D; Breznitz, Zvia

2013-04-01

To identify effective treatment for both the spelling and word decoding problems in dyslexia, 24 students with dyslexia in grades 4 to 9 were randomly assigned to treatments A (n=12) or B (n=12) in an after-school reading-writers' workshop at the university (thirty 1-h sessions twice a week over 5 months). First, both groups received step 1 treatment of grapheme-phoneme correspondences (gpc) for oral reading. At step 2, treatment A received gpc training for both oral reading and spelling, and treatment B received gpc training for oral reading and phonological awareness. At step 3, treatment A received orthographic spelling strategy and rapid accelerated reading program (RAP) training, and treatment B continued step 2 training. At step 4, treatment A received morphological strategies and RAP training, and treatment B received orthographic spelling strategy training. Each treatment also had the same integrated reading-writing activities, which many school assignments require. Both groups improved significantly in automatic letter writing, spelling real words, compositional fluency, and oral reading (decoding) rate. Treatment A significantly outperformed treatment B in decoding rate after step 3 orthographic training, which in turn uniquely predicted spelling real words. Letter processing rate increased during step 3 RAP training and correlated significantly with two silent reading fluency measures. Adding orthographic strategies with "working memory in mind" to phonics helps students with dyslexia spell and read English words.

The Impact of Adding Online Homework Assignments to an Introduction to Physical Geology Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Eric C.

2017-04-01

As instructors we are constantly looking for ways to improve student performance in the classroom. In an attempt to improve student performance in my GEOL 105 - Introduction to Physical Geology class, I added online homework assignments from the Pearson Mastering Geology program beginning in the Fall semester of 2014. There were several anticipated advantages to the online homework approach. If a student is struggling with a question they can get hints that don't tell them the answer, but are designed to stimulate their thinking and lead them towards the correct answer. The students also know immediately after submitting their answers which questions they got right and which were wrong, and they can go back to the wrong answers and try to determine the correct answer so they know what it is. This gives them much more rapid feedback than traditional paper homework, all of which makes this a more student-centered approach to learning. It is also my hope that the students find the online homework more interesting and interactive than paper-based homework, which I hope in turn will stimulate the students to be more likely to do the homework and take it seriously while also having some fun while doing it. As of the end of Fall semester 2016, I had been using the online homework assignments in my classes for three years. Therefore, I analyzed student performance in the three years prior to adopting the online homework and compared it to performance over the three years since adopting online homework. In the three years prior to adopting the online homework, the average grade in my classes was 73.8%; afterwards the average grade was 81.3%, for an improvement of 7.5% on average. Most of that improvement was in average test scores, which increased by 6.3% (67.4% prior to 73.6% after). The online homework did not improve the performance of the top students, but it did improve the performance of the other students. Prior to adopting the online homework, grade distribution in the class was 15% A (90-100% scores), 32% B (80-90%), 19% C (70-80%), 19% D (60-79%), and 15% F (<60%). After adopting the online homework, the grade distribution was 13% A, 48% B, 24% C, 13% D, and 2% F. Therefore, students who either passed the class but didn't excel or who struggled with the class prior to online homework adoption saw improvements in their performance, while students who showed truly outstanding performance remained constant. Test grades showed a similar trend. The average test scores for those who received an A in the class were 88.0% prior to and 88.6% after adopting the online homework, while test averages for students who received less than an A were 63.9% prior to and 71.4% (7.5% improvement) after adopting the online homework. I am always making small changes to my classes in an effort to improve them, but the only major change made to the class over the time period covered in this study was replacing paper homework assignments (which were not graded) with the online homework assignments. In addition, there was no statistical difference in scores in the Introduction to Physical Geology Laboratory over the same period (87.8% average before adoption, 85.7% after adoption). Students are required to take the lecture and laboratory at the same time, so the student populations were identical. The online homework applied to the lecture, where grades improved, but not to the laboratory, where grades remained consistent. Therefore, it was concluded that the addition of online homework to the Introduction to Physical Geology class had a strong positive effect on student scores. While students who would excel regardless of the format (those who received A grades) showed the same performance under both class formats, those who fell farther down the grade scale showed significant improvement with the use of the online homework assignments. Acknowledgement The integration of online homework assignments into the Introduction to Physical Geology class was funded by a Summer Faculty Fellowship from the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium.

Near-peer role modeling: Can fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, enhance reflection among second-year students in a physical diagnosis course?

PubMed

McEvoy, Mimi; Pollack, Staci; Dyche, Lawrence; Burton, William

2016-01-01

Humanism is cultivated through reflection and self-awareness. We aimed to employ fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, to facilitate reflective sessions for second-year medical students with the intention of positively influencing reflective process toward humanistic development. A total of 186 students were randomly assigned to one of three comparison arms: eight groups of eight students (64 students) were facilitated by a fourth-year student who was a Gold Humanism Honor Society member (GHHS); eight groups (64 students) by a volunteer non-GHHS student; and seven groups (58 students) were non-facilitated. Before sessions, second-year students set learning goals concerning interactions with patients; fourth-year students received training materials on facilitation. Groups met twice during their 10 clinical site visits. At the last session, students completed a reflective assignment on their goal progress. Comparative mixed method analyses were conducted among the three comparison arms on reflection (reflective score on in-session assignment) and session satisfaction (survey) in addition to a thematic analysis of responses on the in-session assignment. We found significant differences among all three comparison arms on students' reflective scores (p=0.0003) and satisfaction (p=0.0001). T-tests comparing GHHS- and non-GHHS-facilitated groups showed significantly higher mean reflective scores for GHHS-facilitated groups (p=0.033); there were no differences on session satisfaction. Thematic analysis of students' reflections showed attempts at self-examination, but lacked depth in addressing emotions. There was a common focus on achieving comfort and confidence in clinical skills performance. Near peers, recognized for their humanism, demonstrated significant influence in deepening medical students' reflections surrounding patient interactions or humanistic development. Overall, students preferred facilitated to non-facilitated peer feedback forums. This model holds promise for enhancing self-reflection in medical education, but needs further exploration to determine behavioral effects.

Near-peer role modeling: Can fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, enhance reflection among second-year students in a physical diagnosis course?

PubMed

McEvoy, Mimi; Pollack, Staci; Dyche, Lawrence; Burton, William

2016-01-01

Introduction Humanism is cultivated through reflection and self-awareness. We aimed to employ fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, to facilitate reflective sessions for second-year medical students with the intention of positively influencing reflective process toward humanistic development. Methods/Analysis A total of 186 students were randomly assigned to one of three comparison arms: eight groups of eight students (64 students) were facilitated by a fourth-year student who was a Gold Humanism Honor Society member (GHHS); eight groups (64 students) by a volunteer non-GHHS student; and seven groups (58 students) were non-facilitated. Before sessions, second-year students set learning goals concerning interactions with patients; fourth-year students received training materials on facilitation. Groups met twice during their 10 clinical site visits. At the last session, students completed a reflective assignment on their goal progress. Comparative mixed method analyses were conducted among the three comparison arms on reflection (reflective score on in-session assignment) and session satisfaction (survey) in addition to a thematic analysis of responses on the in-session assignment. Results We found significant differences among all three comparison arms on students' reflective scores (p=0.0003) and satisfaction (p=0.0001). T-tests comparing GHHS- and non-GHHS-facilitated groups showed significantly higher mean reflective scores for GHHS-facilitated groups (p=0.033); there were no differences on session satisfaction. Thematic analysis of students' reflections showed attempts at self-examination, but lacked depth in addressing emotions. There was a common focus on achieving comfort and confidence in clinical skills performance. Discussion/Conclusions Near peers, recognized for their humanism, demonstrated significant influence in deepening medical students' reflections surrounding patient interactions or humanistic development. Overall, students preferred facilitated to non-facilitated peer feedback forums. This model holds promise for enhancing self-reflection in medical education, but needs further exploration to determine behavioral effects.

The effect of cognitive education on the performance of students with neurological developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Jepsen, Ruthanne H; VonThaden, Karen

2002-01-01

A cognitive education program was developed to facilitate acquisition of cognitive skills and address the learning deficits of adolescent students with neurological, developmental disabilities, and autism. This study examined the outcomes of incorporating mediated cognitive education into special education classrooms. Cognitive education provided cognitive training utilizing REHABIT materials through mediated teaching. Following a matched pair model, forty-six students were assigned to either a treatment or a control group. All students received weekly instruction in Individual Educational Program (IEP) goals. Curriculum areas included IEP objectives in reading, math, social skills, health, science and social studies. Students in the control group received regular classroom instruction. Students in the treatment group participated in cognitive educated one hour per week replacing thirty minutes of reading and thirty minutes of math. Pre and posttest comparisons on measures of intelligence, achievement and adaptive behavior showed those students in the treatment group attained higher scores across measures.

Lewis' Educational and Research Collaborative Internship Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyward, Ann; Gott, Susan (Technical Monitor)

2004-01-01

The Lewis Educational and Research Collaborative Internship Program (LERCIP) is a collaborative undertaking by the Office of Educational Programs at NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field (formerly NASA Lewis Research Center) and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. This program provides 10-week internships in addition to summer and winter extensions if funding is available and/or is requested by mentor (no less than 1 week no more than 4 weeks) for undergraduate/graduate students and secondary school teachers. Students who meet the travel reimbursement criteria receive up to $500 for travel expenses. Approximately 178 interns are selected to participate in this program each year and begin arriving the fourth week in May. The internships provide students with introductory professional experiences to complement their academic programs. The interns are given assignments on research and development projects under the personal guidance of NASA professional staff members. Each intern is assigned a NASA mentor who facilitates a research assignment. In addition to the research assignment, the summer program includes a strong educational component that enhances the professional stature of the participants. The educational activities include a research symposium and a variety of workshops, and lectures. An important aspect of the program is that it includes students with diverse social, cultural and economic backgrounds. The purpose of this report is to document the program accomplishments for 2004.

Assessment of a novel group-centered testing schema in an upper-level undergraduate molecular biotechnology course.

PubMed

Srougi, Melissa C; Miller, Heather B; Witherow, D Scott; Carson, Susan

2013-01-01

Providing students with assignments that focus on critical thinking is an important part of their scientific and intellectual development. However, as class sizes increase, so does the grading burden, prohibiting many faculty from incorporating critical thinking assignments in the classroom. In an effort to continue to provide our students with meaningful critical thinking exercises, we implemented a novel group-centered, problem-based testing scheme. We wanted to assess how performing critical thinking problem sets as group work compares to performing the sets as individual work, in terms of student attitudes and learning outcomes. During two semesters of our recombinant DNA course, students had the same lecture material and similar assessments. In the Fall semester, student learning was assessed by two collaborative take-home exams, followed immediately by individual, closed-book in-class exams on the same content, as well as a final cumulative exam. Student teams on the take-home exams were instructor-assigned, and each team turned in one collaborative exam. In the Spring semester, the control group of students were required to turn in their own individual take-home exams, followed by the in-class exams and final cumulative exam. For the majority of students, learning outcomes were met, regardless of whether they worked in teams. In addition, collaborative learning was favorably received by students and grading was reduced for instructors. These data suggest that group-centered, problem-based learning is a useful model for achievement of student learning outcomes in courses where it would be infeasible to provide feedback on individual critical thinking assignments due to grading volume. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dynamic online peer evaluations to improve group assignments in nursing e-learning environment.

PubMed

Adwan, Jehad

2016-06-01

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of online peer evaluation forms for online group activities in improving group project outcomes. The investigator developed and used a web-based Google Forms® self and peer evaluation form of 2 group assignments' rubric for junior and senior nursing students. The form covered elements of the assignments including: research activity, analysis of the literature, writing of report, participation in making of presentation, overall contribution to the project, and participation in the weekly group discussions. Items were rated from 1 (did not contribute) to 5 (outstanding contribution) in addition to NA when one activity did not apply. The self and peer evaluation process was conducted twice: once after group assignment 1 and once after group assignment 2. The group assignments final products were done in the form of VoiceThread online presentations that were shared with the rest of the class reflecting the groups' work on a health informatics topic of interest. Data collected as the students completed self and peer evaluations for group assignments 1 and 2. Also, optional comments regarding member performance were collected to add contextual information in addition to ratings. Students received credit for completing the peer evaluations and the grade for the particular assignment was affected by their performance based on peer evaluations of their contributions. Students' peer evaluations showed in a color-coded spreadsheet which enabled the course faculty to view real time results of students' ratings after each assignment. The faculty provided timely and tailored feedback to groups or individuals as needed, using positive feedback and commending high performance while urging struggling individual students and groups to improve lower ratings in specific areas. Comparing evaluations of both assignments, there were statistically significant improvements among all students. The mean scores of the entire sample were skewed toward the higher end of the scale, suggesting an overall high performance group. However, analysis of the lower performing individuals showed consistent and statistically significant improvements in all areas of the evaluation criteria. Anonymous peer evaluation activities and timely faculty feedback in e-Learning environment can be a useful tool to faculty to improve group performance over time by engaging the learners within their groups. Peer evaluations provided real time view of group mid-semester formative evaluations that allowed the faculty to provide timely and tailored feedback on student performance which allowed for better outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effectiveness of a Computer-Assisted Instruction Package in Supplementing Teaching of Selected Concepts in High School Chemistry: Writing Formulas and Balancing Chemical Equations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wainwright, Camille L.

Four classes of high school chemistry students (N=108) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups to investigate the effectiveness of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) package during a unit on writing/naming of chemical formulas and balancing equations. Students in the experimental group received drill, review, and reinforcement…

A Vision for High Schools: Joining Academic and Technical Studies to Promote More Powerful Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottoms, Gene

2008-01-01

One in four American students does not graduate from high school on time, if at all. Many of these young people blame schoolwork that failed to challenge them and assignments that meant nothing in their lives. More surprising are the large numbers of students who graduate from high school and enter college but do not receive a degree. They drop…

Providing Feedback, Orientation and Opportunities for Reflection as Key Elements for Successful Mentoring Programs: Reviewing a Program for Future Business Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riebenbauer, Elisabeth; Dreisiebner, Gernot; Stock, Michaela

2017-01-01

The introduction to teaching is critical for novice teachers. Near the end of their master's program, students of Business Education and Development in Austria spend one semester at an assigned school. They are introduced to teaching, while being assisted by peer students, mentoring teachers, and a companion course. Mentors receive special…

Integrating evidence-based practice and information literacy skills in teaching physical and occupational therapy students.

PubMed

Boruff, Jill T; Thomas, Aliki

2011-12-01

To ensure that physical and occupational therapy graduates develop evidence-based practice (EBP) competencies, their academic training must promote EBP skills, such as posing a clinical question and retrieving relevant literature, and the information literacy skills needed to practice these EBP skills. This article describes the collaborative process and outcome of integrating EBP and information literacy early in a professional physical therapy and occupational therapy programme. The liaison librarian and a faculty member designed an instructional activity that included a lecture, workshop and assignment that integrated EBP skills and information literacy skills in the first year of the programme. The assignment was designed to assess students' ability to conduct a search independently. The lecture and workshop were successful in their objectives, as 101 of the 104 students received at least 8 out of 10 points on the search assignment. The teaching activities developed for the students in this course appear to have achieved the goal of teaching students the EBP research cycle so that they might begin to emulate it. The collaboration between the faculty member and the librarian was integral to the success of this endeavour. Future work will include the evaluation of students' long-term retention of information literacy objectives. © 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.

Near-peer role modeling: Can fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, enhance reflection among second-year students in a physical diagnosis course?

PubMed Central

McEvoy, Mimi; Pollack, Staci; Dyche, Lawrence; Burton, William

2016-01-01

Introduction Humanism is cultivated through reflection and self-awareness. We aimed to employ fourth-year medical students, recognized for their humanism, to facilitate reflective sessions for second-year medical students with the intention of positively influencing reflective process toward humanistic development. Methods/Analysis A total of 186 students were randomly assigned to one of three comparison arms: eight groups of eight students (64 students) were facilitated by a fourth-year student who was a Gold Humanism Honor Society member (GHHS); eight groups (64 students) by a volunteer non-GHHS student; and seven groups (58 students) were non-facilitated. Before sessions, second-year students set learning goals concerning interactions with patients; fourth-year students received training materials on facilitation. Groups met twice during their 10 clinical site visits. At the last session, students completed a reflective assignment on their goal progress. Comparative mixed method analyses were conducted among the three comparison arms on reflection (reflective score on in-session assignment) and session satisfaction (survey) in addition to a thematic analysis of responses on the in-session assignment. Results We found significant differences among all three comparison arms on students’ reflective scores (p=0.0003) and satisfaction (p=0.0001). T-tests comparing GHHS- and non-GHHS-facilitated groups showed significantly higher mean reflective scores for GHHS-facilitated groups (p=0.033); there were no differences on session satisfaction. Thematic analysis of students’ reflections showed attempts at self-examination, but lacked depth in addressing emotions. There was a common focus on achieving comfort and confidence in clinical skills performance. Discussion/Conclusions Near peers, recognized for their humanism, demonstrated significant influence in deepening medical students’ reflections surrounding patient interactions or humanistic development. Overall, students preferred facilitated to non-facilitated peer feedback forums. This model holds promise for enhancing self-reflection in medical education, but needs further exploration to determine behavioral effects. PMID:27600828

Online Personalized Normative Alcohol Feedback for Parents of First Year College Students

PubMed Central

Napper, Lucy E.; LaBrie, Joseph W.; Earle, Andrew

2016-01-01

This study examined the efficacy of a personalized normative feedback (PNF) alcohol intervention for parents of students transitioning into college. A sample of 399 parent-student dyads were recruited to take part in the intervention during the summer prior to matriculation. Parents were randomly assigned to receive either normative feedback regarding student drinking and other college parents’ alcohol-related communication or general college health norm information. Students completed measures of alcohol use, alcohol consequences, and parent-child alcohol-specific communication both 1- and 6-months after matriculation. The results indicated that in comparison to the control condition parents who received PNF reported immediate changes in their perceptions of other parents’ behaviors; however, these changes in parent perceived norms did not translate into long-term changes in student drinking behaviors or parent-child communication. Findings highlight the need to consider content beyond normative feedback for parent based alcohol intervention. PMID:27819429

Student peer assessment in evidence-based medicine (EBM) searching skills training: an experiment

PubMed Central

Eldredge, Jonathan D.; Bear, David G.; Wayne, Sharon J.; Perea, Paul P.

2013-01-01

Background: Student peer assessment (SPA) has been used intermittently in medical education for more than four decades, particularly in connection with skills training. SPA generally has not been rigorously tested, so medical educators have limited evidence about SPA effectiveness. Methods: Experimental design: Seventy-one first-year medical students were stratified by previous test scores into problem-based learning tutorial groups, and then these assigned groups were randomized further into intervention and control groups. All students received evidence-based medicine (EBM) training. Only the intervention group members received SPA training, practice with assessment rubrics, and then application of anonymous SPA to assignments submitted by other members of the intervention group. Results: Students in the intervention group had higher mean scores on the formative test with a potential maximum score of 49 points than did students in the control group, 45.7 and 43.5, respectively (P = 0.06). Conclusions: SPA training and the application of these skills by the intervention group resulted in higher scores on formative tests compared to those in the control group, a difference approaching statistical significance. The extra effort expended by librarians, other personnel, and medical students must be factored into the decision to use SPA in any specific educational context. Implications: SPA has not been rigorously tested, particularly in medical education. Future, similarly rigorous studies could further validate use of SPA so that librarians can optimally make use of limited contact time for information skills training in medical school curricula. PMID:24163593

Replicated Findings of an Evaluation of a Brief Intervention Designed to Prevent High-Risk Drinking among First-Year College Students: Implications for Social Norming Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stamper, Georgia Ann; Smith, Bradley H.; Gant, Rick; Bogle, Kristin E.

2004-01-01

College students were randomly assigned to receive either (a) standard alcohol programming (SAP) or (b) SAP plus an intervention designed to change perceptions of alcohol norms (PAN). Effects of the intervention delivered during one class period (i.e., 55 minutes) were assessed using pre- and post-intervention surveys about personal alcohol use…

“C.R.E.A.T.E.”-ing Unique Primary-Source Research Paper Assignments for a Pleasure and Pain Course Teaching Neuroscientific Principles in a Large General Education Undergraduate Course

PubMed Central

Bodnar, Richard J.; Rotella, Francis M.; Loiacono, Ilyssa; Coke, Tricia; Olsson, Kerstin; Barrientos, Alicia; Blachorsky, Lauren; Warshaw, Deena; Buras, Agata; Sanchez, Ciara M.; Azad, Raihana; Stellar, James R.

2016-01-01

A large (250 registrants) General Education lecture course, Pleasure and Pain, presented basic neuroscience principles as they related to animal and human models of pleasure and pain by weaving basic findings related to food and drug addiction and analgesic states with human studies examining empathy, social neuroscience and neuroeconomics. In its first four years, the course grade was based on weighted scores from two multiple-choice exams and a five-page review of three unique peer-reviewed research articles. Although well-registered and well-received, 18% of the students received Incomplete grades, primarily due to failing to submit the paper that went largely unresolved and eventually resulted in a failing grade. To rectify this issue, a modified version of the C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) method replaced the paper with eight structured assignments focusing on an initial general-topic article, the introduction-methods, and results-discussion of each of three related peer-review neuroscience-related articles, and a final summary. Compliance in completing these assignments was very high, resulting in only 11 INC grades out of 228 students. Thus, use of the C.R.E.A.T.E. method reduced the percentage of problematic INC grades from 18% to 4.8%, a 73% decline, without changing the overall grade distribution. Other analyses suggested the students achieved a deeper understanding of the scientific process using the C.R.E.A.T.E. method relative to the original term paper assignment. PMID:27385918

"C.R.E.A.T.E."-ing Unique Primary-Source Research Paper Assignments for a Pleasure and Pain Course Teaching Neuroscientific Principles in a Large General Education Undergraduate Course.

PubMed

Bodnar, Richard J; Rotella, Francis M; Loiacono, Ilyssa; Coke, Tricia; Olsson, Kerstin; Barrientos, Alicia; Blachorsky, Lauren; Warshaw, Deena; Buras, Agata; Sanchez, Ciara M; Azad, Raihana; Stellar, James R

2016-01-01

A large (250 registrants) General Education lecture course, Pleasure and Pain, presented basic neuroscience principles as they related to animal and human models of pleasure and pain by weaving basic findings related to food and drug addiction and analgesic states with human studies examining empathy, social neuroscience and neuroeconomics. In its first four years, the course grade was based on weighted scores from two multiple-choice exams and a five-page review of three unique peer-reviewed research articles. Although well-registered and well-received, 18% of the students received Incomplete grades, primarily due to failing to submit the paper that went largely unresolved and eventually resulted in a failing grade. To rectify this issue, a modified version of the C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) method replaced the paper with eight structured assignments focusing on an initial general-topic article, the introduction-methods, and results-discussion of each of three related peer-review neuroscience-related articles, and a final summary. Compliance in completing these assignments was very high, resulting in only 11 INC grades out of 228 students. Thus, use of the C.R.E.A.T.E. method reduced the percentage of problematic INC grades from 18% to 4.8%, a 73% decline, without changing the overall grade distribution. Other analyses suggested the students achieved a deeper understanding of the scientific process using the C.R.E.A.T.E. method relative to the original term paper assignment.

Just fun or a prejudice? - physician stereotypes in common jokes and their attribution to medical specialties by undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Harendza, Sigrid; Pyra, Martin

2017-07-26

Many jokes exist about stereotypical attributes of physicians in various specialties, which could lead to prejudices against physicians from a specific specialty. It is unknown whether and when medical students are aware of stereotypes about different specialties. The goal of this study was to analyze the degree of stereotypes that exist about medical specialties amongst undergraduate medical students at different stages of their education. One hundred fifty-two jokes with different content about attributes of physicians from different specialties were found by an internet search. In total, 36 characteristics of the five specialties of anesthesia, general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedics, and psychiatry were extracted from the jokes and they constituted the basis for the development of an online questionnaire. The questionnaire allowed each characteristic to be assigned to one of the five specialties and was sent to 999 undergraduate medical students from semester 1, 7, and 12 at the Medical Faculty of Hamburg University. Three hundred eight (30.8%) of the invited students completed the survey. The characteristics of general surgeons and psychiatrists were assigned congruently most frequently (>50%). For internists and orthopedics, there was a significantly more congruent assignment of the characteristics by final year students versus students in their first semester. Male students assigned the characteristics of anesthetists and internists significantly more congruently than female students. The three characteristics "…are a bit slow on the uptake", "…consider income to be relatively unimportant", and "...apologize a lot" were not assigned to any of the five specialties by more than 50% of the students. While stereotypes about physicians from certain specialties seem to exist commonly, medical educators need to be aware that stereotypes about specialties might develop during undergraduate medical training. In order to support students in their professional identity formation without developing stereotypes, medical educators should receive training. Performing a similar study with physicians in postgraduate training would shed some light on stereotypes and prejudices that might develop at a later stage in medical education.

Anticipation of Personal Genomics Data Enhances Interest and Learning Environment in Genomics and Molecular Biology Undergraduate Courses

PubMed Central

Weber, K. Scott; Jensen, Jamie L.; Johnson, Steven M.

2015-01-01

An important discussion at colleges is centered on determining more effective models for teaching undergraduates. As personalized genomics has become more common, we hypothesized it could be a valuable tool to make science education more hands on, personal, and engaging for college undergraduates. We hypothesized that providing students with personal genome testing kits would enhance the learning experience of students in two undergraduate courses at Brigham Young University: Advanced Molecular Biology and Genomics. These courses have an emphasis on personal genomics the last two weeks of the semester. Students taking these courses were given the option to receive personal genomics kits in 2014, whereas in 2015 they were not. Students sent their personal genomics samples in on their own and received the data after the course ended. We surveyed students in these courses before and after the two-week emphasis on personal genomics to collect data on whether anticipation of obtaining their own personal genomic data impacted undergraduate student learning. We also tested to see if specific personal genomic assignments improved the learning experience by analyzing the data from the undergraduate students who completed both the pre- and post-course surveys. Anticipation of personal genomic data significantly enhanced student interest and the learning environment based on the time students spent researching personal genomic material and their self-reported attitudes compared to those who did not anticipate getting their own data. Personal genomics homework assignments significantly enhanced the undergraduate student interest and learning based on the same criteria and a personal genomics quiz. We found that for the undergraduate students in both molecular biology and genomics courses, incorporation of personal genomic testing can be an effective educational tool in undergraduate science education. PMID:26241308

Anticipation of Personal Genomics Data Enhances Interest and Learning Environment in Genomics and Molecular Biology Undergraduate Courses.

PubMed

Weber, K Scott; Jensen, Jamie L; Johnson, Steven M

2015-01-01

An important discussion at colleges is centered on determining more effective models for teaching undergraduates. As personalized genomics has become more common, we hypothesized it could be a valuable tool to make science education more hands on, personal, and engaging for college undergraduates. We hypothesized that providing students with personal genome testing kits would enhance the learning experience of students in two undergraduate courses at Brigham Young University: Advanced Molecular Biology and Genomics. These courses have an emphasis on personal genomics the last two weeks of the semester. Students taking these courses were given the option to receive personal genomics kits in 2014, whereas in 2015 they were not. Students sent their personal genomics samples in on their own and received the data after the course ended. We surveyed students in these courses before and after the two-week emphasis on personal genomics to collect data on whether anticipation of obtaining their own personal genomic data impacted undergraduate student learning. We also tested to see if specific personal genomic assignments improved the learning experience by analyzing the data from the undergraduate students who completed both the pre- and post-course surveys. Anticipation of personal genomic data significantly enhanced student interest and the learning environment based on the time students spent researching personal genomic material and their self-reported attitudes compared to those who did not anticipate getting their own data. Personal genomics homework assignments significantly enhanced the undergraduate student interest and learning based on the same criteria and a personal genomics quiz. We found that for the undergraduate students in both molecular biology and genomics courses, incorporation of personal genomic testing can be an effective educational tool in undergraduate science education.

University students' notebook computer use.

PubMed

Jacobs, Karen; Johnson, Peter; Dennerlein, Jack; Peterson, Denise; Kaufman, Justin; Gold, Joshua; Williams, Sarah; Richmond, Nancy; Karban, Stephanie; Firn, Emily; Ansong, Elizabeth; Hudak, Sarah; Tung, Katherine; Hall, Victoria; Pencina, Karol; Pencina, Michael

2009-05-01

Recent evidence suggests that university students are self-reporting experiencing musculoskeletal discomfort with computer use similar to levels reported by adult workers. The objective of this study was to determine how university students use notebook computers and to determine what ergonomic strategies might be effective in reducing self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort in this population. Two hundred and eighty-nine university students randomly assigned to one of three towers by the university's Office of Housing participated in this study. The results of this investigation showed a significant reduction in self-reported notebook computer-related discomfort from pre- and post-survey in participants who received notebook computer accessories and in those who received accessories and participatory ergonomics training. A significant increase in post-survey rest breaks was seen. There was a significant correlation between self-reported computer usage and the amount measured using computer usage software (odometer). More research is needed however to determine the most effective ergonomics intervention for university students.

Using Science Fiction in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebofsky, L. A.; Lebofsky, N. R.

2002-05-01

At the University of Arizona, all non-science majors are required to take two Tier 1 and one Tier 2 General Education science classes. These are the only science classes that most of these students will take at the University. This groups includes all future K-8 certified teachers. Improving reading comprehension in science and improving writing skills are two of the main requirements of the General Education classes. For my 150 -- 300 students (1 -- 2 classes per semester) I have chosen to use science fiction stories to meet part of these requirements. This assignment provides for assessment of students' writing in several ways: As an alternative assessment: connecting the course material to what they have read. As an alternative assessment: student knowledge of science and technology in general. This assignment also provides for assessment of their comprehension of the authors' application of science fact as follows: Making students aware of how our science knowledge and technology have changed in the years since these books were written (30 -- 140 years ago). Students are required to turn in a short draft version of the assignment about halfway through the semester. They receive feedback on their format (i.e., following directions), appropriateness of chosen topics, spelling, grammar, etc. Books are chosen at a variety of reading levels to accommodate a range of reading levels including students with limited proficiency in English and those with learning disabilities. The books that we are presently using and examples of student writing will be displayed.

Conveying campus sexual misconduct policy information to college and university students: Results from a 7-campus study.

PubMed

Potter, S J; Edwards, K M; Banyard, V L; Stapleton, J G; Demers, J M; Moynihan, M M

2016-01-01

To examine the efficacy of different methods (ie, in-class policy reading; in-class policy reading and discussion; no reading or discussion) to deliver campus sexual misconduct policy information to students on 7 campuses. A total of 1,195 participants at 7 colleges and universities participated in the study from August to October 2014. Participants were randomly assigned at the class level and completed pretest and posttest surveys assessing knowledge of campus policy and resources and confidence to seek help for sexual assault. Students exposed to a larger dosage of material (in-class policy reading plus discussion) showed greater positive changes in attitudes and knowledge than students who did not receive information or were only read the policy. However, on some indices, students who were only read the policy showed positive outcomes compared with students receiving no intervention. Colleges and universities must use engaging methods to disseminate campus sexual misconduct policies to students.

Related General-Vocabulary Knowledge Transfers to Learning Technical Terms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balch, William R.

2015-01-01

In a classroom experiment during the first week of an introductory psychology course, randomly assigned students received a pretest and then a brief training on the definitions of general-vocabulary words either related (e.g., "facilitation") or unrelated (e.g., "rendition") to 16 technical terms (e.g., "social…

Effects of Strategy Training and Incentives on Students' Performance, Confidence, and Calibration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutierrez, Antonio P.; Schraw, Gregory

2015-01-01

This study examined the effect of strategy instruction and incentives on performance, confidence, and calibration accuracy. Individuals (N = 107) in randomly assigned treatment groups received a multicomponent strategy instruction intervention, financial incentives for high performance, or both. The authors predicted that incentives would improve…

A Self-Control Versus a Counterconditioning Paradigm for Systematic Desensitization: An Experimental Comparison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spiegler, Michael D.; And Others

1976-01-01

A comparison was made between the traditional counterconditioning paradigm and a self-control paradigm of systematic desensitization. College students reporting high test anxiety and indicating interest in receiving treatment were assigned to counterconditioning, self-control, or wait-list control conditions. As predicted, self-control procedures…

Expressive Typography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osterer, Irv

2012-01-01

One of the things that many post-secondary graphic-design schools look for in student portfolios is one or two typography projects with hand-rendered type. At Merivale High School, junior graphic-design classes work with traditional media, and every year they receive an assignment that encourages them to play with letter forms. In this article,…

Attention to Orthographic and Phonological Word Forms in Vocabulary Instruction for Kindergarten English Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vadasy, Patricia F.; Sanders, Elizabeth A.

2016-01-01

This study examined benefits of connecting meaning, speech, and print in vocabulary learning for kindergarten English learners. Students screened eligible with limited English proficiency were randomly assigned to two instruction conditions. Both groups received direct instruction in high frequency root words. One condition featured added…

Improving Mathematics Learning of Kindergarten Students through Computer-Assisted Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Matthew E.; Anthony, Jason L.; Clements, Doug H.; Sarama, Julie; Williams, Jeffrey M.

2016-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of a mathematics software program, the Building Blocks software suite, on young children's mathematics performance. Participants included 247 Kindergartners from 37 classrooms in 9 schools located in low-income communities. Children within classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 21 weeks of computer-assisted…

Teaching sustainability science from a systems analysis perspective: MSc course at Utrecht University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Maria J.; de Boer, Hugo; Dekker, Stefan

2017-04-01

Sustainability science has emerged as a key discipline that embraces both disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary breadth. The challenge is to design University courses that convey both properties without sacrificing either of them. Here we present the design of such course at Utrecht University (the Netherlands) for the MSC program 'Sustainable Development' and discuss the perceived learning and student evaluations. Our course (Sustainability Modelling and Indicators (SMI)) follows an introductory course on Sustainability Perspectives. SMI philosophy is that system thinking and system analysis is central to sustainability science. To convey this philosophy, we focus on four themes: the Anthropocene, Food security, Energy security and Agency and decision making. We developed four hands-on assignments with increasing complexity and make use of different software (Stella, Excel, IMAGE and Netlogo). The assignments aimed at: (1) teaching students the system components by using a pre-existing model in Stella, (2) challenge students to build their own coupled system in Excel, (3) assess outputs from the fully-coupled and dynamic model integrated assessment model IMAGE, and (4) understand emergent properties using an agent-based model in Netlogo. Based on detailed student evaluations (n = 95) we found that the mathematics presented a manageable challenge to a part of the students. The student pool identified a priori having higher experience with Excel in comparison with other software. Netlogo was the highest ranked software in the student evaluations and this was linked to its user-interface with moving agents. The Excel assignment received the highest and lowest scores, and students found it challenging, time consuming but also indicated that they learned the most from this assignment. Students graded what we considered 'easy' assignments with the highest grades. These results suggest that a systems analytical approach to sustainability science can be operationalized in diverse ways that relate to students background and making use of of-the-shelf software. The key challenge is to teach students all the concepts of systems analysis and the applied mathematics behind it. If the goal is to demonstrate process, this portfolio approach with of-the-shelf software can be very successful. This course can be complemented with programming that provides skills to modify and customize software to student needs.

Effects of a Teacher Professional Development Intervention on Peer Relationships in Secondary Classrooms.

PubMed

Mikami, Amori Yee; Gregory, Anne; Allen, Joseph P; Pianta, Robert C; Lun, Janetta

2011-01-01

We investigated the effects of My Teaching Partner-Secondary (MTP-S), a teacher professional development intervention, on students' peer relationships in middle and high school classrooms. MTP-S targets increasing teachers' positive interactions with students and sensitive instructional practices and has demonstrated improvements in students' academic achievement and motivation. The current study tested the prediction from systems theory that effects of MTP-S on students would extend beyond the academic domain-that is, the ecology of teachers' behaviors towards students should also influence the ecology of students' behaviors towards one another. Participants were 88 teachers (43 randomly assigned to MTP-S and 45 assigned to a control group that received the regular professional development offerings in their school) and 1423 students in their classrooms. Observations and student self-report of classroom peer interactions were collected at the start and at the end of the course. Results indicated that in MTP-S classrooms, students were observed to show improvement in positive peer interactions, although this pattern was not found in self-report data. However, moderation analyses suggested that for students with high disruptive behavior at the start of the course, teacher participation in MTP-S mitigated a typical decline towards poorer self-reported peer relationships. The relevance of findings for the social ecology of classrooms is discussed.

Causal Effects of Single-Sex Schools on College Entrance Exams and College Attendance: Random Assignment in Seoul High Schools

PubMed Central

Park, Hyunjoon; Behrman, Jere R.; Choi, Jaesung

2012-01-01

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul—the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools—to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private. PMID:23073751

Causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exams and college attendance: random assignment in Seoul high schools.

PubMed

Park, Hyunjoon; Behrman, Jere R; Choi, Jaesung

2013-04-01

Despite the voluminous literature on the potentials of single-sex schools, there is no consensus on the effects of single-sex schools because of student selection of school types. We exploit a unique feature of schooling in Seoul-the random assignment of students into single-sex versus coeducational high schools-to assess causal effects of single-sex schools on college entrance exam scores and college attendance. Our validation of the random assignment shows comparable socioeconomic backgrounds and prior academic achievement of students attending single-sex schools and coeducational schools, which increases the credibility of our causal estimates of single-sex school effects. The three-level hierarchical model shows that attending all-boys schools or all-girls schools, rather than coeducational schools, is significantly associated with higher average scores on Korean and English test scores. Applying the school district fixed-effects models, we find that single-sex schools produce a higher percentage of graduates who attended four-year colleges and a lower percentage of graduates who attended two-year junior colleges than do coeducational schools. The positive effects of single-sex schools remain substantial, even after we take into account various school-level variables, such as teacher quality, the student-teacher ratio, the proportion of students receiving lunch support, and whether the schools are public or private.

The Effects of an Inference-Making Strategy Taught with and without Goal Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Deborah K.; Lynn, Devon

2016-01-01

This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of a strategy for making text-dependent inferences--with and without embedded self-regulation skills--on the reading comprehension of 24 middle-grade students with disabilities. Classes were randomly assigned to receive the inference intervention only (IO), inference + individual goal setting…

38 CFR 21.272 - Veteran-student services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... eligible to receive a work-study allowance. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(4), 3485) (b) Selection criteria... times the number of hours the veteran has agreed to work; or (ii) The hourly minimum wage under... by the Chapter 30 rate; (2) Motivation of the veteran; and (3) Compatibility of the work assignment...

Preventing Childhood Bullying: Findings and Lessons from the Denver Public Schools Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jenson, Jeffrey M.; Dieterich, William A.; Brisson, Daniel; Bender, Kimberly A.; Powell, Anne

2010-01-01

Twelve-month follow-up outcomes from a group-randomized trial (GRT) of a classroom curriculum aimed at preventing bullying and victimization among elementary students in the Denver, Colorado, public school system are presented. Twenty-eight elementary schools were randomly assigned to receive selected modules of "Youth Matters" (YM), a…

Designing Tasks for Math Modeling in College Algebra: A Critical Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staats, Susan; Robertson, Douglas

2014-01-01

Over the last decade, the pedagogical approach known as mathematical modeling has received increased interest in college algebra classes in the United States. Math modeling assignments ask students to develop their own problem-solving tools to address non-routine, realistic scenarios. The open-ended quality of modeling activities creates dilemmas…

Effectiveness of Software Training Using Simulations: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElroy, Arnold D., Jr.; Pan, Cheng-Chang

2009-01-01

This study was designed to explore the effectiveness in student performance and confidence of limited and full device simulators. The 30 employees from an information technology company who participated in this study were assigned to one of three groups. Each group received practice for learning a complex software procedure using traditional…

The Competency Pivot: Introducing a Revised Approach to the Business Communication Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas, Kristen; Rawlins, Jacob D.

2015-01-01

In this article, we outline a competency-based approach to teaching business communication. At the heart of this approach, classroom instruction, assignments, and evaluation center on a goals-oriented and receiver-centric understanding of communication in which students are taught strategies for meeting five core competencies of business…

38 CFR 21.272 - Veteran-student services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... eligible to receive a work-study allowance. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(4), 3485) (b) Selection criteria... by the Chapter 30 rate; (2) Motivation of the veteran; and (3) Compatibility of the work assignment with the veteran's physical condition. (Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(4), 3108(f), 3485) (c) Utilization...

An instructional intervention to encourage effective deep collaborative learning in undergraduate veterinary students.

PubMed

Khosa, Deep K; Volet, Simone E; Bolton, John R

2010-01-01

In recent years, veterinary education has received an increased amount of attention directed at the value and application of collaborative case-based learning. The benefit of instilling deep learning practices in undergraduate veterinary students has also emerged as a powerful tool in encouraging continued professional education. However, research into the design and application of instructional strategies to encourage deep, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary undergraduates has been limited. This study focused on delivering an instructional intervention (via a 20-minute presentation and student handout) to foster productive, collaborative case-based learning in veterinary education. The aim was to instigate and encourage deep learning practices in a collaborative case-based assignment and to assess the impact of the intervention on students' group learning. Two cohorts of veterinary students were involved in the study. One cohort was exposed to an instructional intervention, and the other provided the control for the study. The instructional strategy was grounded in the collaborative learning literature and prior empirical studies with veterinary students. Results showed that the intervention cohort spent proportionally more time on understanding case content material than did the control cohort and rated their face-to-face discussions as more useful in achieving their learning outcomes than did their control counterparts. In addition, the perceived difficulty of the assignment evolved differently for the control and intervention students from start to end of the assignment. This study provides encouraging evidence that veterinary students can change and enhance the way they interact in a group setting to effectively engage in collaborative learning practices.

Using Science Fiction in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebofsky, L. A.; Lebofsky, N. R.

2002-09-01

At the University of Arizona, all non-science majors are required to take two Tier 1 and one Tier 2 General Education science classes. These are the only science classes that most of these students will take at the University. This includes all future K-8 certified teachers --- our future teachers of science. Improving reading comprehension in science and improving writing skills are two of the main requirements of the General Education classes. For my 150 -- 300 students (1 -- 2 classes per semester) I have chosen to use science fiction stories to meet part of these requirements. This assignment provides for assessment of students' writing in several ways: As an alternative assessment: connecting the course material to what they have read. As an alternative assessment: student knowledge of science and technology in general. This assignment also provides for assessment of their comprehension of the authors' application of science fact: Making students aware of how our science knowledge and technology have changed in the years since these books were written (30 -- 140 years ago). Students are required to turn in a short draft version of the assignment about halfway through the semester. They receive feedback on their format (i.e., following directions), appropriateness of chosen topics, spelling, grammar, etc. Books are chosen at a variety of reading levels to accommodate a range of proficiencies, including choices appropriate for students with limited proficiency in English and those with learning disabilities. The books that we are presently using and examples of student writing will be displayed. This work was supported in part with a grant from the Department of Education (AzTEC).

Financial management and job social skills training components in a summer business institute: a controlled evaluation in high achieving predominantly ethnic minority youth.

PubMed

Donohue, Brad; Conway, Debbie; Beisecker, Monica; Murphy, Heather; Farley, Alisha; Waite, Melissa; Gugino, Kristin; Knatz, Danielle; Lopez-Frank, Carolina; Burns, Jack; Madison, Suzanne; Shorty, Carrie

2005-07-01

Ninety-two adolescents, predominantly ethnic minority high school students, participated in a structured Summer Business Institute (SBI). Participating youth were randomly assigned to receive either job social skills or financial management skills training components. Students who additionally received the job social skills training component were more likely to recommend their employment agency to others than were youth who received the financial management component, rated their overall on-the-job work experience more favorably, and demonstrated higher scores in areas that were relevant to the skills that were taught in the job social skills workshops. The financial management component also appeared to be relatively effective, as youth who received this intervention improved their knowledge of financial management issues more than youth who received job social skills, and rated their workshops as more helpful in financial management, as well as insurance management. Future directions are discussed in light of these results.

