在线学习环境中课程完成原因探析(英文)

很多提供在线课程的教育机构所面临的一大挑战就是开发能够提高学生动机的教学策略,从而提高课程和项目的完成率.本研究利用Eastmond(1994)开发的"基于计算机会议的成人远程学习框架"(Adult Distance Study through Computer Conferencing,简称ADSCC),探讨了学习者的准备情况、在线特征、与计算机媒介传播(Computer Mediated Communication,tuj tq CMC)相关的学习方法等因素是否会影响虚拟学习环境中学生自备课程完成情况.研究结果表明,以上因素与课程完成情况有着显著的正相关.同时研究还发现,自我动机、对技术的信任,以及技术的易用等是在线学习环境中课程完成的主要原因.     

The effect of the personalization principle on multimedia learning: the role of student individual interests as a predictor

By focusing on the personalization principle, the present study investigates whether two different language presentation formats of a multimedia presentation influence students’ learning outcome and how individual interest towards the learning material moderates this impact. German students (N?=?104) were randomly assigned to either a conversational or a formal language format of the multimedia presentation that taught Gestalt Laws. The results of this study showed that there were more positive effects on the learning performance in the conversational presentation format than the formal language format. This was, therefore, an indication of the effects of personalization. Furthermore, individual interest is a significant predictor for learning in this study. By testing different percentiles of individual interest, the findings showed that students with intermediate interest were affected by the format of language style. In contrast, learning results of students with the very lowest and very highest individual interest were not affected by different language styles. These results underline the necessity to take into account individual motivational prerequisites when designing multimedia learning environments.     

How are graduates and alumni featured in university strategic plans? Lessons from Ireland

This paper presents research from a small-scale study analysing how graduates and alumni feature in the strategic plans of all Irish universities (n?=?7). The data suggest that the word ‘graduate’ is used to describe the work of the university as an enabler for the graduate, to prepare for the employment to acquire key skills, towards a foundation of ‘graduateness’ such as reflective thinking, moral reasoning and lifelong learning aligning with the institution’s key performance indicators. In contrast, ‘alumni’ are featured related to alumnus/alumna success. Irish Higher Education Institutions view alumni as a key enabler to contribute to the university’s mission and vision: through giving, both of their time and philanthropic donations. Based on the strategic plan discourse, the role of alumni in Irish universities suggests a similar trend, relying on alumni as an internal stakeholder with an external ability to offer value to the institution.     

The (in)visibility of gender knowledge in the Physical Activity and Sport Science degree in Spain

This paper draws on research that aimed to explore the construction of gender relations in sport and physical education (PE) through a national study of Spanish university degree curricula. Spain is a useful case study through which to explore gender knowledge within sport and PE degrees, because, unlike many other countries, it has a common, national curriculum framework for its Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS) degrees. In addition, it has recently passed a new law concerning the introduction of gender knowledge in higher education (HE). Drawing on Bernstein’s (1990) framework of the pedagogic device, this paper examines how this HE gender policy becomes recontextualised as universities and lecturers interpret and translate this into the pedagogical texts that make up the PASS curricula. Purposive sampling was used to select 16 of the 37 universities offering PASS degrees in 2012/2013. The research analysed 16 PASS documents at the degree level and 763 individual subject handbooks. Using discourse analysis, the results showed where and how gender knowledge was incorporated and the extent to which the topic was presented coherently throughout the documents. The analysis revealed five categories of the (in)visibility of gender knowledge within the universities’ instructional discourse. Gender knowledge is largely ignored in PASS curricular documentation, appearing, at best, in highly superficial ways. Despite a national policy requirement on universities to incorporate gender knowledge, this study shows how recontextualisation processes within specific universities’ pedagogic devices operate to marginalise such perspectives within PASS curricula. The research also revealed the significance of individual agents committed to gender equity being situated, and having influence, throughout the pedagogic device. The paper concludes that without a much wider, critical engagement in knowledge about gender equity, PASS degrees will continue to reproduce rather than disrupt the gender relations that have traditionally characterised the field.     

