Rhetoric Versus Reality in Educational Reform: The Case of the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative     

Kathryn M. Borman  Bridget Cotner  M. Yvette Baber  Theodore Boydston  William Katzenmeyer  Gladis Kersaint  Jeffrey Kromrey  Reginald Lee  Kazawaki Uekawa 《Journal of Educational Change》2004,5(3):249-266

In this paper, we present findings from a study assessing the impact of reforms on mathematics and science instruction to illustrate the multiple levels at which educational change must occur to promote student achievement and close achievement gaps. We undertake an analysis of the extent to which the rhetoric of national policy, in this case, the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative, matches the realities of the day-to-day classroom practices we evaluated in our study. Addressed here is the problem of how applied anthropologists can broaden the scope of research and research findings from the edges of the societal mainstream to address larger policy issues. More globally, we discuss the influence of contemporary applied anthropologists and their colleagues who study marginalized groups on educational research.  相似文献   

Learner preferences and prior knowledge in learner-controlled computer-based instruction     

Theodore J. Kopcha  Howard Sullivan 《Educational technology research and development : ETR & D》2008,56(3):265-286

This study examined the effects of prior knowledge, learner preference for control, and type of control (learner or program) on the achievement of middle-school students in a computer-based instructional program on adding and subtracting integers. Students were blocked by preference-for-control scores and randomly assigned to either a learner-control or program-control version of instruction. A significant three-way interaction (prior knowledge × preference scores × type of control) revealed that students with high prior knowledge achieved better on the posttest when their preference for control was matched with the type of control they received, whereas students with low prior knowledge achieved better when their preference was mismatched. A significant three-way interaction on attitude reflected the same pattern found in the interaction for achievement scores. The overall results indicate that matching learner preference to the type of program they receive is an effective strategy for high-prior-knowledge students but not for those with low prior knowledge.

Howard SullivanEmail:

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Critical realist review: exploring the real,beyond the empirical     

Alison Edgley  Theodore Stickley  Stephen Timmons  Andy Meal 《Journal of Further & Higher Education》2016,40(3):316-330

This article defines the ‘critical realist review’, a literature-based methodological approach to critical analysis of health care studies (or any discipline charged with social interventions) that is robust, insightful and essential for the complexities of twenty-first century evidence-based health and social care. We argue that this approach, underpinned by a critical realist philosophy and methodology, will facilitate students and researchers to employ relevant theoretical insights from a range of disciplines that have necessary contributions to make to our understanding of health and social care practice and provision. We explore the limitations of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and the systematic review for informing evidence-based health and social care. The article also offers some suggestions on method, although, as we argue, the approach deliberately eschews a ‘cookbook’ approach. A glossary of terms is provided in the Appendix.  相似文献   

New Trends in Distance Learning Utilising Next Generation Multimedia Networks     

Theodore Zahariadis  Stamatios Voliotis 《Education and Information Technologies》2003,8(1):67-81

Bandwidth capabilities of next generation networks have turned interactive multimedia services to a cost effective reality, targeting not only large companies, but SMEs and individual users as well. An application with direct social impact is tele-teaching and in the broader sense distance learning. A large numbers of colleges, universities, and other higher education institutions already offer online courses to their local and remote students, via new methods of education. In this paper, combining the WWW, the H.323/MPEG-4 protocol family and the CORBA model, we specify an open system and network architecture towards the Virtual Classroom realisation. Over this architecture an educational process is described using formal Object Modelling Technique (OMT) rules, while educational services are provided as methods of distributed objects. In this way, a framework is proposed in order to allow educational institutes to publish content in an abstract object-oriented manner, so as to become widely available via the well-known WWW interface.  相似文献   

The effect of grouping of laboratory students on selected educational outcomes     

Frances Lawrenz  Theodore W. Munch 《科学教学研究杂志》1984,21(7):699-708

The purpose of this study was to discover if grouping students in the laboratory on the basis of their formal reasoning ability affected (1) their science content achievement, (2) their formal reasoning ability, (3) the learning environment in the laboratory, and (4) the relationships between individuals in a particular group. The laboratory groups for three physical science classes for preservice elementary teachers were arranged as follows: (1) one class with students of unequal reasoning ability grouped together, i.e., one highly developed formal reasoner per group (the heterogeneous group), (2) one class with students of similar reasoning ability grouped together (the homogeneous group), and (3) one class arranged in groups according to the desires of the class members (the student choice group). The three classes were compared using pre-and post-scores on content and formal reasoning instruments and scores for classroom environment and social relationships. Results indicated that the groupings as described had significantly different effects on science content achievement but not on any of the other questions posed above. The students in the class with laboratory teams grouped by student choice had significantly lower science content scores than the students in the classes with teams formed using either the heterogeneous or homogeneous grouping procedures. The difference between the heterogeneously and homogeneously grouped classes was not significant at the 0.05 level.  相似文献   

