Budgetary devolution as an aid to university efficiency

This paper describes a method of allocating resources within a university which provides departments with a built-in incentive to the efficient use of those resources. Present allocation systems based on norms such as the staff: student ratio, incorporate no such incentive. The method we propose involves firstly the creation of a budget for each recognizable academic unit, the size of the budget being related to the unit's student load by a published formula; and secondly, the devolution to academic units of much greater responsibility in the spending of their budgets on different items, thereby giving them a direct interest in the economical use of costly resources. We argue that initially such a system should be introduced on a pilot basis in selected subjects in a few universities and that the budgets should be designed to cover all recurrent items of expenditure. We finally consider the implications of budgetary devolution on the planning process within universities and on the methods by which funds are provided by the government to the universities.A full report appears in Incentives to the Efficient Use of Resources in Universities (June 1975), a report by J. E. Dunworth and W. R. Cook to the Social Science Research Council, who financed this research at the University of Bradford.

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运用教练技术辅助体育教学提高学习效率的尝试

本文通过问卷调查和对乌兰察布各高校的实地考察,了解体育课中教师在安排课程时侧重体育达标,忽视学生学习兴趣和综合能力的培养,与终身体育脱节等现状。针对这一现状本文通过文献资料的研究和对集宁师范学院学生进行将教练技术在体育教学中的提高学生学习效率的实验。研究表明,将教练技术应用在体育教学中有助于提高学生的学习效率,拓展学生的综合能力。本文作为体育教学研究,旨在探索教练技术在体育教学中的辅助作用。     

Optimising the use of note-taking as an external cognitive aid for increasing learning

Taking notes is of uttermost importance in academic and commercial use and success. Different techniques for note-taking utilise different cognitive processes and strategies. This experimental study examined ways to enhance cognitive performance via different note-taking techniques. By comparing performances of traditional, linear style note-taking with alternative non-linear technique, we aimed to examine the efficiency and importance of different ways of taking notes. Twenty-six volunteer adult learners from an information management course participated in this study. Cognitive performance scores from a traditional linear note-taking group were compared with another group by using a commercially available non-linear note-taking technique. Both groups were tested in two settings: after a classroom lecture and a panel forum discussion. Tasks included measures on story comprehension, memory, complexity of mental representations and metacognitive skills. Data analysis revealed that the non-linear note-takers were significantly better than the linear group both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the learned material. This study demonstrates the importance of using cognitively compatible note-taking techniques. It identifies the cognitive mechanisms behind effective note-taking and knowledge representation. Using such techniques enables deeper understanding and more integrated knowledge management.     

Repetition of lesson presentation as a tool for improving teaching efficiency

Studies in industry link routine in work to efficiency level. Routine may contribute to boredom and decline in efficiency for some workers; others cope well with repetitive tasks and improve output. This study was conducted to determine whether repetition of a lesson by the same teacher to a second class within a week increases or decreases efficacy. Seventy-nine teachers completed a questionnaire after presenting a lesson once, and again later that week after giving it to a parallel class. The findings show that the repeated lesson was better than the first by 6–9% with respect to three of the five dimensions of successful teaching. The contribution of reflective insights to the improvement of repeated lessons and the implications for planning school programs are discussed.     

The propositional approach to associative learning as an alternative for association formation models

Dickinson (2009) agrees with two of the core claims that were made in my target article (De Houwer, 2009): Associative learning effects (often) depend on (1) the formation of propositions and (2) the operation of nonautomatic processes. Whereas I derived these claims from propositional models of learning, Dickinson (2009) argues that they are also compatible with association formation models (AFMs). He also defends the position that only AFMs can explain “nonrational responses to associative experiences.” In this comment, I question whether there is much value in continuing to cling to AFMs.     

Assessment as an episode of learning

This article is an excerpt of a research report by the same title. An earlier version of the report will appear as a chapter in R. Bennett and W. Ward (eds.), Construction Versus Choice in Cognitive Measurement, to be published by Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.     

Critical evaluation as an aid to improved report writing: a case study

Report writing is an important employability skill for Engineers and Technologists, and this case study describes how a Technology degree module took a novel approach to developing students’ report writing skills. Students learned how to use a criterion-referenced critical evaluation framework for reports and other technological documents. They were given opportunities to practise using the framework both through exemplars and through evaluating the work of their peers. They also carried out self-assessment. The authors’ analysis of this novel approach shows that most students responded well to it and benefited from it. Lessons are drawn from this work for others who wish to improve their students’ report writing skills.