医学教育研究中的随机化对照试验

本文介绍了随机化对照试验（RCT）在医学教育研究中的应用,评论表明RCT已被用于少数教育研究项目。在医学教育领域,有人认为RCT不应当使用,因为学生无权选择自己的学习方法。但是,为了评估多种教学方法的效果,医学教育家建议必须广泛地采用RCT,并指出不对教学方法作RCT是不符合伦理准则的。     

A Drop in the Bucket: Randomized Controlled Trials Testing Reading and Math Interventions

The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of empirical studies published in the last 5 years in a sample of special education peer‐reviewed journals that (1) assessed the effects of reading and math interventions with group designs and (2) used random assignment to treatment conditions to test those interventions. A hand search of articles from the Journal of Special Education, Exceptional Children, Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, the Journal of Learning Disabilities, and School Psychology Review yielded 806 relevant articles, of which 5.46 percent tested a reading or math intervention using a group design and 4.22 percent used random assignment. These findings indicate that randomized experimental designs, which offer the highest level of evidence of an intervention's efficacy, are underrepresented in the literature, at least in the area of reading and math interventions.     

New Empirical Evidence for the Design of Group Randomized Trials in Education

Abstract

This article provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing studies that randomize groups to measure the impacts of educational interventions. The article (a) provides new empirical information about the values of parameters that influence the precision of impact estimates (intraclass correlations and R ² values) and includes outcomes other than standardized test scores and data with a three-level structure rather than a two-level structure, and (b) discusses the error (both generalizability and estimation error) that exists in estimates of key design parameters and the implications this error has for design decisions. Data for the paper come primarily from two studies: the Chicago Literacy Initiative: Making Better Early Readers Study (CLIMBERS) and the School Breakfast Pilot Project (SBPP). The analysis sample from CLIMBERS comprised 430 four-year-old children from 47 preschool classrooms in 23 Chicago public schools. The analysis sample from the SBPP study comprised 1,151 third graders from 233 classrooms in 111 schools from 6 school districts. Student achievement data from the Reading First Impact Study is also used to supplement the discussion.     

随机干预实验中的成本效益分析方法及其在中国农村教育领域中的应用

近年来教育领域已经开展了大量的随机干预实验项目,它们从不同角度、不同层面为改善学生学业表现、提高入学率等提供了众多经验证有效的干预方案。但资源总是有限的,如何对众多干预方案进行对比以选出可优先实施的干预方案?成本效益分析是一种重要且可行的方法。本文对成本效益分析的基本概念、基本要求和具体操作方法进行了梳理和总结,重点说明了成本核算方法及效益核算方法;结合案例说明了对单个随机干预实验项目进行成本效益分析的步骤、可能出现的问题及处理方法;在此基础上,通过汇总国内外教育领域的随机干预实验项目,说明了在对不同地区、不同年份、不同实施团队等差异较大的项目进行成本效益对比分析时可能出现的相关问题及处理方法。本文认为,在随机干预实验中更多地、更规范地使用成本效益分析,能够促进不同项目的对比研究,为相关政策制定提供更有力的参考。     

新课程改革背景下的课程生态观

知识经济的到来和科学技术的迅速发展,使得教育的理念发生了深刻的变化.本文首先说明了课程生态观就是把自然、社会和人在课程体系中看作是有机的统一.然后阐述了确立课程生态观的原因在于三个方面:社会和人的发展对课程的基本要求、课程自身的特点和新课程改革的基本追求.最后提出应该确立回归生活的课程生态观,强调使自然、社会和人成为课程的基本来源,使学生在面向自然、面向他人、面向生活中和谐而全面地发展.     

An Experiment to Evaluate the Efficacy of Cognitive Tutor Geometry

Abstract

This randomized, controlled field trial estimated the causal impact of a technology-based geometry curriculum on students’ geometry achievement, as well as their attitudes toward mathematics and technology. The curriculum combines learner-centered classroom pedagogy with individualized, computer-based student instruction. Conducted over a 3-year period in eight high schools within an urban fringe district, the study found that students assigned to the treatment curriculum scored 19% of a standard deviation lower on the geometry posttest than their counterparts assigned to the district's standard curriculum, but found no statistically significant impact on students’ attitudes toward mathematics and technology. Researchers also collected observation and interview data on teachers’ instructional practices. These data suggest that many teachers had difficulty implementing the treatment curriculum's learner-centered pedagogy. In fact, observed levels of learner-centered practices were only modestly higher in treatment classes than in control classes. In both treatment and control classes, however, higher levels of learner-centered pedagogy were associated with higher student achievement in geometry.     

浅谈新课程理念下我们怎样教学

新课程特别强调每个教师都必须拥有课程意识。课程意识是一种开放的、民主的、科学的意识。课程意识需要呼唤主体的教学自觉。教与学的过程是师生双方平等合作、追求主体间相互理解,获得解放和自由的过程。在这个过程中,教师和学生每时每刻都面临着复杂多变的事件与各种信息的刺激,需要充分调动双方的知识储备和智慧潜能,梳理原有的经验,通过创造性的教学活动,寻找有效的成长途径,建构具有个性的意义世界。一、以专业化发展促进教学20世纪80年代以来,教师专业化发展已成为教育研究的主题之一。所谓教师专业化发展是指作为专业人员的教师在整…     

Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Early Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation on Means-End Problem Solving in 9-Month-Olds

This study examines whether feeding infants formula supplemented with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) improves cognitive function of 9-month-olds. Participants included 229 infants from 3 randomized controlled trials. Children received either formula supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid, or a control formula beginning at 1–5 days (12-month feeding study), or following 6 weeks (6-week-weaning study) or 4–6 months of breastfeeding (4-to 6-month weaning study). Infants were assessed with a 2-step problem solving task. In the 12-month feeding and 6-week weaning studies, supplemented children had more intentional solutions (successful task completions) and higher intention scores (goal-directed behaviors) than controls. These results suggest that LCPUFA supplementation improves means-end problem solving.     

