Analysis of patterns in time for evaluating effectiveness of first principles of instruction

Educational technology research and development - In this naturalistic design-research study, we tracked 172,417 learning journeys of students who were interacting with an online resource, the...     

Student error patterns as a function of curriculum design: teaching fractions to remedial high school students and high school students with learning disabilities

This study evaluated the relative effectiveness of a curriculum that incorporated three empirically derived principles of curriculum design with a basal approach in teaching basic fractions concepts to students with learning disabilities and other low performing students in high school remedial math classes. The components of effective mathematics instruction articulated by Good and Grouws (1979) were implemented in both conditions. Thus, the curriculum design variables were isolated by keeping all other aspects of instruction constant. Results indicated that, although both programs were reasonably successful in teaching the material, the curriculum program utilizing sophisticated principles of curriculum design was significantly more effective. Mean scores on a curriculum-referenced test were 96.5% for that group and 82.3% for the basal group. Secondary analyses of item clusters revealed that areas of weakness in the performance of the basal group could be directly linked to hypothesized flaws in its curriculum design.     

College classroom interaction as a function of teacher- and student-centered instruction

Regional campus college students participated in traditionally or nontraditionally taught sections of undergraduate introductory educational psychology. The nontraditional sections were student centered, involving personal goal setting and monitoring conferences, and informal group discussion tests. The traditional sections were teacher centered, involving a lecture format, formal tests and assignments, and comparative grades. An event sampling behavioral assessment procedure was used to record student and teacher behaviors according to the following verbal interaction response categories: positive, negative, questions, answers, presents, solicits, shares, generates, impedes. The course sections were analyzed and found to be comparable with regard to teachers' positive responses and information presented, as well as content acquisition and final grades. However, students in the nontraditional course section asked significantly more questions, shared more information, and generated more ideas than students in the more traditional teacher-centered course. Replication analyses supported the initial findings regarding learning and attitudinal differences favoring student centered course sections over teacher centered sections.     

Principle learning as a function of instruction on excluding irrelevant variables

The purpose of this study was to determine if instruction on excluding irrelevant variables enhanced learning the principle that explained why objects float and sink. The results of the study show that learning the correct principle without first learning to exclude the false principles is not as effective as learning to exclude the false principles and then learning the correct principle. The data also indicate that the presentation of the verbal principle in the program enhanced achievement on the concept criterion test.     

A course projection and staffing plan used to facilitate a curriculum change

The curriculum change for which these projections were made included eliminating traditional distribution requirements in favor of interdisciplinary programs and increased student electives. The plan allowed study of the staffing needs and anticipated effects upon departmental offerings. The projections provided estimates of the number of students who would take each type of course and indicated that the new curriculum could be staffed by eliminating previously required introductory courses. Updated each year, the plan served as a guide for departmental offerings and for the hiring of new faculty. The projection methods employed would be helpful for schools anticipating curricular changes or as a general guide in planning faculty allocations from year to year.The planning, initial costs, and evaluation of the curriculum were supported in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the George Gund Foundation, and the U.S. Office of Education. Reprints and additional information about the curriculum and these projections can be obtained from the Office of Records and Research, Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio 44234. The authors wish to acknowledge the encouragement and assistance of Hiram President Elmer Jagow, former Dean Wendell Johnson, and current Dean Robert MacDowell. The cooperation of the Hiram faculty and students is also gratefully acknowledged.     

中学化学实验深层次教学功能的探讨

本文从具体实验入手 ,阐述了中学化学实验对于促进学生智能的发展 ,推动情感和意志的升华以及科学方法教育等方面都有其特有的作用 ,对中学化学实验的深层次教学功能进行了探讨。     

The school as a force for community change in Tanzania

In newly independent countries where traditional theories of educational policy have continued to be followed, education has persisted as little more than a sophisticated mechanism for the recruitment of elites, and there has been an increased dependence on the advanced industrial nations for aid, experts and educational models. Tanzania, however, has attempted to break away from traditional strategies, and the author here describes and analyses the impact of two of the most far-reaching reforms — Education for Self-Reliance, and Decentralization — on national goals and policies. President Nyerere enunciated the objectives for Education for Self-Reliance in 1967 as relating education to rural life, correcting the elitist bias of education, and changing negative attitudes among students towards agriculture and rural life. Five major programmes of reform covering primary and secondary education, teacher and higher education, and examinations were to be pursued, ensuring a closer integration of schools with local communities, e.g., through school farms and co-operative shops, and making curricula directly relevant to local needs. A policy of Decentralization is being implemented, allowing, theoretically at least, a much greater participation at community level in decision-making. In primary and adult education this has already been effected to some extent, though there is evidence to suggest that decentralization in some regions and districts has resulted in the creation of local bureaucratic machinery for control, defeating the intention of the reform. Decentralization of secondary and teacher education is likely to follow, leaving only higher education centrally controlled for manpower training and allocation purposes. Finally the author discusses the question of the transferability of the Tanzanian reforms.

