Prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students taught using problem-based learning versus traditional methods.

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Aragão, José Aderval; Freire, Marianna Ribeiro de Menezes; Nolasco Farias, Lucas Guimarães; Diniz, Sarah Santana; Sant'anna Aragão, Felipe Matheus; Sant'anna Aragão, Iapunira Catarina; Lima, Tarcisio Brandão; Reis, Francisco Prado

2018-06-01

To compare depressive symptoms among medical students taught using problem-based learning (PBL) and the traditional method. Beck's Depression Inventory was applied to 215 medical students. The prevalence of depression was calculated as the number of individuals with depression divided by the total number in the sample from each course, with 95% confidence intervals. The statistical significance level used was 5% (p ≤ .05). Among the 215 students, 52.1% were male and 47.9% were female; and 51.6% were being taught using PBL methodology and 48.4% using traditional methods. The prevalence of depression was 29.73% with PBL and 22.12% with traditional methods. There was higher prevalence among females: 32.8% with PBL and 23.1% with traditional methods. The prevalence of depression with PBL among students up to 21 years of age was 29.4% and among those over 21 years, 32.1%. With traditional methods among students up to 21 years of age, it was 16.7%%, and among those over 21 years, 30.1%. The prevalence of depression with PBL was highest among students in the second semester and with traditional methods, in the eighth. Depressive symptoms were highly prevalent among students taught both with PBL and with traditional methods.

Science Literacy: How do High School Students Solve PISA Test Items?

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Wati, F.; Sinaga, P.; Priyandoko, D.

2017-09-01

The Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) does assess students’ science literacy in a real-life contexts and wide variety of situation. Therefore, the results do not provide adequate information for the teacher to excavate students’ science literacy because the range of materials taught at schools depends on the curriculum used. This study aims to investigate the way how junior high school students in Indonesia solve PISA test items. Data was collected by using PISA test items in greenhouse unit employed to 36 students of 9th grade. Students’ answer was analyzed qualitatively for each item based on competence tested in the problem. The way how students answer the problem exhibits their ability in particular competence which is influenced by a number of factors. Those are students’ unfamiliarity with test construction, low performance on reading, low in connecting available information and question, and limitation on expressing their ideas effectively and easy-read. As the effort, selected PISA test items can be used in accordance teaching topic taught to familiarize students with science literacy.

Evaluation of a Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation Curriculum for Junior and Senior High School Students.

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Vanderschmidt, Hannelore Falk

An adaptation of the standard American Heart Association training program was utilized to teach secondary school students cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) procedures. Students, at both junior and senior high levels, were randomly assigned to practice and no-practice groups, of ten students each. All were taught CPR procedures didactically, but…

Teaching Basic Programming Concepts to Young Primary School Students Using Tablets: Results of a Pilot Project

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Fokides, Emmanuel

2018-01-01

The study presents the results of a project in which tablets and a ready-made application were used for teaching basic programming concepts to young primary school students (ages 7-9). A total of 135 students participated in the study, attending primary schools in Athens, Greece, divided into three groups. The first was taught conventionally. The…

Dyadic Instruction for Middle School Students: Liking Promotes Learning

OpenAIRE

Hartl, Amy C.; DeLay, Dawn; Laursen, Brett; Denner, Jill; Werner, Linda; Campe, Shannon; Ortiz, Eloy

2015-01-01

This study examines whether friendship facilitates or hinders learning in a dyadic instructional setting. Working in 80 same-sex pairs, 160 (60 girls, 100 boys) middle school students (M = 12.13 years old) were taught a new computer programming language and programmed a game. Students spent 14 to 30 (M = 22.7) hours in a programming class. At the beginning and the end of the project, each participant separately completed (a) computer programming knowledge assessments and (b) questionnaires ra...

The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing Is Taught in Schools

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Purcell, Kristen; Buchanan, Judy; Friedrich, Linda

2013-01-01

A survey of 2,462 Advanced Placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers finds that digital technologies are shaping student writing in myriad ways and have also become helpful tools for teaching writing to middle and high school students. These teachers see the internet and digital technologies such as social networking sites, cell…

Effectiveness of health education teachers and school nurses teaching sexually transmitted infections/human immunodeficiency virus prevention knowledge and skills in high school.

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Borawski, Elaine A; Tufts, Kimberly Adams; Trapl, Erika S; Hayman, Laura L; Yoder, Laura D; Lovegreen, Loren D

2015-03-01

We examined the differential impact of a well-established human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) curriculum, Be Proud! Be Responsible!, when taught by school nurses and health education classroom teachers within a high school curricula. Group-randomized intervention study of 1357 ninth and tenth grade students in 10 schools. Twenty-seven facilitators (6 nurses, 21 teachers) provided programming; nurse-led classrooms were randomly assigned. Students taught by teachers were more likely to report their instructor to be prepared, comfortable with the material, and challenged them to think about their health than students taught by a school nurse. Both groups reported significant improvements in HIV/STI/condom knowledge immediately following the intervention, compared to controls. Yet, those taught by school nurses reported significant and sustained changes (up to 12 months after intervention) in attitudes, beliefs, and efficacy, whereas those taught by health education teachers reported far fewer changes, with sustained improvement in condom knowledge only. Both classroom teachers and school nurses are effective in conveying reproductive health information to high school students; however, teaching the technical (eg, condom use) and interpersonal (eg, negotiation) skills needed to reduce high-risk sexual behavior may require a unique set of skills and experiences that health education teachers may not typically have. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Teaching Mathematical Problem Solving to Middle School Students in Math, Technology Education, and Special Education Classrooms

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Bottge, Brian A.; Heinrichs, Mary; Mehta, Zara Dee; Rueda, Enrique; Hung, Ya-Hui; Danneker, Jeanne

2004-01-01

This study compared two approaches for teaching sixth-grade middle school students to solve math problems in math, technology education, and special education classrooms. A total of 17 students with disabilities and 76 students without disabilities were taught using either enhanced anchored instruction (EAI) or text-based instruction coupled with…

Middle school science curriculum design and 8th grade student achievement in Massachusetts public schools

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Clifford, Betsey A.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released proposed Science and Technology/Engineering standards in 2013 outlining the concepts that should be taught at each grade level. Previously, standards were in grade spans and each district determined the method of implementation. There are two different methods used teaching middle school science: integrated and discipline-based. In the proposed standards, the Massachusetts DESE uses grade-by-grade standards using an integrated approach. It was not known if there is a statistically significant difference in student achievement on the 8th grade science MCAS assessment for students taught with an integrated or discipline-based approach. The results on the 8th grade science MCAS test from six public school districts from 2010 -- 2013 were collected and analyzed. The methodology used was quantitative. Results of an ANOVA showed that there was no statistically significant difference in overall student achievement between the two curriculum models. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference for the various domains: Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Physical Science, and Technology/Engineering. This information is useful for districts hesitant to make the change from a discipline-based approach to an integrated approach. More research should be conducted on this topic with a larger sample size to better support the results.

[Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation program for high school students (PROCES). Results from the pilot program].

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Miró, Oscar; Jiménez-Fábrega, Xavier; Díaz, Núria; Coll-Vinent, Blanca; Bragulat, Ernest; Jiménez, Sònia; Espinosa, Gerard; Hernández-Rodríguez, José; García-Alfranca, Fernando; Alvarez, M Teresa; Salvador, Jordi; Millá, José; Sánchez, Miquel

2005-01-15

The PROCES (Programa de Reanimació Cardiopulmonar Orientat a Centres d'Ensenyament Secundari) program is aimed at teaching basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (b-CPR) to teenagers within high school. Our aim was to analyze the results obtained from the pilot program. PROCES was splitted in 7 sessions: 5 of them (5 hours) were taught by teachers at high school and 2 of them (4 hours, including how to perform b-CPR) were taught by emergency physicians. To assess the degree of students' learning, they were administered a 20-question test before and after the program. Epidemiological characteristics and students' opinions (all them were requested to rate the program from 0 to 10) were also collected. Students were 14 years-old in 38%, 15 in 38% and 16 or more in 24%. Before PROCES, the mean mark (over 20 points) was 8.5 (2.4). After PROCES, marks improved up to 13.5 (3.2) (p knowledge and skills in b-CPR, with no exceptions associated with teenagers' characteristics.

Teaching Free Speech Values to High School Students: Keys to Persevering Despite the Obstacles.

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Eveslage, Thomas

To examine why citizens today do not understand the U.S. Constitution and its provisions, a survey was conducted among 153 high school social studies, journalism, and English teachers to examine, among other things, how they taught about constitutional rights and how they rated their students' knowledge of the subject compared to students'…

Middle-school students of United Arab Emirates: effects of heterogeneous small group work on attitudes toward mathematics.

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Alkhateeb, H M; Jumaa, M

2000-10-01

This study compared the effects of two instructional strategies, small heterogeneous cooperative learning experience versus lecture and discussion, on students' attitudes toward mathematics. 54 boys and 57 girls in Grade 8 of four middle-school mathematics classes participated. Two classes (57 students) were taught using a cooperative learning method and the other two classes (54 students) were taught using traditional lecture and discussion. Differences between attitudes of boys and girls were also investigated and discussed in the light of Arabic culture. The results suggested that cooperative learning might be a valuable method with which to teach mathematics concepts to boys.

Future Expectations of High School Students In Southeastern Turkey: Factors behind Future Expectations

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Hüseyin Şimşek

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to identify various future expectations of high school students in southeastern Turkey and factors behind their expectations. The sample of the study, which had a descriptive and associational survey design consisted of 1106 students randomly selected from 54 different high schools located in nine cities in southeastern Turkey. Data were collected through the “Future Expectation Scale (FES” developed by the researcher. Results indicated that personal and professional future, educational future, economic future and social future expectations of high school students in southeastern Turkey were generally above the average level. According to the study, being a teacher and a doctor took the first place among several professions to be further preferred by high school students. It was also concluded that future expectations of high school students did not differ on gender, high school type, CGPA, level of mother education, father’s occupation, family income level, the number of siblings, receiving pre-school education, and language spoken at home. On the other hand, future expectations of high school students were found to differ on the city where students being taught, grade level, corporal punishment, and tendency toward being a dropout.

Impact of Middle School Student Energy Monitoring Activities on Climate Change Beliefs and Intentions

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Christensen, Rhonda; Knezek, Gerald

2018-01-01

The Going Green! Middle Schoolers Out to Save the World project aims to direct middle school students' enthusiasm for hands-on activities toward interest in science and other STEM areas while guiding them to solve real-world problems. Students in this project are taught by their teachers to use energy monitoring equipment to audit standby power…

Educating Amid Uncertainty: The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools

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Kraft, Matthew A.; Papay, John P.; Johnson, Susan Moore; Charner-Laird, Megin; Ng, Monica; Reinhorn, Stefanie

2015-01-01

Purpose: We examine how uncertainty, both about students and the context in which they are taught, remains a persistent condition of teachers' work in high-poverty, urban schools. We describe six schools' organizational responses to these uncertainties, analyze how these responses reflect open- versus closed-system approaches, and examine how this…

The Influence of Learning Styles on Student Perception and Satisfaction in a Highly Collaborative Team Taught Course

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Sullivan, Daniel; Colburn, Michael; Fox, Daniel E.

2013-01-01

Team teaching an undergraduate business capstone course has the potential of providing students with an enhanced learning experience in a number of ways. This study examines the relationship between faculty and student learning styles and their impact on student perception and satisfaction in a highly collaborative team taught undergraduate…

School program for screening students at risk for diabetes: the School Nurse Childhood Obesity Prevention Education program.

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Schantz, Shirley; Bobo, Nichole

2009-07-01

Accurate height and weight and BMI assessment by the school nurse is the first step in identifying students at risk for developing type 2 diabetes or other health consequences. Additional screening for children at or above the 95th percentile for BMI identifies those students most at risk. MAP affiliate sites indicate that when this assessment and communication is done in a private, sensitive, and caring manner--with emphasis on the health of the child-parents/ guardians are receptive to the information. School nurses, with the knowledge and skills provided by the S.C.O.P.E. program, alert parents/guardians to address their children's health risks and contact their health care providers. School nurses are also taught how they can provide guidance for school leadership and community coalitions to incorporate effective changes to food and physical activity offerings to students. The S.C.O.P.E. program can enhance the role of the school nurse in the global fight against childhood obesity so school-age children are healthy and ready to learn.

The Probability of a General Education Student Placed in a Co-Taught Inclusive Classroom of Passing the 2014 New York State ELA and Mathematics Assessment in Grades 6-8

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St. John, Michael M.; Babo, Gerard

2015-01-01

This study examined the influence of placement in a co-taught inclusive classroom on the academic achievement of general education students in grades 6-8 in a suburban New York school district on the 2014 New York State ELA and Mathematics Assessments. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was utilized for sample selection in order to simulate a more…

Impact of Texas high school science teacher credentials on student performance in high school science

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George, Anna Ray Bayless

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade 11. Years of teaching experience, teacher certification type(s), highest degree level held, teacher and school demographic information, and the percentage of students who met the passing standard on the Science TAKS were obtained through a public records request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Analysis was performed through the use of canonical correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that a larger percentage of students met the passing standard on the Science TAKS state attended schools in which a large portion of the high school science teachers held post baccalaureate degrees, elementary and physical science certifications, and had 11-20 years of teaching experience.

How Well Do Students in Secondary School Understand Temporal Development of Dynamical Systems?

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Forjan, Matej; Grubelnik, Vladimir

2015-01-01

Despite difficulties understanding the dynamics of complex systems only simple dynamical systems without feedback connections have been taught in secondary school physics. Consequently, students do not have opportunities to develop intuition of temporal development of systems, whose dynamics are conditioned by the influence of feedback processes.…

Examining Thai high school students' developing STEM projects

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Teenoi, Kultida; Siripun, Kulpatsorn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

Like others, Thailand education strongly focused on STEM education. This paper aimed to examine existing Thai high school students' integrated knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in their developing science project. The participants included 49 high school students were studying the subject of individual study (IS) in Khon Kaen wittayayon school, Khon Kaen, Thailand. The IS was provided to gradually enhance students to know how to do science project starting from getting start to do science projects, They enrolled to study the individual study of science project for three year in roll. Methodology was qualitative research. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM were interpreted through participant observation, interview, and students' science projects. The first author as participant observation has taught this group of students for 3 years. It found that 16 science projects were developed. Views of students' integrated knowledge about STEM could be categorized into three categories. These included (1) completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, (2) partial indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and (3) no integration. The findings revealed that majority of science projects could be categorized as completely indicated integration of knowledge about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The paper suggested some ideas of enhancing students to applying STEM for developing science projects.

Science choices and preferences of middle and secondary school students in Utah

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Baird, J. Hugh; Lazarowitz, Reuven; Allman, Verl

This research sought to answer two questions: (1) What are Utah junior and senior high school students' preferences and choices regarding science subjects? (2) Could preferences and choices be related to the type of school, age or gender? Two thousand students from grades six through twelve participated in this study. Findings show that zoology and human anatomy and physiology were most preferred. Ecology was least prefered. Topics in the physical sciences were also low. There was a trend among girls to prefer natural sciences such as botany while boys tended to prefer the physical sciences. Generally, students' choices were limited to those subjects presently taught in the formal school curriculum. They appeared unaware of the many science related subjects outside the texts or the approved course of study.

Evaluating learning among undergraduate medical students in schools with traditional and problem-based curricula.

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Meo, Sultan Ayoub

2013-09-01

This study aimed to assess knowledge and skills in a respiratory physiology course in traditional versus problem-based learning (PBL) groups in two different medical schools. Two different undergraduate medical schools were selected for this study. The first medical school followed the traditional [lecture-based learning (LBL)] curriculum, and the second medical school followed the PBL curriculum. Sixty first-year male medical students (30 students from each medical school) volunteered; they were apparently healthy and of the same age, sex, nationality, and regional and cultural background. Students were taught respiratory physiology according to their curriculum for a period of 2 wk. At the completion of the study period, knowledge was measured based on a single best multiple-choice question examination, and skill was measured based on the objective structured practical examination in the lung function laboratory (respiratory physiology). A Student's t-test was applied for the analysis of the data, and the level of significance was set at P schools.

To Fly or Not to Fly: Teaching Advanced Secondary School Students about Principles of Flight in Biological Systems

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Pietsch, Renée B.; Bohland, Cynthia L.; Schmale, David G., III.

2015-01-01

Biological flight mechanics is typically taught in graduate level college classes rather than in secondary school classes. We developed an interdisciplinary unit for advanced upper-level secondary school students (ages 15-18) to teach the principles of flight and applications to biological systems. This unit capitalised on the tremendous…

The Effects of Teacher and Teacher-librarian High-end Collaboration on Inquiry-based Project Reports and School Monthly Test Scores of Fifth-grade Students

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Hai-Hon Chen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to establish the high level collaboration of integrated instruction model between social studies teacher and teacher-librarian. The second purpose was to investigate the effects of high-end collaboration on the individual and groups’ inquiry-based project reports, as well as monthly test scores of fifth-grade students. A quasi-experimental method was adopted, two classes of elementary school fifth graders in Tainan Municipal city, Taiwan were used as samples. Students were randomly assigned to experimental conditions by class. Twenty eight students of the experimental group were taught by the collaboration of social studies teacher and teacher-librarian; while 27 students of the controlled group were taught separately by teacher in didactic teaching method. Inquiry-Based Project Record, Inquiry-Based Project Rubrics, and school monthly test scores were used as instruments for collecting data. A t-test and correlation were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that: (1 High-end collaboration model between social studies teacher and teacher-librarian was established and implemented well in the classroom. (2There was a significant difference between the experimental group and the controlled group in individual and groups’ inquiry-based project reports. Students that were taught by the collaborative teachers got both higher inquiry-based project reports’ scores than those that were taught separately by the teachers. Experimental group’s students got higher school monthly test scores than controlled groups. Suggestions for teachers’ high-end collaboration and future researcher are provided in this paper.

The comparison of Missouri mathematics project and teams games tournament viewed from emotional quotient eight grade student of junior school

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Setyawan, Indra; Budiyono, Slamet, Isnandar

2017-08-01

This research was a quasi-experimental research with 2 × 3 factorial design. It aimed to determine the learning model between Missouri Mathematics Project (MMP) and Teams Games Tournament (TGT) that gave the best achievement on mathematics subject viewed from emotional quotient. The population of this research were all of Junior High School students at the 8th grade in Surakarta City, Central Java, Indonesia in academic year 2016/2017 which applied KTSP curriculum. The sample was taken by using stratified cluster random sampling. The data were collected by using methods of documentation, emotional quotient questionnaires, and mathematics achievement test. Data analysis technique used two ways analysis of variance (ANOVA) with unequal cell. According to the research findings, it could be concluded that: (1) students' mathematics achievement which were taught by using MMP is as good as emotional quotient achievement which were taught by using TGT in straight-line equation material, (2) mathematics achievement of students with high emotional quotient is better than students with medium and low emotional quotient, and mathematics achievement of students with medium emotional quotient is as good as students with low emotional quotient in straight-line equation material, (3) in each learning model, mathematics achievement of students with high emotional quotient is better than students with medium and low emotional quotient, and mathematics achievement of students with medium emotional quotient is as good as students with low emotional quotient in straight-line equation material (4) in each category of high and medium emotional quotient, student's mathematics achievement which were taught by using MMP is better than student's mathematics achievement which were taught by using TGT and in low emotional quotient student's mathematics achievement which were taught by using MMP is as good as student's mathematics achievement which were taught by using TGT in straight

Project-Based Learning versus Textbook/Lecture Learning in Middle School Science

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Main, Sindy

2015-01-01

As schools continue to become more diverse, it is important to look at science teaching methods that will meet the needs of all students. In this study, 172 students in a middle school in Northwestern Illinois were taught using two methods of teaching science. Half of the students were taught using project-based science (PBS) and the other half of…

The Impact an Oratory Project generates to Primary School Students who live in Rural Areas of Cartago

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María Gabriela Amador-Solano

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This article aims at showing the development and relevance of an extension project in seven rural schools located in “circuito 05” in the central area of Cartago. The main goal is to enhance oral commu­nication in elementary school students. The project was designed as a training workshop for the teach­ers in the chosen schools in order to be taught to students by implementing an oratory club. In each student´s dissertation, the researchers observed the enthusiasm that the project caused in the schools. Objectives, contents, activities, assessment and observations were designed in a didactic plan to be used upon needs of institutions.

Controlling for Prior Attainment Reduces the Positive Influence that Single-Gender Classroom Initiatives Exert on High School Students' Scholastic Achievements.

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Pennington, Charlotte R; Kaye, Linda K; Qureshi, Adam W; Heim, Derek

2018-01-01

Research points to the positive impact that gender-segregated schooling and classroom initiatives exert on academic attainment. An evaluation of these studies which reveal positive effects highlights, however, that students are typically selectively assigned to single- or mixed-gender instructional settings, presenting a methodological confound. The current study controls for students' prior attainment to appraise the efficacy of a single-gender classroom initiative implemented in a co-educational high school in the United Kingdom. Secondary data analysis (using archived data) was performed on 266 middle-ability, 11-12 year-old students' standardized test scores in Languages (English, foreign language), STEM-related (Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology), and Non-STEM subjects (art, music, drama). Ninety-eight students (54, 55% female) were taught in single-gender and 168 (69, 41% female) in mixed-gender classrooms. Students undertook identical tests irrespective of classroom type, which were graded in accordance with U.K national curriculum guidelines. Controlling for students' prior attainment, findings indicate that students do not appear to benefit from being taught in single-gender relative to mixed-gender classrooms in Language and STEM-related subjects. Young women benefitted from being taught in mixed-gender relative to single-gender classes for Non-STEM subjects. However, when prior ability is not controlled for, the intervention appears to be effective for all school subjects, highlighting the confounding influence of selective admissions. These findings suggest that gender-segregated classroom initiatives may not bolster students' grades. It is argued that studies that do not control for selection effects may tell us little about the effectiveness of such interventions on scholastic achievement.

Impact of virtual learning environment (VLE): A technological approach to genetics teaching on high school students' content knowledge, self-efficacy and career goal aspirations

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Kandi, Kamala M.

This study examines the effect of a technology-based instructional tool 'Geniverse' on the content knowledge gains, Science Self-Efficacy, Technology Self-Efficacy, and Career Goal Aspirations among 283 high school learners. The study was conducted in four urban high schools, two of which have achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and two have not. Students in both types of schools were taught genetics either through Geniverse, a virtual learning environment or Dragon genetics, a paper-pencil activity embedded in traditional instructional method. Results indicated that students in all schools increased their knowledge of genetics using either type of instructional approach. Students who were taught using Geniverse demonstrated an advantage for genetics knowledge although the effect was small. These increases were more pronounced in the schools that had been meeting the AYP goal. The other significant effect for Geniverse was that students in the technology-enhanced classrooms increased in science Self-Efficacy while students in the non-technology enhanced classrooms decreased. In addition, students from Non-AYP schools showed an improvement in Science and Technology Self-Efficacy; however the effects were small. The implications of these results for the future use of technology-enriched classrooms were discussed. Keywords: Technology-based instruction, Self-Efficacy, career goals and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

Prevalence and Determinants of Current Smoking and Intention to Smoke among Secondary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey among Han and Tujia Nationalities in China.

