Comparing the Effectiveness of Closed-Notes Quizzes With Open-notes Quizzes: Blending Constructivist Principles With Action Research to Improve Student Learning.

Implementing the philosophy that students wishing to be teachers must actively experience the practices they may implement themselves, a college professor embarked upon an active research project which explored student perceptions regarding the effectiveness of different quiz platforms. Action research, a cyclic process implemented by teachers for teachers, is inquiry conducted within the everyday context of the classroom. Action research is a practice which generates knowledge for improving learning and teaching, and as a tool for generating knowledge, it must be guided by a framework focusing on the creation of knowledge. The Constructivist philosophy is such a framework, and the instructor implemented it in this research. Using Constructivist activities such as classifying data, creating themes, looking for disequilibrium, creating relationships between data, creating frameworks and theories to describe and explain the data, the instructor and his students were able to explore the effectiveness of closed-notes quizzes and open-notes quizzes. This exploration resulted in a new instructional delivery construct for the instructor; in this new scheme active processing was not only the driving force behind quizzes, but also a force for implementing creativity, the integrated curriculum, and assessment

On the development of students’ attitudes towards corruption and cheating in Russian universities

Based on empirical data from selected public universities in Khabarovsk, Russia, this paper compares first and fifth year students regarding their attitudes towards corruption in general and university corruption in particular. Even after making both groups of students comparable with respect to a range of socio-economic characteristics by a matching approach, the results suggest that fifth year students are more open to a range of informal and corrupt practices than first years. Our analysis therefore points to the possibility that the Russian higher education system might ‘favor’ compliance with corruption and informal practices, with potentially detrimental consequences for the Russian society as a whole

Investigating the variables in a mock exam study session designed to improve student exam performance in an undergraduate behavior modification and therapy course

The purpose of the present study was to identify components of an optional mock exam review session (e.g. requiring students to write answers, providing students grading keys for questions) responsible for improvements in student performance on application-based short-essay exams in an undergraduate behavior modification course. Both within-subject and across-groups comparisons were made across three studies within the larger investigation. The primary dependent variable across studies was student accuracy on exam questions. Additional measures of extra credit earned, class attendance, mock exam attendance, and entering GPA were also gathered and analyzed using correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. Students attending mock exam sessions scored higher on exams than students who did not. Students did not score higher when required to write answers versus when not required to write answers. Students also did not score higher when required to discuss a question versus when asked to listen to the GTA discuss a question. A package of components involving discussion, evaluation, and correction of a sample answer to a question produced superior performance over providing students with copies of study materials about a question. Student GPA entering the course, number of mock exams attended, and amount of extra credit earned were significantly predictive of final grade earned in the course, but attendance at lectures was not significantly predictive

Attitudes of and Behaviors Towards Academic Integrity Between Community College Students Who Enroll in Online Courses Versus Traditional Courses

Advances in technology have allowed educators to use new methods for delivering education, students are finding new ways to leverage technology to learn, and online course enrollments are growing at a faster rate than traditional face-to-face courses. Using McCabe\u27s Academic Integrity Survey, data was collected from over 1,700 students enrolled in online or traditional, face-to-face courses at a large Midwestern community college during the fall of 2008. The purpose of this study was to examine whether differences in the self-reported attitudes and behaviors toward academic integrity exist between community college students enrolled in online courses and those in traditional, face-to-face learning environments. In addition, this study sought to determine whether the students\u27 level of awareness of the institutional policies related to academic integrity and ratings of the academic integrity climate impacted students\u27 self-reported cheating behaviors and perceived severity of those cheating behaviors and if it differed among students between the two learning environments. Using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a five-factor model was developed and used to compare attitudes and behaviors toward academic integrity between the two learning environments. The results of the research did not reveal significant differences between the learning environments when examining the attitudes and behaviors of student cheating but they did reveal that online students were more apprised of the college\u27s academic integrity policy and rated the Academic Integrity Climate higher than students enrolled in traditional, face-to-face courses

The Institutional Staging of an Examination

This study employs the dramaturgical approach to the staging of examinations. In focusing on the staging we attempt to convey the university definition of the exam as well as the means by which institutionally desired moods and actions are communicated to students. Through the use of space, props, equipment, and human actors the university stresses the larger societal values of universalism and individual achievement. In so doing the university develops a "rhetoric of idealization" to compensate for the inevitable discrepancies in fairness and equality of treatment.Cette étude part de l'aspect théâtral qui entoure l'organisation des examens. En fixant notre attention sur la mise en scène qui la caractérise, nous tâchons de montrer ce qu'est un examen pour l'université et par quels moyens l'institution transmet aux étudiants l'état d'esprit et les attitudes qu'elle désire obtenir. Par l'utilisation qu'elle fait de l'espace, des accessoires, de l'équipement et de ses acteurs, l'université met l'accent sur les grandes valeurs sociales que sont l'universalisme et la réussite individuelle. Ce faisant, l'université encourage chez l'étudiant une "rhétorique de l'idéalisation" dont le but est de compenser une utilisation de la justice et de l'égalité inévitablement pleine de contradictions

The Feasibility of Protecting Residential Structures from Wildfires using a Fixed Exterior Fire Fighting System

A performance-based design approach was applied to quantify wildfire exposures for residences and to design an automatic fixed fire-fighting compressed foam system for protecting such structures

Risk management : a CPA\u27s toolkit for a changing environment

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1614/thumbnail.jp

Academic dishonesty: a study in the magnitude of and justifications for academic dishonesty among college undergraduate and graduate students

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the degree to which college undergraduate and graduate students cheat as well as to examine if the justifications for cheating differed amongst these groups. Cheating behavior scores and justifications for engaging in academically dishonest behavior scores were obtained from 138 college undergraduate and graduate students through the use of a survey. One-way analysis of variance revealed a significant difference between the underclassmen, upperclassmen, and graduate students group reporting cheating behaviors. Post hoc tests revealed that underclassmen reported significantly higher levels of cheating than upperclassmen and graduate students. Graduate students were found to cheat significantly less than college upperclassmen. Scores on the justification scale were obtained and a significant difference was found between the groups. Post hoc tests revealed that college underclassmen and upperclassmen reported significantly higher justification scores. Pearson correlation results indicated that as class standing increases, the prevalence of cheating behaviors and level of justifications for those behaviors decreased significantly