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.     

Comparing the magnitude and direction of asymmetry during the squat,countermovement and drop jump tests in elite youth female soccer players

ABSTRACT

The aims of the present study were to provide an in-depth comparison of inter-limb asymmetry and determine how consistently asymmetry favours the same limb during different vertical jump tests. Eighteen elite female under-17 soccer players conducted unilateral squat jumps (SJ), countermovement jumps (CMJ) and drop jumps (DJ) on a portable force platform, with jump height, peak force, concentric impulse and peak power as common metrics across tests. For the magnitude of asymmetry, concentric impulse was significantly greater during the SJ test compared to CMJ (p = 0.019) and DJ (p = 0.003). No other significant differences in magnitude were present. For the direction of asymmetry, Kappa coefficients revealed fair to substantial levels of agreement between the SJ and CMJ (Kappa = 0.35 to 0.61) tests, but only slight to fair levels of agreement between the SJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.26 to 0.18) and CMJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.13 to 0.26) tests. These results highlight that the mean asymmetry value may be a poor indicator of true variability of between-limb differences in healthy athletes. The direction of asymmetry may provide a useful monitoring tool for practitioners in healthy athletes, when no obvious between-limb deficit exists.     

Meeting players where they are: Digital games and learning ecologies

This paper explores the relationship between digital games and learning along the continuum from formal to informal learning. Games are an increasingly important component of our learning ecologies but their potential can prove difficult to fully harness due to the downsides of gaming in informal contexts and to the limitations games can present when adopted in formal learning contexts. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of games for learning, and to gather stakeholder recommendations for the main actors in the field. The adopted research approach is qualitative and participatory, involving players, teachers, parents, researchers and developers. Data from 25 interviews and 11 focus groups yielded insights into the educational, psychological and ethical aspects of play. Results suggest that gameplay influences individuals in a very personal manner, and that its effects cover a wide range of skills, extending to identity development. Hence, to harness this potential, all actors in the ecology need strong awareness of both the affordances and the risks of games, and deep respect for individuals’ LEs. The study has implications for a wide range of actors, including educators, players, researchers, parents, game developers and policymakers.     

Identifying needs and enhancing learning about climate change adaptation for water professionals at the post-graduate level

Using a participatory learning approach, we report on the delivery and evaluation of a climate change and risk assessment tool to help manage water risks within the agricultural sector. Post-graduate water-professional students from a range of countries, from both developed and emerging economies were involved in using this tool. Our approach included participative learning tools – group discussion, software, and risk matrices. The materials developed met the needs of the students, allowing these students to incorporate their learning and adapt the package of materials for use in their home countries. Analysis of evaluations show that the tools and materials are particularly useful and emphasizes the need for sound learning materials and tools, funding to deliver training, and policy support to accelerate education and adoption of authentic climate change adaptation practices. The expected benefits for water professionals about climate change will be translated into improved socioeconomic and environmental outcomes if adopted.     

Information within a system of the basic categories of a planetary analysis

At the turn of the 21st century a methodological analysis of the planetary development of civilization became a topical issue in world science. Such an analysis is based on a framework of categorical concepts adopted for active use in globalistics, namely, the biosphere, sociosphere, technosphere, noosphere, and infosphere. The given context provides a new perspective on the phenomenon of information and informatics, with the latter having experienced increasing demands as a popular scientific discipline in the field of information. In the contemporary setting, these phenomena can be adequately evaluated only in connection with the above concepts.     

Physics in upper secondary schools in Denmark

This article is the third in a series reporting on the changes in attitudes and interests‐‐mainly with respect to physics‐of several hundred students as they proceed through the Danish upper secondary school (Gymnasium). It concentrates on the results of the final investigation which took place shortly before the students leave the school.     

Behavioural inhibition and hyperactivity: a commentary from alternative perspectives

Attention disorders in the school population include attention deficit, hyperactivity and conduct disorders. A key concept for distinguishing hyperactive from attention disorders is behavioural inhibition as advocated by Barkley, a prominent American researcher. However, the concept itself needs to be understood because, as argued in this paper, there are two kinds of inhibition: Pavlov's original concept and the American one. These should be differentiated if the abnormal conditions associated with attention and hyperactivity are to be rationally connected to cognitive characteristics, rather than to be solely based on clinical symptoms and behavioural ratings. We suggest a consensus on the concept of inhibition and a unified view of attention disorders integrating cognitive and behavioural manifestations. Finally, the importance of basing remediation on a theoretically supported and rationally derived set of cognitive training tasks for the amelioration of inattention and hyperactivity is offered.