Anesthesia machine checkout and room setup: a randomized, single-blind, comparison of two teaching modalities.

PubMed

Spofford, Christina M; Bayman, Emine O; Szeluga, Debra J; From, Robert P

2012-01-01

Novel methods for teaching are needed to enhance the efficiency of academic anesthesia departments as well as provide approaches to learning that are aligned with current trends and advances in technology. A video was produced that taught the key elements of anesthesia machine checkout and room set up. Novice learners were randomly assigned to receive either the new video format or traditional lecture-based format for this topic during their regularly scheduled lecture series. Primary outcome was the difference in written examination score before and after teaching between the two groups. Secondary outcome was the satisfaction score of the trainees in the two groups. Forty-two students assigned to the video group and 36 students assigned to the lecture group completed the study. Students in each group similar interest in anesthesia, pre-test scores, post-test scores, and final exam scores. The median posttest to pretest difference was greater in the video groups (3.5 (3.0-5.0) vs 2.5 (2.0-3.0), for video and lecture groups respectively, p 0.002). Despite improved test scores, students reported higher satisfaction the traditional, lecture-based format (22.0 (18.0-24.0) vs 24.0 (20.0-28.0), for video and lecture groups respectively, p <0.004). Higher pre-test to post-test improvements were observed among students in the video-based teaching group, however students rated traditional, live lectures higher than newer video-based teaching.

Improvement in critical thinking dispositions of undergraduate nursing students through problem-based learning: a crossover-experimental study.

PubMed

Yu, Dehong; Zhang, Yaqing; Xu, Yun; Wu, Juemin; Wang, Caifeng

2013-10-01

Critical thinking (CT) is important to nursing education and practice. Although there is evidence that active learning approaches, such as problem-based learning (PBL), are effective in developing CT dispositions, the findings are inconclusive. This study examines the effect of PBL on the development of CT dispositions in nursing students using a crossover-experimental study in a course offered to nursing students in China. All students were randomly assigned to two parallel groups, with one group receiving PBL and the other receiving lecture-based learning (LBL) as a control. The CT Dispositions Inventory-Chinese Version was administered before and after the semester-long course. Data were collected at three time points. No significant differences between groups were noted in overall and sub-scale scores at baseline; however, pronounced differences in overall posttest scores existed between the PBL and LBL groups. Thus, PBL learning significantly enhanced the CT dispositions of nursing students enrolled in Medical-Surgical Nursing II. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Cross-cultural medical education: can patient-centered cultural competency training be effective in non-Western countries?

PubMed

Ho, Ming-Jung; Yao, Grace; Lee, Keng-Lin; Beach, Mary Catherine; Green, Alexander R

2008-01-01

No evidence addresses the effectiveness of patient-centered cultural competence training in non-Western settings. To examine whether a patient-centered cultural competency curriculum improves medical students' skills in eliciting the patients' perspective and exploring illness-related social factors. Fifty-seven medical students in Taiwan were randomly assigned to either the control (n = 27) or one of two intervention groups: basic (n = 15) and extensive (n = 15). Both intervention groups received two 2-hour patient-centered cultural competency workshops. In addition, the extensive intervention group received a 2-hour practice session. The control group received no training. At the end of the clerkship, all students were evaluated with an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Students in the extensive intervention group scored significantly higher than the basic intervention and control groups in eliciting the patient's perspective (F = 18.38, p < 0.001, eta(2) = 0.40). Scores of both intervention groups were significantly higher than the control group in the exploring social factors (F = 6.66, p = 0.003, eta(2) = 0.20). Patient-centered cultural competency training can produce improvement in medical students' cross-cultural communication skills in non-Western settings, especially when adequate practice is provided.

Effectiveness of the Challenging Horizons After-School Program for Young Adolescents With ADHD

PubMed Central

Evans, Steven W.; Schultz, Brandon K.; DeMars, Christine E.; Davis, Heather

2012-01-01

There are no empirically supported psychosocial treatments for adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined the treatment benefits of the Challenging Horizons Program (CHP), a psychosocial treatment program designed to address the impairment and symptoms associated with this disorder in young adolescents. In addition to evaluating social and academic functioning outcomes, two critical questions from previous studies pertaining to the timing, duration, and family involvement in treatment were addressed. Forty-nine students recruited in two cohorts were randomly assigned to receive either the CHP or a community care condition. Outcomes suggested that students who received the CHP improved compared to students in the control condition on measures of symptoms and impairment. Implications related to timing, duration, and family involvement are reported, as well as recommendations for future studies. PMID:21658528

PNF 2.0? Initial evidence that gamification can increase the efficacy of brief, web-based personalized normative feedback alcohol interventions.

PubMed

Boyle, Sarah C; Earle, Andrew M; LaBrie, Joseph W; Smith, Daniel J

2017-04-01

Gamified interventions exploit the motivational characteristics of a game in order to provide prevention information and promote behavior change. Despite the modest effect sizes observed in increasingly popular web-based personalized normative feedback (PNF) alcohol interventions for college students, previous research has yet to consider how gamification might be used to enhance efficacy. This study examines whether a novel, gamified PNF intervention format, which includes a point-based reward system, the element of chance, and personal icons to visually represent users, is more effective in reducing short-term alcohol use than the standard web-based style of PNF currently used on college campuses. Two-hundred and thirty-seven college students were randomly assigned to receive either a standard brief, web-based PNF alcohol intervention or the same alcohol intervention components delivered within a Facebook-connected social game called CampusGANDR (Gamified Alcohol Norm Discovery and Readjustment). In both study conditions participants answered identical questions about their perceptions of peer drinking norms and own drinking and then received the same PNF slides. Two weeks following PNF delivery, participants again reported their perceptions of peers' alcohol use and own drinking. Students in the CampusGANDR condition reported significantly reduced peer drinking norms and alcohol use at the two-week follow-up relative to students who received identical PNF delivered by standard online survey. Further, a mediation model demonstrated that this effect was driven by larger reductions in perceived drinking norms among participants assigned to receive CampusGANDR, relative to control. As web-based PNF is becoming an increasingly universal prevention strategy, findings from this study suggest gamification may represent one method by which intervention efficacy could be substantially improved. The potential methodological and economic benefits associated with gamified PNF interventions are emphasized and directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PNF 2.0? Initial Evidence that Gamification Can Increase the Efficacy of Brief, Web-based Personalized Normative Feedback Alcohol Interventions

PubMed Central

Boyle, Sarah C.; Earle, Andrew M.; LaBrie, Joseph W.; Smith, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

Gamified interventions exploit the motivational characteristics of a game in order to provide prevention information and promote behavior change. Despite the modest effect sizes observed in increasingly popular web-based personalized normative feedback (PNF) alcohol interventions for college students, previous research has yet to consider how gamification might be used to enhance efficacy. This study examines whether a novel, gamified PNF intervention format, which includes a point-based reward system, the element of chance, and personal icons to visually represent users, is more effective in reducing short-term alcohol use than the standard web-based style of PNF currently used on college campuses. Two-hundred and thirty-seven college students were randomly assigned to receive either a standard brief, web-based PNF alcohol intervention or the same alcohol intervention components delivered within a Facebook-connected social game called CampusGANDR (Gamified Alcohol Norm Discovery and Readjustment). In both study conditions participants answered identical questions about their perceptions of peer drinking norms and own drinking and then received the same PNF slides. Two weeks following PNF delivery, participants again reported their perceptions of peers’ alcohol use and own drinking. Students in the CampusGANDR condition reported significantly reduced peer drinking norms and alcohol use at the two-week follow-up relative to students who received identical PNF delivered by standard online survey. Further, a mediation model demonstrated that this effect was driven by larger reductions in perceived drinking norms among participants assigned to receive CampusGANDR, relative to control. As web-based PNF is becoming an increasingly universal prevention strategy, findings from this study suggest gamification may represent one method by which intervention efficacy could be substantially improved. The potential methodological and economic benefits associated with gamified PNF interventions are emphasized and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:27978426

The art of scientific writing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gad-El-Hak, Mohamed

2015-11-01

The humanities teach students how to learn and communicate. Science teaches why everything works. Engineering teaches how to make things work. But scientists and engineers need to communicate their ideas amongst themselves as well as to everyone else. A newly developed technical writing course is outlined. In the class, offered to senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students, we read numerous short novels, essays, and op-eds. Some of the reading materials are technical but many are not. The students also have weekly writing assignments. When the first assignment is returned to the students with a grade of 20-30%, their first reaction is, ``how come I did not receive my usual 80-90%?'' I retort, ``you reach that level only when your essay is ready to be published in The New York Times.'' What is emphasized in the class is the process of creating something to write about, researching that something, expressing ideas coherently and comprehensibly, then endlessly editing the essay. The elective class has been offered three times thus far, all of its available seats are always filled, the students' evaluations have been outstanding, and the improvements in the students' ability to write by the end of the semester is quite impressive.

Writing to Learn: An Evaluation of the Calibrated Peer Review™ Program in Two Neuroscience Courses

PubMed Central

Prichard, J. Roxanne

2005-01-01

Although the majority of scientific information is communicated in written form, and peer review is the primary process by which it is validated, undergraduate students may receive little direct training in science writing or peer review. Here, I describe the use of Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR), a free, web-based writing and peer review program designed to alleviate instructor workload, in two undergraduate neuroscience courses: an upper- level sensation and perception course (41 students, three assignments) and an introductory neuroscience course (50 students; two assignments). Using CPR online, students reviewed primary research articles on assigned ‘hot’ topics, wrote short essays in response to specific guiding questions, reviewed standard ‘calibration’ essays, and provided anonymous quantitative and qualitative peer reviews. An automated grading system calculated the final scores based on a student’s essay quality (as determined by the average of three peer reviews) and his or her accuracy in evaluating 1) three standard calibration essays, 2) three anonymous peer reviews, and 3) his or her self review. Thus, students were assessed not only on their skill at constructing logical, evidence-based arguments, but also on their ability to accurately evaluate their peers’ writing. According to both student self-reports and instructor observation, students’ writing and peer review skills improved over the course of the semester. Student evaluation of the CPR program was mixed; while some students felt like the peer review process enhanced their understanding of the material and improved their writing, others felt as though the process was biased and required too much time. Despite student critiques of the program, I still recommend the CPR program as an excellent and free resource for incorporating more writing, peer review, and critical thinking into an undergraduate neuroscience curriculum. PMID:23493247

Using Climate Change for Teaching Experimental Sciences in Teacher Education through Research Projects on Recycling at the University of Lleida (Western Catalonia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sebastia, M. T.; Verdú, N.

2016-12-01

Although climate change is one of the most pressing challenges faced by humankind, climate change illiteracy is frequent among primary school teacher college students reaching the second school year at the University of Lleida (UdL). Climate change was chosen to structure the course on Experimental Sciences of the bilingual group because this topic involves all sciences, and because of the importance of the subject for future educators. In the bilingual group of the Education Faculty, Experimental Sciences is taught in English, and there are usually 1-2 international students in addition to around 20 local students. To increase the awareness about climate change and make this topic closer to the students' daily experience, a research project on recycling at the University of Lleida was assigned per groups of 4 students. The assignment was semi-structured, the students received a reduced set of instructions and large freedom to focus their particular projects. Additional instructions were provided along the way. We present results from the comparisons among faculties at UdL, and among the different users: students, professors and researchers, and administration staff. We also discuss the impact that this project had in the learning ability of the students and their awareness about climate change.

Using Computers in Introductory Astronomy Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deming, Grace L.

1995-12-01

Computer literacy is fast becoming a focal point in undergraduate education. Scientific literacy has been a continuing goal of undergraduate programs across the nation and a course in introductory astronomy is often used to satisfy such science requirements. At U. MD an introduction to computer skills is being integrated into our astronomy curriculum for non-science majors. The campus is adequately equipped with computer labs, yet many students enter college without basic computer skills. In Astronomy 101 (General Astronomy) students are introduced to electronic mail, a Listserver, and the world wide web. Students in this course are required to register for a free campus computer account. Their first assignment is to use e-mail to subscribe to the class Listserver, Milkyway. Through Milkyway, students have access to weekly lecture summaries, questions to review for exams, and copies of previous exams. Using e-mail students may pose questions, provide comments, or exchange opinions using Milkyway, or they may e-mail the instructor directly. Studies indicate that using e-mail is less intimidating to a student than asking a question in a class of 200 students. Monitoring e-mail for student questions has not been a problem. Student reaction has been favorable to using e-mail, since instructor office hours are not always convenient, especially to commuting or working students. Through required assignments, students receive an introduction to accessing information on the world wide web using Netscape. Astronomy has great resources available on the Internet which can be used to supplement and reinforce introductory material. Assignments are structured so that students will gain the techniques necessary to access available information. It is hoped that students will successfully apply the computer skills they learn in astronomy class to their own fields and as life-long learners. We have found that students comfortable with computers are willing to share their knowledge with others. The computer activities have been structured to promote cooperation between students. These skills are also necessary for success.

The Effects of a STEM Professional Development Intervention on Elementary Teachers' Science Process Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cotabish, Alicia; Dailey, Deborah; Hughes, Gail D.; Robinson, Ann

2011-01-01

In order to increase the quality and quantity of science instruction, elementary teachers must receive professional development in science learning processes. The current study was part of a larger randomized field study of teacher and student learning in science. In two districts in a southern state, researchers randomly assigned teacher…

Addressing the Baseline: Erving Goffman and Ethics in a Postgraduate Degree for Practising Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Geraldine; Higgins, Joanna; Shuker, Mary Jane

2008-01-01

In response to the claim that students who have received an undergraduate degree in education lack adequate preparation for postgraduate study, the designers of a masters course in research methods set an assignment at the first meeting which asked practising teachers to match Goffman's dramaturgical concepts to observation of behaviour in public.…

A Mixed-Method Efficacy and Fidelity Study of Check and Connect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, Kristin; Hagans, Kristi; Linn, Megan

2017-01-01

The effectiveness of the Check and Connect dropout prevention program was examined, over the course of 2.5 years, with 54 middle school students from diverse backgrounds experiencing one or more conditions of risk for dropout. Participants were randomly assigned to receive the Check and Connect intervention or business as usual (i.e., control) in…

EFL Learners' Use of Direct Strategies in Competitive and Cooperative Learning Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zarei, Abbas Ali; Layeq, Hamide

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of competitive and cooperative teaching techniques on Iranian adult EFL learners' use of direct strategies. To this end, a sample of 88 non-English major university students at Sohrevardi Nonprofit College in Qazvin were assigned to two groups, and each group received instruction under one of the treatment…

Co-Creation of Value in Higher Education: Using Social Network Marketing in the Recruitment of Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fagerstrom, Asle; Ghinea, Gheorghita

2013-01-01

A social network recruitment campaign was prepared where applicants for information technology bachelor studies at a Norwegian university college were invited to join a Facebook group related to the subject of interest. Each Facebook group was assigned a contact person who received training to facilitate activities and in answering questions from…

Initial Experiences with Machine-Assisted Reconsiderative Test Scoring: A New Method for Partial Credit and Multiple Correct Responses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Paul S.

Initial experiences with computer-assisted reconsiderative scoring are described. Reconsiderative scoring occurs when student responses are received and reviewed by the teacher before points for correctness are assigned. Manually scored completion-style questions are reconsiderative. A new method of machine assistance produces an item analysis on…

Alcohol-Related Consequences among First-Year University Students: Effectiveness of a Web-Based Personalized Feedback Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doumas, Diana M.; Nelson, Kinsey; DeYoung, Amanda; Renteria, Camryn Conrad

2014-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a web-based personalized feedback program using an objective measure of alcohol-related consequences. Participants were assigned to either the intervention group or an assessment-only control group during university orientation. Sanctions received for campus alcohol policy violations were tracked over the…

Can Personalized Nudges Improve Learning in Hybrid Classes? Experimental Evidence from an Introductory Undergraduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connell, Stephen D.; Lang, Guido

2018-01-01

A field experiment was conducted to investigate whether personalized e-mail reminders can improve study consistency and learning outcomes in an introductory-level undergraduate course. By randomly assigning whether nearly 300 students would receive occasional e-mail messages encouraging out-of-class study, we find that these reminders increased…

Enhancing Energy Balance Education through Physical Education and Self-Monitoring Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Senlin; Zhu, Xihe; Kim, Youngwon; Welk, Gregory; Lanningham-Foster, Lorraine

2016-01-01

Schools are positioned to play a key role in nurturing students with knowledge and behaviours associated with healthful living. Our study examined the effects of an intervention on energy balance (EB) knowledge. Twelve 6th and 7th grade classrooms (n = 140) were assigned to receive either two standardised lessons on EB or a combined intervention…

Course Preparation Assignments: A Strategy for Creating Discussion-Based Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamane, David

2006-01-01

Although many of us would like to get beyond lecturing, we often lack concrete strategies for doing so, particularly in our larger classes. This paper suggests one such strategy for creating a discussion-based course. The success of such a course is predicated on students reading and thinking about the course material (receiving "first exposure")…

A Simple and Effective Program to Increase Faculty Knowledge of and Referrals to Counseling Centers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nolan, Susan A.; Pace, Kristi A.; Iannelli, Richard J.; Palma, Thomas V.; Pakalns, Gail P.

2006-01-01

The authors describe a simple, cost-effective, and empirically supported program to increase faculty referrals of students to counseling centers (CCs). Incoming faculty members at 3 universities received a mailing and personal telephone call from a CC staff member. Faculty assigned to the outreach program had greater knowledge of and rates of…

Improving Young English Learners' Language and Literacy Skills through Teacher Professional Development: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babinski, Leslie M.; Amendum, Steven J.; Knotek, Steven E.; Sánchez, Marta; Malone, Patrick

2018-01-01

Using a randomized controlled trial, we tested a new teacher professional development program for increasing the language and literacy skills of young Latino English learners with 45 teachers and 105 students in 12 elementary schools. School-based teams randomly assigned to the intervention received professional development focused on cultural…

Impact of Intensive Summer Reading Intervention for Children with Reading Disabilities and Difficulties in Early Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christodoulou, Joanna A.; Cyr, Abigail; Murtagh, Jack; Chang, Patricia; Lin, Jiayi; Guarino, Anthony J.; Hook, Pamela; Gabrieli, John D. E.

2017-01-01

Efficacy of an intensive reading intervention implemented during the nonacademic summer was evaluated in children with reading disabilities or difficulties (RD). Students (ages 6-9) were randomly assigned to receive Lindamood-Bell's "Seeing Stars" program (n = 23) as an intervention or to a waiting-list control group (n = 24). Analysis…

CodeMaster--Automatic Assessment and Grading of App Inventor and Snap! Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Wangenheim, Christiane Gresse; Hauck, Jean C. R.; Demetrio, Matheus Faustino; Pelle, Rafael; da Cruz Alves, Nathalia; Barbosa, Heliziane; Azevedo, Luiz Felipe

2018-01-01

The development of computational thinking is a major topic in K-12 education. Many of these experiences focus on teaching programming using block-based languages. As part of these activities, it is important for students to receive feedback on their assignments. Yet, in practice it may be difficult to provide personalized, objective and consistent…

Efficacy of a Systematic Prompt Reduction Strategy in Teaching Independent Composition. [Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harriman, Nancy; Schloss, Patrick J.

The use of systematic prompting and monitoring to increase written sentence production during a ten-minute assigned composition task was investigated with 78 learning disabled (LD) students in grades 7-12. Subjects were classified as LD, were receiving special education services, and evidenced at least a 2-year lag in written language skills. Six…

Modifying Pro-Drug Risk Factors in Adolescents: Results from Project ALERT

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghosh-Dastidar, Bonnie; Longshore, Douglas L.; Ellickson, Phyllis L.; McCaffrey, Daniel F.

2004-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a revised state-of-the-art drug prevention program, Project ALERT, on risk factors for drug use in mostly rural midwestern schools and communities. Fifty-five middle schools from South Dakota were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment-group students received 11…

The Effects of Objective Feedback on Performance when Individuals Receive Fixed and Individual Incentive Pay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Douglas A.; Dickinson, Alyce M.; Huitema, Bradley E.

2008-01-01

We examined whether objective feedback would enhance performance when individuals were paid monetary incentives. A two-by-two factorial design was used, with 123 college students assigned to incentive pay without feedback, incentive pay with feedback, fixed pay without feedback, or fixed pay with feedback. Participants attended six sessions and…

Preceptorship: using an ethical lens to reflect on the unsafe student.

PubMed

Earle-Foley, Vicki; Myrick, Florence; Luhanga, Florence; Yonge, Olive

2012-01-01

Patient safety has become a worldwide health concern, and health care professionals have a moral and ethical responsibility to promote patient safety. The clinical education of many health care professionals often involves a preceptorship or field experience wherein students are assigned to work one-to-one with a preceptor or field educator so that they can be socialized into the profession and receive a reality-oriented experience. Health care professionals who accept the responsibility of being a preceptor face additional workload and stress, especially when the students to whom they are assigned are not meeting the expectations of safe, professional practice. Taking a stand against unsafe students is an important way for preceptors to promote patient safety. Given the nature of the stress and the inherent ethical issues associated with precepting an unsafe student, it is useful to examine this experience through an ethical lens. Included in this article is a brief overview of preceptorship as a model of clinical education, together with a discussion of the nature of the ethical decisions that preceptors face when precepting an unsafe student. Ethical theories, namely, virtue ethics and utilitarianism, are also explored and serve to provide the ethical lens through which preceptors can reflect upon their experiences with unsafe students. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of teacher anxiety and modeling on the acquisition of a science teaching skill and concomitant student performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koran, John J., Jr.; Koran, Mary Lou

In a study designed to explore the effects of teacher anxiety and modeling on acquisition of a science teaching skill and concomitant student performance, 69 preservice secondary teachers and 295 eighth grade students were randomly assigned to microteaching sessions. Prior to microteaching, teachers were given an anxiety test, then randomly assigned to one of three treatments; a transcript model, a protocol model, or a control condition. Subsequently both teacher and student performance was assessed using written and behavioral measures. Analysis of variance indicated that subjects in the two modeling treatments significantly exceeded performance of control group subjects on all measures of the dependent variable, with the protocol model being generally superior to the transcript model. The differential effects of the modeling treatments were further reflected in student performance. Regression analysis of aptitude-treatment interactions indicated that teacher anxiety scores interacted significantly with instructional treatments, with high anxiety teachers performing best in the protocol modeling treatment. Again, this interaction was reflected in student performance, where students taught by highly anxious teachers performed significantly better when their teachers had received the protocol model. These results were discussed in terms of teacher concerns and a memory model of the effects of anxiety on performance.

Effects of a Teacher Professional Development Intervention on Peer Relationships in Secondary Classrooms

PubMed Central

Mikami, Amori Yee; Gregory, Anne; Allen, Joseph P.; Pianta, Robert C.; Lun, Janetta

2012-01-01

We investigated the effects of My Teaching Partner—Secondary (MTP-S), a teacher professional development intervention, on students’ peer relationships in middle and high school classrooms. MTP-S targets increasing teachers’ positive interactions with students and sensitive instructional practices and has demonstrated improvements in students’ academic achievement and motivation. The current study tested the prediction from systems theory that effects of MTP-S on students would extend beyond the academic domain—that is, the ecology of teachers’ behaviors towards students should also influence the ecology of students’ behaviors towards one another. Participants were 88 teachers (43 randomly assigned to MTP-S and 45 assigned to a control group that received the regular professional development offerings in their school) and 1423 students in their classrooms. Observations and student self-report of classroom peer interactions were collected at the start and at the end of the course. Results indicated that in MTP-S classrooms, students were observed to show improvement in positive peer interactions, although this pattern was not found in self-report data. However, moderation analyses suggested that for students with high disruptive behavior at the start of the course, teacher participation in MTP-S mitigated a typical decline towards poorer self-reported peer relationships. The relevance of findings for the social ecology of classrooms is discussed. PMID:22736890

Nursing students' mathematic calculation skills.

PubMed

Rainboth, Lynde; DeMasi, Chris

2006-12-01

This mixed method study used a pre-test/post-test design to evaluate the efficacy of a teaching strategy in improving beginning nursing student learning outcomes. During a 4-week student teaching period, a convenience sample of 54 sophomore level nursing students were required to complete calculation assignments, taught one calculation method, and mandated to attend medication calculation classes. These students completed pre- and post-math tests and a major medication mathematic exam. Scores from the intervention student group were compared to those achieved by the previous sophomore class. Results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement from pre- to post-test and the students who received the intervention had statistically significantly higher scores on the major medication calculation exam than did the students in the control group. The evaluation completed by the intervention group showed that the students were satisfied with the method and outcome.

Impact of educational messages on patient acceptance of male medical students in OB-GYN encounters.

PubMed

Buck, Katherine; Littleton, Heather

2016-09-01

Although training in obstetrics and gynecology is a key part of medical education, male students receive less extensive experience, due in part to patient refusals. However, there is limited work seeking to reduce patient refusal rates of male students. The current study examined the efficacy of two messages at increasing male medical student acceptance into a well-woman visit. A total of 656 college women participated in a simulation study where they viewed a video of a nurse asking for permission to have a male medical student participate in their well-woman visit. The 30.5% of women who refused student participation (n = 181) were randomly assigned to view a video of the nurse either describing students' medical knowledge and technical skills training (e.g. training in performing pelvic exams) or empathic skills training (e.g. training in communication about sensitive issues). They were again asked if they would be willing to have the student participate. Both messages similarly increased student acceptance with 44.8% of those receiving the empathic skills training message and 48.9% of those who received the medical/technical skills training message accepting student participation, χ(2) (1, N = 181) = 0.3, p = 0.58. Educational messages about medical student training delivered in an engaging fashion by a credible source are a potentially effective tool to increase male student acceptance into sensitive patient encounters. Future work should test these messages in real-world settings as part of a focus on patient education to increase comfort with student participation.

Interprofessional pharmacy observation activity for third-year dental students.

PubMed

Conway, Susan E; Smith, Winter J; Truong, Teresa H; Shadid, Jill

2014-09-01

Interprofessional learning is a key component of today's health sciences education. Within a two-course series in dental pharmacology and therapeutics, a dental curriculum was revised to provide an interprofessional activity to expose dental students to a community pharmacy setting. The objectives of this activity were to augment students' learning about drug laws and prescription writing, as well as to foster interprofessional relationships and collaboration between pharmacists and dentists. Dental students were scheduled for one-hour observations at community pharmacies on campus. Learning objectives to guide this activity focused on demonstrating community pharmacy operating procedures, identifying ways to minimize prescribing and dosing errors, and understanding how pharmacists can assist dentists in prescribing. Following the observation, students were required to submit a written assignment, which accounted for 14 percent of their course grade. All 119 dental students (100 percent) enrolled in the course for the summers of 2012 and 2013 completed the activity. The average grade on the written assignment was 96.2 out of 100. At the end of the course, students were asked to participate in an online course evaluation survey, for which response rates were 37 percent and 43 percent for 2012 and 2013, respectively. The students rated the pharmacy observation activity favorably on this course evaluation. The pharmacy observation activity provided a successful interprofessional component to the didactic pharmacy course and was well received by the dental students as well as the community pharmacists.

Evaluation of a Local Anesthesia Simulation Model with Dental Students as Novice Clinicians.

PubMed

Lee, Jessica S; Graham, Roseanna; Bassiur, Jennifer P; Lichtenthal, Richard M

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a local anesthesia (LA) simulation model in a facilitated small group setting before dental students administered an inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) for the first time. For this pilot study, 60 dental students transitioning from preclinical to clinical education were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (N=30) that participated in a small group session using the simulation model or a control group (N=30). After administering local anesthesia for the first time, students in both groups were given questionnaires regarding levels of preparedness and confidence when administering an IANB and level of anesthesia effectiveness and pain when receiving an IANB. Students in the experimental group exhibited a positive difference on all six questions regarding preparedness and confidence when administering LA to another student. One of these six questions ("I was prepared in administering local anesthesia for the first time") showed a statistically significant difference (p<0.05). Students who received LA from students who practiced on the simulation model also experienced fewer post-injection complications one day after receiving the IANB, including a statistically significant reduction in trismus. No statistically significant difference was found in level of effectiveness of the IANB or perceived levels of pain between the two groups. The results of this pilot study suggest that using a local anesthesia simulation model may be beneficial in increasing a dental student's level of comfort prior to administering local anesthesia for the first time.

A Comparison of a Traditional Lecture-Based and Online Supplemental Video and Lecture-Based Approach in an Engineering Statics Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halupa, Colleen M.; Caldwell, Benjamin W.

2015-01-01

This quasi-experimental research study evaluated two intact undergraduate engineering statics classes at a private university in Texas. Students in the control group received traditional lecture, readings and homework assignments. Those in the experimental group also were given access to a complete set of online video lectures and videos…

Effects of the STOP & LIST Strategy on the Writing Performance of a Sixth Grader with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grünke, Matthias; Hatton, Heather

2017-01-01

Poor writers generally spend little time developing an outline and otherwise planning written assignments before composing them. Far too many students in elementary and secondary education fall behind in their planning and composition skills because they do not receive appropriate instruction. In this single-case study, we tested the effects of an…

A Study of Text Processing and Intrinsic Individual Differences in Conceptual Organization.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Donald S.; Borich, Gary D.

This study is an attempt to identify one source of individual differences in the extent to which readers learn from text and the means for accommodating it. Eighty college students were administered a series of aptitude tests and randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. The subjects then received six passages, each passage followed by a…

The Use of Consciousness-Raising Tasks in Learning and Teaching of Subject-Verb Agreement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Idek, Sirhajwan; Fong, Lee Lai; Sidhu, Gurnam Kaur

2013-01-01

This study investigates the use of two types of Consciousness-Raising (CR) tasks in learning Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA). The sample consisted of 28 Form 2 students who were divided into two groups. Group 1 was assigned with Grammaticality Judgment (GJ) tasks and Group 2 received Sentence Production (SP) tasks for eight weeks. Learners were given…

Student-generated illustrations and written narratives of biological science concepts: The effect on community college life science students' achievement in and attitudes toward science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harvey, Robert Christopher

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two conceptually based instructional strategies on science achievement and attitudes of community college biological science students. The sample consisted of 277 students enrolled in General Biology 1, Microbiology, and Human Anatomy and Physiology 1. Control students were comprised of intact classes from the 2005 Spring semester; treatment students from the 2005 Fall semester were randomly assigned to one of two groups within each course: written narrative (WN) and illustration (IL). WN students prepared in-class written narratives related to cell theory and metabolism, which were taught in all three courses. IL students prepared in-class illustrations of the same concepts. Control students received traditional lecture/lab during the entire class period and neither wrote in-class descriptions nor prepared in-class illustrations of the targeted concepts. All groups were equivalent on age, gender, ethnicity, GPA, and number of college credits earned and were blinded to the study. All interventions occurred in class and no group received more attention or time to complete assignments. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) via multiple regression was the primary statistical strategy used to test the study's hypotheses. The model was valid and statistically significant. Independent follow-up univariate analyses relative to each dependent measure found that no research factor had a significant effect on attitude, but that course-teacher, group membership, and student academic characteristics had a significant effect (p < .05) on achievement: (1) Biology students scored significantly lower in achievement than A&P students; (2) Microbiology students scored significantly higher in achievement than Biology students; (3) Written Narrative students scored significantly higher in achievement than Control students; and (4) GPA had a significant effect on achievement. In addition, given p < .08: (1) Microbiology students averaged lower in achievement than A&P students; (2) Illustration students averaged higher in achievement than Control students; and (3) Written Narrative students averaged higher in achievement than Illustration students. Findings suggest that science achievement can be enhanced via student-generated illustrations and written narratives, these interventions had no effect on attitudes toward science, and the interventions benefited A&P students more than Microbiology and Biology students.

Enhancement of anatomical learning and developing clinical competence of first-year medical and allied health profession students.

PubMed

Keim Janssen, Sarah A; VanderMeulen, Stephane P; Shostrom, Valerie K; Lomneth, Carol S

2014-01-01

Hands-on educational experiences can stimulate student interest, increase knowledge retention, and enhance development of clinical skills. The Lachman test, used to assess the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is commonly performed by health care professionals and is relatively easy to teach to first-year health profession students. This study integrated teaching the Lachman test into a first-year anatomy laboratory and examined if students receiving the training would be more confident, competent, and if the training would enhance anatomical learning. First-year medical, physician assistant and physical therapy students were randomly assigned into either the intervention (Group A) or control group (Group B). Both groups received the course lecture on knee anatomy and training on how to perform the Lachman test during a surface anatomy class. Group A received an additional 15 minutes hands-on training for the Lachman test utilizing a lightly embalmed cadaver as a simulated patient. One week later, both groups performed the Lachman test on a lightly embalmed cadaver and later completed a post-test and survey. Students with hands-on training performed significantly better than students with lecture-only training in completing the checklist, a post-test, and correctly diagnosing an ACL tear. Students in Group A also reported being more confident after hands-on training compared to students receiving lecture-only training. Both groups reported that incorporating clinical skill activities facilitated learning and created excitement for learning. Hands-on training using lightly embalmed cadavers as patient simulators increased confidence and competence in performing the Lachman test and aided in learning anatomy. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Intervention Provided to Linguistically Diverse Middle School Students with Severe Reading Difficulties

PubMed Central

Denton, Carolyn A.; Wexler, Jade; Vaughn, Sharon; Bryan, Deanna

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention implemented with middle school students with severe reading difficulties, all of whom had received remedial and/or special education for several years with minimal response to intervention. Participants were 38 students in grades 6–8 who had severe deficits in word reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Most were Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) with identified disabilities. Nearly all demonstrated severely limited oral vocabularies in English and, for ELLs, in both English and Spanish. Students were randomly assigned to receive the research intervention (n = 20) or typical instruction provided in their school’s remedial reading or special education classes (n = 18). Students in the treatment group received daily explicit and systematic small-group intervention for 40 minutes over 13 weeks, consisting of a modified version of a phonics-based remedial program augmented with English as a Second Language practices and instruction in vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension strategies. Results indicated that treatment students did not demonstrate significantly higher outcomes in word recognition, comprehension, or fluency than students who received the school’s typical instruction and that neither group demonstrated significant growth over the course of the study. Significant correlations were found between scores on teachers’ ratings of students’ social skills and problem behaviors and posttest decoding and spelling scores, and between English oral vocabulary scores and scores in word identification and comprehension. The researchers hypothesize that middle school students with the most severe reading difficulties, particularly those who are ELLs and those with limited oral vocabularies, may require intervention of considerably greater intensity than that provided in this study. Further research directly addressing features of effective remediation for these students is needed. PMID:22736893

The Effect of Tutoring With Nonstandard Equations for Students With Mathematics Difficulty.

PubMed

Powell, Sarah R; Driver, Melissa K; Julian, Tyler E

2015-01-01

Students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as operational instead of relational. Research indicates misinterpretation of the equal sign occurs because students receive relatively little exposure to equations that promote relational understanding of the equal sign. No study, however, has examined effects of nonstandard equations on the equation solving and equal-sign understanding of students with mathematics difficulty (MD). In the present study, second-grade students with MD (n = 51) were randomly assigned to standard equations tutoring, combined tutoring (standard and nonstandard equations), and no-tutoring control. Combined tutoring students demonstrated greater gains on equation-solving assessments and equal-sign tasks compared to the other two conditions. Standard tutoring students demonstrated improved skill on equation solving over control students, but combined tutoring students' performance gains were significantly larger. Results indicate that exposure to and practice with nonstandard equations positively influence student understanding of the equal sign. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Self-reflection, gender and science achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoop, Kathleen A.

Drawing on socio-cognitive learning theory, this study compared achievement scores of 134 male and female high school biology students randomly assigned to groups which either used self-reflection, used self-reflection and received feedback, or did not self-reflect. Following a pretest, the teacher provided self-reflection strategy instruction to students in the two intervention groups and then subsequently provided in-class self-reflection time for these groups. The posttest concluded the unit; the retention measure was five weeks later. A quasi-experimental 3 x 3 x 2 (time x intervention x gender) factorial repeated-measures control group design was used for this study; a repeated measures ANOVA and several one-way ANOVA's were used to answer the research questions. Results from the repeated-measures ANOVA revealed significant results for Time and Time x Intervention, with the reflection group demonstrating significantly lower gains from pretest to posttest than the other two groups. The ANOVA examining differences between those who reflected and those who reflected and received feedback provided significant results with similar results for the difference between the control group and the reflection group. For teachers and students this study provides several areas of practical significance. Primarily, teachers may find lower student achievement if students regularly self-reflect but do not receive feedback for their reflection.

An Investigation of the Partial-Assignment Completion Effect on Students' Assignment Choice Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawthorn-Embree, Meredith L.; Skinner, Christopher H.; Parkhurst, John; Conley, Elisha

2011-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the partial assignment completion effect. Seventh-grade students were given a math assignment. After working for 5 min, they were interrupted and their partially completed assignments were collected. About 20 min later, students were given their partially completed assignment and a new, control assignment…

Software tools for interactive instruction in radiologic anatomy.

PubMed

Alvarez, Antonio; Gold, Garry E; Tobin, Brian; Desser, Terry S

2006-04-01

To promote active learning in an introductory Radiologic Anatomy course through the use of computer-based exercises. DICOM datasets from our hospital PACS system were transferred to a networked cluster of desktop computers in a medical school classroom. Medical students in the Radiologic Anatomy course were divided into four small groups and assigned to work on a clinical case for 45 minutes. The groups used iPACS viewer software, a free DICOM viewer, to view images and annotate anatomic structures. The classroom instructor monitored and displayed each group's work sequentially on the master screen by running SynchronEyes, a software tool for controlling PC desktops remotely. Students were able to execute the assigned tasks using the iPACS software with minimal oversight or instruction. Course instructors displayed each group's work on the main display screen of the classroom as the students presented the rationale for their decisions. The interactive component of the course received high ratings from the students and overall course ratings were higher than in prior years when the course was given solely in lecture format. DICOM viewing software is an excellent tool for enabling students to learn radiologic anatomy from real-life clinical datasets. Interactive exercises performed in groups can be powerful tools for stimulating students to learn radiologic anatomy.

An Examination of the Efficacy of a Multitiered Intervention on Early Reading Outcomes for First Grade Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties.

PubMed

Fien, Hank; Smith, Jean Louise M; Smolkowski, Keith; Baker, Scott K; Nelson, Nancy J; Chaparro, Erin

2015-01-01

This article presents findings of an efficacy trial examining the effect of a multitiered instruction and intervention model on first grade at-risk students' reading outcomes. Schools (N = 16) were randomly assigned to the treatment or control condition. In the fall of Grade 1, students were assigned to an instructional tier on the basis of Stanford Achievement Test-10th Edition scores (31st percentile and above = Tier 1; from the 10th to the 30th percentile = Tier 2). In both conditions, students identified as at risk (i.e., Tier 2; n = 267) received 90 min of whole group instruction (Tier 1) and an additional 30 min of daily small group intervention (Tier 2). In the treatment condition, teachers were trained to enhance core reading instruction by making instruction more explicit and increasing practice opportunities for students in Tier 1. In addition, at-risk readers were provided an additional 30-min daily small group intervention with content that was highly aligned with the Tier 1 core reading program. Results indicate significant, positive effects of the intervention on students' decoding and first semester fluent reading and potentially positive effects on reading comprehension and total reading achievement. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

The effects of Chinese five-element music therapy on nursing students with depressed mood.

PubMed

Chen, Chen-Jung; Sung, Huei-Chuan; Lee, Ming-Shinn; Chang, Ching-Yuan

2015-04-01

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Chinese five-element music therapy on nursing students with depressed mood. We randomly assigned 71 nursing students from Taiwan with depressed mood to the music and control groups. The music group (n = 31) received Chinese five-element music therapy, whereas the participants in the control group (n = 40) maintained their routine lifestyles with no music therapy. All of the participants were assessed using the Depression Mood Self-Report Inventory for Adolescence, and their salivary cortisol levels were measured. The study found that there was a significant reduction in depression between the pre- and posttherapy test scores and in salivary cortisol levels over time in the music group. After receiving the music therapy, the nursing students' depression levels were significantly reduced (P = 0.038) compared with the control group (P < 0.001). These results indicate that the Chinese five-element music therapy has the potential to reduce the level of depression in nursing students with depressed mood. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Negotiating Assignment Pathways: Students and Academic Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDowell, Liz

2008-01-01

Existing research identifies that students' approaches to assignments are related to their general approaches to study. It is suggested that students need to better understand the requirements of assignments and acquire new concepts such as "argument". This fine-grained study proposes four qualitatively distinct assignment pathways: gathering,…

Making Economic Principles Personal: Student Journals and Reflection Papers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brewer, Stephanie M.; Jozefowicz, James J.

2006-01-01

The authors address two informal writing assignments implemented in introductory economics classes. One assignment involves students writing short reflection papers, and the other assignment involves students writing short journal entries for a designated period of time. Both assignments are designed to help students realize that economics is…

Selling the Home Territory: Assignments for International MBA Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reep, Diana C.

2000-01-01

Describes the author's approach to a MBA writing course functioning to connect the writing and oral presentation assignments to the students' current jobs. Notes that most international students lack an understanding of American business practices. Develops the assignments around what the students do know. Notes three assignments including a…

Fitting In and Standing Out: Increasing the Use of Alcohol Protective Behavioral Strategies with a Deviance Regulation Intervention

PubMed Central

Dvorak, Robert D.; Pearson, Matthew R.; Neighbors, Clayton; Martens, Matthew P.

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE Heavy alcohol use remains a consistent public health concern on college campuses. The current pilot study used Deviance Regulation Theory (DRT) to modify Protective Behavioral Strategies (PBS) among college student drinkers to reduce alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. METHODS The sample was comprised of current college student drinkers (n = 76; 53.95% female) ranging in age from 18-24 (M = 19.29, SD = 1.42). Participants were randomly assigned to receive a positive or negative framed message. They then reported on use of alcohol protective behavioral strategies (via the Protective Behavioral Strategies Scale), alcohol consumption (via the Modified Daily Drinking Questionnaire), and alcohol-related consequences (via the Young Adults Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire) each week for six weeks. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Among drinkers with low PBS use norms, a positively, versus a negatively, framed message resulted in increased PBS use and consequently less alcohol consumption and fewer alcohol-related consequences. Among drinkers with high PBS use norms, a negatively, versus positively, framed message resulted in increased PBS use and consequently lower alcohol consumption and fewer alcohol-related consequences. However, these effects were only relevant among those who strongly believed the DRT frame. Findings suggest assigning drinkers to frames based on perceived PBS use norms and increasing belief in the frame may be one approach to increasing responsible drinking patterns among college students. Furthermore, the current data suggests important boundary conditions for norm-based interventions. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE This study of college student drinkers who received either a positive or negative framed message about reducing their drinking found that a Deviance Regulation intervention might be effective at increasing responsible alcohol use, but only among students with a high acceptance of the intervention materials. PMID:25798727

Peer Feedback Content and Sender's Competence Level in Academic Writing Revision Tasks: Are They Critical for Feedback Perceptions and Efficiency?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Narciss, Susanne; Dunnebier, Katrin

2010-01-01

Peer-feedback content is a core component of peer assessment, but the impact of various contents of feedback is hardly studied. Participants in the study were 89 graduate students who were assigned to four experimental and a control group. Experimental groups received a scenario with concise general (CGF) or elaborated specific (ESF) feedback by a…

Teaching Children with Dyslexia to Spell in a Reading-Writers' Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berninger, Virginia W.; Lee, Yen-Ling; Abbott, Robert D.; Breznitz, Zvia

2013-01-01

To identify effective treatment for both the spelling and word decoding problems in dyslexia, 24 students with dyslexia in grades 4 to 9 were randomly assigned to treatments A (n = 12) or B (n = 12) in an after-school reading-writers' workshop at the university (thirty 1-h sessions twice a week over 5 months). First, both groups received step 1…

An Ecological Approach to Promoting Early Adolescent Mental Health and Social Adaptation: Family-Centered Intervention in Public Middle Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stormshak, Elizabeth A.; Connell, Arin M.; Veronneau, Marie-Helene; Myers, Michael W.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Kavanagh, Kathryn; Caruthers, Allison S.

