Effects of organizational pictures and modality as a feedback strategy on learner comprehension and satisfaction

One of the strongest instructional interventions documented in educational literature is the use of feedback to influence learning outcomes. However, there is lack of empirical research specifically pertaining to the use of multimedia in the feedback message. The purpose of this research was to test whether organizational pictures and modality as a feedback strategy had an effect on learner comprehension and satisfaction. The research design was a 2 Multimedia (Picture Present vs. Picture Absent) × 2 Modality (Narration vs. On-screen Text) × Trial (Trial 1 vs. Trial 2) with Multimedia and Modality serving as between-subject conditions and Trial serving as a repeated measure. One-hundred fifteen university students participated in the study. Findings show statistically significant increases in comprehension scores from Trial 1 to Trial 2 assessments for all four treatment conditions. Learners in the Picture present conditions were statistically more satisfied with the learning experience. Additionally, we used eye-tracking to verify the extent to which the pictures were used in the feedback message. A discussion and recommendations for future research and feedback design are provided.     

Seeing Merit as a Vehicle for Opportunity and Equity: Youth Respond to School Choice Policy

The Urban Review - School choice policy is ubiquitous in urban school districts. Evidence suggests that it has not fully delivered on its proponents’ promises of equitable educational...     

Tax incentives for R&D: a critical evaluation

A number of policy proposals have recently been presented that seek to address the problem of declining productivity growth. Many of these are aimed at encouraging private R&D spending through tax incentives. This paper first reviews some of these proposals, then evaluates tax incentives per se as a policy tool for encouraging R&D growth, and finally offers suggestions for redesigning R&D related tax incentive policies.     

Medical knowledge discovery systems: data abstraction and performance measurement

Knowledge discovery systems can be traced back to their origin, artificial intelligence and expert systems, but use the modern technique of data mining for the knowledge discovery process. To that end, the technical community views data mining as one step in the knowledge discovery process, while the non-technical community seems to view it as encompassing all of the steps to knowledge discovery. In this exploratory study, we look at medical knowledge discovery systems (MKDSs) by first looking at three examples of expert systems to generate medical knowledge. We then expand on the use of data abstraction as a pre-processing step in the comprehensive task of medical knowledge discovery. Next, we look at how performance of a medical knowledge discovery system is measured. Finally, the conclusions point to a bright future for MKDSs, but an area that needs extensive development to reach its full potential.     

Book and school: On literacy and general education

In this article it is argued that an internal relationship exists between literacy (being able to read and write) and general education. The concrete meaning of general education and of (cultural) literacy is, however, subject to cultural and historical change. In the light of our context of cultural diversity, a plea is held to underline the liberative powers of general education, and in doing so to pay homage to pluriformity as a value. School and book serve this liberation in the sense that horizons are widened by learning about worlds of thought other than one's own. Such a general education is in keeping with an envisioned Europe predisposed to tolerance of difference and pluriformity.     

教师知识和教学的知识基础

作者把一切与专业有关的洞察力都看做教学的知识基础,认为它们与教师的行为有着内在的联系。由此,本文提出要把教师知识或者教师的实践性知识和正式的命题知识纳入教学的知识基础当中。虽然教师知识与个人经历及情境有着紧密的联系,但教师知识的某些特征却为所有的教师或大部分教师所共同拥有。研究教师知识就是要找出这些共同特征,从而对教师知识的复杂性和特殊性做出公正的评价,但这在方法论上可能存在困难。为了说明教师知识研究的潜在益处以及局限,作者呈现了几种研究的结果。这些研究的一个主要结论是,理解教师知识不仅能够改进教师教育而且能够促进教育改革的成功。最后,作者指出未来研究的三个重要领域。     

Minority Language Issues in Chinese Higher Education: Policy Reforms and Practice among the Korean and Mongol Ethnic Groups

The purpose of this study is to compare Korean and Mongol minorities in the People’s Republic of China in terms of their native language preservation and educational experiences at the higher education level, and to investigate differences and similarities between Korean and Mongol minorities’ language issues. Content area experts on Chinese minority education from China, South Korea, and the United States were interviewed for this study. Findings include suggestions for helping to formulate government educational policies regarding issues related to language in Chinese minority education at the higher education level. This information is helpful to better understand and educate others in school and home settings where Chinese ethnic minority students reside. The advancement of Chinese minority education knowledge related to higher education will significantly strengthen and empower individuals, families, and communities throughout the People’s Republic of China.