Performance Funding and Quality Enhancement at Three Research Universities in the United States

This paper discusses the effect performancefunding has had on funding and qualityenhancement at three research universities asimplemented over the past six years. Thepresentation details the accountabilityrequirements and the relationship they have hadon funding levels. It describes thecost-benefit ratio of maintaining andresponding to the required indicators, and howcollaborative efforts among the institutionshave brought about positive reform in thestate. This discussion will cover budgetprocesses and trends across the United Statesrelative to funding for performance andquality. Suggestions for implementation andimprovement of existing systems are alsodiscussed.     

Invention Versus Direct Instruction: For Some Content,It’s a Tie

An important, but as yet unresolved pedagogical question is whether discovery-oriented or direct instruction methods lead to greater learning and transfer. We address this issue in a study with 101 fourth and fifth grade students that contrasts two distinct instructional methods. One is a blend of discovery and direct instruction called Invent-then-Tell (IT), and the other is a version of direct instruction called Tell-then-Practice (TP). The relative effectiveness of these methods is compared in the context of learning a critical inquiry skill—the control-of-variables strategy. Previous research has demonstrated the success of IT over TP for teaching deep domain structures, while other research has demonstrated the superiority of direct instruction for teaching simple experimental design, a domain-general inquiry skill. In the present study, students in both conditions made equally large gains on an immediate assessment of their application and conceptual understanding of experimental design, and they also performed similarly on a test of far transfer. These results were fairly consistent across school populations with various levels of prior achievement and socioeconomic status. Findings suggest that broad claims about the relative effectiveness of these two distinct methods should be conditionalized by particular instructional contexts, such as the type of knowledge being taught.     

Comparative studies on phenotypic plasticity of two herbs,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Changium smyrnioides</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anthriscus sylvestris</Emphasis>

The endangered medicinal herb,Changium smyrnioides can only be found in deciduous forest gaps within the middle to northern subtropical broad-leaved evergreen forest zone of China. The considerable plasticity of its shoot and root structure helps it to capture light more effectively in winter and early spring, and to adapt to the soil moisture conditions in its narrow habitat. Another medicinal plant,Anthriscus sylvestris, is of similar economic importance but commonly distributed widely. In contrast toC. smyrnioides, it has low structural plasticity. It is also specialized to adapt to the moist and sunny environment, where habitat, such as the banks of creeks and rivers, is abundant. Project supported by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China (No. G2000046805) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39970058)     

Can’t pay,can’t play? Talent lead’s perspectives on the financial constraints experienced by athletes on the England Talent Pathway*

This study explored the extent of financial constraints experienced by athletes on the England Talent Pathway, as perceived by talent leads from various sports. Using a mixed-methods approach, 34 participants completed online surveys with 26 follow-up interviews. Findings showed the prevalence of financial constraints on individuals within the system, with three emerging themes: costs; demands on athletes; and potential funding support. “Pinch points”, causing the greatest severity of financial constraint, emerged further along the pathway and there were infrequent examples of mechanisms to identify talented athletes experiencing financial hardship. A means-tested system, premised on the demonstration of potential, is suggested by talent leads as a way of providing funding for athletes to ameliorate financial constraints in the future.     

Developing an Assessment Stance in Primary Art Education in England

Many English primary teachers find the notion of assessing children's work in art difficult. This paper reports on work carried out with non‐art‐specialist primary teachers’ and student teachers’ use of a three‐point assessment model and related tasks, which supported teachers and students to engage critically with children's development, or lack of it, in observational drawing. This enabled teachers and students to develop appropriate planning and differentiated strategies for children's work in art. Equally important is that in engaging with these assessment tasks they were able to develop aspects of the critical language needed for teaching and learning in art.     

Information literacy skills in the workplace: Examining early career advertising professionals

This study used content analysis to examine job postings from advertising agencies to find how often information literacy (IL) skills were seen in the job posts and how these skills manifest themselves. Five out of the six IL skills were seen in at least 41% of the job postings, however the skill of synthesizing information was rarely mentioned. It was also found evaluating data and using data software is performed by advertisers. This study concludes with asking librarians to introduce marketing students to more data and calls on librarians to consider the context in which IL skills are used.