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Xu, Xianglong; Liu, Dengyuan; Sharma, Manoj; Zhao, Yong

2017-10-30

Objectives: This study examined the patterns and determinants of current smoking and intention to smoke among secondary school students of Han and Tujia nationalities in China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three regions, namely, Chongqing, Liaocheng, and Tianjin, of China in 2015. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: Of the total subjects ( n = 1805), 78.9% were ethnic Han and 21.1% were ethnic Tujia. Overall 9.4% (Han: 7.7%; Tujia: 15.5%) secondary school students were smokers and 37.28% smoked more than once per day. Of the non-smoker students ( n = 1636), 17.4% have an intention to smoke. A total of 81.1% of students reportedly had never been taught throughout school about smoking or tobacco prevention. When compared to the students who were taught in the school about smoking or tobacco prevention (18.90%) students who were never taught were more likely to smoke (OR = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.14-5.01). As compared to Han nationality students who were from Tujia nationality were more likely to smoke (OR = 2.76; 95% CI = 1.88-4.04) and were more likely to have a higher frequency of smoking (95% CI (0.88, 0.88), p = 0.010). Non-smokers who were high school students (OR = 4.29; 95% CI = 2.12-8.66), whose academic performance were situated in the last 25% (OR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.48-3.34) and lower than 50% (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.02-2.20) were more likely to have an intention of smoking. Conclusions: About one in ten secondary school students was a smoker, one in three smokers smoked more than one time per day, and a quarter of non-smokers had an intention of smoking in China. Smoking rate was higher among students from Tujia than the Han nationality. This study provided some important information for future tobacco control programs among secondary school students in the ethnic minority autonomous region and minority settlements in a multi-ethnic country.

Reading literacy and reading self-concept of year 6 primary school students

OpenAIRE

Cegnar, Katja

2017-01-01

In the present Master thesis, we research the relation between the reading literacy and its components and the reading self-concept in grade 6 elementary school students. Sixth grade students were chosen because they are partially taught by class teachers and because we assume that they are already familiar with the reading comprehension technique and have a more-or-less stable reading self-concept. In the theoretical part, we present the importance of functional literacy and of other types o...

Developing Students' Intelligent Character through Linguistic Politeness: The Case of English as a Foreign Language for Indonesian Students

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Mariani, Nanik

2016-01-01

English is a foreign language that must be taught at school, particularly in secondary school. Based on a preliminary observation of several secondary schools in Banjarmasin, it appears that the English taught focuses most on concepts or language formulas. Most of the students who interact in English during the learning process do not use…

Vocabulary and Receptive Knowledge of English Collocations among Swedish Upper Secondary School Students

OpenAIRE

Bergström, Kerstin

2008-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the vocabulary and receptive collocation knowledge in English among Swedish upper secondary school students. The primary material consists of two vocabulary tests, one collocation test, and a background questionnaire. The first research question concerns whether the students who receive a major part of their education in English have a higher level of vocabulary and receptive collocation knowledge in English than those who are taught primarily in Swedish. T...

Reflections of middle school students by gender and race/ethnicity on obtaining a successful science education

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Mihalik, Bethany

Sixty-five eighth grade students responded to a science beliefs survey during a science-inquiry lab unit in an action research project to assess whether gender has an effect on how the students perceive their science classes. The survey was given to eighth grade students during the first week of school. Student results were categorized by gender and by race/ethnicity. The middle school where the study took place is fairly diverse with 540 total students of which 48% of them are White, 42% are Black, and 10% are Hispanic. Six female science teachers are employed at the middle school, two per grade. The first unit that is taught in science is inquiry skills, the basics of all science such as graphing, laboratory tools, safety, etc. This unit is taught in 6 th, 7th, and 8th grades, as a part of our standards. Inquiry test results for 8th graders are also given in this thesis, and are categorized again by gender and race/ethnicity. The results of the surveys and the assessment show a gap in the way students think about and complete activities in science. It was exciting to see that the female students scored better overall than male students on an inquiry-based summative assessment, while white students overall scored better than Black and Hispanic students. White males tended to rank science as the class they enjoyed the most of all core classes and thought science was easier than all the other data demographics. The conclusion found was stunning, in that the true gap in student's beliefs about science lies within the different races/ethnicities, rather than just gender alone.

Medical student and medical school teaching faculty perceptions of conflict of interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Andresen, Nicholas S; Olson, Tyler S; Krasowski, Matthew D

2017-07-11

Attitudes towards conflict of interest (COI) and COI policy are shaped during medical school and influence both the education of medical students and their future medical practice. Understanding the current attitudes of medical students and medical school teaching faculty may provide insight into what is taught about COI and COI policy within the 'hidden' medical curriculum. Differences between medical student and medical school teaching faculty perceptions of COI and COI policy have not been compared in detail. The authors surveyed first year medical students and medical school teaching faculty at one academic medical center. The response rate was 98.7% (150/152) for students and 34.2% (69/202) for faculty. Students were less likely than faculty to agree that lecturers should disclose COI to any learners (4.06 vs. 4.31, p = 0.01), but more likely to agree that COI disclosure decreases the presentation of biased material (3.80 vs. 3.21, p < 0.001). Student and faculty responses for all other questions were not different. Many of these responses suggest student and faculty support for stronger COI policy at academic medical centers. Students and faculty perceptions regarding COI and COI policy are largely similar, but differ in terms of the perceived effectiveness of COI disclosure. This study also suggests that medical students and medical school teaching faculty support for stronger COI policy at academic medical centers.

A didática da geografia escolar: uma reflexão sobre o saber a ser ensinado, o saber ensinado e o saber científico / Didactis of School Geography: a reflection on knowledge to be taught, taught knowledge and scientific knowledge.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria da Penha Vieira Marçal

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This article brings a reflection on the Didacticism of school Geography and an analysis of the needof didactic transposition, in order to facilitate a connection among knowledge to be taught,taught knowledge and scientific knowledge. School Geography has for function to contribute tothe construction of significant knowledge in people’s lives. The abilities to be developed bygeographical knowledge should facilitate a critical reflection concerning the society in whichstudents live and, mainly, the space they occupy in order to understand the way this space is(reorganized. To that purpose a bibliographical study concerning the relative subjects to theDidacticism of school Geography was held, based on the theories related to the transpositive anddisciplinary models, trying to construct a parallel between “scientific geographical knowledge” and “school geographical knowledge”, proposed and formulated by Yves Chevallard and AndréChervel, respectively. It was verified that knowledge to be taught brings the conception thatteaching is built from an articulation of academic competence together with pedagogic competence,as knowing to teach demands the understanding of what and how to teach.

[School well-being of students with and without special educational needs--a comparison of students in inclusive and regular classes].

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Schwab, Susanne; Rossmann, Peter; Tanzer, Norbert; Hagn, Joachim; Oitzinger, Sabrina; Thurner, Verena; Wimberger, Tanja

2015-07-01

The present study examines the academic well-being of students with and without special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive classes compared to students from regular classes in which no child with SEN is taught. In addition, the relationships between the school well-being and emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behavior are analyzed. A total of 1115 students from the 4th and 7th grade (37 % 4th graders, 63 % 7th graders) participated in the survey, 126 of whom had been diagnosed as having SEN. The subscale Well-Being at School taken from the FEESS 3–4 (Rauer & Schuck, 2004) and the SDQ (Goodman, 1997) were used for measurement. Results indicate high reliabilities for the subscale Well-Being in School for students both with and without SEN for both grades 4 and 7. Furthermore, it could be shown that the variance explained for school well-being can be connected to elements on the students’ individual level as well as on the class-specific level. Significant predictors of school well-being were sex, behavioral difficulties and strengths as well as the school grade. The SEN status (no SEN vs. SEN) and the class setting (regular vs. inclusive class) did not influence the school well-being significantly.

Mathematics Learning Assisted Geogebra using Technologically Aligned Classroom (TAC) to Improve Communication Skills of Vocasional High School Student

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Yuliardi, R.; Nurjanah

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study to analyze mathematical communication skill’s student to resolve geometry transformation problems through computer Assisted Geogebra using Technologically Aligned Classroom (TAC). The population in this study were students from one of Vocasional High School Student in West Java. Selection of sample by purposed random sampling, the experimental class is taught Technologically Aligned Classroom (TAC) with GeoGebra, while the control class is taught by conventional learning. This study was quasi-experimental with pretest and posttest control group design. Based on the results; (1) The enhancement of student mathematical communication skills through TAC was higher than the conventional learning; (2) based on gender, there were no differences of mathematical communication skilss student who exposed with TAC and conventional learning; (3) based on KAM test, there was significant enhancement of students’ communication skills among ability of high, middle, and low KAM. The differences occur between high KAM and middle KAM, and also between high KAM and low KAM. Based on this result, mathematics learning Assisted Geogebra using Technologically Aligned Classroom (TAC) can be applied in the process of Mathematics Learning in Vocasional High School.

College students' experiences and attitudes regarding middle and high school-based breastfeeding education.

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Spear, Hila J

2007-10-01

This study examined the attitudes and experiences of male and female college students relative to breastfeeding education within middle and high school programs of study. Findings revealed that 36.7% of the participants were taught about breastfeeding while enrolled in a specific course in high school; 11.3% received information about breastfeeding in middle school. Overall, participants expressed positive attitudes toward breastfeeding and were supportive of the promotion of breastfeeding within a formal educational setting. However, 54% disagreed with offering information about breastfeeding to middle school students. Furthermore, most (67.8%) participants found public breastfeeding to be unacceptable; 77.7% indicated that breastfeeding is an intimate behavior that should be kept private. School nurses are in a unique position to influence school health and science-related curricula designed to promote the health benefits of breastfeeding. More education is needed to teach young people about the advantages of breastfeeding and to make breastfeeding a socially and culturally acceptable lifestyle behavior.

Comparison of Student Test Scores in a Coordinate Plane Unit Using Traditional Classroom Techniques Versus Traditional Techniques Coupled with an Ethnomathematics Software at Torch Middle School.

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Magallanes, Adriana Moreno

In response to low achievement in mathematics at a middle school, an ethnomathematic approach was used to teach coordinate planes. Whether there were achievement differences between students taught by the culturally sensitive approach and those taught by a traditional method was studied. Data were collected from the coordinate planes unit…

Results achieved by emergency physicians in teaching basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation to secondary school students.

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Jiménez-Fábrega, Xavier; Escalada-Roig, Xavier; Sánchez, Miquel; Culla, Alexandre; Díaz, Núria; Gómez, Xavier; Villena, Olga; Rodríguez, Esther; Gaspar, Alberto; Molina, José Emilio; Salvador, Jordi; Miró, Oscar

2009-06-01

We investigated the results obtained with a basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (b-CPR) program (PROCES) specifically designed for secondary school students (14-16 years old) and taught by emergency physicians. We used a multiple-choice test with 20 questions (10 on theory and 10 on skills) answered before and immediately after and 1 year after receiving the b-CPR course. Satisfactory learning was considered when at least 8 out of 10 skill questions were correctly answered. We investigated student variables associated with better immediate and deferred (1 year after) PROCES performance. We compared the results with those obtained using a more standardized program to teach b-CPR to police cadets. We enrolled 600 high school students. PROCES achieved significant improvement in overall, theory and skill marks immediately after the course (PSatisfactory learning was achieved by 57% of school students immediately after PROCES and by 37% when assessed 1 year later. Students without pending study subjects (P=0.001) and those from private schools (Pstudents achieved greater performance 1 year after the course (Psatisfactory learning of school students was lower (79 vs. 57%, respectively; Psatisfactory learning was higher (23 vs. 37%, respectively; Pschool students in b-CPR using PROCES, and this specific program achieves a reasonable amount of satisfactory learning.

The Role of Feedback in Cross-Cultural Learning: A Case Study of Chinese Taught Postgraduate Students in a UK University

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Tian, Mei; Lowe, John

2013-01-01

Insufficient attention has been given to the role of cultural differences in feedback communication with the UK's increasingly internationalised student body. This issue is particularly significant for international students taking short -- one-year -- postgraduate taught courses and we illustrate this in a study of Chinese students at a UK…

Constructivist Practicies Through Guided Discovery Approach: The Effect on Students' Cognitive Achievements in Nigerian Senior Secondary School Physics

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A.O. Akinbobola

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The study investigated constructivist practices through guided discovery approach and the effect on students’ cognitive achievement in Nigerian senior secondary school Physics. The study adopted pretest-posttest control group design. A criterion sampling technique was used to select six schools out of nine schools that met the criteria. A total of 278 students took part in the study; this was made up of 141 male students and 137 female students in their respective intact classes. Physic Achievement Test (PAT with the internal consistency of 0.77 using Kuder-Richardson formula (21 was the instrument used in collecting data. The data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA and t-test. The results showed that guided discovery approaches was the most effective in facilitating students’ achievement in physics after being taught using a pictorial organizer. This was followed by demonstration while expository was found to be the least effective. Also, there exists no significant difference in the achievement of male and female physics students taught with guided discovery, demonstration and expository teaching approaches and corresponding exposure to a pictorial organizer. It is recommended that physics teachers should endeavor to use constructivist practices through guided discovery approach in order to engage students in problem solving activities, independent learning, critical thinking and understanding, and creative learning, rather than in rote learning and memorization.

The impact of the language of instruction: How economics students in the Netherlands evaluate an English-taught Undergraduate Programme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grift, Y.K.; Meijer, A.A.; van der Salm, F.H.

2012-01-01

In this article student ratings of undergraduate level Economics courses are analysed on the basis of the aggregated results of end-of-term questionnaires. Two groups of students were involved, one of which was taught in Dutch and the other in English. In the analysis the influence was investigated

Self-Regulated Strategy Development Instruction for Teaching Multi-Step Equations to Middle School Students Struggling in Math

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Cuenca-Carlino, Yojanna; Freeman-Green, Shaqwana; Stephenson, Grant W.; Hauth, Clara

2016-01-01

Six middle school students identified as having a specific learning disability or at risk for mathematical difficulties were taught how to solve multi-step equations by using the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) model of instruction. A multiple-probe-across-pairs design was used to evaluate instructional effects. Instruction was provided…

Analysis of senior high school student understanding on gas kinetic theory material

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Anri, Y.; Maknun, J.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this research conducted to find out student understanding profile about gas kinetic theory. Particularly, on ideal gas law material, ideal gas equations and kinetic energy of ideal gas. This research was conducted on student of class XII in one of the schools in Bandung. This research is a descriptive research. The data of this research collected by using test instrument which was the essay that has been developed by the researcher based on Bloom’s Taxonomy revised. Based on the analysis result to student answer, this research discovered that whole student has low understanding in the material of gas kinetic theory. This low understanding caused of the misconception of the student, student attitude on physic subjects, and teacher teaching method who are less helpful in obtaining clear pictures in material being taught.

A Comparative Study of the Use of Persian vs. English in Teaching English Grammar to Iranian Students in Junior High School

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Mehrseresht, Kowsar; Gowhary, Habib; Azizifar, Akbar

2015-01-01

This study compared the relationship between the use of Persian vs. English in teaching English grammar to Iranian students and their achievement in learning English grammar. The participants of this study include 50 female students from a junior high school in Mehran. The researcher randomly selected 2 groups, one group was taught through the…

Effects of traditional teaching vs a multisensory instructional package on the science achievement and attitudes of English language learners middle-school students and English-speaking middle-school students

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Crosley, Haver

This research was designed to determine the relative effectiveness of a Multi-sensory Instructional Package (MIP) (Dunn & Dunn, 1992) versus Traditional Teaching (TT) on the science achievement- and attitude-test scores of middle-school English Language Learner (ELL) and English-speaking sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade middle-school students. The dependent variables were students' science- and attitude-test scores. The independent variables were the two instructional strategies, ELL and English-speaking (Non-ELL) status, and three grade levels. The sample consisted of 282 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade ELL and Non-ELL middle-school students. Learning Styles: The Clue to You! (LS: CY) (Burke & Dunn, 1998) was administered to determine learning-style preferences. The control groups were taught sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade science lessons traditionally and the experimental groups were instructed on the same units using MIPs. The Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) (Pizzo, 1981) was administered to reveal attitudinal differences. All three groups experienced both traditional and multi-sensory instruction in all three sub-units. The data subjected to statistical analyses supported the use of an MIP rather than a traditional approach for teaching science content to both ELLs and English-speaking middle-school students. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a positive and significant impact on achievement scores. Furthermore, the students indicated significantly more positive attitudes when instructed with an MIP approach.

Understanding the experience of being taught by peers: the value of social and cognitive congruence.

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Lockspeiser, Tai M; O'Sullivan, Patricia; Teherani, Arianne; Muller, Jessica

2008-08-01

Medical schools use supplemental peer-teaching programs even though there is little research on students' actual experiences with this form of instruction. To understand the student experience of being taught by peers instead of by faculty. We conducted focus groups with first- and second-year medical students participating in a supplemental peer-teaching program at one institution. From the learner focus group themes, we developed a questionnaire and surveyed all first-year students. Focus groups revealed four learner themes: learning from near-peers, exposure to second-year students, need for review and synthesis, teaching modalities and for the peer-teachers, the theme of benefits for the teacher. Factor analysis of the survey responses resulted in three factors: second-year students as teachers, the benefit of peer-teachers instead of faculty, and the peer-teaching process. Scores on these factors correlated with attendance in the peer-teaching program (P learning from near-peers because of their recent experience with the materials and their ability to understand the students' struggles in medical school. Students with the highest participation in the program valued the unique aspects of this kind of teaching most. Areas for improvement for this program were identified.

176: EVIDENCE-BASED AND EFFECTIVE RESEARCH SKILLS OF IRANIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

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Mostafaei, Helia; Sadeghi-Ghyassi, Fatemeh; Mostafaei, Hadi

2017-01-01

Background and aims Recently, digital research is very popular in schools. The capacity of students to do an effective search is unclear which can lead to utilization of unacceptable evidence in their research. Aims To evaluate middle school students' effective search skills. Methods This survey was done during the summer school of Farzanegan talented students middle school. The self-administrated questionnaire studied 30 items about effective search and digital research skills of students. One hundred questionnaires were distributed in this summer school and students in the 7th and 8th grades filled the questionnaires. The administration of the questionnaire was counted as their concept. All data was analyzed at Excel 2013. Results Eighty percent of students including 67.5% of the seventh and 32.5% of the eighth grade students responded to the questionnaires respectively. Shockingly, 96.2% of students only googled and most of them (73.7%) type the topic of their research in Persian to start their research strategy. More than half of them (52.5) believed the result of their search is mostly or always correct and 66.2% of them copy-pasted their findings without any assessment. Surprisingly, only 27.5% of them have proposed that they had problem with appraising the evidence. The best sources of the students for finding the answer of their questions were: Wikipedia, telegram, TV, books, E-Books, YouTube, classmates, Facebook and student information websites, and EBSCO, accordingly. 76.2% acknowledged that internet has turned students into copy machines. Only 31.2% agreed their teachers taught them how to do effective research. Conclusion Most of the students were not familiar with valid sources of research evidence. Language barrier may limit their access to best evidence. Most students were not used to retrieving the evidence.

Offering a Forensic Science Camp To Introduce and Engage High School Students in Interdisciplinary Science Topics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahrenkiel, Linda; Worm-Leonhard, Martin

2014-01-01

In this article, we present details of a one-week interdisciplinary science camp for high school students in Denmark, “Criminal Camp”. We describe the use of forensic science and simulated crimes as a common foundation for teaching the theory and practice of concepts in chemistry, physics...... of the subjects taught and scientific literacy in general....

Sustained improvements in students' mental health literacy with use of a mental health curriculum in Canadian schools.

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Mcluckie, Alan; Kutcher, Stan; Wei, Yifeng; Weaver, Cynthia

2014-12-31

Enhancement of mental health literacy for youth is a focus of increasing interest for mental health professionals and educators alike. Schools are an ideal site for addressing mental health literacy in young people. Currently, there is limited evidence regarding the impact of curriculum-based interventions within high school settings. We examined the effect of a high-school mental health curriculum (The Guide) in enhancing mental health literacy in Canadian schools. We conducted a secondary analysis on surveys of students who participated in a classroom mental health course taught by their usual teachers. Evaluation of students' mental health literacy (knowledge/attitudes) was completed before and after classroom implementation and at 2-month follow-up. We used paired-samples t-tests and Cohen's d value to determine the significance and impact of change. There were 265 students who completed all surveys. Students' knowledge significantly improved between pre- and post-tests (p mental health. This is the first study to demonstrate the positive impact of a curriculum-based mental health literacy program in a Canadian high school population.

The use of CORE model by metacognitive skill approach in developing characters junior high school students

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Fisher, Dahlia; Yaniawati, Poppy; Kusumah, Yaya Sukjaya

2017-08-01

This study aims to analyze the character of students who obtain CORE learning model using metacognitive approach. The method in this study is qualitative research and quantitative research design (Mixed Method Design) with concurrent embedded strategy. The research was conducted on two groups: an experimental group and the control group. An experimental group consists of students who had CORE model learning using metacognitive approach while the control group consists of students taught by conventional learning. The study was conducted the object this research is the seventh grader students in one the public junior high schools in Bandung. Based on this research, it is known that the characters of the students in the CORE model learning through metacognitive approach is: honest, hard work, curious, conscientious, creative and communicative. Overall it can be concluded that CORE model learning is good for developing characters of a junior high school student.

Rescuing Middle School Astronomy

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Mayo, L. A.; Janney, D.

2010-12-01

There is a crisis in education at the middle school level (Spellings, 2006). Recent studies point to large disparities in middle school performance in schools with high minority populations. The largest disparities exist in areas of math and science. Astronomy has a universal appeal for K-12 students but is rarely taught at the middle school level. When it is taught at all it is usually taught in isolation with few references in other classes such as other sciences (e.g. physics, biology, and chemistry), math, history, geography, music, art, or English. The problem is greatest in our most challenged school districts. With scores in reading and math below national averages in these schools and with most state achievement tests ignoring subjects like astronomy, there is little room in the school day to teach about the world outside our atmosphere. Add to this the exceedingly minimal training and education in astronomy that most middle school teachers have and it is a rare school that includes any astronomy teaching at all. In this presentation, we show how to develop and offer an astronomy education training program for middle school teachers encompassing a wide range of educational disciplines that are frequently taught at the middle school level. The prototype for this program was developed and launched in two of the most challenged and diverse school systems in the country; D.C. Public Schools, and Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools.