2011-01-01

This study examined the impact of the Family Check-Up (FCU) and linked intervention services on reducing health-risk behaviors and promoting social adaptation among middle school youth. A total of 593 students and their families were randomly assigned to receive either the intervention or middle school services as usual. Forty-two percent of…

Reading Partners: The Implementation and Effectiveness of a One-on-One Tutoring Program Delivered by Community Volunteers. Policy Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacob, Robin Tepper; Smith, Thomas J.; Willard, Jacklyn A.; Rifkin, Rachel E.

2014-01-01

This policy brief summarizes the positive results of a rigorous evaluation of Reading Partners, a widely used program that offers one-on-one tutoring provided by community volunteers to struggling readers in low-income elementary schools. A total of 1,265 students in 19 schools in three states were randomly assigned to receive Reading…

The effects of professional development related to classroom assessment on student achievement in science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzie, Dawn Danielle

This study investigated the relationship between students' standardized test scores in science and (a) increases in teacher assessment literacy and (b) teacher participation in a Teacher Quality Research (TQR) project on classroom assessment. The samples for these studies were teachers from underperforming schools who volunteered to take part in a professional development program in classroom assessment. School groups were randomly assigned to the treatment group. For Study 1, teachers in the treatment received professional development in classroom assessment from a trained assessment coach. Teachers in the control received no professional development. For Study 2, teachers in Treatment 1 received professional development in classroom assessment from a trained assessment coach and teachers in Treatment 2 received professional development in classroom assessment from a facilitator with one day of training. Teachers in both groups completed a measure of assessment literacy, the Teacher Quality Research Test of Assessment Literacy Skills (TQR_TALS), prior to the beginning and then again at the conclusion of the four month professional development program. A hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between students' standardized test scores in science and (a) increases in teacher assessment literacy and (b) teacher TQR status. Based upon these analyses, the professional development program increased teachers' assessment literacy skills; however, the professional development had no significant impact on students' achievement.

Influence of an information literacy course on students' information search behavior.

PubMed

Weinert, Daniel J; Palmer, Erin M

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of an information literacy course on students' information gathering behavior. Two student groups, consisting of 69 (Group One) and 177 (Group Two) students, were compared in their performance on a literature review assignment. Group one did not have an information literacy course, while group two was the first class to receive a newly introduced course in information literacy. Assignment references served as the dependent variables and included the following categories: total number of references, number and percentage of peer reviewed journal references, number and percentage of non-peer reviewed journal references, number and percentage of website references, number and percentage of authority opinion references, and number and percentage of textbook references. Referenced websites were further divided into the following: .com, .org, .edu, .gov. for both total number and percent utilization.Independent T-tests were performed between the information literacy course status and each of the dependent variables. Descriptive data (prior education, cumulative GPA, average age of student groups) was similar for both groups. Independent T-test analysis revealed a strong association (p < .05) between increasing both the number and percentage of peer reviewed references and having the information literacy course. The introduction of an information literacy course did influence the information gathering behavior of students. Students showed an increased reliance on peer-reviewed references.

Teaching cross-cultural communication skills online: a multi-method evaluation.

PubMed

Lee, Amy L; Mader, Emily M; Morley, Christopher P

2015-04-01

Cultural competency education is an important and required part of undergraduate medical education. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether an online cross-cultural communication module could increase student use of cross-cultural communication questions that assess the patient's definition of the problem, the way the problem affects their life, their concerns about the problem, and what the treatment should be (PACT). We used multi-method assessment of students assigned to family medicine clerkship blocks that were randomized to receive online cultural competency and PACT training added to their standard curriculum or to a control group receiving the standard curriculum only. Outcomes included comparison, via analysis of variance, of number of PACT questions used during an observed Standardized Patient Exercise, end-of-year OSCE scores, and qualitative analysis of student narratives. Students (n=119) who participated in the online module (n=60) demonstrated increased use of cross-cultural communication PACT questions compared to the control group (n=59) and generally had positive themes emerge from their reflective writing. The module had the biggest impact on students who later went on to match in high communication specialties. Online teaching of cross-cultural communication skills can be effective at changing medical student behavior.

The effectiveness of training with an emergency department simulator on medical student performance in a simulated disaster.

PubMed

Franc-Law, Jeffrey Michael; Ingrassia, Pier Luigi; Ragazzoni, Luca; Della Corte, Francesco

2010-01-01

Training in practical aspects of disaster medicine is often impossible, and simulation may offer an educational opportunity superior to traditional didactic methods. We sought to determine whether exposure to an electronic simulation tool would improve the ability of medical students to manage a simulated disaster. We stratified 22 students by year of education and randomly assigned 50% from each category to form the intervention group, with the remaining 50% forming the control group. Both groups received the same didactic training sessions. The intervention group received additional disaster medicine training on a patient simulator (disastermed.ca), and the control group spent equal time on the simulator in a nondisaster setting. We compared markers of patient flow during a simulated disaster, including mean differences in time and number of patients to reach triage, bed assignment, patient assessment and disposition. In addition, we compared triage accuracy and scores on a structured command-and-control instrument. We collected data on the students' evaluations of the course for secondary purposes. Participants in the intervention group triaged their patients more quickly than participants in the control group (mean difference 43 s, 99.5% confidence interval [CI] 12 to 75 s). The score of performance indicators on a standardized scale was also significantly higher in the intervention group (18/18) when compared with the control group (8/18) (p < 0.001). All students indicated that they preferred the simulation-based curriculum to a lecture-based curriculum. When asked to rate the exercise overall, both groups gave a median score of 8 on a 10-point modified Likert scale. Participation in an electronic disaster simulation using the disastermed.ca software package appears to increase the speed at which medical students triage simulated patients and increase their score on a structured command-and-control performance indicator instrument. Participants indicated that the simulation-based curriculum in disaster medicine is preferable to a lecture-based curriculum. Overall student satisfaction with the simulation-based curriculum was high.

Evaluation of active transition, a website-delivered physical activity intervention for university students: pilot study.

PubMed

Kwan, Matthew; Faulkner, Guy; Bray, Steven

2013-04-29

While physical activity in individuals tends to decline steadily with age, there are certain periods where this decline occurs more rapidly, such as during early adulthood. Interventions aimed at attenuating the declines in physical activity during this transition period appear warranted. The purpose of the study was to test the feasibility and efficacy of a theoretically informed, website-delivered physical activity intervention aimed at students entering university. Using a quasi-experimental design, 65 participants (44 females; mean age 18.51, SD 0.91) were assigned to either an intervention (receiving website access plus weekly prompts) or comparison condition (receiving unprompted website access only), completing questionnaires at baseline and follow-up 8 weeks later. The intervention website, "Active Transition", was specifically designed to target students' physical activity cognitions and self-regulatory skills. Intervention usage was low, with only 47% (18/38) of participants assigned to the intervention condition logging into the website 2 or more times. Among the broader student sample, there were significant declines in students' physical activity behaviors (F1,63=18.10, P<.001), attitudes (F1,62=55.19, P<.001), and perceived behavioral control (F1,62 =17.56, P<.001). In comparisons between intervention users (29/65, individuals logging in 2 or more times) and non-users (36/65, individuals logging in once or not at all), there was a significant interaction effect for intervention usage and time on perceived behavioral control (F1,62=5.13, P=.03). Poor intervention usage suggests that future efforts need to incorporate innovative strategies to increase intervention uptake and better engage the student population. The findings, however, suggest that a website-delivered intervention aimed at this critical life stage may have positive impact on students' physical activity cognitions. Future studies with more rigorous sampling designs are required.

The effect of homework choices on achievement and intrinsic motivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Emily Fast

The purpose of this research was to test an intervention of choices in homework on the achievement and intrinsic motivation of seventh-grade science students at a middle school. The intervention was based on concepts from the cognitive evaluation theory of Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan (1985). The subjects were sixteen heterogeneous classes of seventh-grade students, who were divided among four teachers. Two randomly chosen classes from each teacher received choices in their homework and the remaining two classes of each teacher received similar homework assignments without choices. Two hypotheses were developed for this study: (1) Seventh-grade science students given choices in their homework would show an increase in intrinsic motivation as measured on a motivation orientation measure, compared to students not given choices in their homework, and (2) Seventh-grade science students given choices in their homework would show an increase in achievement on an achievement measure, compared to students not given choices in their homework. Having choices in homework did not increase intrinsic motivation or achievement. However, students who did their homework did significantly better on the posttest, and students who were more intrinsically motivated did significantly better on the posttest. Just doing the homework was important for achievement, and intrinsic motivation was linked to achievement.

Enhancement of Pyrometallurgical Teaching Using Excel Simulation Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimsey, Eric J.

Steady state Excel models for a copper flash smelter and an iron blast furnace are used to enhance the teaching of pyrometallurgical smelting principles within a fourth year level process engineering unit delivered at the Western Australian School of Mines. A lecture/workshop approach has been adopted in which student teams undertake process simulation assignments that illustrate the multifaceted responses of process outputs to variation of inputs, the objectives being to reinforce their understanding of smelting principles. The approach has proven to be popular with students, as evidenced by the consistently high ratings the unit has received through student feedback. This paper provides an overview of the teaching approach and process models used.

Pathway Towards Fluency: Using 'disaggregate instruction' to promote science literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Bryan A.; Ryoo, Kihyun; Rodriguez, Jamie

2010-07-01

This study examines the impact of Disaggregate Instruction on students' science learning. Disaggregate Instruction is the idea that science teaching and learning can be separated into conceptual and discursive components. Using randomly assigned experimental and control groups, 49 fifth-grade students received web-based science lessons on photosynthesis using our experimental approach. We supplemented quantitative statistical comparisons of students' performance on pre- and post-test questions (multiple choice and short answer) with a qualitative analysis of students' post-test interviews. The results revealed that students in the experimental group outscored their control group counterparts across all measures. In addition, students taught using the experimental method demonstrated an improved ability to write using scientific language as well as an improved ability to provide oral explanations using scientific language. This study has important implications for how science educators can prepare teachers to teach diverse student populations.

Improving condom use intentions and behavior by changing perceived partner norms: an evaluation of condom promotion videos for college students.

PubMed

Sanderson, Catherine A; Yopyk, Darren J A

2007-07-01

To examine the effectiveness of 2 condom promotion videotapes on self-efficacy, intentions, and behavior. Two hundred twenty college students completed social-cognitive and behavioral measures and were then randomly assigned to receive one of two 30-min condom promotion videotapes (male or female student presenters) or to a wait-list control condition. Participants who watched 1 of the videotapes completed immediate posttest measures, and 85% of participants completed a 4-month follow-up. Self-efficacy for condom use, intentions to use condoms, use of condom during last sex, and consistent condom use over the last month. Participants who received either video reported greater self-efficacy to refuse to have unprotected sex and intentions than controls at follow-up. Individuals who received either video were more likely than controls to report using a condom during last sex with a regular partner, and those who watched the female presenter were more likely to report consistent condom use. Participants benefited in terms of self-efficacy and intentions from receiving either video, but both men and women benefited more in terms of condom use behavior from receiving the female video. Future research is needed to determine whether opposite-sex speaker videos could be beneficial with a larger (and more sexually active) sample and whether these effects are maintained over time. Copyright 2007 APA.

Optimizing otoscopy competency in audiology students through supplementary otoscopy training.

PubMed

Kaf, Wafaa A; Masterson, Caleb G; Dion, Nancy; Berg, Susan L; Abdelhakiem, Mohamed K

2013-10-01

Scope of practice in audiology encompasses proficiency in visual inspection of ear canal and tympanic membrane (TM) as well as otoscopy interpretation skills to determine normal versus abnormal conditions of outer and middle ear. Audiology students can develop skills in otoscopy through education and supervised training. Studies have shown that additional otoscopy training increased skills in medical students and general practitioners. However, educational and supervised practices targeting otoscopy competency during audiology graduate coursework are lacking. Also, no studies have attempted to determine otoscopy skills among audiology students. To determine the effectiveness of the otoscopy training model on clinical competency and confidence level of audiology students in performing and interpreting otoscopy. A combination of experimental treatment design with random assignment of treatment and control groups and delayed treatment for control group. Thirty-two first- and second-year audiology graduate students who were enrolled in a pediatric audiology class participated in this study. Students were randomly assigned to the control (n = 16, 14 females) or experimental (n = 16, 14 females) group. Participants in the experimental group received supplementary otoscopy training including didactic otoscopy lectures as well as clinical training using manikin ears. The control group received the same pretest and posttest and then completed a third assessment (posttest 2) after receiving the same training. An evaluation of knowledge and skills regarding otoscopy between groups and time was conducted at three times: (a) pretraining, (b) upon completion of training for the experimental group, (c) upon completion of training by the control group. The evaluation consisted of a written exam, a clinical exam, and a self-perception rating of confidence. Both written exam scores and clinical exam scores (otoscopy manikin) were analyzed via two-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs), whereas chi-square (χ²) statistic was conducted to evaluate the effects of training on the confidence level of students of both groups. Experimental and control groups demonstrated significant increased overall competency in otoscopy following the otoscopy training model with didactic and laboratory components. Posttest confidence ratings showed increases in all groups, and there were no significant differences between groups. The need for supplementary otoscopy training was warranted by low knowledge and clinical competency in otoscopy skills of audiology students as measured by pretest mean scores. After completing the training, both experimental and control groups showed significant improvement in knowledge and competency. Results also suggest that perceived confidence ratings may be misleading in determining students' clinical otoscopy skills. American Academy of Audiology.

Effects of Social Norms Information and Self-Affirmation on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Intentions and Behaviors

PubMed Central

Rosas, Carlos E.; Gregorio-Pascual, Petrona; Driver, Redd; Martinez, Alyssa; Price, Stephanie L.; Lopez, Cristal; Mahler, Heike I. M.

2017-01-01

The separate and combined efficacy of a social norms and a self-affirmation intervention to motivate decreased sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption was examined in two experiments. College students were randomly assigned to receive information about SSB consumption risks, norms, both, or neither. In addition, participants performed either a self-affirmation or control task. Self-affirmation only weakly affected SSB consumption intentions and behaviors. However, participants in Experiment 2 who received risks information, norms information, or both reported greater SSB reduction intentions than did those who received no information. Two-weeks later, those who received both types of information reported more frequent behavior change preparations, and it appears this effect may have been partially mediated by the changes in intentions to reduce SSB consumption. PMID:29398745

Promoting Fitness and Safety in Elementary Students: A Randomized Control Study of the Michigan Model for Health.

PubMed

O'Neill, James M; Clark, Jeffrey K; Jones, James A

2016-07-01

In elementary grades, comprehensive health education curricula have demonstrated effectiveness in addressing singular health issues. The Michigan Model for Health (MMH) was implemented and evaluated to determine its impact on nutrition, physical fitness, and safety knowledge and skills. Schools (N = 52) were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. Participants received MMH with 24 lessons in grade 4 and 28 more lessons in grade 5 including material focusing on nutrition, physical fitness, and safety attitudes and skills. The 40-minute lessons were taught by the classroom teacher who received curriculum training and provided feedback on implementation fidelity. Self-report survey data were collected from the fourth-grade students (N = 1983) prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 6 weeks after the intervention, with the same data collection schedule repeated in fifth grade. Analysis of the scales was conducted using a mixed-model approach. Students who received the curriculum had better nutrition, physical activity, and safety skills than the control-group students. Intervention students also reported higher consumption of fruits; however, no difference was reported for other types of food consumption. The effectiveness of the MMH in promoting fitness and safety supports the call for integrated strategies that begin in elementary grades, target multiple risk behaviors, and result in practical and financial benefits to schools. © 2016, American School Health Association.

Students' Perspectives of Same-Day Clinical Assignments: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

PubMed

Harris, Allyssa L; Stamp, Kelly D

2016-01-01

The clinical experience is essential to the nursing education process, but the process by which students are assigned patients has remained unchanged for decades. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine the acceptability of a same-day clinical assignment process from the perspective of pre-licensure nursing students. Students' (n = 104) perceptions of the same-day clinical assignment process were collected via focus groups. Two themes emerged that may assist educators in implementing new methods for clinical assignments.

Design and development of an intelligent nursing bed - a pilot project of "joint assignment".

PubMed

Jiehui Jiang; Tingwei Liu; Yuting Zhang; Yu Song; Mi Zhou; Xiaosong Zheng; Zhuangzhi Yan

2017-07-01

The "joint assignment" is a creative bachelor education project for Biomedical Engineering (BME) in Shanghai University (SHU), China. The objective of this project is to improve students' capabilities in design thinking and teamwork through practices in the process of the design and development of complex medical product. As the first step, a pilot project "design and development of intelligent nursing bed" was set up in May 2015. This paper describes details of how project organization and management, various teaching methods and scientific evaluation approaches were achieved in this pilot project. For example, a method containing one main line and four branches is taken to manage the project and "prototyping model" was used as the main research approach. As a result a multi-win situation was achieved. The results showed, firstly, 62 bachelor students including 16 BME students were well trained. They improved themselves in use of practical tools, communication skills and scientific writing; Secondly, commercial companies received a nice product design on intelligent nursing bed, and have been working on industrializing it; Thirdly, the university and associated schools obtained an excellent practical education experience to supplement traditional class education; Fourthly and most importantly, requirements from end-users will be met. The results also showed that the "joint assignment" task could become a significant component in BME bachelor education.

Interpersonal Stance in L1 and L2 Students' Argumentative Writing in Economics: Implications for Faculty Development in WAC/WID Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lancaster, Zak

2011-01-01

This article offers a linguistic analysis of interpersonal stancetaking in four argumentative term papers written in an upper-level undergraduate course in economics. Two of the papers were written by English L2 writers who experienced particular difficulty with the assignment and two by English L1 writers who received the highest grades among the…

Roads to Success: Estimated Impacts of an Education and Career Planning Program during Middle School. Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaplin, Duncan; Bleeker, Martha; Booker, Kevin

2010-01-01

Roads to Success (RTS) is a school and career planning program designed to be implemented for 45 minutes per week in grades 7 through 12. Researchers at Mathematica Policy Research used a random assignment design to estimate the impacts of receiving RTS in grades 7 and 8. More than half of the students in these schools were eligible for free or…

Examining the Efficacy of a Personalized Normative Feedback Intervention to Reduce College Student Gambling

PubMed Central

Celio, Mark A.; Lisman, Stephen A.

2014-01-01

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of a stand-alone personalized normative feedback (PNF) intervention targeting misperceptions of gambling among college students. Participants Undergraduates (N=136; 55% male) who reported gambling in the past 30 days were recruited between September 2011 and March 2012. Methods Using a randomized clinical trial design, participants were assigned to receive either PNF or an attention control task. In addition to self-report, this study used two computer-based risk tasks framed as “gambling opportunities” to assess cognitive and behavioral change at one week post intervention. Results After one week, participants receiving PNF showed a marked decrease in perception of other students’ gambling, and evinced lower risk-taking performance on two analog measures of gambling. Conclusions Changes in both self-reported perceived norms and analog gambling behavior suggest that a single, stand-alone PNF intervention may modify gambling among college students. Whether it can impact gambling outside of the lab remains untested. PMID:24295507

Effectiveness of Case-Based Learning Instruction on Epistemological Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çam, Aylin; Geban, Ömer

2011-02-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of case-based learning instruction over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on eleventh grade students' epistemological beliefs and their attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject. The subjects of this study consisted of 63 eleventh grade students from two intact classes of an urban high school instructed with same teacher. Each teaching method was randomly assigned to one class. The experimental group received case-based learning and the control group received traditional instruction. At the experimental group, life cases were presented with small group format; at the control group, lecturing and discussion was carried out. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control group with respect to their epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject in favor of case-based learning method group. Thus, case base learning is helpful for development of students' epistemological beliefs and attitudes toward chemistry.

Women's Health Curriculum for Medical Students.

PubMed

Sattari, Maryam; Cooke, Erinn; Vorhis, Elizabeth; Marshall, Julia; Daily, Karen

2018-03-01

Knowledge of women's health is important for physicians in various specialties, but training often is inadequate. The objective of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a women's health curriculum for medical students at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville. After reviewing previous pertinent literature and assessing institutional factors, we developed an interdisciplinary women's health elective for medical students. We present the curricular design for the course. The 2-week elective explores women's health topics such as disease prevention, screening, breast health, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular health. Teaching methodology includes case-based lectures, reading assignments, and clinic sessions at multiple sites. Senior medical students worked in a variety of clinical settings and were assigned a women's health project, a pretest before starting the elective, and a posttest after completion of the course. A statistically significant increase was seen in the students' mean posttest (98.8%) versus pretest (85.6%) scores (difference 13.1%; 95% confidence interval 7.3-19.0, P < 0.0001). Designing curricula that promote lifelong professional competency in the field of women's health can be challenging. At the University of Florida, we have successfully created and implemented a medical student elective in women's health using local resources and expertise. This elective satisfies important women's health training requirements, has been well received by our students, and has resulted in increased women's health-specific knowledge. The experience at our institution may be useful for other programs interested in developing a women's health curriculum geared toward medical students utilizing minimal resources.

Family homework and school-based sex education: delaying early adolescents' sexual behavior.

PubMed

Grossman, Jennifer M; Frye, Alice; Charmaraman, Linda; Erkut, Sumru

2013-11-01

Early sexual activity can undermine adolescents' future school success and health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of a family homework component of a comprehensive sex education intervention in delaying sexual initiation for early adolescents and to explore what social and contextual factors prevent adolescents from completing these family homework activities. This mixed methods study included 6th- and 7th-grade survey responses from 706 students at 11 middle school schools receiving a sex education intervention, as well as interviews from a subset of 33, 7th-grade students from the larger sample. Adolescents who completed more family homework assignments were less likely to have vaginal intercourse in 7th grade than those who completed fewer assignments, after controlling for self-reports of having had vaginal intercourse in 6th grade and demographic variables. Participants' explanations for not completing assignments included personal, curriculum, and family-based reasons. Family homework activities designed to increase family communication about sexual issues can delay sex among early adolescents and contribute to school-based sex education programs. Successful sex education programs must identify and address barriers to family homework completion. © 2013, American School Health Association.

Learning from instructional explanations: effects of prompts based on the active-constructive-interactive framework.

PubMed

Roelle, Julian; Müller, Claudia; Roelle, Detlev; Berthold, Kirsten

2015-01-01

Although instructional explanations are commonly provided when learners are introduced to new content, they often fail because they are not integrated into effective learning activities. The recently introduced active-constructive-interactive framework posits an effectiveness hierarchy in which interactive learning activities are at the top; these are then followed by constructive and active learning activities, respectively. Against this background, we combined instructional explanations with different types of prompts that were designed to elicit these learning activities and tested the central predictions of the active-constructive-interactive framework. In Experiment 1, N = 83 students were randomly assigned to one of four combinations of instructional explanations and prompts. To test the active < constructive learning hypothesis, the learners received either (1) complete explanations and engaging prompts designed to elicit active activities or (2) explanations that were reduced by inferences and inference prompts designed to engage learners in constructing the withheld information. Furthermore, in order to explore how interactive learning activities can be elicited, we gave the learners who had difficulties in constructing the prompted inferences adapted remedial explanations with either (3) unspecific engaging prompts or (4) revision prompts. In support of the active < constructive learning hypothesis, we found that the learners who received reduced explanations and inference prompts outperformed the learners who received complete explanations and engaging prompts. Moreover, revision prompts were more effective in eliciting interactive learning activities than engaging prompts. In Experiment 2, N = 40 students were randomly assigned to either (1) a reduced explanations and inference prompts or (2) a reduced explanations and inference prompts plus adapted remedial explanations and revision prompts condition. In support of the constructive < interactive learning hypothesis, the learners who received adapted remedial explanations and revision prompts as add-ons to reduced explanations and inference prompts acquired more conceptual knowledge.

Learning from Instructional Explanations: Effects of Prompts Based on the Active-Constructive-Interactive Framework

PubMed Central

Roelle, Julian; Müller, Claudia; Roelle, Detlev; Berthold, Kirsten

2015-01-01

Although instructional explanations are commonly provided when learners are introduced to new content, they often fail because they are not integrated into effective learning activities. The recently introduced active-constructive-interactive framework posits an effectiveness hierarchy in which interactive learning activities are at the top; these are then followed by constructive and active learning activities, respectively. Against this background, we combined instructional explanations with different types of prompts that were designed to elicit these learning activities and tested the central predictions of the active-constructive-interactive framework. In Experiment 1, N = 83 students were randomly assigned to one of four combinations of instructional explanations and prompts. To test the active < constructive learning hypothesis, the learners received either (1) complete explanations and engaging prompts designed to elicit active activities or (2) explanations that were reduced by inferences and inference prompts designed to engage learners in constructing the withheld information. Furthermore, in order to explore how interactive learning activities can be elicited, we gave the learners who had difficulties in constructing the prompted inferences adapted remedial explanations with either (3) unspecific engaging prompts or (4) revision prompts. In support of the active < constructive learning hypothesis, we found that the learners who received reduced explanations and inference prompts outperformed the learners who received complete explanations and engaging prompts. Moreover, revision prompts were more effective in eliciting interactive learning activities than engaging prompts. In Experiment 2, N = 40 students were randomly assigned to either (1) a reduced explanations and inference prompts or (2) a reduced explanations and inference prompts plus adapted remedial explanations and revision prompts condition. In support of the constructive < interactive learning hypothesis, the learners who received adapted remedial explanations and revision prompts as add-ons to reduced explanations and inference prompts acquired more conceptual knowledge. PMID:25853629

The use of writing assignments to help students synthesize content in upper-level undergraduate biology courses.

PubMed

Sparks-Thissen, Rebecca L

2017-02-01

Biology education is undergoing a transformation toward a more student-centered, inquiry-driven classroom. Many educators have designed engaging assignments that are designed to help undergraduate students gain exposure to the scientific process and data analysis. One of these types of assignments is use of a grant proposal assignment. Many instructors have used these assignments in lecture-based courses to help students process information in the literature and apply that information to a novel problem such as design of an antiviral drug or a vaccine. These assignments have been helpful in engaging students in the scientific process in the absence of an inquiry-driven laboratory. This commentary discusses the application of these grant proposal writing assignments to undergraduate biology courses. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effectiveness of Using Computer-Assisted Supplementary Instruction for Teaching the Mole Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yalçinalp, Serpil; Geban, Ömer; Özkan, Ilker

This study examined the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI), used as a problem-solving supplement to classroom instruction, on students' understanding of chemical formulas and mole concept, their attitudes toward chemistry subjects, and CAI. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of CAI over recitation hours when both teaching methods were used as a supplement to the traditional chemistry instruction. We randomly selected two classes in a secondary school. Each teaching strategy was randomly assigned to one class. The experimental group received supplementary instruction delivered via CAI, while the control group received similar instruction through recitation hours. The data were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance and t-test. It was found that the students who used the CAI accompanied with lectures scored significantly higher than those who attended recitation hours, in terms of school subject achievement in chemistry and attitudes toward chemistry subjects. In addition, there was a significant improvement in the attitudes of students in the experimental group toward the use of computers in a chemistry course. There was no significant difference between the performances of females versus males in each treatment group.Received: 26 April 1994; Revised: 6 April 1995;

Medical student and faculty perceptions of volunteer outpatients versus simulated patients in communication skills training.

PubMed

Clever, Sarah L; Dudas, Robert A; Solomon, Barry S; Yeh, Hsin Chieh; Levine, David; Bertram, Amanda; Goldstein, Mitchell; Shilkofski, Nicole; Cofrancesco, Joseph

2011-11-01

To determine whether medical students and faculty perceive differences in the effectiveness of interactions with real patients versus simulated patients (SPs) in communication skills training. In 2008, the authors recruited volunteer outpatients (VOs) from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine internal medicine practice to participate in communication skills training for all first-year medical students. VOs and SPs were assigned to clinic rooms in the simulation center. Each group of five students and its preceptor rotated through randomly assigned rooms on two of four session days; on both days, each student interviewed one patient for 15 minutes, focusing on past medical and family history or social history. Patients used their own histories, not scripts; students were not blinded to patient type. Students and faculty then rated aspects of the interview experience. Generalized linear latent and mixed-models analysis was used to compare ratings of communication skills training with VOs versus SPs. All 121 first-year students participated in 242 interviews, resulting in 237 usable questionnaires (98%). They rated their experiences with VOs significantly higher than those with SPs on comfort, friendliness, amount of learning, opportunity to build relationships, and overall meeting of communication skills training needs. The 24 faculty preceptors' ratings of the 242 interactions did not differ significantly between VOs and SPs. Use of VOs was well received by students and faculty for teaching communication skills. Expanding and further studying VOs' participation will allow greater understanding of their potential role in communication skills training of preclinical medical students.

My First Patient Program to introduce first-year pharmacy students to health promotion and disease prevention.

PubMed

Maffeo, Carrie; Chase, Patricia; Brown, Bonnie; Tuohy, Kevin; Kalsekar, Iftekhar

2009-10-01

To implement and assess the effectiveness of a program to teach pharmacy students the importance of taking personal responsibility for their health. The My First Patient Program was created and lectures were incorporated into an existing first-year course to introduce the concepts of health beliefs, behavior modification, stress management, substance abuse, and nutrition. Each student received a comprehensive health screening and health risk assessment which they used to develop a personal health portfolio and identify strategies to attain and/or maintain their personal health goals. Student learning was assessed through written assignments and student reflections, follow-up surveys, and course evaluations. Students' attainment of health goals and their ability to identify their personal health status illustrated the positive impact of the program. This program serves as a model for colleges and schools of pharmacy and for other health professions in the instruction of health promotion, disease prevention, and behavior modification.

Developing students' qualitative muscles in an introductory methods course.

PubMed

SmithBattle, Lee

2014-08-30

The exponential growth of qualitative research (QR) has coincided with methodological innovations, the proliferation of qualitative textbooks and journals, and the greater availability of qualitative methods courses. In spite of these advances, the pedagogy for teaching qualitative methods has received little attention. This paper provides a philosophical foundation for teaching QR with active learning strategies and shows how active learning is fully integrated into a one-semester course. The course initiates students into qualitative dispositions and skills as students develop study aims and procedures; enter the field to gather data; analyze the full set of student-generated data; and write results in a final report. Conducting a study in one semester is challenging but has proven feasible and disabuses students of the view that QR is simple, unscientific, or non-rigorous. Student reflections on course assignments are integrated into the paper. The strengths and limitations of this pedagogical approach are also described.

Apples vs. Oranges: Comparison of Student Performance in a MOOC vs. a Brick-and-Mortar Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubson, Michael

In the fall of 2013, my colleagues and I taught the calculus-based introductory physics course to 800 tuition-paying students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. At the same time we taught a free massive open online version of the same course (MOOC), through Coursera.com. The initial enrollment in the MOOC was 10,000 students, of whom 255 completed the course. Students in both courses received identical lectures with identical embedded clicker questions, identical homework assignments, and identical timed exams. We present data on participation rates and exam performance for the two groups. We find that the MOOC is like a drug targeted at a very specific population. When it works, it works well, but it works for very few students. This MOOC worked well for older, well-educated students, who already had a good understanding of Newtonian mechanics.

Using History of Science to Teach Nature of Science to Elementary Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fouad, Khadija E.; Masters, Heidi; Akerson, Valarie L.

2015-11-01

Science lessons using inquiry only or history of science with inquiry were used for explicit reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction for second-, third-, and fourth-grade students randomly assigned to receive one of the treatments. Students in both groups improved in their understanding of creative NOS, tentative NOS, empirical NOS, and subjective NOS as measured using VNOS-D as pre- and post-test surveys. Social and cultural context of science was not accessible for the students. Students in second, third, and fourth grades were able to attain adequate views of empirical NOS, the role of observation and inference, creative and imaginative NOS, and subjective NOS. Students were not able to express adequate views of socially and culturally embedded NOS. Most gains in NOS eroded by the next school year, except for tentative NOS for both groups and creative NOS for the inquiry group.

A Tool to Teach Communication Skills to Pharmacy Students

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Objective To develop a tool to teach pharmacy students assertive communication skills to use when talking with physicians over the telephone. Design As an assignment for their Communication Skills and Counseling course, students were asked to write a script involving a patient care issue or problem covering 3 different communication styles that could be used when contacting a prescriber by telephone: passive, aggressive, and assertive. Students worked in groups to write and act out the scripts for the class. Assessment Eight scripts were developed by students and rated by peers and faculty members. The script that received the highest ratings was used in the development of a multimedia educational CD. Conclusion The development of hypothetical scripts describing a drug therapy problem and illustrating the types of interactions between physicians and pharmacists while discussing the problem allowed pharmacy students to explore different communication techniques and improve their communication skills. PMID:18698394

Teaching Undergraduate Students to Visualize and Communicate Public Health Data with Infographics

PubMed Central

Shanks, Justin D.; Izumi, Betty; Sun, Christina; Martin, Allea; Byker Shanks, Carmen

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree to which an infographic assignment facilitated student learning around health science issues, as well as the ways in which the assignment was an effective teaching tool. The objectives of the assignment were to (1) understand the purposes of and potential uses for infographics, (2) cultivate creative visual communication skills, and (3) disseminate a complex health topic to diverse audiences. The infographic assignment was developed at Montana State University and piloted at Portland State University. Students were assigned to small groups of three or four to create an infographic focused on a health science issue. The assignment was divided into four steps: brainstorming, developing, designing, and finalizing. Focus groups were conducted to assess how learning occurred throughout the assignment and identify any opportunities for modification of the assignment. This study was conducted with freshman students enrolled at Portland State University, a public university located in downtown Portland, OR, USA. Thirty four students completed the assignment and 31 students participated in one of three focus groups. Four themes emerged from focus groups: (1) Communicating Science-Related Topics to Non-experts, (2) Developing Professional Skills, (3) Understanding Health Issues, and (4) Overall Experience. This article outlines the assignment, discusses focus group results, and presents assignment modifications. It is clear that the infographic assignment facilitated learning about accessing and translating data. This assignment is ideally suited for use with diverse college-age audiences in health education and health promotion fields. PMID:29226120

Teaching Undergraduate Students to Visualize and Communicate Public Health Data with Infographics.

PubMed

Shanks, Justin D; Izumi, Betty; Sun, Christina; Martin, Allea; Byker Shanks, Carmen

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the degree to which an infographic assignment facilitated student learning around health science issues, as well as the ways in which the assignment was an effective teaching tool. The objectives of the assignment were to (1) understand the purposes of and potential uses for infographics, (2) cultivate creative visual communication skills, and (3) disseminate a complex health topic to diverse audiences. The infographic assignment was developed at Montana State University and piloted at Portland State University. Students were assigned to small groups of three or four to create an infographic focused on a health science issue. The assignment was divided into four steps: brainstorming, developing, designing, and finalizing. Focus groups were conducted to assess how learning occurred throughout the assignment and identify any opportunities for modification of the assignment. This study was conducted with freshman students enrolled at Portland State University, a public university located in downtown Portland, OR, USA. Thirty four students completed the assignment and 31 students participated in one of three focus groups. Four themes emerged from focus groups: (1) Communicating Science-Related Topics to Non-experts, (2) Developing Professional Skills, (3) Understanding Health Issues, and (4) Overall Experience. This article outlines the assignment, discusses focus group results, and presents assignment modifications. It is clear that the infographic assignment facilitated learning about accessing and translating data. This assignment is ideally suited for use with diverse college-age audiences in health education and health promotion fields.

Enhancing Assignment Perceptions in Students with Mathematics Learning Disabilities by Including More Work: An Extension of Interspersal Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wildmon, Mark E.; Skinner, Christopher H.; Watson, T. Steuart; Garrett, L. Shan

2004-01-01

Active student responding is often required to remedy computation skill deficits in students with learning disabilities. However, these students may find computation assignments unrewarding and frustrating, and be less likely to choose to engage in assigned computation tasks. In the current study, middle school students with learning disabilities…

Social Norms Information Enhances the Efficacy of an Appearance-based Sun Protection Intervention

PubMed Central

Kulik, James A; Butler, Heather; Gerrard, Meg; Gibbons, Frederick X; Mahler, Heike

2008-01-01

This experiment examined whether the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention could be enhanced by the addition of social norms information. Southern California college students (N=125, predominantly female) were randomly assigned to either an appearance-based sun protection intervention-that consisted of a photograph depicting underlying sun damage to their skin (UV photo) and information about photoaging or to a control condition. Those assigned to the intervention were further randomized to receive information about what one should do to prevent photoaging (injunctive norms information), information about the number of their peers who currently use regular sun protection (descriptive norms information), both injunctive and descriptive norms information, or neither type of norms information. The results demonstrated that those who received the UV Photo/photoaging information intervention expressed greater sun protection intentions and subsequently reported greater sun protection behaviors than did controls. Further, the addition of both injunctive and descriptive norms information increased self-reported sun protection behaviors during the subsequent month. PMID:18448221

Reforming the Eighth-Grade Student Assignment Process for the Philadelphia Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Michael P.

The eighth grade student assignment project, an initiative of the School District of Philadelphia, assigns students to high school academic programs based on student preferences, academic preparation, program capacity, and desegregation requirements. These programs, called small learning communities (SLCs), emphasize areas such as design and…

Student Perceptions of Online Homework in Introductory Finance Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smolira, Joseph C.

2008-01-01

The author examined student perceptions concerning online homework assignments in an introductory finance class. In general, students felt that online homework was preferable to traditional homework assignments that are turned in to the instructor. In addition, students reported that the homework assignments increased their understanding of the…

Towards More Precise Design Guidance: Specifying and Testing the Functions of Assigned Student Roles in Online Discussions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wise, Alyssa Friend; Saghafian, Marzieh; Padmanabhan, Poornima

2012-01-01

While assigning student roles is a popular technique in online discussions, roles and the responsibilities allocated to them have not been consistently assigned. This makes it difficult to compare implementations and generate principled guidance for role design. This study critically examined frequently assigned student roles and identified a set…

41 CFR 102-75.665 - What happens after the disposal agency receives the assignment recommendation from DOI?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... disposal agency receives the assignment recommendation from DOI? 102-75.665 Section 102-75.665 Public... assignment recommendation from DOI? If, after considering other uses for the property, the disposal agency approves the assignment recommendation from DOI, it must assign the property by letter or other document to...

A Service-Based Program Evaluation Platform for Enhancing Student Engagement in Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Ye-Chi; Ma, Lee Wei; Jiau, Hewijin Christine

2013-01-01

Programming assignments are commonly used in computer science education to encourage students to practice target concepts and evaluate their learning status. Ensuring students are engaged in such assignments is critical in attracting and retaining students. To this end, WebHat, a service-based program evaluation platform, is introduced in this…

Test expectancy affects metacomprehension accuracy.

PubMed

Thiede, Keith W; Wiley, Jennifer; Griffin, Thomas D

2011-06-01

Theory suggests that the accuracy of metacognitive monitoring is affected by the cues used to judge learning. Researchers have improved monitoring accuracy by directing attention to more appropriate cues; however, this is the first study to more directly point students to more appropriate cues using instructions regarding tests and practice tests. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the accuracy metacognitive monitoring was affected by the nature of the test expected. Students (N= 59) were randomly assigned to one of two test expectancy groups (memory vs. inference). Then after reading texts, judging learning, completed both memory and inference tests. Test performance and monitoring accuracy were superior when students received the kind of test they had been led to expect rather than the unexpected test. Tests influence students' perceptions of what constitutes learning. Our findings suggest that this could affect how students prepare for tests and how they monitoring their own learning. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Student-peer mentoring on a drug information response.

PubMed

Rodis, Jennifer Lin; Backo, Jennifer; Schmidt, Brittany M; Pruchnicki, Maria C

2014-03-12

To implement a student peer-mentoring program with a drug information response assignment in an introductory pharmacy practice course. Second-year student pharmacists (P2 mentors) enrolled in an independent study course were randomly assigned first-year student pharmacists (P1 mentees) to mentor on a drug information assignment. The P2 mentors provided feedback to P1 mentees' assignment drafts. The P1 mentees had the opportunity to revise the draft prior to turning in the completed assignment to course faculty members for grading. Both P1 mentees and P2 mentors agreed the mentorship improved their ability to prepare a drug information response (76% and 100%, respectively). A majority of the student pharmacists would choose to be involved in the program again. The student peer-mentoring program was successful in improving student pharmacists' perceptions of ability to compose a drug information response.

The Use of Homework Assignments in Physical Education among High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pantanowitz, Michal; Lidor, Ronnie; Nemet, Dan; Eliakim, Alon

2011-01-01

Only a few studies have examined how students and their parents perceive the contribution of homework (HW) assignments given in physical education (PE) classes to the students' development. The main objective of our study was to explore the attitude and compliance towards HW assignments in PE among Israeli high school students and their parents.…

Impact of Giving Students a Choice of Homework Assignments in an Introductory Computer Science Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulton, Steven; Schweitzer, Dino

2011-01-01

Student assignments have long been an integral part of many university level computer science courses to reinforce material covered in class with practical exercises. For years, researchers have studied ways to improve such student assignments by making them more interesting, applicable, and valuable to the student with a goal of improving…

Writing Assignments that Promote Active Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, M.

2014-12-01

Encourage students to write a detailed, analytical report correlating classroom discussions to an important historical event or a current event. Motivate students interview an expert from industry on a topic that was discussed in class. Ask the students to submit a report with supporting sketches, drawings, circuit diagrams and graphs. Propose that the students generate a complete a set of reading responses pertaining to an assigned topic. Require each student to bring in one comment or one question about an assigned reading. The assignment should be a recent publication in an appropriate journal. Have the students conduct a web search on an assigned topic. Ask them to generate a set of ideas that can relate to classroom discussions. Provide the students with a study guide. The study guide should provide about 10 or 15 short topics. Quiz the students on one or two of the topics. Encourage the students to design or develop some creative real-world examples based on a chapter discussed or a topic of interest. Require that students originate, develop, support and defend a viewpoint using a specifically assigned material. Make the students practice using or utilizing a set of new technical terms they have encountered in an assigned chapter. Have students develop original examples explaining the different terms. Ask the students to select one important terminology from the previous classroom discussions. Encourage the students to explain why they selected that particular word. Ask them to talk about the importance of the terminology from the point of view of their educational objectives and future career. Angelo, T. A. (1991). Ten easy pieces: Assessing higher learning in four dimensions. In T. A. Angelo (Ed.), Classroom research: Early lessons from success (pp. 17-31). New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 46. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

How to Improve the Peer Review Method: Free-Selection vs Assigned-Pair Protocol Evaluated in a Computer Networking Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadopoulos, Pantelis M.; Lagkas, Thomas D.; Demetriadis, Stavros N.

2012-01-01

This study provides field research evidence on the efficiency of a "free-selection" peer review assignment protocol as compared to the typically implemented "assigned-pair" protocol. The study employed 54 sophomore students who were randomly assigned into three groups: Assigned-Pair (AP) (the teacher assigns student works for review to student…

41 CFR 102-75.555 - Which Federal agency receives the property assigned for self-help housing or housing assistance...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... receives the property assigned for self-help housing or housing assistance for low-income individuals or... DISPOSAL Surplus Real Property Disposal Property for Providing Self-Help Housing Or Housing Assistance § 102-75.555 Which Federal agency receives the property assigned for self-help housing or housing...

Pediatric Online Evidence-Based Medicine Assignment Is a Novel Effective Enjoyable Undergraduate Medical Teaching Tool: A SQUIRE Compliant Study.

