26,516 research outputs found

    Alternative Pathways to High School Graduation: An International Comparison

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    Evaluates alternative pathways to high school graduation -- such as school- or employment-based technical or vocational training programs -- in different countries, in terms of content, graduation requirements, inclusiveness, and outcomes

    Doctrina perpetua: brokering change, promoting innovation and transforming marginalisation in university learning and teaching [Editors introduction]

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    Doctrina perpetuaā€”translated variously as ā€œforever learningā€ (Cryle, 1992, p. 27), ā€œlifelong learningā€ and ā€œlifelong educationā€ā€”is the Latin motto of Central Queensland University (CQU), an Australian regional university with campuses in Central Queensland and the metropolitan and provincial cities of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney and with centres in China, Fiji, Hong Kong and Singapore. During its early development the institution was small and regional; in many ways it was an institution at the margins of higher education. For only a third of its 40-year life has it been recognised as a university. However, the vision of both its founders and its continuing staff has been that of an institution that actively brokers change, promotes innovation and seeks to transform marginalisationā€” for students, for its community and for itself. Its short life on the edge of the universe of higher education has promoted a culture of innovation and an acceptance that change is a necessary and positive aspect of life on the edge. Embracing change, CQU has become a complex institution, a notion well expressed in a speech in August 1999 by former Vice-Chancellor Lauchlan Chipman on Visioning Our Future: I have often remarked that I do not see CQU as ā€œthe last university of the old millenniumā€ but rather as ā€œthe first university of the new millenniumā€. One of our greatest strengths in making the transition is our relative immaturity as a university. The more mature a university, especially if it is successful, the less agile it is when it comes to the need to change. So far as the future of universities and change is concerned, my position is unequivocally Heraclitean: change is the only thing that is permanent. Applying to itself the motto ā€œdoctrina perpetuaā€ over its short life, the agile University has become a ā€œcomplex and diverse organisationā€ (Danaher, Harreveld, Luck & Nouwens, 2004, p. 13). This overview of CQU seeks to provide readers with a short description of the current state of the institution and the story of its development to provide a context for understanding the chapters that follow, and to assist readers to reflect on how these developments at CQU relate to higher education generally, and to the universities with which they are more familiar

    1st INCF Workshop on Needs for Training in Neuroinformatics

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    The INCF workshop on Needs for Training in Neuroinformatics was organized by the INCF National Node of the UK. The scope of the workshop was to provide as overview of the current state of neuroinformatics training and recommendations for future provision of training. The report presents a summary of the workshop discussions and recommendations to the INCF

    Promoting transfer and an integrated understanding for pre-service teachers of technology education

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    The ability of pre-service teachers (PSTs) to transfer learning between subjects and contexts when problem solving is critical for developing their capability as technologists and teachers of technology. However, a growing body of literature suggests this ability is often assumed or over-estimated, and rarely developed explicitly within courses or degree programmes. The nature of the problems tackled within technology are such that solutions draw upon knowledge from a wide range of contexts and subjects, however, the internal organization and structure of institutions and schools tends to compartmentalize rather integrate these. Providing a knowledge base and strategies to enhance PSTsā€™ awareness of and skills in transferring knowledge may allow for a more integrated understanding to develop. The importance of developing this ability to transfer knowledge is heightened as PSTs will, in turn, be responsible for developing the similar capabilities of their future students. This paper begins by considering problem solving in technology education and some of the issues associated with learning transfer. Thereafter, a framework and strategy for better integrating learning between courses is described and forms the basis for developments in an initial teacher education degree programme for technology education. Provisional data from evaluations and PSTsā€™ work indicated a positive effect in enhancing their thinking and additional data collected in the form of questionnaires, interviews and course work further illuminate this finding. It is argued that the development framework and approach enhances PSTsā€™ mental models of teaching technology and offers a significant step forward in promoting skills in the transfer of future learning between subjects; something increasingly critical for 21st century STEM Education

    Forming Linguistic Competence of Foreign Students at the Preparatory Department of a Technical University

