Student Success in University Education: A Multi-measurement Study of the Impact of Student and Faculty Factors on Study Progress

This study focuses on the factors that determine study progress and numerical success rate in higher education. Study progress is influenced at three levels, namely the student level, course/institute level and government level. It is expected that various groups of economic, social, psychological and organisational factors will together influence the study progress. This study uses a multi-level and multi-disciplinary framework, in so far as it considers all of these factors at the different levels. The database contains about 9,000 students and 60 courses at the institutional level. The results show the relative importance of student level and institutional factors on study progress.     

Layers of reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade: changes in teaching and student outcomes

In this study, students and their teachers participated in a layered approach to reading intervention in kindergarten through third grade that included professional development for teachers in scientifically based reading instruction, ongoing measurement of reading progress, and additional small-group or individual instruction for students whose progress was insufficient to maintain grade-level reading achievement. Reading outcomes were compared with historical control groups of students in the same schools. The findings revealed overall improvements in reading, improved reading for students who began the study in high-risk categories, and decreases in the incidence of reading disability at the end of third grade. Implications for scaling up are discussed.     

Examining Mental Health Differences between Transfer and Nontransfer University Students Seeking Counseling Services

This article sought to examine the differences between transfer and nontransfer students on mental health factors, social involvement, and academic success. It was found that transfer students had significantly higher scores on several mental health factors as compared to nontransfer students. It was also found that transfer students were less involved in athletics and campus organizations, but engaged in more work hours per week. Finally, results indicated that the transfer students were not experiencing significant differences in their academic performance compared to nontransfer students. Future research should examine these differences to better understand the impact of the transition and adjustment of transferring to a new institution.     

Empowering Student Voice through Interactive Design and Digital Making

Over the last two decades online technology and digital media have provided space for students to participate and express their voices. This paper further explores how new digital technologies, such as humanoid robots and wearable electronics, can be used to offer additional spaces where students' voices are heard. In these spaces, young students are invited to shape the design of digital tools and artifacts through the inclusion of their unique perspectives. The authors argue that involving youth in the design and use of tools contributes not only to the creation of meaningful learning experiences but also to the future potential of youth as producers of digital learning technologies.     

Childbirth experience in women at high risk: is it improved by use of a birth plan?

Women at obstetric high risk more often experience negative feelings related to childbirth than women with normal outcomes. For these high-risk women, an individual birth plan does not appear to improve the overall experience of childbirth; rather, it seems to intensify the negative feelings in several aspects. The increased vulnerability in women at high risk warrants special attention to the possibility that types of care routinely offered to all women may negatively influence the experiences of high-risk women.     

Procedure and reliability of conditioned respiratory suppression

Changes in respiration amplitude, respiration rate, and heart rate in response to a conditioned signal for shock were measured concurrently in kittens and adult cats. The data were analyzed with respect to qualitative and quantitative variability across trials and subjects; correlation among measures; skewness; and kurtosis. Suppression of respiration amplitude was the most reliable response across trials and subjects, with increases in respiration rate second and heart rate by far the least reliable. Correlations between each pair of measures were moderate. Respiration-amplitude responses were negatively skewed, but this deviation from normality was moderate and consistent across subjects. The measurement of conditioned respiratory suppression is a viable addition or alternative to the conditioned emotional response procedure in studies of classically conditioned fear.     

The tail end of the moth: clarifying species boundaries

The search by naturalists for good characters upon which to base both classifications and determinations of species led some 19th century entomologists to put their faith in insect genitalia as a criteria by which they could differentiate between and classify forms. Karl Jordan was such an entomologist, who turned to these tiny structures as an aid to his work as a museum curator to identify, describe and classify moths and butterflies. In his writings on the subject he also demonstrated how the attempts of systematists to order the diversity of nature had profound implications for the efforts of biologists to explain the origin of that diversity. However, Jordan's plan of how to do systematics well required much more than convincing biologists of the importance of museum work. It also depended on refining the priorities of a natural history community that worked according to diverse means, priorities and methods during a tumultuous century.     

Latent profiles of attitudes toward print and digital reading among adolescents

Reading and Writing - A growing body of research has highlighted the important role attitudes play for adolescent readers, but few have examined differences in attitudes across purposes and...     

Designing the Game: How a Project-Based Media Production Program Approaches STEAM Career Readiness for Underrepresented Young Adults

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Numerous studies have indicated a need for a diverse workforce that is more highly educated in STEM and ICT fields, and one that is capable of...