Educational reform and the educational psychologist: Another perspective     

Theodore J. Kowalski 《Educational Psychology Review》1990,2(3):277-280

In responding to the work of Benton and Hoyt, Kowalski argues that an adequate analysis of reform efforts is incomplete without an examination of underlying purposes. Questions are raised regarding the motives of those who promote extended teacher education programs and the Carnegie Forum proposal for national certification. The author suggests that educational psychologists can contribute to reform efforts by helping to explore values, beliefs, motivations, and needs as they relate to change proposals in teacher education.  相似文献   

Towards Artistry: A Critique of the HRD Performance Paradigm and a Suggested New Model     

Theodore Lewis 《Performance Improvement Quarterly》2005,18(2):56-75

ABSTRACT This article critiques the performance approach to HRD and proposes a new model that takes into account the deep complexities inherent in the human transaction of work. In critically examining the dominant performance paradigm, meanings of work are examined, illustrating that the desire to work extends beyond extrinsic considerations. That work and working need to be problematized and made the basis of inquiry within HRD is explored. Social exchange theory is drawn upon to explain how employees can become impelled to exercise the discretion to engage in creative behaviors that can redound to the benefit of their organizations. The proposed model is premised upon two variables, namely impetus for training and purpose of training. Impetus for training is on a continuum from individual to organization. Purpose of training is on a continuum from intrinsic to instrumental. Of the four approaches to HRD suggested by the model, the type that is bounded by intrinsically driven purpose and focused upon the developmental needs of the individual is suggested as being most likely to prompt worker artistry.  相似文献   

Creating research culture in Caribbean universities     

Theodore Lewis  Lynette Simmons 《International Journal of Educational Development》2010

Recent expansion of tertiary education in the Caribbean via the creation of two new universities invites reflection on what impedes the creation of research culture, and what enables it. We contend that research culture in the Caribbean comes up against the strictures of post-colonial dependence, university education in the region being largely a one-way traffic of ideas from metropolitan centers to island peripheries. To offset this, we call for change both in the external environments in which the universities are set, and their internal environments, within which the ethos of inquiry must become commonplace. Demand for research knowledge has to be cultivated throughout the Caribbean. Accordingly, we call for collaborative approaches between university communities and the various publics they serve, to find and solve problems that can lead to the improvement of well being.  相似文献   

An intensification approach to double-block algebra: A pilot implementation of Intensified Algebra in a large urban school district     

Simon T. Tidd  Timothy M. Stoelinga  Angela M. Bush-Richards  Donna L. De Sena  Theodore J. Dwyer 《The Journal of educational research》2018,111(1):95-107

Double-block instruction has become a popular strategy for supporting struggling mathematics students in algebra I. Despite its widespread adoption, little consistent evidence supports the attributes of a successful double-block design or the effectiveness of this instructional strategy. In this study, the authors examine a pilot implementation of a double-block strategy—instantiated in the program Intensified Algebra—that combines core algebra content with insights from research on how students learn mathematics and explicit noncognitive supports focused on key attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors essential to student success. The results of the study show that, when implemented with fidelity, participation in the program significantly increased student achievement on the state end-of-course algebra I assessment.  相似文献   

A protocol for measuring the direct effect of cycling on neuromuscular control of running in triathletes     

Andrew R. Chapman  Bill Vicenzino  Paul W. Hodges  Peter Blanch  Allan G. Hahn  Theodore E. Milner 《Journal of sports sciences》2013,31(7):767-782

Abstract

The direct effects of cycling on movement and muscle recruitment patterns (neuromuscular control) during running are unknown but critical to success in triathlon. We outline and test a new protocol for investigating the direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running. Leg movement (three-dimensional kinematics) and muscle recruitment (surface electromyography, EMG) were compared between a control run (no prior exercise) and a 30-min transition run that was preceded by 20 min of cycling. We conducted three experiments investigating: (a) the repeatability (between-day reliability) of the protocol; (b) the ability of the protocol to investigate, in highly trained national or international triathletes, the direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running independent of neuromuscular fatigue; and (c) the ability of the protocol to provide a control, or baseline, measure of neuromuscular control (determined using a measure of stability) without causing fatigue. Kinematic and EMG measures of neuromuscular control during running showed moderate to high repeatability: mean coefficients of multiple correlation for repeatability of EMG and kinematics were 0.816 ± 0.014 and 0.911 ± 0.031, respectively. The protocol provided a robust baseline measure of neuromuscular control during running without causing neuromuscular fatigue (coefficients of multiple correlation for stability of EMG and kinematics were 0.827 ± 0.023 and 0.862 ± 0.054), while EMG and force data provided no evidence of fatigue. The protocol outlined here is repeatable and can be used to measure any direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running.  相似文献