Course Design,Quality Matters Training,and Student Outcomes

ABSTRACT

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) recognized the need to address the increasing rates of Ds, Fs, and Withdrawal by students matriculating in online courses. Led by two science faculty, a faculty learning community in partnership with the NCCU Division of Extended Studies was created to assess online science course offerings and instruction. Faculty within this learning community completed the Quality Matters (QM) “Applying the Quality Matters Rubric” course. This online training course, coupled with services provided by the NCCU Division of Extended Studies, offered the faculty learning community a variety of pedagogical strategies to meet their instructional needs. All faculty participating in this learning community completed the online training course and all faculty indicated that they implemented changes in their subsequent online course offerings. This article describes the impact of that training and the application of quality course design standards in the Quality Matters Rubric on the design and student outcomes for an Introductory Biology course over four terms. As faculty learning communities are broadly utilized, it is anticipated that this article may present an effective strategy to increase the quality and quantity of online science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses at similar institutions.     

Effects of Diagnostic Label and Disease Information on Emotions,Beliefs, and Willingness to Help Older Parents with Osteoarthritis

We studied the impact of the diagnostic label of osteoarthritis and educational information on family members' attributions, perceptions, and willingness to help older parents with pain. Undergraduate students (N = 636) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions where they read vignettes about an older mother with chronic pain, which varied on illness label and educational information. Results indicated that both the osteoarthritis label and osteoarthritis information led to more positive perceptions compared with no label/healthy aging information. Results highlight the importance of diagnosis and education in promoting favorable attributions and increasing willingness to help older adults with osteoarthritis.     

Race differences on the developmental test of Visual Motor Integration,the Slosson Intelligence Test,and the ABC Inventory

Preschoolers' scores on the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI), the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT), and the ABC Inventory (ABCI) were analyzed for race and sex differences. Separate ANOVAs revealed no race effect on the VMI, whereas race differences favoring whites were found for the SIT and ABCI. There were no effects for sex on any measure, nor were there any interactions. Results are discussed in terms of the inconsistent findings for race effects in the perceptual-motor literature.     

Intensification of punishment effects through exposure to prolonged, fixed-duration shocks: The role of shock cues as a stimulus for fear

Three experiments tested the hypotheses that (1) the onsets of prolonged, fixed-duration treatment shocks (shock treatment, or ST) serve as cues for fear conditioning to the ongoing painful effects of these stimuli, and (2) this acquired fear transfers to and influences shock-motivated test performances in predictable ways. Experiments 1 and 2 involved spaced post-ST presentations of very brief shocks (a presumed analogue of the onsets of treatment shocks) as a means of extinguishing the fear putatively associated with shock cues. This procedure reduced defecation by ST subjects over blocks of extinction sessions and nullified the punishment intensification effect that was otherwise shown to be a consequence of ST. As a further test of the shock-cue hypothesis, Experiment 3 involved relatively massed presentations of these brief shocks prior to ST in a latent-inhibition procedure (Lubow, 1973). This briefshock regimen also nullified the ST punishment intensification effect but did not impair the transituational transfer of contextual fear. In contrast, the group that was given the same brief shock regimen following ST showed enhancement of the punishment effect. With respect to current theoretical accounts of ST effects, these data were most consistent with notions that rely on an acquired-fear construct.     

Educator‐Reported Instructional Characteristics of Grade 1 Reading Interventions within a CBM Assessment System

We used data from the 2014–2015 easyCBM assessment system to explore the applied reading intervention characteristics in a sample of 3,074 Grade 1 students (and 5,145 interventions) in school districts applying a multitiered systems of support (MTSS) framework. We describe the number of interventions, number of assessments, the intervention start dates, curricula, instructional strategies, tier, group size, frequency, dosage, total time, and quantitative intensity. We found variance across all instructional variables, with 156 curricula and 59 instructional strategies applied. Based on our data, a “typical” intervention was a Tier 2 intervention that began before October, was delivered for 30 minutes/day for 5 days/week in a group with three to five students, was changed once if at all, and student progress was most likely monitored with word reading fluency measures.     

Communication: One key to mainstreaming success

Mainstreaming the exceptional child necessitates that regular and special teachers work much more closely today than in the past. The most important element for successful mainstreaming is effective communication (Schubert & Glick, 1981). This article describes the collaborative consultation model as one approach to attaining good, effective communication.     

解决分布式需求的内在冲突

2006年8月,GEN(I网络创新的全球化环境)项目组公布其项目的设计原则。来自普林斯顿大学、麻省理工大学、华盛顿大学等学校的十二位专家编写了这份报告。该报告阐述了GENI的研究范围、用户的需求、需求的内在压力,以及工程设计的原则。报告指出了GENI的价值主张,广泛的部署、多样化可扩展的网络技术集合、对真实用户流量的支持仍是GENI关注的原则和方向。上期已经介绍第一部分——“分布式需求定义GENI的重心”,本期刊出第二部分——“解决分布式需求的内在冲突”。