PubMed

Kotb, Magd A; Elmahdy, Hesham Nabeh; Khalifa, Nour El Deen Mahmoud; El-Deen, Mohamed Hamed Nasr; Lotfi, Mohamed Amr N

2015-07-01

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is delivered through a didactic, blended learning, and mixed models. Students are supposed to construct an answerable question in PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome) framework, acquire evidence through search of literature, appraise evidence, apply it to the clinical case scenario, and assess the evidence in relation to clinical context. Yet these teaching models have limitations especially those related to group work, for example, handling uncooperative students, students who fail to contribute, students who domineer, students who have personal conflict, their impact upon progress of their groups, and inconsistent individual acquisition of required skills. At Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, we designed a novel undergraduate pediatric EBM assignment online system to overcome shortcomings of previous didactic method and aimed to assess its effectiveness by prospective follow-up during academic years 2012 to 2013 and 2013 to 2014. The novel web-based online interactive system was tailored to provide sequential single and group assignments for each student. Single assignment addressed a specific case scenario question, while group assignment was teamwork that addressed different questions of same case scenario. Assignment comprised scholar content and skills. We objectively analyzed students' performance by criterion-based assessment and subjectively by anonymous student questionnaire. A total of 2879 were enrolled in 5th year Pediatrics Course consecutively, of them 2779 (96.5%) logged in and 2554 (88.7%) submitted their work. They were randomly assigned to 292 groups. A total of 2277 (89.15%) achieved ≥ 80% of total mark (4/5), of them 717 (28.1%) achieved a full mark. A total of 2178 (85.27%) and 2359 (92.36%) made evidence-based conclusions and recommendations in single and group assignment, respectively (P < 0.001). A total of 1102 (43.1%) answered student questionnaire, of them 898 (81.48%) found e-educational experience satisfactory, 175 (15.88%) disagreed, and 29 (2.6%) could not decide. A total of 964 (87.47%) found single assignment educational, 913 (82.84%) found group assignment educational, and 794 (72.3%) enjoyed it. Web-based online interactive undergraduate EBM assignment was found effective in teaching medical students and assured individual student acquisition of concepts and skills of pediatric EMB. It was effective in mass education, data collection, and storage essential for system and student assessment.

An active-learning assignment involving peer-to-peer presentations to improve pharmacy students' attitudes and knowledge of dietary supplements.

PubMed

Atayee, Rabia S; Singh, Renu F; Best, Brookie M; Freedman, Beverley A; Morello, Candis M

2012-08-10

To design and implement a small-group self-guided active-learning format for a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) curriculum, and assess changes in first-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students' attitudes and knowledge of CAM. Students received an overview CAM lecture from a faculty member, and brief presentations with defined parameters on natural products from their peers. Based on pre- and post-intervention survey responses, the percentage of students who strongly agreed about the importance of CAM in pharmacy practice increased from 28% to 55% and the percentage of students who agreed or strongly agreed about the harmful effects of dietary supplements increased from 60% to 96%. Overall, students' attitude toward and self-assessed knowledge of dietary supplements improved significantly from pre- to post-intervention survey. Small-group self-guided learning of CAM, followed by peer presentations on dietary supplements, was successful in significantly improving pharmacy students' attitude toward and knowledge of CAM.

Integrating Scientific Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Writing and Learning in a Global Environmental Change Course

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koffman, Bess G.; Kreutz, Karl J.; Trenbath, Kim

We present a strategy for using scientific argumentation in an early undergraduate laboratory course to teach disciplinary writing practices and to promote critical thinking, knowledge transformation, and understanding of the scientific method. The approach combines targeted writing instruction; data analysis and interpretation; formulation of a hypothesis; and construction of an argument. Students submit and receive feedback on two drafts of two different argumentation essays, providing the opportunity for guided practice. Each written argument is intended to draw on several weeks' course material, including short lectures, discussions, readings, and problem sets. Thus our aim with these writing assignments is to helpmore » students synthesize content and concepts, deepening their learning. We have found that this inquiry-based approach to writing engages students in course material, and significantly improves both writing and learning. We observed the greatest improvement among students with the lowest initial scores, suggesting that lower-achieving students benefitted disproportionately from this approach. Students have responded positively to the use of writing in the course, many stating on course evaluations that this is the first time they have received instruction in scientific writing. They have also pointed to a greater 'big-picture' understanding of the course gained through writing. We describe the course and our curriculum, and provide suggestions for implementation as well as rubrics used to evaluate problem sets and student argumentation essays.« less

A Preliminary Evaluation of a School-Based Media Education and Reduction Intervention.

PubMed

Bickham, David S; Hswen, Yulin; Slaby, Ronald G; Rich, Michael

2018-06-01

While media education and reduction programs have been proposed to prevent adverse health and academic outcomes related to heavy electronic media use among school-aged children, few have been formally piloted and evaluated. We used a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of Take the Challenge (TtC), a school-based media education/reduction program for the primary prevention of sleep deprivation, dysfunctional social-emotional behaviors, and poor academic performance. Sixth- to eighth-grade students at a rural Midwestern U.S. middle school received the TtC program, while a similar school in the same district served as the comparison group. Health-related and academic measures were collected from students and teachers at both schools before and after the intervention. The primary outcome measure was student-reported electronic media use (television, video games, Internet). Secondary measures included student health behaviors (student-reported sleep, exercise, and outdoor play) and academic activities (teacher-reported homework and classroom performance). Compared to the comparison group, students receiving TtC slept more and reduced television viewing, background television time, after-school video gaming, and weekend Internet use. Teachers reported increases in the extent to which TtC students completed homework assignments and stayed on task in the classroom. Well-designed school-based programs such as TtC can reduce electronic media use among middle-school children and improve related health and academic outcomes.

Comparing Looping Teacher-Assigned and Traditional Teacher-Assigned Student Achievement Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Melissa C.

2014-01-01

A problem in many elementary schools is determining which teacher assignment strategy best promotes the academic progress of students. To find and implement educational practices that address the academic needs of all learners, schools need research-based data focusing on the 2 teacher assignment strategies: looping assignment (LA) and traditional…

Dynamic Assessment of Algebraic Learning in Predicting Third Graders’ Development of Mathematical Problem Solving

PubMed Central

Fuchs, Lynn S.; Compton, Donald L.; Fuchs, Douglas; Hollenbeck, Kurstin N.; Craddock, Caitlin F.; Hamlett, Carol L.

2008-01-01

Dynamic assessment (DA) involves helping students learn a task and indexing responsiveness to that instruction as a measure of learning potential. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a DA of algebraic learning in predicting 3rd graders’ development of mathematics problem solving. In the fall, 122 3rd-grade students were assessed on language, nonverbal reasoning, attentive behavior, calculations, word-problem skill, and DA. On the basis of random assignment, students received 16 weeks of validated instruction on word problems or received 16 weeks of conventional instruction on word problems. Then, students were assessed on word-problem measures proximal and distal to instruction. Structural equation measurement models showed that DA measured a distinct dimension of pretreatment ability and that proximal and distal word-problem measures were needed to account for outcome. Structural equation modeling showed that instruction (conventional vs. validated) was sufficient to account for math word-problem outcome proximal to instruction; by contrast, language, pretreatment math skill, and DA were needed to forecast learning on word-problem outcomes more distal to instruction. Findings are discussed in terms of responsiveness-to-intervention models for preventing and identifying learning disabilities. PMID:19884957

Impact of A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience (ASPIRE), an interactive, multimedia smoking prevention and cessation curriculum for culturally diverse high-school students.

PubMed

Prokhorov, Alexander V; Kelder, Steven H; Shegog, Ross; Murray, Nancy; Peters, Ronald; Agurcia-Parker, Carolyn; Cinciripini, Paul M; de Moor, Carl; Conroy, Jennifer L; Hudmon, Karen Suchanek; Ford, Kentya H; Marani, Salma

2008-09-01

Few studies have examined the long-term efficacy of computer-based smoking prevention and cessation programs. We analyzed the long-term impact of A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience (ASPIRE), a theoretically sound computer-based smoking prevention and cessation curriculum for high school students. Sixteen predominantly minority, inner-city high schools were randomly assigned to receive the ASPIRE curriculum or standard care (receipt of the National Cancer Institute's Clearing the Air self-help booklet). A total of 1160 students, 1098 of whom were nonsmokers and 62 smokers at baseline, were included. At 18-month follow-up, among baseline nonsmokers, smoking initiation rates were significantly lower in the ASPIRE condition (1.9% vs. 5.8%, p < .05). Students receiving ASPIRE also demonstrated significantly higher decisional balance against smoking and decreased temptations to smoke. Differences between groups in self-efficacy and resistance skills were not significant. There was a nonsignificant trend toward improved smoking cessation with ASPIRE, but low recruitment of smokers precluded conclusions with respect to cessation. ASPIRE demonstrated the potential for an interactive multimedia program to promote smoking prevention. Further studies are required to determine ASPIRE's effects on cessation.

The Impact of Computer-Based Assignments on Student Motivation to Complete Homework Assignments for Sixth-Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cyr, Mary Ann

2013-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the engagement of 11 middle school-aged students from a southeast Michigan public school, who were given laptop computers with twenty-four-hour-a-day Internet access in order to complete homework assignments. Specifically, this study examined the perceptions of sixth-grade students regarding the…

Matching School Resources and Student Needs: Scheduling and Assignment Problems in High Schools Serving At-Risk Youth. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natriello, Gary; And Others

By studying the process by which disadvantaged and low-achieving high school students are assigned to classes and special programs, how and why disadvantaged students are placed in inappropriate programs can be understood. Reasons exist to question the assumption that students are assigned to programs rationally on the basis of information about…

Marking Student Programs Using Graph Similarity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naude, Kevin A.; Greyling, Jean H.; Vogts, Dieter

2010-01-01

We present a novel approach to the automated marking of student programming assignments. Our technique quantifies the structural similarity between unmarked student submissions and marked solutions, and is the basis by which we assign marks. This is accomplished through an efficient novel graph similarity measure ("AssignSim"). Our experiments…

Influence of learning style on instructional multimedia effects on graduate student cognitive and psychomotor performance.

PubMed

Smith, A Russell; Cavanaugh, Catherine; Jones, Joyce; Venn, John; Wilson, William

2006-01-01

Learning outcomes may improve in graduate healthcare students when attention is given to individual learning styles. Interactive multimedia is one tool shown to increase success in meeting the needs of diverse learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of learning style and type of instruction on physical therapy students' cognitive and psychomotor performance. Participants were obtained by a sample of convenience with students recruited from two physical therapy programs. Twenty-seven students volunteered to participate from Program 1. Twenty-three students volunteered to participate from Program 2. Gregorc learning styles were identified through completion of the Gregorc Style Delineator. Students were randomly assigned to one of two instructional strategies: 1) instructional CD or 2) live demonstration. Differences in cognitive or psychomotor performance following instructional multimedia based on learning style were not demonstrated in this study. Written examination scores improved with both instructional strategies demonstrating no differences between the strategies. Practical examination ankle scores were significantly higher in participants receiving CD instruction than in participants receiving live presentation. Learning style did not significantly affect this improvement. Program 2 performed significantly better on written knee and practical knee and ankle examinations. Learning style had no significant effect on student performance following instruction in clinical skills via interactive multimedia. Future research may include additional measurement instruments assessing other models of learning styles and possible interaction of learning style and instructional strategy on students over longer periods of time, such as a semester or an entire curriculum.

Replicating and Extending Research on the Partial Assignment Completion Effect: Is Sunk Cost Related to Partial Assignment Completion Strength?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawthorn-Embree, Meredith L.; Taylor, Emily P.; Skinner, Christopher H.; Parkhurst, John; Nalls, Meagan L.

2014-01-01

After students acquire a skill, mastery often requires them to choose to engage in assigned academic activities (e.g., independent seatwork, and homework). Although students may be more likely to choose to work on partially completed assignments than on new assignments, the partial assignment completion (PAC) effect may not be very powerful. The…

The teacher benefits from giving autonomy support during physical education instruction.

PubMed

Cheon, Sung Hyeon; Reeve, Johnmarshall; Yu, Tae Ho; Jang, Hue Ryen

2014-08-01

Recognizing that students benefit when they receive autonomy-supportive teaching, the current study tested the parallel hypothesis that teachers themselves would benefit from giving autonomy support. Twenty-seven elementary, middle, and high school physical education teachers (20 males, 7 females) were randomly assigned either to participate in an autonomy-supportive intervention program (experimental group) or to teach their physical education course with their existing style (control group) within a three-wave longitudinal research design. Manipulation checks showed that the intervention was successful, as students perceived and raters scored teachers in the experimental group as displaying a more autonomy-supportive and less controlling motivating style. In the main analyses, ANCOVA-based repeated-measures analyses showed large and consistent benefits for teachers in the experimental group, including greater teaching motivation (psychological need satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and intrinsic goals), teaching skill (teaching efficacy), and teaching well-being (vitality, job satisfaction, and lesser emotional and physical exhaustion). These findings show that giving autonomy support benefits teachers in much the same way that receiving it benefits their students.

Supervising Unsuccessful Student Teaching Assignments: Two Terminator's Tales.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. Maurice, Henry

2001-01-01

Discusses problems that arise when there is a conflict between a student teacher and the supervising teacher and when a student teacher does not perform satisfactorily. Focuses on how supervisors deal with failed assignments and how beginning teachers improve their teaching and learn from failed assignments. (Contains 21 references.) (JOW)

Increasing Student Involvement through Residence Hall Lifestyle Assignments and Developmental Programming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Mark J.; Noftsinger, John B.

1994-01-01

This study investigated the usefulness of three dormitory lifestyle assignments (male-only, female-only, co-ed) in promoting student participation in residence hall activities at James Madison University (Virginia). Results showed assignment to coeducational dormitories fostered more and varied student involvement than did male-only or female-only…

Pediatric Online Evidence-Based Medicine Assignment Is a Novel Effective Enjoyable Undergraduate Medical Teaching Tool

PubMed Central

Kotb, Magd A.; Elmahdy, Hesham Nabeh; Khalifa, Nour El Deen Mahmoud; El-Deen, Mohamed Hamed Nasr; Lotfi, Mohamed Amr N.

2015-01-01

Abstract Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is delivered through a didactic, blended learning, and mixed models. Students are supposed to construct an answerable question in PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome) framework, acquire evidence through search of literature, appraise evidence, apply it to the clinical case scenario, and assess the evidence in relation to clinical context. Yet these teaching models have limitations especially those related to group work, for example, handling uncooperative students, students who fail to contribute, students who domineer, students who have personal conflict, their impact upon progress of their groups, and inconsistent individual acquisition of required skills. At Pediatrics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, we designed a novel undergraduate pediatric EBM assignment online system to overcome shortcomings of previous didactic method and aimed to assess its effectiveness by prospective follow-up during academic years 2012 to 2013 and 2013 to 2014. The novel web-based online interactive system was tailored to provide sequential single and group assignments for each student. Single assignment addressed a specific case scenario question, while group assignment was teamwork that addressed different questions of same case scenario. Assignment comprised scholar content and skills. We objectively analyzed students’ performance by criterion-based assessment and subjectively by anonymous student questionnaire. A total of 2879 were enrolled in 5th year Pediatrics Course consecutively, of them 2779 (96.5%) logged in and 2554 (88.7%) submitted their work. They were randomly assigned to 292 groups. A total of 2277 (89.15%) achieved ≥80% of total mark (4/5), of them 717 (28.1%) achieved a full mark. A total of 2178 (85.27%) and 2359 (92.36%) made evidence-based conclusions and recommendations in single and group assignment, respectively (P < 0.001). A total of 1102 (43.1%) answered student questionnaire, of them 898 (81.48%) found e-educational experience satisfactory, 175 (15.88%) disagreed, and 29 (2.6%) could not decide. A total of 964 (87.47%) found single assignment educational, 913 (82.84%) found group assignment educational, and 794 (72.3%) enjoyed it. Web-based online interactive undergraduate EBM assignment was found effective in teaching medical students and assured individual student acquisition of concepts and skills of pediatric EMB. It was effective in mass education, data collection, and storage essential for system and student assessment. PMID:26200621

Collaborative group work: effects of group size and assignment structure on learning gain, student satisfaction and perceived participation.

PubMed

Kooloos, Jan G M; Klaassen, Tim; Vereijken, Mayke; Van Kuppeveld, Sascha; Bolhuis, Sanneke; Vorstenbosch, Marc

2011-01-01

Collaborative group sessions in Nijmegen include 15 students who work all together on a group assignment. Sometimes, the group is split-up in three and every subgroup elaborates a part of the assignment. At the end, they peer-teach each other. It is believed that the split-up enhances participation and therefore learning gain. To establish the effect of group size and structure of the assignment on the perceived participation, the satisfaction and learning gain of collaborative group sessions. In this study, 27 groups of 15 students were equally divided into: A-group: all 15 students working on the complete assignment. B-group: subgroups of 5 students working on the complete assignment. C-group: subgroups of 5 students working on a smaller part, and peer-teaching each other at the end of the group session. All students took a pre-test, a post-test and a follow-up test and completed a questionnaire. Questionnaires were analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc by multiple comparisons. Learning gain was analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA. A group size effect is observed in favor of working in subgroups. Perceived participation of the students differs between A and B (p ≤ 0.001) and between A and C (p ≤ 0.001), but not between B and C. Also, an assignment effect is found in favor of the smaller assignment combined with peer-teaching. The students' satisfaction differs between A and C (p ≤ 0.003) and between B and C (p ≤ 0.001), but not between A and B. The C-group also shows higher test results (p ≤ 0.043). The students prefer smaller groups as well as smaller assignments including peer-teaching. A possible larger learning gain of this format needs to be re-investigated.

Learning through loss: implementing lossography narratives in death education.

PubMed

Bolkan, Cory; Srinivasan, Erica; Dewar, Alexis R; Schubel, Stacey

2015-01-01

Students may have a greater willingness to discuss issues of death and loss through written assignments; however, there is little guidance for instructors regarding how to manage these sensitive assignments, nor how students benefit from them. The authors implemented and evaluated a "lossography" assignment in an undergraduate thanatology course in which students wrote about their losses and anonymously shared these narratives with their classmates. Although many themes of loss emerged, the most frequently reported significant loss was death of a grandparent. Additionally, most significant losses occurred in childhood/adolescence. Prominent themes related to student learning included gaining self-awareness, knowledge about grief responses, and compassion for others. Students (N = 64) also completed a survey reflecting on their course learning. Of all aspects of course delivery, 44% identified the lossography as the most beneficial, whereas 97% recommended this assignment for future students. The implications of the assignment for death education are also discussed.

Investigations of protein structure and function using the scientific literature: an assignment for an undergraduate cell physiology course.

PubMed

Mulnix, Amy B

2003-01-01

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on the content of a single research article reporting on the structure and/or function of a protein. Goals of the assignment include highlighting the interdependence of protein structure and function; asking students to review, integrate, and apply previously acquired knowledge; and helping students see protein structure/function in a context larger than cell physiology. The assignment also is designed to build skills in reading scientific literature, oral and written communication, and collaboration among peers. Assessment of student perceptions of the assignment in two separate offerings indicates that the project successfully achieves these goals. Data specifically show that students relied heavily on their peers to understand their article. The assignment was also shown to require students to read articles more carefully than previously. In addition, the data suggest that the assignment could be modified and used successfully in other courses and at other institutions.

Developing an Undergraduate Public Health Introductory Core Course Series

PubMed Central

Nelson-Hurwitz, Denise C.; Tagorda, Michelle; Kehl, Lisa; Buchthal, Opal V.; Braun, Kathryn L.

2018-01-01

The number of undergraduate public health education programs is increasing, but few publications provide examples of introductory public health courses that provide foundational knowledge and meet 2016 Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) accreditation standards. This article presents the development and testing of a three-course, introductory series in public health at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Development was informed by best pedagogical practices in education, web review of existing programs, literature review, key informant interviews, and accreditation standards. Student mastery of required concepts, domains, and competencies is assessed through testing and class assignments. Data from course evaluations, students' exit questionnaires at graduation, and faculty feedback were used to continuously evolve and adapt the curriculum. The three-course series—including Introduction to Public Health, Public Health Issues in Hawai‘i, and Introduction to Global Health—was designed to provide incoming undergraduate public health students with a foundation in local, national, and global public health concepts and domains, while improving their skills in public health communication and information literacy. Data from class assignments, examinations, and later coursework suggest students are mastering the course materials and gaining required competencies. Data from course evaluation and exit questionnaires suggest that the students appreciate the series' approach and the challenge to apply course concepts locally and globally in subsequent courses. This foundational public health series provides a model for an introductory course series that can be implemented with existing resources by most programs, meets the new CEPH requirements, is well-received by students, and prepares students well for upper-division public health courses. PMID:29892596

Developing an Undergraduate Public Health Introductory Core Course Series.

PubMed

Nelson-Hurwitz, Denise C; Tagorda, Michelle; Kehl, Lisa; Buchthal, Opal V; Braun, Kathryn L

2018-01-01

The number of undergraduate public health education programs is increasing, but few publications provide examples of introductory public health courses that provide foundational knowledge and meet 2016 Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) accreditation standards. This article presents the development and testing of a three-course, introductory series in public health at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM). Development was informed by best pedagogical practices in education, web review of existing programs, literature review, key informant interviews, and accreditation standards. Student mastery of required concepts, domains, and competencies is assessed through testing and class assignments. Data from course evaluations, students' exit questionnaires at graduation, and faculty feedback were used to continuously evolve and adapt the curriculum. The three-course series-including Introduction to Public Health, Public Health Issues in Hawai'i, and Introduction to Global Health-was designed to provide incoming undergraduate public health students with a foundation in local, national, and global public health concepts and domains, while improving their skills in public health communication and information literacy. Data from class assignments, examinations, and later coursework suggest students are mastering the course materials and gaining required competencies. Data from course evaluation and exit questionnaires suggest that the students appreciate the series' approach and the challenge to apply course concepts locally and globally in subsequent courses. This foundational public health series provides a model for an introductory course series that can be implemented with existing resources by most programs, meets the new CEPH requirements, is well-received by students, and prepares students well for upper-division public health courses.

Training students with patient actors improves communication: a pilot study.

PubMed

Anderson, Heather A; Young, Jack; Marrelli, Danica; Black, Rudolph; Lambreghts, Kimberly; Twa, Michael D

2014-01-01

Effective patient communication is correlated with better health outcomes and patient satisfaction, but is challenging to train, particularly with difficult clinical scenarios such as loss of sight. In this pilot study, we evaluated the use of simulated patient encounters with actors to train optometric students. Students were recorded during encounters with actors and assigned to an enrichment group performing five interactions with instructor feedback (n = 6) or a no-enrichment group performing two interactions without feedback (n = 4). Student performance on first and last encounters was scored with (1) subjective rating of performance change using a visual analog scale (anchors: much worse/much better), (2) yes/no response: Would you recommend this doctor to a friend/relative?, and (3) average score on questions from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) assessment of doctor communication skills. Three clinical instructors, masked to student group assignments and the order of patient encounters they viewed, provided scores in addition to self-evaluation by students and patient-actors. Using the visual analog scale, students who received enrichment were rated more improved than the no-enrichment group by masked examiners (+18 vs. -11% p = 0.04) and self-evaluation (+79 vs. +27% p = 0.009), but not by actors (+31 vs. +43%). The proportion of students recommended significantly increased following enrichment for masked examiners (61% vs. 94%; p < 0.001), but not actors (100 vs. 83%). Average ABIM assessment scores were not significantly different by any rating group: masked instructors, actors, or self-ratings. The findings of this study suggest five simulated patient encounters with feedback result in measurable improvement in student-patient communication skills as rated by masked examiners.

Student seminar on smoking: A novel way to introduce different perspectives on smoking to medical students.

PubMed

Iqbal, Saima P; Rafi, Shahid; Rahman, Matiur

2013-03-01

The respiratory module at Shifa College of Medicine (SCM) is delivered in third year with emphasis on respiratory pathophysiology and respiratory medicine. Smoking as a topic was introduced to emphasize the preventive aspects of respiratory illnesses. An innovative approach to involve students in their learning was developed. To determine whether this innovation would be well received and effective for students' learning about smoking, we carried out this study. This is a one group post-test quasi-experiment. Two days were assigned for a smoking seminar. The class of 106 students was divided into 10 batches, and each batch was assigned a theme related to smoking. These themes were developed by the faculty, and each theme was related to a different perspective on smoking. A post-test questionnaire was distributed at the end of the seminar for feedback to see what aspects of students' learning were highlighted and what needed to be improved upon. Questions related to the usefulness of the activity were incorporated into the questionnaire and the students were asked to agree or disagree on a five-point Likert scale. Most (68.3%) students agreed that this activity improved their knowledge regarding smoking, and 54.8% agreed that it also helped in application of this knowledge. Improvement in presentation and counseling skills (59.8%), evidence-based medicine (47.6%), and softer skills, such as teamwork (72%) and creativity (63.4%), were also reported to be enhanced. Seminars led by the students have shown to be effective in breaking the monotony and generating an interest of the topic. Such an activity serves as a small step to make our graduates more empathic, humane, competent, and skilful.

Sustaining Reform-Based Science Teaching of Preservice and Inservice Elementary School Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan-Watts, Barbara K.; Nowicki, Barbara L.; Shim, Minsuk K.; Young, Betty J.

2013-08-01

This study examined the influence of a professional development program based around commercially available inquiry science curricula on the teaching practices of 27 beginning elementary school teachers and their teacher mentors over a 2 year period. A quantitative rubric used to score inquiry elements and use of data in videotaped lessons indicated that education students assigned to inquiry-based classrooms during their methods course or student teaching year outperformed students without this experience. There was also a significant positive effect of multi-year access to the kit-based program on mentor teaching practice. Recent inclusion of a "writing in science" program in both preservice and inservice training has been used to address the lesson element that received lowest scores—evaluation of data and its use in scientific explanation.

`Membership Has Its Privileges': Status Incentives and Categorical Inequality in Education

PubMed Central

Domina, Thurston; Penner, Andrew M.; Penner, Emily K.

2015-01-01

Prizes – formal systems that publicly allocate rewards for exemplary behavior – play an increasingly important role in a wide array of social settings, including education. In this paper, we evaluate a prize system designed to boost achievement at two high schools by assigning students color-coded ID cards based on a previously low stakes test. Average student achievement on this test increased in the ID card schools beyond what one would expect from contemporaneous changes in neighboring schools. However, regression discontinuity analyses indicate that the program created new inequalities between students who received low-status and high-status ID cards. These findings indicate that status-based incentives create categorical inequalities between prize winners and others even as they reorient behavior toward the goals they reward. PMID:27213170

A randomised controlled trial of a blended learning education intervention for teaching evidence-based medicine.

PubMed

Ilic, Dragan; Nordin, Rusli Bin; Glasziou, Paul; Tilson, Julie K; Villanueva, Elmer

2015-03-10

Few studies have been performed to inform how best to teach evidence-based medicine (EBM) to medical trainees. Current evidence can only conclude that any form of teaching increases EBM competency, but cannot distinguish which form of teaching is most effective at increasing student competency in EBM. This study compared the effectiveness of a blended learning (BL) versus didactic learning (DL) approach of teaching EBM to medical students with respect to competency, self-efficacy, attitudes and behaviour toward EBM. A mixed methods study consisting of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and qualitative case study was performed with medical students undertaking their first clinical year of training in EBM. Students were randomly assigned to receive EBM teaching via either a BL approach or the incumbent DL approach. Competency in EBM was assessed using the Berlin questionnaire and the 'Assessing Competency in EBM' (ACE) tool. Students' self-efficacy, attitudes and behaviour was also assessed. A series of focus groups was also performed to contextualise the quantitative results. A total of 147 students completed the RCT, and a further 29 students participated in six focus group discussions. Students who received the BL approach to teaching EBM had significantly higher scores in 5 out of 6 behaviour domains, 3 out of 4 attitude domains and 10 out of 14 self-efficacy domains. Competency in EBM did not differ significantly between students receiving the BL approach versus those receiving the DL approach [Mean Difference (MD)=-0.68, (95% CI-1.71, 0.34), p=0.19]. No significant difference was observed between sites (p=0.89) or by student type (p=0.58). Focus group discussions suggested a strong student preference for teaching using a BL approach, which integrates lectures, online learning and small group activities. BL is no more effective than DL at increasing medical students' knowledge and skills in EBM, but was significantly more effective at increasing student attitudes toward EBM and self-reported use of EBM in clinical practice. Given the various learning styles preferred by students, a multifaceted approach (incorporating BL) may be best suited when teaching EBM to medical students. Further research on the cost-effectiveness of EBM teaching modalities is required.

Learning Bridge Tool to Improve Student Learning, Preceptor Training, and Faculty Teamwork

PubMed Central

Cawley, Pauline; Arendt, Cassandra S.

2011-01-01

Objectives To implement a Learning Bridge tool to improve educational outcomes for pharmacy students as well as for preceptors and faculty members. Design Pharmacy faculty members collaborated to write 9 case-based assignments that first-year pharmacy (P1) students worked with preceptors to complete while at experiential sites. Assessment Students, faculty members, and preceptors were surveyed about their perceptions of the Learning Bridge process. As in our pilot study,1 the Learning Bridge process promoted student learning. Additionally, the Learning Bridge assignments familiarized preceptors with the school's P1 curriculum and its content. Faculty teamwork also was increased through collaborating on the assignments. Conclusions The Learning Bridge assignments provided a compelling learning environment and benefited students, preceptors, and faculty members. PMID:21655400

Learning bridge tool to improve student learning, preceptor training, and faculty teamwork.

PubMed

Karimi, Reza; Cawley, Pauline; Arendt, Cassandra S

2011-04-11

To implement a Learning Bridge tool to improve educational outcomes for pharmacy students as well as for preceptors and faculty members. Pharmacy faculty members collaborated to write 9 case-based assignments that first-year pharmacy (P1) students worked with preceptors to complete while at experiential sites. Students, faculty members, and preceptors were surveyed about their perceptions of the Learning Bridge process. As in our pilot study,(1) the Learning Bridge process promoted student learning. Additionally, the Learning Bridge assignments familiarized preceptors with the school's P1 curriculum and its content. Faculty teamwork also was increased through collaborating on the assignments. The Learning Bridge assignments provided a compelling learning environment and benefited students, preceptors, and faculty members.

An Active-Learning Assignment Involving Peer-to-Peer Presentations to Improve Pharmacy Students’ Attitudes and Knowledge of Dietary Supplements

PubMed Central

Singh, Renu F.; Best, Brookie M.; Freedman, Beverley A.; Morello, Candis M.

2012-01-01

Objective. To design and implement a small-group self-guided active-learning format for a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) curriculum, and assess changes in first-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students' attitudes and knowledge of CAM. Design. Students received an overview CAM lecture from a faculty member, and brief presentations with defined parameters on natural products from their peers. Assessment. Based on pre- and post-intervention survey responses, the percentage of students who strongly agreed about the importance of CAM in pharmacy practice increased from 28% to 55% and the percentage of students who agreed or strongly agreed about the harmful effects of dietary supplements increased from 60% to 96%. Overall, students' attitude toward and self-assessed knowledge of dietary supplements improved significantly from pre- to post-intervention survey. Conclusion. Small-group self-guided learning of CAM, followed by peer presentations on dietary supplements, was successful in significantly improving pharmacy students' attitude toward and knowledge of CAM. PMID:22919089

AstroPAL: A Mentoring Program for Grad Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrera, Nicole

2016-01-01

The Astronomy Peer Advising Leaders program (AstroPAL) provides guidance for incoming grad students from a team of student volunteers who have passed their 2nd year Qualifier Exam. The purpose is to pair first years with a mentor who can help them through some of the stresses or difficulties that come with being a new grad student. AstroPALs and mentees meet privately about once a month in a casual setting to talk about how they're adjusting to the new surroundings, how they're handling the workload, etc. New students can join AstroPAL at any time during their first two years, and can stop receiving guidance once they feel comfortable in the program. Mentees will be assigned an AstroPAL based on preference and availability, and an AstroPAL Liason will always be in place to facilitate mentor reassignments or other issues if necessary. After passing the 2nd year Qualifier Exam, mentees are eligible to serve as mentors to incoming students.

Using Open Educational Resources to Help Students Understand the Sub-Prime Lending Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDowell, Evelyn A.

2010-01-01

In this paper, I describe an assignment designed to give students an intermediate level of understanding of the causes of the crisis using online educational resources widely available on the internet. I implemented the assignment in an undergraduate intermediate accounting course. Feedback from students indicate the assignment enhanced their…

Biasing Influences on Test Level Assignments for Hearing Impaired Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolk, Steve

1985-01-01

Possible biasing influences of student characteristics were considered for teachers' judgments of appropriate test level assignments for about 1,300 hearing impaired special education students. Analyses indicated the presence of strong influences of race and severity of handicapping condition, as well as of sex, upon change in level assignments,…

Detecting Plagiarism in MS Access Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Anil

2013-01-01

Assurance of individual effort from students in computer-based assignments is a challenge. Due to digitization, students can easily use a copy of their friend's work and submit it as their own. Plagiarism in assignments puts students who cheat at par with those who work honestly and this compromises the learning evaluation process. Using a…

The Automatic Sweetheart: An Assignment in a History of Psychology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sibicky, Mark E.

2007-01-01

This article describes an assignment in a History of Psychology course used to enhance student retention of material and increase student interest and discussion of the long-standing debate between humanistic and mechanistic models in psychology. Adapted from William James's (1955) automatic sweetheart question, the assignment asks students to…

Assignment Choice: Do Students Choose Briefer Assignments or Finishing What They Started?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawthorn-Embree, Meredith L.; Skinner, Christopher H.; Parkhurst, John; O'Neil, Michael; Conley, Elisha

2010-01-01

Academic skill development requires engagement in effortful academic behaviors. Although students may be more likely to choose to engage in behaviors that require less effort, they also may be motivated to complete assignments that they have already begun. Seventh-grade students (N = 88) began a mathematics computation worksheet, but were stopped…

A Case-Study Assignment to Teach Theoretical Perspectives in Abnormal Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, David V.

1991-01-01

Describes an assignment that requires students to organize, prepare, and revise a case study in abnormal behavior. Explains that students employ a single theoretical perspective in preparing a report on a figure from history, literature, the arts, or current events. Discusses the value of the assignment for students. (SG)

Using low-cost Android tablets and instructional videos to teach clinical skills to medical students in Kenya: a prospective study.

PubMed

O'Donovan, James; Ahn, Roy; Nelson, Brett D; Kagan, Calvin; Burke, Thomas F

2016-08-01

To assess the feasibility and impact of using a low-cost Android tablet to deliver clinical skills training to third-year medical students in Kenya. A prospective study using a low cost tablet called 'connecTAB', which was designed and manufactured specifically for areas with low bandwidth. Instructional video tutorials demonstrating techniques of cardiovascular and abdominal clinical examinations were pre-loaded onto the tablet. Maseno University School of Medicine, Western Kenya. Fifty-one third-year medical students from Maseno University School of Medicine were subjects in the study. Twenty-five students were assigned to the intervention group and 26 to the control group. At the start of the study, students from both groups completed an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations. Students who were allocated to the intervention group then received the connecTAB, whereas students in the control group did not. After a period of three weeks, students from both groups completed a post-study OSCE for both the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations. There were significantly higher improvements in the scores for both cardiovascular and abdominal examinations (p < 0.001) within the group who received the e-tablets as compared to the control group. The study suggests that access to connecTAB improves clinical education and efficacy and holds promise for international training in both medical and allied healthcare professional spheres in resource-limited settings.

Using assessment to individualize early mathematics instruction.

PubMed

Connor, Carol McDonald; Mazzocco, Michèle M M; Kurz, Terri; Crowe, Elizabeth C; Tighe, Elizabeth L; Wood, Taffeta S; Morrison, Frederick J

2018-02-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that assessment-informed personalized instruction, tailored to students' individual skills and abilities, is more effective than more one-size-fits-all approaches. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of Individualizing Student Instruction in Mathematics (ISI-Math) compared to Reading (ISI-Reading) where classrooms were randomly assigned to ISI-Math or ISI-Reading. The literature on child characteristics X instruction or skill X treatment interaction effects point to the complexities of tailoring instruction for individual students who present with constellations of skills. Second graders received mathematics instruction in small flexible learning groups based on their assessed learning needs. Results of the study (n=32 teachers, 370 students) revealed significant treatment effects on standardized mathematics assessments. With effect sizes (d) of 0.41-0.60, we show that we can significantly improve 2nd graders' mathematics achievement, including for children living in poverty, by using assessment data to individualize the mathematics instruction they receive. The instructional regime, ISI-Math, was implemented by regular classroom teachers and it led to about a 4-month achievement advantage on standardized mathematics tests when compared to students in control classrooms. These results were realized within one school year. Moreover, treatment effects were the same regardless of school-level poverty and students' gender, initial mathematics or vocabulary scores. Copyright © 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling Aspects Of Nature Of Science To Preservice Elementary Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashcraft, Paul

2007-01-01

Nature of science was modeled using guided inquiry activities in the university classroom with elementary education majors. A physical science content course initially used an Aristotelian model where students discussed the relationship between distance from a constant radiation source and the amount of radiation received based on accepted ``truths'' or principles and concluded that there was an inverse relationship. The class became Galilean in nature, using the scientific method to test that hypothesis. Examining data, the class rejected their hypothesis and concluded that there is an inverse square relationship. Assignments, given before and after the hypothesis testing, show the student's misconceptions and their acceptance of scientifically acceptable conceptions. Answers on exam questions further support this conceptual change. Students spent less class time on the inverse square relationship later when examining electrostatic force, magnetic force, gravity, and planetary solar radiation because the students related this particular experience to other physical relationships.

Effects of online games on student performance in undergraduate physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadiq, Irfan

The present state of physics teaching and learning is a reflection of the difficulty of the subject matter which has resulted in students' low motivation toward physics as well as lack of meaningful and deeper learning experiences. In light of an overall decline in interest in physics, an investigation of alternate teaching and learning methods and tools was appropriate. The research posed the following question: To what extent do online games about kinematics and two-dimensional motion impact student performance in undergraduate general physics as measured by a unit posttest? Two intact classes of 20 students each were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Only the experimental group received the treatment of using online games. The duration of topics covered in the game content was identical to the lecture on kinematics and two-dimensional motion. Instructors for the experimental group incorporated online games in their regular classroom teaching, whereas those in the control group continued with their previously used curriculum without games. This study was conducted in three weekly sessions. Although students were not selected using random sampling, existing classes were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. There were 20 students in the experimental group and 20 students in the control group. The independent samples t test was conducted to compare the means of two independently sampled experimental and control groups. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine if the two groups were significantly different with regard to their general physics performance on the posttest while controlling for the pretest scores. Analysis of posttest and pretest scores revealed that game-based learning did not significantly impact student performance.

Embedded academic writing support for nursing students with English as a second language.

PubMed

Salamonson, Yenna; Koch, Jane; Weaver, Roslyn; Everett, Bronwyn; Jackson, Debra

2010-02-01

This paper reports a study which evaluated a brief, embedded academic support workshop as a strategy for improving academic writing skills in first-year nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency. Nursing students who speak English as a second language have lower academic success compared with their native English-speaking counterparts. The development of academic writing skills is known to be most effective when embedded into discipline-specific curricula. Using a randomized controlled design, in 2008 106 students pre-enrolled in an introductory bioscience subject were randomized to receive either the intervention, a 4-day embedded academic learning support workshop facilitated by two bioscience (content) nursing academics and a writing and editing professional, or to act as the control group. The primary focus of the workshop was to support students to work through a mock assignment by providing progressive feedback and written suggestions on how to improve their answers. Of the 59 students randomized to the intervention, only 28 attended the workshop. Bioscience assignment results were analysed for those who attended (attendees), those randomized to the intervention but who did not attend (non-attendees), and the control group. Using anova, the results indicated that attendees achieved statistically significantly higher mean scores (70.8, sd: 6.1) compared to both control group (58.4, sd: 3.4, P = 0.002) and non-attendees (48.5, sd: 5.5, P = 0.001). A brief, intensive, embedded academic support workshop was effective in improving the academic writing ability of nursing students with low-to-medium English language proficiency, although reaching all students who are likely to benefit from this intervention remains a challenge.

Programme-related stressors among part-time undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Nicholl, Honor; Timmins, Fiona

2005-04-01

The aim of this paper is to report a study exploring the perceived stressors identified by a group of 70 students who undertook a part-time degree at one Irish university. In the literature on stress, part-time nursing students who are undertaking continuing education programmes appear to have received little attention. Stress amongst nurses is evident within the nursing literature but little information is available on the specific stressors that affect Registered Nurses who undertake further academic study. Anecdotally, students attending part-time programmes while working full-time report high levels of stress. Quantitative methods were used. While many instruments exist to measure overall stress, this study aimed to explore student's perceptions of specific stressors associated with academic study. We used a questionnaire developed from the literature on the topic. Factors related to writing assignments at degree level, fulfilling personal needs and academic demands, were perceived as major stressors by these students. Factors of little concern were financial issues and attendance on the programme. Individual items receiving highest mean scores were: trying to balance work commitments and the required study (mean 3.89, sd = 1) and the prospect of the final examination (mean 3.86, sd = 1). This study was limited by the use of convenience sampling and self-report methods. Larger studies are required to support the findings. In addition, student stress was not observed or measured. Those involved in the delivery of nurse education programmes to part-time students need to consider the impact of the workload on student welfare, and to prepare students for demands of the programme.

The effect of the flipped classroom on urban high school students' motivation and academic achievement in a high school science course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, Keshia L.

This study investigated the effect of the flipped classroom on urban high school students' motivation and academic achievement in a high school science course. In this quantitative study, the sample population was comprised of North Star High School 12th grade students enrolled in human anatomy and physiology. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design was conducted. After receipt of Liberty University Institutional Review Board approval and the school district's Department of Research and Evaluation for School Improvement, students completed a pretest comprised of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II) and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Unit Test. Participants in the experimental group engaged in the treatment, the flipped classroom, using instructional materials on the educational website, Edmodo(TM), and applied content material taught using hands-on activities inclusive of assigned laboratory experiments. Participants in the control group received instruction using traditional face-to-face lecture-homework format while also engaging in assigned laboratory experiments. After the completion of the treatment all participants completed a posttest. Data from both the pretest and posttest was statistically analyzed individually using two separate one-way ANOVA/ANCOVA analyses; and researcher reported the results of the statistical analyses. After completion of the analyses, and interpretation of the results, recommendations for future research were given.

Flippin' Fluid Mechanics - Using Online Technology to Enhance the In-Class Learning Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Webster, D. R.; Majerich, D. M.

2013-11-01

This study provides an empirical analysis of using online technologies and team problem solving sessions to shift an undergraduate fluid mechanics course from a traditional lecture format to a collaborative learning environment. Students were from two consecutive semesters of the same course taught by the same professor. One group used online technologies and solved problems in class and the other did not. Out of class, the treatment group watched 72 short (11 minutes, average) video lectures covering course topics and example problems being solved. Three times a week students worked in teams of two to solve problems on desktop whiteboard tablets while the instructor and graduate assistants provided ``just-in-time'' tutoring. The number of team problems assigned during the semester exceeded 100. Weekly online homework was assigned to reinforce topics. The WileyPlus online system generated unique problem parameters for each student. The control group received three-50 minute weekly lectures. Data include three midterms and a final exam. Regression results indicate that controlling for all of the entered variables, for every one more problem solving session the student attended, the final grade was raised by 0.327 points. Thus, if a student participated in all 25 of the team problem solving sessions, the final grade would have been 8.2 points higher, a difference of nearly a grade. Using online technologies and teamwork appeared to result in improved achievement, but more research is needed to support these findings.

Can Facebook Make Students Remember? An Experimental Study from Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acar, Adam

2014-01-01

This study experimentally manipulated the way students submit their assignments and tested the number of new words that are learned in each condition. The results showed that students who submitted their assignments through Facebook learned as much as those who submitted their assignment in a traditional way. In the light of these findings, we can…

"This Is a Public Service Announcement": Evaluating and Redesigning Campaigns to Teach Attitudes and Persuasion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koch, Erika J.; Lomore, Christine D.

