心理学纵向研究方法的新进展

借助纵向研究设计，可以合理地推论变量之间的因果关系，因此，纵向研究在心理学研究中占有非常重要的地位。关于心理学纵向研究数据的分析处理方法，近年来有了较大的发展，比较典型的有：重复测量的方差分析，时间序列分析，多层线性模型，潜变量增长曲线模型。     

例谈高中生物教材对照实验的设置

在实验设计过程中,必需遵循的基本原则是"对照性原则".一个实验往往分实验组和对照组.实验组是接受自变量处理的实验对象组,处理的自变量是研究的对象.对照组是不接受自变量处理的实验对象组.实验中有三种重要的变量:自变量,因变量,无关变量.通过设置适当的对照实验,既可排除无关变量的影响,又可增加实验结果的可信度和说服力.为便于科学设计实验"验证生物学事实和探究生物学问题",笔者就现行高中《生物》教材(新课标人教版)中涉及的自身对照、空白对照、相互对照和条件对照等不同对照类型,结合全国高考理综卷有关生物试题作些分析.     

“医生和教师的劳动不直接创造用来支付他们报酬的基金”辨正——兼与否定服务劳动创造价值的流行论点商榷

本文反驳了否定医生和教师的劳动创造价值的三个流行论据,指出:马克思关于“医生和教师的劳动不直接创造用来支付他们报酬的基金”的涵义是医生和教师的劳动不创造物质产品的使用价值和价值,推论不出服务劳动不创造价值;把价值的分配和产品的分配等同起来,用以否定服务劳动创造价值,是错误的;“服务有价值,但不创造价值”论,是一个二律背反的命题。     

教育实验空间变量的构成关系和特点

任何一个完整的教育实验,在空间上都必然涉及空间因素及其构成关系,否则实验就不能成立。教育实验的空间因素,大多能被称为“变量”。之所以这样称谓,是因为实验中的因素都是“可变的量”,可以根据研究需要进行“有或无”、“大或小”、“增或减”、“稳定或变化”的处理。教育实验正是通过对这些变量及其相互关系的观察与分析而得到对教育的规律性认识。掌握教育实验空间变量的构成关系和特点,对于进一步分析教育实验的变量有重要指导意义。一、教育实验的变量教育实验自身有其特殊的结构形式,并按照一定的逻辑程序进行。教育实验的结构是…     

基于问题结构 探究数学本质——用对数均值不等式求解2022年高考题

本文运用对数均值不等式及其推论,从“常量型数值的数据特征”“代数式双变量的对称结构”两个视角探究2022年高考数学试题。     

同课异构微格教学训练模式实验对比研究

采用准实验研究法对比“同课异构微格教学训练模式”与“传统微格教学训练模式”对地理科学专业学生在教学技能训练成效及训练态度上的差别,应用ANCOVA协方差分析统计方法进行数据处理,结果显示进行同课异微格教学训练模式的学生在训练成效、训练态度皆有显著的训练效益,且有较好的实验效果,显示同课异构微格教学训练模式有助于提升地理科学专业学生的训练认知与积极训练态度.     

例说生物学实验的对照性原则

<正>“对照性原则”是高中生物学实验设计中最常用的原则，也是高考中最常考查的实验原则，对照性原则是通过用自变量处理实验材料来设置对照实验，既可排除无关变量的影响，又可增加实验结果的可信度和说服力，否则会使实验达不到预期的效果.一个对照实验一般包括实验组和对照组，实验组是接受自变量处理的对象组，对照组也称控制组，是不接受自变量处理的对象组，如常态组.在高中生物学实验中，涉及有空白对照、自身对照、相互对照、条件对照、标准对照、配对对照、     

含持久生存数据模型的识别问题

混合和非混合模型被广泛地用于拟合含有持久生存者的生存数据．当添加有协变量时,这两类模型却都不具有比例危险率(PH)结构．“不正确”比例危险率模型能克服上述缺点．本文研究此模型的识别问题．同时也考虑“不正确”的可加危险率(AH)模型的识别问题．本文的结果对模型的参数估计有重要意义．     

多变量生物实验题的解题策略

所谓多变量是指在一个实验中同时存在两个或两个以上实验变量,且都能对实验结果和结论造成影响。这一类题目往往需对照多个实验变量设置多个处理,因而难度较大。解答时应采用单因素分析法对各个变量逐一对照处理再综合分析,一般在高中阶段所遇到的题目中变量不超过两个,且再多变量也是按此分析即可,故本文通过对含有两个变量的典型实验例题的剖析,找到此类题目的规律,由此归纳出解题的一般程序和方法,给大家提供一个相对固定的模式,提高解题方法的可操作性,降低解答时的难度。     

