Impact of school readiness program interventions on children's learning in Cambodia

To reduce the high repetition rates in early years of primary school, the government of Cambodia piloted a school readiness program (SRP) in the first two months of Grade 1 of primary school. This study examines whether such intervention has effects on students’ immediate acquisition of school readiness skills as well as students’ longer term achievement of formal curriculum. The study finds that children who participated in SRP outperform children that did not participate in both outcomes, controlling for pretest score and background variables. The findings suggest that the intervention may be one alternative model to preschools in countries where access to pre-primary education is limited.     

Problems relating to examinations in three-year technical/natural science courses of study at the Federal Armed Forces University,Munich

In Part 1 Zimmermann describes the conditions of study, taking as a starting point the considerations relating to the founding of Federal Armed Forces universities in Hamburg and Munich and explaining their educational concept. He then gives an account of the organization, modus operandi and curricular considerations of the Federal Armed Forces University, Munich. These observations are focussed on the successful attempts to offer scientific study courses (four in Hamburg and seven in Munich) providing, after three and a quarter to, at the most, four years, qualifications which are equal in standard to the corresponding diplomas of public universities. Owing to the fact that study courses are shorter and equal in standard, the success rate is, by comparison, slightly lower at the moment. This applies in particular to the technical/natural science courses. The reasons for this will be indicated. As a result of this situation, there is a desire for optimum examination procedures.Ulbricht reports in Part 2 on a study of the problems relating to examinations which he conducted at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. First of all he discusses the criteria for good grading procedures, then describes the four most common ones and applies them to the results of a written test in engineering mechanics held as part of the preliminary diploma examination; a quantitative comparison produces remarkable results. In conclusion, he studies the required length of the written test and proposes that it should be halved.This article is a considerably revised version of an essay entitled Reformed Study Courses in Engineering: Investigations into the Design of Examinations in Engineering Mechanics following a Three-Year Prescribed Period of Study at the Federal Armed Forces University, Munich which appeared in 1979/80 in technic didact 4: 209–217 and 5: 11–21.     

Assessing environmental understanding: an application of the concept mapping strategy

Despite its importance as a central goal in environmental education, there appears to be little consensus about how best to document, assess and evaluate understanding of environmental concepts. This illustrative case study describes and demonstrates the use of the concept mapping strategy as an effective tool for assessing environmental understanding. Data were collected from 325 middle school‐aged (11–14 years) individuals and comparisons were made among those enrolled in a model, university‐based, informal, residential marine education program (viz. MarineQuest) and a matched group of non‐participating students. Using a non‐randomized Solomon Four Group experimental design, differences in the structural complexity and content validity of knowledge about marine animal life were explored. Results reveal significant differences in the frequencies of concepts, relationships, levels of hierarchy, branching and cross‐linking and in the frequencies and types of critical concepts depicted. In all cases, where differences were found, they favored participants who enrolled in the environmental education intervention. The findings suggest that concept maps offer a valuable alternative or adjunct to traditional pencil and paper tests and provide both a qualitative and a quantitative measure of conceptual understanding.     

Using rasch measurement to score,evaluate, and improve examinations in an anatomy course

Any examination that involves moderate to high stakes implications for examinees should be psychometrically sound and legally defensible. Currently, there are two broad and competing families of test theories that are used to score examination data. The majority of instructors outside the high‐stakes testing arena rely on classical test theory (CTT) methods. However, advances in item response theory software have made the application of these techniques much more accessible to classroom instructors. The purpose of this research is to analyze a common medical school anatomy examination using both the traditional CTT scoring method and a Rasch measurement scoring method to determine which technique provides more robust findings, and which set of psychometric indicators will be more meaningful and useful for anatomists looking to improve the psychometric quality and functioning of their examinations. Results produced by the more robust and meaningful methodology will undergo a rigorous psychometric validation process to evaluate construct validity. Implications of these techniques and additional possibilities for advanced applications are also discussed. Anat Sci Educ 7: 450–460. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.     

Public broadband investment priorities in the United States: an analysis of the broadband technology opportunities program

In 2009, U.S. Congress approved $7.2 billion to accelerate the deployment of advanced broadband networks and services to unserved and underserved regions of the country. Although primarily a short-term response to the economic crisis, the appropriation also indicates a willingness to seek a new balance between private sector and public sector initiatives in the development of the nation's broadband infrastructure. This paper is a first step in assessing the potential impact of the new government initiatives. It discusses in detail one component of the overall program, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The rationales and objectives of BTOP and its initial implementation are explored. Based on information in the BTOP database, 265 awards were examined to document award types, target communities, applications, technology, and access speeds. Whereas it is too early to assess the initiatives' effects on employment and other important social and economic objectives, it is appropriate to consider whether the awards made under the BTOP program advance a national broadband development agenda. Overall, they appear to. However, the present analysis found that projects focusing on minority populations may have received less emphasis in the BTOP awards than that announced in the stated goals of the program.     

Orthopedic resident anatomy review course: a collaboration between anatomists and orthopedic surgeons

A challenge for new residents and senior residents preparing for board examinations is refreshing their knowledge of basic science disciplines, such as human gross anatomy. The Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Utah School of Medicine has for many years held an annual Orthopedic Resident Anatomy Review Course during the summer months for all of its residents. The primary purpose of the course is to renew competencies in basic science disciplines so that incoming residents more quickly reach a level of functional proficiency and to afford senior residents a platform to teach their junior colleagues. Before 2005, this course was conducted with minimal participation from anyone outside of the Department of Orthopaedics. Many of the residents voiced concerns that the educational benefits were not proportionate to the time invested. To improve the teaching of orthopedic-related anatomy, an educational collaboration between the Departments of Neurobiology and Anatomy and Orthopaedics was established in 2004 and continues to the present time. The major objectives of refining the course pedagogy, developing a Course Manual and Dissection Guide, and evaluating the results by administering a course survey questionnaire are described in this article. Implementation of all facets of the revised course has resulted in better participation by orthopedic faculty and more favorable reviews by the participating residents. Based on current levels of interest and positive comments from course participants, the Anatomy and Orthopedic faculty course directors plan to continue to develop course materials and pedagogy.     

The seductive details effect in technology‐delivered instruction

Seductive details are highly interesting information tangential to course objectives. The inclusion of seductive details generally harms performance on recall tests, but few studies have used multimedia training or investigated effects on performance on recognition tests or transfer tasks. We conducted two studies using computer‐based training, instructing college students to use either Excel or Word mail merge. Contrary to most prior results, we found no negative effect for seductive details on recognition tests, and we found a facilitative effect on transfer performance. We discuss implications for theories of learning and transfer, and practical implications for instructional design and delivery.