After the alternative elementary program: A promise of continued student success?

This study reports how students who had attended alternative elementary schools performed when they moved on to secondary schools and beyond. Almost no research has been conducted on the longitudinal effects of alternative elementary education on students. Alternative education intervention was found to positively affect student achievement as measured by GPA and standardized test scores, and, student completion of a formal education program. Parent investment opportunity appears to be the common denominator among the three alternative schools that report the greatest student successes over time. Further research is needed to confirm preliminary findings that link parent involvement to students' continued success, and to explore the alternative school as a means to stimulating parent involvement.     

Prediction/discussion-based learning cycle versus conceptual change text: comparative effects on students’ understanding of genetics

Background and purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle (HPD-LC), conceptual change text (CCT) and traditional instruction on 10th grade students’ understanding of genetics concepts.

Sample:

Participants were 112 10th basic grade male students in three classes of the same school located in an urban area. The three classes taught by the same biology teacher were randomly assigned as a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle class (n?=?39), conceptual change text class (n?=?37) and traditional class (n?=?36).

Design and method:

A quasi-experimental research design of pre-test–post-test non-equivalent control group was adopted. Participants completed the Genetics Concept Test as pre-test–post-test, to examine the effects of instructional strategies on their genetics understanding. Pre-test scores and Test of Logical Thinking scores were used as covariates.

Results:

The analysis of covariance showed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the favor of experimental groups after treatment. However, no statistically significant difference between the experimental groups (HPD-LC versus CCT instruction) was found.

Conclusions:

Overall, the findings of this study support the use of the prediction/discussion-based learning cycle and conceptual change text in both research and teaching. The findings may be useful for improving classroom practices in teaching science concepts and for the development of suitable materials promoting students’ understanding of science.     

A dissipativity-based approach to traffic signal control for an over-saturated intersection

In this paper, using the energy concept, the control of traffic flow by traffic lights on an over-saturated single intersection is addressed. By regarding the flow entry of vehicles as the energy stored in the system, we show that the dissipative system theory can be applied. As a result, a state feedback control law is found in terms of the solution of an associated dissipation equation that renders the system non-accumulative, i.e., to get out of the over-saturation situation. The results of the simulations indicate that our control strategy guarantees a high degree of control benefit.     

An efficient enhanced k-means clustering algorithm

INTRODUCTION The huge amount of data collected and stored in databases increases the need for effective analysis methods to use the information contained implicitly there. One of the primary data analysis tasks is cluster analysis, intended to help a user understand the natural grouping or structure in a dataset. Therefore, the development of improved clustering algorithms has received much attention. The goal of a clustering algorithm is to group the objects of a database into a set of m…     

远程开放教育中协作学习的组织与管理

在现代远程开放教育的环境下，协作学习有其重要的意义。本文就协作学习的一般含义、意义，协作学习在现代远程开放教育学习中的功能，现代远程开放教育中如何进行协作学习的设计，协作学习过程中的综合问题以及学校、教师加强对协作学习的组织指导等问题进行了阐述，对加强现代远程开放教育中协作学习的组织和管理提出一孔之见。     

"以情动人"做好学生思想教育工作

新时期做学生思想教育工作，“以情动人”是其重要的方法，该方法符合教育科学与心理科学的基本原理，本文针对电视中专学生的思想状况，阐述了“以情动人”开展学生思想教育必须是“动之以情，晓之以理”；必须要保护学生的自尊心，做到人格平等；必须要有宽容之心，理解之心，必须要以鼓励，正面教育为主等道理。