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Zusammenfassung In neuerdings unabhängig gewordenen Ländern, wo man traditionelle Theorien der Bildungspolitik beibehielt, ist Erziehung immer noch nicht viel mehr als ein verfeinertes Instrument für den Nachwuchs von Eliten; außerdem hat sich die Abhängigkeit von fortschrittlichen Industrieländern noch verstärkt durch den Bedarf an Unterstützung, Fachkräften und Bildungsmodellen. Tanzania hat jedoch versucht, aus der traditionellen Strategie auszubrechen, und der Verfasser schildert und analysiert hier die Auswirkung von zweien der am weitesten reichenden Reformen — Erziehung zum Identitätsbewußtsein und Dezentralisierung — auf nationale Ziele und politische Maßnahmen. Im Jahre 1967 kündigte Präsident Nyerere es als Ziel der Erziehung zum Identitätsbewußtsein an, zwischen Erziehung und Landleben eine Verbindung herzustellen; dadurch sollte die elitäre Tendenz im Bildungswesen abgebaut und die ablehnende Einstellung von Studenten zu Landwirtschaft und Landleben verändert werden. Fünf größere Reformprogramme sollten zur Durchführung kommen; sie umfaßten Grund- und Oberschulbildung, Lehrer- und Hochschulbildung sowie Prüfungen, um eine stärkere Integration der Schule in das örtliche Gemeinwesen zu gewährleisten, zum Beispiel durch Schulfarmen und kooperative Werkstätten, und indem Curricula unmittelbar aus den örtlichen Bedürfnissen heraus entwickelt werden. Eine Politik der Dezentralisierung wird eingeführt, die wenigstens theoretisch eine viel größere Beteiligung des Gemeinwesens an Beschlußfassungen ermöglicht. In der Grundschule und Erwachsenenbildung ist dies schon bis zu einem gewissen Grade zum Tragen gekommen, aber der Augenschein legt die Vermutung nahe, daß in manchen Bereichen und Bezirken die Dezentralisierung zur Schaffung eines örtlichen bürokratischen Kontrollapparats geführt hat, wodurch die Absicht der Reform zunichte gemacht wird. Wahrscheinlich wird die Dezentralisierung der Oberschul- und Lehrerbildung folgen, so daß dann nur noch die Hochschule zur Ausbildung von Fachkräften und Arbeitskräfteverteilung zentral gesteuert wird. Zum Schluß erörtert der Verfasser die Frage der Übertragbarkeit der Reformen von Tanzania.

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Résumé Dans les pays qui ont accédé récemment à l'indépendance et où les théories traditionnelles de la politique de l'enseignement ont continué d'être observées, l'éducation n'est guère plus qu'un mécanisme sophistiqué de recrutement des élites, et on a constaté une dépendance accrue de ces pays vis-à-vis des nations industriellement développés en ce qui concerne l'assistance, les experts et les modèles éducationnels. La Tanzanie, toutefois, a tenté de se dégager des stratégies traditionnelles et l'auteur décrit et analyse dans cet article l'impact de deux des réformes les plus poussées: l'Education pour l'Autonomie Collective, et la Décentralisation, sur les lignes de conduite et les objectifs nationaux. Selon le président Nyerere, les objectifs de l'Education pour l'Autonomie Collective sont, en 1967, de rattacher l'éducation à la vie rurale, de corriger les partis pris d'élitisme, de modifier l'attitude négative des étudiants envers la vie rurale et l'agriculture. Cinq programmes majeurs de réforme couvrant l'enseignement primaire et secondaire, l'enseignement supérieur et la formation des enseignants, et les examens, devaient être appliqués, assurant ainsi une meilleure intégration des écoles dans les collectivités locales grâce, par example, aux fermes-écoles, aux magasins coopératifs et à l'élaboration de curricula directement appropriés aux besoins locaux. Une politique de décentralisation est en cours d'application, permettant, du moins sur le plan théorique, une participation accrue de la collectivité à la prise de décisions. Dans l'enseignement primaire et l'éducation des adultes, cette politique a déjà été mise en pratique dans une certaine mesure, bien que la décentralisation ait visiblement abouti, dans quelques régions et provinces, à la création d'un mécanisme bureaucratique local de contrôle qui déjoue l'intention de la réforme. La décentralisation de l'enseignement secondaire et de la formation des enseignants suivra probablement, ne laissant que l'enseignement supérieur a être contrôlé centralement, ceci pour des raisons de formation de la main d'oeuvre et de la répartition des ressources. L'auteur conclut en posant la question de la transmissibilité des réformes tanzaniennes.

     

Managing change: The superintendent as line director of instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of a superintendent and his district instructional staff in managing change in a New York City school district. An individual case study was used to examine leadership and instructional improvement in a context with administrative and teaching staff limitations and an unprecedented influx of newly arrived immigrant students. We found a pattern of beliefs, instructional approaches and strategies consistent with district systemic change efforts; however, the superintendent emerged at the centre of all interviews and observations. Transformational and charismatic leadership were used to examine the phenomena.     

Using the first principles of instruction and multimedia learning principles to design and develop in-game learning support videos

Educational technology research and development - Over three years, our research team has designed various learning supports for promoting content knowledge and solving game levels. In this case...     

English as a medium of instruction at a Chilean engineering school: Experiences in finance and industrial organization courses

Implementing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Latin American countries contributes to reducing language exchange isolation in the region and helps prepare higher education students for future labor opportunities. However, one of the main concerns around EMI is whether English instruction could negatively affect content acquisition. This paper examines if the performance of native Spanish speakers is affected by EMI. Specifically, it discusses experiences from finance and industrial organization courses given to industrial engineers at a Chilean university. The results of a multivariate analysis of tests and final grades show that performance differences can mainly be attributed to students’ performance in previous courses; only on rare occasions do language, gender, and attendance explain performance differences.     

Using the iPad as a tool to support literacy instruction

The purpose of this case study was to examine how iPads could be integrated into literacy instruction in a fourth-grade classroom in ways consistent with new conceptions of literacy and in ways that transform traditional literacy instruction by supporting readers in creating multimodal responses to reading. Results indicate that several features of the iPad support literacy instruction, a context in which both traditional literacy skills and new literacies must be taught. Data analysis revealed the following four themes that characterise the ways in which classroom instruction was supported by integrating iPads: (1) choosing new ways to communicate a message; (2) detailed work and revision; (3) spontaneous collaboration and (4) student interest and attention to the tasks. Results indicate that features of the iPad may provide a simplified path to integrating technology into literacy instruction.