Perceptions of medical school graduates and students regarding their academic preparation to teach.

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Henry, B W; Haworth, J G; Hering, P

2006-09-01

How medical students learn and develop the characteristics associated with good teaching in medicine is not well known. Information about this process can improve the academic preparation of medical students for teaching responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to determine how different experiences contributed to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of medical school graduates and students regarding medical teaching. A questionnaire was developed, addressing reliability and validity considerations, and given to first year residents and third year medical students (taught by those residents). Completed questionnaires were collected from 76 residents and 110 students (81% of the sample group). Item responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Most residents (n = 54; 71%) positively viewed opportunities they had to practice teaching when they were seniors. Residents rated three activities for learning to teach highest: (1) observing teachers as they teach; (2) reviewing the material to be taught; and (3) directly teaching students; representing both individual and participatory ways of learning. Residents' self ratings of teaching behaviours improved over time and this self assessment by the residents was validated by the students' responses. Comparison between residents' self ratings and students' views of typical resident teaching behaviours showed agreement on levels of competence, confidence, and motivation. The students rated characteristics of enthusiasm, organisation, and fulfilment lower (pteaching responsibilities positively and showed agreement on characteristics of good teaching that may be helpful indicators in the process of developing medical teachers.

WWC Review of the Report "The Effects of Cognitive Strategy Instruction on Math Problem Solving of Middle School Students of Varying Ability." What Works Clearinghouse Single Study Review

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What Works Clearinghouse, 2014

2014-01-01

A recent study, "The Effects of Cognitive Strategy Instruction on Math Problem Solving of Middle School Students of Varying Ability," examined the effectiveness of "Solve It!," a program intended to improve the problem-solving skills of seventh-grade math students. During the program, students are taught cognitive strategies of…

Taking the conservation biology perspective to secondary school classrooms.

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Wyner, Yael; Desalle, Rob

2010-06-01

The influence of conservation biology can be enhanced greatly if it reaches beyond undergraduate biology to students at the middle and high school levels. If a conservation perspective were taught in secondary schools, students who are not interested in biology could be influenced to pursue careers or live lifestyles that would reduce the negative impact of humans on the world. We use what we call the ecology-disrupted approach to transform the topics of conservation biology research into environmental-issue and ecology topics, the major themes of secondary school courses in environmental science. In this model, students learn about the importance and complexity of normal ecological processes by studying what goes wrong when people disrupt them (environmental issues). Many studies published in Conservation Biology are related in some way to the ecological principles being taught in secondary schools. Describing research in conservation biology in the language of ecology curricula in secondary schools can help bring these science stories to the classroom and give them a context in which they can be understood by students. Without this context in the curriculum, a science story can devolve into just another environmental issue that has no immediate effect on the daily lives of students. Nevertheless, if the research is placed in the context of larger ecological processes that are being taught, students can gain a better understanding of ecology and a better understanding of their effect on the world.

The influence of contextual teaching with the problem solving method on students' knowledge and attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school

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Whitcher, Carrie Lynn

2005-08-01

Adolescence is marked with many changes in the development of higher order thinking skills. As students enter high school they are expected to utilize these skills to solve problems, become abstract thinkers, and contribute to society. The goal of this study was to assess horticultural science knowledge achievement and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school in high school agriculture students. There were approximately 240 high school students in the sample including both experimental and control groups from California and Washington. Students in the experimental group participated in an educational program called "Hands-On Hortscience" which emphasized problem solving in investigation and experimentation activities with greenhouse plants, soilless media, and fertilizers. Students in the control group were taught by the subject matter method. The activities included in the Hands-On Hortscience curriculum were created to reinforce teaching the scientific method through the context of horticulture. The objectives included evaluating whether the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience experimental group benefited in the areas of science literacy, data acquisition and analysis, and attitude toward horticulture, science, and school. Pre-tests were administered in both the experimental and control groups prior to the research activities and post-tests were administered after completion. The survey questionnaire included a biographical section and attitude survey. Significant increases in hortscience achievement were found from pre-test to post-test in both control and experimental study groups. The experimental treatment group had statistically higher achievement scores than the control group in the two areas tested: scientific method (p=0.0016) and horticulture plant nutrition (p=0.0004). In addition, the students participating in the Hands-On Hortscience activities had more positive attitudes toward horticulture, science, and school (p=0

Teaching Positioning and Handling Techniques to Public School Personnel through Inservice Training. Brief Report.

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Inge, Katherine J.; Snell, Martha E.

1985-01-01

Two teachers were taught positioning and handling techniques using written task analyses, demonstrations by an occupational therapist, verbal and modeling prompts, corrective feedback, and praise. Training took place in the natural school environment, during school hours, and with students that the teachers taught. A functional relationship…

What are school children in Europe being taught about hygiene and antibiotic use?

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Lecky, Donna M; McNulty, Cliodna A M; Adriaenssens, Niels; Koprivová Herotová, Tereza; Holt, Jette; Touboul, Pia; Merakou, Kyriakoula; Koncan, Raffaella; Olczak-Pienkowska, Anna; Avô, António Brito; Campos, José; Farrell, David; Kostkova, Patty; Weinberg, Julius

2011-06-01

e-Bug is a pan-European antibiotic and hygiene teaching resource that aims to reinforce awareness in school children of microbes, prudent antibiotic use, hygiene and the transmission of infection. Prior to the production of the resource, it was essential to examine the educational structure across each partner country and assess what school children were being taught on these topics. A questionnaire was devised for distribution to each European partner (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain), exploring their educational structure and examining educational resources or campaigns currently available. From the data collected it was evident that the majority of European schools have structured hand hygiene practices in place from a young age. The curricula in all countries cover the topic of human health and hygiene, but limited information is provided on antibiotics and their prudent use. School educational resources that link to the national curriculum and implement National Advice to the Public campaigns in the classroom are limited. The Microbes en question mobile health education campaign in France is an example of a successful children's education campaign and an innovative programme. Evaluation of the impact of school education on attitude and change of behaviour is also limited throughout many European countries. Not enough is currently being done across Europe to educate school children on the importance of appropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance. The data from this research were used to develop e-Bug, a European Union-funded antibiotic and hygiene teaching resource.

INFLUENCE OF STUDENT ENGLISH UTILITY AND TEACHER EFFICACY ON ENGLISH PROFICIENCY OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth A. ORTEGA-DELA CRUZ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Learning second language considers a number of factors that influence the manner in which the language is taught. Understanding of the learners’ goals and motivation for learning is one. Using descriptive-correlational research design, this study determined the influence of student English utility and teacher efficacy on the students’ English proficiency. A total of 101 students from first year to fourth year level served as the respondents of the study. The study quantified the students’ perception towards English utility and their evaluation of English teacher efficacy which employed a researcher-made survey questionnaire. Results revealed high positive perceptions of students towards English utility. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences in the perceptions of high school students on the efficacy of their English teachers. Correlation coefficients indicated a positive linear relationship among the given variables. The p-value revealed significant relationship of teacher efficacy (r = .691, p-value = .000 and English utility (r = .467, p-value = .000 to students’ English proficiency. Results of regression statistics revealed that English utility has no significant influence on the student English proficiency. Therefore, the main factor that must still be considered then should be the teacher. Finally, there is an explicit indication that high level of teachers’ efficacy performing in teaching has much powerful influence on the English proficiency of high school students. Thus improving the methods of teaching English provides a better way of motivating students to achieve higher levels of proficiency in the future.

Teaching basic life support to school children using medical students and teachers in a 'peer-training' model--results of the 'ABC for life' programme.

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Toner, P; Connolly, M; Laverty, L; McGrath, P; Connolly, D; McCluskey, D R

2007-10-01

The 'ABC for life' programme was designed to facilitate the wider dissemination of basic life support (BLS) skills and knowledge in the population. A previous study demonstrated that using this programme 10-12-year olds are capable of performing and retaining these vital skills when taught by medical students. There are approximately 25,000 year 7 school children in 900 primary schools in Northern Ireland. By using a pyramidal teaching approach involving medical students and teachers, there is the potential to train BLS to all of these children each year. To assess the effectiveness of a programme of CPR instruction using a three-tier training model in which medical students instruct primary school teachers who then teach school children. School children and teachers in the Western Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland. A course of instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)--the 'ABC for life' programme--specifically designed to teach 10-12-year-old children basic life support skills. Medical students taught teachers from the Western Education and Library Board area of Northern Ireland how to teach basic life support skills to year 7 pupils in their schools. Pupils were given a 22-point questionnaire to assess knowledge of basic life support immediately before and after a teacher led training session. Children instructed in cardiopulmonary resuscitation using this three-tier training had a significantly improved score following training (57.2% and 77.7%, respectively, p<0.001). This study demonstrates that primary school teachers, previously trained by medical students, can teach BLS effectively to 10-12-year-old children using the 'ABC for life' programme.

The effect of the flipped classroom on urban high school students' motivation and academic achievement in a high school science course

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Keshia L.

This study investigated the effect of the flipped classroom on urban high school students' motivation and academic achievement in a high school science course. In this quantitative study, the sample population was comprised of North Star High School 12th grade students enrolled in human anatomy and physiology. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design was conducted. After receipt of Liberty University Institutional Review Board approval and the school district's Department of Research and Evaluation for School Improvement, students completed a pretest comprised of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II) and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Unit Test. Participants in the experimental group engaged in the treatment, the flipped classroom, using instructional materials on the educational website, Edmodo(TM), and applied content material taught using hands-on activities inclusive of assigned laboratory experiments. Participants in the control group received instruction using traditional face-to-face lecture-homework format while also engaging in assigned laboratory experiments. After the completion of the treatment all participants completed a posttest. Data from both the pretest and posttest was statistically analyzed individually using two separate one-way ANOVA/ANCOVA analyses; and researcher reported the results of the statistical analyses. After completion of the analyses, and interpretation of the results, recommendations for future research were given.

Food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices among Ontario high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Majowicz, Shannon E; Diplock, Kenneth J; Leatherdale, Scott T; Bredin, Chad T; Rebellato, Steven; Hammond, David; Jones-Bitton, Andria; Dubin, Joel A

2016-03-16

To measure the food safety knowledge, attitudes and self-reported practices of high school students in Ontario. We administered a school-wide paper survey to the student body (n = 2,860) of four Ontario high schools. We developed the survey by selecting questions from existing, validated questionnaires, prioritizing questions that aligned with the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education's educational messages and the food safety objectives from the 2013 Ontario High School Curriculum. One in five students reported currently handling food in commercial or public-serving venues; of these, 45.1% had ever taken a course that taught them how to prepare food (e.g., food and nutrition classes, food handler certification). Food safety knowledge among respondents was low. For example, 17.3% knew that the best way to determine whether hamburgers were cooked enough to eat was to measure the temperature with a food thermometer. Despite low knowledge, most respondents (72.7%) reported being confident that they could cook safe, healthy meals for themselves and their families. Safe food handling practices were frequently self-reported. Most students (86.5%) agreed that being able to cook safe, healthy meals was an important life skill, although their interest in learning about safe food handling and concern about foodborne disease were less pronounced. Our findings suggest that food safety knowledge is low, yet confidence in preparing safe, healthy meals is high, among high school students. Because work and volunteer opportunities put students in contact with both the public and food, this group is important to target for increased education about safe food handling.

I Can Assess Myself: Singaporean Primary Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Students' Self-Assessment Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hwei Ming

2016-01-01

Student self-assessment engages the students in purposeful reflection about what they are learning and how they are learning it. This study investigated the perceptions of students and teachers towards the students' self-assessment ability in two Singapore primary schools. A total of 75 students were taught how to use self-assessment. Eighteen…

Examining why ethics is taught to veterinary students: a qualitative study of veterinary educators' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, Manuel; Lassen, Jesper; Millar, Kate M; Sandøe, Peter; Olsson, I Anna S

2014-01-01

Although it is widely agreed that veterinary students need to be introduced to ethics, there is limited empirical research investigating the reasons why veterinary ethics is being taught. This study presents the first extensive investigation into the reasons for teaching veterinary ethics and reports data collected in semi-structured interviews with educators involved in teaching undergraduate veterinary ethics at three European schools: the University of Copenhagen, the University of Nottingham, and the Technical University of Lisbon (curricular year 2010-2011). The content of the interview transcripts were analyzed using Toulmin's argumentative model. Ten objectives in teaching veterinary ethics were identified, which can be grouped into four overarching themes: ethical awareness, ethical knowledge, ethical skills, and individual and professional qualities. These objectives include recognizing values and ethical viewpoints, identifying norms and regulations, developing skills of communication and decision making, and contributing to a professional identity. Whereas many of the objectives complement each other, there is tension between the view that ethics teaching should promote knowledge of professional rules and the view that ethics teaching should emphasize critical reasoning skills. The wide range of objectives and the possible tensions between them highlight the challenges faced by educators as they attempt to prioritize among these goals of ethics teaching within a crowded veterinary curriculum.

Common misconceptions and future intention to smoke among secondary school students in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Caszo, Brinnell; Khair, Muhammad; Mustafa, Mohd Habbib; Zafran, Siti Nor; Syazmin, Nur; Safinaz, Raja Nor Intan; Gnanou, Justin

2015-01-01

The prevalence of smoking among secondary school children continues to remain unchanged over the last 3 decades even though awareness regarding the health effects of smoking is increasing. Common misconceptions about smoking and parental influence could be factors influencing future intentions to smoke among these students. Hence, we looked at the common misconceptions as well as student perceptions about their future intention to smoke among Form 4 students in Shah Alam, Malaysia. This study was conducted by distribution of a questionnaire developed as part of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey to Form 4 student in 3 schools at Shah Alam. Prevalence of smoking (current smokers) was 7.5%. Almost half of the children came from families where one or both parents smoked and a third of the parents had no discussion regarding consequences of smoking with them. A large number of students were classified as "triers" as they had tried smoking and were unsure of whether they would not be smoking in the future. Contrary to our expectations, students generally felt smoking did make one feel more uncomfortable and helped one to reduce body weight. Most students seemed to be aware of the ill-effects of smoking on health. They felt they had received adequate information from school regarding the effects on smoking on health. Our study showed that even though Form 4 students in Shah Alam were knowledgeable about ill-effects of smoking and were taught so as part of their school curriculum, the prevalence of smoking was still high. Students in the "trier group" represent a potential group of future smokers and strategies targeting tobacco control may be aimed at tackling these vulnerable individuals. Efforts are also needed to help educate secondary school children about common misconceptions and dispel myths associated with cigarette smoking.

A retrospective study of social relations in a Danish primary school class taught in 'udeskole'

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hartmeyer, Rikke Dalgaard; Mygind, Erik

2016-01-01

exhaustively. Therefore, we explored the conditions in ‘udeskole’ influencing pupils’ social relations based on an extreme case called the ‘Nature Class’. In the ‘Nature Class’ the pupils (third to fifth grades) were taught outside the classroom one day a week. Five pupils and two teachers were interviewed......’, ‘interaction’, ‘participation’ and ‘pupil-centered tasks’ - were important conditions for the positive social relations during the ‘Nature Class’ project. Two conditions - ‘cooperation’ and ‘engagement’ - seem to be consequences of the improved social relations during the ‘Nature Class’ project which......The use of the ’outdoors’ in pre-school and school settings is becoming an increasingly important field of education and researchers have emphasised the positive influence of the ‘outdoors’ on various social aspects. However, the facilitative conditions for such positive influences are not studied...

The Effect of Classical Music on Painting Quality and Classroom Behaviour for Students with Severe Intellectual Disabilities in Special Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Waugh, Russell F.; Riddoch, Jane V.

2007-01-01

There are few studies measuring the effects on painting quality of playing background classical music at special schools. Primary students with severe intellectual disabilities (N=24) were taught abstract painting in a two-part method. The first part involved a Pictorial Only method and the second, immediately following it, involved a Pictorial…

Indigenous Sky Stories: Reframing How We Introduce Primary School Students to Astronomy--A Type II Case Study of Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Ruddell, Nicholas; Danaia, Lena; McKinnon, David

2016-01-01

The Indigenous Sky Stories Program may have the potential to deliver significant and long-lasting changes to the way science is taught to Year 5 and 6 primary school students. The context for this article is informed by research that shows that educational outcomes can be strengthened when Indigenous knowledge is given the space to co-exist with…

Effects of Self-Instructional Learning Strategy on Secondary Schools ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

2012-10-27

Oct 27, 2012 ... on the learning achievement of senior secondary school students. Three research ... On the other hand, the control group was taught the same ... scientific, industrial, technological and social progress of a society. It is a ... also designed to assist middle and secondary school students who have difficulty ...

Virtual fetal pig dissection as an agent of knowledge acquisition and attitudinal change in female high school biology students

Science.gov (United States)

Maloney, Rebecca Scudari

One way to determine if all students can learn through the use of computers is to introduce a lesson taught completely via computers and compare the results with those gained when the same lesson is taught in a traditional manner. This study attempted to determine if a virtual fetal pig dissection can be used as a viable alternative for an actual dissection for females enrolled in high school biology classes by comparing the knowledge acquisition and attitudinal change between the experimental (virtual dissection) and control (actual dissection) groups. Two hundred and twenty-four students enrolled in biology classes in a suburban all-girl parochial high school participated in this study. Female students in an all-girl high school were chosen because research shows differences in science competency and computer usage between the genders that may mask the performance of females on computer-based tasks in a science laboratory exercise. Students who completed the virtual dissection scored significantly higher on practical test and objective tests that were used to measure knowledge acquisition. Attitudinal change was measured by examining the students' attitudes toward dissections, computer usage in the classroom, and toward biology both before and after the dissections using pre and post surveys. Significant results in positive gain scores were found in the virtual dissection group's attitude toward dissections, and their negative gain score toward virtual dissections. Attitudinal changes toward computers and biology were not significant. A purposefully selected sample of the students were interviewed, in addition to gathering a sample of the students' daily dissection journals, as data highlighting their thoughts and feelings about their dissection experience. Further research is suggested to determine if a virtual laboratory experience can be a substitute for actual dissections, or may serve as an enhancement to an actual dissection.

The role of students' activities in Indonesian realistic mathematics education in primary schools of Aceh

Science.gov (United States)

Zubainur, Cut Morina; Veloo, Arsaythamby; Khalid, Rozalina

2015-05-01

This study aims to explore the implementation of the Indonesian Realistic Mathematics Education (PMRI) in Aceh primary schools, Indonesia. This study investigates the students' mathematics activities involved in the implementation of PMRI and for this purpose; students' mathematics activities in the classroom were observed. Students were observed three times within five weeks during mathematics class, based on PMRI. A total of 25 year five students from a public school participated in this study. Observation check list was used in this study based on ten items. The observation conducted was based on two different time periods which were 105 minutes for group A and 70 minutes for group B. The observation was conducted every 5 minutes. The results show that PMRI is being practised in Aceh, but not completely. This study shows that mathematics activities for those who were taught using PMRI are higher than for those using the traditional approach. Overall, the findings showed that the number of student activities undertaken in PMRI achieved 90.56%. The higher percentage of activities suggests that the Aceh Education Office expands the implementation of PMRI in all primary schools so that learning of mathematics is more effective. This indirectly increases the mathematics achievement of students in Aceh to a higher level on par with Indonesia's national achievement.

PHONOLOGICAL AND GRAMMATICAL PERFORMANCE OF DISABLED STUDENTS IN SLB NEGERI UNGARAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhimatul Ifadah

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In Indonesia, disabled students are taught in particular schools. The research was aimed to give an overview of phonological and grammatical performance of those students and to find out how the teachers deliver English. English was not taught since primary school due to the competence of the teachers and some complexities of the students themselves, so English taught only for those with cognitive or learning disability and autism. The English teachers at the school did not have qualification in English because their major was not English; however, this gave impact on their teaching. In the process of teaching, the students were much asked to listen and imitate the teachers’ pronunciation, and they always used pictures as media. Unfortunately, words found in the material distributed in the classroom pronounced differently by the teacher and he seems do not realize with this weakness. Meanwhile, in grammatical performance they always use present progressive in the process of teaching. The students were much taught lexical or vocabulary to simplify the concept of English subject.Hence, the students were already sat on the senior high level, and the material were the same with the elementary. Meanwhile, the students made many unappropriate pronunciation because the teacher inconsistently pronouncing the words or sentences. It is suggested that teachers should have adequate skill in English to help those students in English class, because in a classroom setting, communication means a lot of things, and it is represented by the sufficient competence in English skills.

Frequent fliers, school phobias, and the sick student: school health personnel's perceptions of students who refuse school.

Science.gov (United States)

Torrens Armstrong, Anna M; McCormack Brown, Kelli R; Brindley, Roger; Coreil, Jeannine; McDermott, Robert J

2011-09-01

This study explored school personnel's perceptions of school refusal, as it has been described as a "common educational and public health problem" that is less tolerated due to increasing awareness of the potential socioeconomic consequences of this phenomenon. In-depth interviews were conducted with school personnel at the middle school (N = 42), high school (N = 40), and district levels (N = 10). The findings focus on emergent themes from interviews with school health personnel (N = 12), particularly those themes related to their perceptions of and role in working with school-refusing students. Personnel, especially school health services staff, constructed a typification of the school-refusing student as "the sick student," which conceptualized student refusal due to reasons related to illness. Personnel further delineated sick students by whether they considered the illness legitimate. School health personnel referenced the infamous "frequent fliers" and "school phobics" within this categorization of students. Overarching dynamics of this typification included parental control, parental awareness, student locus of control, blame, and victim status. These typifications influenced how personnel reacted to students they encountered, particularly in deciding which students need "help" versus "discipline," thus presenting implications for students and screening of students. Overall, findings suggest school health personnel play a pivotal role in screening students who are refusing school as well as keeping students in school, underscoring policy that supports an increased presence of school health personnel. Recommendations for school health, prevention, and early intervention include the development of screening protocols and staff training. © 2011, American School Health Association.

The Historical and Social Context of U.S. Middle School Education a Practical Guidebook for School Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Harley, Sue

2010-01-01

The six chapters in this research involve the history and development of middle schools from the early conceptions of junior high school to the ground breaking research by the Carnegie Foundation on changes in how young adolescent students develop, are taught and transitioned from elementary levels to high school. Professional literature reporting…

Effect of the inquiry-based teaching approach on students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

kofi.mereku

mathematics as a vital tool for the understanding and application of science and .... In view of senior high school students' poor performance in circle theorems and their ..... taught using the inquiry-based approach on the other hand perceive their .... visualization and spatial reasoning to middle school mathematics students.

