Toward a Predictive Model of Community College Student Success in Blended Classes

This retrospective study evaluates early semester predictors of whether or not community college students will successfully complete blended or hybrid courses. These predictors are available to faculty by the fourth week of the semester. Success is defined as receiving a grade of C- or higher. Failure is defined as a grade below a C- or a withdrawal. Method: Seven variables available to faculty are considered: gender, degree sought, students’ academic level, attendance for the first 4 weeks of face-to-face classes, scores on orientation extra credit assignments, grades on the first quiz, and grades on an early semester reflective essay. Logistic regression is used to evaluate the power of seven variables to predict successful course completion in 15 sections of two business courses: Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Research. Three hundred forty-three students were included in this study. Results show that completion of optional extra credit assignments offered during the first 2 weeks of the semester and performance on the first quiz are significant predictors of successful course completion. These results suggest that students’ self-regulation skill or learning presence in the community of inquiry model is a strong predictor of student success. A faculty-based model like the one presented here can help faculty to enhance their students’ chances of success by highlighting factors that predict successful course completion early in the semester.     

Clinical features of chronic hepatitis B patients with YMDD mutation after lamivudine therapy

INTRODUCTION Chronic hepatitis B(CHB)remains a major public health problem,affecting more than350mil-lion people worldwide.Cirrhosis,liver failure,or hepatocellular carcinoma will develop in approxi-mately15to40percent of infected patients(Ganem and Prince,2004).Lamivudine,an oral nucleoside analogue,inhibits HBV replication(de Clercq,2001;2004;Lai et al.,1997;1998;Marcellin et al.,2004).It can markedly reduce serum HBV DNA levels and normalize alanine aminotransferase(ALT)levels …     

Comparing practical knowledge storage of deaf and hearing teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing

Especially in the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing, teachers' practical knowledge storage is almost never measured. The Survey of Practical Knowledge was used to compare the practical knowledge storage of deaf and hearing teachers of these students. Surveyed were 48 deaf and 115 hearing individuals at the preservice and in-service experience levels. Practical knowledge storage was defined as images, rules of practice, and practical principles. Results indicate that deaf teachers tend to view students as equals but are more likely to emphasize control over classroom behavior than hearing teachers. Hearing teachers tend to stress efforts to engage students in subject matter by providing variety and relating it to life experiences. Given the trend toward high-stakes testing of teachers, further research is encouraged on role differences between deaf and hearing teachers working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.     

The influence of child,family, home factors and pre‐school education on the identification of special educational needs at age 10

The early identification of young children's special educational needs (SEN), as well as the development of specific strategies to support those children identified with special needs, are increasingly recognised as crucial to facilitating good adjustment to school and to ensuring that such children are helped to reach their full potential in education. Using a large national sample of young children in England whose developmental progress was followed up from pre‐school, this study investigates which child, family, home and pre‐school factors can be viewed as risk or protective factors for later SEN‐status at age 10. The experience of high‐quality pre‐school education is shown to reduce the likelihood of a child being identified as experiencing SEN in the long run. Teachers’ assessments of SEN are found to be strongly related to children's reading and mathematics attainment, but other factors also predict SEN, including a child's age within a year group.     

Designing Teaching and Assessment Methods for Diverse Student Populations

The American student population is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of race and culture. To address this pluralism, a study of learning style preferences was developed for purposes of designing more relevant teaching and assessment methods. Different theories of learning styles were incorporated into a survey that was administered to 483 students at four major universities. This survey compared learning style preferences according to ethnic and socio‐economic categories. Although it initially focused on students in Art and Design, it was eventually expanded to other disciplines for more inclusive reliability. The statistical analyses of this study are presented with corresponding recommendations for more effective teaching and assessment practices.     

The development of attitudes and social characteristics of students attending predominantly black colleges: A longitudinal study

The study was designed to assess the development of Family Independence (FI), Peer Independence (PI), Liberalism (L), Social Conscience (SC), and Cultural Sophistication (CS) among students attending three predominantly black colleges. Responses to the Attitudes section of the College Student Questionnaires were obtained from 334 students when they were entering freshmen, end-of-year freshmen, and graduating seniors. The data were analyzed with a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance design. College, Sex, and Time were the independent variables, and the five attitude scales were the dependent variables. The tests for the main effects of time revealed overall gains on all five scales. A significant Sex × Time interaction indicated that PI scores for males increased, while females' PI scores decreased, during the freshman year; the females' PI scores increased during the subsequent three year period. Significant College × Time interactions were found for FI and CS. College × Sex × Time interactions were significant for L and CS. The results indicated that students who attended these predominantly black colleges developed greater self-reliance and autonomy and broadened interests in political, social, and cultural affairs. The extent of change in these attitudes varied, however, according to the college attended and/or sex of the student.     

