Variation in class size,the class size paradox,and some consequences for students

Even where a total allocation of resources is fixed, it is often possible to vary the distribution of the given resources. This distribution can have important, if sometimes hidden, consequences. In the case of universities, considering the mean class size as given, three nonobvious consequences of the amount of variation in class size are examined. (1) The average class size experienced by students is directly related to the amount of variation in class size. (2) Overall student attendance is inversely related to the amount of variation in class size. (3) Overall student participation time is directly related to the amount of variation in class size. The logic of these relationships is explored, and data on 49 departments and interdisciplinary programs at one university are used to illustrate the nature and extent of the class size paradox at one university.     

Total quality management in higher education: Myths and realities

Summary This paper has addressed a number of issues inherent in the adoption of the principles of TQM by the HE sector. It has not set out to provide all the answers but has intended to stimulate discussion and to suggest possible approaches. Where applicable, it has used South Bank University’s experience as a case study. Issues have been addressed in terms of popular misconceptions in TQM along with suggested approaches thought to be more realistic. The conclusion is that TQM has much to offer HE but that it is not just a case of translating BS5750 from a product-based to a service-based system. Sensible application of TQM principles in HE in order to show a realistic improvement will take time, commitment and considerable investment by top management. In my view the starting point should be a better understanding of customer needs, which can then be addressed through a process of service quality improvement which permeates the organisational structure. The author draws attention to the fact that certain aspects of this paper have changed in the period since it was delivered (August 1994).     

Total quality management: Some implications for the management of distance education

Total quality management, which was initially developed as a strategic option for manufacturing industries, means adopting a philosophy of continuous improvement and of putting the customer first. However, the concept is now being widely and successfully implemented in service industries. If translated into educational terms, the philosophy is consistent with a learner‐centred approach and the pursuit of excellence, and offers a constructive and positive method for dealing with the changes occurring in the education sector. This paper examines the concept of total quality management and explores possible implications of distance education institutions adopting the approach.     

Using continuous assessment to promote student engagement in a large class

The authors have developed a first-year fluids course for a class of around 230 aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering students. This paper aims to show how the teaching and assessment methodology was applied to the challenge of a large class. The lectures featured formal teaching interspersed with active learning elements. Smaller group (about 25–30 students) tutorial classes involved student practice. A 10-minute test occurred in each tutorial during weeks 3–11. Each test was based on the previous week's lecture material and the marks contributed towards 20% of the course mark. A condition for passing the course was that a student must pass at least six of the nine tests. The assessment promoted student involvement with the course – tutorial attendance was greater and more uniform than previously and exam performance improved significantly. Students recognised that the assessment system was useful in encouraging continuous learning over the semester and building confidence.     

基于语言评价信息的课堂教学质量评价

针对课堂教学质量的评价问题,从教学管理工作的实际需要出发,分析了影响教学质量评价的主要因素,建立了课堂教学质量评价指标体系,并在此基础上运用模糊多指标评价和TOPSIS方法构成的组合方法,进行了教学质量评价实践.     

论高职酒店管理专业形体课教学的改革与创新

通过对我校酒店管理专业体育教学改革实践的总结、分析,提出高职院校酒店管理专业形体课教学改革应根据学生劳动就业的需要,从职业发展和个性需求出发,结合现代礼仪进行教学,注重培养学生的职业综合能力,为学生未来的职业生涯打下良好的身心素质基础,为社会培养综合素质优良的高级技能人才。     

Total quality management in higher education: Panacea or placebo?

Total Quality Management is a concept that has permeated the thinking of many higher education managers very quickly within the past five years. It is a product of the market ideologies of the 1980s and the managerialism which accompanied them. Nevertheless, despite the special features of higher education as a set of activities based on the creation and dissemination of knowledge and understanding, the paper argues, largely by reference to the subsequent articles, that the main themes of TQM, continuous quality improvement, consistency of quality, staff (and student) participation, meeting customer needs, coordination, and management procedures which detect poor quality and stimulate good, all have a significant contribution to make to the development of efficient and effective mass higher education systems and institutions, whether or not they are explicitly market oriented.     