Can technical laboratory skills be taught at a distance? An analysis of a semiconductor course taught at a distance via interactive technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Lalita

2000-10-01

This study investigated extending synchronous distance learning to teaching courses in the psychomotor domain in real-time, with immediate, direct feedback on technical skills performance from an instructor at a remote site via interactive technologies such as videoconferencing. This study focused on two research questions (1) can interactive distance learning technologies be used to teach technical and/or trouble shooting skills that fall under psychomotor domain? and, (2) to what degree can psychomotor skills be taught at a distance? A technical course, "RF Power PC 211L" from a technical and vocational institute was selected and the instructor who had no prior experience in teaching a distance learning course taught the course. Data on cognitive skills, psychomotor technical skills, attitudes and perceptions, demographics as well as boundary conditions on teaching psychomotor skills was gathered from both remote and the main campus. Instruments used for data gathering were final course grades, total points in laboratory exercise, pre and post course surveys, demographic survey and open-ended interviews with the instructor, student and review of instructor journal were used to address the two research questions. The main campus course was taught to the remote campus via distance learning technology in a distance learning format. The main technology used was videoconferencing. Both campus classrooms had the RF Trainer equipment. The rooms were set up to facilitate distance learning in the classroom. The instructor was present only at the main campus. The students on the remote campus were the experimental group. The experimental group participated in all course activities such as demonstrations, laboratory exercises, learning conceptual skills and tests only via distance. These students only had the benefit of laboratory assistant. The role of the laboratory assistant was to assist students/instructor as needed, ensure the safety of students and equipment and

The Boss’ Healthy Buddies Nutrition Resource Is Effective for Elementary School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David W. Pittman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Previously we have shown that our Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention can influence students’ selections of the healthiest foods available in their elementary school cafeterias through positive reinforcement techniques. Although effective, we recognized that students were missing fundamental nutrition knowledge necessary to understand why the Healthy Eating Decisions program identified particular beverages and foods as the healthiest in the cafeteria. Therefore, we developed the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education resource as a freely available curriculum matched with South Carolina education standards and designed for elementary school students from kindergarten through fourth grade. The current study implemented Boss’ Healthy Buddies and compared its efficacy to a commercially available nutrition program, CATCH. Elementary school students in Spartanburg, South Carolina, received weekly twenty-minute Boss’ Healthy Buddies lessons for eight weeks. Results from preassessment and postassessment surveys were compared with a positive control elementary school using the CATCH program and a negative control school receiving no nutrition education. Results show that Boss’ Healthy Buddies was equally effective as the CATCH program in improving the nutrition attitudes regarding healthiest beverages and food selections with the advantage of being freely available and minimizing the impact on classroom instruction time. In order to reduce most effectively the high prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, it is crucial that children are taught nutrition education to support healthy eating habits at an early age. Both the Healthy Eating Decisions school-based intervention and the Boss’ Healthy Buddies nutrition education program are available online for use as free resources to aid in reducing childhood overweight and obesity within elementary schools.

A WIDER ROLE FOR TECHNICIANS IN SCIENCE PRACTICAL WORK WITH SCHOOL STUDENTS?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy G. Harrison

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the results of a study made on the impact of improved deployment of science technicians in the classroom could directly benefit students in practical science investigations. Science technicians are skilled individuals whose understanding of practical work is a valuable resource not being used of in support of students understanding of science. Aspects of practical work and technician support were scrutinised, through information attained from a post-16 student survey to improve understanding about this teaching tool, to establish if it was being used to its full potential within science lessons. Analysis was also made of students’ perceptions of school science. The main outcomes were that the majority of students enjoyed science practical work and felt that science could not be taught without it. Students studying science at pre-university level attained a greater understanding, through participating in relevant practical work, than students who had studied it at earlier, compulsory levels. Students reported that science technicians provide impact on student learning when contact time was the greatest.

Should Torsion Balance Technique Continue to be Taught to Pharmacy Students?

Science.gov (United States)

Bilger, Rhonda; Chereson, Rasma; Salama, Noha Nabil

2017-06-01

Objective. To determine the types of balances used in compounding pharmacies: torsion or digital. Methods. A survey was mailed to the pharmacist-in-charge at 698 pharmacies, representing 47% of the pharmacies in Missouri as of July 2013. The pharmacies were randomly selected and stratified by region into eight regions to ensure a representative sample. Information was gathered regarding the type and use of balances and pharmacists' perspectives on the need to teach torsion balance technique to pharmacy students. Results. The response rate for the survey was 53.3%. Out of the total responses received, those pharmacies having a torsion balance, digital balance or both were 46.8%, 27.4% and 11.8%, respectively. About 68.3% of respondents compound prescriptions. The study showed that 52% of compounding pharmacies use torsion balances in their practice. Of those with a balance in their pharmacy, 65.6% favored continuation of torsion balance instruction. Conclusions. Digital balances have become increasingly popular and have replaced torsion balances in some pharmacies, especially those that compound a significant number of prescriptions. The results of this study indicate that torsion balances remain integral to compounding practice. Therefore, students should continue being taught torsion balance technique at the college.

How Does the Science Writing Heuristic Approach Affect Students' Performances of Different Academic Achievement Levels? A Case for High School Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Kingir, Sevgi; Geban, Omer; Gunel, Murat

2012-01-01

This study investigates the effects of the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH), known as an argumentation-based science inquiry approach, on Grade 9 students' performance on a post-test in relation to their academic achievement levels. Four intact classes taught by 2 chemistry teachers from a Turkish public high school were selected for the study; one…

Secondary school learners' perceptions of responsible citizenship as taught in the life orientation learning area: a case study

OpenAIRE

2008-01-01

In this study, secondary school learners perceptions of Responsible Citizenship as taught in the Life Orientation learning area are explored. Citizen Education, which is set out in Learning Outcome Two of the Life Orientation Curriculum, forms the basis of the programme used to conduct this study. An international as well as a national perspective of Responsible Citizenship and the teaching thereof is explicated with special reference being made to the Further Education and Training Band. The...

Should Cursive Handwriting Still Be Taught in Schools? Information Capsule. Volume 0916

Science.gov (United States)

Blazer, Christie

2010-01-01

Elementary school students spend less time learning cursive handwriting than they did in years past. The declining emphasis on cursive writing has been attributed to the increasing use of technology, the growing proportion of class time spent preparing for standardized tests, and the perception that the time students spend learning to write in…

Herder and Modernity: From Lesser-Taught Languages to Lesser-Taught Cultures

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Martin Votruba

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The typical North American curriculum of a lesser-taught Slavic language implicitly relies on the legacy of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s interpretation that language in and of itself contains national (ethnic culture. At the same time, enrolments are dwindling even in courses in the most commonly taught Slavic languages. Millennials’ understandable focus on the practicality of the courses they take make it unlikely for the lesser-taught languages to survive the slump. On the other hand, foreign culture courses are appearing to hold their ground more successfully. Slavic departments may reconsider Herder’s dictum as they try to maintain or establish programs in lesser-taught languages and cultures.

Comparative Outcomes of Two Instructional Models for Students with Learning Disabilities: Inclusion with Co-Teaching and Solo-Taught Special Education

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Philippe

2013-01-01

We compared two instructional models (co-teaching inclusion and solo-taught special education) for students with learning disabilities (LD) with regard to their effect on academic achievement and class attendance. Twelve inclusive classes (experimental group) and 13 special education classes (control group) participated in the study. In grade 1,…

Do Junior High School Students Perceive Their Learning Environment as Constructivist?

Science.gov (United States)

Moustafa, Asely; Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, Orit; Eshach, Haim

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the manner in which the features of a constructivist learning environment, and the mechanisms at its base, are expressed in junior high school students' conceptions. Our research is based on an integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches, deigned to provide a wider ranging and deeper understanding. Eight hundred and forty eighth- and ninth-grade students from over 15 schools participated in the study. Of the 840 students who completed the questionnaire, the explanations of 200 well-written questionnaires were further analyzed qualitatively. The findings of the study are presented in terms of the four scales employed in the CLES, namely the autonomy scale, the prior knowledge scale, the negotiation scale, and the student-centeredness scale. The quantitative results achieved here concur with parallel studies conducted around the world. The findings indicate that a considerable portion of the students perceive their learning environment as a constructivist one and report positive attitudes toward the way they are being taught. In terms of the qualitative results, however, it appears that in some cases, the students' explanations reveal that in fact, and contrary to the bare quantitative results, some students do not perceive their learning environment as being constructivist. This raises the question of whether the fact that students recognize the factors associated with constructivist teaching is indeed an indication that such teaching exists in practice. This finding emphasizes the importance of combining qualitative and quantitative methods for arriving at a balanced view of classroom occurrences.

Correlation of understanding of physics and psychological symptoms among high-school students in Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Aggeliki, Anagnostopoulou; Miltiades, Kyprianou; Antigoni-Elisavet, Rota; Evangelia, Pavlatou; Loizos, Zaphiris

2017-09-01

Depression may essentially influence cognitive function contributing to poor school performance. The present study undertakes to determine the existence and strength of correlation between depressive symptomatology and other mental conditions with the acquired level of understanding of Newtonian physics taught in schools. The current study recruited 490 students (262 girls, 228 boys) attending the first semester of the Greek Second Grade of General Lyceum School. Force Concept Inventory (FCI) tested the depth of the students’ understanding of Newtonian Physics. Symptom Checklist-90-R assessed general mental status. The tests took place in the classroom during a 1 h session. Low FCI scores significantly correlated with mental conditions, with depression ranking first. Girls had higher scores in all nine symptoms scales of SCL-90 and lower FCI scores. Stepwise regression models proved that the gender effect on FCI could be effectively explained through the significant effect of depression. An understanding of Newtonian physics among high school students may be restricted by common problematic mental conditions, with depression being the greatest among all. Further research, using a more systematic approach to measure depression among adolescents with poor understanding of physics, would help to elucidate the nature of the effect.

Challenges in Academic Reading and Overcoming Strategies in Taught Master Programmes: A Case Study of International Graduate Students in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Manjet Kaur Mehar

2014-01-01

This article focuses on research into academic reading practices of international graduate students in taught Master programmes in a Malaysian university. The purpose of the study was to examine the challenges faced in the academic reading practices as well as the strategies employed to overcome the challenges in the academic reading practices.…

Teaching IR to Medical Students: A Call to Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Aoife M; Lee, Michael J

2018-02-01

Interventional radiology (IR) has grown rapidly over the last 20 years and is now an essential component of modern medicine. Despite IR's increasing penetration and reputation in healthcare systems, IR is poorly taught, if taught at all, in most medical schools. Medical students are the referrers of tomorrow and potential IR recruits and deserve to be taught IR by expert IRs. The lack of formal IR teaching curricula in many medical schools needs to be addressed urgently for the continued development and dissemination of, particularly acute, IR services throughout Europe. We call on IRs to take up the baton to teach IR to the next generation of doctors.

Efforts to Improve Writing Skills of High School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurul Inayah

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Writing in English is one of the language skills that are taught in the context of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL in Indonesian senior high schools. According to previous studies, most of the students consider writing is the most difficult of the four skills. This research was aimed at finding out the main difficulties in writing faced by the grade XI students at SMA Negeri 10 Fajar Harapan, Banda Aceh, and the efforts made by their teacher to overcome those problems. The design of this study was a descriptive qualitative study. To obtain the data, the writers used document collection and interviews. The results from the document collection showed that the highest percentages of problems faced by the students were in the aspect of language use and the least problems were in the aspect of content. The results from the interviews showed that the most common correcting efforts made by the teacher were giving written feedback for all aspects of writing i.e. language use, mechanics, vocabulary, organization, and content. Likewise, teachers need to develop systemized forms of feedback and make it clear to students what the feedback means and what they are to do with them to assist students in improving their writing skills.

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Student Achievement in Algebra I

Science.gov (United States)

Brandy, Travis D.

2013-01-01

It is a well-documented finding that high school students in schools across the nation, including California, fail to achieve at the proficient level in mathematics, based on standardized test scores. The purpose of this research study was to compare the findings of students taught using traditional instructional methodologies versus cooperative…

Does Augmented Reality Affect High School Students' Learning Outcomes in Chemistry?

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, Jonathan Christopher

Some teens may prefer using a self-directed, constructivist, and technologic approach to learning rather than traditional classroom instruction. If it can be demonstrated, educators may adjust their teaching methodology. The guiding research question for this study focused on how augmented reality affects high school students' learning outcomes in chemistry, as measured by a pretest and posttest methodology when ensuring that the individual outcomes were not the result of group collaboration. This study employed a quantitative, quasi-experimental study design that used a comparison and experimental group. Inferential statistical analysis was employed. The study was conducted at a high school in southwest Colorado. Eighty-nine respondents returned completed and signed consent forms, and 78 participants completed the study. Results demonstrated that augmented reality instruction caused posttest scores to significantly increase, as compared to pretest scores, but it was not as effective as traditional classroom instruction. Scores did improve under both types of instruction; therefore, more research is needed in this area. The present study was the first quantitative experiment controlling for individual learning to validate augmented reality using mobile handheld digital devices that affected individual students' learning outcomes without group collaboration. This topic was important to the field of education as it may help educators understand how students learn and it may also change the way students are taught.

Evolution/Creationism Controversy: Analysis of Past and Current Policies in Public Schools and the Practice of Allowing Students to Opt Out of Learning Evolution Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Speake, Jacquelyn Hoffmann

2011-07-01

Recent anti-evolution legislation, in the form of Academic Freedom bills, has been introduced in many state legislatures over the last three years. The language in the proposed Academic Freedom bills may allow different interpretations of what can be taught in the science classrooms, and possibly spur parents to take advantage of their perceived parental rights to request their child be opted-out of class when the scientific theory of evolution is taught. Five research questions guided the analysis of participant responses to questions and perception statements focusing on secondary school administrators' actions, perceptions, and awareness as they relate to their decision to allow or not allow a student to opt out of academics, specifically evolution, through the collection of data using a web-based survey. Opt out policies are typically invoked to excuse students from activities to which they or their parents may have religious objections (Scott & Branch, 2008). Florida statutes allow parents to opt out their child from human sexuality and animal dissection. The population consisted of 281 Florida public secondary school administrators, who were divided into two subgroups based on whether they have allowed or would allow a student to opt out of evolution, or have not allowed or would not allow a student to opt out of class when the scientific theory of evolution is taught. Results found that over 70% of the administrators who completed the survey have allowed or would allow parents to opt out their child from learning about the scientific theory of evolution. There was a significant relationship between the decision to allow opt out and the following variables: (a) Free and Reduced Lunch population, (b) grade level served, (c) support for teaching evolution and alternative theories, and (d) the perception that parent rights supersede state statute requiring students to learn evolution. In Florida, any scientific concept that is based on empirical evidence is

The social structure of schooling.

Science.gov (United States)

Dornbusch, S M; Glasgow, K L; Lin, I C

1996-01-01

The term social structure refers to a relatively enduring pattern of social arrangements or interrelations within a particular society, organization, or group. This chapter reviews how the social structure of the larger society and the organizational structure of schools affect the educational process within American schools. The institutional context of schooling is first discussed. The ideology of mass education, social stratification, status attainment, credentialism, and the emphasis on ability differences are considered. The focus then shifts to the organizational structure of schools, beginning with a discussion of the external social context for school organization. Attention is given to professionalism and bureaucracy, institutional forms of organization, decentralized control, and community influences. Finally, the internal structure of school organization is considered: teachers' working conditions, status differences among students, and curriculum tracking. Throughout, the emphasis is on ways in which social structure influences what is taught in school, how it is taught, and what is learned.

Teacher's opinion about learning continuum of genetics based on student's level of competence

Science.gov (United States)

Juniati, Etika; Subali, Bambang

2017-08-01

This study focuses on designing learning continuum for developing a curriculum. The objective of this study is to get the opinion of junior and senior high school teachers about Learning Continuum based on Student's Level of Competence and Specific Pedagogical Learning Material on Aspect of Genetics Aspects. This research is a survey research involving 281 teachers from junior and senior high school teachers as respondents taken from five districts and city in Yogyakarta Special Region. The results of this study show that most of the junior high school teachers argue that sub aspects individual reproduction should be taught to students of grade VII and IX, virus reproduction at the grade X, and cell reproduction to mutation at the grade IX with level of competence to understand (C2) while most of the senior high school teachers argue that sub aspects individual, cell, and virus reproduction must be taught to students of grade X and division mechanism to mutation at the grade XII with level of competence to understand (C2), apply (C3), and analyze (C4). Based on the opinion of teachers, sub concepts in genetics can be taught from junior high school with different in the scope of materials but learning continuum that has been developed is not relevant with the students cognitive development and their grades.

Can empathy be taught? Reflections from a medical student active-listening workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Karp, Lianna

2015-06-01

Medical students deserve training in active listening and counseling before they encounter patients in distress. At the Alpert Medical School of Brown University we created and evaluated a workshop that trains first-year medical students to assess patients' emotional states and express empathy in an efficient and effective manner. Using second-year students as near-peer facilitators, we integrated the workshop into the existing preclinical first-year curriculum. We found that students' self-reported comfort in counseling a patient experiencing an emotionally challenging situation increased from 27% to 79% after the 90-minute workshop.

Teaching Advanced Data Analysis Tools to High School Astronomy Students

Science.gov (United States)

Black, David V.; Herring, Julie; Hintz, Eric G.

2015-01-01

A major barrier to becoming an astronomer is learning how to analyze astronomical data, such as using photometry to compare the brightness of stars. Most fledgling astronomers learn observation, data reduction, and analysis skills through an upper division college class. If the same skills could be taught in an introductory high school astronomy class, then more students would have an opportunity to do authentic science earlier, with implications for how many choose to become astronomers. Several software tools have been developed that can analyze astronomical data ranging from fairly straightforward (AstroImageJ and DS9) to very complex (IRAF and DAOphot). During the summer of 2014, a study was undertaken at Brigham Young University through a Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program to evaluate the effectiveness and ease-of-use of these four software packages. Standard tasks tested included creating a false-color IR image using WISE data in DS9, Adobe Photoshop, and The Gimp; a multi-aperture analyses of variable stars over time using AstroImageJ; creating Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) of stars using photometry at multiple wavelengths in AstroImageJ and DS9; and color-magnitude and hydrogen alpha index diagrams for open star clusters using IRAF and DAOphot. Tutorials were then written and combined with screen captures to teach high school astronomy students at Walden School of Liberal Arts in Provo, UT how to perform these same tasks. They analyzed image data using the four software packages, imported it into Microsoft Excel, and created charts using images from BYU's 36-inch telescope at their West Mountain Observatory. The students' attempts to complete these tasks were observed, mentoring was provided, and the students then reported on their experience through a self-reflection essay and concept test. Results indicate that high school astronomy students can successfully complete professional-level astronomy data analyses when given detailed

Ethics: Can It Be Taught

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-05

Running head: ETHICS : CAN IT BE TAUGHT? 1 Ethics : Can It Be Taught? Ancel B. Hodges Defense Acquisition University...U.S. Army Materiel Command Public Affairs ETHICS : CAN IT BE TAUGHT? 2 Approval Page Title: Ethics ...Date Submitted for Journal Publication: ETHICS : CAN IT BE TAUGHT? 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank

The Effect of Teaching Methods and Learning Styles on Students’ English Achievement (An Experimental Study at Junior High School 1 Pasangkayu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syahrul Munir

2019-10-01

Full Text Available The objectives of the research are to determine the effects of teaching methods (STAD and jigsaw and learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic on students’ English achievement. This research is an experimental study conducted at Junior High School Pasangkayu in 2014 with 213 sample which is selected stratified-randomly (n = 68. The results of the research are as follow: (1 English achievement of students taught with STAD is better than those of taught with jigsaw; (2 there is no significant difference in  English achievement among visual, auditory, and kinesthetic students; (3 there is any significant effect of interaction among teaching method and learning styles on students’ learning English achievement. The research also find out that for visual students, studying English achievement of students taught with STAD is better than that of students taught with jigsaw; for auditory students, learning English achievement  of students taught with jigsaw is better than that of students taught with STAD; and for kinesthetic students, English achievement of students taught with STAD is better than that of students taught with jigsaw. To sum up, STAD is more effective than jigsaw in improving students’ English achievement. STAD is suitable to improve English achievement of visual and kinesthetic students, and jigsaw is suitable to improve English achievement of auditory students.

Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students

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Chrispeels, H. E.; Klosterman, M. L.; Martin, J. B.; Lundy, S. R.; Watkins, J. M.; Gibson, C. L.

2014-01-01

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students. PMID:25452487

The Effects of Emotive Reasoning on Secondary School Students' Decision-Making in the Context of Socioscientific Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Wardell A.

The discrepancy between what students are being taught within K-12 science classrooms and what they experience in the real world has been well documented. This study sought to explore the ways a high school biology curriculum, which integrates socioscientific issues, impacts students' emotive reasoning and their ability to evaluate evidence, make informed decisions on contemporary scientific dilemmas, and integrate scientific content knowledge in their reasoning on SSI. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine differences within and between an SSI treatment group and a comparison group as well as individual differences among students' responses over a semester of high school biology. Results indicated students used emotions largely to evaluate evidence and make decisions on contentious scientific dilemmas. In addition, the results showed students used newly gained scientific content knowledge to make logical predictions on contentious scientific issues. Statistical significance was found between groups of students in regard to their interest in the use of embryonic stem cell treatments to restore rats' vision, as well as students' abilities to evaluate evidence. Theoretical implications regarding the use of SSI in the classroom are presented.

Student attitude towards communication skills learning in a Caribbean medical school.

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Shankar, Pr; Dubey, Ak; Balasubramanium, R; Dwivedi, Nr

2013-01-01

Medical student attitudes towards communication skills are important for curriculum planners and teachers. Xavier University School of Medicine (XUSOM) is a private medical school admitting students mainly from the United States and Canada. Attitude of students towards communication skills has not been previously studied in the institution. Hence the present study was carried out. The study was carried out among the first, second, third and fourth semester undergraduate medical (MD) students at XUSOM, Aruba during July 2013 using the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS). Respondents' age, gender, nationality, occupation of parents, place of residence of family, semester of study were noted. The positive and negative attitude scale scores were calculated and compared among different subgroups of respondents (pcommunication skills. The mean positive attitude scale (PAS) score was 47.65 (maximum being 65) and the mean negative attitude scale (NAS) score was 31.06 (maximum 65). PAS score was significantly higher among respondents whose fathers were not in health related professions. NAS scores were significantly lower among the third and fourth semester respondents. Students overall had a positive attitude towards communication skills but negative attitudes were also noted Based on results of the study and a review of literature we are planning to start communication skills learning in the institution right from the first semester and students will be provided opportunities for supervised practice during early clinical exposure, hospital observership and with standardised patients. The medical humanities module will be expanded and communication skills learning will continue during the clinical years with higher order skills being taught.

The Expanded Core Curriculum at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired: A Case Study

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Ringwalt, Gail Mulholland

2013-01-01

This case study investigated how the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) was taught to high school students who are blind or visually impaired at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI). The study focused on three students pursing different academic tracks with varying degrees of vision. The students were observed throughout…

Intellectual disability health content within nursing curriculum: An audit of what our future nurses are taught.

