Impact of the Siena College Tech Valley Scholars Program on Student Outcomes

The experimental group for this study included 38 students who entered the Tech Valley Scholars (TVS) program over the course of three academic years, from 2009-10 through 2011-12. Two groups of controls were used: a randomly selected sample of STEM students who matriculated in the same time frame; and a matched sample. The TVS students and controls were compared on two primary outcome variables: graduation (or retention to senior year), and final cumulative GPA. The major findings of this study are that (1) the TVS students had better outcomes than both the randomly selected comparison group and the matched control group, (2) unmet financial need is an important risk factor for non-retention, (3) students with moderately high unmet need can be academically successful if retained, and (4) the TVS program is having a positive impact on at-risk students. Recommendations for effective and efficient allocation of scholarship funds are given and future statistical studies are recommended

Design and development of expert systems and neural networks/ Medsker

xiii, 273 hal.: ill.; 23 cm

Design and development of expert systems and neural networks/ Medsker

xiii, 273 hal.: ill.; 23 cm

Design and development of expert systems and neural networks/ Medsker

xiii, 273 hal.: ill.; 23 cm

An Information Systems Instructional Model for Supporting the DPMA 1990 Guidelines

The recent DPMA 1990 curriculum guidelines emphasize the integration of theory and practice in information systems. The guidelines are a systematic approach to covering the knowledge clusters and to preparing students to be practitioners who can develop real systems. Traditional I.S. curricula, however, tend to offer theoretical self-contained courses. The information systems Instructional Model proposed here integrates courses and bridges the gap between theory and practice. Our model supports the DPMA 1990 and is based on an underlying methodology called the Cleanroom Systems Development Process (CSDP). This innovative approach to systems development is discussed, and the progress in implementing the model is described

New approach to analyzing physics problems: A Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems

This paper describes research on a classification of physics problems in the context of introductory physics courses. This classification, called the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), relates physics problems to the cognitive processes required to solve them. TIPP was created in order to design educational objectives, to develop assessments that can evaluate individual component processes of the physics problem-solving process, and to guide curriculum design in introductory physics courses, specifically within the context of a “thinking-skills” curriculum. Moreover, TIPP enables future physics education researchers to investigate to what extent the cognitive processes presented in various taxonomies of educational objectives are exercised during physics problem solving and what relationship might exist between such processes. We describe the taxonomy, give examples of classifications of physics problems, and discuss the validity and reliability of this tool

A Virtual Educational Exchange: A North–South Virtually Shared Class on Sustainable Development

Increasingly, international competence is considered an important skill to be acquired from an undergraduate education. Because international exchange presents a challenge to many students, there is a need to develop and implement alternative means for incorporating international and cross-cultural experiences into the undergraduate classroom. We report on the implementation of a semester-long, virtually shared course offering between a U.S. and a Bolivian university. As STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors tend to be under-represented in study-abroad programs, this class sought to provide a multidisciplinary experience that could be relevant to both hard and social science majors. Furthermore, the relevance and learning impact of this class was enhanced through the incorporation of a service-learning component in conjunction with a rural Bolivian partner organization. The results of this experience show that virtually shared classroom experiences can successfully facilitate international experiences for undergraduate students