University class size: Is smaller better?

This study investigates the relationship between class size and achievement at the college level. Recent meta-analyses have found a strong relationship between class size and student achievement, but few of the studies examined class size larger than 40 or university-age populations. This analysis examines a university's testing-center data-archives representing 305 sections from 24 different courses. Section sizes ranged from 13 to 1,006. A total of 16,230 test scores were analyzed. The results of this investigation reveal that at the college level, class size may be less important an influence on student achievement than some educators have thought.     

THE POWER OF PERFORMANCE IN DEVELOPING PROBLEM SOLVING AND SELF ASSESSMENT ABILITIES

Students of Alverno College develop problem solving as one of eight abilities they are required to demonstrate in order to graduate. They must also demonstrate self assessment ability as an important part and over‐riding outcome of their educational process.

In ongoing studies, the research staff of the college found that students show increasing sophistication in their performance of these abilities and identify them as significant aspects of their education. Faculty contribute to their own developing educational theory and practice by analysing student performance and judging it by criteria they have articulated to describe expert performance. In requiring students to integrate self assessment into their problem solving process, faculty have found that students show increasing understanding of inter‐relationships of ability, content, and context. Students take responsibility for their learning as a dynamic, continuing process. They gradually internalise their practice of both problem solving and self assessment ability.     

Evaluation at University and State Level in Italy: Need for a System of Evaluation and Indicators

This paper has two main objectives. First, it presents the new relationships between the State (the Ministry of the University) and each university in Italy, and the evaluation system established in 1996 and revised by a recent law passed in October 1999. Second, it focuses on the characteristics of the evaluation system which has to be implemented, in order to verify the universities programmes, as well as their results in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and quality. Particular attention is devoted to the system of indicators to be used for thee valuation and for the allocation of specific funds in terms of incentives, and to their possible effects on the decisions of the universities' management. Finally, appropriate statistical methods to analyse the system of indicators considered are highlighted. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Critical perspectives on Danish early childhood education and care: between the technical and the political

This paper discusses trends in contemporary Danish early childhood education and care (ECEC). Data are sourced from various policy documents, along with material from ongoing research projects in which the authors are involved. It is claimed that contemporary policy on Danish day care services has a tendency to emphasize narrow curriculum improvements and standardized testing. The democratic dimensions are still relatively strong, but at the moment these dimensions are interpreted within a skills‐and‐testing framework, which is leading to a situation where the political masquerades as the technical.     

Accuracy and precision of loadsol® insole force-sensors for the quantification of ground reaction force-based biomechanical running parameters

Force plates represent the “gold standard” in measuring running kinetics to predict performance or to identify the sources of running-related injuries. As these measurements are generally limited to laboratory analyses, wireless high-quality sensors for measuring in the field are needed. This work analysed the accuracy and precision of a new wireless insole forcesensor for quantifying running-related kinetic parameters. Vertical ground reaction force (GRF) was simultaneously measured with pit-mounted force plates (1?kHz) and loadsol^® sensors (100?Hz) under unshod forefoot and rearfoot running-step conditions. GRF data collections were repeated four times, each separated by 30 min treadmill running, to test influence of extended use. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to identify differences between measurement devices. Additionally, mean bias and Bland–Altman limits of agreement (LoA) were calculated. We found a significant difference (p?® devices for these parameters. For these same parameters, the LoA analysis showed that 95% of all measurement differences between insole and force plate measurements were less than 12%, demonstrating high precision of the sensors. However, highly dynamic behaviour of GRF, such as force rate, is not yet sufficiently resolved by the insole devices, which is likely explained by the low sampling rate.     

Undignified Dignity: Using Humor to Manage the Stigma of Mental Illness and Homelessness

Research on stigma has generally focused on either how stigmatized individuals manage their stigmatizing traits, how stigmatizing messages are communicated, or on how education and contact campaigns reduce the degree of stigma. This article seeks to expand on the communication stigma literature by arguing that stigmatized and unstigmatized individuals are able to co-manage stigmatizing traits through the cocreation of a culture of individualized dignity. Specifically, this ethnographic study examines the use of humor at a homeless shelter that caters to individuals with severe mental illness to create a culture of “undignified dignity.” The findings highlight how even complex stigmas may be ameliorated through a focus on dignity as a bridging medium between stigmatized and unstigmatized individuals.     

Interdisciplinary collaboration as a prerequisite for inclusive education

This article reports on findings from a research project on interdisciplinary collaboration between mainstream school teachers and special school teachers. The aim of the research project has been to examine the knowledge of special school teachers and how this knowledge can contribute to the development of an inclusive learning environment in mainstream schools. Not as a simple task of transferring knowledge, but as a process of transforming knowledge through interdisciplinary collaboration and co-teaching. The design of the study is inspired by the notion of participation within action research as a research approach. Thus the thick data generated from reflective activities in the study design are analysed within a narrative and practice directed strategy of analysis.     

Investigating Strategies for Pre-Class Content Learning in a Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom model, learning of basic content is shifted before class while in-class time is used for concept application. Empirical and controlled research studies are lacking on the best strategies to provide the necessary pre-class content instruction. In this study, we tested three methods of pre-class content learning—interactive online tutorials, video lectures, and textbook-style readings—while holding the content and the in-class application activities constant. Identical introductory, non-majors biology classes were manipulated at both a public, open-enrollment institution and a private, highly selective institution. We found that video lectures offer a small advantage to overall student learning over interactive tutorials or textbook-style readings. Although our two populations differed in their ability to effectively learn from pre-class activities, through a student-centered flipped classroom approach, students at both institutions demonstrated equal learning gains by the final assessment. Potential reasons for some observed differences are suggested.