Using Habermas to Evaluate Two Approaches to Negotiated Assessment

Recent discussions about learning and teaching have been strongly influenced by phenomenographic theories which focus on students' experience of learning. This theoretical orientation underestimates the importance of the tutor/student relationship. Habermas's theory of communicative action provides a model of student-tutor interaction which holds out the prospect of an 'emancipatory' adult education. By comparing two courses, both aimed at HE staff and both using forms of negotiated assessment, this paper examines the possibility of approaching the Habermassian 'ideal speech situation'. The course participants' experience of negotiated assessment is evaluated against the declared philosophy of the tutors. Although many of the ideals of the tutors found confirmation in the experience of the participants, the paper explores the factors which influenced the greater success achieved by one of the courses in approaching the Habermassian ideal than the other.     

Using Student-Determined Needs to Evaluate Environmental Education Programs

Abstract

All too often, evaluation is not used as the important management tool it could be, because educators feel inadequately prepared to use complex evaluation techniques. “Direct evaluation,” as a research concept, is based on the idea of “research as an intermediate technology,” developed by Steven and Rachel Kaplan in Cognition and Environment (1982: Praeger). Direct evaluation means you ask what you need to know of those who are participants in a program you wish to evaluate. The results, when collated, can be used for justification as well as modification of programs.     

Using the Theory of Satisficing to Evaluate the Quality of Survey Data

Increasingly colleges and universities use survey results to make decisions, inform research, and shape public opinion. Given the large number of surveys distributed on campuses, can researchers reasonably expect that busy respondents will diligently answer each and every question? Less serious respondents may “satisfice,” i.e., take short-cuts to conserve effort, in a number of ways—choosing the same response every time, skipping items, rushing through the instrument, or quitting early. In this paper we apply this satisficing framework to demonstrate analytic options for assessing respondents’ conscientiousness in giving high fidelity survey answers. Specifically, we operationalize satisficing as a series of measurable behaviors and compute a satisficing index for each survey respondent. Using data from two surveys administered in university contexts, we find that the majority of respondents engaged in satisficing behaviors, that single-item results can be significantly impacted by satisficing, and that scale reliabilities and correlations can be altered by satisficing behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of identifying satisficers in routine survey analysis in order to verify data quality prior to using results for decision-making, research, or public dissemination of findings.     

关于教师对新课程改革方案可接受性问题的研究

教师对课程改革方案的接受与认可程度、对课程改革的理解及适应水平，直接决定着课程改革的成败。影响教师接受新课改方案的主要因素是：教师的心理不适应；教师的知识技能缺失；教师的工作负担过重，课程资源缺乏；培训的内容与形式缺乏实践性；评价制度与方法滞后。提高教师时新课改方案可接受性的策略具体为：课程实施的程度必须符合教师成长发展的规律；增强教师的心理适应性；开展有组织的专题研究；采用反思型的教研方式，提高教师的自我发展能力。     

从教学大纲到课程标准看课程功能的转变

一、问题背景 我们处于一个信息化时代、一个需要终身学习的时代、一个需要每一个人都具有终身学习和能力的时代.作为一个国家成功的基础教育应该是能够激发学生继续学习的愿望,成功的学生应该具有继续学习的愿望和能力.     

“无机材料物理性能”课程改革研究

“无机材料物理性能”是无机非金属材料工程专业的核心课程,课程重在培养学生对材料物理性能问题的分析、解决能力和实验技能,为研发先进功能材料打下坚实的基础。文章针对实际教学过程中暴露的理论性太强、教学内容枯燥、实践教学环节相对薄弱等问题,分析了其出现的原因,指出进行教学改革的必要性,同时提出了改进教学内容和教学方法等方面的建议。     

Using Class Climate Scales to Evaluate Gifted Inservice Programs

This study represents a novel approach to evaluating the effectiveness of an inservice program designed to help teachers enrich classroom instruction to make it more appropriate for gifted students. Results indicate that the number of inservice courses taken by teachers over a two and one‐half year period was associated with increased emphasis in their classes on higher‐level thinking skills and illustrates the use of class climate scales as a tool for program evaluation.     

New Ways to Evaluate Goodness of Fit: A Note on Using Equivalence Testing to Assess Structural Equation Models

Structural equation models are typically evaluated on the basis of goodness-of-fit indexes. Despite their popularity, agreeing what value these indexes should attain to confidently decide between the acceptance and rejection of a model has been greatly debated. A recently proposed approach by means of equivalence testing has been recommended as a superior way to evaluate the goodness of fit of models. The approach has also been proposed as providing a necessary vehicle that can be used to advance the inferential nature of structural equation modeling as a confirmatory tool. The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to key ideas in equivalence testing and illustrate its use for conducting model–data fit assessments. Two confirmatory factor analysis models in which a priori specified latent variable models with known structure and tested against data are used as examples. It is advocated that whenever the goodness of fit of a model is to be assessed researchers should always examine the resulting values obtained via the equivalence testing approach.