Facilitating flexible learning by replacing classroom time with an online learning environment: A systematic review of blended learning in higher education

Higher education institutions are trying to provide more flexibility and individualization, which is mainly realized through the use of new technologies and implemented in online or blended learning designs. This systematic review aims to investigate the impact of replacing classroom time with an online learning environment. The meta-analysis (k = 21 effect sizes) applied strict inclusion criteria concerning research design, measurement of learning outcomes and implementation of blended learning. The estimated effect size (Hedge's g) was positive, although not significantly different from zero and the confidence interval [-0.13, 0.25], suggesting that overall differences between blended and conventional classroom learning are small, and, at best, very small negative or moderate positive effects are plausible. This means that despite a reduction in classroom time between 30 and 79 per cent, equivalent learning outcomes were found. Consequently, blended learning with reduced classroom time is not systematically more or less effective than conventional classroom learning.     

‘Teaching’ the path towards university: understanding student access through storied-futures and meritocratic grand narratives

The notion that the stories of our lives shape dispositions towards imagined futures is another lens through which university underrepresentation should be viewed. A storied lens attends to how futures, like university attendance, are storied during childhood to the extent that some youth imagine, and therefore plan, these futures as natural progression. Such was the case for study participants, indicating that childhood stories contain answers for mitigating social reproduction connected to parental education and cultural forces within the home. Examining social mobility through the underexplored storied-futures grand narrative presents unique solutions that lay hidden within the dominant meritocratic grand narrative.     

Breaking Down Barriers for Student Parents and Caregivers with Family-Friendly Library Spaces

Abstract

In 2016, J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte opened a reservable study room where student parents and caregivers can study with their children on campus. In 2018, the library opened a second family-friendly study room to meet the needs of our growing campus community. To inform the room design, the library conducted a mixed methods research study that included a user survey, an examination of room reservation and usage data, and one-on-one user interviews. This paper focuses on the user-centered design process used to inform the development of the second, family-friendly, library study room.     

汇川H2U系列PLC之间RS-485通信的实现

主要研究了汇川公司H2U可编程控制器(PLC)的通信技术,实现了两个H2U系列PLC之间基于RS-485的通信,并详细介绍了PLC之间通信的硬件连接方式、通信串口参数配置、触摸屏画面的设计以及程序实现。所讨论的方法已在采用H2U PLC及辅助设备组建的"运动控制系统"课程的教学实验平台上进行了验证,可以拓展应用于多台H2U PLC之间以及其他设备与H2U PLC之间的RS-485通信实现,对工程应用具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Evaluating the international dimension in an undergraduate curriculum by assessing students’ intercultural sensitivity

This formative, outcome-oriented, theory-based evaluation research study assessed the effectiveness of requiring an international (‘I’) course by measuring students’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) at the start and end of a semester. Findings revealed that students’ IS scores did not change regardless of the type of class in which the student was enrolled and were not significantly different based on gender, age, ethnicity, undergraduate classification, or number of ‘I’ courses taken. There were significant differences in IS based on religion, traveling outside the US, participating in a study abroad course, and the number of cultural events in which the student had participated. Regression analysis confirmed that religious affiliation and number of times traveled outside the US were significant predictors of IS. This study is an example of the use of theory-based evaluation in an educational system and provides important insights into what experiences affect college students’ IS.     

Dealing with disagreement: The roles of topic familiarity and disagreement explanation in evaluation of conflicting expert claims and sources

Learners may increasingly encounter conflicting expert reports. However, little is known about how they deal with this challenge. We examined how learners' familiarity with a controversial historical topic affects their epistemic judgments of conflicting expert claims and sources, the interplay of their claim and source evaluation strategies, and their meta-epistemic understanding of the legitimacy of the disagreement (absolutist, multiplist, and evaluativist perspectives). In two studies, topic familiarity increased agreement with belief-consistent expert claims and the perceived trustworthiness of the expert who presented these claims. Topic familiarity also impacted the coordination of evaluation strategies and led to greater reliance on knowledge-based validation. However, topic familiarity did not affect meta-epistemic understanding of the legitimacy of the controversy. In the second study, reading an explanation about reasons for disagreements between historians resulted in higher evaluativism. Teaching about expert disagreement may be a productive approach for promoting appreciation of the diversity of knowledge.     

Digital Module 05: Diagnostic Measurement—The G‐DINA Framework https://ncme.elevate.commpartners.com

In this ITEMS module, we introduce the generalized deterministic inputs, noisy “and” gate (G‐DINA) model, which is a general framework for specifying, estimating, and evaluating a wide variety of cognitive diagnosis models. The module contains a nontechnical introduction to diagnostic measurement, an introductory overview of the G‐DINA model, as well as common special cases, and a review of model‐data fit evaluation practices within this framework. We use the flexible GDINA R package, which is available for free within the R environment and provides a user‐friendly graphical interface in addition to the code‐driven layer. The digital module also contains videos of worked examples, solutions to data activity questions, curated resources, a glossary, and quizzes with diagnostic feedback.     

提升高职足球教学训练水平的路径研究

作为一项历史悠久的运动,足球运动深受全民喜爱,有着广泛的扩展范围和巨大的影响力。近些年来,高职院校的足球教学取得一定的进步和发展,对于学生身体素质的锻炼起到积极的促进作用。然而,进步并不等同于完美,高职院校的足球教学仍然存在诸多问题,要想提升足球训练水平,必须要解决这些问题,创新教学思想,改善训练方式,保证足球教学的规范性、科学性、系统性,使足球训练具备的提升学生身体协调性的作用充分发挥出来。基于此,本文就如何提升高职足球教学训练水平进行论述。     

高职医学院校排球课程的现状研究--以福建省四所高职医学院校为例

通过文献资料法、问卷调查法、数理统计法、访谈法等研究方法,对福建省4所高职医学院校的排球课程的现状进行调查分析。研究表明:福建省高职医学院校的排球课程要进一步完善课程设置,加强医体融合的建设,教师要优化教学方法和手段,提高排球课程的吸引力。同时,各高职医学院校应正确认识排球课程改革和发展的影响因素,进一步提升排球课程在人才培养和专业建设中的作用。