基于全面质量管理的实践类课程教学质量监控体系的构建研究

借鉴全面质量管理的思路,引入质量管理中的ISO9000的管理模式,从传统对结果进行评估转为对过程实施控制的管理.构建了以内部激励为主、外部推动为辅的全员、全过程、全面地利用PDCA循环,建立三层次、四阶段、四结合的“交流互动式”的实践教学质量闭环监控体系,实现持续改进功能,在实践运行中取得了良好的效果.     

Governmentality, education and quality management

Summary We will focus on the recent concern — and even ‘obsession’ — with quality in education from the perspective of changes in how we are governed and governing ourselves. Therefore, we will explore advanced liberalism as a form of ‘governmentality’ and point out that (political) government has to submit itself to a ‘permanent economic tribunal’, i.e. judge everything constantly by the principles of entrepreneurship and competition. Furthermore, not only political government, but foremost self-government should be understood in relation to the tribunal: free people objectify within them skills and competencies, which are valuable in a (market) environment. Moreover we argue that management rationality and technology try to establish a double bond within the organization by regarding the worker as an enterprising self. Having pointed out the relationship between entrepreneurship and (self-)management, it is possible to describe how quality becomes a permanent obsession to those managing their life or an organization as an enterprise. After describing management and quality (and their relation) as a ‘function’ of entrepreneurship it is possible to understand how learning is part of it, and how quality management and schooling become entwined at all levels.

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Zusammenfassung ‚Gouvernementalité’, Bildung und Qualit?tsmanagement — Versuch einer Kritik des Konzepts der st?ndigen Qualit?tskontrolle Im vorliegenden Text wird die neuerliche — fast obsessive — Besch?ftigung mit ‚Qualit?t’ im Bildungssystem in den Blick genommen, und zwar vor dem Hintergrund der sich ver?ndernden Formen, in denen wir bestimmt (regiert) werden und uns selbst bestimmen. Dazu wird der fortgeschrittene Liberalismus als Form von ‚Gouvermentalité’ (Foucault) untersucht und herausgestellt, dass (politische) Kontrolle sich einem „st?ndigen wirtschaftlichen Tribunal“ unterziehen muss, d.h. alles kontinuierlich an Prinzipen von Unternehmertum (Entrepreneurship) und Wettbewerb auszurichten hat. Dieses wirtschaftliche Tribunal wird darüber hinaus nicht nur in Bezug auf das politische Regieren verstanden, sondern vor allem auf die individuelle Selbst-Regierung; denn freie Menschen zeigen in sich selbst Begabungen und Kompetenzen, die in einer marktwirtschaftlichen Umwelt wertvoll sind. Ferner wird argumentiert, dass Managementrationalit?t und-technologie versuchen, eine doppelte Bindung innerhalb der Organisation zu etablieren, indem sie den Arbeiter als ein unternehmerisches Selbst betrachten. Nach einer Darstellung der Beziehung zwischen Unternehmertum und (Selbst-)Management l?sst sich im Weiteren beschreiben, wie Qualit?t zur Obsession für diejenigen wird, die ihr Leben oder eine Organisation als Unternehmen managen. Im Anschluss an die Er?rterung von Management und Qualit?t (und deren Beziehung) als Funktion des Unternehmertums l?sst sich verstehen, welchen Part das Lernen in diesem Zusammenhang spielt und wie Qualit?tsmanagement und Schulwesen auf allen Ebenen miteinander verflochten sind.