Language learning and the technology of international communications

The author posits a reciprocal relationship between the recent popularisation of computer-based technology and the democratisation of Central and Eastern Europe. Brief reference is made to their common denominator, language and language change. The advent of the communicative approach to language learning and the new wave of language authenticity arising from it, both enhanced by the technological revolution, have made the defining of acceptability in the classroom and of communication in the process of testing more problematic than ever, although several advantages have also accrued. Advances in technology have generally outstripped our ability to apply their full or characteristic potential. While technology can personalise learning and in this way make learning more efficient, it can also impede motivation. Old methods, drills and routines are tending to be sustained by it. Lack of technology can also widen the gulf between developed, developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. The author proposes international partnerships as a means of preventing an imbalance which could threaten stability. Single language dominance is another threat to international understanding, given the growing awareness of our multilingual and multicultural environment. Enlightened language policies reaching from the individual to beyond the national community are needed, which adopt these aspects of language learning, explain decisions about the state's choice of languages and, at the same time, promote individual choice wherever practicable.

---

Zusammenfassung Der Autor stellt eine Beziehung zwischen der jüngsten Verbreitung von Technologie auf Computerbasis und der Demokratisierung in Mittel- und Osteuropa her. Der gemeinsame Nenner Sprache und die Sprachveränderung wird kurz angesprochen. Der kommunikative Ansatz zum Erlernen einer Sprache und die daraus resultierende neue Welle von Sprachechtheit, beides eine Folge der technologischen Revolution, haben die Definition dessen, was im Klassenraum anwendbar ist und was im Prüfungsverfahren vermittelt werden kann problematischer als je zuvor gemacht. Es haben sich jedoch auch einige Vorteile ergeben. Die Fortschritte in der Technologie haben die Entfaltung unserer Fähigkeiten in ihrem vollen Umfang oder mit ihrem charakteristischen Potential im allgemeinen überflüssig gemacht. Während Technologie das Lernen personalisieren kann und es damit effizienter macht, kann sie aber auch die Motivation beeinträchtigen. Alte Methoden, Drill und Routine können dadurch leicht unterstützt werden. Ein Mangel an Technologie kann auch die Kluft zwischen entwickelten, entwickelnden und unterent wickelten Regionen vergrößern. Der Autor schlägt internationale Partnerschaften als Mittel zur Verhinderung eines die Stabilität bedrohenden Ungleichgewichts vor. Eine andere Bedrohung des internationalen gegenseitigen Verstehens im Hinblick auf das wachsende Bewußtwerden unserer mehrsprachigen und multikulturellen Umgebung, ist die Dominanz einer einzelnen Sprache. Eine aufgeklärte vom Einzelnen bis über die nationale Gesellschaft hinaus reichende Sprachpolitik ist notwendig, sie sollte diese Aspekte des Sprachenlernens einbeziehen, Entscheidungen über die staatliche Sprachenwahl erklären und gleichzeitig die individuelle Wahl einer Sprache soweit wie möglich fördern.

---

Résumé L'auteur du présent article pose une relation réciproque entre la vulgarisation récente des techniques fondées sur l'informatique et la démocratisation de l'Europe centrale et orientale. Il mentionne brièvement leur dénominateur commun, le language et son évolution. L'apparition de l'approche communicative de l'apprentissage des langues et la nouvelle vague d'authenticité linguistique qui en résulte, toutes deux renforcées par la révolution technique, ont rendu plus problématique que jamais la définition de l'acceptabilité dans la classe et de la communication dans le processus de conception et d'administration des tests, bien qu'on en ait retiré plusieurs avantages. Le progrès technique a généralement surpassé notre capacité d'exploiter ses possibilités entières ou caractéristiques. Bien que la technique puisse personnaliser l'apprentissage et le rendre de ce fait plus efficace, elle peut aussi entraver la motivation. Elle tend à soutenir les méthodes anciennes, les exercices systématiques et de routine. Le manque de technique peut par ailleurs élargir le gouffre entre les pays industrialisés, en développement et sous-développés du monde. L'auteur propose d'avoir recours à des associations internationales pour prévenir le déséquilibre qui pourrait menacer la stabilité. La prédominance d'une langue constitue une autre menace pour la compréhension internationale, étant donné la conscience grandissante de notre environnement multilingue et multiculturel. Il est nécessaire de concevoir des politiques linguistiques libérales s'appliquant de l'individu à la communauté nationale et au-delà, qui adoptent ces aspects de l'enseignement des langues, expliquent les décisions concernant le choix de certaines langues par l'Etat et, en même temps, promeuvent le choix individuel, toutes les fois que cela s'avère praticable.