Networked learning : evaluating the effectiveness of distance education in comparison to traditional education

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of alternative course delivery methods, which can ultimately help higher education stakeholders make informed decisions for present and future educational endeavors. Emerging systems of educational technology, such as ‘networked learning’ and the increasing development of online courses have created many questions concerning the effectiveness of online learning relative to face-to-face learning. More research supporting online as an effective alternative to traditional education is needed as an evaluative tool to potentially mitigate the budgetary constraints, which pose a threat to the institution’s ability to fulfill their mission of providing a quality education to their students. Specifically, community colleges have the highest enrollment growth rate and account for half of higher education enrollment over the last five years (Allen and Searman, 2007), but unfortunately, smaller, public and community colleges have not historically invested in distance education (Janes, 2003). Community college students and faculty were participants in this quasi-experimental research study, in which the findings support that online courses are popular overall with students, as indicated by the total number of students who enrolled in these courses, but, unfortunately, students who enroll in online courses are not as successful as the students enrolled in on-ground courses. A contributing factor to the popularity of online courses in community colleges, as in setting of this research, is the fact that there is no on-campus housing; all students live off campus. Furthermore, the higher rate of online non-completers could be due to the fact that community college students are usually at a disadvantage, subject to more characteristics that negatively impact their success in college, including scoring lower in high school, delaying college after high school, attending part-time, and coming from families who are in the lower socio-economic status (Bailey, Jenkins & Leinbach (2005). The results of this study indicate that minorities perform worse online than onground. Females are more likely to be unsuccessful at an on-ground course but more successful online. Traditionally aged students (18-24 years) generally are less successful than non-traditional students (25 and older) in online courses

A Phenomenological Study on the Strategies Used to Support Minority Gifted Students

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe effective constructivism teaching strategies and approaches for reducing the achievement gap between minority and non-minority students in a middle school gifted program at Stoneybrook Middle School in the Downey-Raine School System through an examination of the lived experiences of teacher participants. The theories that guided this study were Piaget’s cognitive constructivism and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Both theories focused on the possible obstacles that educators may face when addressing the reduction of the achievement gap within this type of setting. Methodologically, this study followed the qualitative phenomenological research design. The research study focused on students within a middle school gifted program in southeastern North Carolina. The data collection took place through participant interviews, online blogs, and letter writing. Results from this study showed that the effectiveness of teaching strategies in this context was limited or enhanced by the factors of data usage and academically and intellectually gifted program structure, relationship building with students and nonacademic contributors to student performance like students’ homelives and the impact of COVID-19 on the school environment

Dielectric Replica Measurement : A New Technique for Obtaining the Complex Permittivity of Irregularly Shaped Objects

Dielectric measurements provide valuable information about the properties of materials, and could be used to classify and identify the source of objects in fields such as archaeology. Current methods of identification are all partly destructive, so an innovative electromagnetic method developed by the authors, based on resonant cavity perturbation (RCP), provides an attractive, non-destructive alternative. A problem with traditional RCP is that the changes in frequency and Q-factor vary with the object's shape; however, we overcome this by creating a replica of the object, from a material whose dielectric properties are known. Then, by combining three separate perturbations with orthogonal field directions, due firstly to the object and then to its replica, we eliminate the shape dependency, and thus determine the object's dielectric constant and loss factor. After developing the theory of this novel DRM technique, we demonstrate the principle using a set of geometric shapes made in both polytetrafluoroethylene and a 3D printed material. Further measurements then enable second-order terms to be included in the model, improving its accuracy. Finally, DRM is shown to be capable of distinguishing two irregularly shaped objects of different materials. Potential applications of DRM include determining the provenance of pottery, glasses and flints, and distinguishing ivory from bone. These would be of interest to customs and environmental agencies, as well as museum curators and archaeologists

Academic Placement Data and Analysis: 2016 Final Report

Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA), a project funded by the American Philosophical Association (APA) and headed by Carolyn Dicey Jennings (UC Merced), aims “to make information on academic job placement useful to prospective graduate students in philosophy.” The project has just been updated to include new data, which Professor Jennings describes in a post at New APPS. She also announces a new interactive data tool with which one can sift through and sort information. (from Daily Nous

