Effective Practices in Distance Education

Summary

Distance education is changing the landscape of higher education and many faculty are now developing Web-based courses. This paper describes the lessons learned by the authors' experiences and research and offers a specific set of pedagogical and assessment strategies that they have found to be successful in online settings. The authors have found that classes delivered on the Web provide a viable option for professional development of K-12 teachers, and that the learning that occurs is of equal quality to those university courses taught on campus. Web-based courses offer students an opportunity to take courses anytime, anyplace.     

Examining Online Instruction in Undergraduate Nursing Education

Web-based courses have increased in number as one of the primary modes of distance education in undergraduate nursing programs across the United States. An online survey of 171 nursing faculty in the United States with experience teaching Web-based courses served as the primary data source. Interviews and a review of course Web sites provided additional comparative information. Results of this study indicated online faculty spent significantly more time in planning and implementing a Web course than they did a traditional course. Despite this time commitment respondents perceived the teaching experience to be a successful and effective form of instruction that they felt could be used to deliver any type of nursing course. The online teaching experience was described as both collaborative and highly interactive. Most respondents indicated they preferred online teaching to traditional face-to-face instruction. This positive reaction to teaching online supports the future viability of Web-based instruction at colleges of nursing.     

The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS): A New Instrument to Characterize University STEM Classroom Practices

Instructors and the teaching practices they employ play a critical role in improving student learning in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Consequently, there is increasing interest in collecting information on the range and frequency of teaching practices at department-wide and institution-wide scales. To help facilitate this process, we present a new classroom observation protocol known as the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM or COPUS. This protocol allows STEM faculty, after a short 1.5-hour training period, to reliably characterize how faculty and students are spending their time in the classroom. We present the protocol, discuss how it differs from existing classroom observation protocols, and describe the process by which it was developed and validated. We also discuss how the observation data can be used to guide individual and institutional change.     

Examining Effective Intervention Practices for Communication Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder

This article describes effective communication-related practices by reviewing specific evidence-based techniques, sharing how these techniques have been used in various treatment approaches, and discussing a constellation of general principles vital to treatment success. A comprehensive model of service delivery is provided to illustrate these key features of effective practice within the ecological and cultural contexts of families and their everyday lives.     

STEM Performance and Supply: Assessing the Evidence for Education Policy

The relationship between education policy and workforce policy has long been uneasy. It is widely believed in many quarters of American society that the U.S. education system is in decline and, what’s more, that it bears significant responsibility for a wide range of social ills, including stagnant wages, increasing inequality, high unemployment, and overall economic lethargy. However, as analyzed in this paper, the preponderance of evidence suggests that the U.S. education system has produced ample supplies of students to respond to STEM labor market demand. The “pipeline” of STEM-potential students is similarly strong and expanding.

     

Examining the Beliefs and Practices of Four Effective Australian Primary Science Teachers

With trends across many countries still indicating the decline of student interest in school science and diminishing numbers of students studying science beyond the compulsory years, it seems that the field remains in crisis. To address these unfortunate trends, there needs to be a greater emphasis on science education research that highlights the good news stories. For example, what are science teachers actually doing in their classrooms to increase student interest and understanding in science? This article focuses on the science teaching beliefs and practices of four Western Australian primary school teachers. The teachers were nominated by a professional colleague as effective practitioners. The study involved gathering information from classroom observations and teacher interviews to provide background information to assist in developing understandings of these teachers and their science teaching. This article reports on the initial findings drawn from Deanne A, Kate B, Lisa C and Rebecca D. Their practices were organised into the following six categories: classroom environment; conceptual knowledge and procedural skills; teaching strategies and approaches; student-specific considerations; teacher-specific considerations; and context-specific considerations. In examining the components contributing to these categories, it was evident that the teachers’ beliefs, as well as the contextual factors inherent in each classroom environment, influenced how and why they teach science in the ways they do.     

日本本科STEM教育质量监测：逻辑、标准与启示

为提高教育教学质量,日本政府秉持开放、共享、自由的本科STEM教育价值理念,以日本STEM教育本土化的开放性、协同性特点为依据,制定《日本本科STEM教育监测指标》,完善教育质量评价体系。该检测指标以日本教育政策理念、课堂教学改革、STEM教育内涵为指导,具体针对STEM教育理念、STEM学习方式和STEM教学效果等三个领域展开教学评估监测,并取得了较好的效果,通过分析日本本科STEM教育质量监测指标的基本逻辑特征、框架和具体内容,建议我国高等教育和教育评价工作应以教育政策理念和教学改革为导向,注重STEM学习方式设计,保障我国本科STEM教育质量;倡导产学政一体化教学,形成协同效应;以更高水平的教师队伍支持高等教育评估实践,不断改进我国本科STEM教育质量监测体系。     

