Delivery Method: Does it Matter? A Study of the North Carolina Developmental Mathematics Redesign

In 2009, the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) began the process of redesigning developmental mathematics (DMA) courses. The first classes were offered in 2012 with final state implementation in fall 2013. The purpose of this study was to examine the subsequent gateway course success rates achieved by former DMA students in relation to the delivery method (i.e., teacher-centered, student-centered, and computer-centered) used in the redesigned North Carolina DMA courses. Students included in this study took a gateway math course and a developmental math course during the same or previous academic year. Students who participated in student-centered and computer-centered instruction in their DMA course had a statistically significant pass rate in subsequent gateway courses compared with students receiving teacher-centered instruction. Along with the findings, this paper discusses considerations for redesign, including the choice of delivery methods and instructional techniques, and recommendations for further research.     

Conceptions of ability as stable and self-evaluative processes: a longitudinal examination

It has generally been taken for granted that conceiving of ability as stable leads to negative self-evaluative processes, particularly in the face of failure. Yet, a close examination of the empirical findings suggests that the picture may be more complex. In this research, a three-wave longitudinal design spanning 12 months was employed. Older elementary school children (N = 932) indicated their conceptions of academic and social ability as stable to external forces and to internal forces. They also provided information about the importance they place on academic and social competence, their knowledge about academic and social performance, their preference for academic challenge, their perceptions of academic and social competence, and their attributions for academic and social performance. Children's grades in school and their acceptance by peers were obtained as indicators of performance. Over time, conceiving of ability as stable to external forces, particularly in the academic domain, appeared to heighten the importance placed on competence, performance knowledge, preference for challenge, perceptions of competence, and self-enhancing attributions. In contrast, conceptions of ability as stable to internal forces, particularly in the academic domain, appeared to be fostered by placing little importance on competence, a lack of performance knowledge, avoidance of challenge, negative perceptions of competence, self-deprecating attributions, and poor performance.     

Publication Productivity among Doctoral Graduates of Educational Psychology Programs at Research Universities before and after the Year 2000

Research suggests that new doctoral graduates face increased publication pressure to achieve tenure: doctoral programs may have also increased this expectation. We examined whether faculty graduating before and after the year 2000 differed significantly in total publications, peer-reviewed publications, and first-authored publications as of the year they graduated with their doctoral degrees along with peer-reviewed publications as of tenure. A sample of 197 curriculum vitae was retrieved from educational psychology departmental websites across the 24 universities; vitae were coded for year the faculty member completed his/her doctorate and total number of publications, number of peer-reviewed publications and number of first-authored, peer-reviewed publications. Results indicated that faculty who graduated in the year 2000 and beyond had a significantly greater number of total publications—more peer-reviewed publications, more first-authored, peer-reviewed publications as of the year they graduated with their doctoral degrees, along with more peer-reviewed publications as of tenure. Publication productivity among doctoral graduates of educational psychology programs at research universities before and after the year 2000.     

广枣提取液对小鼠免疫功能和运动耐力的影响

观察了广枣提取液对小鼠免疫功能、运动耐力的影响。结果表明：广枣提取液可明显增加小鼠耐缺氧时间，延长小鼠负重游泳时间，降低运动后小鼠血乳酸水平，显著提高其心肌组织中SOD活力；同时明显增加小鼠脾脏／体重、胸腺／体重比值，增强小鼠对巨噬细胞的吞噬能力．提高小鼠的细胞免疫、体液免疫功能。提示广枣提取液具有显著促进小鼠免疫功能及显著提高小鼠运动耐力的功效。     

Individual and Developmental Differences in Disengagement of Fixation in Early Infancy

The current study investigated whether individual and developmental differences in look duration are correlated with the latency for infants to disengage fixation from a visual stimulus. Ninety-four infants (52 3-month-olds, 42 4-month-olds) were tested in a procedure that measured ocular reaction time to shift fixation from a central target to a peripheral target under conditions in which the central-target either remained present ("competition" condition) or was removed from the display ("noncompetition" condition). Look duration was correlated with disengagement latency; longer-looking infants were slower than shorter-looking infants to shift fixation to the peripheral target on competition trials, but not noncompetition trials. Results were similar for 3- and 4-month-olds, although 3-month-olds showed slower latencies on all trials. Furthermore, long-looking infants were not consistently slower, but rather showed greater variability in their response latencies under conditions that required disengagement of fixation. The results support the position that developmental and individual differences in look duration are linked to the development of the neural attentional systems that control the ability to disengage, or inhibit, visual fixation.     

Online versus traditional classroom instruction: an examination of developmental English courses at an Alabama community college

A study was conducted at a community college in northeast Alabama to determine how the format of developmental English courses impacted student withdrawal rates and final grades. The two course formats examined were online/hybrid and face-to-face courses. Data were obtained from a 4-semester time frame: fall 2012, spring 2013, summer 2013, and fall 2013. It was determined that students enrolled in the online course were far more likely to withdraw from the course or attain a nonpassing, nontransferable grade than their counterparts who chose the face-to-face course format. The researchers found similar results to larger studies at community colleges in Virginia and the state of Washington.