2009-01-01

We present an assignment that requires students to apply their knowledge of the social psychology of attitudes and persuasion to critique and redesign a public service announcement. Students in a 200-level social psychology course evaluated the assignment by indicating their overall attitudes toward the assignment. Students rated the assignment…

The "Post-Racial" Politics of Race: Changing Student Assignment Policy in Three School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDermott, Kathryn A.; Frankenberg, Erica; Diem, Sarah

2015-01-01

Many school districts have recently revised, or tried to revise, their policies for assigning students to schools, because the legal and political status of racial and other kinds of diversity is uncertain, and the districts are facing fiscal austerity. This article presents case studies of politics and student assignment policy in three large…

An Empirical Examination of the Roles of Ability and Gender in Collaborative Homework Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Jeffrey

2010-01-01

The author investigates how ability and gender affect grades on homework projects performed by assigned pairs of students in an undergraduate macroeconomics course. The assignment grade is found to depend on the ability of both students, and the relative importance of the stronger and weaker student differs in predictable ways depending on the…

Investigations of Protein Structure and Function Using the Scientific Literature: An Assignment for an Undergraduate Cell Physiology Course

PubMed Central

Mulnix, Amy B.

2003-01-01

Undergraduate biology curricula are being modified to model and teach the activities of scientists better. The assignment described here, one that investigates protein structure and function, was designed for use in a sophomore-level cell physiology course at Earlham College. Students work in small groups to read and present in poster format on the content of a single research article reporting on the structure and/or function of a protein. Goals of the assignment include highlighting the interdependence of protein structure and function; asking students to review, integrate, and apply previously acquired knowledge; and helping students see protein structure/function in a context larger than cell physiology. The assignment also is designed to build skills in reading scientific literature, oral and written communication, and collaboration among peers. Assessment of student perceptions of the assignment in two separate offerings indicates that the project successfully achieves these goals. Data specifically show that students relied heavily on their peers to understand their article. The assignment was also shown to require students to read articles more carefully than previously. In addition, the data suggest that the assignment could be modified and used successfully in other courses and at other institutions. PMID:14673490

Promoting mental health and preventing substance abuse and violence in elementary students: a randomized control study of the Michigan Model for Health.

PubMed

O'neill, James M; Clark, Jeffrey K; Jones, James A

2011-06-01

In elementary grades, comprehensive health education curricula mostly have demonstrated effectiveness in addressing singular health issues. The Michigan Model for Health (MMH) was implemented and evaluated to determine its impact on multiple health issues, including social and emotional skills, prosocial behavior, and drug use and aggression. Schools (N = 52) were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. Participants received 24 lessons in grade 4 (over 12 weeks) and 28 more lessons in grade 5 (over 14 weeks), including material focusing on social and emotional health, interpersonal communication, social pressure resistance skills, drug use prevention, and conflict resolution skills. The 40-minute lessons were taught by the classroom or health teacher who received curriculum training and provided feedback on implementation fidelity. Self-report survey data were collected from the fourth-grade students (n = 2512) prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 6 weeks after the intervention, with the same data collection schedule repeated in fifth grade. Students who received the curriculum had better interpersonal communication skills, social and emotional skills, and drug refusal skills than the control group students. Intervention students also reported lower intentions to use alcohol and tobacco, less alcohol and tobacco use initiated during the study and in the past 30 days, and reduced levels of aggression. The effectiveness of the MMH in promoting mental health and preventing drug use and aggression supports the call for integrated strategies that begin in elementary grades, target multiple risk behaviors, and result in practical and financial benefits to schools. © 2011, American School Health Association.

The "Outsider/Insider" Assignment: A Pedagogical Innovation for Teaching Cross-Cultural Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garcia, Angela Cora

2014-01-01

In this paper, I describe an innovative assignment for teaching undergraduate students cross-cultural understanding. The Outsider/Insider assignment simultaneously teaches facts about cultural difference and skills for managing cross-cultural encounters. Briefly, the assignment is to write two short papers, one in which the student describes a…

An Implementation of Active Learning: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Team Infomercial Assignment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matveev, Alexei V.; Milter, Richard G.

2010-01-01

This article examines the effectiveness of the team infomercial assignment as an active learning tool in undergraduate courses. The structure and three phases of the team infomercial assignment, as well as student evaluations and feedback, are presented. We investigated student experiences working on the team infomercial assignment, the common…

Effectiveness of the Size Matters Handwriting Program.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, Beth; Rai, Gillian; Murray, Tammy; Brusilovskiy, Eugene

2015-04-01

The purpose of the research was to study changes in handwriting legibility among kindergarten, first- and second-grade students in response to the Size Matters curricular-based handwriting program. A two-group pre-post-test design was implemented at two public schools with half of the classrooms assigned to receive the Size Matters program and the other continuing to receive standard instruction. All participants completed two standardized handwriting measures at pre-test and after 40 instructional sessions were completed with the classes receiving the handwriting program. Results identified significant changes in legibility in the handwriting intervention group for all three grades when compared with the standard instruction group. The results of this study support the use of a curricular-embedded handwriting program and provide the foundation for future research examining the impact of handwriting legibility on learning outcomes.

Efficacy of the Aussie Optimism Program: Promoting Pro-social Behavior and Preventing Suicidality in Primary School Students. A Randomised-Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Roberts, Clare M.; Kane, Robert T.; Rooney, Rosanna M.; Pintabona, Yolanda; Baughman, Natalie; Hassan, Sharinaz; Cross, Donna; Zubrick, Stephen R.; Silburn, Sven R.

2018-01-01

The efficacy of an enhanced version of the Aussie Optimism Program (AOP) was investigated in a cluster randomized controlled trial. Grade 6 students aged 10–11 years of age (N = 2288) from 63 government primary schools in Perth, Western Australia, participated in the pre, post, and follow-up study. Schools were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Aussie Optimism with teacher training, Aussie Optimism with teacher training plus coaching, or a usual care condition that received the regular Western Australian Health Education Curriculum. Students in the Aussie Optimism conditions received 20, 1-h lessons relating to social and interpersonal skills and optimistic thinking skills over the last 2 years of primary school. Parents in the active conditions received a parent information booklet each year, plus a self-directed program in Grade 7. Students and parents completed the Extended Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Students who scored in the clinical range on the Emotional Symptoms Scale were given The Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents IV, to assess suicidal ideation and behavior, and depressive and anxiety disorders. Results indicated that Aussie Optimism with teacher training plus coaching was associated with the best outcomes: a significant increase in student-reported pro-social behavior from pre-test to post-test 1 (maintained at post-test 2) and significantly lower incidence rates from suicidal ideation at post-test 2 and follow-up. No significant intervention effects on anxiety and depressive disorders, and total difficulties were reported. These findings suggest that the AOP with teacher training along with coaching may have the potential to positively impact on suicidality and pro-social behavior in the pre-adolescent years. PMID:29599729

The effects of formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching on psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and motor learning outcomes in physical education.

PubMed

Whipp, Peter R; Jackson, Ben; Dimmock, James A; Soh, Jenny

2015-01-01

Peer teaching is recognized as a powerful instructional method; however, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the outcomes experienced by peer-teachers and their student recipients in the context of trained, non-reciprocal, high school physical education (PE). Accordingly, the effectiveness of a formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching (T-PT) program upon psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and student learning outcomes within high school PE classes was investigated. Students from eight intact classes (106 males, 94 females, Mage = 12.46, SD = 0.59) were randomly assigned to either a T-PT intervention group (taught by a volunteer peer-teacher who was trained in line with a tactical games approach) or untrained group (U-PT; where volunteer peer-teachers received no formal training, but did receive guidance on the game concepts to teach). Data were collected over 10 lessons in a 5-week soccer unit. Mixed-model ANOVAs/MANOVAs revealed that, in comparison to U-PT, the T-PT program significantly enhanced in-game performance actions and academic learning time among student recipients. Those in the T-PT also provided greater levels of feedback and structured learning time, as well as reporting more positive feelings about peer teaching and fewer perceived barriers to accessing learning outcomes. These findings show that non-reciprocal peer-teachers who receive formalized support through training and tactical games approach-based teaching resources can enhance behavioral, pedagogical, and motor performance outcomes in PE.

The effects of formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching on psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and motor learning outcomes in physical education

PubMed Central

Whipp, Peter R.; Jackson, Ben; Dimmock, James A.; Soh, Jenny

2015-01-01

Peer teaching is recognized as a powerful instructional method; however, there is a paucity of studies that have evaluated the outcomes experienced by peer-teachers and their student recipients in the context of trained, non-reciprocal, high school physical education (PE). Accordingly, the effectiveness of a formalized and trained non-reciprocal peer teaching (T-PT) program upon psychosocial, behavioral, pedagogical, and student learning outcomes within high school PE classes was investigated. Students from eight intact classes (106 males, 94 females, Mage = 12.46, SD = 0.59) were randomly assigned to either a T-PT intervention group (taught by a volunteer peer-teacher who was trained in line with a tactical games approach) or untrained group (U-PT; where volunteer peer-teachers received no formal training, but did receive guidance on the game concepts to teach). Data were collected over 10 lessons in a 5-week soccer unit. Mixed-model ANOVAs/MANOVAs revealed that, in comparison to U-PT, the T-PT program significantly enhanced in-game performance actions and academic learning time among student recipients. Those in the T-PT also provided greater levels of feedback and structured learning time, as well as reporting more positive feelings about peer teaching and fewer perceived barriers to accessing learning outcomes. These findings show that non-reciprocal peer-teachers who receive formalized support through training and tactical games approach-based teaching resources can enhance behavioral, pedagogical, and motor performance outcomes in PE. PMID:25741309

Retrieval practice in the form of online homework improved information retention more when spaced 5 days rather than 1 day after class in two physiology courses.

PubMed

Cadaret, Caitlin N; Yates, Dustin T

2018-06-01

Studies have shown that practicing temporally spaced retrieval of previously learned information via formal assessments increases student retention of the information. Our objective was to determine the impact of online homework administered as a first retrieval practice 1 or 5 days after introduction of physiology topics on long-term information retention. Students in two undergraduate courses, Anatomy and Physiology (ASCI 240) and Animal Physiological Systems (ASCI 340), were presented with information on a specific physiological system during each weekly laboratory and then completed an online homework assignment either 1 or 5 days later. Information retention was assessed via an in-class quiz the following week and by a comprehensive final exam at semester's end (4-13 wk later). Performance on homework assignments was generally similar between groups for both courses. Information retention at 1 wk did not differ due to timing of homework in either course. In both courses, however, students who received homework 5 days after class performed better on final exam questions relevant to that week's topic compared with their day 1 counterparts. These findings indicate that the longer period between introducing physiology information in class and assigning the first retrieval practice was more beneficial to long-term information retention than the shorter period, despite seemingly equivalent benefits in the shorter term. Since information is typically forgotten over time, we speculate that the longer interval necessitates greater retrieval effort in much the same way as built-in desirable difficulties, thus allowing for stronger conceptual connections and deeper comprehension.

Impact of the Good Behavior Game, a Universal Classroom–Based Behavior Intervention, on Young Adult Service Use for Problems with Emotions, Behavior, or Drugs or Alcohol

PubMed Central

Poduska, Jeanne; Kellam, Sheppard; Wang, Wei; Brown, C. Hendricks; Ialongo, Nicholas; Toyinbo, Peter

2009-01-01

Background The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom behavior management strategy focused on socializing children to the role of student and aimed at reducing early aggressive, disruptive behavior, a confirmed antecedent to service use. The GBG was tested in a randomized field trial in 19 elementary schools in two cohorts of children as they attended first and second grades. This article reports on the impact of the GBG on service use through young adulthood. Methods Three or four schools in each of five urban areas were matched and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) GBG, 2) an intervention aimed at academic achievement, or 3) the standard program of the school system. Children were assigned to classrooms to ensure balance, and teachers and classrooms were randomly assigned to intervention conditions. Results This study provides evidence of a positive impact of a universal preventive intervention on later service use by males, although not by females, for problems with emotions, behavior, or drugs or alcohol. For both cohorts, males in GBG classrooms who had been rated as highly aggressive, disruptive by their teachers in the fall of first grade had a lower rate of school-based service use than their counterparts in control classrooms. Replication The design employed two cohorts of students. Although both first- and second-grade teachers received less training and support with the second cohorts of students than with the first cohort, the impact of GBG was similar across both cohorts. PMID:18249508

Longitudinal evaluation of the importance of homework assignment completion for the academic performance of middle school students with ADHD.

PubMed

Langberg, Joshua M; Dvorsky, Melissa R; Molitor, Stephen J; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D; Smith, Zoe; Schultz, Brandon K; Evans, Steven W

2016-04-01

The primary goal of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the homework assignment completion patterns of middle school age adolescents with ADHD, their associations with academic performance, and malleable predictors of homework assignment completion. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 104 middle school students comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD and followed for 18 months. Multiple teachers for each student provided information about the percentage of homework assignments turned in at five separate time points and school grades were collected quarterly. Results showed that agreement between teachers with respect to students assignment completion was high, with an intraclass correlation of .879 at baseline. Students with ADHD were turning in an average of 12% fewer assignments each academic quarter in comparison to teacher-reported classroom averages. Regression analyses revealed a robust association between the percentage of assignments turned in at baseline and school grades 18 months later, even after controlling for baseline grades, achievement (reading and math), intelligence, family income, and race. Cross-lag analyses demonstrated that the association between assignment completion and grades was reciprocal, with assignment completion negatively impacting grades and low grades in turn being associated with decreased future homework completion. Parent ratings of homework materials management abilities at baseline significantly predicted the percentage of assignments turned in as reported by teachers 18 months later. These findings demonstrate that homework assignment completion problems are persistent across time and an important intervention target for adolescents with ADHD. Copyright © 2015 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of the energy-environment simulator on achievement, attitudes, and behavior relative to energy-education concepts systematically replicated in higher education

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lees, J.R.

This study was a systematic replication of a study by Stagliano (1981). Additional hypotheses concerning pretest, student major, and student section variance were tested. Achievement in energy knowledge and conservation attitudes attained by (a) lecture-discussion enriched with the Energy-Environment Simulator and (b) lecture-discussion methods of instruction were measured. Energy knowledge was measured on the Energy Knowledge Assessment Test (EKAT), and attitudes were measured on the Youth Energy Survey (YES), the Lecture-discussion simulation (LDS) used a two hour out-of-class activity in debriefing. The population consisted of 142 college student volunteers randomly selected, and assigned to one of two groups of 71more » students for each treatment. Stagliano used three groups (n = 35), one group receiving an energy-game treatment. Both studies used the pretest-posttest true experimental design. The present study included 28 hypotheses, eight of which were found to be significant. Stagliano used 12 hypotheses, all of which were rejected. The present study hypothesized that students who received the LDS treatment would obtain significantly higher scores on the EKAT and the YES instruments. Results showed that significance was found (alpha level .05) on the EKAT and also found on the YES total subscale when covaried for effects of pretest, student major, and student section. When covarying the effects of pretest scores only, significance was found on the EKAT. All YES hypotheses were rejected.« less

Long-term effectiveness of patient-centered training in cultural competence: what is retained? What is lost?

PubMed

Ho, Ming-Jung; Yao, Grace; Lee, Keng-Lin; Hwang, Tzung-Jeng; Beach, Mary Catherine

2010-04-01

To determine whether the effects of a patient-centered cultural competence curriculum could be sustained for one year. In 2006, 57 fifth-year medical students at National Taiwan University were randomly assigned either to a group that received training in patient-centered cross-cultural communication skills or one that received no training. Students' scores on objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs) were compared in the realms of exploring (1) patient perspectives and (2) social factors related to illness, immediately after training (OSCE1) and one year after training (OSCE2). Regarding students' exploration of patient perspectives, the intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group at OSCE1, but there was a significant decrease from OSCE1 to OSCE2 in the intervention group and no significant difference between the intervention and control group at OSCE2. Regarding students' exploration of social factors related to illness, the intervention group scored significantly higher than the control group at OSCE1, with a nonsignificant decrease from OSCE1 to OSCE2 in the two groups, such that the intervention group again scored higher than the control group in OSCE2. The effect of a patient-centered cultural competence training curriculum on students' exploration of social factors related to illness was sustained to a significant degree after one year, whereas the effects on students' exploration of patient perspectives were not. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which additional training can prevent the loss of student skills.

Doing What Comes Naturally? Student Perceptions and Use of Collaborative Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalin, Jason

2012-01-01

This study investigates how students perceive and use collaborative technologies while also examining the meanings students assign to both collaboration and technology. A qualitative inductive analysis of students' assignments in a professional communication course demonstrates that students use technology to collaborate for its Accessibility,…

Emerging Information Literacy and Research-Method Competencies in Urban Community College Psychology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfe, Kate S.

2015-01-01

This article details an assignment developed to teach students at urban community colleges information-literacy skills. This annotated bibliography assignment introduces students to library research skills, helps increase information literacy in beginning college students, and helps psychology students learn research methodology crucial in…

41 CFR 102-75.665 - What happens after the disposal agency receives the assignment recommendation from DOI?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... disposal agency receives the assignment recommendation from DOI? 102-75.665 Section 102-75.665 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property Management Regulations System (Continued) FEDERAL... assignment recommendation from DOI? If, after considering other uses for the property, the disposal agency...

Measuring Conceptual Gains and Benefits of Student Problem Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandell, Eric; Snyder, Rachel; Oswald, Wayne

2011-10-01

Writing assignments can be an effective way of getting students to practice higher-order learning skills in physics. One example of such an assignment is that of problem design. One version of the problem design assignment asks the student to evaluate the material from a chapter, after all instruction and other activities are complete. The student is to decide what concepts and ideas are most central, or critical in the chapter, and construct a problem that he or she feels best encompasses the major themes. Here, we use two concept surveys (FCI and EMCS) to measure conceptual gains for students completing the problem design assignment and present the preliminary results, comparing across several categories including gender, age, degree program, and class standing.

Development of Guidelines Related to Riverside Community College Nursing Student Mandatory Assignment to AIDS Patients in the Clinical Setting.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kross, Carolyn Sue

The purpose of this study was to develop Associate Degree nursing program guidelines for Riverside Community College (RCC), in California, regarding mandatory nursing student assignment to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients, and student refusal of such assignments in a clinical setting. During the 1990 fall semester, RCC's Nursing…

The Comparison of the Impact of Storytelling and Digital Storytelling Assignments on Students' Motivations for Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasami, Naoko

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how a Digital StoryTelling (DST) assignment affected and changed students' motivations for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in comparison with a StoryTelling (ST) assignment. A course entitled "Information English" was held for Japanese university students at a faculty of information…

Transdisciplinary assignments in graduate health education as a model for future collaboration.

PubMed

Christie, Catherine; Smith, A Russell; Bednarzyk, Michele

2007-01-01

Transdisciplinary health care continues to be at the forefront of patient treatment in the medical arena, in part due to escalating health care costs, an increasing aging population, and the development of multiple chronic diseases. Gaining the knowledge, experience, and principles associated with transdisciplinary teamwork to successfully prepare for modern-day practice is therefore essential for individuals of various health care professions. This report describes an assignment developed and implemented to facilitate professional interaction between graduate physical therapy, nutrition, and nursing students. The objectives of this assignment were to determine through student evaluation the effects of a transdisciplinary experience on students' understanding of the role of another discipline and students' communication skills across disciplines. When evaluating the assignment, students most often remarked that they developed a greater understanding of the roles of the included disciplines and reported a significant increase in communication skills. However, some students did not concur that this assignment was effective due to the scheduling conflicts and lack of teamwork that can occur during a collaborative project. The students' reports of their experiences in completing the assignment provide valuable insights for implementing and/or updating a preparatory transdisciplinary education component in other settings. Additional research can focus on the challenges faced by the majority of the students venturing into actual health care or "real-world" settings for comparative studies.

Impact of Intensive Summer Reading Intervention for Children With Reading Disabilities and Difficulties in Early Elementary School.

PubMed

Christodoulou, Joanna A; Cyr, Abigail; Murtagh, Jack; Chang, Patricia; Lin, Jiayi; Guarino, Anthony J; Hook, Pamela; Gabrieli, John D E

Efficacy of an intensive reading intervention implemented during the nonacademic summer was evaluated in children with reading disabilities or difficulties (RD). Students (ages 6-9) were randomly assigned to receive Lindamood-Bell's Seeing Stars program ( n = 23) as an intervention or to a waiting-list control group ( n = 24). Analysis of pre- and posttesting revealed significant interactions in favor of the intervention group for untimed word and pseudoword reading, timed pseudoword reading, oral reading fluency, and symbol imagery. The interactions mostly reflected (a) significant declines in the nonintervention group from pre- to posttesting, and (2) no decline in the intervention group. The current study offers direct evidence for widening differences in reading abilities between students with RD who do and do not receive intensive summer reading instruction. Intervention implications for RD children are discussed, especially in relation to the relevance of summer intervention to prevent further decline in struggling early readers.

Learning basic surgical skills with mental imagery: using the simulation centre in the mind.

PubMed

Sanders, Charles W; Sadoski, Mark; van Walsum, Kim; Bramson, Rachel; Wiprud, Robert; Fossum, Theresa W

2008-06-01

Although surgeons and athletes frequently use mental imagery in preparing to perform, mental imagery has not been extensively researched as a learning technique in medical education. A mental imagery rehearsal technique was experimentally compared with textbook study to determine the effects of each on the learning of basic surgical skills. Sixty-four Year 2 medical students were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups in which they undertook either mental imagery or textbook study. Both groups received the usual skills course of didactic lectures, demonstrations, physical practice with pigs' feet and a live animal laboratory. One group received additional training in mental imagery and the other group was given textbook study. Performance was assessed at 3 different time-points using a reliable rating scale. Analysis of variance on student performance in live rabbit surgery revealed a significant interaction favouring the imagery group over the textbook study group. The mental imagery technique appeared to transfer learning from practice to actual surgery better than textbook study.

Effects of a sleep hygiene text message intervention on sleep in college students.

PubMed

Gipson, Christine S; Chilton, Jenifer M; Dickerson, Suzanne S; Alfred, Danita; Haas, Barbara K

2018-04-13

To test the effectiveness of a text-message intervention to promote sleep hygiene to improve sleep in young adult college students. A convenience sample of undergraduate students from one Southwestern university (n = 96), 18-26 years old, recruited in August 2015. A 2-group pretest-posttest experimental design assigned participants to receive biweekly text messages about sleep hygiene or healthy behaviors for 6 weeks. Survey questions addressed sleep knowledge, sleep hygiene, self-efficacy for sleep hygiene, and sleep quality at baseline and posttest. Though not significant, sleep quality, sleep hygiene, and sleep knowledge improved in both groups. Self-efficacy for sleep hygiene is a modifiable factor that may serve to improve sleep quality. Sleep quality improved in both groups. Text messaging is a feasible approach to delivering an intervention to promote healthy behaviors among young adults.

Kids Identifying and Defeating Stroke (KIDS): development and implementation of a multiethnic health education intervention to increase stroke awareness among middle school students and their parents.

PubMed

Mullen Conley, Kathleen; Juhl Majersik, Jennifer; Gonzales, Nicole R; Maddox, Katherine E; Pary, Jennifer K; Brown, Devin L; Moyé, Lemuel A; Espinosa, Nina; Grotta, James C; Morgenstern, Lewis B

2010-01-01

The Kids Identifying and Defeating Stroke (KIDS) project is a 3-year prospective, randomized, controlled, multiethnic school-based intervention study. Project goals include increasing knowledge of stroke signs and treatment and intention to immediately call 911 among Mexican American (MA) and non-Hispanic White (NHW) middle school students and their parents. This article describes the design, implementation, and interim evaluation of this theory-based intervention. Intervention students received a culturally appropriate stroke education program divided into four 50-minute classes each year during the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Each class session also included a homework assignment that involved the students' parents or other adult partners. Interim-test results indicate that this educational intervention was successful in improving students' stroke symptom and treatment knowledge and intent to call 911 upon witnessing a stroke compared with controls. The authors conclude that this school-based educational intervention to reduce delay time to hospital arrival for stroke shows early promise.

Investigating the Correlation Between Pharmacy Student Performance on the Health Science Reasoning Test and a Critical Thinking Assignment.

PubMed

Nornoo, Adwoa O; Jackson, Jonathan; Axtell, Samantha

2017-03-25

Objective. To determine whether there is a correlation between pharmacy students' scores on the Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT) and their grade on a package insert assignment designed to assess critical thinking. Methods. The HSRT was administered to first-year pharmacy students during a critical-thinking course in the spring semester. In the same semester, a required package insert assignment was completed in a pharmacokinetics course. To determine whether there was a relationship between HSRT scores and grades on the assignment, a Spearman's rho correlation test was performed. Results. A very weak but significant positive correlation was found between students' grades on the assignment and their overall HSRT score (r=0.19, p <0.05), as well as deduction (a scale score of the HSRT; r=0.26, p <0.01). Conclusion. Based on a very weak but significant correlation to HSRT scores, this study demonstrated the potential of a package insert assignment to be used as one of the components to measure critical-thinking skills in pharmacy students.

Agreement between veterinary students and anesthesiologists regarding postoperative pain assessment in dogs.

PubMed

Barletta, Michele; Young, Courtni N; Quandt, Jane E; Hofmeister, Erik H

2016-01-01

To determine the levels of agreement among first- and second-year veterinary students and experienced anesthesiologists in assessing postoperative pain in dogs from video-recordings. Cross-sectional study. Twenty-seven veterinary students, five anesthesiologists and 13 canine clinical patients. Prior to their enrolment in a core anesthesia course, veterinary students volunteered to watch 13 90 second videos of dogs. Dogs were hospitalized in an intensive care unit after a variety of surgical procedures. Students were asked to score the level of the dogs' pain using the Dynamic Interactive Visual Analog Scale and the Short Form of the Glasgow Composite-Measure Pain Scale. The same videotapes were scored by five board-certified anesthesiologists. The differences and agreement between the ratings of anesthesiologists and students, and first- and second-year students were determined with Mann-Whitney U-tests and Fleiss' or Cohen's kappa, respectively. Pain scores assigned by students and anesthesiologists differed significantly (p < 0.01). Students assigned higher pain scores to dogs that were given low pain scores by anesthesiologists, and lower pain scores to dogs deemed to be in more pain by anesthesiologists. On average, students assigned higher scores on both scales. Veterinary students early in their training assigned pain scores to dogs that differed from scores assigned by experienced anesthesiologists. © 2015 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia.

Electrocardiogram reading: a randomized study comparing 2 e‑learning methods for medical students.

PubMed

Kopeć, Grzegorz; Waligóra, Marcin; Pacia, Michał; Chmielak, Wojciech; Stępień, Agnieszka; Janiec, Sebastian; Magoń, Wojciech; Jonas, Kamil; Podolec, Piotr

2018-02-28

INTRODUCTION    Interpretation of the electrocardiogram (ECG) is an essential skill in most medical specialties; however, the best method of teaching how to read ECGs has not been determined. OBJECTIVES    The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of collaborative (C‑eL) and self (S‑eL) e‑learning of ECG reading among medical students. PATIENTS AND METHODS    A total of 60 fifth‑year medical students were randomly assigned to the C‑eL and S‑eL groups. S‑eL students received 15 ECG recordings with a comprehensive description by email (one every 48 hours), while C‑eL students received the same ECG recordings without description. C‑eL students were expected to analyze each ECG together within the subgroups using an internet platform and to submit the interpretation within 48 hours. Afterwards, they received a description of each ECG. C‑eL students' activity was assessed based on the number of words written on the internet platform during discussion. A final test consisted of 10 theoretical questions and 10 ECG recordings. The final score was a sum of points obtained for the interpretation of ECG recordings. The main endpoint of the study was the number of students whose final score was 56% or higher. RESULTS    The final test was completed by 53 students (88.3%). The main endpoint was achieved in 20 C‑eL students (77%) and in 13 S‑eL students (48.1%), P = 0.03. The final score was 6.4 (interquartile range [IQR], 5.8-7.6) in the C‑eL group and 5.6 (IQR, 4.2-7.2) in the S‑eL group, P = 0.04. It correlated with the results of the theoretical test and students' activity during C‑eL (r = 0.42, P = 0.002 and r = 0.4, P = 0.04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS    C‑eL of ECG reading among fifth‑year medical students is superior to S‑eL.

Computer-assisted instruction to prevent early reading difficulties in students at risk for dyslexia: Outcomes from two instructional approaches.

PubMed

Torgesen, Joseph K; Wagner, Richard K; Rashotte, Carol A; Herron, Jeannine; Lindamood, Patricia

2010-06-01

The relative effectiveness of two computer-assisted instructional programs designed to provide instruction and practice in foundational reading skills was examined. First-grade students at risk for reading disabilities received approximately 80 h of small-group instruction in four 50-min sessions per week from October through May. Approximately half of the instruction was delivered by specially trained teachers to prepare students for their work on the computer, and half was delivered by the computer programs. At the end of first grade, there were no differences in student reading performance between students assigned to the different intervention conditions, but the combined-intervention students performed significantly better than control students who had been exposed to their school's normal reading program. Significant differences were obtained for phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, reading accuracy, rapid automatic naming, and reading comprehension. A follow-up test at the end of second grade showed a similar pattern of differences, although only differences in phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and rapid naming remained statistically reliable.

Open courses: one view of the future of online education.

PubMed

Alemi, Farrokh; Maddox, P J

2008-01-01

Open courses provide the entire course (lectures, assignments, syllabus, student's discussions, and student's projects) online without revealing student's personal information. We report on our experience in managing 8 open online courses at http://nhs.georgetown.edu/open. Open courses have several advantages over password protected courses: (1) they are available through search engines and thus reduce the program's marketing cost, (2) continuous feedback from the web enables rapid improvements to the course, (3) customer relationship tools, tied to open courses, radically reduce faculty time spent on one-on-one emails while increasing student/faculty interaction. We provide details of one course. In 15 weeks, 803 emails were received by and 1181 sent by the faculty (all within 6% of a working week and 82% savings of faculty time). We show how open courses can be accessed through search engines, how students questions are answered on the web and how student projects, in popular sites such as You Tube and Face Book, improve course marketing. The paper reports that student satisfaction with three open online courses delivered overall several semesters was high.

Podcasts on Mobile Devices as a Read-Aloud Testing Accommodation in Middle School Science Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMahon, Don; Wright, Rachel; Cihak, David F.; Moore, Tara C.; Lamb, Richard

2016-04-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a digitized podcast to deliver read-aloud testing accommodations on mobile devices to students with disabilities and reading difficulties. The total sample for this study included 47 middle school students with reading difficulties. Of the 47 students, 16 were identified as students with disabilities who received special education services. Participants were randomly assigned to three experimental testing conditions, standard administration, teacher-controlled read-aloud in traditional group delivery format, and student-controlled read-aloud delivered as a podcast and accessed on a mobile device, and given sample end-of-year science assessments. Based on a factorial analysis of variances, with test conditions and student status as the fixed factors, both student groups demonstrated statistically significant gains based on their testing conditions. Results support the use of podcast delivery as a viable alternative to the traditional teacher-delivered read-aloud test accommodation. Conclusions are discussed in the context of universal design for learning testing accommodations for future research and practice.

A 10-Week Multimodal Nutrition Education Intervention Improves Dietary Intake among University Students: Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Wan Dali, Wan Putri Elena; Lua, Pei Lin

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing multimodal nutrition education intervention (NEI) to improve dietary intake among university students. The design of study used was cluster randomised controlled design at four public universities in East Coast of Malaysia. A total of 417 university students participated in the study. They were randomly selected and assigned into two arms, that is, intervention group (IG) or control group (CG) according to their cluster. The IG received 10-week multimodal intervention using three modes (conventional lecture, brochures, and text messages) while CG did not receive any intervention. Dietary intake was assessed before and after intervention and outcomes reported as nutrient intakes as well as average daily servings of food intake. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and adjusted effect size were used to determine difference in dietary changes between groups and time. Results showed that, compared to CG, participants in IG significantly improved their dietary intake by increasing their energy intake, carbohydrate, calcium, vitamin C and thiamine, fruits and 100% fruit juice, fish, egg, milk, and dairy products while at the same time significantly decreased their processed food intake. In conclusion, multimodal NEI focusing on healthy eating promotion is an effective approach to improve dietary intakes among university students. PMID:24069535

Effects of Neurofeekback Training on EEG, Continuous Performance Task (CPT), and ADHD Symptoms in ADHD-prone College Students.

PubMed

Ryoo, Manhee; Son, Chongnak

2015-12-01

This study explored the effects of neurofeedback training on Electroencephalogram (EEG), Continuous Performance Task (CPT) and ADHD symptoms in ADHD prone college students. Two hundred forty seven college students completed Korean Version of Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS-K) and Korean Version of Beck Depression Inventory (K-BDI). The 16 participants who ranked in the top 25% of CAARS-K score and had 16 less of K-BDI score participated in this study. Among them, 8 participants who are fit for the research schedule were assigned to neurofeedback training group and 8 not fit for the research schedule to the control group. All participants completed Adult Attention Deficiency Questionnaire, CPT and EEG measurement at pretest. The neurofeedback group received 15 neurofeedback training sessions (5 weeks, 3 sessions per week). The control group did not receive any treatment. Four weeks after completion of the program, all participants completed CAARS-K, Adult Attention Deficiency Questionnaire, CPT and EEG measurement for post-test. The neurofeedback group showed more significant improvement in EEG, CPT performance and ADHD symptoms than the control group. The improvements were maintained at follow up. Neurofeedback training adjusted abnormal EEG and was effective in improving objective and subjective ADHD symptoms in ADHD prone college students.

Does Autonomy over Teacher Hiring Affect Student Math and Science Achievement?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Youngran

2017-01-01

This paper examines the causal effects of autonomy over teacher hiring on student math and science achievement using the random student assignment policy implemented in Korea. Under this policy, students were randomly assigned to different schools within their school districts which equalized the compositions of student bodies across schools.…

A career exploration assignment for first-year pharmacy students.

PubMed

Sholy, Lydia; Zeenny, Rony

2013-11-12

To develop, implement, and assess student-learning outcomes from an assignment designed to expose first-year pharmacy students (P1) to a wide range of pharmacy career pathways. Students enrolled in a required Pharmacy Practice and Ethics course at the Lebanese American University chose 1 pharmacist career to investigate from a suggested list of 28 career pathways. Students completed a literature review on the selected career, interviewed a pharmacist practicing that career path in Lebanon, wrote a paper, and prepared and delivered a summary presentation to their classmates about the career pathway. Students peer evaluated their classmates after each presentation. More than 85% of the students scored ≥70% on the assignment based on their achievement of student learning outcomes. Responses on an anonymous questionnaire showed that more than 94.6% of students were satisfied with the extent to which the course allowed them to meet the established learning outcomes. A career exploration assignment provided pharmacy students with an opportunity to widen their knowledge and understanding of the different career pathways that are available for them.

An active-learning assignment requiring pharmacy students to write medicinal chemistry examination questions.

PubMed

Kolluru, Srikanth

2012-08-10

To implement and assess the effectiveness of an assignment requiring doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students to write examination questions for the medicinal chemistry sections of a pharmacotherapeutics course. Students were divided into groups of 5-6 and given detailed instructions and grading rubrics for writing multiple-choice examination questions on medicinal chemistry topics. The compiled student-written questions for each examination were provided to the entire class as a study aid. Approximately 5% of the student-written questions were used in course examinations. Student appreciation of and performance in the medicinal chemistry portion of the course was significantly better than that of the previous year's class. Also, students' responses on a qualitative survey instrument indicated that the assignment provided students' guidance on which concepts to focus on, helped them retain knowledge better, and fostered personal exploration of the content, which led to better performance on examinations. Adding an active-learning assignment in which students write examination questions for the medicinal chemistry portion of a pharmacotherapeutics course was an effective means of increasing students engagement in the class and knowledge of the course material.

Effectiveness of narrative pedagogy in developing student nurses' advocacy role.

PubMed

Gazarian, Priscilla K; Fernberg, Lauren M; Sheehan, Kelly D

2016-03-01

The literature and research on nursing ethics and advocacy has shown that generally very few nurses and other clinicians will speak up about an issue they have witnessed regarding a patient advocacy concern and that often advocacy in nursing is not learned until after students have graduated and begun working. To evaluate the effectiveness of narrative pedagogy on the development of advocacy in student nurses, as measured by the Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale. We tested the hypothesis that use of a narrative pedagogy assignment related to ethics would improve student nurse's perception of their advocacy role as measured by the Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale using a quasi-experimental nonrandomized study using a pre-test, intervention, post-test design. Data collection occurred during class time from October 2012 to December 2012. The Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale tool was administered to students in class to assess their baseline and was administered again at the completion of the educational intervention to assess whether narrative pedagogy was effective in developing the nursing student's perception of their role as a patient advocate. Students were informed that their participation was voluntary and that the data collected would be anonymous and confidential. The survey was not a graded assignment, and students did not receive any incentive to participate. The institutional review board of the college determined the study to be exempt from review. School of Nursing at a small liberal arts college in the Northeastern United States. A consecutive, nonprobability sample of 44 senior-level nursing students enrolled in their final nursing semester was utilized. Results indicated significant differences in student nurse's perception of their advocacy role related to environment and educational influences following an education intervention using an ethics digital story. Using the Protective Nursing Advocacy Scale, we were able to measure the effectiveness of narrative pedagogy on nursing student's perception of the nurse's advocacy role. © The Author(s) 2014.

The value of a writing center at a medical university.

PubMed

Ariail, Jennie; Thomas, Suzanne; Smith, Tom; Kerr, Lisa; Richards-Slaughter, Shannon; Shaw, Darlene

2013-01-01

Students often enter graduate healthcare/biomedical schools with insufficient undergraduate instruction in effective writing, yet the ability to write well affects their career opportunities in health care and in scientific research. The present study was conducted to determine the value and effectiveness of instruction by faculty with expertise in teaching writing at a writing center at an academic health science center. Two separate sources of data were collected and analyzed. First, an anonymous campus-wide survey assessed students' satisfaction and utilization of the university's Writing Center. Second, a nonexperimental objective study was conducted comparing a subsample of students who used versus those who did not receive instruction at the Writing Center on quality of writing, as determined by an evaluator who was blind to students' utilization status. From the campus-wide survey, more than 90% of respondents who used the center (which was 26% of the student body) agreed that it was a valuable and effective resource. From the objective study of writing quality, students who used the Writing Center were twice as likely as students who did not to receive an A grade on the written assignment, and the blinded evaluator accurately estimated which students used the Writing Center based on the clarity of writing. The instruction at the Writing Center at our university is highly valued by students, and its value is further supported by objective evidence of efficacy. Such a center offers the opportunity to provide instruction that medical and other healthcare students increasingly need without requiring additions to existing curricula. By developing competency in writing, students prepare for scholarly pursuits, and through the process of writing, they engage critical thinking skills that can make them more attuned to narrative and more reflective and empathetic in the clinical setting.

Responsible conduct of research in communication sciences and disorders: faculty and student perceptions.

PubMed

Minifie, Fred D; Robey, Randall R; Horner, Jennifer; Ingham, Janis C; Lansing, Charissa; McCartney, James H; Alldredge, Elham-Eid; Slater, Sarah C; Moss, Sharon E

2011-02-01

Two Web-based surveys (Surveys I and II) were used to assess perceptions of faculty and students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) regarding the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Survey questions addressed 9 RCR domains thought important to the responsible conduct of research: (a) human subjects protections; (b) research involving animals; (c) publication practices and responsible authorship; (d) mentor/trainee responsibilities; (e) collaborative science; (f) peer review; (g) data acquisition, management, sharing, and ownership; (h) conflicts of interest; and (i) research misconduct. Respondents rated each of 37 topics for importance and for sufficiency of instructional coverage. Respondents to Survey I were 137 faculty members from 68 (26%) of the 261 graduate programs in CSD. By comparison, 237 students from 39 (15%) programs responded to Survey II. Data about the importance and sufficiency of coverage of each of the 37 items were transformed into z scores to reveal relative ratings among the 37 topics. Data presentations were grouped for topics in each of the 9 RCR domains. Ratings indicated the relatively high importance assigned among the 37 topics by CSD faculty and students. Sufficiency of coverage of those same topics received lower ratings. The results of these surveys support the notion that students in CSD perceive that they are receiving information about RCR. The data pertaining to sufficiency of coverage provide a basis for improving instruction in this important aspect of research education.

41 CFR 302-3.207 - Am I eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? 302-3.207 Section 302-3.207 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RELOCATION ALLOWANCES 3... eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? You may be eligible to...

41 CFR 302-3.207 - Am I eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? 302-3.207 Section 302-3.207 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RELOCATION ALLOWANCES 3... eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? You may be eligible to...

41 CFR 302-3.207 - Am I eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? 302-3.207 Section 302-3.207 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RELOCATION ALLOWANCES 3... eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? You may be eligible to...

41 CFR 302-3.207 - Am I eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? 302-3.207 Section 302-3.207 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Travel Regulation System RELOCATION ALLOWANCES RELOCATION ALLOWANCES 3... eligible to receive relocation allowances for overseas assignment and return travel? You may be eligible to...

Mini-Thesis Writing Course for International Graduate Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyatt-Brown, Anne M.

An approach to teaching academic writing to foreign graduate students at the University of Florida is described. The course combines general and technical writing assignments to sharpen students' critical thinking skills while improving their organizational techniques and editing strategies. Assignments are designed to help students discover the…

Teaching clinical skills through videotape review: a randomized trial of group versus individual reviews.

PubMed

Parish, Sharon J; Weber, Catherine M; Steiner-Grossman, Penny; Milan, Felise B; Burton, William B; Marantz, Paul R

2006-01-01

Video review is a valuable educational tool for teaching communication skills. Many studies have demonstrated its efficacy with individual learners, but few studies have addressed its use in a group format. To assess the educational benefits of group versus individual video review of standardized patient encounters through the evaluations of 4th-year students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Students (128) who participated in a 7-station, standardized patient, clinical competency exam were randomly assigned to an individual or small group video review of selected segments of these encounters in 2000-2001. Students filled out an anonymous 13-item questionnaire assessing the experience and provided open-ended responses. With both review formats, most students had a positive learning experience (80%), found it less stressful than they expected (67%), and would not have preferred to do the review the other way (84%). Students randomized to individual reviews had a significantly higher level of satisfaction with the amount of time for the session (91% vs. 78%, p < .05) and the amount of feedback they received (95% vs. 79%, p = .01) and were more likely to view the session as a positive learning experience (88% vs. 73%, p < .05). Students in the individual review format were more likely to choose self-assessed weak segments (63% vs. 49%, p = .01). Students' comments indicated that they appreciated the value of peer review in a group setting. Although both group reviews and individual reviews of videotaped standardized patient encounters were received well by the students, there were several statistical differences in favor of the individual format.

Using low-cost Android tablets and instructional videos to teach clinical skills to medical students in Kenya: a prospective study

PubMed Central

Ahn, Roy; Nelson, Brett D; Kagan, Calvin; Burke, Thomas F

2016-01-01

Objectives To assess the feasibility and impact of using a low-cost Android tablet to deliver clinical skills training to third-year medical students in Kenya. Design A prospective study using a low cost tablet called ‘connecTAB’, which was designed and manufactured specifically for areas with low bandwidth. Instructional video tutorials demonstrating techniques of cardiovascular and abdominal clinical examinations were pre-loaded onto the tablet. Setting Maseno University School of Medicine, Western Kenya. Participants Fifty-one third-year medical students from Maseno University School of Medicine were subjects in the study. Twenty-five students were assigned to the intervention group and 26 to the control group. Main outcome measures At the start of the study, students from both groups completed an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations. Students who were allocated to the intervention group then received the connecTAB, whereas students in the control group did not. After a period of three weeks, students from both groups completed a post-study OSCE for both the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations. Results There were significantly higher improvements in the scores for both cardiovascular and abdominal examinations (p < 0.001) within the group who received the e-tablets as compared to the control group. Conclusion The study suggests that access to connecTAB improves clinical education and efficacy and holds promise for international training in both medical and allied healthcare professional spheres in resource-limited settings. PMID:27540487

Middle school science grades: Can they be used to forecast performance on standardized tests?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubbard, Gary L.

