The Bicycle Assembly Line Game

“The Bicycle Assembly Line Game” is a team‐based, in‐class activity that helps students develop a basic understanding of continuously operating processes. Each team of 7–10 students selects one of seven prefigured bicycle assembly lines to operate. The lines are run in real‐time, and the team that operates the line that yields the highest revenue wins. Students learn through discovery “What drives output rate?”; “How is capacity managed relative to market demand?”; and “Why does inventory accumulate?” Because task times are constant, the game provides a nice lead‐in to the topic of line balancing. This game has been successfully used in both undergraduate‐ and MBA‐level operations management courses.     

Socioeconomic Status– and Gender‐Based Differences in Students’ Perceptions of E‐Learning Systems

Many universities are pursuing increases in on‐line course offerings as a means of offsetting the rising costs of providing high‐quality educational opportunities and of better serving their student populations. However, enrollments in online courses are not always sufficient to cover their costs. One possible way of improving enrollments is through marketing campaigns targeted to specific demographic groups. In this study, we take a first look into how students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems, prior to their enrollment in an online course, vary across socioeconomic status and gender. Findings suggest that prior to taking an online course, working‐class students perceive e‐learning systems more positively than their middle‐class peers but that little difference exists between genders. Armed with this knowledge, universities may improve online course enrollments by marketing online courses specifically to working‐class students or through campaigns aimed at improving middle‐class students’ perceptions of e‐learning systems.     

Project Cheddarfield: Supporting Co‐Curricular Themes Through Creative Use of Video Course‐Casting

This article chronicles the coordination and better integration of existing institutional resources to support cocurricular themes embedded in the provision of a large enrollment, video‐mediated undergraduate operations management (OM) course. The name Project Cheddarfield refers to a 2008 initiative in which two professors team‐taught an OM course to over 600 undergraduates on two different continents through the repeated rapid exchange of digital video between the United States and Singapore. Simultaneously infused in this core curricular delivery were themes of global awareness and study‐abroad, including the promotion of one particular opportunity that bridged the two campuses. This action research narrative spans over 5 years of related activity leading up to the initiative, as this project is best understood as a trajectory, or the evolving result of design adapting to unfolding realities.     

学有所教的灵魂在于质量——以电大开放教育模式为例对落实胡锦涛总书记七一讲话精神的思考

胡锦涛在建党九十周年庆祝大会讲话中提出,学有所教是构建和谐社会的基本要求之一。开放教育是实现高等教育阶段学有所教的有效途径,实现高等教育阶段学有所教,关键在于树立质量第一的办学理念,首要问题是全面贯彻以人为本思想,明确提高素质与培养技能并举的培养目标。     

开放教育环境下提高英语教学效果的思考

在电大开放教育环境下,学员很难在较短时间内取得良好学习效果。探讨电大开放教育环境下适合各专业学员学习的有效方法,提高英语面授辅导课教学效果,切实增强开放教育各专业学员英语应用能力和综合素质具有十分重要的意义。     

幼儿园研讨型公开课存在的问题及其解决对策

为教学研究而组织的研讨型公开课是促进教师专业成长的有效途径.然而当前研讨型公开课在实施过程中存在着教学设计花哨,不能真实反映日常教学状况;课后研讨流于形式,不能围绕一个问题深入开展;研究结果缺乏梳理和总结,不能较大提高研究水平等问题.为真正实现研讨型公开课促进教师专业成长的作用,需要明确各方参与人员的角色定位;课后研讨应由评价教师教学行为向研究儿童、研究教学、教师共同建构实践知识转变;研讨后应有反思和整理,在梳理认识与疑惑的基础上生成下一步研讨的问题.     

创建地方开放大学面临的深层次问题及对策建议——以云南开放大学的创建为例

地方开放大学在创建过程中会面临依法办学、办学自主权落实、办学体系建设、学习成果认证转换、教育资源整合以及经费保障等一系列深层次问题。针对这些问题,本文以云南开放大学的创建为例,对开放大学的内涵、目标、定位、建设模式、管理体制等提出了一些建议。     

技术助力下远程学习资源设计探索——开放英语(3)多媒体学习系统教学设计策略

以信息和多媒体等技术应用为特点的现代远程教育对教育工作者提出了新的挑战.总结了电大公共英语课程“开放英语3”多媒体学习系统的教学设计策略,说明在进行远程学习资源设计时应充分挖掘技术优势,解决远程开放学习的问题,发挥远程学习的特点.     

Unfolding Case‐Based Practicum Curriculum Infusing Crisis,Trauma, and Disaster Preparation

The authors evaluated an unfolding case‐based approach to a practicum in counseling course infusing crisis, trauma, and disaster preparation for changes in students’ crisis self‐efficacy across a semester. The course, informed by constructivist‐developmental pedagogy and centered on the unfolding case, resulted in significant increases in students’ crisis self‐efficacy.