The Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Student Learning and How Schools Can Respond

There is no denying the impact that the coronravirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has had on many aspects of our lives. This article looks at the potential impact of COVID-19 on student learning as schools abruptly morphed into virtual learning environments using data from several instructional, practice, and assessment solutions offered by Renaissance. First, three hypothetical learning scenarios are considered using normative data from Star assessments to explore the potential impact on reading and math test performace. Next, data on Focus Skills are used to highlight which grades may have missed the most foundational math and reading content if instruction was stopped or reduced. Last, data from two of Renaissance's practice tools are used to evaluate whether students were practicing key skills following school closures. The article concludes that academic decline will likely occur but may be tempered by the increased use of practice tools; effects may look different for math and reading; and may impact grades and schools differently. As such, schools may need to leverage decision-making frameworks, such as the Multi-tiered Systems of Support/Response-to-Intervention (MTSS/RTI) framework, more than ever to identify needs and target instruction where it matters most when school begins in fall 2020.     

The correlation between education and earnings - a comment

In this note, Blaug's article in Volume 1, No. 1, is criticised on the grounds that the economic interpretation of the correlation between education and earnings is based on a mistaken view about the nature of capital; and hence human capital theories are logically incoherent.     

Intra-task variability of trunk coordination during a rate-controlled bipedal dance jump

In this study, we investigated trunk coordination during rate-controlled bipedal vertical dance jumps. The aims of the study were to investigate the pattern of coordination and the magnitude of coordination variability within jump phases and relative to phase-defining events during the jump. Lumbar and thoracic kinematics were collected from seven dancers during a series of jumps at 95 beats per minute. The vector coding technique was used to quantify the pattern and variability of trunk coordination. Coordination was predominantly anti-phase during propulsion and landing. Mean coordination variability peaked just before the landing phase and at the transition from landing to propulsion phases, and was lowest during the propulsion phase just before toe-off. The results indicate that peaks in variability could be explained by task and phase-specific biomechanical demands.     

Does gender matter in computer ethics?

Computer ethics is a relatively young discipline,hence it needs time both for reflection and forexploring alternative ethical standpoints in buildingup its own theoretical framework. Feminist ethics isoffered as one such alternative particularly to informissues of equality and power. We argue that feministethics is not narrowly confined to women's issues but is an approach with wider egalitarianapplications. The rise of feminist ethics in relationto feminist theory in general is described and withinthat the work of Gilligan and others on an ethic of care. We argue for the need to connect theory toempirical evidence. Empirical studies of gender andbusiness and computer ethics are reviewed. We noteconcerns with surveying a student audience, the issueof how far questionnaires and interviews can get tothe heart of ethical beliefs and problems ofperforming statistical analyses of quantitative data.Although we recognize them, our own small surveycannot avoid all these problems. Nevertheless byrefining our scenarios we are able to offer analternative reading of a hacking problem in terms ofan ethic of care thereby pointing a way forward forfuture research in computer ethics inspired byfeminist theory.