2007-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if classroom science grades could be used to forecast standardized testing readiness for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Participants for this study consisted of 647 eighth grade students assigned to a public middle school in Florida. Using annual classroom science grades and the corresponding year's FCAT Science scale scores for each student, scatter plot graphs and Pearson product-moment correlations were used to determine their relationships. Correlation strengths were determined for several segmented student populations. First, the grade and FCAT score relationship for the entire middle school population was calculated and, then, the relationship between grades and FCAT scores for students grouped by their individual assigned science teacher was determined. Next, a second look at students grouped as above was conducted, this time focusing only on students with unacceptable FCAT scores (levels 1 and 2). The correlation between grades and FCAT scores for the entire middle school was moderate and ranged from high to weak for students assigned to individual science teachers. The relationship of grades and FCAT scores for middle school students that scored at levels 1 and 2 was weakly correlated and ranged from moderate to weak for students as they were assigned to their science teachers. Generally, classroom grades were found to be inefficient predictors for standardized testing readiness for students assigned to this middle school.

Effects of a transdermal lidocaine patch on indicators of postoperative pain in dogs undergoing midline ovariohysterectomy.

PubMed

Merema, Danielle K; Schoenrock, Emily K; Le Boedec, Kevin; McMichael, Maureen A

2017-05-15

OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of a transdermal lidocaine patch (TLP) on indicators of postoperative pain in healthy dogs following ovariohysterectomy. DESIGN Randomized, blinded controlled trial. ANIMALS 40 healthy shelter-owned female dogs admitted to a student surgery program for ovariohysterectomy. PROCEDURES Dogs were randomly assigned to receive after ovariohysterectomy a 5-cm-wide strip of TLP applied topically on both sides of the incision, for the full length of the incision and a wound dressing (n = 19) or a placebo patch (nonmedicated wound dressing; 21). All dogs underwent midline ovariohysterectomy. Immediately afterward, dogs received 2 IM morphine injections, carprofen (SC, q 12 h for 2 days), and the assigned patch (left in place for 18 hours). Postoperative comfort was evaluated by use of the short form of the Glasgow Composite Measures Pain Scale and serum cortisol concentrations measured prior to premedication and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 18 hours after surgery. RESULTS No significant difference in pain scores or serum cortisol concentrations was identified between dogs that received the TLP and dogs that received a placebo patch after ovariohysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The TLP provided no additional analgesic benefit to dogs treated concurrently with recommended doses of morphine and carprofen following ovariohysterectomy. Additional studies are needed to investigate whether similar results might be achieved in dogs treated concurrently with other analgesics. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2017;250:1140-1147).

How to Improve Adolescent Stress Responses: Insights From Integrating Implicit Theories of Personality and Biopsychosocial Models.

PubMed

Yeager, David S; Lee, Hae Yeon; Jamieson, Jeremy P

2016-08-01

This research integrated implicit theories of personality and the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat, hypothesizing that adolescents would be more likely to conclude that they can meet the demands of an evaluative social situation when they were taught that people have the potential to change their socially relevant traits. In Study 1 (N = 60), high school students were assigned to an incremental-theory-of-personality or a control condition and then given a social-stress task. Relative to control participants, incremental-theory participants exhibited improved stress appraisals, more adaptive neuroendocrine and cardiovascular responses, and better performance outcomes. In Study 2 (N = 205), we used a daily-diary intervention to test high school students' stress reactivity outside the laboratory. Threat appraisals (Days 5-9 after intervention) and neuroendocrine responses (Days 8 and 9 after intervention only) were unrelated to the intensity of daily stressors when adolescents received the incremental-theory intervention. Students who received the intervention also had better grades over freshman year than those who did not. These findings offer new avenues for improving theories of adolescent stress and coping. © The Author(s) 2016.

Automated grading of homework assignments and tests in introductory and intermediate statistics courses using active server pages.

PubMed

Stockburger, D W

1999-05-01

Active server pages permit a software developer to customize the Web experience for users by inserting server-side script and database access into Web pages. This paper describes applications of these techniques and provides a primer on the use of these methods. Applications include a system that generates and grades individualized homework assignments and tests for statistics students. The student accesses the system as a Web page, prints out the assignment, does the assignment, and enters the answers on the Web page. The server, running on NT Server 4.0, grades the assignment, updates the grade book (on a database), and returns the answer key to the student.

Accelerated Math®. Primary Mathematics. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2017

2017-01-01

"Accelerated Math®," published by Renaissance Learning, is a software tool that provides practice problems for students in grades K-12 and provides teachers with reports to monitor student progress. "Accelerated Math®" creates individualized student assignments, scores the assignments, and generates reports on student progress.…

Students Apply Research Methods to Consumer Decisions About Cognitive Enhancing Drinks

PubMed Central

Walters, Charles B.; Hill, Katherine G.; Zavilla, Anastasia R.; Erickson, Cynthia A.

2014-01-01

The goal of this class project was to provide students with a hands-on research experience that allowed autonomy, but eliminated duplication of effort and could be completed within one semester. Our resources were limited to a small supply budget and an introductory psychology subject pool. Six students from a behavioral neuroscience class tested claims made by a drink company that their product improves cognitive function. The students each chose a cognitive task for their part of the project. The tasks included the Donders Reaction Time Task, the Stroop Task, the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a short-term memory span test, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test and a simple measure of prefrontal EEG activity. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental or control drink. The experimental group received the putative cognitive enhancing drink and the control group received a placebo drink that was very similar in color and taste. The two drinks shared no active ingredients. Results suggest that the putative cognitive enhancing drink did not improve performance on any of the tasks and decreased performance on the short-term memory task. These findings are discussed in regard to implications for consumers as well as further research into supplements and their ability to improve cognitive performance. Each student presented his/her results at a university-wide research conference. This project provided a rich experience in which students had the opportunity to carry out a research project from conception to presentation. PMID:25565916

Lessons Learned Through the Implementation of an eHealth Physical Activity Gaming Intervention with High School Youth.

PubMed

Pope, Lizzy; Garnett, Bernice; Dibble, Marguerite

2018-04-01

To encourage high school students to meet physical activity goals using a newly developed game, and to document the feasibility, benefits, and challenges of using an electronic gaming application to promote physical activity in high school students. Working with youth and game designers an electronic game, Camp Conquer, was developed to motivate high school students to meet physical activity goals. One-hundred-five high school students were recruited to participate in a 12-week pilot test of the game and randomly assigned to a Game Condition or Control Condition. Students in both conditions received a FitBit to track their activity, and participants in the Game Condition received access to Camp Conquer. Number of steps and active minutes each day were tracked for all participants. FitBit use, game logins, and qualitative feedback from researchers, school personnel, and participants were used to determine intervention engagement. The majority of study participants did not consistently wear their FitBit or engage with the gaming intervention. Numerous design challenges and barriers to successful implementation such as the randomized design, absence of a true school-based champion, ease of use, and game glitches were identified. Developing games is an exciting technique for motivating the completion of a variety of health behaviors. Although the present intervention was not successful in increasing physical activity in high school students, important lessons were learned regarding how to best structure a gaming intervention for the high school population.

Longitudinal Evaluation of the Importance of Homework Assignment Completion for the Academic Performance of Middle School Students with ADHD

PubMed Central

Langberg, Joshua M.; Dvorsky, Melissa R.; Molitor, Stephen J.; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D.; Smith, Zoe; Schultz, Brandon K.; Evans, Steven W.

2016-01-01

The primary goal of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the homework assignment completion patterns of middle school age adolescents with ADHD, their associations with academic performance, and malleable predictors of homework assignment completion. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 104 middle school students comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD and followed for 18 months. Multiple teachers for each student provided information about the percentage of homework assignments turned in at five separate timepoints and school grades were collected quarterly. Results showed that agreement between teachers with respect to students’ assignment completion was high, with an intraclass correlation of .879 at baseline. Students with ADHD were turning in an average of 12% fewer assignments each academic quarter in comparison to teacher-reported classroom averages. Regression analyses revealed a robust association between the percentage of assignments turned in at baseline and school grades 18 months later, even after controlling for baseline grades, achievement (reading and math), intelligence, family income, and race. Cross-lag analyses demonstrated that the association between assignment completion and grades was reciprocal, with assignment completion negatively impacting grades and low grades in turn being associated with decreased future homework completion. Parent ratings of homework materials management abilities at baseline significantly predicted the percentage of assignments turned in as reported by teachers 18 months later. These findings demonstrate that homework assignment completion problems are persistent across time and an important intervention target for adolescents with ADHD. PMID:26931065

Meta-cognitive student reflections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barquist, Britt; Stewart, Jim

2009-05-01

We have recently concluded a project testing the effectiveness of a weekly assignment designed to encourage awareness and improvement of meta-cognitive skills. The project is based on the idea that successful problem solvers implement a meta-cognitive process in which they identify the specific concept they are struggling with, and then identify what they understand, what they don't understand, and what they need to know in order to resolve their problem. The assignment required the students to write an email assessing the level of completion of a weekly workbook assignment and to examine in detail their experiences regarding a specific topic they struggled with. The assignment guidelines were designed to coach them through this meta-cognitive process. We responded to most emails with advice for next week's assignment. Our data follow 12 students through a quarter consisting of 11 email assignments which were scored using a rubric based on the assignment guidelines. We found no correlation between rubric scores and final grades. We do have anecdotal evidence that the assignment was beneficial.

An analysis of maintenance following functional communication training.

PubMed Central

Durand, V M; Carr, E G

1992-01-01

The multiple and long-term effects of functional communication training relative to a common reductive procedure (time-out from positive reinforcement) were evaluated. Twelve children participated in a functional analysis of their challenging behaviors (Study 1), which implicated adult attention as a maintaining variable. The children were then matched for chronological age, mental age, and language age and assigned to two groups. One group received functional communication training as an intervention for their challenging behavior, and the second group received time-out as a contrast. Both interventions were initially successful (Study 2), but durable results were achieved only with the group that received functional communication training across different stimulus conditions (Study 3). Students whose challenging behaviors were previously reduced with time-out resumed these behaviors in the presence of naive teachers unaware of the children's intervention history. The value of teaching communicative responses to promote maintenance is discussed as it relates to the concept of functional equivalence. PMID:1478902

Easing Your Pain: A Method for Evaluating Research Writing from Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Barbara E.; Martin, Kathleen A.; Mann, Betty L.; Fogarty, Tracey

2004-01-01

Throughout their undergraduate and graduate careers, students are assigned various types of papers that require scientific writing style. The scope of these assignments include laboratory reports that require only graphing and statements of findings; abstract assignments with critical summaries included; abbreviated research papers, including…

Maximizing Completion and Comprehension of Reading Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Leanne R.

2017-01-01

The author presents self-report data from students in three upper-level undergraduate courses to illustrate the comparative effectiveness of different out-of-class assessment approaches in promoting completion and comprehension of reading assignments. Students reported agreeing or strongly agreeing that all three assignments motivated them to…

Benefits and costs of Channel One in a middle school setting and the role of media-literacy training.

PubMed

Austin, Erica Weintraub; Chen, Yi-Chun Yvonnes; Pinkleton, Bruce E; Quintero Johnson, Jessie

2006-03-01

Channel One is a public-affairs program that includes 10 minutes of news and 2 minutes of paid product advertising or public service announcements. Advocates assert that it increases public-affairs knowledge, but critics charge that it garners a captive audience for teen-targeted advertising. This experiment analyzed the differential effects of Channel One depending on whether early-adolescent viewers received a media-literacy lesson in conjunction with viewing the program. Outcomes included perceptions of Channel One news programming, recall of program content and advertising, materialism, and political efficacy. Researchers used a posttest-only field experiment (N = 240) of seventh- and eighth-grade students using random assignment to conditions. Conditions included a control group, a group that received a fact-based lesson, and a group that received the same lesson content using a more emotive teaching style. It was expected that the emotion-added lesson condition would be more effective than the logic-only lesson condition because of its motivational component. On average, students remembered more ads from Channel One than news stories. Participants in the control group remembered fewer news stories than did the groups that received the lessons. Students reported having purchased during the preceding 3 months an average of 2.5 items advertised on the program. Both fact-based and affect-added training increased student skepticism toward advertisers. As expected, student liking of the program enhanced their learning from it and was associated with higher levels of political efficacy. Students held misconceptions about the role of their school in the production of Channel One. The use of Channel One by schools can have benefits, but these come with risk that some may consider unacceptable. On the positive side, student liking of the program was associated with their political efficacy. Although those who responded positively to program content and presentation style learned more from it, they also tended to want things that they saw in the advertisements. The data therefore show that the program can provide some benefits to young adolescents, but the results also provide justification for concerns about the commercialization of the classroom.

An interactive online approach to small-group student presentations and discussions.

PubMed

Thor, Der; Xiao, Nan; Zheng, Meixun; Ma, Ruidan; Yu, Xiao Xi

2017-12-01

Student presentations had been widely implemented across content areas, including health sciences education. However, due to various limitations, small-group student presentations in the classroom may not reach their full potential for student learning. To address challenges with presentations in the classroom, we redesigned the assignment by having students present and discuss online using VoiceThread, a cloud-based presentation and discussion tool. First-year students pursuing a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree were assigned into small groups to present physiology content and to discuss that content online. This assignment was similar to traditional student classroom presentations, with the exception that the entire assignment was conducted online. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the impact of the online format on the discussion quality. Another purpose of the study was to examine students' perceptions of using VoiceThread for presenting and learning, as well as the online interactions between the presenter and audience. Students posted a higher number of questions and comments than required by the assignment. The questions from students were also higher level questions, and the answers to these questions were more thorough compared with what we had previously observed in classroom presentations. The survey results showed that students preferred using VoiceThread for presenting, learning from other presentations, and discussing presentation content over performing this process in the classroom. Preliminary findings suggested that having dental students make presentations and hold discussions online might help address the challenges of student presentations in the classroom. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Effectiveness of school- and family-based interventions to prevent gaming addiction among grades 4–5 students in Bangkok, Thailand

PubMed Central

Apisitwasana, Nipaporn; Perngparn, Usaneya; Cottler, Linda B

2018-01-01

Purpose This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Participatory Learning School and Family Based Intervention Program for Preventing Game Addiction by Developing Self-Regulation of gaming addiction among students of grades 4 and 5 in Bangkok. Methods A quasi-experimental study was implemented among students of grades 4 and 5 at primary schools in Bangkok selected through multistage random sampling. Two comparable schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. Then, 310 students in the randomly selected classrooms were allocated to each group. The intervention group received the self-regulation program with school and family involvement to prevent gaming addiction. Master teachers attended in-house training on prevention of gaming addiction in children. Parents of these children received a gaming addiction prevention manual and guidelines. The program lasted 8 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Knowledge and Attitude About Gaming Questionnaire, Game Addiction Screening Test (GAST), and Game Addiction Protection Scale were utilized to assess subjects at baseline, immediately after, and 3 months post-intervention. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and independent t-test were used to describe characteristics of the participants, and repeated measures ANOVA was analyzed to test the effectiveness of the intervention. Results The findings revealed that there were significant differences in knowledge, attitude, self-regulation, and gaming addiction behaviors (p < 0.05) immediately and 3 months post-intervention. Positive effects of the intervention included increase in knowledge, attitude, and self-regulation, whereas the GAST score was significantly decreased (p < 0.05) immediately and 3 months after the program. Conclusion The program based on self-regulation and school and family participation is effective for preventing gaming addiction in students of grades 4 and 5 in Bangkok, Thailand. PMID:29695939

The impact of presentation style on the retention of online health information: a randomized-controlled experiment.

PubMed

Frisch, Anne-Linda; Camerini, Luca; Schulz, Peter J

2013-01-01

The Internet plays an increasingly important role in health education, providing laypeople with information about health-related topics that range from disease-specific contexts to general health promotion. Compared to traditional health education, the Internet allows the use of multimedia applications that offer promise to enhance individuals' health knowledge and literacy. This study aims at testing the effect of multimedia presentation of health information on learning. Relying on an experimental design, it investigates how retention of information differs for text-only presentation, image-only presentation, and multimedia (text and image) presentation of online health information. Two hundred and forty students were randomly assigned to four groups each exposed to a different website version. Three groups were exposed to the same information using text only, image only, or text and image presentation. A fourth group received unrelated information (control group). Retention was assessed by the means of a recognition test. To examine a possible interaction between website version and recognition test, half of the students received a recognition test in text form and half of them received a recognition test in imagery form. In line with assumptions from Dual Coding Theory, students exposed to the multimedia (text and image) presentation recognized significantly more information than students exposed to the text-only presentation. This did not hold for students exposed to the image-only presentation. The impact of presentation style on retention scores was moderated by the way retention was assessed for image-only presentation, but not for text-only or multimedia presentation. Possible explanations and implications for the design of online health education interventions are discussed.

Effectiveness of school- and family-based interventions to prevent gaming addiction among grades 4-5 students in Bangkok, Thailand.

PubMed

Apisitwasana, Nipaporn; Perngparn, Usaneya; Cottler, Linda B

2018-01-01

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Participatory Learning School and Family Based Intervention Program for Preventing Game Addiction by Developing Self-Regulation of gaming addiction among students of grades 4 and 5 in Bangkok. A quasi-experimental study was implemented among students of grades 4 and 5 at primary schools in Bangkok selected through multistage random sampling. Two comparable schools were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. Then, 310 students in the randomly selected classrooms were allocated to each group. The intervention group received the self-regulation program with school and family involvement to prevent gaming addiction. Master teachers attended in-house training on prevention of gaming addiction in children. Parents of these children received a gaming addiction prevention manual and guidelines. The program lasted 8 weeks. The control group received no intervention. Knowledge and Attitude About Gaming Questionnaire, Game Addiction Screening Test (GAST), and Game Addiction Protection Scale were utilized to assess subjects at baseline, immediately after, and 3 months post-intervention. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and independent t -test were used to describe characteristics of the participants, and repeated measures ANOVA was analyzed to test the effectiveness of the intervention. The findings revealed that there were significant differences in knowledge, attitude, self-regulation, and gaming addiction behaviors ( p < 0.05) immediately and 3 months post-intervention. Positive effects of the intervention included increase in knowledge, attitude, and self-regulation, whereas the GAST score was significantly decreased ( p < 0.05) immediately and 3 months after the program. The program based on self-regulation and school and family participation is effective for preventing gaming addiction in students of grades 4 and 5 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Calibrated peer review assignments for the earth sciences

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rudd, J.A.; Wang, V.Z.; Cervato, C.; Ridky, R.W.

2009-01-01

Calibrated Peer Review ??? (CPR), a web-based instructional tool developed as part of the National Science Foundation reform initiatives in undergraduate science education, allows instructors to incorporate multiple writing assignments in large courses without overwhelming the instructor. This study reports successful implementation of CPR in a large, introductory geology course and student learning of geoscience content. For each CPR assignment in this study, students studied web-based and paper resources, wrote an essay, and reviewed seven essays (three from the instructor, three from peers, and their own) on the topic. Although many students expressed negative attitudes and concerns, particularly about the peer review process of this innovative instructional approach, they also recognized the learning potential of completing CPR assignments. Comparing instruction on earthquakes and plate boundaries using a CPR assignment vs. an instructional video lecture and homework essay with extensive instructor feedback, students mastered more content via CPR instruction.

Effects of Preventative Tutoring on the Mathematical Problem Solving of Third-Grade Students With Math and Reading Difficulties.

PubMed

Fuchs, Lynn S; Seethaler, Pamela M; Powell, Sarah R; Fuchs, Douglas; Hamlett, Carol L; Fletcher, Jack M

2008-01-01

This study assessed the effects of preventative tutoring on the math problem solving of third-grade students with math and reading difficulties. Students (n = 35) were assigned randomly to continue in their general education math program or to receive secondary preventative tutoring 3 times per week, 30 min per session, for 12 weeks. Schema-broadening tutoring taught students to (a) focus on the mathematical structure of 3 problem types; (b) recognize problems as belonging to those 3 problem-type schemas; (c) solve the 3 word-problem types; and (d) transfer solution methods to problems that include irrelevant information, 2-digit operands, missing information in the first or second positions in the algebraic equation, or relevant information in charts, graphs, and pictures. Also, students were taught to perform the calculation and algebraic skills foundational for problem solving. Analyses of variance revealed statistically significant effects on a wide range of word problems, with large effect sizes. Findings support the efficacy of the tutoring protocol for preventing word-problem deficits among third-grade students with math and reading deficits.

Effects of Preventative Tutoring on the Mathematical Problem Solving of Third-Grade Students With Math and Reading Difficulties

PubMed Central

Fuchs, Lynn S.; Seethaler, Pamela M.; Powell, Sarah R.; Fuchs, Douglas; Hamlett, Carol L.; Fletcher, Jack M.

2009-01-01

This study assessed the effects of preventative tutoring on the math problem solving of third-grade students with math and reading difficulties. Students (n = 35) were assigned randomly to continue in their general education math program or to receive secondary preventative tutoring 3 times per week, 30 min per session, for 12 weeks. Schema-broadening tutoring taught students to (a) focus on the mathematical structure of 3 problem types; (b) recognize problems as belonging to those 3 problem-type schemas; (c) solve the 3 word-problem types; and (d) transfer solution methods to problems that include irrelevant information, 2-digit operands, missing information in the first or second positions in the algebraic equation, or relevant information in charts, graphs, and pictures. Also, students were taught to perform the calculation and algebraic skills foundational for problem solving. Analyses of variance revealed statistically significant effects on a wide range of word problems, with large effect sizes. Findings support the efficacy of the tutoring protocol for preventing word-problem deficits among third-grade students with math and reading deficits. PMID:20209074

Effects of multimedia vocabulary instruction on adolescents with learning disabilities.

PubMed

Kennedy, Michael J; Deshler, Donald D; Lloyd, John Wills

2015-01-01

The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate the effects of using content acquisition podcasts (CAPs), an example of instructional technology, to provide vocabulary instruction to adolescents with and without learning disabilities (LD). A total of 279 urban high school students, including 30 with LD in an area related to reading, were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions with instruction occurring at individual computer terminals over a 3-week period. Each of the four conditions contained different configurations of multimedia-based instruction and evidence-based vocabulary instruction. Dependent measures of vocabulary knowledge indicated that students with LD who received vocabulary instruction using CAPs through an explicit instructional methodology and the keyword mnemonic strategy significantly outperformed other students with LD who were taught using the same content, but with multimedia instruction that did not adhere to a specific theoretical design framework. Results for general education students mirrored those for students with LD. Students also completed a satisfaction measure following instruction with multimedia and expressed overall agreement that CAPs are useful for learning vocabulary terms. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Simulated annealing algorithm for solving chambering student-case assignment problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghazali, Saadiah; Abdul-Rahman, Syariza

2015-12-01

The problem related to project assignment problem is one of popular practical problem that appear nowadays. The challenge of solving the problem raise whenever the complexity related to preferences, the existence of real-world constraints and problem size increased. This study focuses on solving a chambering student-case assignment problem by using a simulated annealing algorithm where this problem is classified under project assignment problem. The project assignment problem is considered as hard combinatorial optimization problem and solving it using a metaheuristic approach is an advantage because it could return a good solution in a reasonable time. The problem of assigning chambering students to cases has never been addressed in the literature before. For the proposed problem, it is essential for law graduates to peruse in chambers before they are qualified to become legal counselor. Thus, assigning the chambering students to cases is a critically needed especially when involving many preferences. Hence, this study presents a preliminary study of the proposed project assignment problem. The objective of the study is to minimize the total completion time for all students in solving the given cases. This study employed a minimum cost greedy heuristic in order to construct a feasible initial solution. The search then is preceded with a simulated annealing algorithm for further improvement of solution quality. The analysis of the obtained result has shown that the proposed simulated annealing algorithm has greatly improved the solution constructed by the minimum cost greedy heuristic. Hence, this research has demonstrated the advantages of solving project assignment problem by using metaheuristic techniques.

Statistical Literacy Social Media Project for the Masses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gundlach, Ellen; Maybee, Clarence; O'Shea, Kevin

2015-01-01

This article examines a social media assignment used to teach and practice statistical literacy with over 400 students each semester in large-lecture traditional, fully online, and flipped sections of an introductory-level statistics course. Following the social media assignment, students completed a survey on how they approached the assignment.…

Automating Formative and Summative Feedback for Individualised Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Ian Robert

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the rationale behind the use of a unique paper-based individualised accounting assignment, which automated the provision to students of immediate formative and timely summative feedback. Design/methodology/approach: As students worked towards completing their assignment, the package provided…

Learner Perspectives Regarding Device Type in Technology-Assisted Language Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ko, Myong-Hee

2017-01-01

This study compared learner perspectives regarding using PCs and smartphones as learning devices. A total of 167 Korean university students completed online assignments designed to maximize interaction with these devices. The assignments required students to submit their responses regarding assigned reading passages for a semester. Then they…

How to lose weight bias fast! Evaluating a brief anti-weight bias intervention.

PubMed

Diedrichs, Phillippa C; Barlow, Fiona Kate

2011-11-01

Although experiencing weight bias is associated with poor physical and psychological health, health professionals often stigmatize overweight and obese clients. The objective of this study was to evaluate a brief educational intervention that aimed to reduce weight bias among Australian pre-service health students by challenging beliefs about the controllability of weight. Non-equivalent group comparison trial. Undergraduate psychology students were assigned to an intervention (n= 30), control (n= 35), or comparison (n= 20) condition. The intervention condition received a lecture on obesity, weight bias, and the multiple determinants of weight; the comparison condition received a lecture on obesity and the behavioural determinants of weight; and the control condition received no lecture. Beliefs about the controllability of weight and attitudes towards overweight and obese people were assessed 1 week pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and 3 weeks post-intervention. After receiving the lecture, participants in the intervention group were less likely to believe that weight is solely within individual control and were also less likely to hold negative attitudes towards overweight and obese people and rate them as unattractive. These changes were maintained 3 weeks post-intervention. There were no such changes in the control or comparison groups. Disparagement of overweight and obese peoples' social character increased over time for participants in the control condition but did not change in the comparison or intervention groups. This study provides evidence that brief, education-based anti-weight bias interventions show success in challenging weight controllability beliefs and reducing weight bias among pre-service health students. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

The Land of Confusion? High School Students and Their Use of the World Wide Web for Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorenzen, Michael

2002-01-01

Examines high school students' use of the World Wide Web to complete assignments. Findings showed the students used a good variety of resources, including libraries and the World Wide Web, to find information for assignments. However, students were weak at determining the quality of the information found on web sites. Students did poorly at…

Comparison of the number of supervisors on medical student satisfaction during a child and adolescent psychiatry rotation.

PubMed

Mascioli, Kelly J; Robertson, Catharine J; Douglass, Alan B

2016-01-01

Traditionally, third-year medical students are assigned to one supervisor during their 1-week rotation in child and adolescent psychiatry. However, the majority of supervisory staff in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry opted to switch the supervision schedule to one in which some medical students are assigned to two primary supervisors. The aim of the study was to determine if students assigned to two primary supervisors had greater rotation satisfaction compared with students assigned to one primary supervisor during a 1-week clerkship rotation in child and adolescent psychiatry. A satisfaction questionnaire was sent to 110 third-year medical students who completed their child and adolescent clerkship rotation. Based on the responses, students were divided into groups depending on their number of supervisors. Questionnaire responses were compared between the groups using independent t-tests. When students who had one primary supervisor were compared to students who had two primary supervisors, the lone item showing a statistically significant difference was regarding improvement of assessment reports/progress notes. The number of supervisors does not significantly affect the satisfaction of students during a 1-week clerkship rotation in child and adolescent psychiatry. Other factors are important in rotation satisfaction.

Does Ultrasound-Enhanced Instruction of Musculoskeletal Anatomy Improve Physical Examination Skills of First-Year Medical Students?

PubMed

Walrod, Bryant J; Schroeder, Allison; Conroy, Mark J; Boucher, Laura C; Bockbrader, Marcia; Way, David P; McCamey, Kendra L; Hartz, Clinton A; Jonesco, Michael A; Bahner, David P

2018-01-01

Ultrasound imaging is commonly used to teach basic anatomy to medical students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether learning musculoskeletal anatomy with ultrasound improved performance on medical students' musculoskeletal physical examination skills. Twenty-seven first-year medical students were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 instructional groups: either shoulder or knee. Both groups received a lecture followed by hands-on ultrasound scanning on live human models of the assigned joint. After instruction, students were assessed on their ability to accurately palpate 4 anatomic landmarks: the acromioclavicular joint, the proximal long-head biceps tendon, and the medial and lateral joint lines of the knee. Performance scores were based on both accuracy and time. A total physical examination performance score was derived for each joint. Scores for instructional groups were compared by a 2-way analysis of variance with 1 repeated measure. Significant findings were further analyzed with post hoc tests. All students performed significantly better on the knee examination, irrespective of instructional group (F = 14.9; df = 1.25; P = .001). Moreover, the shoulder instruction group performed significantly better than the knee group on the overall assessment (t = -3.0; df = 25; P < .01). Post hoc analyses revealed that differences in group performance were due to the shoulder group's higher scores on palpation of the biceps tendon (t = -2.8; df = 25; P = .01), a soft tissue landmark. Both groups performed similarly on palpation of all other anatomic structures. The use of ultrasound appears to provide an educational advantage when learning musculoskeletal physical examination of soft tissue landmarks. © 2017 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

Study protocol for a self-controlled cluster randomised trial of the Alert Program to improve self-regulation and executive function in Australian Aboriginal children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

PubMed Central

Fitzpatrick, James P; Mazzucchelli, Trevor G; Symons, Martyn; Carmichael Olson, Heather; Jirikowic, Tracy; Cross, Donna; Wright, Edie; Adams, Emma; Carter, Maureen; Bruce, Kaashifah; Latimer, Jane

2018-01-01

Introduction While research highlights the benefits of early diagnosis and intervention for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), there are limited data documenting effective interventions for Australian children living in remote communities. Methods and analysis This self-controlled cluster randomised trial is evaluating the effectiveness of an 8-week Alert Program school curriculum for improving self-regulation and executive function in children living in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Children in grades 1–6 attending any of the eight participating schools across the Fitzroy Valley in remote North-West Australia (N ≈ 363) were invited to participate. Each school was assigned to one of four clusters with clusters randomly assigned to receive the intervention at one of four time points. Clusters two, three and four had extended control conditions where students received regular schooling before later receiving the intervention. Trained classroom teachers delivered the Alert Program to students in discrete, weekly, 1-hour lessons. Student outcomes were assessed at three time points. For the intervention condition, data collection occurred 2 weeks immediately before and after the intervention, with a follow-up 8 weeks later. For control conditions in clusters two to four, the control data collection matched that of the data collection for the intervention condition in the preceding cluster. The primary outcome is change in self-regulation. FASD diagnoses will be determined via medical record review after the completion of data collection. The results will be analysed using generalised linear mixed modelling and reported in accordance with Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Western Australia (WA) (RA/4/1/7234), WA Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (601) and WA Country Health Service (2015:04). The Kimberley Aboriginal Health Planning Forum Research Sub-Committee and WA Department of Education also provided approval. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, the media and at forums. Trial registration number ACTRN12615000733572; Pre-results. PMID:29581212

Multimedia in the Foreign Language Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Barbara S.

Second language teachers are encouraged to assign multimedia projects to their students. They are challenging for the student to create, can effectively reinforce learning, and are a fun way for students to practice language skills. Rather than have students draw a poster or write a paper, the teacher can assign a presentation using a combination…

Effects of Students' Participation in Authoring of Multimedia Materials on Student Acquisition of Vocabulary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nikolova, Ofelia R.

2002-01-01

Investigated the effects on vocabulary acquisition of student participation in authoring a multimedia institutional module. Sixty-two subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, and each group was randomly assigned to one of two treatments. Showed evidence that students learn vocabulary significantly better when they participate in the creation…

Detention as a Deterrent for Late Assignments: A Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conover, Pamela J.

To gauge the impact of after-school student detention on punctual completion of homework, on detained student grades, and on student self-esteem, fourth- through sixth-grade students from a school with an after-school detention policy for late or incomplete assignments were studied. Interviews were conducted with the four fourth-, fifth-, and…

Digital Video as a Personalized Learning Assignment: A Qualitative Study of Student Authored Video Using the ICSDR Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Laurie O.; Cox, Thomas D.

2018-01-01

Students within this study followed the ICSDR (Identify, Conceptualize/Connect, Storyboard, Develop, Review/Reflect/Revise) development model to create digital video, as a personalized and active learning assignment. The participants, graduate students in education, indicated that following the ICSDR framework for student-authored video guided…

Effects of individualized assignments on biology achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kremer, Philip L.

A pretest-posttest, randomized, two groups, experimental, factorial design compared effects of detailed and nondetailed assignments on biology achievement over seven and a half months. Detailed assignments (favoring field independence and induction) employed block diagrams and stepwise directions. Nondetailed assignments (favoring field dependence and deduction) virtually lacked these. The accessible population was 101 tenth grade preparatory school male students. The 95 students enrolled in first year biology constituted the sample. Two by three ANOVA was done on residualized posttest score means of the students. Totally, the detailed students achieved significantly higher than the nondetailed students. This significantly higher achievement was only true of detailed students in the middle thirds of the deviation intelligence quotient (DIQ) range and of the grade point average (G.P.A.) range after the breakdown into upper, middle, and lower thirds of intellectual capability (ability and achievement). The upper third detailed DIQ grouping indirectly achieved higher than its peers, whereas the lower detailed DIQ third achieved lower than its peers. Thus, high capability students apparently benefit from flow and block diagrams, inductions, field independence, and high structure, whereas low capability students may be hindered by these.

Adolescent pregnancy prevention: An abstinence-centered randomized controlled intervention in a Chilean public high school.

PubMed

Cabezón, Carlos; Vigil, Pilar; Rojas, Iván; Leiva, M Eugenia; Riquelme, Rosa; Aranda, Waldo; García, Carlos

2005-01-01

To evaluate the efficacy of an abstinence-centered sex education program in adolescent pregnancy prevention, the TeenSTAR Program was applied in a high school in Santiago, Chile. A total of 1259 girls from a Santiago high school were divided into three cohorts depending on the year they started high school: the 1996 cohort of 425 students, which received no intervention; the 1997 cohort, in which 210 students received an intervention and 213 (control group) did not; and the 1998 cohort, in which 328 students received an intervention and 83 (control group) did not. Students were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups in these cohorts, before starting with the program. We conducted a prospective, randomized study using the application of the TeenSTAR sex education program during the first year of high school to the intervention groups in the 1997 and 1998 cohorts. All cohorts were followed up for 4 years; pregnancy rates were recorded and subsequently contrasted in the intervention and control groups. Pregnancy rates were measured and Risk Ratio with 95% confidence interval were calculated for intervention and control groups in each cohort. Pregnancy rates for the intervention and control groups in the 1997 cohort were 3.3% and 18.9%, respectively (RR: 0.176, CI: 0.076-0.408). Pregnancy rates for the intervention and control groups in the 1998 cohort were 4.4% and 22.6%, respectively (RR 0.195, CI: 0.099-0.384). The abstinence-centered TeenSTAR sex education intervention was effective in the prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancy.

Effects of a Multitier Support System on Calculation, Word Problem, and Prealgebraic Performance Among At-Risk Learners.

PubMed

Powell, Sarah R; Fuchs, Lynn S; Cirino, Paul T; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L; Changas, Paul C

2015-07-01

The focus of the present study was enhancing word-problem and calculation achievement in ways that support pre-algebraic thinking among 2 nd -grade students at risk for mathematics difficulty. Intervention relied on a multi-tier support system (i.e., responsiveness-to-intervention or RTI) in which at-risk students participate in general classroom instruction and receive supplementary small-group tutoring. Participants were 265 students in 110 classrooms in 25 schools. Teachers were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: calculation RTI, word-problem RTI, and business-as-usual control. Intervention lasted 17 weeks. Multilevel modeling indicated that calculation RTI improved calculation but not word-problem outcomes; word-problem RTI enhanced proximal word-problem outcomes as well as performance on some calculation outcomes; and word-problem RTI provided a stronger route than calculation RTI to pre-algebraic knowledge.

Development and Effectiveness of an Educational Card Game as Supplementary Material in Understanding Selected Topics in Biology

PubMed Central

Gutierrez, Arnel F.

2014-01-01

The complex concepts and vocabulary of biology classes discourage many students. In this study, a pretest–posttest model was used to test the effectiveness of an educational card game in reinforcing biological concepts in comparison with traditional teaching methods. The subjects of this study were two biology classes at Bulacan State University–Sarmiento Campus. Both classes received conventional instruction; however, the experimental group's instruction was supplemented with the card game, while the control group's instruction was reinforced with traditional exercises and assignments. The score increases from pretest to posttest showed that both methods effectively reinforced biological concepts, but a t test showed that the card game is more effective than traditional teaching methods. Additionally, students from the experimental group evaluated the card game using five criteria: goals, design, organization, playability, and usefulness. The students rated the material very satisfactory. PMID:24591506

Mars Robotics in the Elementary School

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonett, D.

2003-05-01

Kenneth E. Little Elementary is a public school grades Pre-K to 5th in Bacliff, Texas. It has an ethnically diverse population of one-thousand boys and girls. It is a Title 1 school with eighty-six percent of the students receiving free or reduced meals. K.E. Little has a large at-risk population with a thirty-three percent transition rate. The Young Astronauts @ K.E. Little is an on-going afterschool space science program in it's third year of operation. Thirty students,fourth and fifth grade, were involved in our spring robotics program. Each co-operative group was assigned a LEGO robotics kit to inventory,organize, and familiarize themselves with. Each team made decisions, by consensus, concerning the robots design and capabilities. Students used the Dell Computer Lab on campus to program their robots. Although time did not permit the construction of a simulated Martian landscape, future Young Astronauts will continue this project in January 2004.

Effects of a Web-based course on nursing skills and knowledge learning.

PubMed

Lu, Der-Fa; Lin, Zu-Chun; Li, Yun-Ju

2009-02-01

The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of supplementing traditional classroom teaching with Web-based learning design when teaching intramuscular injection nursing skills. Four clusters of nursing students at a junior college in eastern Taiwan were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. A total of 147 students (80 in the experimental group, 67 in the control group) completed the study. All participants received the same classroom lectures and skill demonstration. The experimental group interacted using a Web-based course and were able to view the content on demand. The students and instructor interacted via a chatroom, the bulletin board, and e-mail. Participants in the experimental group had significantly higher scores on both intramuscular injection knowledge and skill learning. A Web-based design can be an effective supplementing learning tool for teaching nursing knowledge and skills.

Development and effectiveness of an educational card game as supplementary material in understanding selected topics in biology.

PubMed

Gutierrez, Arnel F

2014-01-01

The complex concepts and vocabulary of biology classes discourage many students. In this study, a pretest-posttest model was used to test the effectiveness of an educational card game in reinforcing biological concepts in comparison with traditional teaching methods. The subjects of this study were two biology classes at Bulacan State University-Sarmiento Campus. Both classes received conventional instruction; however, the experimental group's instruction was supplemented with the card game, while the control group's instruction was reinforced with traditional exercises and assignments. The score increases from pretest to posttest showed that both methods effectively reinforced biological concepts, but a t test showed that the card game is more effective than traditional teaching methods. Additionally, students from the experimental group evaluated the card game using five criteria: goals, design, organization, playability, and usefulness. The students rated the material very satisfactory.

Lessons from two decades of hybrid and online physics courses at Michigan State University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kortemeyer, Gerd

In Fall 1992, at Michigan State University we first offered online homework to one section of an introductory physics course; students received randomized assignments as printouts and entered answers through Telnet sessions, frequently using text terminals. Now, over two decades later, all of our introductory physics courses have significant online components, and students can chose between different formats, including hybrid courses with free online textbook materials, as well as courses that are completely online. What have we learned over the years about which formats are most effective for which students? What are the respective learning outcomes? Which logistical models work best for homework, exams, videos, and textbook materials? What about academic integrity? In our talk we will reflect on how our courses have been developing over the years, report educational research results, relate anecdotes and experiences, and point out pitfalls that we have encountered.

Effects of a Multitier Support System on Calculation, Word Problem, and Prealgebraic Performance Among At-Risk Learners

PubMed Central

Powell, Sarah R.; Fuchs, Lynn S.; Cirino, Paul T.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Changas, Paul C.

2014-01-01

The focus of the present study was enhancing word-problem and calculation achievement in ways that support pre-algebraic thinking among 2nd-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulty. Intervention relied on a multi-tier support system (i.e., responsiveness-to-intervention or RTI) in which at-risk students participate in general classroom instruction and receive supplementary small-group tutoring. Participants were 265 students in 110 classrooms in 25 schools. Teachers were randomly assigned to 3 conditions: calculation RTI, word-problem RTI, and business-as-usual control. Intervention lasted 17 weeks. Multilevel modeling indicated that calculation RTI improved calculation but not word-problem outcomes; word-problem RTI enhanced proximal word-problem outcomes as well as performance on some calculation outcomes; and word-problem RTI provided a stronger route than calculation RTI to pre-algebraic knowledge. PMID:26097244

A Novel Approach to Medical Student Peer-assisted Learning Through Case-based Simulations

PubMed Central

Jauregui, Joshua; Bright, Steven; Strote, Jared; Shandro, Jamie

2018-01-01

Introduction Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is the development of new knowledge and skills through active learning support from peers. Benefits of PAL include introduction of teaching skills for students, creation of a safe learning environment, and efficient use of faculty time. We present a novel approach to PAL in an emergency medicine (EM) clerkship curriculum using an inexpensive, tablet-based app for students to cooperatively present and perform low-fidelity, case-based simulations that promotes accountability for student learning, fosters teaching skills, and economizes faculty presence. Methods We developed five clinical cases in the style of EM oral boards. Fourth-year medical students were each assigned a unique case one week in advance. Students also received an instructional document and a video example detailing how to lead a case. During the 90-minute session, students were placed in small groups of 3–5 students and rotated between facilitating their assigned cases and participating as a team for the cases presented by their fellow students. Cases were supplemented with a half-mannequin that can be intubated, airway supplies, and a tablet-based app (SimMon, $22.99) to remotely display and update vital signs. One faculty member rotated among groups to provide additional assistance and clarification. Three EM faculty members iteratively developed a survey, based on the literature and pilot tested it with fourth-year medical students, to evaluate the course. Results 135 medical students completed the course and course evaluation survey. Learner satisfaction was high with an overall score of 4.6 on a 5-point Likert scale. In written comments, students reported that small groups with minimal faculty involvement provided a safe learning environment and a unique opportunity to lead a group of peers. They felt that PAL was more effective than traditional simulations for learning. Faculty reported that students remained engaged and required minimal oversight. Conclusion Unlike other simulations, our combination of brief, student-assisted cases using low-fidelity simulation provides a cost-, resource- and time-effective way to implement a medical student clerkship educational experience. PMID:29383080

A Novel Approach to Medical Student Peer-assisted Learning Through Case-based Simulations.

PubMed

Jauregui, Joshua; Bright, Steven; Strote, Jared; Shandro, Jamie

2018-01-01

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is the development of new knowledge and skills through active learning support from peers. Benefits of PAL include introduction of teaching skills for students, creation of a safe learning environment, and efficient use of faculty time. We present a novel approach to PAL in an emergency medicine (EM) clerkship curriculum using an inexpensive, tablet-based app for students to cooperatively present and perform low-fidelity, case-based simulations that promotes accountability for student learning, fosters teaching skills, and economizes faculty presence. We developed five clinical cases in the style of EM oral boards. Fourth-year medical students were each assigned a unique case one week in advance. Students also received an instructional document and a video example detailing how to lead a case. During the 90-minute session, students were placed in small groups of 3-5 students and rotated between facilitating their assigned cases and participating as a team for the cases presented by their fellow students. Cases were supplemented with a half-mannequin that can be intubated, airway supplies, and a tablet-based app (SimMon, $22.99) to remotely display and update vital signs. One faculty member rotated among groups to provide additional assistance and clarification. Three EM faculty members iteratively developed a survey, based on the literature and pilot tested it with fourth-year medical students, to evaluate the course. 135 medical students completed the course and course evaluation survey. Learner satisfaction was high with an overall score of 4.6 on a 5-point Likert scale. In written comments, students reported that small groups with minimal faculty involvement provided a safe learning environment and a unique opportunity to lead a group of peers. They felt that PAL was more effective than traditional simulations for learning. Faculty reported that students remained engaged and required minimal oversight. Unlike other simulations, our combination of brief, student-assisted cases using low-fidelity simulation provides a cost-, resource- and time-effective way to implement a medical student clerkship educational experience.