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    The article describes the technique developed by the authors to organize classroom lessons and independent work for foreign learners studying in Russian at the Preparatory department of a technical university. At the classroom lessons in Mathematics students worked with five types of tasks: sample tasks; text analysis; micro essay; model task; mastering mathematical symbols. During the independent work in the study of Mathematics, foreign students performed tests and teamwork tasks placed on the platform Moodle. We have carried out the experiments, which showed that the technique of organizing classroom lessons and independent work, developed by the authors, had a positive impact on the level of linguistic competence in Mathematics of foreign students of the Preparatory department

    Early College, Early Success: Early College High School Initiative Impact Study

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    In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the ECHSI with the primary goal of increasing the opportunity for underserved students to earn a postsecondary credential. To achieve this goal, Early Colleges provide underserved students with exposure to, and support in, college while they are in high school. Early Colleges partner with colleges and universities to offer all students an opportunity to earn an associate's degree or up to two years of college credits toward a bachelor's degree during high school at no or low cost to the students. The underlying assumption is that engaging underrepresented students in a rigorous high school curriculum tied to the incentive of earning college credit will motivate them and increase their access to additional postsecondary education and credentials after high school. Since 2002, more than 240 Early Colleges have opened nationwideThis study focused on the impact of Early Colleges. It addressed two questions:1. Do Early College students have better outcomes than they would have had at other high schools?2. Does the impact of Early Colleges vary by student background characteristics (e.g., gender and family income)? To answer these questions, we conducted a lottery-based randomized experiment, taking advantage of the fact that some Early Colleges used lotteries in their admissions processes. By comparing the outcomes for students who participated in admissions lotteries and were offered enrollment with the outcomes for students who participated in the lotteries but were not offered enrollment, we can draw causal conclusions about the impact of Early Colleges.The primary student outcomes for this study were high school graduation, college enrollment, and college degree attainment. We also examined students' high school and college experiences. Data on student background characteristics and high school outcomes came from administrative records from schools, districts, and states; data on collegeoutcomes came from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC); and data on high school and college experiences and intermediate outcomes such as college credit accrual camefrom a student surveyWe assessed the impact of Early Colleges on these outcomes for a sample of 10 Early Colleges that did the following:-Enrolled students in grades 9 -- 12 and had high school graduates in the study years (2005 -- 2011)-Used lotteries as part of the admission processes in at least one of the study cohorts (students who entered ninth grade in 2005 -- 06, 2006 -- 07, or 2007 -- 08)-Retained the lottery recordsEight of the 10 Early Colleges in the study were included in the student survey. The overall study sample included 2,458 students and the survey sample included 1,294 students. The study extended through three years past high school

    Small-Scale and Large-Scale Interventions to Improve [State] Studentā€™s College Readiness

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    We are conducting two interventions aimed at improving entering studentsā€™ college readiness and mathematics placement. The small-scale intervention is aimed at working with students on the university campus. Students who are targeted have high school course work indicating that they have experience in Calculus or Pre-Calculus courses, but whose placement tests have not indicated they are ready for Calculus. At our institution this is a significant number of students and the goal of the project is to develop methods to address and accelerate students in this category. The course design, to take advantage of the studentsā€™ prior experience, emphasizes practice and mastery using a commercial software [1]. The large-scale intervention is a high school course developed by [Author1] for local high schools. Students who have completed their high school mathematics course work but who have not achieved the stateā€™s college readiness standard [2] are targeted. The students in the course have had experience in their high school classes in all of the concepts in the state standard, but have not had the chance to practice and master the material. The course we have developed emphasizes practice and mastery like the small-scale one, but participating school districts could not afford the commercial software. Thus we have built a course around the WebWork software [3] that is available through a free and open license. [1] Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces, https://www.aleks.com/ , McGraw Hill. [2] [State] College and Career Readiness Standard and Assessment [3] WebWork Homework Software, http://webwork.maa.org/ , Mathematical Association of America
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