Science.gov (United States)

Trollor, Julian N; Eagleson, Claire; Turner, Beth; Salomon, Carmela; Cashin, Andrew; Iacono, Teresa; Goddard, Linda; Lennox, Nicholas

2016-10-01

Individuals with intellectual disability experience chronic and complex health issues, but face considerable barriers to healthcare. One such barrier is inadequate education of healthcare professionals. To establish the quantity and nature of intellectual disability content offered within Australian nursing degree curricula. A two-phase national audit of nursing curriculum content was conducted using an interview and online survey. Australian nursing schools offering pre-registration courses. Pre-registration course coordinators from 31 universities completed the Phase 1 interview on course structure. Unit coordinators and teaching staff from 15 universities in which intellectual disability content was identified completed the Phase 2 online survey. Quantity of compulsory and elective intellectual disability content offered (units and teaching time) and the nature of the content (broad categories, specific topics, and inclusive teaching) were audited using an online survey. Over half (52%) of the schools offered no intellectual disability content. For units of study that contained some auditable intellectual disability content, the area was taught on average for 3.6h per unit of study. Units were evenly distributed across the three years of study. Just three participating schools offered 50% of all units audited. Clinical assessment skills, and ethics and legal issues were most frequently taught, while human rights issues and preventative health were poorly represented. Only one nursing school involved a person with intellectual disability in content development or delivery. Despite significant unmet health needs of people with intellectual disability, there is considerable variability in the teaching of key intellectual disability content, with many gaps evident. Equipping nursing students with skills in this area is vital to building workforce capacity. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creative Approaches to Teaching Shakespeare in High School.

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Dienstfrey, Sherri R.

William Shakespeare should be taught in high schools in an entertaining fashion so the high school student will appreciate his genius, keen insights, and talents. A strategy to accomplish this goal starts with simple material and progresses to the more difficult. Shakespeare's personal and historical background are presented in a short lecture,…

Multicultural science education in Lesotho high school biology classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Nthathakane, Malefu Christina

2001-12-01

This study investigated how Basotho high school biology students responded to a multicultural science education (MCSE) approach. Students' home language---Sesotho---and cultural experiences were integrated into the teaching of a unit on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) abuse. The focus was on students whose cultural background is African and who are English second language users. The study was conducted in three high school biology classrooms in Lesotho where the ATOD unit was taught using MCSE. A fourth biology classroom was observed for comparison purposes. In this classroom the regular biology teacher taught ATOD using typical instructional strategies. The study was framed by the general question: How does a multicultural science education approach affect Basotho high school biology students? More specifically: How does the use of Sesotho (or code-switching between Sesotho and English) and integration of Basotho students' cultural knowledge and experiences with respect to ATOD affect students' learning? In particular how does the approach affect students' participation and academic performance? A qualitative research method was used in this study. Data were drawn from a number of different sources and analyzed inductively. The data sources included field-notes, transcripts of ATOD lessons, research assistant lesson observation notes and interviews, regular biology teachers' interviews and notes from observing a few of their lessons, students' interviews and pre and posttest scripts, and other school documents that recorded students' performance throughout the year. Using the students' home language---Sesotho---was beneficial in that it enabled them to share ideas, communicate better and understand each other, the teacher and the material that was taught. Integrating students' cultural and everyday experiences was beneficial because it enabled students to anchor the new ATOD ideas in what was familiar and helped them find the relevance of the unit by

Junior High School Pupils' Perceptions of Air

African Journals Online (AJOL)

cce

Abstract. The study examined Junior High School (JHS) pupils' ideas of the concept air. The ... Stavy (1991) reported that students in his physics class had ... Research studies found that even after having been taught the particulate theory and.

An Investigation of Curriculum Integration in a Vocational School Setting: A Qualitative Study

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Quinn, Tammy T.

2013-01-01

Employers are requiring that high schools give students the skills necessary for a changing 21st century global society. Entry-level employees are required to learn new skills quickly and to be able to communicate, solve problems, and work with technology. Twenty-first century skills need to be taught but schools also need to prepare students to…

Expectations Compared of First-Year Students in Pre-School and Primary School Education Degrees at the University of Burgos in Relation to Characteristics and Practices in University Teaching most Desired

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Jaime IBÁÑEZ QUINTANA

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The intention of this work is to detect and analyse the desired characteristics and teaching practices that first year students will be taught in different subjects, comparing Pre-school with Primary Education degree at Burgos University. For that purpose, we have analysed data obtained from 120 surveys (60 others the Pre-school degree and 60 from the Primary Education degree, the surveys are based on the five basic aspects that we consider fundamental of a university education: personal and professional characteristics, evaluation, tutorial, information and communications technology (ICT and methodologies of education/learning. The results show that the student body values more the professional characteristics of its teaching staff than the personal ones; and the image transmitted by the teaching staff that uses ICT is always positive, creating a favourable opinion of his teaching, and the student body reaches to consider that ICTs are indispensable to nowadays education.

Student-teacher relationships matter for school inclusion: school belonging, disability, and school transitions.

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Crouch, Ronald; Keys, Christopher B; McMahon, Susan D

2014-01-01

For students with disabilities, the process of school inclusion often begins with a move from segregated settings into general education classrooms. School transitions can be stressful as students adjust to a new environment. This study examines the adjustment of 133 students with and without disabilities who moved from a school that served primarily students with disabilities into 23 public schools in a large urban school district in the Midwest. These students and 111 of their teachers and other school staff rated the degree that students felt they belonged in their new schools and the quality of their social interactions. Results show that students who experienced more positive and fewer negative social interactions with school staff had higher school belonging. Teachers accurately noted whether students felt they belonged in their new settings, but were not consistently able to identify student perceptions of negative social interactions with staff. Implications for inclusion and improving our educational system are explored.

Teacher's opinions about learning continuum based on the student's level of competence and specific pedagogical materials on anatomical aspects

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Astuti, Laili Dwi; Subali, Bambang

2017-08-01

This research deals with designing learning continuum for developing a curriculum. The objective of this study is to gather the opinion of public junior and high school teachers about Learning Continuum based on Student's Level of Competence and Specific Pedagogical Material on Anatomical Aspects. This is a survey research. The population of the research is natural science teachers at junior high school and biology teacher at senior high school in Yogyakarta Special Region. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a descriptive analysis technique. Based on the results of the survey, the teachers opinion are in accordance with the level of the students they teach. Junior high school teachers argued that anatomical aspects were taught in grade VII,VIII, IX and X on the level of C2 (understanding), the high school teacher argued that anatomical aspects were taught in grade VIII, X and XI on the level of C2 (understanding) and C3 (apply). While according to the opinions of primary school teachers about aspects of anatomy resulted from the research of Subali (2016), anatomy is mostly not taught at the elementary school level, only some of the materials that are taught in this school level. Therefore, the results of the survey can be inferred that the opinions of teachers is still based on the existing curriculum.

Involving High School Students in Computational Physics University Research: Theory Calculations of Toluene Adsorbed on Graphene.

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Ericsson, Jonas; Husmark, Teodor; Mathiesen, Christoffer; Sepahvand, Benjamin; Borck, Øyvind; Gunnarsson, Linda; Lydmark, Pär; Schröder, Elsebeth

2016-01-01

To increase public awareness of theoretical materials physics, a small group of high school students is invited to participate actively in a current research projects at Chalmers University of Technology. The Chalmers research group explores methods for filtrating hazardous and otherwise unwanted molecules from drinking water, for example by adsorption in active carbon filters. In this project, the students use graphene as an idealized model for active carbon, and estimate the energy of adsorption of the methylbenzene toluene on graphene with the help of the atomic-scale calculational method density functional theory. In this process the students develop an insight into applied quantum physics, a topic usually not taught at this educational level, and gain some experience with a couple of state-of-the-art calculational tools in materials research.

Should Gun Safety Be Taught in Schools? Perspectives of Teachers

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Obeng, Cecilia

2010-01-01

Background: Gun-related injuries and deaths among children occur at disproportionately high rates in the United States. Children who live in homes with guns are the most likely victims. This study describes teachers' views on whether gun safety should be taught to children in the preschool and elementary years. Methods: A total of 150 survey…

New Setting, Same Skill: Teaching Geography Students to Transfer Information Literacy Skills from Familiar to Unfamiliar Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Caleb; Laxman, Kumar; Lai, Mei

2016-01-01

Existing research shows that high school students do not possess information literacy skills adequate to function in a high-tech society that relies so heavily on information. If students are taught these skills, they struggle to apply them. This small-scale intervention focused on helping Geography students at a low-socioeconomic high school in…

Participants' Perceptions of a Violence Prevention Curriculum for Middle School Students: Was It Relevant and Useful?

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Farrell, Albert D; Mehari, Krista; Mays, Sally; Sullivan, Terri N; Le, Anh-Thuy

2015-08-01

School-based youth violence prevention programs, particularly those focused on middle school students, have generally had limited effects that are often not sustained over time. Although many interventions focus on teaching social-cognitive skills, few studies have explored the extent to which students master these skills, actually use them, and find them effective in dealing with problem situations. This study examined these issues based on interviews with 141 students attending one county and two urban middle schools in classrooms where the Second Step violence prevention program had been implemented. We coded interviews to assess participants' general reactions to the interventions, use of skills, and effectiveness of skills. We also asked participants to describe outcomes they experienced when they used specific skills taught in the intervention in response to problem situations. Participants had generally positive reactions to the intervention. Their suggestions for improving the intervention primarily concerned improving its relevance. Participants described changes they had made based on the intervention, particularly controlling anger and improving relations with others. Their responses indicated that they sometimes misunderstood or misused specific intervention skills, especially problem solving and empathy. Students' descriptions of the outcomes they experienced when using intervention skills were not uniformly positive. This was especially true for situations involving peers such as peer pressure and bullying. These results underscore the need for more intensive efforts to ensure that students master intervention skills and are able to use them correctly. In addition, interventions should address the broader social context (e.g., peers, school) to maximize the effectiveness of skills.

PATTERNS OF DOMINANCE OF LANGUAGE VITALITIES AMONG MALAYSIAN STUDENTS IN PRIMARY NATIONAL-TYPE AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

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Soo Ying How

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Multilingualism is embedded in the Malaysian Education Blueprint (2015-2025 as a stated goal towards nation building. The education system provides opportunity to learn Malay which is the national language, the mother tongue (Mandarin or Tamil and the English language as part of formal schooling. In fact, Malaysian primary schools are classified into two major divisions. Students can opt to study in national schools in which the medium of instruction is Malay with the provision for the learning of English and a mother tongue. The other option allows students to enrol in national-type schools of which the medium of instruction is either Mandarin or Tamil, with English and Malay taught as academic subjects. At secondary level, the medium of instruction in national schools is Malay and students are provided the opportunity to learn their mother tongue and English. Other than in school, other social milieus also allow the use and practice of these languages. Given this linguistic environment, there exists a myriad of language experiences within and outside formal learning which together would influence the totality of language vitality. This paper investigates language vitality featured in this multilingual environment. It focuses on the vitality of the English language among students that appears to co-exist with the learning and use of other languages as they progress through the primary and secondary levels. The vitality is measured by the following indicators: language preference, choice, dominance, use, attitude and motivation and proficiency which were used to develop a questionnaire to obtain data on strength evaluation of these languages. The methodology encompasses random and convenient sampling to obtain representative responses from students with different levels of education and language experiences. The study reveals relative vitalities of languages used and highlights values attached to languages at different points of language

Assessment methods as effective tools for learning outcomes of students in senior secondary schools in Ila-Orangun, south western Nigeria

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Lamidi W.A

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Different methods of assessment on the students learning outcomes in Agricultural Science at five different secondary schools in Ila-Orangun, Osun State were studied. An arm of a class was used for each test; Continuous Assessment (CA and Conventional Method (CM were used for each arm. Students were taught during their normal school times for the maximum time of forty minutes thrice a week. There were ten objective questions weekly for each assessment of the students in the CA method for six weeks. The same questions were used throughout for all the schools, done simultaneously for CA. Also, sixty questions at once at the end of the sixth week for CM. Standard deviation and regression equations for the mean values were used in the analysis. The results show that CA could be adjudged to be better off than the CM because of its higher mean values in all the schools than the CM. The higher R2 values of 0.99 and 0.88 revealed stronger correlation between different methods of assessment and the targeted learners. The CA test should be used instead of CM; the CM does not make learners to gain much cognitive knowledge when compare with what CA does to students.

Learning environment assessments of a single curriculum being taught at two medical schools 10,000 miles apart.

Science.gov (United States)

Tackett, Sean; Shochet, Robert; Shilkofski, Nicole A; Colbert-Getz, Jorie; Rampal, Krishna; Abu Bakar, Hamidah; Wright, Scott

2015-06-17

Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM), the first graduate-entry medical school in Malaysia, was established in 2011 in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), an American medical school. This study compared learning environments (LE) at these two schools, which shared the same overarching curriculum, along with a comparator Malaysian medical school, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). As a secondary aim, we compared 2 LE assessment tools - the widely-used Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and the newer Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES). Students responded anonymously at the end of their first year of medical school to surveys which included DREEM, JHLES, single-item global LE assessment variables, and demographics questions. Respondents included 24/24 (100 %) students at PUGSOM, 100/120 (83 %) at JHUSOM, and 79/83 (95 %) at CUCMS. PUGSOM had the highest overall LE ratings (p safety" domains. JHLES detected significant differences across schools in 5/7 domains and had stronger correlations than DREEM to each global LE assessment variable. The inaugural class of medical students at PUGSOM rated their LE exceptionally highly, providing evidence that transporting a medical school curriculum may be successful. The JHLES showed promise as a LE assessment tool for use in international settings.

The Day Bolivian Students Came to School Motivating Students through Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Davin, Kristin

2010-01-01

Like many elementary foreign language teachers, the author traveled from room to room to teach. Each room had different materials and a different classroom culture. This article describes how the author taught her students about Bolivia and how to motivate them through culture. It discusses a service-learning project that brings life-changing…

Jurisprudence and business management course content taught at accredited chiropractic colleges: A comparative audit.

Science.gov (United States)

Gleberzon, Brian J

2010-03-01

the purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative audit of the jurisprudence and business management courses offered at a number of different accredited chiropractic colleges. Faculty members responsible for teaching students jurisprudence and/or business management courses at a number of accredited colleges were contacted and asked to electronically submit their course outlines for review. Of the 62 different topics delivered at the 11 chiropractic colleges surveyed, not one topic was taught at all of them. The following topics were taught at 10 of the 11 respondent chiropractic colleges: business plan development; ethics and codes of conduct and; office staff/employees. Several topics were only taught at one accredited chiropractic college. While most chiropractic colleges provide some education in the areas of jurisprudence and business management, it would appear that there is no consensus opinion or 'model curriculum' on these topics towards which chiropractic programs may align themselves. Based on a literature search, this study is the first of its kind. A more extensive study is required, as well as a Delphi process to determine what should be taught to chiropractic students with respect to jurisprudence and business management in order to protect the public interest.

Does School Choice Improve Student Performance?

OpenAIRE

Kaja Høiseth Brugård

2013-01-01

This paper studies the relationship between school choice and student performance for high school students in Norway. The analysis exploits both the fact that the degree of school choice formally differs between counties, and detailed information on travelling distances to high schools, which more closely reflects the students' actual school choice possibilities. Information on students' residence, high school location, and the degree of formal school choice is used to estimate the effect on ...

Similarity in Middle School Mathematics: At the Crossroads of Geometry and Number

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Dana C.

2013-01-01

The mathematical idea of similarity is typically taught to students across the middle school years between ages 11 and 14. In this study, students' understanding of presimilarity is examined based on a set of clinical interviews of 21 students aged 12-13 years. Students were asked to scale a series of geometric figures and were found to use a…

Providing Middle School Students With Science Research Experiences Through Community Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez, D.

2007-12-01

Science research courses have been around for years at the university and high school level. As inquiry based learning has become more and more a part of the science teacher's vocabulary, many of these courses have adopted an inquiry model for studying science. Learners of all ages benefit from learning through the natural process of inquiry. I participated in the CIRES Earthworks program for science teachers (Colorado University) in the summer of 2007 and experienced, first hand, the value of inquiry learning. With the support and vision of my school administration, and with the support and commitment of community partners, I have developed a Middle School Science Research Program that is transforming how science is taught to students in my community. Swift Creek Middle School is located in Tallahassee, Florida. There are approximately 1000 students in this suburban public school. Students at Swift Creek are required to take one science class each year through 8th grade. As more emphasis is placed on learning a large number of scientific facts and information, in order to prepare students for yearly, standardized tests, there is a concern that less emphasis may be placed on the process and nature of science. The program I developed draws from the inquiry model followed at the CIRES Earthworks program, utilizes valuable community partnerships, and plays an important role in meeting that need. There are three major components to this Middle School Research Program, and the Center for Integrated Research and Learning (CIRL) at the National High Magnetic Field Lab (NHMFL) at Florida State University is playing an important role in all three. First, each student will develop their own research question and design experiments to answer the question. Scientists from the NHMFL are serving as mentors, or "buddy scientists," to my students as they work through the process of inquiry. Scientists from the CIRES - Earthworks program, Florida State University, and other

The effect of education on the knowledge of environmental threats on health in students of elementary schools in Bushehr port

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Ravanipour

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Background: More than one fourth of diseases around the world are caused by environmental threats. These threats have multifactorial effects on children's health. So, it needs collaboration between teachers, parents, students, and public health authorities to decrease them and improve health. Methods: A total of 18 primary schools were selected using random cluster sampling. After a need assessment analysis about environmental threads, the 3rd and 4th degree students of selected primary schools were invited to draw posters about air pollution, water sanitation, food contamination, natural disaster, solid waste pollution, and sea and beach pollution. Then, a booklet based on the initial need assessment about environmental threads was designed and used for a six weeks educational course. The students drew a second poster after the educational course taught by their teachers. The posters were scored for technical aspects and health concepts by independent examiners. Results: The mean score of students' knowledge about environmental threads increased after intervention (P<0.05. There was no difference between 4th graders and 5th graders, but girls showed a higher score than boys. Conclusion: In primary schools, booklet-based education was effective in promotion of the students' knowledge about environmental threads on health. Therefore, a booklet-based education, designed according to local need assessments, is recommended as a complementary education in primary schools.

A qualitative study of the instructional behaviors and practices of a dyad of educators in self-contained and inclusive co-taught secondary biology classrooms during a nine-week science instruction grading period

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Shanon D.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1997) mandates that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum. School districts have developed a variety of service delivery models to provide challenging educational experiences for all students. Co-teaching or collaborative teaching is the most widely used of the different service delivery models. While the philosophy of inclusion is widely accepted, the efficacy of the various inclusion models has recently been the focus of educational research. Researchers have questioned whether the presence of a special educator in the general education classroom has resulted in students with high incidence disabilities receiving specialized instruction. A qualitative study was designed to examine the instructional behaviors and practices exhibited and used by a dyad of educators in self-contained learning disabilities and inclusive co-taught secondary Biology classrooms during a nine-week science instruction grading period. In addition to utilizing interviews, observations, and classroom observation scales to answer the research questions, supporting student data (time-sampling measurement/opportunity to learn and student grades) were collected. The study concluded that the presence of a special educator in a co-taught classroom: (1) did contribute to the creation of a new learning environment, and notable changes in the instructional behaviors and practices of a general educator; (2) did contribute to limited specialized instruction for students with disabilities in the co-taught classrooms and embedded (not overt) special education practices related to the planning and decision-making of the educators; (3) did contribute to the creation of a successful co-teaching partnership including the use of effective teaching behaviors; and (4) did impact success for some of the students with disabilities in the co-taught classrooms; but (5) did not ensure the continuation of some of the new

Aspects of Students' Reasoning about Variation in Empirical Sampling Distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Noll, Jennifer; Shaughnessy, J. Michael

2012-01-01

Sampling tasks and sampling distributions provide a fertile realm for investigating students' conceptions of variability. A project-designed teaching episode on samples and sampling distributions was team-taught in 6 research classrooms (2 middle school and 4 high school) by the investigators and regular classroom mathematics teachers. Data…

A national assessment of colleges and university school health education methods courses.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Christine M; Price, James H; Telljohann, Susan K; Dake, Joseph A

2015-04-01

Across the United States, school health education programs provide a wide variety of knowledge and skills to their students. There are currently no guidelines for school health methods courses. Using a 2-wave mailing followed by a third wave e-mail reminder, a final population of 226 university school health methods instructors at school health preparation programs were surveyed. A total of 138 completed surveys (61%) were returned. The topics taught in school health education methods courses emphasized the most included aligning objectives, instruction, and assessment (79%); development of lesson plans (73%); teaching methods that engage learners (72%); and application of the National Health Education Standards and performance indicators (69%). The content taught and how the instructors assessed their students differed statistically by 1 or more of the following: whether they had a health education degree, had experience teaching in the public schools, and if their program was accredited. This study provides information regarding what school health methods instructors across the United States are teaching in their classes. Using this information as a baseline can serve as a guide for preservice faculty teaching a school health methods course. © 2015, American School Health Association.

Effectiveness of Tutorials for Introductory Physics in Argentinean high schools

Science.gov (United States)

Benegas, J.; Flores, J. Sirur

2014-06-01

This longitudinal study reports the results of a replication of Tutorials in Introductory Physics in high schools of a Latin-American country. The main objective of this study was to examine the suitability of Tutorials for local science education reform. Conceptual learning of simple resistive electric circuits was determined by the application of the single-response multiple-choice test "Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test" (DIRECT) to high school classes taught with Tutorials and traditional instruction. The study included state and privately run schools of different socioeconomic profiles, without formal laboratory space and equipment, in classes of mixed-gender and female-only students, taught by novice and experienced instructors. Results systematically show that student learning is significantly higher in the Tutorials classes compared with traditional teaching for all of the studied conditions. The results also show that long-term learning (one year after instruction) in the Tutorials classes is highly satisfactory, very similar to the performance of the samples of college students used to develop the test DIRECT. On the contrary, students following traditional instruction returned one year after instruction to the poor performance (students attending seven universities in Spain and four Latin-American countries. Some replication and adaptation problems and difficulties of this experience are noted, as well as recommendations for successful use of Tutorials in high schools of similar educational systems.

