Effectiveness of Essentials for College Math as a High School Transitional Course

Statistics on the number of students who leave high school underprepared for postsecondary education, and have to take remedial coursework upon entrance to college vary, but, unfortunately, for at least the last 10 years, these statistics have remained high. This study examined the effectiveness of one transitional high school math curriculum called Essentials for College Math and its impact on 887 students in the state of North Carolina for the 2014-2015 academic year. The results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant improvement seen in pre- and post-test scores of students that completed the course. There was also a statistically significant difference that existed on post-test scores depending on where students scored on a pre-test. A statistically significant improvement, additionally, was seen among students who achieved the proficiency level following the Essentials for College Math course compared to those who were already at the proficiency level prior to taking the course. This study will add to an emerging body of literature surrounding the topic of effectiveness of transitional coursework in high schools

Policy opportunities

Recommendations are given regarding National Science Foundation (NSF) astronomy programs and the NASA Space Astrophysics program. The role of ground based astronomy is reviewed. The role of National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) in ground-based night-time astronomical research is discussed. An enhanced Explored Program, costs and management of small and moderate space programs, the role of astrophysics within NASA's space exploration initiative, suborbital and airborne astronomical research, the problems of the Hubble Space Telescope, and astronomy education are discussed. Also covered are policy issues related to the role of science advisory committees, international cooperation and competition, archiving and distribution of astronomical data, and multi-wavelength observations of variable sources

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing

Semper floreat

Title varies: Gamut; Time off: Semper; The press. Numbering system very erratic

Experiment at Nebraska The First Two Years of a Cluster College

In November 1968 the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska was asked to react to a document coming from a faculty-student committee charged with examining the feasibility of establishing an innovating college on the Lincoln campus. It attempted to spell out the need for such innovation, and it offered a plan for fulfilling the need that it delineated. This is that document: 1 Within the past generation a new kind of student, a new kind of faculty, and a new kind of university have developed. To meet the challenges which these changes present and to provide for an educational and national future whose nature is unforseeable, many persons have concluded that there is a need for experiments in university curriculum and organization. The purpose of such endeavors should be a graduate who is sharply aware of himself, his society, and his world, able and desirous of continuing his liberal and professional education beyond the classroom. The New Students Students who come to the University are different from those who came twenty years ago.! A larger number of high school graduates choose to enroll than before and, of those who come, a larger number graduate. Though the numbers are greater, their quality is not inferior often. Television and other instruments of mass communication have provided them with astonishing funds of miscellaneous information, some of it inaccurate, much of it irrelevant, and part of it useful. In addition, many have traveled widely. The new students come to us with new formal preparation. High school science programs have been set up by distinguished scientists, the new math has become widespread-and public school English has undergone elaborate revision. In the future, advanced placement programs promise to change drastically the relation of entering students to the University. Perhaps more important, the temper of the undergraduates seems to be changing. The students have learned to react quickly to situations far from home ground, and echoes of Vietnam and Berkeley can be heard in Lincoln. In some universities the students have not hesitated to bite the hand that presumes to feed them, and generally students are becoming increasingly critical of their courses, professors, and colleges. They complain that universities have made them numbers on IBM cards, anonymous to teachers and advisers, and a gray mass to their administrators. They resent a lack of individual attention. For the past two years-at least responsible students through their official channels (e.g. ASUN [Associated Students of University of Nebraska]) have undertaken to scrutinize university programs. It is significant that the disgruntled students are not the weakest. The most critical are often the brightest, the most committed socially, and the most responsible morally. The best seem to be the most critical

Crisis in the IS Field? A Critical Reflection on the State of the Discipline

This paper explores the issue of whether the field of IS is in crisis. To do so, the paper first starts by looking back on where the field has come from. Next, it assesses the status of the IS field by exploring where the field is now. That our current status remains a ¡®fragmented adhocracy¡¯ suggests the field may indeed be in crisis or headed for a crisis. This is compounded by the fact that there are two different views on the state of the IS field, each posing its own set of threats. One is the external view of the community (the view of IS from outside the academic field); the other is the internal view (the view from inside the IS community). By analyzing these two views, a better understanding of the problems the field faces emerges. In the next part of the paper, some thoughts are presented on where might the field go from here for overcoming its internal communication deficit. The paper proposes four different types of knowledge for structuring an IS Body of Knowledge (BoK) and following on from that, the value of creating a common BoK for the field. Lastly, the implications arising from the paper¡¯s analysis are explored. More specifically, the paper considers various options that are available for overcoming the internal communications deficit the IS field faces. These include changing the way the field thinks about generalizations, changing the institutional publication practices, focusing more on understanding the field¡¯s organizational stakeholders, and developing new knowledge creation and transformation networks. If IS as a field can overcome its internal communications deficits, it might ultimately contribute to the societal challenge of developing a deliberative cyber democracy and thereby help to address the social communication deficit which is a feature of modern mass societies

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing.Business cycles; Ideology; Science; Voting; Welfare measurement

The Effect of Aleks on Students\u27 Mathematics Achievement in an Online Learning Environment and the Cognitive Complexity of the Initial and Final Assessments

For many courses, mathematics included, there is an associated interactive e-learning system that provides assessment and tutoring. Some of these systems are classified as Intelligent Tutoring Systems. MyMathLab, Mathzone, and Assessment of LEarning in Knowledge Space (ALEKS) are just a few of the interactive e-learning systems in mathematics. In ALEKS, assessment and tutoring are based on the Knowledge Space Theory. Previous studies in a traditional learning environment have shown ALEKS users to perform equally or better in mathematics achievement than the group who did not use ALEKS. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of ALEKS on students’ achievement in mathematics in an online learning environment and to determine the cognitive complexity of mathematical tasks enacted by ALEKS’s initial (pretest) and final (posttest) assessments. The targeted population for this study was undergraduate students in College Mathematics I, in an online course at a private university in the southwestern United States. The study used a quasi-experimental One-Group non-randomized pretest and posttest design. Five methods of analysis and one model were used in analyzing data: t-test, correctional analysis, simple and multiple regression analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test and Webb’s depth of knowledge model. A t-test showed a difference between the pretest and posttest reports, meaning ALEKS had a significant effect on students’ mathematics achievement. The correlation analysis showed a significant positive linear relationship between the concept mastery reports and the formative and summative assessments reports meaning there is a direct relationship between the ALEKS concept mastery and the assessments. The regression equation showed a better model for predicting mathematics achievement with ALEKS when the time spent learning in ALEKS and the concept mastery scores are used as part of the model. According to Webb’s depth of knowledge model, the cognitive complexity of the pretest and posttest question items used by ALEKS were as follows: 50.5% required application of skills and concepts, 37.1% required recall of information, and 12.4% required strategic thinking: None of the questions items required extended thinking or complex reasoning, implying ALEKS is appropriate for skills and concepts building at this level of mathematics