Does regular online testing enhance student learning in the numerical sciences? Robust evidence from a large data set

While a number of studies have been conducted on the impact of online assessment and teaching methods on student learning, the field does not seem settled around the promised benefits of such approaches. It is argued that the reason for this state of affairs is that few studies have been able to control for a number of confounding factors in student performance. We report on the introduction of a regular (every 3 weeks) low-mark online assessment tool in a large, first-year business mathematics course at the University of New South Wales, a major Australian university. Using a retrospective regression methodology together with a very large and rich data set, we test the proposition that exposure to the online assessment instrument enhances student learning. Significantly, we are able to control for prior student aptitude, in-course mastery, gender and even effort via a voluntary class attendance proxy. Furthermore, the study incorporates two large, and statistically diverse cohorts as well as manipulations in the model tested to robustly examine the outcomes. Our central result is that higher exposure to the online instrument robustly leads to higher student learning, all else being equal. Various implications for online assessment design, implementation and targeting are also discussed.     

Understanding change through a high school mathematics teacher’s journey to inquiry-based teaching

This article focuses on an experienced high school mathematics teacher who changed her practice without participating in planned interventions aimed at producing this change. It reports on the nature of the teacher’s change from her perspective and an interpretation and understanding of the change from the researcher’s perspective. It illustrates how meaningful change can occur when the process is initiated and rooted in the teacher’s experience based on a tension in self and/or practice that is personal and real to him or her. It discusses three types of change that are possible depending on the level of engagement of the teacher in professional development opportunities: instrumental change, conceptual change, and foundational change.     

Including secular philosophies such as humanism in locally agreed syllabuses for religious education

The 2004 National Framework for Religious Education (NFRE) innovatively recommended that secular philosophies such as humanism, or secular worldviews, be included in locally agreed syllabuses for religious education (RE) in England. However, the NFRE is a non‐statutory document, and Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) and Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs), the bodies responsible for RE in each local authority (LA) in England, are not obliged to respond to its recommendations. This article reports the responses of 80 LAs to the recommendation to include secular worldviews, and examines the range of mechanisms for including secular worldviews across 27 agreed syllabuses. The author discusses key issues to consider when revising agreed syllabuses to include secular worldviews and concludes that, while there is not yet a best model for inclusion of secular worldviews, many locally agreed syllabuses are valuable in pointing ways forward.     

From rhetoric to reality: The problematic nature and assessment of children and young people's social and emotional learning

There is little doubt of the educational and social merits of developing children and young people's social and emotional capabilities. But there lacks consensus on what these capabilities are; what should be assessed or shown to have developed over time; and the most appropriate methods for doing this. Through the conceptual framework of ‘social and emotional dispositions and skills’ (SEDS), and based on research in Wales, we present the argument for an alternative assessment methodology designed to challenge dominant discourses in the field and present a ‘minoritarian’ perspective of children and young people's social and emotional learning. The intention of this paper is to present a rationale for the co‐construction of an understanding of the concept of SEDS and engage in critical debate with researchers and practitioners from a wide range of services for children and young people.     

The impact of content area focus on the effectiveness of a web‐based simulation

This paper describes an assessment of a web‐based interview simulation designed to teach empathetic helping skills. The system includes an animated character acting as a client and responses designed to recreate a simulated role‐play, a common assessment method used for teaching these skills. The purpose of this study was to determine whether learning gains found in previous evaluations would transfer to students needing similar skill sets but in different areas of study. Findings indicate a positive trend in learning gains across both areas of study (human services and counselling) with no significant differences in skill acquisition. Developers of the system conclude that the system is effective in the general training of empathetic helping skills regardless of the students' area of study.     

Educational policy in Scotland: inclusion and the control society

This paper sets out to examine educational policy and practice in Scotland, showing how the ‘comprehensive and coherent programme to promote social inclusion’ – inculcating ‘readiness to learn’, ensuring that education equips the young for adult life, creating a demand for lifelong learning, above all through the presumption of mainstreaming – is indicative of and constitutive of a change in the way in which we are subject to governance in Scotland. This shift can be read as consistent with a move from a predominantly ‘disciplinary’ society as set out by Michel Foucault towards the ‘control society’ as elaborated by Gilles Deleuze – a society which does not operate through confinement but continuous control made possible by cybertechnology. Although it specifically draws on Scottish legislation and policy, it should be recognised that this is itself subject to emergent global education policy and so its relevance goes beyond these borders.     

In-season changes in ventricular morphology and systolic function in adolescent female athletes

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of physical maturity on the changes in ventricular morphology and function with sport training in female youth athletes.

Methods: Thirty-two female athletes (age 13–18 years) underwent height and weight measurement and 2-D echocardiographic evaluation immediately prior to, and following, a 20-week soccer season. Pre- and post-season left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (LVSV), mass (LVM), and posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD), end-diastolic area (RVEDA), and fractional area change (RVFAC), and interventricular septal thickness (IVST) were compared. In-season change in each variable was compared across pre-season hours of vigorous physical activity (0–1, 2–3, >3 hours).

Results: Significant increases were identified in LVEDV (51.3?±?10.4?v 56.4?±?9.6?ml/m², p?=?0.001) and RVEDA (10.5?±?1.9?v 11.3?±?2.5?cm²/m², p?=?0.040), but not LVEDD, LVM, LVPWT, LVSV, RVEDD, RVEDA, RVFAC, or IVST (p?>?0.05 for all). In-season changes in echocardiographic variables did not differ across hours of pre-season vigorous physical activity (p?>?0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Among female adolescent soccer players, in-season training elicits changes in resting ventricular volume, but not wall thickness or systolic function. These adaptations do not appear to be influenced by pre-season physical activity level.     

The effects of service convenience and perceived quality on perceived value,satisfaction and loyalty in low-cost fitness centers

Due to its importance in fitness centers, a number of authors have explored and analyzed loyalty. However, two characteristics not yet examined are service convenience in fitness center chains and low-cost fitness centers (an emerging business model). In the present study, the authors sought to understand the relationship among perceived quality and service convenience on perceived value, satisfaction, and client loyalty in low-cost fitness centers. Clients (N = 763; 381 women and 382 men) from three low-cost Spanish fitness centers were surveyed, revealing a positive relationship among the variables studied. Findings demonstrate the importance of proper management of non-monetary sacrifices and perceived quality by the managers of these sport organizations, since client loyalty could depend on factors of these emerging sport models.     

Penguin Promises: encouraging aquarium visitors to take conservation action

This study investigates the impact of an innovative conservation action campaign called Penguin Promises implemented at uShaka Sea World in Durban, South Africa. Communication tools included interpretive signage, exhibits with and without animals, presentations, and personal interactions, along with a specially designed postcard, on which visitors could write a promise (pledge) to make a change in their daily lives to become more environmentally responsible. Visitors who completed a card were contacted a year or more after their visit and asked about the outcomes of their promise. The results (N = 316) showed that 49.4% of respondents could give an example of something positive they had done for the environment, that they attributed to the campaign. Based on the study, recommendations are provided for the design of effective visitor conservation action campaigns.