Priorities for evaluation of nontraditional degree programs

The request to evaluate a nontraditional degree program sounds simple enough. But what does it mean “to evaluate the program?” This article identifies twelve major areas seeming to require evaluative attention according to the perspectives of a number of different groups of people. In addition to identifying these areas, the study suggested priorities for the areas in terms of their long-term, overall importance in a complete evaluation plan and their immediate or short-term importance in the early stages of program implementation.     

Humanizing paediatric care

This paper deals with the development of a paediatric team approach to the care of children in the 70 bed paediatric unit in the Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania, Australia, and describes the measures used to help children and their parents adapt to life in hospital with a limited budget. The staff includes paediatricians and pediatric surgeon, resident staff, nurses, teachers, social worker, physiotherapist and pharmacist. There are no visiting hours but the wards are open to parents and relatives at any time. Parents are encouraged to stay in hospital and their accommodation is either in flats at the end of wards or in single or double bed wards using foldup beds. Each young child has a personal details form completed and placed on the end of the cot allowing a nurse to discover likes, dislikes, methods of feeding and sleeping, etc. Parents are asked to complete questionnaires at the time of the child's discharge, asking for their assessment of the standards of care their child received. Playleaders are rostered for evenings and weekends and they work with, and direct Red Cross volunteer ladies. Two full-time teachers cooperate with the child's school in maintaining the child's educational progress. Volunteer visitors entertain children whose relatives are unable to visit or stay in hospital. The methods used to raise the standards of paediatric nursing are also described. Community groups, particularly kindergarten and primary school children, are encouraged to visit the paediatric unit and each group is usually given a brief health education talk by a member of staff.     

Using Internet delivered video cases,to support pre-service teachers' understanding of effective early literacy instruction: An exploratory study

This preliminary study explores the effects ofusing CTELL (Case Technologies EnhancingLiteracy Learning) cases on preserviceteachers' learning. Students participated inone of three instructional treatments:traditional, traditional plus video, andtraditional plus CTELL cases. A pre-postconcept web, describing students' understandingof effective reading instruction, served as themajor outcome measure. This was supplementedwith a unidimensional confidence measure,journal entries, and student interviews. Nosignificant differences were found for any ofthe three treatment conditions on the conceptmapping task or the confidence measure.However, the journal entries and interview datahighlight important issues, challenges andbenefits, with respect to the use of multimediacases. Implications for teacher education areexplored.     

The multiple sources of workplace stress among land-grant university faculty

Workplace stress has received a fair amount of treatment in the research literature over the past decade. What has not been examined, at least not systematically, is this same phenomena inacademe. Our study looked at stress among university faculty at a land-grant university located in the western region of the U. S. Analyses from the self-assessment mail survey (N = 786) reveals that faculty in the Hard Pure Nonlife (e. g., Astronomy, Math, Physics), Hard Applied Nonlife (e. g., Civil Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Computer Science) and Soft Applied Life (e. g., Education Administration, Special Education) experience more stress than faculty in disciplines such as Hard Pure Life (e. g., Botany, Zoology) and Soft Pure Nonlife (e. g., English, Philosophy, Communications). Careful attention was paid to the different levels of stress reported by male and female faculty, with women professors reporting a higher level of stress than their male counterparts. We provide an assessment and explanation for this finding. Research ends with several proposals for individual faculty, department chairs and academic administrators for addressing the problem of workplace pressure and work overload.     

Effects of methylphenidate on the auditory processing abilities of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.

Stimulant medications are widely used as part of the treatment for children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The current study investigated the effects of methylphenidate on auditory vigilance, auditory processing abilities, and receptive language abilities of children with ADHD. Twenty subjects (17 males and 3 females) ranged in age from 7 to 13 years. Each subject had been diagnosed as having ADHD and had been prescribed methylphenidate for the control of hyperactivity. The test battery included the Auditory Continuous Performance Test (ACPT), SCAN (a screening test for auditory processing disorders in children), and the Token Test for Children. Results indicated that there was significant improvement in the children's performance on all measures when on methylphenidate. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Portrait of Filipino teachers’ classroom practices: traditional or constructivist?

The intent of this qualitative study is to narrate (Brodkey, (1987a). Education Quarterly, 18, 67–76; Written communication, 4, 25–70; Qualitative communication research methods. (1987b). Lindlof, (1995). (pp. 172–174): London Sage Publications) the master teachers as aggregate sample subjects’ pedagogical understanding and classroom practices. A qualitative analysis of the classroom activities and journal entries of 13 teacher-participants in the Basic Education Curriculum core learning areas is included. Findings reveal that the subject participants’ pedagogical practices still verging toward the formal suggest a traditional inclination. However, the importance of change should be realized. Various concepts of teaching and learning, today, are imperative. Teachers must be resocialized on their new roles and make their students have a more active role in the teaching-learning process.     

The effects of various mastery criteria on student performance and attitude in a mastery-oriented course

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of various mastery criteria on student performance and attitude in a course in which mastery learning strategies were employed. Undergraduates in an introductory course in educational psychology were randomly assigned to one of three treatments—one in which mastery criteria gradually increased from 70% to 90%, a second in which mastery criteria gradually decreased from 90% to 70%, or a third in which mastery criteria remained constant at 80%. Results indicated that although the high mastery criterion (90%) had a positive effect on some aspects of quiz performance, it did not have an effect on final examination performance. Results also indicated that students preferred that mastery criteria remain constant during a semester. These findings, when examined in light of previous research, call into question some prior notions regarding the levels at which mastery criteria should be set.