Sex-differences in elite-performance track and field competition from 1983 to 2015

The purpose of this study was to assess the veracity of the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s assertion that sex-differences in athletic performance in elite-standard track and field competition is of the order of 10–12%. Exponential curves were fitted to the data of selected track and field events of the finals of all IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games from 1983 to 2016. For each curve, the coefficient of determination R² was calculated, in combination the corresponding 95% confidence intervals for the curve constants. Sex-differences were evaluated via differences in the fitted curves between men and women. Mean performances of winners, as well as overall performance means of all participants, were also analyzed. The calculated sex-difference was 8.2 ± 1.0% – 11.8 ± 2.1% for sprints, 10.3 ± 3.3% – 12.8 ± 4.0% for middle and long-distance events, 9.7 ± 2.9% – 13.1 ± 2.9% for relays and 14.2 ± 2.2% – 25.0 ± 4.4% for jumps. This study therefore confirms that the percentage difference accepted by the CAS is appropriate for elite-standard track and field events.     

Does a perceptuomotor skills assessment have added value to detect talent for table tennis in primary school children?

ABSTRACT

Talent detection intends to support lifelong sports participation, reduce dropouts and stimulate sports at the elite level. For this purpose it is important to reveal the specific profile which directs children to the sports that connect to their strengths and preferences. This study evaluated a perceptuomotor skills assessment as part of talent detection for table tennis, a sport in which perceptuomotor skills are considered essential to cope with the difficult technical aspects. Primary school children (n = 121) and gifted young table tennis players (n = 146) were assessed using the Dutch perceptuomotor skills assessment measuring “ball control” and “gross motor function”. A discriminant function analysis confirmed the added value by identifying primary school children fitting the table tennis perceptuomotor profile of the young gifted table tennis players (28%). General linear model analyses for the assessment’s individual test items showed that the table tennis players outperformed their primary school peers on all “ball control” items (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the assessment appears to be of added value for talent detection in table tennis at this young age. Longitudinal studies need to reveal the predictive value for sports participation and elite sports.     

Hyperandrogenic athletes: performance differences in elite-standard 200m and 800m finals

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the difference in elite-standard track and field performance between women athletes with and without hyperandrogenism reaches the 10–12% difference in performance between men and women, using only results from elite-standard track and field final competitions. Officially available data from two hyperandrogenic women (Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand) were compared with the characteristic performance of 200m and 800m elite-standard finals. The finishing times of Caster Semenya, before her ineligibility to compete in 2009 and after the suspension of the 2011 IAAF Hyperandrogenism Regulations were found to be respectively 1.24% and 1.49% faster than the predicted performance in 800m finals. When compared with the result of the second classified, the difference was respectively 0.65% and 2.08%. The analysis of the finishing times of Dutee Chand did not lead to any conclusions due to the lack of available data. The present study indicates that the percentage difference in performance between women with and women without hyperandrogenism does not reach the 3% difference requested by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the reinstatement of the Hyperandrogenism Regulations, neither does it reach the 10% accepted range of difference in performance between men and women.     

English as a second language nurses in the United States: culture,communication, and needs for continuing education

The purpose of the study was to understand the role of culture in English as a Second Language (ESL) nurses’ clinical communication experiences in the United States, and how these experiences demonstrate the need for continuing education for ESL nurses. Five Taiwanese nurses who worked in U.S. health care contexts were recruited in the study. Data were collected through focus group and individual interviews, and data were analyzed using narrative and thematic analyses. Findings indicate that cultural differences in clinical settings complicated ESL nurses’ communication experiences, including linguistic and cultural diversity, the independent role of nurses, patient-centered care, and choice of speech registers. Findings further show that comprehensive on-the-job, vocational training in English for Nursing Purposes (ENP) is essential in order to assist ESL nurses’ transit between home and host country cultures. In other words, familiarising nurses with patient-centered care and different discourse patterns, developing critical thinking skills, and enhancing cultural competence should be emphasised in ESL nurses’ continuing education.