     

实施素质教育,应改革课堂教学评估

课堂教学是促进学生基本素质协调发展的主渠道,体现素质教育要求的课堂教学评估,应突出学生的主体地位,促进学生生动活泼全面发展;应突出促进学生的思维能力、创造能力和实践能力的培养和发展。     

Improving the process of education: Total quality management for the college classroom

This article's purpose is to improve the effectiveness of classroom teaching by proposing a specific program for continuous improvement toward instructional excellence. Total quality management (TQM) is a systematic approach which utilizes four main elements: quality defined by the customer, top leadership responsibility for quality improvement, increased quality through systematic analysis of work processes, and quality improvement by continuous effort conducted throughout the organization. A strategy for continuous classroom improvement is developed through an examination of various definitions of quality and a comparative analysis of dimensions of quality, service quality, and effective teaching which aims to inspire and give direction.James P. Gilbert is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at The University of Georgia. He received his MBA from Western Illinois University and Ph.D. from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests include: total quality management methods, service management systems, and Japanese management techniques. Kay Keck is Director of Graduate Programs at The University of Georgia and teaches the first-year marketing course for MBA students. She obtained an MBA from the University of Kansas, and Ph.D. in Management Science from The University of Texas at Dallas. Her research interests center around sales management, services marketing, and applications of TQM in both sales and higher education. Ronald D. Simpson is Director of the Office of Instructional Development at The University of Georgia, where he also is professor of Higher Education and Science Education. He holds degrees from The University of Tennessee and The University of Georgia.     

Implementing summative assessment with a formative flavour: a case study in a large class

Teaching a large class can present real challenges in design, management and standardisation of assessment practices. One of the main dilemmas for university teachers is how to implement effective formative assessment practices with accompanying high-quality feedback consistently over time with large classroom groups. This article reports on how elements of formative practices can be implemented as part of summative assessment in very large undergraduate cohorts (n = 1500 in one semester), studying in different modes (on- and off-campus), with multiple markers, and under common cost and time constraints. Design features implemented include the use of exemplars, rubrics and audio feedback. The article draws on the reflections of the leading teacher, and argues that, for summative assessment to benefit learners, it should contain formative assessment elements. The teaching practices utilised in the case study provide some means to resolve the tensions between formative assessment and summative assessment that may be more generally applicable.     

Student knowledgeability,student sex,class size,and class level: Their interactions and influences on student ratings of instruction

Student knowledgeability, class size, and class level were found to significantly influence students' ratings of instruction. In general, the more knowledgeable the student in an area, the higher his ratings of courses and instructors in that area. Also, large courses and advanced courses were most highly rated by students. The effect of student sex on student ratings of instruction varied as a function of the particular aspect of instruction being evaluated. Significant interactions among the four main effects were also found across the judgmental dimensions students utilized in evaluating instruction, as assessed by factor analysis. Student knowledgeability and class size were found to be the main predictors of student ratings on these dimensions.     

对幼专语文必修课教学质量评价的宏观思考

教学质量管理可视为教学管理的核心.幼专语文必修课教学质量评价的宏观体系包括三个方面：“教”与“学”的质量兼顾;过程质量和终结质量评价相结合;构建纵、横向质量评价网络.     

Family size,birth order,and intelligence in a large South American sample

The confluence theory, which hypothesizes a relationship between intellectual development birth order, and family size, was examined in a colombian study of more than 36,000 college applicants. The results of the study did not support the confluence theory. The confluence theory states that the intellectual development of a child is related to average mental age of the members of his family at the time of his birth. The mental age of the parents is always assigned a value of 30 and siblings are given scores equivalent to their chronological age at the birth of the subject. Therefore, the average mental age of family members for a 1st born child is 30, or 60 divided by 2. If a subject is born into a family consisting of 2 parents and a 6-year old sibling, the average mental age of family members tends, therefore, to decrease with each birth order. The hypothesis derived from the confluence theory states that there is a positive relationship between average mental age of a subject's family and the subject's performance on intelligence tests. In the Colombian study, data on family size, birth order and socioeconomic status was derived from college application forms. Intelligence test scores for each subject was obtained from college entrance exams. The mental age of each applicant's family at the time of the applicant's birth was calculated. Multiple correlation analysis and path analysis were used to assess the relationship. Results were 1) the test scores of subjects from families with 2,3,4, and 5 children were higher than test scores of the 1st born subjects; 2) the rank order of intelligence by family size was 3,4,5,2,6,1 instead of the hypothesized 1,2,3,4,5,6; and 3) only 1% of the variability in test scores was explained by the variables of birth order and family size. Further analysis indicated that socioeconomic status was a far more powerful explanatory variable than family size.