Looking Beyond the Valley: A Five-Year Case Study of Course Innovation

Longitudinal changes in student course evaluations throughout the process of implementing information technology-enhanced delivery of a veterinary immunology course were examined. Student ratings of almost all aspects of the course and instruction declined significantly during the five-year period of technology implementation and then recovered to and exceeded their previous levels after the technology was fully implemented. This finding is discussed within the context of the educational change and innovation literature. Understanding how course innovations affect student evaluations over time is essential to avoid penalizing innovators for predictable, temporary declines in student ratings of course quality during the implementation of innovations.     

Organization of staff development—strategies and experiences

This article describes a number of staff development organizations, along with their strategies and experiences. The organization of staff development varies greatly and is dependent on the interaction between the formal requirements of the university teaching qualifications, the institutions themselves and their course culture, the size and organization of the teaching units, and the institutions' management strategies and teaching methods. Based on examples from Denmark, Sweden and Belgium, the advantages and disadvantages of a number of these strategies are analysed in order to provide inspiration for future implementation of the various methods.     

Changes in Intelligence Over a Quarter of a Century

The purpose of the investigation is to study changes in intelligence among Swedish 13 year‐olds during a 25‐year period. The results show that the average of spatial and reasoning intelligence has successively risen. Concerning verbal intelligence, there is a clear increase during the 1960's. After this period the growth has been more irregular. No changes in the differences between social groups were observed. On the other hand, this was the case between boys and girls. In verbal ability, there were only small differences between the sexes in 1961. However, in 1985 the girls were clearly ahead of the boys. In spatial and reasoning ability, the boys were superior in the early 1960's. Twenty‐five years later this difference had almost disappeared.     

The Influence of Sex,Education and Age on Test Scores on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test

This study describes the effects of sex, education and age on the total test score on the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SweSA T), a test used in the selection process to colleges and universities in Sweden since 1977. Its use has so far been limited to one of four quota groups consisting of applicants 25 years or older and with more than four years of work experience. Statistical methods used in this study are regression models with dummy variables and estimated with a corner‐point parameterization. The results indicate rather genuine differences in every variable studied. Test takers with a higher education obtain a higher mean score than those with a lower education and older test takers obtain a higher mean score on the subtests vocabulary (WORD) and general information (GI) than younger persons. The mean test score for men is higher than the corresponding score for women, even if differences in education and age are controlled for. Finally some statistical problems related to the analysis of data of this type are discussed.     

The effect of using a systematic cooperative learning approach to help preservice teachers learn informal reading inventory procedures

This study examined the effect of using a systematic cooperative learning approach to help preservice teachers learn Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) concepts and procedures. Participants (N = 77) were enrolled in two different sections of a required reading methods course. Group 1 (n = 47) received instruction using a systematic cooperative learning approach and Group 2 (n = 30) received instruction using a direct instruction approach. Two instruments were designed for this study and administered as posttests. One instrument measured learning outcomes related to IRI concepts and procedures. The second instrument examined Group 1's perceptions toward the systematic cooperative learning approach. Treatment occurred during a three week unit and consisted of lecture, examples, guided practice, independent practice accomplished in cooperative groups, and specific feedback. Analysis included computing a one-way ANOVA, frequencies, and percentages. Results indicated that significant differences existed between Group 1 and Group 2 learning outcome scores. In addition, Group 1 perceived lectures, working in groups, and feedback as helping them learn IRI concepts and procedures.Judy Wedman obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in reading education. Currently, she is an associate professor in elementary education at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her research interests are in preservice teacher training in reading methodology.Julie Hughes obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in Higher Education and Administration. She currently is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the Higher and Adult Education and Foundations area. Her research focus is on cooperative learning at the post-secondary level.Richard Robinson is currently professor of education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Missouri-Columbia. A graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in reading education, his current research focus is reading comprehension with particular interest in the readability of medical information for patients.     

Developing a case-based reasoning knowledge repository to support a learning community—An example from the technology integration community

People have long relied on storytelling for communicating ideas, transferring knowledge, and consequently making decisions. This paper describes the design and development of a case-based reasoning (CBR) knowledge repository including its case library and the search engine to support the technology integration community. CBR assumes that community knowledge can be captured in the form of stories (cases) so that the community members learn and solve problems by applying the lessons preserved in the stories to the current situation. The process and results of formative evaluation following the concept of participatory design are reported to set the context for further research and development.     

Yes,Classroom Sales Training Can Enhance Performance

Organizations today face competitive conditions unlike those experienced in the past. Managers and team leaders must learn ways to get the highest level of performance from a team of people, work with a variety of individuals diverse projects, communicate with a wide audience clearly and effectively, and be able to provide performance feedback and elevate performance levels for people they hardly know. While few will argue that learning in organizations is critical to meeting these challenges, an increasing number of decision-makers are raising questions about the value of classroom training. The questions are especially difficult to address in sales training where results are observable (i.e., sales) but difficult to trace to performance events and interventions. The current study was conducted to address two questions: 1) Is it possible to link sales production to participation in classroom sales training? 2) If so, what are the elements of the training that seem to be most useful in enhancing employee performance and sales performance?     

Special Education in Comprehensive Schools: Extent,Forms and Effects

The present study aims to describe the extent and forms (integrated versus segregated) of special education support offered to pupils in comprehensive schools in Sweden over a period of 29 years and to study relations between support, background variables and goal attainment in Grade 9. The study is based on about 35,000 children born in 1972, 1977, 1982, and 1987, participating in the ongoing longitudinal project “Evaluation Through Follow‐Up”. The findings reveal that boys and pupils from lower educational home‐backgrounds and with non‐Swedish backgrounds are over‐represented among the groups that have received special education support. The findings also suggest that pupils who have received support, in general, tend to achieve educational goals in core curriculum subjects to a lesser extent than those who have never had any kind of support.