Student nurses as school nurse extenders.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossman, Carol L; Dood, Florence V; Squires, Darcy A

2012-12-01

The severe underuse of school nurses leaves students with unaddressed health needs that impact their safety and learning ability. An undergraduate pediatric clinical focusing on nursing students and the role of a school nurse in an elementary school setting can be a unique approach to combining the needs of school children and educating student nurses. One school of nursing created such a project to help address these needs and collect data on the activities student nurses performed in school nurse role and their impact on student health. This project serves as both a practice improvement project and an innovation in pediatric clinical education. The purposes of this project were to quantify baccalaureate nursing student activities related to the school nurse role and to evaluate the results that have the potential to impact on student health in an urban elementary school. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching English through Online Games for Junior High School Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sastika Seli

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Teaching language is an attractive activity both for the teacher and for the acceptor. They can interact together in this act. Teaching English is a challenge for the teachers to make the students interest in English because as we know English is not the first language for some countries in this world including Indonesia. There are various ways and ideas to teach English so that it can be fun and interest to be taught and to be learnt. But those ways and ideas also should be an up date method and also use a modern technology to be implemented. Along with the development of modern technology, the teachers should involve with it and make it as a part of English teaching tools. Two of the famous and sophisticated tools are computer and the internet. These things have a close relation to be urgent equipment for people. In this article, the writer wants to purpose the use of online games as a way to teach English for junior high school. Te article aims to give another teaching alternative in attracting the junior high school students to learn English in funny and enjoyable way. Through online games they do not only can play the various games but also indirectly they do the exercises of English skills.

The Effects of Transfer in Teaching Vocabulary to School Children: An Analysis of the Dependencies between Lists of Trained and Non-Trained Words

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Frost, Jørgen; Ottem, Ernst; Hagtvet, Bente E.; Snow, Catherine E.

2016-01-01

In the present study, 81 Norwegian students were taught the meaning of words by the Word Generation (WG) method and 51 Norwegian students were taught by an approach inspired by the Thinking Schools (TS) concept. Two sets of words were used: a set of words to be trained and a set of non-trained control words. The two teaching methods yielded no…

Conceptual problem solving in high school physics

Science.gov (United States)

Docktor, Jennifer L.; Strand, Natalie E.; Mestre, José P.; Ross, Brian H.

2015-12-01

Problem solving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problem solving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an instructional approach called Conceptual Problem Solving (CPS) which guides students to identify principles, justify their use, and plan their solution in writing before solving a problem. The CPS approach was implemented by high school physics teachers at three schools for major theorems and conservation laws in mechanics and CPS-taught classes were compared to control classes taught using traditional problem solving methods. Information about the teachers' implementation of the approach was gathered from classroom observations and interviews, and the effectiveness of the approach was evaluated from a series of written assessments. Results indicated that teachers found CPS easy to integrate into their curricula, students engaged in classroom discussions and produced problem solutions of a higher quality than before, and students scored higher on conceptual and problem solving measures.

Conceptual problem solving in high school physics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Docktor

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Problem solving is a critical element of learning physics. However, traditional instruction often emphasizes the quantitative aspects of problem solving such as equations and mathematical procedures rather than qualitative analysis for selecting appropriate concepts and principles. This study describes the development and evaluation of an instructional approach called Conceptual Problem Solving (CPS which guides students to identify principles, justify their use, and plan their solution in writing before solving a problem. The CPS approach was implemented by high school physics teachers at three schools for major theorems and conservation laws in mechanics and CPS-taught classes were compared to control classes taught using traditional problem solving methods. Information about the teachers’ implementation of the approach was gathered from classroom observations and interviews, and the effectiveness of the approach was evaluated from a series of written assessments. Results indicated that teachers found CPS easy to integrate into their curricula, students engaged in classroom discussions and produced problem solutions of a higher quality than before, and students scored higher on conceptual and problem solving measures.

Associations Between Sexual Risk-Related Behaviors and School-Based Education on HIV and Condom Use for Adolescent Sexual Minority Males and Their Non-Sexual-Minority Peers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasberry, Catherine N; Condron, D Susanne; Lesesne, Catherine A; Adkins, Susan Hocevar; Sheremenko, Ganna; Kroupa, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

With HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates disproportionately high among adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM), it is important to understand how school-based sexual health education may relate to sexual risk-related behavior among this population. This analysis explores reported HIV/AIDS- and condom-related education and sexual risk-related behaviors among ASMM and their adolescent non-sexual-minority male (non-ASMM) peers. Students (n = 11,681) from seven Florida high schools completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires. A matched analytic sample of ASMM and non-ASMM students was created by using propensity score-matching techniques (n = 572). Logistic regressions controlling for individual and school characteristics examined reporting having been taught about AIDS or HIV in school, having been taught in school about using condoms, condom use at last sex, HIV/STD testing, and associations between these variables. Compared with matched non-ASMM peers, ASMM students were less likely to report having been taught about AIDS or HIV in school (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58, P = 0.04) and having used a condom at last sex (OR = 0.39, P condoms. Among non-ASMM, reporting having been taught in school about using condoms was associated with a greater likelihood of condom use at last sex (OR = 4.78, P education and differential associations between condom-related education and condom use in ASMM and non-ASMM suggest that sexual health education in schools may not be resonating with ASMM and non-ASMM in the same way.

Training Students as Technology Assistants.

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Onishi, Esther; Peto, Erica

1996-01-01

Describes a program where fifth and sixth graders are trained as school technology assistants. The childrens' duties include installation of software, making minor repairs, cleaning computer equipment, and assisting teachers and students. Outlines components of the program, lists forms the assistants use and skills they are taught, and provides…

Students "Hacking" School Computer Systems

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Stover, Del

2005-01-01

This article deals with students hacking school computer systems. School districts are getting tough with students "hacking" into school computers to change grades, poke through files, or just pit their high-tech skills against district security. Dozens of students have been prosecuted recently under state laws on identity theft and unauthorized…

An Assessment of nutrition education in selected counties in New York State elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade).

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Watts, Sheldon O; Piñero, Domingo J; Alter, Mark M; Lancaster, Kristie J

2012-01-01

To assess the extent to which nutrition education is implemented in selected counties in New York State elementary schools (kindergarten through fifth grade) and explore how nutrition knowledge is presented in the classroom and what factors support it. Cross-sectional, self-administered survey. New York State elementary schools in selected counties. New York State elementary school teachers (n = 137). Hours spent teaching nutrition; nutrition topics, methods of teaching, education resources, and aspects of the school environment that may influence nutrition education. Crosstabs with a chi-square statistic and ANOVA. Eighty-three percent of teachers taught some nutrition (9.0 ± 10.5 hours) during the academic year. Teachers taught lessons about finding and choosing healthy food (61%), relationship between diet and health (54%), and MyPyramid (52%) most often. Suburban teachers (12.4 ± 12.5 hours) taught significantly (P = .006) more hours of nutrition than rural teachers (4.2 ± 3.9 hours). Teachers at schools with fewer than 80% nonwhite students taught significantly (P = .02) more (10.4 ± 11.4 hours) compared to schools with greater than 80% nonwhite students (5.6 ± 6.4 hours). Teachers reported that nutrition education is important and that they are willing to teach nutrition. Efforts should be made that support integrated nutrition topics, methods of instruction, and availability of resources. Copyright © 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigating Senior Secondary School Students' Beliefs about Further Mathematics in a Problem-Based Learning Context

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A.O. Fatade

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning (PBL on senior secondary school students' beliefs about Further Mathematics in Nigeria within the blueprint of pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design. Intact classes were used and in all, 96 students participated in the study (42 in the experimental group taught with the PBL and 54 in the control group taught using the Traditional Method (TM. One research instrument tagged Beliefs about Further Mathematics Questionnaire (BFMQ, Cronbach alpha (α=.86 was developed and used for the study and data collected were analysed using the descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation which served as precursor to testing the null hypothesis for the study using an independent samples t-test and analysis of variance. Results showed that participants held strong beliefs about further mathematics and there was a statistically significant difference in the mean post-treatment scores on BFMQ (t=-6.22, p=.000 for t-test and (F(1,95=38.49; p<.001 for ANOVA between students exposed to the PBL and those exposed to the TM, in favour of the PBL group. Based on the results, the study recommended that PBL should be adopted as an instructional strategy for promoting meaningful learning in and enhancing beliefs about further mathematics and efforts should be made to integrate the philosophy of PBL into the preservice teachers' curriculum at the teacher-preparation institutions in Nigeria.

Does Teaching Sequence Matter When Teaching High School Chemistry with Scientific Visualisations?

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Fogarty, Ian; Geelan, David; Mukherjee, Michelle

2012-01-01

Five Canadian high school Chemistry classes in one school, taught by three different teachers, studied the concepts of dynamic chemical equilibria and Le Chatelier's Principle. Some students received traditional teacher-led explanations of the concept first and used an interactive scientific visualisation second, while others worked with the…

School Libraries and Student Learning: A Guide for School Leaders

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Morris, Rebecca J.

2015-01-01

Innovative, well-designed school library programs can be critical resources for helping students meet high standards of college and career readiness. In "School Libraries and Student Learning", Rebecca J. Morris shows how school leaders can make the most of their school libraries to support ambitious student learning. She offers…

The effects of online science instruction using geographic information systems to foster inquiry learning of teachers and middle school science students

Science.gov (United States)

Hagevik, Rita Anne

This study investigated the effects of using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve middle school students' and their teachers' understanding of environmental content and GIS. Constructivism provided the theoretical framework with Bonnstetter's inquiry evolution and Swartz's problem solving as the conceptual framework for designing these GIS units and interpreting the results. Teachers from nine schools in five counties attended a one-week workshop and follow-up session, where they learned how to teach the online Mapping Our School Site (www.ncsu.edu/scilink/studysite) and CITYgreen GIS inquiry-based problem-solving units. Two years after the workshop, two teachers from the workshop taught the six week Mapping Our School Site (MOSS) unit in the fall and one teacher from a different school taught the MOSS unit in the fall and the CITYgreen GIS unit in the spring. The students in the MOSS experimental group (n = 131) and the CITYgreen GIS comparison group (n = 33) were compared for differences in understanding of environmental content. Other factors were investigated such as students' spatial abilities, experiences, and learning preferences. Teachers and students completed the online Learning Styles Inventory (LSI), Spatial Experience Survey (SES), and the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R). Using qualitative and quantitative analyses, results indicated that the CITYgreen GIS group learned the environmental content better than the MOSS group. The MOSS group better understood how to design experiments and to use GIS to analyze problem questions. Both groups improved in problem identification and problem solving, data accuracy, and hypothesis testing. The spatial reasoning score was compared to learning style as reported on the LSI, and other spatial experiences as reported on the SES. Males scored higher than females on the spatial reasoning test, the more computer games played the higher the score, and the fewer shop classes taken the

The Effects of Single-Sex and Coeducational Environments on the Self-Efficacy of Middle School Girls

OpenAIRE

Whitlock, Sharon E.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of class type, coeducational or same-sex, on the self-efficacy of middle school girls in a unit of volleyball. Four intact certified physical education specialists from two Middle Schools were used in the study. All of the teachers were female. In two of the classes, students were split out according to gender with males being taught by one instructor and the females being taught by the other instructor. For the coeducational class...

Smoking Prevention for Students: Findings From a Three-Year Program of Integrated Harm Minimization School Drug Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Midford, Richard; Cahill, Helen; Lester, Leanne; Foxcroft, David R; Ramsden, Robyn; Venning, Lynne

2016-01-01

This study investigated the impact of the Drug Education in Victorian Schools (DEVS) program on tobacco smoking. The program taught about licit and illicit drugs in an integrated manner over 2 years, with follow up in the third year. It focused on minimizing harm, rather than achieving abstinence, and employed participatory, critical-thinking and skill-based teaching methods. A cluster-randomized, controlled trial of the program was conducted with a student cohort during years 8 (13 years), 9 (14 years), and 10 (15 years). Twenty-one schools were randomly allocated to the DEVS program (14 schools, n = 1163), or their usual drug education program (7 schools, n = 589). One intervention school withdrew in year two. There was a greater increase in the intervention students' knowledge about drugs, including tobacco, in all 3 years. Intervention students talked more with their parents about smoking at the end of the 3-year program. They recalled receiving more education on smoking in all 3 years. Their consumption of cigarettes had not increased to the same extent as controls at the end of the program. Their change in smoking harms, relative to controls, was positive in all 3 years. There was no difference between groups in the proportionate increase of smokers, or in attitudes towards smoking, at any time. These findings indicate that a school program that teaches about all drugs in an integrated fashion, and focuses on minimizing harm, does not increase initiation into smoking, while providing strategies for reducing consumption and harm to those who choose to smoke.

Why should we care? Awakening Middle and High School students to the reality of climate change

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Manley, J. M.; Barr, A. N.; Ellins, K. K.; Haddad, N.; Ledley, T. S.; Dunlap, C.; Bardar, E.

2012-12-01

Our students, like too much of the American public, are largely unaware or apathetic to the changes in world climate and the impact that these changes have for life on Earth. This last year we, as two Middle and High School science teachers, were given the opportunity to use a new trial curriculum currently in development for TERC's EarthLabs collection to awaken those brains and assist our students in making personal lifestyle choices based on what they had learned. In addition, with support from TERC and The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics we began training other teachers on how to implement this curriculum in their classrooms to expose their students to our changing climate. Traditionally, the cryosphere and the carbon cycle are taught as discrete units without meaningful connections to areas of study that have personal relevance and impact. While pictures of polar bears and penguins evoke emotional responses, the changes coming to their worlds usually result only in another tug at the heartstrings. What if teachers better understood two vital components of Earth's climate system and were able to impart his understanding to their students? What if students based their responses to the information taught not on emotion, but on a deeper understanding of the forces driving climate change, their analysis of the scientific evidence and in the context of earth system science? In our presentation, we will give you (1) a glimpse into the challenges faced by today's science teachers in communicating the complicated, but ever-deepening understanding of the linkages between natural and human-driven factors on climate; (2) introduce you to two new modules in the EarthLabs curriculum designed to expose teachers and students to global scientific climate data and instrumentation; and (3) illustrate how student worldviews are changed though exposure to the latest in scientific discovery and understanding.

Can There Be a Catholic Economics? An Essay to Assist the Work of Teachers in Catholic Schools Internationally

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Sibley, Angus

2016-01-01

The discipline of economics, as it is generally understood, taught, and practised today, is in various ways clearly at odds with authentic Catholic values. Therefore, where economics is taught in Catholic schools, colleges and universities, students should not only become acquainted with orthodox economic ideas; they should also learn how, from a…

Leaving School — learning at SEA: Regular high school education alongside polar research

Science.gov (United States)

Gatti, Susanne

2010-05-01

Against the background of unsatisfactory results from the international OECD study PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), Germany is facing a period of intense school reforms. Looking back at a tradition of school culture with too few changes during the last century, quick and radical renewal of the school system is rather unlikely. Furthermore students are increasingly turning away from natural sciences [1]. The AWI aims at providing impulses for major changes in the schooling system and is offering solid science education not only for university students but also for a larger audience. All efforts towards this goal are interconnected within the project SEA (Science & Education @ the AWI). With the school-term of 2002/03 the Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research started HIGHSEA (High school of SEA). The program is the most important component of SEA. Each year 22 high school students (grade 10 or 11) are admitted to HIGHSEA spending their last three years of school not at school but at the institute. Four subjects (biology as a major, chemistry, math and English as accessory subjects) are combined and taught fully integrated. Students leave their school for two days each week to study, work and explore all necessary topics at the AWI. All of the curricular necessities of the four subjects have been rearranged in their temporal sequencing thus enabling a conceptual formulation of four major questions to be dealt with in the course of the three-year program [2]. Students are taught by teachers of the cooperation schools as well as by scientists of the AWI. Close links and intense cooperation between both groups are the basis of fundamental changes in teaching and learning climate. We are organizing expeditions for every group of HIGHSEA-students (e. g. to the Arctic or to mid-Atlantic seamounts). For each student expedition we devise a "real" research question. Usually a single working group at the AWI has a special interest in the

Outcomes of a four-year specialist-taught physical education program on physical activity: a cluster randomized controlled trial, the LOOK study.

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Telford, Rohan M; Olive, Lisa S; Cochrane, Thomas; Davey, Rachel; Telford, Richard D

2016-06-08

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a 4-year specialist-taught Physical Education (PE) program on physical activity (PA) among primary school children. A 4-year cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in children (initially aged 8 years) from 29 primary schools (13 Intervention, 16 Control). Intervention students (N = 457) received 2 × 45 min PE lessons per week from specialist-trained PE teachers (68 lessons per year, 272 lessons over 4 years). Control group students (N = 396) received usual practice PE from generalist classroom teachers. PA during PE lessons was examined using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT). Pedometers (steps/day) were worn for 7 days each year, and accelerometers were worn concurrently in the final two years to assess moderate to vigorous (MVPA) and sedentary activity. Linear and generalized mixed models were used to determine differences in Intervention and Control student PA and the proportion of students meeting PA guidelines. The intervention increased SOFIT-observed student MVPA during PE lessons by 6.5 mins (16.7 v 10.2, p strategy. Our finding of a reduction in sedentary time among Intervention boys warrants further investigation into the potential role PE could play in influencing sedentary behaviour.

Lifestyles and psychosomatic symptoms among elementary school students and junior high school students.

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Isshiki, Yuriko; Morimoto, Kanehisa

2004-05-01

To examine the relationship between lifestyles and psychosomatic symptoms in children, we conducted a self-administered questionnaire survey of elementary school students and junior high school students in Japan. We designed an original questionnaire to investigate the lifestyles and psychosomatic symptoms of children. In 1997, responses to the questionnaires were elicited from public elementary school fourth grade students (then aged 9-10) and public junior high school seventh grade students (then aged 12-13). The survey was repeated annually for three years as the students advanced through school. For both boys and girls, each cross-sectional analysis revealed a strong relationship between lifestyle behaviors and psychosomatic symptoms. Psychosomatic, symptoms scores varied according to daily hours of sleep, eating of breakfast, having strong likes and dislikes of food, bowel habits, and daily hours of television watching. Both boys and girls with "good" lifestyle, behaviors evaluated by the HPI (Health Practice Index) showed lower scores for psychosomatic symptoms. These findings show that the lifestyle behaviors of children are significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms and suggest that poor lifestyle behaviors are likely to increase physical and psychological health risks.

Mathematic Achievement of Canadian Private School Students

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Cadigan, Francoise Jane; Wei, Yichun; Clifton, Rodney A.

2013-01-01

Very little Canadian research has examined the academic achievement of private school students. Data from The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 were used to examine the achievement of private school students. The study found that private school students outperformed their public school peers. In addition, the students'…

Assessment of US, Indian and Chinese Middle School Students' Outlook on the Greenhouse Effect

Science.gov (United States)

Niyogi, D.; Ganesh, N.; Singh, D.; Liu, X.; Shepardson, D. P.; Roychoudhury, A.; Hirsch, A.; Halversen, C.

2012-12-01

When you think of the greenhouse effect and climate change what images and concepts come to mind? Answers to these questions are important to educators and policy makers as they wrestle with the issue of educating and conveying these concepts in class rooms and to the general public. The greenhouse effect (GHE) sustains life on the earth through regulating the temperatures on the planet. Well-mixed greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide absorb outgoing (long wave) radiation from the Earth's surface while allowing passage without absorption of the incoming solar (shortwave) radiation. Increasing the GHG concentration in the atmosphere increases the absorption of long wavelength radiation thereby increasing global temperatures that result in changes in the atmospheric states consistently over multiple decades.The concept of the greenhouse effect is critical to the discussions underway pertaining to climate change and the controls on greenhouse emissions being proposed in different forums. This study sought to (1) investigate students' conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change; (2) determine if there are differences between perceptions for students in US, India and China (Asia)- where there are known differences in the political and scientific approaches; and (3) determine if there any differences, contextual or otherwise, in the way the greenhouse effect is taught in these countries. This study was conducted in select schools in the Midwest US, India and China that volunteered to work with this project. -For US, data from 51 secondary students from three different schools were analyzed, for India the number was 71 from 3 schools, while for China the number is over 100 (and being analyzed) from different classes within a school. Study Hypotheses: 1.Middle school students have a good scientific understanding of greenhouse gases. 2.The U.S and Asian students have the same outlook. Teachers

School climate: perceptual differences between students, parents, and school staff

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Christine M.; Spira, Adam P.; Parisi, Jeanine M.; Rebok, George W.

2016-01-01

Research suggests that school climate can have a great impact on student, teacher, and school outcomes. However, it is often assessed as a summary measure, without taking into account multiple perspectives (student, teacher, parent) or examining subdimensions within the broader construct. In this study, we assessed school climate from the perspective of students, staff, and parents within a large, urban school district using multilevel modeling techniques to examine within- and between-school variance. After adjusting for school-level demographic characteristics, students reported worse perceptions of safety and connectedness compared to both parent and staff ratings (all p climate ratings within a school. Understanding how perceptions differ between informants can inform interventions to improve perceptions and prevent adverse outcomes. PMID:28642631

Teaching Einsteinian Physics at Schools: Part 1, Models and Analogies for Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Tejinder; Blair, David; Moschilla, John; Stannard, Warren; Zadnik, Marjan

2017-01-01

The Einstein-First project aims to change the paradigm of school science teaching through the introduction of modern Einsteinian concepts of space and time, gravity and quanta at an early age. These concepts are rarely taught to school students despite their central importance to modern science and technology. The key to implementing the…

Attending to Student Epistemological Framing in a Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchison, Paul; Hammer, David

2010-01-01

Studies of learning in school settings indicate that many students frame activities in science classes as the production of answers for the teacher or test, rather than as making new sense of the natural world. A case study of an episode from a class taught by the first author demonstrates what productive and unproductive student framing can look…

Variation in obesity among American secondary school students by school and school characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Malley, Patrick M; Johnston, Lloyd D; Delva, Jorge; Bachman, Jerald G; Schulenberg, John E

2007-10-01

Body mass index (BMI) is known to vary by individual characteristics, but little is known about whether BMI varies by school and by school characteristics. Nationally representative samples of United States schools and students are used to determine the extent to which BMI and percent of students at or above the 85th percentile of BMI vary by school and by school characteristics. Data from the 1991-2004 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study were analyzed in 2006 and 2007. A relatively small proportion of variance in BMI lies between schools; intraclass correlations are on the order of 3%. Still, this is sufficient variation to provide very different environments for students attending schools that are low versus high in average BMI. There is some modest variation by school type (public, Catholic private, non-Catholic private); school size (number of students in the sampled grade); region of the country; and population density. There is more variation as a function of school socioeconomic status (SES) and racial/ethnic composition of the school. School SES in particular was negatively associated with BMI levels, even after controlling individual-level SES and racial/ethnic status. The residual differences in BMI by school suggest that some characteristic of the school and/or community environment--perhaps cultural factors or peer role modeling or differences in school food, beverage, or physical education policies--facilitate obesity in schools with a high concentration of lower socioeconomic students, beyond individual-level factors.

BETWEEN THE GRIMMS AND "THE GROUP"--LITERATURE IN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOLS.

Science.gov (United States)

ANDERSON, SCARVIA B.

