A validity study of two paper-pencil tests of concrete and formal operations

Two group paper-pencil batteries, the Longeot (consisting of three subtests) and three puzzles (KLR) from Science Teaching and the Development of Reasoning, were administered to 607 students from ninth and tenth grade mathematics and science classes. A subsample of 69 students was then administered three Inhelder tasks (chemicals, rods, and shadows). In general, the expected developmental trends were confirmed, with formal status being most difficult to attain on the Inhelder tasks and easiest to attain on the Longeot. The correlations between the KLR and Inhelder (0.61, p < 0.01) and the Longeot and Inhelder (0.55, p < 0.05) were moderately high. According to the method of Shayer (Note 2), it was found that each of five paper-pencil subtests discriminates at or between the 2B (late concrete) and 3A (early formal) levels while the sixth subtest, the mealworm puzzle, was found to discriminate at the 3A level. This study indicates that either group battery may be useful in identifying transitional subjects. However, if a more stringent criterion of “formal” is needed, a “success” rate of four or five out of the six subtests may be required. Both group batteries are relatively easy to administer and score with a minimum of guidance, although the KLR scoring might need to be simplified for use by the practitioner. Sex differences found on the KLR and the Longeot are suggestive of the potential differential use of these tests by researchers investigating sex differences in achievement or aptitude.     

The adult part-time learner in colleges and universities: A clientele analysis

Using the 1975 National Center for Educational Statistics/Bureau of Census Participation in Adult Education survey data, this paper presents an analysis of part-time students at colleges and universities—who participates and who persists. Separate analyses of public two-year colleges and noncredit activities are also presented. The analysis is followed with a discussion of the implications. A general conclusion is that adult education at colleges and universities may rest on a precariously narrow base.     

Do They Know What They Are Doing? Children's Use of Economical Addition Strategies and Knowledge of Commutativity

Children's methods of solving addition problems progress towards strategies that reverse the order of addends. The role knowledge of commutativity plays in this development is not clear. Previous studies suggest some use the strategies without believing addend order is irrelevant to addition. The numbers of such children are very small and the tests of commutativity may be inaccurate. Two studies using new tasks compare strategy use and knowledge. In the first, 47/48 children between 6 and 10 years old predicted order of addends would not alter quantity in some contexts. They also predominantly used strategies that reversed addend order. In the second study, 5‐year‐olds (18/24) were more likely to know commutativity than to use a strategy that reversed addend order or to answer sums correctly. Knowing commutativity precedes using strategies that presuppose it and does not derive from doing sums. Representing the addends with objects induced more arithmetic errors. Children used less accurate strategies when they could see the objects.     

Zero tolerance: A new enemy of academic freedom?

Recent provincial government policy proposals related to university governance and substantive and procedural autonomy has had the effect on Ontario university faculty members of throwing the cat among the pigeons. The policy proposals were based on an articulated need for zero tolerance of various forms of harassment, in the first instance voiced by interest groups representing gender, race, political affiliation, sexual orientation and a number of other concerns, and consequently transformed into a provincial government position by politicians.As the province is the main funding agency for universities, the threat to a number of aspects of university integrity is a real one. However, there appears to be much more at stake than a simple threat to the fair treatment of different minorities in the university setting. Such proposals, if articulated as formal policy, have the potential to erode those very elements around which universities have been created and for which universities continue to exist, namely, substantive and procedural autonomy and academic freedom.While in no way denying the rights of minority groups or humans in general as espoused by changing norms in a representative democracy, this article addresses the controversy, defines the freedoms at stake and extrapolates upon the implications of their erosion.     

The results of graduate external degree programs: Some emerging patterns

The Institute for Personal and Career Development, the external degree-granting arm of Central Michigan University, has been administering graduate external degree programs for approximately eight years. A survey of the graduates of Institute graduate programs revealed that these graduates are satisfied with the education they received through the Institute's external degree programs, that they have experienced personal and career development which they attribute at least in part to participation in Institute programs, and that they feel the educational goals and objectives of Institute programs have been accomplished.     

Development of Hybrid Courses Utilizing Modules as an Objective in ATE Projects

ABSTRACT

Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College (OCtech) has been awarded two National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) grants since 2011 that have the development of module-based hybrid courses in Engineering Technology and Mechatronics as objectives. In this article, the advantages and challenges associated with module-based hybrid courses are discussed. The courses that have been developed deal specifically with alternative energy and robotics. Through modularizing the courses, instructors throughout OCtech may elect to use materials from these courses to supplement face-to-face courses or offer the entire course in a hybrid format. In addition to being used in the college’s traditional curriculum, these courses have been utilized in the Middle College and the Flex/Evening College for working adults with great success. The courses and the included modules are housed on a Learning Management System hosted by OCtech that is available to all the colleges and high schools in the state.