A synthesis of evaluations of distance education courses

Distance education courses are offered in a wide variety of formats. A range of media is available, and mechanisms for and levels of study and administrative support vary widely between courses. When new courses are established there is a wealth of experience to draw upon but little, if any, guidance on how to choose between the plethora of potential course formats. This article suggests that synthesising guidelines from evaluations of a selection of courses can help in drawing conclusions as to how courses are best formatted for given situations. As a case study, seven Hong Kong distance education courses with a variety of features were evaluated. Conclusions were synthesized—about the provision of tutorials, group activities, inter-student contact, telephone counselling and the use of video and television broadcasting—which could not have been reached from either evaluating one course alone or by examining existing literature.     

Further Study of the Choice of Anchor Tests in Equating

In this study, we describe what factors influence the observed score correlation between an (external) anchor test and a total test. We show that the anchor to full‐test observed score correlation is based on two components: the true score correlation between the anchor and total test, and the reliability of the anchor test. Findings using an analytical approach suggest that making an anchor test a miditest does not generally maximize the anchor to total test correlation. Results are discussed in the context of what conditions maximize the correlations between the anchor and total test.     

Gender equity in mathematical achievement: the case of China

Gender differences in achievement in mathematics, a traditionally male-stereotyped subject, have long been a concern for many educators around the world. Gender differences in mathematical achievement have decreased in recent decades, especially in Western countries, and become small or insignificant in large-scale tests, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The situation in China has not yet been studied. The recent PISA report lists China B-S-J-G (representing Beijing–Shanghai–Jiangsu–Guangdong) as an educational system with no significant gender difference in mathematical achievement. Based on a secondary analysis of PISA 2015 mathematics data from China B-S-J-G, this study more deeply scrutinized gender differences in Chinese students’ mathematical performance, emphasizing societal factors, namely students’ socioeconomic status, school level, school type, school location, and socioeconomic status at school level. This analysis revealed important differences within the overall picture. Most importantly, significantly more boys than girls scored in the top tier of mathematics achievement. At the lower- and upper-secondary school levels, boys performed significantly better than girls, with the achievement difference increasing at the upper-secondary level. Furthermore, this study found that, on average, Chinese (B-S-J-G) girls achieved significantly lower average scores on the PISA 2015 mathematics test than boys in the same school. Overall, students’ individual characteristics and school characteristics need to be separated and both taken into account to examine the role of gender in mathematical achievement, which has not been thoroughly investigated in the past.     

Induction of odor preference in a specialist insect parasitoid

This paper deals with the effect of associative and nonassociative odor conditioning on odor preference in a specialist larval parasitic wasp ofDrosophila melanogaster, Leptopilina boulardi. Differently experienced females were offered a choice between banana and strawberry odors in a four-armed olfactometer. Wasps that were allowed to oviposit in an odorless airflow before testing exhibited no significant response to the odors, whereas females with an oviposition experience in the presence of an odor clearly preferred the scent that they had experienced. Furthermore, exposure to strawberry odor after oviposition could also induce a preference for strawberry or banana odor, depending on the concentrations of both scents used for conditioning and testing. This effect was independent of the time elapsed between oviposition and strawberry exposure, suggesting that it was caused by nonassociative conditioning and not by backward associative learning. Exposure to banana odor after oviposition had no effect on females’ responses. Variations in odor concentrations also influenced the expression of associative learning, although to a much lesser extent.     

Thinking with Posthuman Perspectives in Self-Study Research

In this study, we set out to explore processes of individual and group becomings of a self-study collective over time and distance, and with/through technology. Born out of a self-study project in one of our early doctoral courses, our self-study community has evolved over several years to one that is hybrid in nature. As we have continued our collaboration through online media, a tension arose at the juncture of our fundamentally relational work together, our need for the physical, embodied aspect of learning and self-study and the hybrid, often disembodied, experience provided by substituting online meetings for those conducted in-person. In this article we explore these tensions through pivotal moments and lines of flight in our self-study work over the past year. To frame these moments, we draw on ideas from posthumanism, which offers ways to conceptualize our collective as a multiplicity, account for the relational and material aspects of our work, address the agency of non-human actors (such as technology) in our collaboration, and consider our self-study practice a dynamic, complex, contextualized, situated phenomenon.     

Youth leaders' perceptions of commitment to a responsibility-based physical activity program

This study extended Schilling's (2001) study by investigating program commitment among a larger (N = 12), older (M = 16.7 years), and more experienced (M = 5.96 years) sample of participants in the Project Effort Youth Leader Corps. Individual interviews elicited a greater number and specificity of themes. Program-related barriers included logistics, structure, and relationships, and personal-related barriers included perceived alternatives, personal characteristics, and "real-life" responsibilities. Similar to Schilling's (2001) earlier study, antecedents grouped under program environment, program structure, relationships, and personal characteristics. Participants also described outcomes in terms of behavior and emotional involvement but reported more themes related to leadership. Results are discussed in terms of consistencies and changes over time and implications for program development, expansion, and evaluation.     

Longitudinal algebra prediction for early versus later takers

Algebra I is a crucial course for middle and high school students for successful STEM-related coursework. A key issue is whether students should take Algebra I in Grade 8 versus Grade 9. Large-scale policy studies show conflicting results, and there are few (particularly longitudinal) individual difference studies. In the study, 53 students were assessed in Grade 6 on cognitive, numerosity, and mathematical skills, and then followed; 26 students took Algebra I in Grade 8, and the other 27 in Grade 9. Comparisons between groups at Grade 6 revealed gaps in some (but not all) cognitive skills and on mathematical competencies, but not on numerosity. By Algebra I, gaps in cognitive skills diminished, but gaps in mathematical skills remained constant. Gaps in algebra skills were also apparent, despite the age difference between groups. Results suggest that the additional year of instruction was not optimally tuned to pave the way for strong Algebra I performance.     

Teaching School Counselors and School Psychologists to Work Collaboratively

Counselor education programs have the responsibility to prepare school counseling graduates adequately for effective partnerships, consultation, and collaboration with other school professionals. Current practices as well as theory should inform preparation. This study was conducted to determine current collaborative efforts of practicing school counselors and school psychologists in 1 southeastern state. Implications for educators and 1 training model that distinctly accentuates collaboration are presented.     

A school‐based violence prevention model for at‐risk eighth grade youth

This study examined the effectiveness of a school and community‐based violence prevention program for at‐risk eighth‐grade students in three public schools in Florida. School officials matched intervention students with community‐based mentors in an employment setting to allow targeted youth to explore careers and receive one‐on‐one intervention from an adult mentor. Intervention students were compared to a control group of students not receiving mentorship services. This study used MANOVA and t‐test analyses to examine six outcomes measured: (1) unexcused absences; (2) number of in‐school suspensions; (3) number of days of in‐school suspensions; (4) number of out‐of‐school suspensions; (5) number of days of out‐of‐school suspensions; and (6) total number of infractions committed on school property. The findings suggested that mentored students, as compared to control group students, had significant reductions in total number and days of suspensions, days of sanction, and infractions committed on school property. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 403–416, 2003.