The Effectiveness of a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) in the Calculus I Classroom

This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom assessment technique (CAT) in the Calculus I classroom using a quasi-quantitative research design methodology. A single university, single discipline, single professor and single class setting was utilized to minimize confounding variables and locate all data under a single institutional culture. Purposive homogenous sampling was utilized to select Calculus I students for the treatment and control groups. The data were analyzed using statistical methods to test the hypothesized relationships between the treatment group which was the Calculus I students who used the classroom assessment technique, and the control group which was the Calculus I students who did not use the classroom assessment technique. The problem of too many college freshman that major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) and fail to succeed, is linked to the lack of mathematical skills. More specifically, the low retention rate of freshmen STEM majors corresponds to the lack of student success in Calculus I, which is typically the first math course for the freshmen STEM major. If calculus is the linchpin to success in the STEM disciplines, then how it is typically taught and assessed has significance in understanding and mitigating this problem. There is a dearth of studies in the literature regarding the effectiveness of certain classroom assessment techniques posited by past researchers, and previous studies underscore the need for additional research. At present, there are no known studies of these specific techniques in the Calculus I classroom. This study intended to add to the literature of higher education by analyzing the effectiveness of a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) in the Calculus I classroom and comparing the findings to previous studies. The ultimate intention of this study was to contribute to the national chronicle that seeks to improve student learning and student success in the STEM disciplines. Results of the analysis were null findings. The final results indicated that the Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) tested did not make a significant difference

A Program Evaluation of the Welcome Baby Project: A Primary Prevention Program for Teenage Mothers and Their Infants

The central purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Welcome Baby Project (WBP), a primary prevention program with the mission of promoting child development and a positive relationship between at-risk adolescent mothers and their infants and to prevent disorders of attachment, child abuse and neglect, and unwanted, repeat pregnancy. Intervention involved weekly home visits by trained parent volunteers for children from birth to two years. The WBP mothers and a control group of adolescent mothers were compared on assessments collected during a home visit. Participants were asked to complete the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI), and the High Scope Knowledge Scale (HSKS). Videotaped observations of mother-infant interactions in a teaching session were rated using the National Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). The quality of the home environment was assessed using the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). The Battelle Developmental Inventory - Screening Test (BDI) was used to assess infant development. WBP mothers and Home Visitors were asked to evaluate the program. The groups differed on important variables associated with high risk status; the greater risk status of WBP mothers increases the likelihood of underestimating the program\u27s impact. Low statistical power (n = 30) made detecting program effectiveness difficult. WBP mothers were significantly more accurate in their knowledge of developmental milestones and had fewer late expectations than control mothers on the HSKS. The NCATS, HOME, AAPI, and HSKS approached significance when the variability due to birth weight, prematurity, and household income were controlled. Comparison of the means reflected a strong trend favoring the WBP mothers. Comparisons with normative and other study samples on the NCATS, HOME and AAPI lends support for program effectiveness. Evaluations of the program by WBP mothers and Home Visitors were positive. The results are encouraging but point to the need for continued evaluation over the next several years

Does Financial Aid Really Have An Effect On Student Retention?

This article reviews the existing research that investigates the relationship between financial aid and student persistence

The Effectiveness of a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) in the Calculus I Classroom

This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom assessment technique (CAT) in the Calculus I classroom using a quasi-quantitative research design methodology. A single university, single discipline, single professor and single class setting was utilized to minimize confounding variables and locate all data under a single institutional culture. Purposive homogenous sampling was utilized to select Calculus I students for the treatment and control groups. The data were analyzed using statistical methods to test the hypothesized relationships between the treatment group which was the Calculus I students who used the classroom assessment technique, and the control group which was the Calculus I students who did not use the classroom assessment technique. The problem of too many college freshman that major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) and fail to succeed, is linked to the lack of mathematical skills. More specifically, the low retention rate of freshmen STEM majors corresponds to the lack of student success in Calculus I, which is typically the first math course for the freshmen STEM major. If calculus is the linchpin to success in the STEM disciplines, then how it is typically taught and assessed has significance in understanding and mitigating this problem. There is a dearth of studies in the literature regarding the effectiveness of certain classroom assessment techniques posited by past researchers, and previous studies underscore the need for additional research. At present, there are no known studies of these specific techniques in the Calculus I classroom. This study intended to add to the literature of higher education by analyzing the effectiveness of a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) in the Calculus I classroom and comparing the findings to previous studies. The ultimate intention of this study was to contribute to the national chronicle that seeks to improve student learning and student success in the STEM disciplines. Results of the analysis were null findings. The final results indicated that the Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT) tested did not make a significant difference

Beyond Goldwater-Nichols

This report culminated almost two years of effort at CSIS, which began by developing an approach for both revisiting the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 and for addressing issues that were beyond the scope of that landmark legislation

Transition state theory for wave packet dynamics. II. Thermal decay of Bose-Einstein condensates with long-range interaction

We apply transition state theory to coupled Gaussian wave packets and calculate thermal decay rates of Bose-Einstein condensates with additional long-range interaction. The ground state of such a condensate is metastable if the contact interaction is attractive and a sufficient thermal excitation may lead to its collapse. The use of transition state theory is made possible by describing the condensate within a variational framework and locally mapping the variational parameters to classical phase space as has been demonstrated in the preceding paper [A. Junginger, J. Main, and G. Wunner, submitted to J. Phys. A]. We apply this procedure to Gaussian wave packets and present results for condensates with monopolar 1/r-interaction comparing decay rates obtained by using different numbers of coupled Gaussian trial wave functions as well as different normal form orders.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Phys.

Accountability and Relationship-Definition Among Food Banks Partnerships

Food pantries typically operate in a partnership structure where they are primarily supported by a larger food bank. However, the ability to execute that mission through cooperative arrangements greatly depends upon accountability, a key dynamic that ensures partners are fulfilling expectations and key roles. This exploratory study utilizes qualitative interview data (n = 61) from a large food bank network to understand the extent to which a lead agency (i.e., a large food bank) meets expectations of accountability among partners. The interview results demonstrate that the extent to which expectations are met relate to different types of relationships between the lead agency and partner members. Furthermore, the ways in which partners assess the strengths or weaknesses of the food bank’s accountability reveal different types of relationships within the network, namely that of supplier–customer, supporter–customer, and supporter–collaborator

Transition state theory for wave packet dynamics. I. Thermal decay in metastable Schr\"odinger systems

We demonstrate the application of transition state theory to wave packet dynamics in metastable Schr\"odinger systems which are approached by means of a variational ansatz for the wave function and whose dynamics is described within the framework of a time-dependent variational principle. The application of classical transition state theory, which requires knowledge of a classical Hamilton function, is made possible by mapping the variational parameters to classical phase space coordinates and constructing an appropriate Hamiltonian in action variables. This mapping, which is performed by a normal form expansion of the equations of motion and an additional adaptation to the energy functional, as well as the requirements to the variational ansatz are discussed in detail. The applicability of the procedure is demonstrated for a cubic model potential for which we calculate thermal decay rates of a frozen Gaussian wave function. The decay rate obtained with a narrow trial wave function agrees perfectly with the results using the classical normal form of the corresponding point particle. The results with a broader trial wave function go even beyond the classical approach, i.e., they agree with those using the quantum normal form. The method presented here will be applied to Bose-Einstein condensates in the following paper [A. Junginger, M. Dorwarth, J. Main, and G. Wunner, submitted to J. Phys. A].Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, submitted to J. Phys.