Survey of Developmental Mathematics Courses at Colleges in the United States

Abstract

This study reports the results of a national survey of two and four-year colleges in 21 states in the United States. The study was undertaken at the direction of the Developmental Mathematics Committee of the American Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). The purpose of the study was to establish the state of the art of developmental mathematics. The results indicated that many colleges recognized the problem of underprepared students and had developmental mathematics programs. However, with the exception of a few schools, the colleges reported no formal evaluation of their programs.     

Room for All? Comparing Criminology and Sociology Completion Rates Across Sex,Race, and Degree Level

This article presents findings based on an alternative to the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology & Criminal Justice data that allowed for examining the intersection of sex and race among criminology and criminal justice (CJ) and sociology program completers at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral level. Five years’ worth of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System revealed that, on average, 85% of students who completed a doctoral degree in criminal justice were white, but only 74% of students who completed a doctoral degree in sociology were white. The average percentage of CJ degree completions accounted for by black Americans and Latinos also decreased by 9 and 15%, respectively, from the Bachelor’s level to the doctoral level. We discuss the need for universities to invest in student and faculty diversity, and conclude by highlighting the importance of building strong partnerships between predominantly white and minority-serving institutions.     

生态社会的呼吁

我们需要创造一个走向生态纪元的社会!这种创造产生手布莱恩·斯维姆和托马斯·柏励所撰写的宇宙故事：“地球共同体的未来,在某种意义上,依赖于人类所做出的决定。人类已经把自己纳入地球过程的遗传密码之中,而且其程度是如此之深。推崇技术纪元的人,把地球看作资源,未来应该增加对地球的利用,所有一切都应该以人类的利益为中心：推崇生态纪元的人,提倡一种新型的人类与地球的关系,地球共同体的整体安宁是其根本的关注。生态纪元的未来可以解决这两者之间所产生的紧张状态。”     

The effects of exemptions to Florida's test-based promotion policy: Who is retained?: Who benefits academically?

We evaluate the impact of Florida's test-based promotion policy on the probability that low-performing students are retained using data on the universe of third-grade students in the state of Florida from 2001 to 2004. We also examine the effect of formal exemptions to the policy on student proficiency in reading two years later. In an evaluation of retention for third-grade students over time with a logit model we find that Florida's policy has increased the probability that minority students are retained to a greater extent than white students. Contrary to previous research, this differential retention occurs after controlling for student academic proficiency. However, in an evaluation of the academic performance of students who were in the first class subject to the retention policy, we find that retained students outperform students who received an exemption from the policy in reading two years after baseline, indicating that on average exemptions have not been granted to those individuals who would benefit from promotion.     

The Use of Anatomical Dissection Videos in Medical Education

Dissection videos are commonly utilized in gross anatomy courses; however, the actual usage of such videos, as well as the academic impact of student use of these videos, is largely unknown. Understanding how dissection videos impact learning is important in making curricular decisions. In this study, 22 dissection videos were created to review structures identified in laboratory sessions throughout the Organ Systems 1 (OS1), 2 (OS2), and 3 (OS3) courses. Dissection videos were provided to 201 first-year medical students, and viewing data were recorded. Demographic data for age and gender identity were also collected from students. Overall, there was a significant decrease in total views (P = 0.001), the number of students who pressed play (P < 0.001), and the number of students who viewed ≥ 90% of the total length of videos (P < 0.001) from OS1 to OS3. The total adjusted time spent viewing videos was not significantly different between individual OS courses. There were some instances where significant differences existed in examination performance between those who did and did not view videos, and by time spent viewing videos. There were no significant differences in time spent viewing videos by gender. Together these data suggest that students may utilize dissection videos more at the beginning of a dissection course, although they remain an important resource throughout the year for a subset of students.     

论后现代社会档案和档案工作的价值

本文点出了档案工作从社会和研究机构得不到承认和没有相应影响力的原因,指出档案工作者的影响力来源于工作的价值内涵,并对其进行分析后指出,确认档案和档案工作的具体价值内涵将清晰地界定我们的职业和直接提升档案工作的价值,增加档案工作的影响力.