Evaluation of Computer-aided Strategies for Teaching Medical Students Prenatal Ultrasound Diagnostic Skills.

PubMed

Amesse, Lawrence S; Callendar, Ealena; Pfaff-Amesse, Teresa; Duke, Janice; Herbert, William N P

2008-09-24

To evaluate whether computer-based learning (CBL) improves newly acquired knowledge and is an effective strategy for teaching prenatal ultrasound diagnostic skills to third-year medical students when compared with instruction by traditional paper-based methods (PBM). We conducted a randomized, prospective study involving volunteer junior (3(rd) year) medical students consecutively rotating through the Obstetrics and Gynecology clerkship during six months of the 2005-2006 academic year. The students were randomly assigned to permuted blocks and divided into two groups. Half of the participants received instruction in prenatal ultrasound diagnostics using an interactive CBL program; the other half received instruction using equivalent material by the traditional PBM. Outcomes were evaluated by comparing changes in pre-tutorial and post instruction examination scores. All 36 potential participants (100%) completed the study curriculum. Students were divided equally between the CBL (n = 18) and PBM (n = 18) groups. Pre-tutorial exam scores (mean+/-s.d.) were 44%+/-11.1% for the CBL group and 44%+/-10.8% for the PBL cohort, indicating no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) between the two groups. After instruction, post-tutorial exam scores (mean+/-s.d.) were increased from the pre-tutorial scores, 74%+/-11% and 67%+/-12%, for students in the CBL and the PBM groups, respectively. The improvement in post-tutorial exam scores from the pre-test scores was considered significant (p<0.05). When post-test scores for the tutorial groups were compared, the CBL subjects achieved a score that was, on average, 7 percentage points higher than their PBM counterparts, a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). Instruction by either CBL or PBM strategies is associated with improvements in newly acquired knowledge as reflected by increased post-tutorial examination scores. Students that received CBL had significantlyhigher post-tutorial exam scores than those in the PBM group, indicating that CBL is an effective instruction strategy in this setting.

A Trial of the Efficacy and Cost of Water Delivery Systems in San Francisco Bay Area Middle Schools, 2013.

PubMed

Patel, Anisha I; Grummon, Anna H; Hampton, Karla E; Oliva, Ariana; McCulloch, Charles E; Brindis, Claire D

2016-07-07

US legislation requires that schools offer free drinking water where meals are served. However, little information is available about what types of water delivery systems schools should install to meet such requirements. The study objective was to examine the efficacy and cost of 2 water delivery systems (water dispensers and bottleless water coolers) in increasing students' lunchtime intake of water in low-income middle schools. In 2013, twelve middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area participated in a cluster randomized controlled trial in which they received 6 weeks of promotional activities, received provision of cups, and were assigned to 1 of 2 cafeteria water delivery systems: water dispensers or bottleless water coolers (or schools served as a control). Student surveys (n = 595) and observations examined the interventions' effect on students' beverage intake and staff surveys and public data assessed intervention cost. Analysis occurred from 2013 through 2015. Mixed-effects logistic regression, accounting for clustering and adjustment for student sociodemographic characteristics, demonstrated a significant increase in the odds of students drinking water in schools with promotion plus water dispensers and cups (adjusted odds ratio = 3.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-6.7; P = .004) compared with schools with traditional drinking fountains and no cups or promotion. The cost of dispenser and bottleless water cooler programs was similar ($0.04 per student per day). Instead of relying on traditional drinking fountains, schools should consider installing water sources, such as plastic dispensers with cups, as a low-cost, effective means for increasing students' water intake.

Testing the Impact of Child Characteristics × Instruction Interactions on Third Graders’ Reading Comprehension by Differentiating Literacy Instruction

PubMed Central

Connor, Carol McDonald; Morrison, Fredrick J.; Fishman, Barry; Giuliani, Sarah; Luck, Melissa; Underwood, Phyllis S.; Bayraktar, Aysegul; Crowe, Elizabeth C.; Schatschneider, Christopher

2016-01-01

There is accumulating correlational evidence that the effect of specific types of reading instruction depends on children’s initial language and literacy skills, called child characteristics × instruction (C×I) interactions. There is, however, no experimental evidence beyond first grade. This randomized control study examined whether C×I interactions might present an underlying and predictable mechanism for explaining individual differences in how students respond to third-grade classroom literacy instruction. To this end, we designed and tested an instructional intervention (Individualizing Student Instruction [ISI]). Teachers (n = 33) and their students (n = 448) were randomly assigned to the ISI intervention or a vocabulary intervention, which was not individualized. Teachers in both conditions received professional development. Videotaped classroom observations conducted in the fall, winter, and spring documented the instruction that each student in the classroom received. Teachers in the ISI group were more likely to provide differentiated literacy instruction that considered C×I interactions than were the teachers in the vocabulary group. Students in the ISI intervention made greater gains on a standardized assessment of reading comprehension than did students in the vocabulary intervention. Results indicate that C×I interactions likely contribute to students’ varying response to literacy instruction with regard to their reading comprehension achievement and that the association between students’ profile of language and literacy skills and recommended instruction is nonlinear and dependent on a number of factors. Hence, dynamic and complex theories about classroom instruction and environment impacts on student learning appear to be warranted and should inform more effective literacy instruction in third grade. PMID:27867226

Is Embedded Librarianship Right for Your Institution?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muir, Gordon; Heller-Ross, Holly

2010-01-01

Embedded librarians, connected with students and faculty inside the classroom, lab and studio, have new opportunities for preparing students for research and for collaborating with faculty on course-integrated information literacy, research assignment design, teaching, assignment interpretation, and timely student assistance. What makes embedded…

Teaching Students How to Study: A Workshop on Information Processing and Self-Testing Helps Students Learn

PubMed Central

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.; Shockley, Floyd W.; Wilson, Rachel E.

2011-01-01

We implemented a “how to study” workshop for small groups of students (6–12) for N = 93 consenting students, randomly assigned from a large introductory biology class. The goal of this workshop was to teach students self-regulating techniques with visualization-based exercises as a foundation for learning and critical thinking in two areas: information processing and self-testing. During the workshop, students worked individually or in groups and received immediate feedback on their progress. Here, we describe two individual workshop exercises, report their immediate results, describe students’ reactions (based on the workshop instructors’ experience and student feedback), and report student performance on workshop-related questions on the final exam. Students rated the workshop activities highly and performed significantly better on workshop-related final exam questions than the control groups. This was the case for both lower- and higher-order thinking questions. Student achievement (i.e., grade point average) was significantly correlated with overall final exam performance but not with workshop outcomes. This long-term (10 wk) retention of a self-testing effect across question levels and student achievement is a promising endorsement for future large-scale implementation and further evaluation of this “how to study” workshop as a study support for introductory biology (and other science) students. PMID:21633067

Using quality and safety education for nurses to guide clinical teaching on a new dedicated education unit.

PubMed

McKown, Terri; McKeon, Leslie; McKown, Leslie; Webb, Sherry

2011-12-01

Gaps exist in health professional education versus the demands of current practice. Leveraging front-line nurses to teach students exemplary practice in a Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) may narrow this gap. The DEU is an innovative model for experiential learning, capitalizing on the expertise of staff nurses as clinical teachers. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a new academic-practice DEU in facilitating quality and safety competency achievement among students. Six clinical teachers received education in clinical teaching and use of Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies to guide acquisition of essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes for continuous health care improvement. Twelve students assigned to the six teachers completed daily logs for the 10-week practicum. Findings suggest that DEU students achieved QSEN competencies through clinical teacher mentoring in interdisciplinary collaboration, using electronic information for best practice and patient teaching, patient/family decision making, quality improvement, and resolution of safety issues.

Examining the efficacy of an mHealth media literacy education program for sexual health promotion in older adolescents attending community college.

PubMed

Scull, Tracy Marie; Kupersmidt, Janis Beth; Malik, Christina Valerie; Keefe, Elyse Mallory

2018-04-01

To determine the feasibility of a mobile health (mHealth), media literacy education program, Media Aware, for improving sexual health outcomes in older adolescent community college students. 184 community college students (ages 18-19) participated in the study from April-December 2015. Eight community college campuses were randomly assigned to either the intervention or a wait-list control group. Student participants from each campus completed web-based pretest and posttest questionnaires. Intervention group students received Media Aware in between questionnaires. Several intervention effects of the Media Aware program were significant, including reducing older adolescents' self-reported risky sexual behaviors; positively affecting knowledge, attitudes, normative beliefs, and intentions related to sexual health; and increasing media skepticism. Some gender differences in the findings were revealed. The results from this study suggest that Media Aware is a promising means of delivering comprehensive sexual health education to older adolescents attending community college.

Online Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laws, Priscilla

2016-03-01

Interest in on-line learning is increasing rapidly. A few years ago members of the LivePhoto Physics Group1 received collaborative NSF Grants2 to create short, single-topic, on-line activities that invite introductory physics students to make individual predictions about a phenomenon and test them though video observations or analysis. Each Vignette is designed for web delivery as: (1) an ungraded homework assignment or (2) an exercise to prepare for a class or tutorial session. Sample IVVs are available at the ComPadre website http://www.compadre.org/ivv/. Portions of Vignettes on mechanics topics including Projectile Motion, Circular Motion, the Bullet-Block phenomenon, and Newton's Third Law will be presented. Those attending this talk will be asked to guess what predictions students are likely to make about phenomena in various IVVs. These predictions can be compared to those made by students who completed Vignettes. Finally, research on the impact of Vignettes on student learning and attitudes will be discussed. Co-PI Robert Teese, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Identifying and Remediating Student Misconceptions in Introductory Biology via Writing-to-Learn Assignments and Peer Review.

PubMed

Halim, Audrey S; Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Solaire A; Olsen, Laura J; Gere, Anne Ruggles; Shultz, Ginger V

2018-06-01

Student misconceptions are an obstacle in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses and unless remediated may continue causing difficulties in learning as students advance in their studies. Writing-to-learn assignments (WTL) are characterized by their ability to promote in-depth conceptual learning by allowing students to explore their understanding of a topic. This study sought to determine whether and what types of misconceptions are elicited by WTL assignments and how the process of peer review and revision leads to remediation or propagation of misconceptions. We examined four WTL assignments in an introductory biology course in which students first wrote about content by applying it to a realistic scenario, then participated in a peer-review process before revising their work. Misconceptions were identified in all four assignments, with the greatest number pertaining to protein structure and function. Additionally, in certain contexts, students used scientific terminology incorrectly. Analysis of the drafts and peer-review comments generated six profiles by which misconceptions were addressed through the peer-review process. The prevalent mode of remediation arose through directed peer-review comments followed by correction during revision. It was also observed that additional misconceptions were elicited as students revised their writing in response to general peer-review suggestions.

Teaching transcultural nursing through literature.

PubMed

Halloran, Laurel

2009-09-01

One of the biggest challenges in nursing education is to develop culturally sensitive graduates. Although theory and lecture are appropriate to introduce cultural issues, the application of those skills is limited by the kinds of clinical experiences and patient populations students may treat. Literary works are a rich source of information for nursing. This assignment was created to sensitize the students to the influence of cultural diversity. Students were assigned to read one novel from an approved list and answer the questions posed on the Cultural Discovery worksheet. The only direction that was given regarding novel selection was that the novel had to represent a culture other than the student's own. The focus was to expose students to a different culture. Classroom discussion, based on worksheet answers, followed. The assignment's good, bad, and ugly outcomes are discussed. Suggestions for adaptation of this assignment to an online format are also provided.

The Utility of Writing Assignments in Undergraduate Bioscience

PubMed Central

Libarkin, Julie; Ording, Gabriel

2012-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that engagement in a few, brief writing assignments in a nonmajors science course can improve student ability to convey critical thought about science. A sample of three papers written by students (n = 30) was coded for presence and accuracy of elements related to scientific writing. Scores for different aspects of scientific writing were significantly correlated, suggesting that students recognized relationships between components of scientific thought. We found that students' ability to write about science topics and state conclusions based on data improved over the course of three writing assignments, while the abilities to state a hypothesis and draw clear connections between human activities and environmental impacts did not improve. Three writing assignments generated significant change in student ability to write scientifically, although our results suggest that three is an insufficient number to generate complete development of scientific writing skills. PMID:22383616

“Blogging” About Course Concepts: Using Technology for Reflective Journaling in a Communications Class

PubMed Central

Bouldin, Alicia S.; Holmes, Erin R.; Fortenberry, Michael L.

2006-01-01

Objective Web log technology was applied to a reflective journaling exercise in a communication course during the second-professional year at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, to encourage students to reflect on course concepts and apply them to the environment outside the classroom, and to assess their communication performance. Design Two Web log entries per week were required for full credit. Web logs were evaluated at three points during the term. At the end of the course, students evaluated the assignment using a 2-page survey instrument. Assessment The assignment contributed to student learning and increased awareness level for approximately 40% of the class. Students had few complaints about the logistics of the assignment. Conclusion The Web log technology was a useful tool for reflective journaling in this communications course. Future versions of the assignment will benefit from student feedback from this initial experience. PMID:17136203

Psychology Students' Understanding of the Skill-Based Learning Fostered through University Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martini, Tanya S.; Rail, Ashley; Norton, Cole

2015-01-01

We examined first-year psychology majors' (N = 195) beliefs about the relevance of two types of university assignments (individual essay and group wiki) and their connection to the development of career-related skills. Students reported that assignments were only somewhat relevant to their career goals, and relevance ratings were typically…

Negotiating Languages and Cultures: Enacting Translingualism through a Translation Assignment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiernan, Julia; Meier, Joyce; Wang, Xiqiao

2016-01-01

This collaborative project explores the affordances of a translation assignment in the context of a learner-centered pedagogy that places composition students' movement among languages and cultures as both a site for inquiry and subject of analysis. The translation assignment asks students to translate scholarly articles or culture stories from…

Gapminder: An AP Human Geography Lab Assignment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller, Kenneth H.

2012-01-01

This lesson is designed as a lab assignment for Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography students wherein they use the popular Gapminder web site to compare levels of development in countries from different world regions. For this lesson, it is important for the teacher to practice with Gapminder before giving the assignment to students. (Contains…

Understanding Test-Type Assignment: Why Do Special Educators Make Unexpected Test-Type Assignments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Hyun-Jeong; Kingston, Neal

2014-01-01

We interviewed special educators (a) whose students with disabilities (SWDs) were proficient on the 2008 general education assessment but were assigned to the 2009 alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS), and (b) whose students with mild disabilities took the 2008 alternate assessment based on alternate achievement…

In Search of the Epiphany of Homework Assignments: A Model of Evaluating Local Schools' Homework Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saam, Julie; Jeong, Taekhil

2013-01-01

Some parents and students perceived demanding homework assignments as a frequent source of grievance, particularly for those high performing students who want spare time for independent study and cultivation of talents through extracurricular activities. Teachers tended to perceive homework assignments as a meaningful extension of instruction time…

A Citation Analysis of Psychology Students' Use of Sources in Online Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Nancy Evans; Barnard, Estelle

2015-01-01

Reference lists from two assignments of psychology students in university-level online distance learning (ODL) were analyzed for number and type of sources and mark achieved. Most referenced were resources relevant to the assignment and provided by instructors. Use changed across assignments: Instructor sources were used more on the first…

Agendas for Writing in Philosophy: Conflicting or Complementary?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soven, Margot

Recent research on how students perceive the function of writing assignments and the effects of different kinds of writing assignments on learning is inconclusive. Noting that this issue clouds writing across the curriculum programs, a study sought to determine how students perceive their involvement in assignments that require them to present an…

77 FR 52705 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Federal Student Aid; Federal Perkins Loan Program/NDSL...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-30

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Submission for OMB Review; Federal Student Aid; Federal Perkins Loan Program/NDSL Assignment Form SUMMARY: The Federal Perkins Loan Program allows for assignment of... its efforts in recovering an outstanding loan. The Perkins Assignment Form serves as the transmittal...

Students' Evaluation of Writing Assignments in an Abnormal Psychology Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Procidano, Mary E.

1991-01-01

Presents a study in which students in an abnormal psychology class rated the usefulness of drafts for two writing assignments. Reports that a research proposal was more effective than a case study in generating interest in psychology and opportunity for creativity. Concludes that writing assignments should reflect important aspects of a…

Heeeere's Johnny: A Case Study in the Five Factor Model of Personality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miserandino, Marianne

2007-01-01

I describe an assignment for personality psychology or introduction to psychology classes in which students used the Five Factor Model of personality to analyze the personality of entertainer Johnny Carson through his The New York Times obituary. Students evaluated this assignment highly: A majority indicated that the assignment was interesting,…

E-Mail Molecules—Individualizing the Large Lecture Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wamser, Carl C.

2003-11-01

All students in the organic chemistry class are assigned a unique set of nine molecules to report on as optional extra credit assignments. The molecules are taken from a list containing over 200 molecules on the class Web site; they represent an assortment of biologically relevant compounds, from acetaminophen to yohimbine. Once a week, students may submit information about one of the molecules for two points extra credit (where the course includes a total of over 600 points from traditional quizzes and exams). The information requested about the molecules varies slightly each term as student expertise grows, for example, molecular formula, hybridizations, functional groups, or number of stereocenters, but always includes biological relevance and sources of information. Initially students submitted data directly to the instructor by e-mail, but submissions now are handled by a Web-based course management system (WebCT). The goal is to give students individualized assignments that are relatively realistic in light of their future careers in health sciences. Nearly all of the students do some of the molecules, and many students do all of them. About 30 40% of the students who do the assignments regularly gain a grade benefit. Student responses to the exercise have been positive.

Cheating Goes Global as Essay Mills Multiply

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bartlett, Thomas

2009-01-01

The orders keep piling up. A philosophy student needs a paper on Martin Heidegger. A nursing student needs a paper on dying with dignity. An engineering student needs a paper on electric cars. Screen after screen, assignment after assignment--hundreds at a time, thousands each semester. The students come from all disciplines and all parts of the…

Creative Writing Assignments in a Second Language Course: A Way to Engage Less Motivated Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arshavskaya, Ekaterina

2015-01-01

This article makes a case for using creative writing in a second language course. Creative writing increases students' enthusiasm for writing skills development and supports students' creativity, which is a fundamental aspect of education. In order to engage less motivated students, a series of creative writing assignments was implemented in a…

The Impact of a Collaborative Wikipedia Assignment on Teaching, Learning, and Student Perceptions in a Teacher Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bravo, Vanessa J.; Young, Michael F.

2011-01-01

This study explored students' perceptions and behaviors of public wiki use during a collaborative Wikipedia assignment in a graduate technology and literacy education course. Results confirmed that the majority of students had an overall positive experience posting content on Wikipedia. Students learned how to use Wikipedia through collaborative…

Student Perceptions of the Benefits of a Learner-Based Writing Assignment in Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ablin, Lois

2008-01-01

A writing assignment to increase student understanding of and interest in practical applications of organic chemistry is described. Students were required to study a pharmaceutical or other organic compound and perform a qualitative risk assessment on the chemical. Student perceptions of the benefits of the paper were generally positive. (Contains…

Identifying and Remediating Student Misconceptions in Introductory Biology via Writing-to-Learn Assignments and Peer Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halim, Audrey S.; Finkenstaedt-Quinn, Solaire A.; Olsen, Laura J.; Gere, Anne Ruggles; Shultz, Ginger V.

2018-01-01

Student misconceptions are an obstacle in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses and unless remediated may continue causing difficulties in learning as students advance in their studies. Writing-to-learn assignments (WTL) are characterized by their ability to promote in-depth conceptual learning by allowing students to explore…

Does Failing a Placement Exam Discourage Underprepared Students from Going to College?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martorell, Paco; McFarlin, Isaac, Jr.; Xue, Yu

2015-01-01

About one third of college students are required to take remedial courses. Assignment to remediation is generally made on the basis of performance on a placement exam. When students are required to take a placement exam "prior" to enrolling in college-level courses, assignment to remediation may dissuade students from actually going to…

The Impact of Teacher Assigned but Not Graded Compared to Teacher Assigned and Graded Chemistry Homework on the Formative and Summative Chemistry Assessment Scores of 11th-Grade Students with Varying Chemistry Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Jennifer L.

2010-01-01

The study analyzed 2005 posttest data compared to 2008 posttest data to determine student end of school year academic achievement outcomes across three academic levels (above average, average, and below average chemistry potential) and two teacher homework evaluation methods (assigned but not graded and assigned and graded) on teacher prepared…

Critical thinking and reflection exercises in a biochemistry course to improve prospective health professions students' attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaboration.

PubMed

Van Winkle, Lon J; Cornell, Susan; Fjortoft, Nancy; Bjork, Bryan C; Chandar, Nalini; Green, Jacalyn M; La Salle, Sophie; Viselli, Susan M; Burdick, Paulette; Lynch, Sean M

2013-10-14

To determine the impact of performing critical-thinking and reflection assignments within interdisciplinary learning teams in a biochemistry course on pharmacy students' and prospective health professions students' collaboration scores. Pharmacy students and prospective medical, dental, and other health professions students enrolled in a sequence of 2 required biochemistry courses. They were randomly assigned to interdisciplinary learning teams in which they were required to complete case assignments, thinking and reflection exercises, and a team service-learning project. Students were asked to complete the Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Pharmacist Collaboration prior to the first course, following the first course, and following the second course. The physician-pharmacist collaboration scores of prospective health professions students increased significantly (p<0.001). Having prospective health professions students work in teams with pharmacy students to think and reflect in and outside the classroom improves their attitudes toward physician-pharmacist collaboration.

The Complaint Letter and Response.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shukla, P. K.

1998-01-01

Describes an assignment in which students write a letter of complaint, and discusses how this assignment aids students in seeing the importance of effective written communication to their daily lives. (SR)

Use of a Mobile Device Simulation as a Preclass Active Learning Exercise.

PubMed

Keegan, Robert D; Oliver, M Cecile; Stanfill, Teresa J; Stevens, Kevin V; Brown, Gary R; Ebinger, Michael; Gay, John M

2016-01-01

Research shows that preclass activities introducing new material can increase student performance. In an effort to engage students in an active learning, preclass activity, the authors developed a mobile application. Eighty-four nursing students were assigned a preclass reading exercise, whereas 32 students completed the preclass simulation scenario on their mobile device. All students completed the same electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) quiz 1 week following the lecture. The effects of reading or simulation on student quiz performance was evaluated with a student's paired t test, using an alpha of .05. Students completing the preclass simulation scored higher on the EFM quiz, compared with students assigned the preclass reading (85% versus 70% correct answers, p = .01). Student survey data indicated that the mobile device simulation was perceived as an engaging and desirable instructional tool. Nursing students completing the mobile device EFM preclass simulation outperformed the students who were given the traditional reading assignment. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

The Behavior Education Support and Treatment (BEST) school intervention program: pilot project data examining schoolwide, targeted-school, and targeted-home approaches.

PubMed

Waschbusch, Daniel A; Pelham, William E; Massetti, Greta

2005-08-01

As part of a pilot project, four elementary schools were randomly assigned to receive one of four interventions: (a) a schoolwide intervention that incorporated universal and targeted treatment, (b) a targeted-school intervention delivered to individual students in regular and special education classrooms, (c) a targeted-home intervention delivered in home and regular classroom settings, and (d) a control condition that did not receive a designated intervention. Results showed that the behavior of disruptive children in all schools improved during the course of the year, with some evidence that interventions provided complementary effects. These findings support the continued use of behavioral interventions in elementary schools and argue for interventions that combine different methods of delivering interventions.

Students' Achievement and Homework Assignment Strategies.

PubMed

Fernández-Alonso, Rubén; Álvarez-Díaz, Marcos; Suárez-Álvarez, Javier; Muñiz, José

2017-01-01

The optimum time students should spend on homework has been widely researched although the results are far from unanimous. The main objective of this research is to analyze how homework assignment strategies in schools affect students' academic performance and the differences in students' time spent on homework. Participants were a representative sample of Spanish adolescents ( N = 26,543) with a mean age of 14.4 (±0.75), 49.7% girls. A test battery was used to measure academic performance in four subjects: Spanish, Mathematics, Science, and Citizenship. A questionnaire allowed the measurement of the indicators used for the description of homework and control variables. Two three-level hierarchical-linear models (student, school, autonomous community) were produced for each subject being evaluated. The relationship between academic results and homework time is negative at the individual level but positive at school level. An increase in the amount of homework a school assigns is associated with an increase in the differences in student time spent on homework. An optimum amount of homework is proposed which schools should assign to maximize gains in achievement for students overall.

Students' Achievement and Homework Assignment Strategies

PubMed Central

Fernández-Alonso, Rubén; Álvarez-Díaz, Marcos; Suárez-Álvarez, Javier; Muñiz, José

2017-01-01

The optimum time students should spend on homework has been widely researched although the results are far from unanimous. The main objective of this research is to analyze how homework assignment strategies in schools affect students' academic performance and the differences in students' time spent on homework. Participants were a representative sample of Spanish adolescents (N = 26,543) with a mean age of 14.4 (±0.75), 49.7% girls. A test battery was used to measure academic performance in four subjects: Spanish, Mathematics, Science, and Citizenship. A questionnaire allowed the measurement of the indicators used for the description of homework and control variables. Two three-level hierarchical-linear models (student, school, autonomous community) were produced for each subject being evaluated. The relationship between academic results and homework time is negative at the individual level but positive at school level. An increase in the amount of homework a school assigns is associated with an increase in the differences in student time spent on homework. An optimum amount of homework is proposed which schools should assign to maximize gains in achievement for students overall. PMID:28326046

Online vs. face-to-face discussion in a Web-based research methods course for postgraduate nursing students: a quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Campbell, Malcolm; Gibson, Will; Hall, Andy; Richards, David; Callery, Peter

2008-05-01

Web-based technologies are increasingly being used to create modes of online learning for nurses but their effect has not been assessed in nurse education. Assess whether participation in face-to-face discussion seminars or online asynchronous discussion groups had different effects on educational attainment in a web-based course. Non-randomised or quasi-experimental design with two groups-students choosing to have face-to-face discussion seminars and students choosing to have online discussions. The Core Methods module of a postgraduate research methods course. All 114 students participating in the first 2 yr during which the course teaching material was delivered online. Assignment mark for Core Methods course module. Background details of the students, their choices of modules and assignment marks were collected as part of the routine course administration. Students' online activities were identified using the student tracking facility within WebCT. Regression models were fitted to explore the association between available explanatory variables and assignment mark. Students choosing online discussions had a higher Core Methods assignment mark (mean 60.8/100) than students choosing face-to-face discussions (54.4); the difference was statistically significant (t=3.13, df=102, p=0.002), although this ignores confounding variables. Among online discussion students, assignment mark was significantly correlated with the numbers of discussion messages read (Kendall's tau(b)=0.22, p=0.050) and posted (Kendall's tau(b)=0.27, p=0.017); among face-to-face discussion students, it was significantly associated with the number of non-discussion hits in WebCT (Kendall's tau(b)=0.19, p=0.036). In regression analysis, choice of discussion method, whether an M.Phil./Ph.D. student, number of non-discussion hits in WebCT, number of online discussion messages read and number posted were associated with assignment mark at the 5% level of significance when taken singly; in combination, only whether an M.Phil./Ph.D. student (p=0.024) and number of non-discussion hits (p=0.045) retained significance. This study demonstrates that a research methods course can be delivered to postgraduate healthcare students at least as successfully by an entirely online method in which students participate in online discussion as by a blended method in which students accessing web-based teaching material attend face-to-face seminar discussions. Increased online activity was associated with higher assignment marks. The study highlights new opportunities for educational research that arise from the use of virtual learning environments that routinely record the activities of learners and tutors.

Restructuring the CS 1 classroom: Examining the effect of open laboratory-based classes vs. closed laboratory-based classes on Computer Science 1 students' achievement and attitudes toward computers and computer courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, Jean Foster

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of classroom restructuring involving computer laboratories on student achievement and student attitudes toward computers and computer courses. The effects of the targeted student attributes of gender, previous programming experience, math background, and learning style were also examined. The open lab-based class structure consisted of a traditional lecture class with a separate, unscheduled lab component in which lab assignments were completed outside of class; the closed lab-based class structure integrated a lab component within the lecture class so that half the class was reserved for lecture and half the class was reserved for students to complete lab assignments by working cooperatively with each other and under the supervision and guidance of the instructor. The sample consisted of 71 students enrolled in four intact classes of Computer Science I during the fall and spring semesters of the 2006--2007 school year at two southern universities: two classes were held in the fall (one at each university) and two classes were held in the spring (one at each university). A counterbalanced repeated measures design was used in which all students experienced both class structures for half of each semester. The order of control and treatment was rotated among the four classes. All students received the same amount of class and instructor time. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) via a multiple regression strategy was used to test the study's hypotheses. Although the overall MANOVA model was statistically significant, independent follow-up univariate analyses relative to each dependent measure found that the only significant research factor was math background: Students whose mathematics background was at the level of Calculus I or higher had significantly higher student achievement than students whose mathematics background was less than Calculus I. The results suggest that classroom structures that incorporate an open laboratory setting are just as effective on student achievement and attitudes as classroom structures that incorporate a closed laboratory setting. The results also suggest that math background is a strong predictor of student achievement in CS 1.

Can Students Write Their Own Textbooks? Thoughts on a New Type of Writing Assignment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frye, David

1999-01-01

Describes an assignment in an undergraduate course on Roman history for junior and senior history majors in which students create their own 15-page textbook using primary sources. Explains how each class session developed student analysis of primary sources. (CMK)

Briefing Teams in World Affairs Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Joe P.

1992-01-01

In a college world affairs course, the teacher acted as foreign policy/national security advisor to the president and assigned students as staff members for different geographic regions. Students briefed him daily, first on current events, then on specific issues. Students enjoyed the challenging assignments, intensive questioning, and policy…

Quantitative evaluation of expression difference in report assignments between nursing and radiologic technology departments.

PubMed

Nishimoto, Naoki; Yokooka, Yuki; Yagahara, Ayako; Uesugi, Masahito; Ogasawara, Katsuhiko

2011-01-01

Our purpose in this study was to investigate the expression differences in report assignments between students in nursing and radiologic technology departments. We have known that faculties could identify differences, such as word usage, through grading their students' assignments. However, there are no reports in the literature dealing with expression differences in vocabulary usage in medical informatics education based on statistical techniques or other quantitative measures. The report assignment asked for students' opinions in the event that they found a rare case of a disease in a hospital after they graduated from professional school. We processed student report data automatically, and we applied the space vector model and TF/IDF (term frequency/inverse document frequency) scoring to 129 report assignments. The similarity-score distributions among the assignments for these two departments were close to normal. We focused on the sets of terms that occurred exclusively in either department. For terms such as "radiation therapy" or "communication skills" that occurred in the radiologic technology department, the TF/IDF score was 8.01. The same score was obtained for terms such as "privacy guidelines" or "consent of patients" that occurred in the nursing department. These results will help faculties to provide a better education based on identified expression differences from students' background knowledge.

The effects of task and resource interdependence on achievement and social support: an exploratory study of Italian children.

PubMed

Bertucci, Andrea; Johnson, David W; Johnson, Roger T; Conte, Stella

2011-01-01

The relative efficacy of positive task interdependence, positive resource interdependence, and individualistic learning were compared with achievement and academic and personal social support. The authors randomly assigned to conditions 66 7th-grade Italian students with no previous experience in cooperative learning. They participated in 6 90-min instructional sessions dealing with the dangers of smoking, alcohol, and drugs. The results indicated that students assigned to the task-interdependence and resource-interdependence conditions achieved higher and perceived greater peer academic support than did students working individually. Students in the resource-interdependence condition showed a higher perception of peer personal support than students assigned to the other conditions.

The Impact of Color-Coding Freshmen Integrated-Science Assignments on Student Achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturdivant Allen, Anita Kay

Students in Grade 9 exhibit high rates of grade retention and absenteeism. Educators have used different strategies that will increase the achievement of those students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship existed between student achievement and the strategy to use colored paper for Grade 9 science assignments and tests. Itten's color theory provided the theoretical framework. Itten was one of the first researchers to explore the notion that the human eye can detect wavelengths as colors and that those colors can engage and create order in the human brain. A sample of students assigned to 4 classroom teachers at one high school who volunteered to take part in the study for 18 weeks were used in this quantitative study. Teachers administered student assessments on blue, green, yellow, and white paper. Each class was assigned 1 of the 4 colors for 4.5 weeks. The classes were then assigned a different color for the same length of time until each class had exposure to all 4 colors. Physical science exams given to students in the same grade or subject were used as the dependent variable. An ANOVA indicated that the groups using blue paper scored the highest on the physical science exams; students who used white paper earned the lowest scores. When comparing all 3 groups using colored paper (all three colored paper groups combined into one group) to the white paper groups, t-test results indicated that students using any colored paper scored higher than students using white paper. Further research on the impact of colored paper on student academic performance is necessary. Implications for positive social change indicate that new knowledge about instructional tools that impact student achievement deserves more attention.

Comparison between flipped classroom and lecture-based classroom in ophthalmology clerkship.

PubMed

Tang, Fen; Chen, Chuan; Zhu, Yi; Zuo, Chengguo; Zhong, Yimin; Wang, Nan; Zhou, Lijun; Zou, Yuxian; Liang, Dan

2017-01-01

In recent years, the flipped classroom method of teaching has received much attention in health sciences education. However, the application of flipped classrooms in ophthalmology education has not been well investigated. The goal of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of the flipped classroom approach to teaching ophthalmology at the clerkship level. Ninety-five fourth year medical students in an ophthalmology clerkship were randomly divided into two groups. An ocular trauma module was chosen for the content of this study. One group (FG (flipped group), n = 48) participated in flipped classroom instruction and was asked to watch a recorded lecture video and to read study materials before a face-to-face class meeting. They used the in-class time for discussion. The other group (TG (traditional group), n = 47) was assigned to traditional lecture-based instruction. These students attended a didactic lecture and completed assigned homework after the lecture. Feedback questionnaires were collected to compare students' perspectives on the teaching approach they experienced and to evaluate students' self-perceived competence and interest in ocular trauma. Pre- and post-tests were performed to assess student learning of the course materials. More students in the FG agreed that the classroom helped to promote their learning motivation, improve their understanding of the course materials, and enhance their communication skill and clinical thinking. However, students in the FG did not show a preference for this method of teaching, and also reported more burden and pressure than those from the TG. Students from the FG performed better on the post test over the ocular trauma-related questions when compared to those from the TG. The flipped classroom approach shows promise in ophthalmology clerkship teaching. However, it has some drawbacks. Further evaluation and modifications are required before it can be widely accepted and implemented. Abbreviations FG: Flipped classroom group; TG: Traditional lecture-based classroom group; TBL: Team-based learning; PBL: Problem-based learning; ZOC: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center.

A Student-Led Feedback Protocol on Writing Assignments in a History of Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Diana

2014-01-01

History of math courses are commonly offered in mathematics departments. Such courses naturally lend themselves to writing assignments, and a growing body of research supports writing as a means to learn mathematics. This article details two such assignments, providing an overview of the course in which they are situated, and a student-led…

Differences in Discipline Consequence Assignments by Ethnicity/Race, Gender, and Poverty in Texas Middle Schools: A Statewide Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Mikia J.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which differences might be present in discipline consequence assignments by student demographic characteristics in Texas middle schools. In the first investigation, the degree to which discipline consequence assignments differed by the degree of student economic…

"Piggybacking" on Business Communication through Interdisciplinarity: Developing Student Communication Skills in Legal Environment of Business Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooley, Amanda Harmon

2009-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe an assignment for a legal environment of business course that builds upon and reinforces strong business communication practices. The assignment discusses "piggybacking," which is the unauthorized use of another person's wireless Internet connection. In this assignment, the students are required (1) to…

Investigating Expectations and Experiences of Audio and Written Assignment Feedback in First-Year Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fawcett, Hannah; Oldfield, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Previous research suggests that audio feedback may be an important mechanism for facilitating effective and timely assignment feedback. The present study examined expectations and experiences of audio and written feedback provided through "turnitin for iPad®" from students within the same cohort and assignment. The results showed that…

Online Assignments in Economics: A Test of Their Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennelly, Brendan; Considine, John; Flannery, Darragh

2011-01-01

This article compares the effectiveness of online and paper-based assignments and tutorials using summative assessment results. All of the students in a large managerial economics course at National University of Ireland, Galway were asked to do six assignments online using Aplia and to do two on paper. The authors examined whether a student's…

Investigating Students' Use and Adoption of "With-Video Assignments": Lessons Learnt for Video-Based Open Educational Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pappas, Ilias O.; Giannakos, Michail N.; Mikalef, Patrick

2017-01-01

The use of video-based open educational resources is widespread, and includes multiple approaches to implementation. In this paper, the term "with-video assignments" is introduced to portray video learning resources enhanced with assignments. The goal of this study is to examine the factors that influence students' intention to adopt…

A First Assignment to Create Student Buy-In in an Introductory Business Statistics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newfeld, Daria

2016-01-01

This paper presents a sample assignment to be administered after the first two weeks of an introductory business focused statistics course in order to promote student buy-in. This assignment integrates graphical displays of data, descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation analysis through the lens of a marketing analysis study. A marketing sample…

Why IEP Teams Assign Low Performers with Mild Disabilities to the Alternate Assessment Based on Alternate Achievement Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Hyun-Jeong; Kingston, Neal

2013-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to determine teachers' rationales for assigning students with mild disabilities to alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). In interviews, special educators stated that their primary considerations in making the assignments were low academic performance, student use of extended…

The Impact of Implementing Web Homework in Second-Semester Calculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaRose, P. Gavin

2010-01-01

In this study we examine the introduction of on-line homework to a Calculus II course as a replacement for ungraded pencil-and-paper homework assignments. We consider how this had an impact on students' performance in the course, on student behavior in completing the assigned work, and on student attitudes toward it. We find that students working…

Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors. NBER Working Paper No. 14081

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrell, Scott E.; West, James E.

2008-01-01

It is difficult to measure teaching quality at the postsecondary level because students typically "self-select" their coursework and their professors. Despite this, student evaluations of professors are widely used in faculty promotion and tenure decisions. We exploit the random assignment of college students to professors in a large body of…

Embracing Service-Learning Opportunities: Student Perceptions of Service-Learning as an Aid to Effectively Learn Course Material

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Currie-Mueller, Jenna L.; Littlefield, Robert S.

2018-01-01

Educators are aware of the benefits of service learning such as retention or application of course concepts. Students enrolled in courses with a service learning assignment may not be aware of the benefits or may not view the assignment as beneficiary. This study examined student perceptions of service learning to determine if students'…

The Impact of Anonymous and Assigned Use of Student Response Systems on Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Dawn

2012-01-01

This study examined the impact of two approaches to use of student response systems (SRSs) on achievement in a study designed to better understand effective use of the devices. One condition was anonymous use of SRSs, in which graduate students selected a random clicker when entering the classroom. The second condition assigned devices to students…

Forming Student Online Teams for Maximum Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Joel D.; Ringhand, Darlene G.; Kalinski, Ray C.; Ziegler, James G.

2015-01-01

What is the best way to assign graduate business students to online team-based projects? Team assignments are frequently made on the basis of alphabet, time zones or previous performance. This study reviews personality as an indicator of student online team performance. The personality assessment IDE (Insights Discovery Evaluator) was administered…

An Interactive Introduction to Protein Structure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, W. Theodore

2004-01-01

To improve student understanding of protein structure and the significance of noncovalent interactions in protein structure and function, students are assigned a project to write a paper complemented with computer-generated images. The assignment provides an opportunity for students to select a protein structure that is of interest and detail…

Anthologizing Transformation: Breaking Down Students'"Private Theories" about Poetry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chick, Nancy L.

2002-01-01

Presents an assignment in which students look through a handful of poetry collections or anthologies, seeking 20 poems they like and thus understand or want to understand to some extent. Describes the benefits of this assignment, including honing students' interpretive skills, dispelling their misconceptions about the genre, and continuing their…

Foods and Nutrition. Student Modules and Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Carolina State Dept. of Education, Columbia. Office of Vocational Education.

These 64 performance-based instructional modules are for the home economics content area of food and nutrition. Each module is composed of an introduction for the student, a performance objective, a variety of learning activities (reading assignments, tasks, written assignments), content information, a student self-check, recommended references,…

Promoting Discussion in Peer Instruction: Discussion Partner Assignment and Accountability Scoring Mechanisms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chou, Chih-Yueh; Lin, Pin-Hsun

2015-01-01

Peer instruction (PI) involves students answering questions and peer discussion learning activities. PI can enhance student performance and engagement in classroom instruction. However, some students do not engage in the discussions. This study proposes two mechanisms, discussion partner assignment and accountability scoring mechanisms, to form…

Increasing Student-Learning Team Effectiveness with Team Charters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunsaker, Phillip; Pavett, Cynthia; Hunsaker, Johanna

2011-01-01

Because teams are a ubiquitous part of most organizations today, it is common for business educators to use team assignments to help students experientially learn about course concepts and team process. Unfortunately, students frequently experience a number of problems during team assignments. The authors describe the results of their research and…

Helping Anxious Students Move Forward

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minahan, Jessica

2018-01-01

Students with anxiety are prone to giving up a difficult work assignment before they even start it. So how can teachers help these students develop skills to successfully start and finish assignments and succeed in school? Behavioral analyst Jessica Minahan offers some practical solutions that teachers can implement in the classroom to motivate…

Solar Heating Systems: Student Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Joanne; And Others

This Student Manual for a Solar Heating System curriculum contains 22 units of instructional materials for students to use in a course or courses on solar heating systems (see note). For each unit (task), objectives, assignment sheets, laboratory assignments, information sheets, checkpoints (tests), and job sheets are provided. Materials are set…

Introductory Statistics Students' Conceptual Understanding of Study Design and Conclusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fry, Elizabeth Brondos

Recommended learning goals for students in introductory statistics courses include the ability to recognize and explain the key role of randomness in designing studies and in drawing conclusions from those studies involving generalizations to a population or causal claims (GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee, 2016). The purpose of this study was to explore introductory statistics students' understanding of the distinct roles that random sampling and random assignment play in study design and the conclusions that can be made from each. A study design unit lasting two and a half weeks was designed and implemented in four sections of an undergraduate introductory statistics course based on modeling and simulation. The research question that this study attempted to answer is: How does introductory statistics students' conceptual understanding of study design and conclusions (in particular, unbiased estimation and establishing causation) change after participating in a learning intervention designed to promote conceptual change in these areas? In order to answer this research question, a forced-choice assessment called the Inferences from Design Assessment (IDEA) was developed as a pretest and posttest, along with two open-ended assignments, a group quiz and a lab assignment. Quantitative analysis of IDEA results and qualitative analysis of the group quiz and lab assignment revealed that overall, students' mastery of study design concepts significantly increased after the unit, and the great majority of students successfully made the appropriate connections between random sampling and generalization, and between random assignment and causal claims. However, a small, but noticeable portion of students continued to demonstrate misunderstandings, such as confusion between random sampling and random assignment.

A comparison of the affect of two types of student behavior with manipulatives on the development of projective spatial structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Herbert

The primary problem investigated was whether examining materials from a variety of perspecitives enhances the development of projective spatial abilities more than examining materials from a single perspective. A secondary consideration dealt with gender effects. One hundred and five (56 females and 49 males) fifth grade students were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Two teachers taught two classes apiece-one receiving instruction encouraging examination of materials from a single perspective, the other from multiple perspectives. All four groups received instruction consisting of access to manipulatives-SCIIS, 2nd edition, Level 5. Instruction occurred twice a week, 45 minutes per session, for 6 weeks. The experimental design was the Solomon Four Group Design. A Battery of 8 Piagetian-type tasks were used to assess possession of the projective groupings. The main and interactive effects of pretesting were determined to be negligible, while the treatment was determined to have a statistically significant effect on the development on projective spatial abilities. Gender was determined to have no direct effect on the dependent variables.