Analysis of conditions leading to a productive disciplinary engagement during a physics lesson in a disadvantaged area school

International audienceOur paper concerns the analysis of a teacher's practices leading to students' learning in an ordinary physics lesson. The study is conducted using the Joint Action Theory in Didactics (JATD) and the Productive Disciplinary Engagement (PDE) theoretical frameworks. Our qualitative case study is based on the video record of the lesson and on interviews with the teacher and students. In particular, we noted how the teacher managed the didactic interactions, the characteristics of which may be partially related to problematizing, authority, accountability, and resources availability, four principles which foster PDE in more open contexts

Numerical Modelling Of The V-J Combinations Of The T Cell Receptor TRA/TRD Locus

T-Cell antigen Receptor (TR) repertoire is generated through rearrangements of V and J genes encoding α and β chains. The quantification and frequency for every V-J combination during ontogeny and development of the immune system remain to be precisely established. We have addressed this issue by building a model able to account for Vα-Jα gene rearrangements during thymus development of mice. So we developed a numerical model on the whole TRA/TRD locus, based on experimental data, to estimate how Vα and Jα genes become accessible to rearrangements. The progressive opening of the locus to V-J gene recombinations is modeled through windows of accessibility of different sizes and with different speeds of progression. Furthermore, the possibility of successive secondary V-J rearrangements was included in the modelling. The model points out some unbalanced V-J associations resulting from a preferential access to gene rearrangements and from a non-uniform partition of the accessibility of the J genes, depending on their location in the locus. The model shows that 3 to 4 successive rearrangements are sufficient to explain the use of all the V and J genes of the locus. Finally, the model provides information on both the kinetics of rearrangements and frequencies of each V-J associations. The model accounts for the essential features of the observed rearrangements on the TRA/TRD locus and may provide a reference for the repertoire of the V-J combinatorial diversity

Recruitment of the motor system during music listening: An ALE meta-analysis of fMRI data.

Several neuroimaging studies have shown that listening to music activates brain regions that reside in the motor system, even when there is no overt movement. However, many of these studies report the activation of varying motor system areas that include the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, dorsal and ventral pre-motor areas and parietal regions. In order to examine what specific roles are played by various motor regions during music perception, we used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to conduct a meta-analysis of neuroimaging literature on passive music listening. After extensive search of the literature, 42 studies were analyzed resulting in a total of 386 unique subjects contributing 694 activation foci in total. As suspected, auditory activations were found in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, insula, pyramis, bilateral precentral gyrus, and bilateral medial frontal gyrus. We also saw the widespread activation of motor networks including left and right lateral premotor cortex, right primary motor cortex, and the left cerebellum. These results suggest a central role of the motor system in music and rhythm perception. We discuss these findings in the context of the Action Simulation for Auditory Prediction (ASAP) model and other predictive coding accounts of brain function

Recruitment of the motor system during music listening: An ALE meta-analysis of fMRI data.

Several neuroimaging studies have shown that listening to music activates brain regions that reside in the motor system, even when there is no overt movement. However, many of these studies report the activation of varying motor system areas that include the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, dorsal and ventral pre-motor areas and parietal regions. In order to examine what specific roles are played by various motor regions during music perception, we used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) to conduct a meta-analysis of neuroimaging literature on passive music listening. After extensive search of the literature, 42 studies were analyzed resulting in a total of 386 unique subjects contributing 694 activation foci in total. As suspected, auditory activations were found in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, transverse temporal gyrus, insula, pyramis, bilateral precentral gyrus, and bilateral medial frontal gyrus. We also saw the widespread activation of motor networks including left and right lateral premotor cortex, right primary motor cortex, and the left cerebellum. These results suggest a central role of the motor system in music and rhythm perception. We discuss these findings in the context of the Action Simulation for Auditory Prediction (ASAP) model and other predictive coding accounts of brain function