eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper asks whether placement recommendations for a developmental math course at an elite public institution impact students’ future academic performance, course-taking, and college outcomes. Researchers use these specific outcomes to measure whether developmental courses help students develop the skills necessary to succeed in college, inspire them to take different courses, and help them graduate or persist in college. The study examines the ways in which instructor characteristics can drive these outcomes, and whether instruction at this university in a program for low-achieving students and particularly underprepared low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students achieves its goal of reducing achievement gaps. This informs specific course and instructor policies to help underprepared students in their first semesters in college. The research setting is an elite public institution with a… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Numerous studies document high drop-out and failure rates for students in computer programming classes. Studies show that even when some students pass programming classes, they still do not know how to program. Many factors have been considered to explain this problem including gender, age, prior programming experience, major, math background, personal attributes, and the programming language itself. Research in this area has mainly been confined to introductory programming courses. This study explores the problem at a higher level. It tracks students longitudinally as they move from the first introductory programming class, to the second introductory class, and finally, to completion of an advanced programming course. The research question answered was: What are the factors contributing to the success or lack of success in advanced programming? The success… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Biotechnology constitutes one of the most challenging, cutting-edge, and rapidly growing fields in science today. Both the practical implications and the hands-on nature of this “modern science” make the topic of biotechnology an attractive addition to the high school science curriculum. The current study is the first of its kind to explore how student characteristics and biotechnology course outcomes relate to one another. Results indicated that students’ general attitudes about science and their overall math skills predicted success across a number of measures, including both self-reported skill ratings as well as the more traditional measures of course grade and exam score. The results also demonstrated the association between skill, as measured through self-reported proficiency ratings, and achievement on an articulation exam. It documented the relation between skills… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper addresses the personological aspects relative to male and female success in two subject areas (math and science) and addresses specific concerns in the area of mentoring. Personality factors operative for success in math and science are reviewed, and teachers are advised to encourage, support, and facilitate those personality traits which appear to augur for success. One particular technique for encouraging females to pursue their interests is mentoring. The need of the mentor to nurture, encourage, and develop certain salient personality traits is emphasized. Reasons why bright individuals (both females and males) do not succeed are listed, such as lack of product orientation and capitalizing on the wrong abilities. Guidelines are presented for mentoring creatively gifted youth. Mentors are urged to guide their female protegees to… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: An educational crisis has been reported from many scholarly platforms for the last quarter century. The United States is faced with the challenge of providing a secondary science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, especially in secondary pre-engineering, that will lead its students to the fulfillment of academic and domestic success. Educational reform is paramount in defining goals for the future and in reaching those goals both in secondary education institutions and in the nation. The educational crisis addressed in this research is characterized by K-12 public education not producing students who have the necessary skills or inclination to be successful in college and university engineering programs across the nation. Today, there are many programs available for public schools to participate in pre-engineering. The purpose of this… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Every day, we learn what works so students can make greater progress. Six years after No Child Left Behind’s passage–and midway to the nation’s goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014–we have collected more data than ever before about the academic performance of our students and schools. This information enables all of us to chart where we are as individual states and as a nation and to map a course of action for future progress. This brochure shows in chart form: (1) Alabama At a Glance (Student Demographics); (2) Alabama’s Record of Achievement (Reading and Math Achievement for 2006-2006); (3) Achievement Trends (Reading and Math); (4) Preparing Alabama Students for Success (Alabama’s High School Graduation Rate 2006 and High… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this commentary, Danny Martin describes five key take-aways and two sets of questions that arose from his reading of “Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematics Success for All (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2014). Martin begins by noting that “Principles to Actions” is clearly a political document that advances particular views and visions of mathematics teaching and learning and per the copyright page of the document, represents the “official position of the National Council of Mathematics Teachers as approved by the NCTM Board of Directors.” Martin goes on to touch upon the tone of the document and notes that it reflects a deep and unequivocal commitment to the Common Core by NCTM even as it seems that elements of the Common Core movement are starting… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper reviews nationwide education reforms under No Child Left Behind and state reforms in Florida–comparing federal and state results. The paper examines the danger that federal regulations and incentives pose to testing and accountability systems in Florida and every other state. The limits of No Child Left Behind and the promise of Florida’s success suggest that federal policies that give states greater authority to direct education reform hold promise for improving education when states and citizens commit to effective reforms. The paper states that as policymakers review No Child Left Behind, Congress and the Obama Administration should recognize three important lessons: (1) No Child Left Behind has failed to deliver meaningful improvement in student learning; (2) Florida’s experience demonstrates the opportunity for state-directed education reform; and… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The number of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is growing rapidly and is expected to increase by approximately 1 million in the United States between 2012 and 2022 (Vilorio, 2014). People of many racial/ethnic minorities, however, including Hispanic people, are underrepresented among recipients of STEM degrees and among employees in STEM fields (Beede et al., 2011). Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest conducted this review of the research literature to identify malleable factors that can be measured in K-12 settings and that predict students’ postsecondary STEM success (defined as enrolling in, persisting in, and completing a postsecondary STEM major or degree), particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying these predictive malleable factors can help policymakers and district and school administrators develop and implement interventions that increase the percentage… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Transition curricula are courses, learning modules, or online tutorials typically developed jointly by secondary and postsecondary faculty and offered no later than 12th grade to students at risk of being placed into remedial math or English programs in college. Based on interviews and other data, this brief describes key elements of English transition curricula in seven states. In discussing six trends that are salient in the development and implementation of transition curricula, the brief also highlights the different ways that this intervention may serve to help prepare students for college. English transition curricula are usually aligned to rigorous K-12 content standards and tend to emphasize college-level writing skills more than other content areas. Some transition curricula also incorporate contextualized learning, teach nonacademic skills that are valuable for… Continue Reading →
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