79,252 research outputs found
E-exams and exam process improvement
While many tasks concerning the interaction between students and learning institutions have been successfully digitized, high-stakes examinations remain mainly a traditional paper-based process in most Norwegian learning institutions. A large scale shift towards e-exams can however be expected during the next 5-10 years, based on a number of perceived benefits of digital exams over paper-based exams. From a pedagogical perspective it is important to avoid a too narrow focus on e-exams mainly as a means to save money by making the examination and grading process more efficient, but rather as a possibility for more fundamental process and quality improvement. This paper analyzes what improvements might be possible, and what requirements this would entail for the e-exam system
Quality Improvement for Well Child Care
Presented to the Faculty
of University of Alaska Anchorage
in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements
for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCEThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Bright Futures (BF) guidelines for well child care
were designed to provide quality pediatric care. Adherence to AAP-BF guidelines improves:
screenings, identification of developmental delay, immunization rates, and early identification of
children with special healthcare needs. The current guideline set is comprehensive and includes
thirty one well child exams, thirty three universal screening exams and one hundred seventeen
selective screening exams. Many providers have difficulty meeting all guideline requirements
and are at risk of committing Medicaid fraud if a well exam is coded and requirements are not
met. The goal of this quality improvement project was to design open source and adaptable
templates for each pediatric age group to improve provider adherence to the BF guidelines. A
Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) quality improvement model was used to implement the project.
Templates were created for ages twelve months to eighteen years and disseminated to a pilot
clinic in Anchorage, Alaska. The providers were given pre-implementation and postimplementation
surveys to determine the efficacy and usefulness of the templates. Templates
were determined to be useful and efficient means in providing Bright Futures focused well child
care. The templates are in the process of being disseminated on a large scale to assist other
providers in meeting BF guideline requirements.Title Page / Table of Contents / List of Tables / List of Appendices / Abstract / Introduction / Background / Clinical Significance / Current Clinical Practice / Research Question / Literature Review / Framework: Evidence Based Practice Model/ Ethical Considerations and Institutional Review Board / Methods / Implementation Barriers / Findings / Discussion / Disseminatio
Stakes Increase for End of Course Exams in 2009-10
As of the 2009-10 academic year, high school students in Arkansas will be required to pass socalled “End of Course” (or “EOC”) examinations in Algebra I, Biology, Geometry, and English. Students who fail to meet the requisite passing standard will be required to retake the class or to pass “an appropriate alternative exit course in order to receive credit for the course on his or her transcript and in order to graduate.” In other words, these four EOC tests will become high school exit exams. Thus, as of 2009-10, Arkansas will join some 23 other states that have high school exit exams
A Multiple Regression Analysis of Personality’s Impact on Actuarial Exam Performance
Existing literature indicates that there is some connection between personality and both academic and work-related performance. The author\u27s intent for the research described herein is to explore this connection for students majoring in actuarial mathematics with regard to their performance on actuarial certification exams. Specifically, using the five-factor model of personality, the author seeks to predict the number of attempts required to pass the first two exams in the process (Exam 1/P - probability; Exam 2/FM - financial mathematics) using measures of the five dimensions of the five-factor model (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) through regression analysis. The author also examined the same variables’ effect on a binary passing indicator. The sample consists of 100 actuarial mathematics majors at three universities in southern New England. Although the results are not conclusive, it appears that conscientiousness correlates positively with performance and neuroticism correlates negatively with performance. In the future, the author suggests research with a larger sample size and an examination of non-linear relationships
Writing Assignments with a Metacognitive Component Enhance Learning in a Large Introductory Biology Course
Writing assignments, including note taking and written recall, should enhance retention of knowledge, whereas analytical writing tasks with metacognitive aspects should enhance higher-order thinking. In this study, we assessed how certain writing-intensive “interventions,” such as written exam corrections and peer-reviewed writing assignments using Calibrated Peer Review and including a metacognitive component, improve student learning. We designed and tested the possible benefits of these approaches using control and experimental variables across and between our three-section introductory biology course. Based on assessment, students who corrected exam questions showed significant improvement on postexam assessment compared with their nonparticipating peers. Differences were also observed between students participating in written and discussion-based exercises. Students with low ACT scores benefited equally from written and discussion-based exam corrections, whereas students with midrange to high ACT scores benefited more from written than discussion-based exam corrections. Students scored higher on topics learned via peer-reviewed writing assignments relative to learning in an active classroom discussion or traditional lecture. However, students with low ACT scores (17–23) did not show the same benefit from peer-reviewed written essays as the other students. These changes offer significant student learning benefits with minimal additional effort by the instructors
Improving performance in quantum mechanics with explicit incentives to correct mistakes
An earlier investigation found that the performance of advanced students in a
quantum mechanics course did not automatically improve from midterm to final
exam on identical problems even when they were provided the correct solutions
and their own graded exams. Here, we describe a study, which extended over four
years, in which upper-level undergraduate students in a quantum physics course
were given four identical problems in both the midterm exam and final exam.
Approximately half of the students were given explicit incentives to correct
their mistakes in the midterm exam. In particular, they could get back up to
50\% of the points lost on each midterm exam problem. The solutions to the
midterm exam problems were provided to all students in both groups but those
who corrected their mistakes were provided the solution after they submitted
their corrections to the instructor. The performance on the same problems on
the final exam suggests that students who were given incentives to correct
their mistakes significantly outperformed those who were not given an
incentive. The incentive to correct the mistakes had greater impact on the
final exam performance of students who had not performed well on the midterm
exam.Comment: accepted for publication Physical Review Physics Education Research
in 2016, 20 pages, PACS: 01.40Fk,01.40.gb,01.40G-, Keywords: physics
education research, learning from mistakes, pedagogy, quantum mechanics,
teaching, learnin
Active-Learning Methods to Improve Student Performance and Scientific Interest in a Large Introductory Course
Teaching methods that are often recommended to improve the learning environment in college science courses include cooperative learning, adding inquiry-based activities to traditional lectures, and engaging students in projects or investigations. Two questions often surround these efforts: 1) can these methods be used in large classes; and 2) how do we know that they are increasing student learning? This study, from the University of Massachusetts, describes how education researchers have transformed the environment of a large-enrollment oceanography course (600 students) by modifying lectures to include cooperative learning via interactive in-class exercises and directed discussion. Assessments were redesigned as "two-stage" exams with a significant collaborative component. Results of student surveys, course evaluations, and exam performance demonstrate that learning of the subject under these conditions has improved. Student achievement shows measurable and statistically significant increases in information recall, analytical skills, and quantitative reasoning. There is evidence from both student surveys and student interview comments that for the majority of students, the course increased their interest in science -- a difficult effect to achieve with this population. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, Graduate or professional
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