IN 1963, THE COOPERATIVE TEST DIVISION OF THE EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH A LIST OF THE MAJOR WORKS OF LITERATURE TAUGHT TO ALL STUDENTS IN ANY ENGLISH CLASS IN UNITED STATES SECONDARY SCHOOLS. QUESTIONNAIRES ASKING FOR SUCH A LIST OF EACH GRADE WERE SENT TO RANDOM SAMPLES OF SCHOOLS, AND 222 PUBLIC, 223 CATHOLIC, 192…

What do medical students know about e-cigarettes? A cross-sectional survey from one U.S. medical school.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinderaker, Katie; Power, David V; Allen, Sharon; Parker, Ellen; Okuyemi, Kolawole

2018-03-02

Although electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has rapidly increased, there is little data about what United States medical students know or are taught about them. This study examined medical students' experiences, knowledge, and attitudes regarding e-cigarettes, as well as their evaluation of their education on e-cigarettes. A cross-sectional online survey of medical students currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota Medical School (n = 984) was conducted over a three-week period in August and September 2015. Primary outcomes included students' personal experiences with e-cigarettes, knowledge and attitudes about e-cigarettes, and students' assessment of their education on e-cigarettes. 66.9% medical students completed the survey. 58% (n = 382) of participants identified as female. 35.8% (n = 235) were "not sure" whether e-cigarettes were approved by the FDA for smoking cessation, while 4.1% (n = 27) falsely believed they were. While 82.9% (n = 543) agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident in their ability to discuss traditional cigarette use with patients, only 12.4% (n = 81) agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident in their ability to discuss e-cigarettes with patients. 94.8% (n = 619) of participants believed that they had not received adequate education about e-cigarettes in medical school. A higher proportion of males reported ever using an e-cigarette. The gaps in medical student knowledge and wide variances in attitudes about e-cigarettes at one medical school together with their report of inadequate education in an environment of increasing use of e-cigarette use in the U.S. speaks to a need for the development of medical school curriculum on e-cigarettes.

Special Classes for Gifted Students? Absolutely!

Science.gov (United States)

Burton-Szabo, Sally

1996-01-01

This article makes a case for special classes for gifted students and answers objections to special classes raised by the middle school movement and the cooperative learning movement. A sample "Celebration of Me" unit taught to gifted seventh graders which involved poetry, literature, personal development, art, music, and physical fitness is…

Cooperative learning and algebra performance of eighth grade students in United Arab Emirates.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhateeb, Haitham M; Jumaa, Mustafa

2002-02-01

This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning on eighth grade students' performance in algebra. 54 boys and 57 girls in four middle-school mathematics classes of Grade 8 in the UAE participated. Over a 3-wk. period, two classes (57 students) were taught using a cooperative learning method, and the other two classes (54 students) were taught using the traditional lecture method. Analysis of covariance using pretest scores as a covariant showed no statistically significant increase in the algebra performance for students in the cooperative learning groups compared with the traditional groups. However, boys in the cooperative setting improved significantly on the performance test compared with boys in the traditional setting.

School lunch waste among middle school students: nutrients consumed and costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Juliana F W; Richardson, Scott; Austin, S Bryn; Economos, Christina D; Rimm, Eric B

2013-02-01

The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policymakers, students, and their families. Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students. Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a 2-year pilot study (2007-2009) in which a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percentage of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011. Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in these Boston middle schools. For most meal components, substantially less than 85% was consumed. There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards, and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students might benefit if additional focus were given to the quality and palatability of school meals. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing Student Engagement Through Social Media A School of Business Case Study

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M. Glowatz

2014-12-01

Full Text Available While many universities have been deploying both electronic learning (eLearning and social media applications for academic purposes, there is currently little research on the impact on their use on students’ overall learning experiences and associated learning possibilities. This paper elaborates on several online academic activities, such as Facebook, Twitter and quizzes for one classroom taught school of business undergraduate (UG module. The similarities and differences discovered across all aspects of this paper’s research findings are examined against Chickering & Gamson’s [1] seven principles of good practice teaching and Astin’s [2] five tenets of engagement. Online activities were tracked over a period of one academic semester (fifteen weeks and results insinuate that innovative and sustainable social media can indeed be utilised in higher education to enhance student learning and engagement.

Moving Beyond Concepts: Getting Urban High School Students Engaged in Science through Cognitive Processes

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Singh, Renu

In order to maintain its global position, the United States needs to increase the number of students opting for science careers. Science teachers face a formidable challenge. Students are not choosing science because they do not think coursework is interesting or applies to their lives. These problems often compound for adolescents in urban areas. This action research investigated an innovation aimed at engaging a group of adolescents in the science learning process through cognitive processes and conceptual understanding. It was hoped that this combination would increase students' engagement in the classroom and proficiency in science. The study was conducted with 28 juniors and sophomores in an Environmental Science class in an urban high school with a student body of 97% minority students and 86% students receiving free and reduced lunch. The study used a mixed-methods design. Instruments included a pre- and post-test, Thinking Maps, transcripts of student discourse, and a two-part Engagement Observation Instrument. Data analysis included basic descriptives and a grounded theory approach. Findings show students became engaged in activities when cognitive processes were taught prior to content. Furthermore it was discovered that Thinking Maps were perceived to be an easy tool to use to organize students' thinking and processing. Finally there was a significant increase in student achievement. From these findings implications for future practice and research are offered.

What public school teachers teach about preventing pregnancy, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.

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Forrest, J D; Silverman, J

1989-01-01

Ninety-three percent of public school teachers in five specialties-biology, health education, home economics, physical education and school nursing--who teach grades 7-12 report that their schools offer sex education or AIDS education in some form. Almost all the teachers believe that a wide range of topics related to the prevention of pregnancy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) should be taught in the public schools, and most believe these topics should be covered by grades 7-8 at the latest. In practice, however, sex education tends not to occur until the ninth or 10th grades. Moreover, there is often a gap between what teachers think should be taught and what actually is taught. For example, virtually all the teachers say that school sex education should cover sexual decision-making, abstinence and birth control methods, but only 82-84 percent of the teachers are in schools that provide instruction in those topics. The largest gap occurs in connection with sources of birth control methods: Ninety-seven percent of teachers say that sex education classes should address where students can go to obtain a method, but only 48 percent are in schools where this is done. Forty-five percent of teachers in the five specialties currently provide sex education in some form. The messages they most want to give to their students are responsibility regarding sexual relationships and parenthood, the importance of abstinence and ways of resisting pressures to become sexually active, and information about AIDS and other STDs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Teacher-led relaxation response curriculum in an urban high school: impact on student behavioral health and classroom environment.

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Wilson, H Kent; Scult, Matthew; Wilcher, Marilyn; Chudnofsky, Rana; Malloy, Laura; Drewel, Emily; Riklin, Eric; Saul, Southey; Fricchione, Gregory L; Benson, Herbert; Denninger, John W

2015-01-01

Recent data suggest that severe stress during the adolescent period is becoming a problem of epidemic proportions. Elicitation of the relaxation response (RR) has been shown to be effective in treating anxiety, reducing stress, and increasing positive health behaviors. The research team's objective was to assess the impact of an RR-based curriculum, led by teachers, on the psychological status and health management behaviors of high-school students and to determine whether a train-the-trainer model would be feasible in a high-school setting. The research team designed a pilot study. The setting was a Horace Mann charter school within Boston's public school system. Participants were teachers and students at the charter school. The team taught teachers a curriculum that included (1) relaxation strategies, such as breathing and imagery; (2) psychoeducation regarding mind-body pathways; and (3) positive psychology. Teachers implemented this curriculum with students. The research team assessed changes in student outcomes (eg, stress, anxiety, and stress management behaviors) using preintervention/postintervention surveys, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y), the stress management subscale of the Health-promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP-II), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Locus of Control (LOC) questionnaire, and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOTR). Classroom observations using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)-Secondary were also completed to assess changes in classroom environment. Using a Bonferroni correction (P management behaviors at that point. Using a Bonferroni correction (P management behaviors (P classroom productivity (eg, increased time spent on activities and instruction from pre- to postintervention). This study showed that teachers can lead an RR curriculum with fidelity and suggests that such a curriculum has positive benefits on student emotional and behavioral

Working While in Middle School: Student Perceptions of School Climate & Connectedness

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Miller, Sabrena

2016-01-01

Does working during the school year result in lowered perceptions of school climate and connectedness for middle school students? According to outcomes from a Rocky Mountain Region School District's (RMRSD) school climate survey, 20% of their middle school student population works during the school year. Existing literature on youth employment…

School superintendents' perceptions of schools assisting students in obtaining public health insurance.

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Rickard, Megan L; Price, James H; Telljohann, Susan K; Dake, Joseph A; Fink, Brian N

2011-12-01

Superintendents' perceptions regarding the effect of health insurance status on academics, the role schools should play in the process of obtaining health insurance, and the benefits/barriers to assisting students in enrolling in health insurance were surveyed. Superintendents' basic knowledge of health insurance, the link between health and learning, and specific school system practices for assisting students were also examined. A 4-page questionnaire was sent to a national random sample of public school superintendents using a 4-wave postal mailing. Only 19% of school districts assessed the health insurance status of students. School districts' assistance in helping enroll students in health insurance was assessed using Stages of Change theory; 36% of superintendents' school districts were in the action or maintenance stages. The schools most often made health insurance materials available to parents (53%). The perceived benefits identified by more than 80% of superintendents were to keep students healthier, reduce the number of students with untreated health problems, reduce school absenteeism, and improvement of students' attention/concentration during school. The 2 most common perceived barriers identified by at least 50% of superintendents were not having enough staff or financial resources. Most superintendents believed schools should play a role in helping students obtain health insurance, but the specific role was unclear. Three fourths of superintendents indicated overwhelmingly positive beliefs regarding the effects of health insurance status on students' health and academic outcomes. School personnel and public policy makers can use the results to support collaboration in getting students enrolled in health insurance. © 2011, American School Health Association.

Addressing Student Burnout: What Medical Schools Can Learn From Business Schools.

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Pathipati, Akhilesh S; Cassel, Christine K

2018-03-13

Although they enter school with enthusiasm for a career in medicine, medical students in the United States subsequently report high levels of burnout and disillusionment. As medical school leaders consider how to address this problem, they can look to business schools as one source of inspiration. In this Commentary, the authors argue-based on their collective experience in both medical and business education-that medical schools can draw three lessons from business schools that can help reinvigorate students. First, medical schools should offer more opportunities and dedicated time for creative work. Engaging with diverse challenges promotes intellectual curiosity and can help students maintain perspective. Second, schools should provide more explicit training in resiliency and the management of stressful situations. Many business programs include formal training in how to cope with conflict and how to make high-stakes decisions whereas medical students are typically expected to learn those skills on the job. Finally, medical schools should provide better guidance on practical career considerations like income, lifestyle, and financial skills. Whether in medicine or business, students benefit from open discussions about their personal and professional goals. Medical schools must ensure students have an outlet for those conversations.

Using realistic mathematics education and the DAPIC problem-solving process to enhance secondary school students' mathematical literacy

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Sunisa Sumirattana

2017-09-01

This study was based on research and development design. The main purposes of this study were to develop an instructional process for enhancing mathematical literacy among students in secondary school and to study the effects of the developed instructional process on mathematical literacy. The instructional process was developed by analyzing and synthesizing realistic mathematics education and the DAPIC problem-solving process. The developed instructional process was verified by experts and was trialed. The designated pre-test/post-test control method was used to study the effectiveness of the developed instructional process on mathematical literacy. The sample consisted of 104 ninth grade students from a secondary school in Bangkok, Thailand. The developed instructional process consisted of five steps, namely (1 posing real life problems, (2 solving problems individually or in a group, (3 presenting and discussing, (4 developing formal mathematics, and (5 applying knowledge. The mathematical literacy of the experimental group was significantly higher after being taught through the instructional process. The same results were obtained when comparing the results of the experimental group with the control group.

The knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors in elementary school students in Bushehr Port The Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Project

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Anahita Sanaei Dashty

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Cardiovascular diseases are among the first leading causes of death in the world, whose main risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, obesity, hypertension and smoking are somehow closely related to childhood. The process of atherosclerosis may begin developing during childhood. Methods: In order to evaluate the knowledge of elementary school students of Bushehr Port regarding heart function and risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, 1128 students educating in 3rd and 4th grades were randomly selected and assessed with a 30-item questionnaire including four sections heart anatomy, smoking, exercise and nutrition. The minimum score was considered zero, the maximum 30 and the passing score was to gain 51% of the maximum score (or 15.30 out of 30. Results: The mean of total score was 13.1 5. The mean-score of the 3rd grade students was higher than the mean of the score in the 4th grade ones (P<0.05. There was no significant difference between total mean-score of girls and boys. The mean of the anatomy section score was higher in girls and those of the three other sections were higher in boys. Only 36% of students gained the passing score and 64% of them failed to pass the examination. Conclusion: The level of knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors is low in elementary school students in Bushehr Port. We suggest preparing attractive teaching booklets regarding healthy heart, to be taught routinely in schools, beside other health issues.

Independence, Interaction, Interdependence and Interrelation: Learner Autonomy in a Web-based Less Commonly Taught Language Classroom

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Marina V. Kostina

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the United States, teaching less commonly taught languages has been a very challenging task due to low student enrollment and the high costs of hiring permanent teaching faculty. Therefore, webbased distance learning (DL is beginning to attract serious attention from the less commonly taught languages profession (Fleming, Hiple and Du, 2002. However, DL classes are often associated with student isolation, where learners are deprived of non-verbal clues, vocal expression, and eye contact that are crucial for foreign language learning (White, 2005. Thus, working in a more isolated context requires higher learner autonomy (White, 2005. This article provides a review of literature on autonomy that exists in the foreign language field, and describes four aspects of autonomy that need to be considered by language teachers while developing their web-based courses. It also offers some practical suggestions for the less commonly taught language instructors that foster autonomy and decrease isolation online.

Special Theory of Relativity in South Korean High School Textbooks and New Teaching Guidelines

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Gim, Jinyeong

2016-01-01

South Korean high school students are being taught Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. In this article, I examine the portrayal of this theory in South Korean high school physics textbooks and discuss an alternative method used to solve the analyzed problems. This examination of how these South Korean textbooks present this theory has…

Multiple Case Study of STEM in School-Based Agricultural Education

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Stubbs, Eric A.; Myers, Brian E.

2015-01-01

This multiple case study investigated the integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in three Florida high school agriculture programs. Observations, interviews, documents, and artifacts provided qualitative data that indicated the types of STEM knowledge taught. Variables of interest included student and teacher…

Authoritative School Climate and High School Student Risk Behavior: A Cross-sectional Multi-level Analysis of Student Self-Reports.

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Cornell, Dewey; Huang, Francis

2016-11-01

Many adolescents engage in risk behaviors such as substance use and aggression that jeopardize their healthy development. This study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships is conducive to lower risk behavior for high school students. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional, student-report survey data from a statewide sample of 47,888 students (50.6 % female) in 319 high schools. The students included ninth (26.6 %), tenth (25.5 %), eleventh (24.1 %) and twelfth (23.8 %) grade with a racial/ethnic breakdown of 52.2 % White, 18.0 % Black, 13.1 % Hispanic, 5.9 % Asian, and 10.8 % reporting another or two or more race/ethnicities. Schools with an authoritative school climate had lower levels of student-reported alcohol and marijuana use; bullying, fighting, and weapon carrying at school; interest in gang membership; and suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results controlled for demographic variables of student gender, race, grade, and parent education level as well as school size, percentage of minority students, and percentage of low income students. Overall, these findings add new evidence that an authoritative school climate is associated with positive student outcomes.

Student and school factors associated with school suspension: A multilevel analysis of students in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States

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Sheryl, A. Hemphill; Stephanie, M. Plenty; Herrenkohl, Todd I.; Toumbourou, John W.; Catalano, Richard F.

2014-01-01

One of the common issues schools face is how best to handle challenging student behaviors such as violent behavior, antisocial behavior, bullying, school rule violations, and interrupting other students’ learning. School suspension may be used to remove students engaging in challenging behaviors from the school for a period of time. However, the act of suspending students from school may worsen rather than improve their behavior. Research shows that suspensions predict a range of student outcomes, including crime, delinquency, and drug use. It is therefore crucial to understand the factors associated with the use of school suspension, particularly in sites with different policy approaches to problem behaviors. This paper draws on data from state-representative samples of 3,129 Grade 7 and 9 students in Washington State, United States and Victoria, Australia sampled in 2002. Multilevel modeling examined student and school level factors associated with student-reported school suspension. Results showed that both student (being male, previous student antisocial and violent behavior, rebelliousness, academic failure) and school (socioeconomic status of the school, aggregate measures of low school commitment) level factors were associated with school suspension and that the factors related to suspension were similar in the two states. The implications of the findings for effective school behavior management policy are that, rather than focusing only on the student, both student and school level factors need to be addressed to reduce the rates of school suspension. PMID:24860205

The Impact of Accountability on Student Performance in a Secondary Physical Education Badminton Unit

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Lund, Jacalyn; Shanklin, Jennifer

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of accountability on the quality of student motor responses during a 10-day badminton unit with female high school students enrolled in a required physical education class. Students in the control class participated in the same learning activities taught by the same teacher as the treatment…

Leaving School — learning at SEA: Regular high school education alongside polar research, not only during IPY

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Gatti, S.

2006-12-01

Against the background of unsatisfactory results from the international OECD study PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), Germany is facing a period of intense school reforms. Looking back at a tradition of school culture with too few changes during the last century, quick and radical renewal of the school system is rather unlikely. Furthermore students are increasingly turning away from natural sciences. The AWI aims at providing impulses for major changes in the schooling system and is offering solid science education not only for university students but also for a much younger audience. All efforts towards this goal are interconnected within the project SEA (Science & Education @ the AWI). Fife years ago the AWI started HIGHSEA (High school of SEA). Each year 22 high school students (grade 11) are admitted to HIGHSEA spending their last three years of school not at school but at the institute. Four subjects (biology as a major, chemistry, math and English as accessory subjects) are combined and taught fully integrated. Students leave their schools for two days each week to study, work and explore all necessary topics at the AWI. All of the curricular necessities of the four subjects are being met. After rearrangement of the temporal sequencing conceptual formulation of four major questions around AWI-topics was possible. Students are taught by teachers of the cooperating schools as well as by scientists of the AWI. Close links and intense cooperation between all three groups are the basis of fundamental changes in teaching and learning climate. For each group of students we organize a short research expedition: in August 2005 we worked in the high Arctic, in January and February 2006 we performed measurements at two eastern Atlantic seamounts. Even if the amount of data coming from these expeditions is comparatively small they still contribute to ongoing research projects of the oceanographic department. The first two groups of students finished

Verbal and visual learning of science terminology by high school biology students

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Grant, Andrew Morton

The purpose of this study is to determine whether scientific terms with multiple meanings are more easily learned when taught pictorially or when taught verbally. The question of interference from previously known colloquial meanings is addressed as well. In carrying out this study, an experimental group of 30 students was taught pictorially and a control group of 30 students was taught verbally. Each group was made up of male and female students from the dominant culture (Caucasian) and from alternate cultures (mainly African American and Asian). The age of the participants was between 14 and 17. Students were selected as class groups. There were four class groups in the study. Class groups were assigned to the experimental or control group by random selection. Results were compared by use of a pre-test and post-test procedure. Students were asked to verbally describe 41 terms having scientific and colloquial meanings; they were to give the scientific meaning, if known, the colloquial if not, or leave a question mark if the term was unknown. They were then asked to draw a picture of the meaning of the term, if known. The same instructions were given to both groups. A series of seven hypotheses were identified. These hypotheses considered learning outcomes related to instructional mode as well as outcomes related to gender and cultural differences. An attempt was made to determine the similarity of the experimental and control groups. Student profiles, a learning styles inventory, and an imbedded image test all showed an initial similarity of the two groups. Once the pretest and posttest were given, data were analyzed by the use of the Chi-square of Association, the McNemar Chi-square, and Z scores (at.05 significance level). Results indicated significant differences in outcomes between the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group showed more science vocabulary learning than the control group and experienced more interference from the

Developing geogebra-assisted reciprocal teaching strategy to improve junior high school students’ abstraction ability, lateral thinking and mathematical persistence

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Priatna, N.; Martadiputra, B. A. P.; Wibisono, Y.

2018-05-01

The development of science and technology requires reform in the utilization of various resources for mathematics teaching and learning process. One of the efforts that can be made is the implementation of GeoGebra-assisted Reciprocal Teaching strategy in mathematics instruction as an effective strategy in improving students’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities. This research is intended to implement GeoGebra-assisted Reciprocal Teaching strategy in improving abstraction ability, lateral thinking, and mathematical persistence of junior high school students. It employed quasi-experimental method with non-random pre-test and post-test control design. More specifically, it used the 2x3 factorial design, namely the learning factors that included GeoGebra-assisted Reciprocal Teaching and conventional teaching learning, and levels of early mathematical ability (high, middle, and low). The subjects in this research were the eighth grade students of junior high school, taken with purposive sampling. The results of this research show: Abstraction and lateral abilities of students who were taught with GeoGebra-assisted Reciprocal Teaching strategy were significantly higher than those of students who received conventional learning. Mathematical persistence of students taught with GeoGebra-assisted Reciprocal Teaching strategy was also significantly higher than of those taught with conventional learning.

Environmental Literacy Comparison between Students Taught in Eco-Schools and Ordinary Schools in the Madeira Island Region of Portugal

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Spinola, H.

2015-01-01

The main goal of environmental education is to improve environmental literacy, including not just more knowledge but also a better attitude toward the environment and a higher prevalence of pro-environmental behaviours. The Eco-School Program is considered the world largest environmental education program for schools, but it keeps growing without…

Effectiveness of Tutorials for Introductory Physics in Argentinean high schools

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J. Benegas

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This longitudinal study reports the results of a replication of Tutorials in Introductory Physics in high schools of a Latin-American country. The main objective of this study was to examine the suitability of Tutorials for local science education reform. Conceptual learning of simple resistive electric circuits was determined by the application of the single-response multiple-choice test “Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuits Concepts Test” (DIRECT to high school classes taught with Tutorials and traditional instruction. The study included state and privately run schools of different socioeconomic profiles, without formal laboratory space and equipment, in classes of mixed-gender and female-only students, taught by novice and experienced instructors. Results systematically show that student learning is significantly higher in the Tutorials classes compared with traditional teaching for all of the studied conditions. The results also show that long-term learning (one year after instruction in the Tutorials classes is highly satisfactory, very similar to the performance of the samples of college students used to develop the test DIRECT. On the contrary, students following traditional instruction returned one year after instruction to the poor performance (<20% shown before instruction, a result compatible with the very low level of conceptual knowledge of basic physics recently determined by a systematic study of first-year students attending seven universities in Spain and four Latin-American countries. Some replication and adaptation problems and difficulties of this experience are noted, as well as recommendations for successful use of Tutorials in high schools of similar educational systems.