多变量生物实验题的解答

所谓多变量是指在一个实验中同时存在两个或两个以上实验变量,且都能对实验结果和结论造成影响。这一类题目往往需对照多个实验变量设置多个处理,因而难度较大。解答时应采用单因素分析法对各个变量逐一对照处理再综合分析,一般在高中阶段所遇到的题目中变量不超过两个,且再多变量也是按此分析即可,故本文通过对含有两个变量的典型实验例题的剖析,找到此类题目的规律,由此归纳出解题的一般程序和方法,给大家提供一个相对固定的模式,提高解题方法的可操作性,降低解答时的难度。     

RECENTLY PUBLISHED DISSERTATIONS ON COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

The imminent teacher shortage in the United States has caused educators, policy makers, parents and concerned citizens to focus on teacher preparation not only at the university level, but also at the community college level. As a result, many community colleges are developing teacher education programs and focusing on real life classroom situations for early field experiences. Mentoring, one of the most popular ways of benefiting from the positive influence of a more experienced person, is an approach to preparing teachers for educational occupations.

The main objective of this study was to see if a preservice mentoring program can affect changes in the emotions, attitudes, and anxieties of students about the teaching profession. The participants were 60 education majors (30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group) from a community college. The experimental group had first-hand experiences with 30 master teachers from a local school district. The 30 students in the control group were education majors from the community college who completed a pre- and posttest instrument. Data was collected from results of a pre- and posttest of a teaching attitudinal survey for preservice teachers. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to test for significant differences between the means of the posttests for the control and experimental groups while controlling for the pretests. Results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between the means of the two groups with respect to changes in emotions and anxiety. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in attitudinal changes.     

Assessment of the Impact of an Animal Welfare Educational Course with First Grade Children in Rural Schools in the State of Morelos, Mexico

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if an educational package used for animal welfare teaching would have significant effects on the knowledge of first grade children in a rural area of Mexico. The research was conducted with 276 students in six public schools. In the experimental group, 177 children participated in a 10 week-long animal welfare education program that covered ten one-hour animal welfare topics. The control group, consisting of 99 children, did not receive the course. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between pretests of the experimental and control schools (ANOVA). However, a significant effect of the program on the children’s knowledge was found when the results of the posttest were analyzed using the pretest as a covariate (ANCOVA). Furthermore, the correct responses of the children exposed to the Animal Welfare program were on average 78% richer in concepts compared to responses from children in the control group. These results contribute to the growing body of research literature on the relationship between children and animals in humane education, suggesting that first grade children living in moderate economic conditions can assimilate animal welfare concepts.     

The effects of a comprehensive teaching assistant training program on teaching anxiety and effectiveness

This experiment investigated the effects of a comprehensive teaching assistant (TA) training program on the teaching anxiety and effectiveness of TAs. Twenty-seven TAs in the English department of a research university were divided into experimental and control groups. Both groups participated in a one-week workshop and a sixteen-week theory and pedagogy course during a fall semester. TAs in the experimental group also participated in a consultant observation program and peer mentoring activities. Data resulting from the completed pretests and posttests for teaching anxiety and effectiveness were analyzed using either at-test or an analysis of covariance. Conclusions from the study include: (1) Declines in teaching anxiety for TAs in the experimental group were significantly greater. (2) Neither group of TAs improved in teaching effectiveness, as measured by general student evaluations. However, based on posttest means for these student ratings, the teaching effectiveness of the experimental group was rated significantly higher. (3) Student ratings of teaching effectiveness in composition for TAs in the experimental group were significantly higher. (4) There were no significant differences between pre- to posttest changes in the self-appraisals of teaching effectiveness for the groups.     

Evidence that science locus of control orientation can be modified through instruction

A desire to foster enduring, positive attitudes toward science teaching among elementary school teachers led to study of self-perceptions. On the basis of evidence for strong links between locus of control orientation and attitudes, an attempt was made to enhance internality through instruction. A quasiexperimental research strategy was employed to compare the effects of two instructional treatments, with pretest measures being used to check the initial equivalence of treatment groups, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) being used to test treatment effects. Both treatments incorporated strategies known to have positive effects on attitudes, but the experimental treatment was novel in its emphasis on self-management, goal clarification, and individualized course expectations. There was found by ANCOVA to be a significant (p ≦ 0.05) difference in science locus of control (SciLOC) orientation between groups following treatment, with subjects exposed to the experimental treatment exhibiting greater internality. Quantitative comprehension and subject age were employed as covariates of SciLOC orientation, and subject gender was employed as a moderator variable. Though the treatment effect is small, accounting for 3% of the variance in SciLOC orientation, control orientation is shown susceptible to educational intervention. These results encourage attention to teacher attitudes from a rather new perspective, and they raise several interesting research questions regarding instructional methods and the long-term effects of enhancing internality.     

