The relationship of student characteristics and student performance in science as viewed by meta-analysis research

Relationships of student characteristics to student performance and attitudes were explored by meta-analysis for studies conducted in kindergarten through twelfth grade since 1960. Six student characteristics (general ability, language ability, mathematics ability, socio-economic status, gender, and race) were selected for inclusion in this investigation based on their frequency of use in the literature. Studies in which these student characteristics were associated with student science performance or science attitudes were included in this investigation. Associations of ability and socio-economic status with science performance and attitudes were summarized by correlational analysis. An effect size measure was used to summarize associations of gender and race with science performance and attitudes.     

The Quality of Realisation

The life of a building falls into three parts, the planning, the construction or realisation, and the period in service. The designer passes from controller to observer as the life of the building develops. This idea is suggested as a model for the formation of the engineer.     

古代文学研究的走向

新时期以来 ,古代文学研究取得了辉煌成就 ,也存在着弊端和瑕疵。 2 1世纪的古代文学如何进一步发展 ,是学界颇为关注的热点。为此 ,我们组织了一组文章 ,以飨读者。     

Marbles in Urns,Applied Probability and Computer Algebra

It is shown how a combinatorial problem dealing with all possible ways to put marbles in ums under certain restrictions can be used to solve a reliability problem related to telecommunications. Various aspects of the reliability problem are explored with a computer algebra system.     

Gradient form and sequential effects during generalization testing in extinction

Four naive pigeons were given six generalization tests in extinction after periods of pretraining in which S+ appeared with food reinforcement and S? appeared in extinction. An analysis of sequential effects among presentations of test stimuli showed that the overall gradient was influenced differently by stimuli at the extremes of the continuum of test stimuli and by S+ and adjacent stimuli. Gradients consisting of responding in each stimulus when it was preceded by an extreme stimulus tended to peak at S+, while gradients produced when each stimulus was preceded by S+ or an adjacent stimulus tended to show a peak shift. This was true whether the overall gradient showed a peak shift or not. Two naive subjects were added and four additional tests were given after pretraining in which unequal frequencies of reinforcement accompanied both S+ and S?. Results of all 10 tests show that sequential effects occur during generalization testing in extinction and that these “local dimensional effects” are unlike local contrast. These stimulus-specific sequential effects may greatly influence overall gradient form.     

A novel model for extending international co-operation in science and education

INTRODUCTIONInternationalcooperationisahottopicintheworldtodayandnetworkingacrossbordershasbecomepartofsociety.Intheprivatesectorthenumberofinternationalalliancesisgrowing;whileintheworldofhighereducationtheneedforin-ternationallinkagesandexchangesisbeingrecog-nizedaswell.Inordertokeeppacewiththechangingandeverexpandingfrontiersofknowledgeandtech-nologyuniversitiesareactivelyseekingforpartners.Withotheruniversitiestheycanaccomplishgoalstheycouldnotaccomplishbythemselves.Thein-tentiontocoo…     

Toward optimal allocation of instructional resources: Dividing computer-assisted instruction time among students

This paper deals with the question of how to best allocate a finite instructional resource among different students — specifically how to divide time on a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) system among a number of eligible students.First several possible objectives for a time allocation strategy are considered. Examples include maximizing the students' mean grade placement without increasing the variance and maximizing the number of students who make a particular gain. Then using operations research techniques, time-allocation strategies are described to optimize the chance of reaching each objective. Finally the outcomes of various allocation strategies are predicted by computer simulations that use learning curves estimated from observed data.The simulation models indicated that for the students and curriculum used, different time allocation strategies make very little difference in overall results when reasonable assumptions are made concerning the ways time can be allocated during a normal school day. A much more important variable is the total amount of CAI time used by students. For example, the school grade-placement average can be increased as much by increasing total CAI time by ten percent as by any allocation strategy tested.Also at Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University. Please address reprint requests to Elizabeth Macken Raugh, Computer Curriculum Corporation, 700 Hansen Way, Palo Alto, CA 94304. The authors thank Mario Zanotti for helpful suggestions about the appendix of this article.     

Preservice teachers' acquisition and retention of integrated science process skills: A comparison of teacher-directed and self-instructional strategies

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two methods of instruction designed to teach preservice elementary teachers to acquire and retain integrated science process skills. In one section instruction was provided by the teacher, whereas in the other section, instruction was provided by written self-paced self-instructional materials. Results indicated that the self-instructional method was significantly more effective than the teacher-directed method. Both treatments produced long-lasting retention effects.     

Reading comprehension instruction: summarization and self-monitoring training for students with learning disabilities.

Forty-five middle-school students with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to one of three reading-comprehension training conditions: (a) summarization training, (b) summarization training with a self-monitoring component, or (c) traditional instruction. All students were interviewed before and after training regarding the strategies they typically employ during reading comprehension; during one training session, "think aloud" protocols were collected. Results indicated that students with learning disabilities trained in summarization procedures performed statistically higher on all dependent measures. In addition, on some transfer measures, students who were trained in the monitoring component statistically outperformed those with only the summarization training.