Faculty Development,Learner Support and Evaluation in Web-Based Programs

Student growth patterns in Web-enhanced and on-line courses lead the University of Central Florida (UCF) to expect large populations for both categories. The authors describe the UCF process for implementing and evaluating Web-based instruction. The office of Course Development and Web Services supports faculty in preparing and delivering their on-line courses. Additionally, faculties are given support for the transition through a semester-long course in Web-based teaching. The Center for Distributed Learning provides administrative and registration services in addition to coordinating and marketing interactive television, video, and Web-based courses. The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning provides additional support for faculty as they work with the new technologies. Finally, UCF is conducting a comprehensive impact evaluation of distributed learning including differential success, demographic trends, impact on teaching, and impact on students with differing learni ng styles. The model used at UCF is compared with the Twente TeleTOP method (De Boer, 1999) and the generalizability of this model to other institutions is discussed.     

法国汉语评估及教学划时代的飞跃——论2013法国外语高考改革对国际汉语教学的巨大推动

2013年,法国外语高考制度实行了重大改革。旧高考模式已不能适应对学生文化及言语能力的考查,而改革推出的新高考方案通过四个不同的文化概念考查学生的五项言语能力,并在全国统一使用评估标准表,改革更好地契合了《欧洲语言共同参考框架》的评估标准。汉语作为法国外语教学的一门语言学科,也是本次高考改革的对象之一。改革恰好顺应了汉语教学理念的需求,为汉语教学体制从教学到高考评估的日臻完善提供了契机,对汉语评估及教、学都将起到巨大的推动作用。     

THE BEST POSSIBLE FUTURE FOR THE CENTRAL AGENCY

For a couple of years now, because of a lot of stories shared over a lot of late night cups of coffee and bottles of wine, I have believed strongly that the future of central agencies is in jeopardy. This forthcoming crisis has been forthcoming for a while. It does not stem from any new situation, rather it was embedded in self-definition of the original, primordial central agency — the one founded by Benderly and then diffused by his disciples. In the long run, a system that began by seeing synagogues as competitors, parents as enemies, funding sources in general (and philanthropists in particular) as necessary evils, and the system of American public education as the epitome of educational excellence — that system and that process was due to wear out its welcome. Three to five generations of Americanization have eroded much of the top soil and bared the weakness in those foundations. The identity crises, the funding crises, the political instability of today's agency are rooted in its origins.     

Level of deprivation does not affect degree of discounting in pigeons

Two experiments tested the effects of food deprivation on discounting in pigeons. An adjusting-amount procedure was used to estimate the subjective value of food at delays ranging from 1 to 24 s. Experiment 1 compared pigeons’ discounting of delayed food reinforcers at 75 %–80 % and 90 %–95 % of free-feeding weight. Experiment 2 compared discounting under 1- and 23-h food deprivation. In both experiments at both deprivation levels, discounting was well described by the hyperboloid discounting function. No systematic effect of level of deprivation on degree of discounting was observed in either experiment. This finding is consistent with the view that pigeons’ choices are controlled by the relative, rather than the absolute, value of reinforcers.     

Multi-age-grouping paradigm for young swimmers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the adequacy of “multi-age” classification systems in youth sports with a specific focus on the unisex multi-age-groupings used by USA Swimming. In addition, we offer an analytical rationale for the multi-age-groupings and potential alternatives. We examined the top 100 US swim performances for three years (2005, 2006, and 2007) for girls and boys in 15 age-groups (7 to 20 years and a singular group of 21 years and older). Data for each age and sex were pooled over the three years and means were calculated for each of seven competitive swim events. Swim times differed among each age up to the 14-year age-group in girls (F _14,30885 = 183.9, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 1.19–3.72, large effect) and 16-year age-group in boys (F _14,30885 = 308.7, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.81–3.64, large effect) for all events. Age-related differences in swim times continued later in boys than girls likely due to differences between the sexes in timing of growth and maturation. Because of the differences in swim performance in contemporary multi-age-groups, stratifying swimmers by a single age is the best means to ensure competitive fairness and equality, although there is no rationale for swimmers under the age of 8 years to compete in separate unisex competitive groups.     

Testing a student generated hypothesis using student data

We describe an activity that allows students to experience the full process of a statistical investigation, from generating the research question, to collecting data and testing a hypothesis. Implementation of the activity is described both with and without use of clickers, handheld remotes that allow instant data collection.     

Excluding students from classroom: Teacher techniques that promote student responsibility

Students who continuously misbehave are frequently excluded from class, allowing them time to reflect on their inappropriate behavior. This paper examines students’ perceptions of the teacher’s behavior toward them prior to, during, and after the exclusion, focusing on teachers’ explanations, punishments, and follow-up conversations. The results indicate that students who do not accept responsibility for being excluded think that their teachers’ are to blame. To convince students to accept responsibility for their acts, teachers must explain why the exclusion is necessary, warn and punish before excluding a student, and hold a follow-up conversation, highlighting the impact of the misbehavior on classmates.     

Examination of Middle-School Students' Independent Use of a Complex Mnemonic System

The purpose of the present 2-experiment study was to determine whether a recently developed mnemonic numeric strategy could be used more independently by middle school students. In the context of associating various 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century inventions with their dates, the authors found that students could successfully implement the strategy in a group-instructional context (as opposed to the one-on-one individual administrations of earlier investigations). The students were not, however, able to take the basic components of the strategy and effectively apply them without complete mnemonic pictorial support. That is, students did not create their own memory-enhancing visual images in the absence of instructor-provided interactive line drawings. The results are consistent with those of previous research documenting that less sophisticated learners (including middle school students) are unable to apply complex mnemonic strategies independently unless they are provided with sufficient auxiliary support to reduce information-processing demands.