Reading and Related Skills in the Early School Years: Are boys really more likely to struggle?

This study examined whether boys and girls in the early school years differed in reading and related skills, and their rates of progress. Gender ratios were calculated to ascertain whether there were more boys than girls who struggle with different facets of reading, and whether the variability of boys’ scores resulted in more boys being identified as poor readers, as evidenced by previous studies. A sample of 335 students in Years 1 and 2 were administered six reading and related assessments. Boys and girls did not significantly differ on any of the measures, and differences in gains were negligible. Boys did not consistently demonstrate significantly greater variability in scores (with the exception of single-word reading and spelling in Year 1 only). These differences, however, did not affect gender ratios for poor performance. Gender ratios were relatively low across measures, but increased with years of schooling. Implications of the results are discussed.     

软件设计与开发实践课程探讨分析

主要介绍软件设计与开发实践课程的教学目的、教学内容及考核方式,并基于学生反馈信息,重点考察了编程能力、团队协作和自主创新3方面的教学成果。实践分析表明:基础算法设计与综合项目开发结合的课程内容设置有助于学生理论知识的加深和项目开发能力的提高;自主选题的方式充分调动了学生的学习热情和创新动力;基于项目驱动的阶段式累加考核方式保证了对学生能力评测的公平性和有效性。最后对实践教学中存在的问题和不足做出分析并给出参考建议。     

Integration of virtual microscopy podcasts in the histology discipline in osteopathic medical school: Learning outcomes

Virtual microscopy podcasts (VMPs) are narrative recordings of digital histology images. This study evaluated the outcomes of integrating the VMPs into teaching histology to osteopathic medical students. The hypothesis was that incorporating virtual microscopy podcasts as supplementary histology resources to the curriculum would have a positive impact on student performance and satisfaction. Sixty-one podcasts of dynamic microscopic images were created using screen recordings of the digital slides. The VMPs were integrated as supplementary histology resources in multiple courses during the first and second years of the medical curriculum for three classes, a total of 477 osteopathic medical students. A voluntary and anonymous survey was obtained from the students using a questionnaire that included two open-ended questions. The overall performance of the three classes on the histology content of the preclinical course examinations was compared to historical controls of the previous two classes that did not have access to the VMPs. Most students indicated that the podcasts enabled more efficient study time and improved their confidence in the histology content on examinations. The findings indicated a positive association between podcast viewing and efficient study time utilization and class performance. The class average scores of the three consecutive cohorts that used the VMPs progressively increased by 7.69%, 14.88%, and 14.91% compared to the controls. A summary of students' feedback and academic performance supported that integration of the VMPs into Histology teaching improved the learning experience. The findings align with previous studies on the effectiveness of multimedia-based teaching in histology laboratory modules.     

Exploring the relationship between child physical abuse and adult dating violence using a causal inference approach in an emerging adult population in South Korea

Child maltreatment is one of the most commonly examined risk factors for violence in dating relationships. Often referred to as the intergenerational transmission of violence or cycle of violence, a fair amount of research suggests that experiencing abuse during childhood significantly increases the likelihood of involvement in violent relationships later, but these conclusions are primarily based on correlational research designs. Furthermore, the majority of research linking childhood maltreatment and dating violence has focused on samples of young people from the United States. Considering these limitations, the current study uses a rigorous, propensity score matching approach to estimate the causal effect of experiencing child physical abuse on adult dating violence among a large sample of South Korean emerging adults. Results indicate that the link between child physical abuse and adult dating violence is spurious rather than causal. Study limitations and implications are discussed.     

Using Propensity Scores for Estimating Causal Effects: A Study in the Development of Moral Reasoning

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the use of propensity scores for creating comparison groups, partially controlling for pretreatment course selection bias, and estimating the treatment effects of selected courses on the development of moral reasoning in undergraduate students. Specifically, we used a sample of convenience for comparing differences in moral reasoning development scores among students enrolled in intergroup dialogue, service learning, psychology and philosophy courses with those of an introductory sociology course. Adopting a propensity score approach included reviewing the empirical literature for its guidance in substantiating the reasons for including pretreatment variables (i.e., pretreatment course-taking behaviors, race, sex, political identification, need for cognition, major, age, pretreatment moral reasoning scores) in our analysis, measuring these variables, and reducing them into a single composite propensity score for each student in our analytic sample. This score then served as the basis for creating a new comparison group and for allowing us to estimate unbiased (or less biased) course-related treatment effects on moral reasoning development. Implications for higher education researchers are discussed.

应用行动研究方法构建形成性考核模式

形成性考核是远程开放教育教学过程与教学质量检查、监控的一项重要环节。本文应用行动研究新兴的研究范式,以《公司财务》和《宏微观经济学》的教学实践作为研究起点,把形成性考核的内涵作为研究对象,以准确评价形成性考核成绩作为研究目的,通过“研究--实践--反思”构建了形成性考核模式;并应用“柯尔莫哥洛夫--斯米尔诺夫”双样本检验,对形成性考核成绩和期末考试成绩经验分布函数,进行非参数假设检验,说明形成性考核模式能准确评价一个班级学员的能力和学力水平。     

体育成绩评分系统数学模型的建立

大学体育成绩管理工作是高校体育工作的一个重要组成部分，以前不少学校开发过DBASE平台下的应用软件，在对身体素质及身体形态测定的成绩转化为相应得分的过程中，大多算法采用的是查表法，随着数据库的增大，原有的算法已远远不能满足工作的需要，本文重点就建立身体素及身体形态评分数学模型以及使用中应注意的问题作一探讨。     

Academic growth trajectories of ELLs in NAEP data: The case of fourth- and eighth-grade ELLs and non-ELLs on mathematics and reading tests

Utilizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data, this study examined (1) how fourth and eighth-grade ELLs' mathematics and reading scores on national tests compared to their non-ELL peers' scores over the testing period between 2003 and 2011, and (2) if gender and ethnicity contributed to variation in the growth patterns among the student groups across grade levels and content areas. Since the NAEP data, which provides a national sample of 10,000–20,000 students, is collected using a probability sample design, sampling weights are adjusted so inferences can be appropriately made. Sample sizes within NAEP are large enough to generate adequate power for statistical significance. Thus, to display the data in a multivariate mode, Tableau 8.0.0 software was used. Results suggested that the achievement gap between non-ELLs and ELLs is either steady or slightly widening in both mathematics and reading, with multiple paths across the content areas, grade levels, and gender and ethnic groups.     

苹果非线性编辑Final cut pro实验课程设计浅探

非线性编辑Finalcutpro课程是一门实践性和理论性皆强的课程,通过实验能充分的将理论运用于实际,使学生具有一定的非线性编导、一定的策划和创作能力.文章从课程的教学内容、教学方法以及考核方法等方面对课程的设计作一探讨,以期探索出有益的教法.     

不同专业学生性格与体育成绩的比较分析——以郧阳师范高等专科学校为例

运用数理分析法,对郧阳师专不同专业学生体育课成绩进行统计比较;通过访谈相关教师,了解不同专业学生在体育课上表现出的不同性格倾向,并结合十几年的教学实践对几种主要性格进行差异化剖习。结果表明:不同专业学生体育成绩与性格差异有较强的相关性。