复合·加强·优化——地方本科院校人才培养的有效途径探索

文章围绕地方本科院校的人才培养定位,提出实现应用型人才培养目标的三条措施：构建学生复合型知识结构;加强实验教学和社会实践以培养学生的实践应用能力;优化课程教学评价以考核学生综合素质。     

STEM:深刻影响基础教育改革与发展的观念与实践——美国STEM教育考察报告

美国STEM教育的五方面特点值得借鉴:聚焦4C能力,促进深度学习与社会性成长;推广基于项目的学习与促进学习的评价;工程技术教育的迅速发展及其课程支持机制的逐渐成熟;从学校STEM文化培育和校长STEM领导力提升来推进STEM教育;关注并建立起基于价值认同与主动责任的社会支持系统。对于我国基础教育来说,STEM教育是探寻教育的学术取向与应用取向的平衡;是转变育人方式,促进认知学习与社会性成长相结合的实践。     

Comparing Crosscutting Practices in STEM Disciplines

Science & Education - In the literature, there are multiple definitions of integrated STEM education, resulting in ambiguity and uncertainty of application. A firm conception of integrated STEM...     

生师互动:提高本科教育质量的有效途径

教育作为一种社会活动,其本质就是促进个体发展的积极的生师互动.利用清华大学“中国大学生学习与发展”课题组开发的“中国大学生学习性投入”(NSSE-China)测量工具,对“985”院校和国内Z大学的“生师互动水平”(SFI)进行分析,并与美国研究型大学(RU/H)进行比较,用客观的数据直观地呈现了我国高校生师互动的现状及与美国同类高校之间的差异.结果表明,生师互动水平与学生成长发展具有正相关关系,以学生为中心的生师互动对提高本科教育质量具有重要的意义.在实践中,增进生师互动需要教师切实树立“教学相长”理念,需要学生增强自主学习能力,需要注重课堂内外的结合.     

Education Practices and Maturation1

The article briefly discusses the question of how we should establish special educational practices that could help students mature. In identifying such practices, the author looks to a number of empirical studies that allow us to understand what significance the concept of “maturation” has for children and teenagers. In conclusion, the author notes that modern educational systems rarely provide students with the opportunity to try on adult roles. To allow this, changes will have to be made and special mechanisms will have to be designed that enable children, teenagers, and college students to show initiative and take responsibility.     

Correction to: Incremental Beliefs,STEM Efficacy and STEM Interest among First-Year Undergraduate Students

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the article title. The word “Students” was inadvertently deleted.     

Test Preparation: Examining Teacher Perceptions and Practices

This study analyzed questionnaire and interview data on teachers' practices and perceptions with respect to test preparation. Questionnaire respondents were asked to rate the ethicality of various test-preparation practices and indicate the extent to which they utilize these practices in their instruction. On the basis of questionnaire results, interviews were conducted with a smaller sample of teachers to determine their views on the appropriateness of particular test-preparation practices, and to determine the factors affecting teacher perceptions about a given activity. Contrary to previous empirical work, questionnaire results indicated that neither use of a given practice nor teacher perceptions of the ethicality of the practice vary across levels of student achievement. On the other hand, consistent with previous empirical work, both use and perceptions varied across grade-level configuration. Estimates of the prevalence of particular teacher practices and perceptions were obtained and compared with those from the literature. In addition, dimensions of teacher reasoning were explored, indicating that when considering the appropriateness of a given practice, teachers consider the following factors: score meaning, learning, the potential for raising student scores, professional ethics, equity, and external perceptions.     

美国STEM教育改革的走向——基于《STEM2026:STEM教育创新愿景》的分析

为了更好促进美国STEM教育改革,美国出台了《STEM2026:STEM教育创新愿景》。该报告提出:STEM教育要从娃娃抓起;STEM教育要丰富生源,让更多弱势群体接受优质STEM教育;STEM教育要从校内走向校外,构建校内外一体化的STEM教育环境;STEM课程要注重学科的交叉整合,不仅要实现科学、技术、工程和数学之间的融合,还要重视STEM与其他学科的融合;STEM教学要融入游戏且具有风险性,让学生在探究中感知STEM教育的魅力,且养成不畏险阻的科学精神;STEM考评方式要多样且能促进学生更好地学习,为此考评方式要创新且具操作性。     

Deboning the Fish: Hosting a Future Creating Workshop with Undergraduate Women in STEM

Innovative Higher Education - Despite the broad scope of literature on the topic of women in STEM, women in male-dominated spaces within academia are rarely given the opportunity to speak openly...     

STEM Pathways: Examining Persistence in Rigorous Math and Science Course Taking

Journal of Science Education and Technology - From 2006 to 2012, Florida Statute §1003.4156 required middle school students to complete electronic personal education planners (ePEPs) before...