[The role of informal care in individualized care plan delivery: a conditional choice for dependent people].

PubMed

Del Pozo Rubio, Raúl; Escribano Sotos, Francisco; Moya Martínez, Pablo

2011-12-01

To analyze the relationship between sociodemographic and health variables (including informal care) and the healthcare service delivery assigned in the individualized care plan. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of the dependent population in Cuenca (Spain) in February, 2009. Information was obtained on people with level II and III dependency. Four different logistic regression models were used to identify the factors associated with the care service delivery assigned in the individualized care plan. Independent variables consisted of age, gender, marital status, annual income, place of residence, health conditions, medical treatment, and perception of informal care. A total of 83.7% of the sample was assigned economic benefits and 15.3% were assigned services. Eighty percent of the sample received informal care in addition to dependency benefits. People who received informal care were 3239 times more likely to be assigned economic benefits than persons not receiving informal care. For the period analyzed (the first phase of the implementation of the Dependency Act), the variables associated with receiving economic benefits (versus services) were being married, having a high annual income, the place of residence (rural areas versus urban area), and receiving hygiene-dietary treatment and informal care. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Web-streamed didactic instruction on substance use disorders compares favorably with live-lecture format.

PubMed

Karam-Hage, M; Maher, Karam-Hage; Brower, Kirk J; Mullan, Patricia B; Gay, Tamara; Gruppen, Larry D

2013-05-01

Education about substance use disorders in medical schools and, subsequently, physicians' identification of and intervention in these diagnoses lag behind that of most other disabling disorders. To reduce barriers and improve access to education about this major public health concern, medical schools are increasingly adopting web-based instruction on substance use and other psychiatric disorders as part of their curricula; however, it is not well known how a web-streamed lecture compares with a traditional one. The authors hypothesized that both these formats would be equally efficacious in terms of knowledge acquisition and student satisfaction. Authors conducted a prospective study to test this hypothesis among third-year medical students who received web-streamed lecture on substance use/addiction versus those who received a traditional live lecture. Of the 243 students, significantly more students completed the on-line lecture series. Of the 216 students in the final study sample, 130 (60%) were assigned to the web-streamed lecture and 86 (40%) to the live lecture. Within-subject comparisons of pre- and post-lecture scores for the entire cohort indicated a significant improvement in the percentage of correct answers (21.0% difference). Although no differences in improved scores between the two groups were found, students in the live-lecture group reported small, but significantly higher levels of satisfaction. This preliminary work supports the hypothesis that a web-streamed lecture can be at least equally efficacious as a traditional lecture in terms of knowledge acquisition. However, attention needs to be paid to the lower satisfaction levels associated with using the web-streamed format.

Exploring the Use of Podcasts and Vodcasts: Multimedia Tools for Word Learning

PubMed Central

Lowman, Joneen

2016-01-01

The study investigated the impact of podcasts and vodcasts accessed through an iPod on fourth- and sixth-grade students’ vocabulary acquisition. Students were randomly assigned to either a podcast group or a vodcast group. Regardless of group assignment, each student completed three six-minute podcasts or vodcasts a day for three days. On average, students learned four out of nine words taught regardless of group assignment. The vodcast group learned significantly more words compared to the podcast group at the receptive level and at the expressive level. Student comments indicated that iPods should be used to teach and to review words. PMID:27840555

Impact of Patient Empathy Modeling on Pharmacy Students Caring for the Underserved

PubMed Central

Chen, Judy T.; LaLopa, Joseph

2008-01-01

Objective To determine the impact of the Patient Empathy Modeling pedagogy on students' empathy towards caring for the underserved during an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). Design Pharmacy students completing an APPE at 2 primary care clinics participated in a Patient Empathy Modeling assignment for 10 days. Each student “became the patient,” simulating the life of an actual patient with multiple chronic diseases who was coping with an economic, cultural, or communication barrier to optimal healthcare. Students completed the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) before and after completing the assignment, and wrote daily journal entries and a reflection paper. Assessment Twenty-six students completed the PEM exercises from 2005-2006. Scores on the JSPE improved. Students' comments in journals and reflection papers revealed 3 major themes: greater appreciation of the difficulty patients have with adherence to medication and treatment regimens, increased empathy for patients from different backgrounds and patients with medical and psychosocial challenges, and improved ability to apply the lessons learned in the course to their patient care roles. Conclusion A Patient Empathy Modeling assignment improved pharmacy students' empathy toward underserved populations. Integrating the assignment within an APPE allowed students to immediately begin applying the knowledge and insight gained from the exercise. PMID:18483606

Writing Assignments with a Metacognitive Component Enhance Learning in a Large Introductory Biology Course

PubMed Central

Mynlieff, Michelle; Manogaran, Anita L.; St. Maurice, Martin

2014-01-01

Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors. PMID:26086661

Development of a school-based program for adolescents at-risk for depression in India: results from a pilot study.

PubMed

Singhal, Meghna; Manjula, M; Vijay Sagar, K John

2014-08-01

A majority of adolescents in India, who are at risk for depression, do not receive treatment or receive it when the psychopathology has become entrenched and chronic. The present pilot study was an endeavor to assess the felt needs of adolescents vis-à-vis the difficulties and stressors experienced by them. For this purpose, 300 students across three schools were screened using standardized measures. Another objective of the study was to develop and test a school-based Coping Skills Program to address adolescents at-risk for depression. Schools were sequentially assigned to intervention or control conditions; students of index (n=13) and control (n=6) groups were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months follow-up. At post-intervention for the index group, all outcomes measures except coping skills-including depressive symptoms, negative cognitions, academic stress, and social problem-solving-showed change in the expected direction, this difference assuming significance at follow-up. The program was rated positively by students using anonymous feedback and there was low to nil perceived stigmatization. Results are discussed in the context of need for such intervention programs in India, and future scope of research involving larger samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Doing peer review and receiving feedback: impact on scientific literacy and writing skills.

PubMed

Geithner, Christina A; Pollastro, Alexandria N

2016-03-01

Doing peer review has been effectively implemented to help students develop critical reading and writing skills; however, its application in Human Physiology programs is limited. The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of peer review on Human Physiology majors' perceptions of their scientific literacy and writing skills. Students enrolled in the Scientific Writing course completed multiple writing assignments, including three revisions after receiving peer and instructor feedback. Students self-assessed their knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to science and writing in pre- and postcourse surveys (n = 26 with complete data). Seven survey items related to scientific literacy and writing skills impacted by peer review were selected for analysis. Scores on these survey items were summed to form a composite self-rating score. Responses to two questions regarding the most useful learning activities were submitted to frequency analysis. Mean postcourse scores for individual survey items and composite self-rating scores were significantly higher than precourse means (P < 0.05). Peer review was the most frequently noted among 21 learning activities for increasing scientific literacy and in the top 5 for improving writing skills. In conclusion, peer review is an effective teaching/learning approach for improving undergraduate Human Physiology majors' knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding science and scientific writing. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Brief Group Intervention Using Emotional Freedom Techniques for Depression in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Church, Dawson; De Asis, Midanelle A.; Brooks, Audrey J.

2012-01-01

Two hundred thirty-eight first-year college students were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Thirty students meeting the BDI criteria for moderate to severe depression were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received four 90-minute group sessions of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), a novel treatment that combines exposure, cognitive reprocessing, and somatic stimulation. The control group received no treatment. Posttests were conducted 3 weeks later on those that completed all requirements (N = 18). The EFT group (n = 9) had significantly more depression at baseline than the control group (n = 9) (EFT BDI mean = 23.44, SD = 2.1 versus control BDI mean = 20.33, SD = 2.1). After controlling for baseline BDI score, the EFT group had significantly less depression than the control group at posttest, with a mean score in the “nondepressed” range (P = .001; EFT BDI mean = 6.08, SE = 1.8 versus control BDI mean = 18.04, SE = 1.8). Cohen's d was 2.28, indicating a very strong effect size. These results are consistent with those noted in other studies of EFT that included an assessment for depression and indicate the clinical usefulness of EFT as a brief, cost-effective, and efficacious treatment. PMID:22848802

Brief group intervention using emotional freedom techniques for depression in college students: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Church, Dawson; De Asis, Midanelle A; Brooks, Audrey J

2012-01-01

Two hundred thirty-eight first-year college students were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Thirty students meeting the BDI criteria for moderate to severe depression were randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received four 90-minute group sessions of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), a novel treatment that combines exposure, cognitive reprocessing, and somatic stimulation. The control group received no treatment. Posttests were conducted 3 weeks later on those that completed all requirements (N = 18). The EFT group (n = 9) had significantly more depression at baseline than the control group (n = 9) (EFT BDI mean = 23.44, SD = 2.1 versus control BDI mean = 20.33, SD = 2.1). After controlling for baseline BDI score, the EFT group had significantly less depression than the control group at posttest, with a mean score in the "nondepressed" range (P = .001; EFT BDI mean = 6.08, SE = 1.8 versus control BDI mean = 18.04, SE = 1.8). Cohen's d was 2.28, indicating a very strong effect size. These results are consistent with those noted in other studies of EFT that included an assessment for depression and indicate the clinical usefulness of EFT as a brief, cost-effective, and efficacious treatment.

The (digital) natives are restless: designing and implementing an interactive digital media assignment.

PubMed

Voge, Catherine; Hirvela, Kari; Jarzemsky, Paula

2012-01-01

To create an opportunity for students to connect with the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies and demonstrate learning via knowledge transference, the authors piloted a digital media assignment. Students worked in small groups to create an unfolding patient care scenario with embedded decision points, using presentation software. The authors discuss the assignment and its outcomes.

Investigating Flipped Learning: Student Self-Regulated Learning, Perceptions, and Achievement in an Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sletten, Sarah Rae

2017-01-01

In flipped classrooms, lectures, which are normally delivered in-class, are assigned as homework in the form of videos, and assignments that were traditionally assigned as homework, are done as learning activities in class. It was hypothesized that the effectiveness of the flipped model hinges on a student's desire and ability to adopt a…

The Effect of Reducing the Weight of Homework Assignments on the Mathematics Achievement of Upper Level High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ortiz, Craig R.

2017-01-01

Homework varies widely in importance among both teachers and students, as well as in subject areas. In mathematics, it is generally expected that it plays a critical role in students' understanding of mathematics and will be assigned daily. However, it is also understood that whether students take homework seriously can be difficult to ascertain.…

How to Create a Student-Generated Database, in a Large Nutrition Class, to Illustrate the Analysis of Nutrient and Food Intakes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurfinkel, Debbie M.; Wolever, Thomas M. S.

2017-01-01

The completion of a 3-d food record, using commonly available nutrient analysis software, is a typical assignment for students in nutrition and food science programs. While these assignments help students evaluate their personal diets, it is insufficient to teach students about surveys of large population cohorts. This paper shows how the Test,…

Bricklayer and Stonemason. U.S.O.E. 46.0102 D.O.T. 861.381, 861.781, 861.884. Student's Manual [and] Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, L. A., Jr.

The student's manual in this two-part instructional kit is designed to help students in individualized courses in bricklaying and stone masonry to tie together classroom learning and on-the-job practice. The manual includes assignments, technical information, objectives that tell what the student is to learn from each assignment, and exercise…

Metacognition Modules: A Scaffolded Series of Online Assignments Designed to Improve Students’ Study Skills†

PubMed Central

Cardinale, Jean A.; Johnson, Bethany C.

2017-01-01

Many first-year biology students begin college with high aspirations but limited skills in terms of those needed for their success. Teachers are increasingly focused on students’ lack of metacognitive awareness combined with students’ inability to self-regulate learning behaviors. To address this need, we have designed a series of out-of-class assignments to provide explicit instruction on memory and learning. Our metacognition modules consist of six video assignments with reflective journaling prompts, allowing students to explore the relationship between the learning cycle, neuroplasticity, memory function, expert and novice thinking, and effective study strategies. By setting lessons on improving study behavior within a biological context, we help students grasp the reason for changing their behavior based on an understanding of biological functions and their application to learning. Students who complete these scaffolded journaling assignments show a shift toward a growth mindset and a consistent ability to evaluate the efficacy of their own study behaviors. In this article, we discuss the modules and student assignments, as well as provide in depth support for faculty who wish to adopt the modules for their own courses. PMID:28904648

Cultural competence education for health professionals from pre-graduation to licensure delivered using facebook: Twelve-month follow-up on a randomized control trial.

PubMed

Chang, Li-Chun; Guo, Jong Long; Lin, Hui-Ling

2017-12-01

Cultural competence (CC) training is widely recognized as a crucial component of the professional development of healthcare providers. There is no study on the effect of Facebook (FB) as a strategy to promote continual learning to enhance CC among students in health professions. To test the effects of cultural competence education using FB as a delivery platform on knowledge, awareness, self-efficacy, and skill related to CC in health students from pre-graduation to licensed professional stages. A randomized controlled trial. We recruited students from professional nursing, pharmacy, and nutrition programs at six medical universities and randomly assigned them to study groups. Between T1 and T2 (months 1-3), the intervention group (IG) received pre-graduation education in CC while the control group (CG) received their regular educational program. Between T2 and T3 (months 6-9), IG received on-the-job education in CC while CG received the regular program. An online self-report questionnaire assessing CC knowledge, awareness, self-efficacy, and skill was analyzed at baseline, 6months, and 12months. Of 180 participants who completed the pretest, 120 (65 IG and 55 CG) completed both follow-ups. Changes over time were mixed; the only statistical difference between groups was an improvement in awareness in IG but not in CG. At 12months, intervention and control participants had different levels of awareness of CC (β=2.56, p<0.001), but other outcomes did not differ between groups. Health profession educators can adopt Facebook as an education delivery platform to offer personalized, social learning incorporating cultural competency curricula into ongoing education and training in rising awareness on CC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Math? Write!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandenburg, Sister M. Luka

2002-01-01

High-school mathematics teacher in Rock Island, Illinois, describes plan for using writing assignment to improve student understanding of advanced mathematics. Plan includes the following elements: Start small, be firm with students, make writing assignments count, and inform colleagues. (PKP)

Creative Writing and Learning in a Conceptual Astrophysics Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenson, R.

2012-08-01

Creative writing assignments in a conceptual astrophysics course for liberal arts students can reduce student anxiety. This study demonstrates that such assignments also can aid learning as demonstrated by significantly improved performance on exams.

Using Popular Nonfiction in Organic Chemistry: Teaching More than Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amaral, Katie E.; Shibley, Ivan A., Jr.

2010-01-01

Assigning a popular nonfiction book as a supplemental text in organic chemistry can help students learn valuable skills. An analysis of student feedback on assignments related to a nonfiction book in two different organic courses revealed that students applied the information from the book, improved their communication skills, and were more…

Performance in the Citing Behavior of Two Student Writers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harwood, Nigel; Petric, Bojana

2012-01-01

This article reports the results of an interview-based study which investigated the citation behavior in the assignment writing of two second-language postgraduate business management students, Sofie and Tara. Discourse-based interviews were used to elicit the students' own perspectives on their citation behavior in two of their assignments.…

Writing a Movie.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffner, Helen

2003-01-01

Explains a reading and writing assignment called "Writing a Movie" in which students view a short film segment and write a script in which they describe the scene. Notes that this assignment uses films to develop fluency and helps students understand the reading and writing connections. Concludes that students learn to summarize a scene from film,…

Basic Visual Merchandising. Second Edition. [Student's Manual and] Answer Book/Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luter, Robert R.

This student's manual that features content needed to do tasks related to visual merchandising is intended for students in co-op training stations and entry-level, master employee, and supervisory-level employees. It contains 13 assignments. Each assignment has questions covering specific information and also features activities in which students…

Creating Masterpieces: How Course Structures and Routines Enable Student Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Kathy Lund; Fornaciari, Charles J.

2014-01-01

Over a five-year period, we made a persistent observation: Course structures and routines, such as assignment parameters, student group process rules, and grading schemes were being consistently ignored. As a result, we got distracted by correcting these structural issues and were spending less time on student assignment performance. In this…

Using Student Interviews to Understand Theories of Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanich, Laurie B.

2009-01-01

This article describes the construction and development of a course assignment that uses student interviews as an instructional tool to bridge the gap between theory and practice in a graduate educational psychology course. The first part of the article describes the student interview assignment used to examine theories of motivation. The second…

Stone Soup: Photo-Elicitation as a Learning Tool in the Food Geography Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurtz, Hilda E.; Wood, Jason

2014-01-01

This paper showcases self-reflective and inclusive pedagogy using photo-elicitation in a food geography course assignment. The Stone Soup project positions students as both researchers and participant-subjects in a participant-driven photo-elicitation (PDPE) study of students' foodways. Student papers for this assignment demonstrate rich…

Class Participation in an Aboriginal Theatre Project: An Exemplar of Undergraduate Student Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratsoy, Ginny R.

2011-01-01

In the 21st Century, Canadian universities are increasingly emphasizing the importance of student engagement. This research paper, by analyzing the reflections of undergraduate students on their experiences in a co-curricular service learning assignment--integrated into a course that included more traditional assignments--in the context of…

The Impact of Background Radio and Television on High School Students' Homework Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pool, Marina M.; Koolstra, Cees M.; van der Voort, Tom H. A.

2003-01-01

Examines the impact of background media on Dutch students' performance and time spent on paper-and-pencil and memorization homework assignments. Notes that doing homework combined with watching a soap opera interfered with students' performance on both types of assignments. Indicates that music in the background left homework performance…

The Use of Influence Tactics and Outcome Valence on Goal Commitment for Assigned Student Team Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swaim, James; Henley, Amy

2017-01-01

Project teams are a mainstay in both organizations and business schools. Despite their popularity, instructors and students often express dissatisfaction regarding assigned student team projects. In this article, we examine the effects of influence tactics available to instructors (collaborative assistance and rational persuasion) and individual…

Homework Assignments to Enhance Student Engagement in Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buijs, Maartje; Admiraal, Wilfried

2013-01-01

Secondary school teachers often complain that their students show a disengaged attitude in class. Students do not prepare for lessons, they show a passive attitude towards classroom activities and they have a limited awareness of their own learning process. Based on a pilot study, four homework assignments were designed, implemented, and evaluated…

Performance in an Online Introductory Course in a Hybrid Classroom Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aly, Ibrahim

2013-01-01

This study compared the academic achievement between undergraduate students taking an introductory managerial accounting course online (N = 104) and students who took the same course in a hybrid classroom setting (N = 203). Student achievement was measured using scores from twelve weekly online assignments, two major online assignments, a final…

Teaching Copywriting Students about the Mature Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drewniany, Bonnie

Advertising educators have a responsibility to make students aware of the importance of the mature market (older people) and to teach them methods to reach this group. An assignment in a copywriting class asked students to write and design ads to promote blue jeans to adults over 50. The assignment accomplished three things: (1) helped students…

Sun protection at elementary schools: a cluster randomized trial.

PubMed

Hunter, Seft; Love-Jackson, Kymia; Abdulla, Rania; Zhu, Weiwei; Lee, Ji-Hyun; Wells, Kristen J; Roetzheim, Richard

2010-04-07

Elementary schools represent both a source of childhood sun exposure and a setting for educational interventions. Sun Protection of Florida's Children was a cluster randomized trial promoting hat use at (primary outcome) and outside of schools among fourth-grade students during August 8, 2006, through May 22, 2007. Twenty-two schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (1115 students) or control group (1376 students). Intervention schools received classroom sessions targeting sun protection attitudes and social norms. Each student attending an intervention school received two free wide-brimmed hats. Hat use at school was measured by direct observation and hat use outside of school was measured by self-report. A subgroup of 378 students (178 in the intervention group and 200 in the control group) underwent serial measurements of skin pigmentation to explore potential physiological effects of the intervention. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate the intervention effect by accounting for the cluster randomized trial design. All P values were two-sided and were claimed as statistically significant at a level of .05. The percentage of students observed wearing hats at control schools remained essentially unchanged during the school year (baseline = 2%, fall = 0%, and spring = 1%) but increased statistically significantly at intervention schools (baseline = 2%, fall = 30%, and spring = 41%) (P < .001 for intervention effect comparing the change in rate of hat use over time at intervention vs control schools). Self-reported use of hats outside of school did not change statistically significantly during the study (control: baseline = 14%, fall = 14%, and spring = 11%; intervention: baseline = 24%, fall = 24%, and spring = 23%) nor did measures of skin pigmentation. The intervention increased use of hats among fourth-grade students at school but had no effect on self-reported wide-brimmed hat use outside of school or on measures of skin pigmentation.

Podcasts as Tools in Introductory Environmental Studies

PubMed Central

Vatovec, Christine; Balser, Teri

2009-01-01

Technological tools have increasingly become a part of the college classroom, often appealing to teachers because of their potential to increase student engagement with course materials. Podcasts in particular have gained popularity as tools to better inform students by providing access to lectures outside of the classroom. In this paper, we argue that educators should expand course materials to include prepublished podcasts to engage students with both course topics and a broader skill set for evaluating readily available media. We present a pre- and postassignment survey evaluation assessing student preferences for using podcasts and the ability of a podcast assignment to support learning objectives in an introductory environmental studies course. Overall, students reported that the podcasts were useful tools for learning, easy to use, and increased their understanding of course topics. However, students also provided insightful comments on visual versus aural learning styles, leading us to recommend assigning video podcasts or providing text-based transcripts along with audio podcasts. A qualitative analysis of survey data provides evidence that the podcast assignment supported the course learning objective for students to demonstrate critical evaluation of media messages. Finally, we provide recommendations for selecting published podcasts and designing podcast assignments. PMID:23653686

Effects of the use of thematic organizers in conjunction with concept mapping on learning, misconceptions, and retention in middle school science class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keown, Sandra L.

This study was devised to determine effects of the use of interactive thematic organizers and concept maps in middle school science classes during a unit study on minerals. The design, a pretest-posttest control group, consisted of matched groups (three experimental groups and one comparison group). It also included a student survey assessing qualitative aspects of the investigation. The 67 6th-grade students and one science teacher who participated in the study were from an independent K-12 school. Students represented a normal, well-distributed range of abilities. Group I (control) proceeded with their usual method of studying a unit---reading aloud the text and answering workbook questions. Group II worked with interactive thematic organizers, designed to activate prior knowledge and help students make inferences about target concepts in three treatments. Group III created three interactive concept maps, which represented both understandings and misconceptions. Concept maps were reviewed and repaired as students completed each treatment. Group IV participated in both thematic organizer and concept map treatments. Statistical analyses were determined through a pretest and a delayed recall posttest essay for all four groups. Two scores were assigned---one quantitative raw score of correct explicit answers and one rubric score based on the quality of interpretive responses. Group II also received scores for thematic organizer responses. Group III received rubric scores for concept maps. Group IV received all possible scores. Paired t-tests reported comparisons of scores across the treatment groups. A linear regression indicated whether or not concept map misconceptions affected posttest scores. Finally, an ANCOVA reported statistical significance across the four treatment groups. Findings of data analysis indicated statistically significant improvement in posttest scores among students in the three experimental groups. Students who participated in both treatments represented the highest scores among the four groups. Results of the ANCOVA indicated there was statistically significant difference in scores among the four treatments. Recommendations were made to further investigate development of interactive thematic organizers with student-chosen hyperlinks to concepts, as well as a recommendation that researchers investigate teacher understandings of interpretive purpose and form in the creation of thematic organizers.

Skylab Student Project: Summary Description

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Floyd, Henry B.

1973-01-01

In 1971 the NASA conceived the Skylab student project in an effort to involve the general public in the Skylab program. The primary aim of this project was to stimulate national interest in science and technology. NASA decided to direct the Skylab student project to those young people who have indicated an interest in science and technology and to foster this interest through direct participation in an ongoing program emphasizing as wide a spectrum of science and technology as possible. Skylab, with the opportunity it gives to provide experiments in areas of science and technology provided the ideal opportunity for such participation. In implementing this project, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), having an existing, closely associated contact with students, grades 9 through 12, in United States schools, was asked to sponsor, organize, and administer a national competition for high school students. This competition called for individual students (or groups of students) to develop meaningful experiments to be flown on Skylab. To facilitate the organization and administration of this program, the NSTA divided the participating students into their 12 geographical regions with a regional chairmen appointed to receive all proposals for his region. The regional chairmen then appointed a committee of eminent scientists, engineers, and science educators to evaluate each proposal. Some 80,000 applications were requested by teachers and 3409 proposals were submitted. Moreover, because of team proposals, over 4000 students participated and approximately 300 regional winners selected. Each participant received a certification of merit. The 300 winning regional proposals were transmitted to the NSTA headquarters where they were further screened. In March of 1972 twenty-five national winners and 22 special mentions were announced. The 25 winning students were then assigned science advisers at the George C. Marshall Space Flight center (MSFC), the center selected by NASA to be responsible for development of the student project. The Johnson Space Center (JSC) also provided science advisors and valuable support.

Learning Science Process Through Data Exploration and Writing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prothero, W. A.

2007-12-01

One of the most effective ways of teaching science process is to have students take part in the same activities that practicing scientists engage in. These activities include studying the current research in the field, discussing ideas with colleagues, formulating a research problem, making a proposal defining the problem and plan of attack, presenting and writing about the results of the study, and critically reviewing the work of others. An inquiry curriculum can use these activities to guide the scaffolding of assignments and learning experiences that help students learn science process. At UCSB, students in a large general education oceanography class use real Earth data to study plate tectonics, the Indian Monsoon, climate change, and the health of the world fisheries. The end product for each subject has been a science paper based on Earth data. Over a period of approximately 15 years, the scaffolding of activities to prepare each student for the written assignments has been modified and improved, in response to student feedback and their success with the assignments. I have found that the following resources and sequence of activities help the oceanography students write good science papers. 1. Lecture: motivation and the opportunity for feedback and questions. 2. Textbook: background information. It is also possible to get the information from the internet, but unless the scope of reading is strictly defined, students don't know when to stop reading and become unhappy. 3. Online assignments: automatically graded assignments that force the student to keep up with reading. 4. Questions of the day: in-class handouts, with diagrams that the students either complete, or answer questions about. They are handed in and tallied, but not graded. They also inform the instructor of misconceptions. 5. Thought questions: student answers are posted on a threaded discussion list, and are due prior to lecture. The answers provide instructor feedback and guide the lecture. Students see their peers' answers only after entering their own. They can then improve their own answer ("Just In Time Teaching"). 6. Laboratory section activities: these introduce students to the course software, especially the data browsers, and the meaning of the data for the next writing assignment. For each meeting, a group inquiry activity results in a short class presentation by each group. This informs the teaching assistant (who teaches the lab section) of student understanding of the material, helps students become comfortable with the software, and supports students helping each other. 7. Written assignments. The assignments each require an approximately 1100-1600 word paper that includes abstract, introduction, data, interpretation, summary, and references. Images are captured from the data browser and included in the paper. The writing technology has evolved from papers handed in and graded by hand, to fully online hand-in and grading, to calibrated peer review, which was incorporated in the 2005 course. Calibrated peer review has the advantage that students see and evaluate their peers' papers. About 20% of the papers are graded by the instructor, resulting in a much lower instructor grading workload. Also, I suspect that a greater number of very short writing assignments in response to thought questions or min- inquiries might be an effective modification. The new "Learning With Data Workshop" will support many of the inquiry activities described here.

Pre-service teachers’ challenges in presenting mathematical problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desfitri, R.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyzed how pre-service teachers prepare and assigned tasks or assignments in teaching practice situations. This study was also intended to discuss about kind of tasks or assignments they gave to students. Participants of this study were 15 selected pre-service mathematics teachers from mathematics education department who took part on microteaching class as part of teaching preparation program. Based on data obtained, it was occasionally found that there were hidden errors on questions or tasks assigned by pre-service teachers which might lead their students not to be able to reach a logical or correct answer. Although some answers might seem to be true, they were illogical or unfavourable. It is strongly recommended that pre-service teachers be more careful when posing mathematical problems so that students do not misunderstand the problems or the concepts, since both teachers and students were sometimes unaware of errors in problems being worked on.

Student-Designed Service-Learning Projects in an Undergraduate Neurobiology Course.

PubMed

Northcutt, Katharine V

2016-03-01

One of the challenges in teaching a service-learning course is obtaining student buy-in from all students in the course. To circumvent this problem, I have let students in my undergraduate Neurobiology course design their own service-learning projects at the beginning of the semester. Although this can be chaotic because it requires last-minute planning, I have made it successful through facilitating student communication in the classroom, requiring thorough project proposals, meeting with students regularly, and monitoring group progress through written reflection papers. Most of my students have strong opinions about the types of projects that they want to carry out, and many students have used connections that they have already made with local organizations. Almost all projects that students have designed to this point involve teaching basic concepts of neurobiology to children of various ages while simultaneously sparking their interest in science. Through taking ownership of the project and designing it such that it works well with their strengths, interests, and weekly schedule, students have become more engaged in service learning and view it as a valuable experience. Despite some class time being shifted away from more traditional assignments, students have performed equally well in the course, and they are more eager to talk with others about course concepts. Furthermore, the feedback that I have received from community partners has been excellent, and some students have maintained their work with the organizations.

Link failure detection in a parallel computer

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J.; Blocksome, Michael A.; Megerian, Mark G.; Smith, Brian E.

2010-11-09

Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for link failure detection in a parallel computer including compute nodes connected in a rectangular mesh network, each pair of adjacent compute nodes in the rectangular mesh network connected together using a pair of links, that includes: assigning each compute node to either a first group or a second group such that adjacent compute nodes in the rectangular mesh network are assigned to different groups; sending, by each of the compute nodes assigned to the first group, a first test message to each adjacent compute node assigned to the second group; determining, by each of the compute nodes assigned to the second group, whether the first test message was received from each adjacent compute node assigned to the first group; and notifying a user, by each of the compute nodes assigned to the second group, whether the first test message was received.

Modelling the Preferences of Students for Alternative Assignment Designs Using the Discrete Choice Experiment Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennelly, Brendan; Flannery, Darragh; Considine, John; Doherty, Edel; Hynes, Stephen

2014-01-01

This paper outlines how a discrete choice experiment (DCE) can be used to learn more about how students are willing to trade off various features of assignments such as the nature and timing of feedback and the method used to submit assignments. A DCE identifies plausible levels of the key attributes of a good or service and then presents the…

Case Study: A Step-by-Step Guide to Students Writing Case Studies (and Tools for Novice Case Authors)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prud'homme-Genereux, Annie

2015-01-01

In experimenting with ways of structuring the assignment and providing guidance to students, the author developed a series of tools that may be of interest to instructors wishing to implement a case-writing assignment in their course. This assignment is more suited for instructors experienced in case writing, as their knowledge of how to design a…

Self-Regulated Assignment Attack Strategy: Evaluating the Effects of a Classroom-Level Intervention on Student Management of Curricular Activities in a Resource Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ness, Bryan M.; Sohlberg, McKay Moore

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a classroom-based strategy instruction package grounded in self-regulated learning. The Self-Regulated Assignment Attack Strategy (SAAS) targeted self-regulation of assignment management and related academic-behavioral variables for 6th grade students in resource support classrooms. SAAS was…

Comparison of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy in the Treatment of Anxiety among University Students: An Effectiveness Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monti, Fiorella; Tonetti, Lorenzo; Ricci Bitti, Pio Enrico

2014-01-01

The aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural (CBT) and psychodynamic (PDT) therapies in the treatment of anxiety among university students. To this aim, the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) was completed by 30 students assigned to CBT and by 24 students assigned to PDT, both at the beginning and at the end of…

Single-Sex Schools, Student Achievement, and Course Selection: Evidence from Rule-Based Student Assignments in Trinidad and Tobago. NBER Working Paper No. 16817

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, C. Kirabo

2011-01-01

Existing studies on single-sex schooling suffer from biases due to student selection to schools and single-sex schools being better in unmeasured ways. In Trinidad and Tobago students are assigned to secondary schools based on an algorithm allowing one to address self-selection bias and cleanly estimate an upper-bound single-sex school effect. The…

Evaluating interactive technology for an evolving case study on learning and satisfaction of graduate nursing students.

PubMed

Vogt, Marjorie A; Schaffner, Barbara H

2016-07-01

Nursing education is challenged to prepare students for complex healthcare needs through the integration of teamwork and informatics. Technology has become an important teaching tool in the blended classroom to enhance group based learning experiences. Faculty evaluation of classroom technologies is imperative prior to adoption. Few studies have directly compared various technologies and their impact on student satisfaction and learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate technology enhanced teaching methods on the learning and satisfaction of graduate students in an advanced pharmacology class using an unfolding case study. After IRB approval, students were randomly assigned to one of three groups: blogging group, wiki group or webinar group. Students completed the evolving case study using the assigned interactive technology. Student names were removed from the case studies. Faculty evaluated the case study using a rubric, while blinded to the assigned technology method used. No significant difference was found on case study grades, the range of grades on the assignment demonstrated little differences between the methods used. Students indicated an overall positive impact related to networking and collaboration on a satisfaction survey. Impact of technology methods needs to be explored in other areas of graduate nursing education. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach in an Undergraduate Plant Physiology Class1

PubMed Central

Artus, Nancy N.; Nadler, Kenneth D.

1999-01-01

We used Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach (CAPA), a networked teaching and learning tool that generates computer individualized homework problem sets, in our large-enrollment introductory plant physiology course. We saw significant improvement in student examination performance with regular homework assignments, with CAPA being an effective and efficient substitute for hand-graded homework. Using CAPA, each student received a printed set of similar but individualized problems of a conceptual (qualitative) and/or quantitative nature with quality graphics. Because each set of problems is unique, students were encouraged to work together to clarify concepts but were required to do their own work for credit. Students could enter answers multiple times without penalty, and they were able to obtain immediate feedback and hints until the due date. These features increased student time on task, allowing higher course standards and student achievement in a diverse student population. CAPA handles routine tasks such as grading, recording, summarizing, and posting grades. In anonymous surveys, students indicated an overwhelming preference for homework in CAPA format, citing several features such as immediate feedback, multiple tries, and on-line accessibility as reasons for their preference. We wrote and used more than 170 problems on 17 topics in introductory plant physiology, cataloging them in a computer library for general access. Representative problems are compared and discussed. PMID:10198076

Student Perceptions of a Recreation Trail Assignment as a Valuable Learning Experience for Geography Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullens, Jo Beth

2016-01-01

Charging undergraduate geography students with the task of designing a recreational trail in their local community offers an engaging experiential opportunity with potential to advance geographic learning in a real-world setting. This article presents an assignment in which students were asked to develop a recreational trail proposal for an…

Enhancing of Self-Efficacy in Teacher Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malinauskas, Romualdas K.

2017-01-01

In this study, the effectiveness of training module on enhancing self-efficacy in teacher education students was investigated. Sixty-eight (68) teacher education students (M age = 22.74; SD = 0.57) participated in this study, 36 of whom were assigned to an experimental group and the other 32 were assigned to a control group. The training module on…

Ability-Grouping and Academic Inequality: Evidence from Rule-Based Student Assignments. NBER Working Paper No. 14911

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, C. Kirabo

2009-01-01

In Trinidad and Tobago students are assigned to secondary schools after fifth grade based on achievement tests, leading to large differences in the school environments to which students of differing initial levels of achievement are exposed. Using both a regression discontinuity design and rule-based instrumental variables to address…

Students' Perceptions on Self- and Peer-Assessment in Enhancing Learning Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siow, Lee-Fong

2015-01-01

This study reports the effectiveness of self- and peer-assessment in improving students' learning experience. Students in a group of four were required to submit two self-assessments, one after the first submission and the other during the final submission of the assignment. An anonymous assignment was then given to each group for a peer-based…

Who Assigns the Most ICT Activities? Examining the Relationship between Teacher and Student Usage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Shihkuan

2011-01-01

The expansion of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure in schools is expected to promote learning. To what extent teachers are utilizing the new ICT tools to engage students in learning activities remains a question. This study reports what kind of activities teachers are likely to assign students, and what type of teachers…

A Case Study: Using Authentic Scientific Data for Teaching and Learning of Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyner, Yael

2013-01-01

This article describes a culminating assignment for students enrolled in a human ecology course in a Masters in Science Education program. The goal of this assignment was for students to use published scientific data to link daily life, human impact, and sustainability to ecological function. This activity required students to consider the…

This Old Thing? Using Old Laboratory Equipment to Enhance Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elcoro, Mirari; McCarley, Nancy

2015-01-01

Using a surplus of older laboratory instruments, 48 students in a learning and behavior course completed an assignment designed to provide an introduction to the history and use of some instruments in psychology. Students worked in pairs, were assigned one instrument, and created labels in which they identified several keys characteristics of an…

The "Pay It Forward" Speech: Challenging Students to Become Engaged in the Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenna-Buchanan, Timothy; Munz, Stevie

2014-01-01

This assignment described here serves as a meaningful way to engage students who are perhaps less involved in giving back to their own community (Galston, 2003). By engaging students in "pay it forward" experiences, this assignment can help foster a sense of active citizenship. Often political engagement is associated with acts related…

Asian Students' Perceptions of Group Work and Group Assignments in a New Zealand Tertiary Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Mingsheng; Campbell, Jacqui

2008-01-01

This study, conducted in 2005 in a New Zealand tertiary institution, examines Asian students' perceptions of the much-promulgated cooperative learning concepts in the form of group work and group assignments. Twenty-two Asian students participated in one-hour individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The study found that Asian students…

The New Orleans OneApp: Centralized Enrollment Matches Students and Schools of Choice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Douglas N.; Valant, Jon; Gross, Betheny

2015-01-01

In most of the U.S., the process for assigning children to public schools is straightforward: take a student's home address, determine which school serves that address, and assign the student accordingly. However, states and cities are increasingly providing families with school choices. A key question facing policymakers is exactly how to place…

A Comparison of the Long-Term Learning Effects of Comprehensive and Topic-Specific Practice Set Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fatemi, Darius; Marley, Robert; Marquis, Linda M.

2015-01-01

The authors examined the long-term learning effects of two different practice set assignment approaches on business students' long-term learning: a comprehensive, multiple-period practice set and a topic-specific practice set. Student learning was measured longitudinally across semesters. The authors found evidence that students using a…

What Keeps Chinese Students Motivated in Doing Math Homework? An Empirical Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Fuyi; Xu, Jianzhong; Tan, Heping; Liang, Ningjian

2016-01-01

Background: As many students face the enduring challenge of maintaining their motivation to complete homework assignments, there is a critical need to pay close attention to homework motivation management (i.e., students' efforts to sustain or enhance their motivation in order to complete homework assignments that might be boring or difficult).…

Students' Understanding and Perceptions of Assigned Team Roles in a Classroom Laboratory Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ott, Laura E.; Kephart, Kerrie; Stolle-McAllister, Kathleen; LaCourse, William R.

2018-01-01

Using a cooperative learning framework in a quantitative reasoning laboratory course, students were assigned to static teams of four in which they adopted roles that rotated regularly. The roles included: team leader, protocol manager, data recorder, and researcher. Using a mixed-methods approach, we investigated students' perceptions of the team…

Investigation of the Effect of Assignment Projects on Mathematical Activity of Graduating Junior High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zehavi, Nurit

This study explored student mathematical activity in open problem-solving situations, derived from the work of Polya on problem solving and Skemp on intelligent learning and teaching. Assignment projects with problems for ninth-grade students were developed, whether they elicit the desired cognitive and cogno-affective goals was investigated, and…

Teaching Assessment of Classroom Learning: Using Scenarios To Teach Basic Tests and Measurement Concepts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cochran, H. Keith

This paper contains two scenario-type assignments for students in a university tests and measurements class as well as a collection of materials developed by actual students in response to these assignments. An opening explanation argues that education students, often nearing the end of their program when they take the tests and measurement…

Venturing into Scary Places: The Minority Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Craig

2007-01-01

Students who have lived as part of a majority for their entire life may find it frightening to be asked to visit a place where they will be in the minority. In this article, the author uses this assignment to demonstrate to his students how some people feel everyday. The Minority Experience assignment challenges students to actively participate in…

The Development of a Course Sequence in Real-Time Systems Design

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-08-01

project was implemented in C. 3 A group of students used the material learned in this course in their...homework assignments are used to assess the students learning U process. The term project is to be done in teams of 2 to 4 students and it starts very...assignments are used to assess the students learning I process. The term project is to be done in teams of 2 to 4 students and it starts very early in the

"Why bother so incredibly much?": student perspectives on PISA science assignments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serder, Margareta; Jakobsson, Anders

2015-09-01

Large-scale assessment, such as the Programme for International Assessment (PISA), plays an increasingly important role in current educational practice and politics. However, many scholars have questioned the validity and reliability of the tests and the extent to which they actually constitute trustworthy representations of students' knowledge. In the light of such critical voices the present article adopts a sociocultural perspective of human knowledge and action in order to explore the encounters between students and the science test assignments with which their knowledge is tested. Of particular interest in this study are the described "real-life situations" presented as the relevant background in which scientific literacy is assessed in PISA. According to the sociocultural theoretical onset the methodology used to approach the students' meaning making of the image of science as portrayed in the test were collaborative situations in which students work in small groups with units of PISA assignments, enabling a study of student-assignment encounters in action. The data we worked with consists of video-recordings from 71 Swedish 15-year-old students working with three released units from the PISA science test. According to our analysis, the "real-life situations" described in the test emerge as problematic in the students' meaning-making. This is demonstrated for instance by the students' positioning themselves as being different from and opposed to the fictional pictured students who appear in the backstories of the test. This article provides examples of how the scientific and academic language used by the fictional students in the assignments mediates distance and resistance among the students. The fictional students' use of strict scientific language and methods in day-to-day life situations leads them to be perceived as "little scientists" and as elite stereotypes of the scientific culture. We conclude that, by using assignments of this type, measurements of students' knowledge in science run the risk of becoming a measurement of cultural consistency regarding how well students will overcome the hurdles of scientific cultures. We mean that all though understanding the scientific culture is an important goal for science education, there is a problem that the assessment organizations communicate the results as representations of students' knowledge in science. This study adheres to research that advises caution in not over-interpreting the PISA results and stresses that understanding students' "knowledge" about science is much more complex than what is communicated by the international assessment organizations.

An attempt to estimate students' workload.

PubMed

Pogacnik, M; Juznic, P; Kosorok-Drobnic, M; Pogacnik, A; Cestnik, V; Kogovsek, J; Pestevsek, U; Fernandes, Tito

2004-01-01

Following the recent introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) into several European university programs, a new interest has developed in determining students' workload. ECTS credits are numerical values describing the student workload required to complete course units; ECTS has the potential to facilitate comparison and create transparency between institutional curricula. ECTS credits are frequently listed alongside institutional credits in course outlines and module summaries. Measuring student workload has been difficult; to a large extent, estimates are based only upon anecdotal and casual information. To gather more systematic information, we asked students at the Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, to estimate the actual total workload they committed to fulfill their coursework obligations for specific subjects in the veterinary degree program by reporting their attendance at defined contact hours and their estimated time for outside study, including the time required for examinations and other activities. Students also reported the final grades they received for these subjects. The results show that certain courses require much more work than others, independent of credit unit assignment. Generally, the courses with more contact hours tend also to demand more independent work; the best predictor of both actual student workload and student success is the amount of contact time in which they participate. The data failed to show any strong connection between students' total workload and grades they received; rather, they showed some evidence that regular presence at contact hours was the most positive influence on grades. Less frequent presence at lectures tended to indicate less time spent on independent study. It was also found that pre-clinical and clinical courses tended to require more work from students than other, more general subjects. While the present study does not provide conclusive evidence, it does indicate the need for further inquiry into the nature of the relationship between teaching and learning in higher education and for evaluation of the benefits (or otherwise) of more "self-directed" study.