Examining the Legacy of Urban Catholic Schooling in the U.S.: A Systematic Literature Review

The Urban Review - Research conducted in the twentieth century found urban Catholic schools in the U.S. had a legacy of providing high quality educational opportunities for low-income students and...     

Examining barriers in technology-enhanced problem-based learning: Using a performance support systems approach

This study focused on the barriers that middle school teachers faced when implementing technology-enhanced problem-based learning (PBL) in their classrooms. Using a human performance-based model, we interviewed teachers, administrators, university faculty and technical support staff to determine the perceived importance of multiple barriers to the implementation of technology-enhanced PBL. Twenty-one teachers, two school administrators and a project manager, two faculty members, and two technical support staff participated in the study. Interview data were supported by surveys, classroom observations and researchers' reflective journals. Results suggested that lack of a clear, shared vision was the primary barrier. Additional barriers included lack of knowledge and skills, unclear expectations and insufficient feedback. Recommendations to support teachers' efforts to integrate technology-enhanced problem-based learning are presented.     

Dickens for All: Inclusive Approaches to Literature and Communication with People with Severe and Profound Learning Disabilities

Keith Park, a teacher of children with visual impairment and learning disabilities with the Greenwich Visual Impairment Service, describes a series of multisensory interactive drama games re-telling the story of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, following a discussion of the potential uses of literature with people with severe and profound learning disabilities.     

Exploring the Roles of Social Presence and Gender Difference in Online Learning

Online learning has become more popular in higher education with its advantages of flexibility and accessibility. However, there have been challenges to students’ learning experience in online learning. One critical challenge would be providing interactions between students and instructors as good or effective as in the face‐to‐face environment. However, providing face‐to‐face interactions in online learning is not feasible because students and instructors are not physically present together. In this study, we introduce and empirically investigate social presence as student learning experience in online learning in which physical presence does not exist. Drawing upon the social presence and online learning literature, we propose a research model to explore how the interactivity of communication tools can drive social presence and student satisfaction in online learning. Furthermore, this study examines gender difference as a moderator in the model. Data were collected from undergraduate students who were taking online business statistics courses where an interactive communication tool was required to use for class communication and collaboration. The results showed that social presence driven by tool interactivity had a significant impact on student satisfaction in online learning. We also found that gender difference moderated the relationship between tool interactivity and social presence in online learning.     

Brain Health Knowledge in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Aging and its effects on a person's quality of life are a growing health concern and burden for many Americans. Recently, studies have shown that adopting certain healthy behaviors may help maintain and or prevent age-related health issues such as cognitive decline. However, many people are unaware of these newfound facts. Furthermore, there is insufficient research evidence to understand how older adults view brain health and the differences between diverse groups of older adults. This study examines brain health knowledge and behaviors among Caucasian and African-American community-dwelling older adults in North Carolina. Findings were significant for level of education and total brain health knowledge scores, though there were no significant differences between races. In addition, there was a significant association between total number of health conditions and total brain health knowledge scores that warrants further study.     

Advanced stability criteria for linear systems with time-varying delays

This paper investigates a stability problem for linear systems with time-varying delays. By constructing suitable augmented Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals, improved stability criteria under various conditions of time-varying delays are derived within the framework of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Moreover, to reduce the computational burden caused by the non-convex term including h²(t), how to deal with it is applied by estimating it to the convex term including h(t). Finally, three illustrative examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed criteria.     

A Preliminary Analysis of the Factors Affecting Satisfaction with the Police Practicum Credit Program in South Korea

Numerous studies have been conducted about criminal justice internship programs in western countries, but few have addressed similar types of programs conducted in Eastern countries. To fill this gap in the literature, this study preliminarily analyzed the factors affecting satisfaction with the police practicum credit program in South Korea using data collected from 208 participating students and police officers. The results showed that participants were generally satisfied with the program but had different perceptions about each program component. Focusing on the crucial elements affecting overall satisfaction with the program, the study examined the following factors: the curriculum; the period and practice time; the proportion of on-site practice; teaching material; credits; and police officers’ preparedness, attitudes and information offerings. Our results suggest that the curriculum and preparedness of the officers in charge were significant factors affecting the participants’ satisfaction. Based on the findings, implications for policy recommendations are discussed.     

Cultivating divergent thinking in mathematics through an open-ended approach

The purpose of this study was to develop a program to help cultivate divergent thinking in mathematics based on open-ended problems and to investigate its effect. The participants were 398 seventh grade students attending middle schools in Seoul. A method of pre- and post-testing was used to measure mainly divergent thinking skills through open-ended problems. The results indicated that the treatment group students performed better than the comparison students overall on each component of divergent thinking skills, which includes fluency, flexibility, and originality. The developed program can be a useful resource for teachers to use in enhancing their students’ creative thinking skills. An open-ended approach in teaching mathematics suggested in this paper may provide a possible arena for exploring the prospects and possibilities of improving mathematical creativity.