Comparing Models of Change to Estimate the Mediated Effect in the Pretest–Posttest Control Group Design

Models to assess mediation in the pretest–posttest control group design are understudied in the behavioral sciences even though it is the design of choice for evaluating experimental manipulations. The article provides analytical comparisons of the four most commonly used models to estimate the mediated effect in this design: analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), difference score, residualized change score, and cross-sectional model. Each of these models is fitted using a latent change score specification and a simulation study assessed bias, Type I error, power, and confidence interval coverage of the four models. All but the ANCOVA model make stringent assumptions about the stability and cross-lagged relations of the mediator and outcome that might not be plausible in real-world applications. When these assumptions do not hold, Type I error and statistical power results suggest that only the ANCOVA model has good performance. The four models are applied to an empirical example.     

Impact of instruction on behavior disordered and learning disabled students' creative behavior

Ninety-eight pupils from intermediate-level behavior disordered and learning disabled self-contained classrooms served as subjects. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were used as pretests and posttests to measure the effect of creativity instruction on the creative thinking skills of the subjects. For 14 weeks the Purdue Creative Thinking Program was used to stimulate the behaviorally disordered (BD) and learning disabled (LD) experimental group's creative behavior. Subjects in the BD and LD experimental group made significantly greater scores than did the control groups on the verbal and figural subtests of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.     

The Influence of Nursery School Attendance upon the Behavior and Personality of the Preschool Child

The power of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and 2 types of randomized block designs were compared as a function of the correlation between the concomitant variable and the outcome measure, the number of groups, the number of participants, and nominal power. ANCOVA had a small but consistent advantage over a randomized block design with 1 participant in each Block × Treatment combination (RB1). At correlations of .3 or greater, ANCOVA was superior to a randomized block design with n participants per Block × Treatment combination (RBn), with increasing differences as the correlation increased. RBn was superior to the other 2 designs only when the correlation was .2 or less. At those levels, however, the randomized group analysis of variance ignoring the concomitant variable was equally powerful. The findings held regardless of sample size, number of groups, or nominal power.     

Enhancing the visuo-spatial aptitude of students

Research to date has not been able to agree whether visuo-spatial ability can be influenced through practice. Many have concluded that spatial awareness is an innate phenomena and cannot be learned. Others contend that an individual's visuo-spatial potentials are acquired through interactions with the environment. Many of these theorists believe that spatial thinking can be developed through interactive exercises devised to encourage mental image formation and manipulation. To help alleviate the confusion surrounding this question the following study was undertaken. Eighty-four college undergraduates were randomly placed into control and experimental sections. Student records were examined to assure that the groups did not differ significantly in their verbal or math proficiency and pertinent pretests were given to ascertain spatial levels. The groups were also similar on their male and female ratios. During the semester the experimental section was treated to a 30-minute interaction each week. These sessions involved spatial exercises that required the participants to mentally bisect three-dimensional geometric figures and to envision the shape of the two-dimensional surface formed by the bisection. The subjects drew their mental image of this surface on a sheet of paper. Fourteen weeks later both groups were post tested with a second comparable version of the pretest. Statistical “t” tests were performed on the group means to see if significant differences developed between the sections. The results indicate that statistical improvement in visuo-spatial cognition did occur for the experimental group in spatial visualization, and spatial orientation. This finding suggests that the weekly intervention sessions had a positive effect on the students' visuo-spatial awareness. These results, therefore, tend to support those researchers that claim visuo-spatial aptitude can be enhanced through teaching.     

History of Science as an Instructional Context: Student Learning in Genetics and Nature of Science

This study (1) explores the effectiveness of the contextualized history of science on student learning of nature of science (NOS) and genetics content knowledge (GCK), especially interrelationships among various genetics concepts, in high school biology classrooms; (2) provides an exemplar for teachers on how to utilize history of science in genetics instruction; and (3) suggests a modified concept mapping assessment tool for both NOS and GCK. A quasi-experimental control group research design was utilized with pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests, combining qualitative data and quantitative data. The experimental group was taught with historical curricular lessons, while the control group was taught with non-historical curricular lessons. The results indicated that students in the experimental group developed better understanding in targeted aspects of NOS immediately after the intervention and retained their learning 2 months after the intervention. Both groups developed similar genetics knowledge in the posttest, and revealed a slight decay in their understanding in the delayed posttest.     

Effects of response prompts and diagram comprehension ability on text and diagram learning in a college biology course

Embedded response prompts are an effective method to support multimedia learning. Response prompts are directives situated within instructional material. Responding to these prompts affects learners' cognitive operations. Different types of prompts affect learning differently due to variations in stimulated cognitive operations. This study compared three types of experimental response prompts; prompts to self-explain the contents of a page, prompts to attend to diagrams and text-diagram relations, and prompts to self-explanation text-diagram relations; and two control conditions. Three tasks that measure verbal text knowledge, diagram knowledge, or knowledge of text-diagram relations assessed learning. The effects of diagram comprehension ability were also considered. A 5 X 3 mixed model ANCOVA revealed an interaction between prompting conditions and posttest tasks. Diagram comprehension ability was associated with task performance but did not interact with conditions.