Teaching consumer theory to business students: an integrative approach

OpenAIRE

Axelsen, Dan; Snarr, Hal W.; Friesner, Dan

2009-01-01

Economists teaching principles of microeconomics courses in business schools face a difficult pedagogical dilemma. Because the vast majority of students in these courses are business majors or minors who will not study economics beyond the principles level, these students need a different set of skills than what is taught in a traditional (liberal arts) setting, which is focused primarily towards economics majors and/or minors. In particular, business students need relatively less emphasis ...

School violence and bullying among sexual minority high school students, 2009-2011.

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O'Malley Olsen, Emily; Kann, Laura; Vivolo-Kantor, Alana; Kinchen, Steve; McManus, Tim

2014-09-01

School-based victimization has short- and long-term implications for the health and academic lives of sexual minority students. This analysis assessed the prevalence and relative risk of school violence and bullying among sexual minority and heterosexual high school students. Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 10 states and 10 large urban school districts that assessed sexual identity and had weighted data in the 2009 and/or 2011 cycle were combined to create two large population-based data sets, one containing state data and one containing district data. Prevalence of physical fighting, being threatened or injured with a weapon, weapon carrying, and being bullied on school property and not going to school because of safety concerns was calculated. Associations between these behaviors and sexual identity were identified. In the state data, sexual minority male students were at greater risk for being threatened or injured with a weapon, not going to school because of safety concerns and being bullied than heterosexual male students. Sexual minority female students were at greater risk than heterosexual female students for all five behaviors. In the district data, with one exception, sexual minority male and female students were at greater risk for all five behaviors than heterosexual students. Sexual minority students still routinely experience more school victimization than their heterosexual counterparts. The implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based programs and policies has the ability to reduce school violence and bullying, especially among sexual minority students. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Middle school student perceptions of school lunch following revised federal school meal guidelines

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This study assessed student perceptions of school meals under the new federal meal patterns for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Student feedback is instrumental in developing strategies to increase and maintain NSLP participation, satisfaction, and ultimately provide students with a health...

School Related Alienation: Perceptions of Secondary School Students.

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Kunkel, Richard C.; And Others

Responses to questionnaires administered to 10,000 senior high school students to ascertain their feelings of alienation as related to their schools are presented. The questionnaire items concerned: School as an Institution, The School as Teacher, Authority--Autonomy, and Parental Interest in School. The findings that resulted from the…

Looking at Life. Study Guide. Unit A2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

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Hosking, Bunty

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide presents activities…

Looking at Life. Teacher's Guide. Unit A2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosking, Bunty

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be read in…

Observing Some Life Cycles. Teacher's Guide. Unit E3. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project.

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Chitepo, Thoko; And Others

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide contains instructional…

Students' approaches to medical school choice: relationship with students' characteristics and motivation.

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Wouters, Anouk; Croiset, Gerda; Schripsema, Nienke R; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Spaai, Gerard W G; Hulsman, Robert L; Kusurkar, Rashmi A

2017-06-12

The aim was to examine main reasons for students' medical school choice and their relationship with students' characteristics and motivation during the students' medical study. In this multisite cross-sectional study, all Year-1 and Year-4 students who had participated in a selection procedure in one of the three Dutch medical schools included in the study were invited to complete an online survey comprising personal data, their main reason for medical school choice and standard, validated questionnaires to measure their strength of motivation (Strength of Motivation for Medical School-Revised) and autonomous and controlled type of motivation (Academic Self-regulation Questionnaire). Four hundred seventy-eight students participated. We performed frequency analyses on the reasons for medical school choice and regression analyses and ANCOVAs to study their associations with students' characteristics and motivation during their medical study. Students indicated 'city' (Year-1: 24.7%, n=75 and Year-4: 36.0%, n=52) and 'selection procedure' (Year-1: 56.9%, n=173 and Year-4: 46.9%, n=68) as the main reasons for their medical school choice. The main reasons were associated with gender, age, being a first-generation university student, ethnic background and medical school, and no significant associations were found between the main reasons and the strength and type of motivation during the students' medical study. Most students had based their medical school choice on the selection procedure. If medical schools desire to achieve a good student-curriculum fit and attract a diverse student population aligning the selection procedure with the curriculum and taking into account various students' different approaches is important.

Human Sexuality: A Student Taught Course

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Herold, Edward S.; And Others

1973-01-01

Four senior female students presented seminars in human sexuality to freshmen coeds. The seminar topics were (1) petting and intercourse, (2) masturbation, (3) venereal disease and problematic sexual behavior, and (4) abortion and sterilization. Improvement in knowledge was determined by pre- and post-course questionnaires. Student evaluations…

NGSS-Aligned, K-12 Climate Science Curricula, taught with citizen science and teacher-led inquiry methods

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Zainfeld, S.

2017-12-01

Teacher-led inquiry into student learning is a promising method of formative assessment to gain insight into student achievement. NGSS-aligned K-12 Climate Science curricula taught with citizen science and teacher-led inquiry methods are described, along with results from a scientist-teacher collaboration survey.

Effect of Chemistry Triangle Oriented Learning Media on Cooperative, Individual and Conventional Method on Chemistry Learning Result

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Latisma D, L.; Kurniawan, W.; Seprima, S.; Nirbayani, E. S.; Ellizar, E.; Hardeli, H.

2018-04-01

The purpose of this study was to see which method are well used with the Chemistry Triangle-oriented learning media. This quasi experimental research involves first grade of senior high school students in six schools namely each two SMA N in Solok city, in Pasaman and two SMKN in Pariaman. The sampling technique was done by Cluster Random Sampling. Data were collected by test and analyzed by one-way anova and Kruskall Wallish test. The results showed that the high school students in Solok learning taught by cooperative method is better than the results of student learning taught by conventional and Individual methods, both for students who have high initial ability and low-ability. Research in SMK showed that the overall student learning outcomes taught by conventional method is better than the student learning outcomes taught by cooperative and individual methods. Student learning outcomes that have high initial ability taught by individual method is better than student learning outcomes that are taught by cooperative method and for students who have low initial ability, there is no difference in student learning outcomes taught by cooperative, individual and conventional methods. Learning in high school in Pasaman showed no significant difference in learning outcomes of the three methods undertaken.

Teaching Innovation in High School Technology Classes

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Wright, Geoffrey A.; Skaggs, Paul; West, Richard E.

2013-01-01

Innovation is central to modern industry. It can and should be taught in schools. Not only does providing students a background in innovation benefit them later in life and industry, but it also promotes and further develops their critical thinking and collaboration skills. Despite the need for innovation, many have struggled with how to teach it.…

Factors that Influence Community College Students' Interest in Science Coursework

Science.gov (United States)

Sasway, Hope

There is a need for science education research that explores community college student, instructor, and course characteristics that influence student interest and motivation to study science. Increasing student enrollment and persistence in STEM is a national concern. Nearly half of all college graduates have passed through a community college at some point in their higher education. This study at a large, ethnically diverse, suburban community college showed that student interest tends to change over the course of a semester, and these changes are related to student, instructor, and course variables. The theoretical framework for this study was based upon Adult Learning Theory and research in motivation to learn science. Adult Learning Theory relies heavily on self-directed learning and concepts of andragogy, or the art and science of teaching adults. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study of student course interest utilized quantitative data from 639 pre-and post-surveys and a background and personal experience questionnaire. The four factors of the survey instrument (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) were related to motivation and interest by interviewing 12 students selected through maximum variation sampling in order to reach saturation. Qualitative data were collected and categorized by these factors with extrinsic and intrinsic themes emerging from personal and educational experiences. Analysis of covariance showed student characteristics that were significant included age and whether the student already held a post-secondary degree. Significant instructor characteristics included whether the instructor taught full- or part-time, taught high school, held a doctoral degree, and had pedagogical training. Significant course characteristics included whether the biology course was a major, elective, or service course; whether the course had a library assignment; and high attrition rate. The binary logistic regression model showed

Ethnic Identity, Gender, and Adolescent Attitude toward School: Adaptive Perspectives in Diverse Settings

OpenAIRE

Booth, Margaret Zoller; Curran, Erin M.; Frey, Christopher J.; Gerard, Jean M.; Collet, Bruce; Bartimole, Jennifer

2014-01-01

The relationships between adolescent ethnic identity and attitudes toward school and school climate are investigated in a small, multiracial/multiethnic city in the Great Lakes region with ethnically diverse adolescents taught by primarily White teachers. The mixed methods investigation of 986 eighth through eleventh grade students during the 2010–2011 academic year suggests that the relationship between ethnic identity and attitude toward school is a complex interaction among individual char...

Perceptions about interpersonal relationships and school environment among middle school students with asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhee, Hyekyun; McQuillan, Brenda; Chen, Ding-Geng; Atis, Shannska

2017-11-01

To examine interpersonal relationships involving peers and teachers and perceptions about school environment among middle school students with asthma in comparison to their healthy counterparts. The study also assesses asthma prevalence in a large sample of middle school students representing different geographic locations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1059 middle school students in grades 6-8 enrolled in schools in a northeastern region of the United States. Students reported their chronic health conditions including asthma and completed questionnaires measuring perceptions about their relationships with peers and teachers as well as school environment. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were used to compare students with asthma and their healthy counterparts in the study variables. Asthma was reported by 16.5% of the sample (n = 169). The rate was higher among minority students (23%) than their white counterparts (15%). Greater proportion of urban students (28%) reported asthma than rural (18%) and suburban (14%) students. Students with asthma reported significantly poorer relationships with peers (B = -1.74, p asthma prevalence was substantially higher than the national average of adolescent asthma, particularly those residing in the urban area. Poor perceptions of interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers among students with asthma may indicate compromised quality of life. Suboptimal interpersonal relationships and school environment need to be identified and adequately addressed, given their implications for asthma management at the school setting among middle school students.

Effects of Commercial Web Videos on Students' Attitude toward Learning Technology

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Tai, Yaming; Ting, Yu-Liang

2015-01-01

This study values the broad range of web videos produced by businesses to introduce new technologies while also promoting their products. When the promoted technology is related to the topic taught in a school course, it may be beneficial for students to watch such videos. However, most students view the web as a source for entertainment, and may…

Schools or Students? Identifying High School Effects on Student Suspensions

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Baker-Smith, E. Christine

2015-01-01

Evidence is clear that discipline in high school is associated with negative outcomes across the life course. Not only are suspensions related to declining academic trajectories during high school in the form of attendance and academic achievement, students suspended once are also more likely to be suspended again and also substantially increase…

Bullying among High School Students

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Nursel TÜRKMEN, Delia; Halis DOKGÖZ, Mihai; Semra AKGÖZ, Suzana; Bülent EREN, Bogdan Nicolae; Pınar VURAL, Horatiu; Oğuz POLAT, Horatiu

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: The main aim of this research is to investigate the prevalence of bullying behaviour, its victims and the types of bullying and places of bullying among 14-17 year-old adolescents in a sample of school children in Bursa, Turkey. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was conducted among class 1 and class 2 high school students for identification bullying. Results: Majority (96.7%) of the students were involved in bullying behaviours as aggressors or victims. For a male student, the likelihood of being involved in violent behaviours was detected to be nearly 8.4 times higher when compared with a female student. Conclusion: a multidisciplinary approach involving affected children, their parents, school personnel, media, non-govermental organizations, and security units is required to achieve an effective approach for the prevention of violence targeting children in schools as victims and/or perpetrators. PMID:24371478

First-aid training in school: amount, content and hindrances.

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Bakke, H K; Bakke, H K; Schwebs, R

2017-11-01

To increase knowledge and competence about first aid in the population, first-aid instruction is included in primary and secondary school curricula. This study aimed to establish how much time is spent on first-aid training, which first-aid measures are taught, and which factors prevent teachers from providing the quantity and quality of first-aid training that they wish to give. A questionnaire was distributed to teachers in physical education in primary and secondary schools and to teachers in vocational subjects in higher secondary schools. The teachers taught a median of two lessons in first aid per year. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was taught by 64% of teachers, free airway and recovery position by 69% and stopping severe bleeding by 51%. Recognising heart attack and stroke was taught by 25% and 23%, respectively. The main factors that the teachers perceived as limiting the amount and quality of first-aid training were insufficient learning objective specifications in the curriculum, too many other competence aims, lack of CPR mannequins and lack of training as first-aid instructors. Norwegian teachers provide an appreciable amount of first-aid training to their students. However, several potential life-saving measures are poorly covered. The curriculum needs to contain first aid but also should specify what first-aid measures to be taught. First-aid training of teachers should adequately prepare them to be first-aid instructors. © 2017 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.

Forces. 'O' Level Teacher's Guide. Unit 1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

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Udwin, Martin

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be read in…

School lunch and snacking patterns among high school students: Associations with school food environment and policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Story Mary

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objectives This study examined associations between high school students' lunch patterns and vending machine purchases and the school food environment and policies. Methods A randomly selected sample of 1088 high school students from 20 schools completed surveys about their lunch practices and vending machine purchases. School food policies were assessed by principal and food director surveys. The number of vending machines and their hours of operation were assessed by trained research staff. Results Students at schools with open campus policies during lunchtime were significantly more likely to eat lunch at a fast food restaurant than students at schools with closed campus policies (0.7 days/week vs. 0.2 days/week, p Conclusion School food policies that decrease access to foods high in fats and sugars are associated with less frequent purchase of these items in school among high school students. Schools should examine their food-related policies and decrease access to foods that are low in nutrients and high in fats and sugars.

Learning professionalism during the third year of medical school in a 9-month-clinical rotation in rural Minnesota.

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Zink, Therese; Halaas, Gwen Wagstrom; Brooks, Kathleen D

2009-11-01

Professionalism is now an explicit part of the medical school curricula. To examine the components that are part of developing professionalism during the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) experience, a 9-month rotation in a rural community during the third year of medical school. Two researchers analysed 3 years of essays for themes. IRB approval was obtained. Themes were organized using Van de Camp's model of professionalism. Students described how patients taught them about illnesses, the affects on their lives and the lives of their families. Preceptors role-modelled how to relate to patients with compassion and respect (Professionalism Towards the Patient). As a member of the health care team, clinic and hospital staff taught students how to be a good team member (Towards Other Health Care Professionals). Shadowing preceptors in their roles as physicians and community members, students learned about their responsibilities to the community (Towards the Public). Multiple opportunities for self-evaluation and reflection taught students to know themselves and find balance between work responsibilities and their personal lives (Towards Oneself). The RPAP appears to create a supportive learning environment that incorporates psychological safety, appreciation of differences, openness to new ideas and time for reflection - an ideal environment for developing professionalism.

Sex differences and violence among primary school students

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Marković Živorad M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This is the micro research which studied the connection between gender and violence between older primary school students with the goal of discovering exposure of gender members to violence in school context and the ways of reaction to the violence. The researchers from different scientific disciplines have been permanently involved in studying the problem of violence for more than a decade with the goal to lessen the high percentage of violence in schools. In this sense, this research, with its range and character, represents the contribution in discovering characteristics of violence in schools in one specific local area, which could fill in the wholeness of this phenomenon. The research involved students of the final grade of primary school on the territory of the municipality of Svilajnac (which is in central part of Serbia and it was performed in December 2015. 236 students were surveyed. The survey consisted of the following questions a which questioned the social matrix of families in which the students live b which questioned presence and frequency of different types of violence between students in primary schools c which questioned the attitudes of students of both genders about the violence, exposure to violence in school and the ways of reacting to violence. In the frame of quantitative analysis of the data the following was applied: percentual research of frequencies and Pierson's hi-square test (x2 for testing of hyphothesis about the significance of differences. The main results of the research showed: a There is no statistically significant difference in exposure to violence in school between male and female students of primary school age; both genders are exposed to verbal and physical violence and male students (45.7% are more exposed to physical, and female students (38.3% are more exposed to verbal violence. bThere is no statistically significant difference in the readiness of students considering their gender to help another

Greenhouse Schools: How Schools Can Build Cultures Where Teachers and Students Thrive

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TNTP, 2012

2012-01-01

Successful teachers make successful schools. Yet some schools are better than others at accelerating student learning by developing and keeping great teachers, even compared to schools that serve the same population of students and have access to the same resources. These schools are called "greenhouse schools"--schools with carefully…

The Contribution of Student Perceptions of School Climate to Understanding the Disproportionate Punishment of African American Students in a Middle School

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Shirley, Erica L. M.; Cornell, Dewey G.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the contribution of student perceptions of school climate to racial differences in school discipline. Four hundred middle school students completed a school climate survey. Compared to Caucasian students, African-American students were referred to the office for discipline three times as frequently and received five times…

School and University Partnerships: The Role of Teacher Education Institutions and Primary Schools in the Development of Preservice Teachers' Science Teaching Efficacy

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Petersen, Jacinta E.; Treagust, David F.

2014-01-01

Science in the Australian primary school context is in a state of renewal with the recent implementation of the Australian Curriculum: Science. Despite this curriculum renewal, the results of primary students in science have remained static. Science in Australia has been identified as one of the least taught subjects in the primary school…

Medical education, global health and travel medicine: a modern student's experience.

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Tissingh, Elizabeth Khadija

2009-01-01

Today's medical student will practice medicine in a globalised world, where an understanding of travel medicine and global health will be vital. Students at UK medical schools are keen to learn more about these areas and yet receive little specific training. Tomorrow's doctors should be taught about global health and travel medicine if they are to be prepared to work in tomorrow's world.

Growing minds: The effect of school gardening programs on the science achievement of elementary students

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Klemmer, Cynthia Davis

Science literacy refers to a basic knowledge and understanding of science concepts and processes needed to consider issues and make choices on a daily basis in an increasingly technology-driven society. A critical precursor to producing science literate adults is actively involving children in science while they are young. National and state (TX) science standards advocate the use of constructivist methods including hands-on, experiential activities that foster the development of science process skills through real-world investigations. School gardens show promise as a tool for implementing these guidelines by providing living laboratories for active science. Gardens offer opportunities for a variety of hands-on investigations, enabling students to apply and practice science skills. School gardens are increasing in popularity; however, little research data exists attesting to their actual effectiveness in enhancing students' science achievement. The study used a quasi-experimental posttest-only research design to assess the effects of a school gardening program on the science achievement of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade elementary students. The sample consisted of 647 students from seven elementary schools in Temple, Texas. The experimental group participated in school gardening activities as part of their science curriculum. The control group did not garden and were taught using traditional classroom-based methods. Results showed higher scores for students in the experimental group which were statistically significant. Post-hoc tests using Scheffe's method revealed that these differences were attributed to the 5th grade. No statistical significance was found between girls and boys in the experimental group, indicating that gardening was equally effective for both genders. Within each gender, statistical significance was found between males in the experimental and control groups at all three grade levels, and for females in the 5 th grade. This research indicated that

Teaching English Language Skills for School Teachers: CTE Programme of IGNOU

OpenAIRE

Asha Khare

2011-01-01

India is a multilingual country. English is the second most important language in the country after the national language Hindi since it is taught as a compulsory subject in all the Indian schools. In the educational system of a multilingual country, it becomes imperative to improve the English Language teaching skills of the school teachers who come from various linguistic backgrounds. The school teacher plays a vital role in the development of linguistic skills of the students. What childre...

We love our school toilets: involving primary school students in improving their school toilets.

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Senior, Elizabeth

2014-03-01

This article reports on the planning, implementation and evaluation of an intervention to improve school students' experience of using the school toilet in a primary school in Melbourne, Australia. 20 students from grades 2-6 participated in focus groups, to discuss what they valued about the school and raise awareness of issues they were not happy about. A common theme from all of the focus groups was that students reported avoiding use of the school toilets. Using the ideas generated from the focus groups, the student council (with input from staff), developed a self-administered pre- and post-test questionnaire. This was given to 220 students in grades 1-4, aged 6-10 years. Improvements suggested by the students were made to the toilet block, and then a post-test was administered. Independent t tests were conducted. The pre-test indicated that 71% of girls and 65% of boys feared the behaviour of other students in the toilet. Overwhelmingly, the qualitative comments focused on poor student behaviour in the toilets, with lack of privacy due to student misbehaviour mentioned in 90% of the comments. After the toilets were revamped, the greatest gains were made in students' attitudes toward the toilets, with a 37% increase in students who indicated they now liked the toilet facility. Incidents of vandalism also decreased; however, student misconduct in the toilets was still regarded as a problem. Involving students in refurbishing their toilets improved how students viewed the toilets and reduced vandalism; however, a different intervention is required to change inappropriate behaviours in the toilet.

Bullying climate and school engagement in ninth-grade students.

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Mehta, Sharmila B; Cornell, Dewey; Fan, Xitao; Gregory, Anne

2013-01-01

Many authorities agree that bullying has a widespread impact on school climate, affecting bystanders as well as victims. This study tested the contention that a climate of bullying can have a schoolwide impact on student engagement in school. Hierarchical linear modeling assessed the relations between student perception of bullying climate and student engagement at the individual and school level in a statewide sample of 7058 ninth graders randomly selected from 289 schools participating in the Virginia High School Safety Study. Student engagement was assessed by self-report scales measuring commitment to school and involvement in school activities. Individual differences in perception of school climate characterized by bullying were associated with lower commitment to school, but not less involvement in school activities. School-level differences in student perceptions of bullying climate were associated with both lower commitment to school and less involvement in school activities, after controlling for the effects of gender, race, school size, proportion of ethnic minority students in the school, and individual-level perception of bullying climate. Efforts to improve student engagement should consider the schoolwide impact of bullying on all students. © 2013, American School Health Association.

Freshman Year Dropouts: Interactions between Student and School Characteristics and Student Dropout Status

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Zvoch, Keith

2006-01-01

Data from a large school district in the southwestern United States were analyzed to investigate relations between student and school characteristics and high school freshman dropout patterns. Application of a multilevel logistic regression model to student dropout data revealed evidence of school-to-school differences in student dropout rates and…

How Students Utilize and Perceive Their School Library

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Bleidt, Shirley A.

2011-01-01

School library usage and middle school students' perceptions of the usefulness of their school library were examined in this study. 1,509 predominately Hispanic students attending rural public schools participated by completing an online survey regarding their school libraries. The vast majority of students surveyed reported that they used their…

The effect of instructional methodology on high school students natural sciences standardized tests scores

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, P. E.

Educators have recently come to consider inquiry based instruction as a more effective method of instruction than didactic instruction. Experience based learning theory suggests that student performance is linked to teaching method. However, research is limited on inquiry teaching and its effectiveness on preparing students to perform well on standardized tests. The purpose of the study to investigate whether one of these two teaching methodologies was more effective in increasing student performance on standardized science tests. The quasi experimental quantitative study was comprised of two stages. Stage 1 used a survey to identify teaching methods of a convenience sample of 57 teacher participants and determined level of inquiry used in instruction to place participants into instructional groups (the independent variable). Stage 2 used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to compare posttest scores on a standardized exam by teaching method. Additional analyses were conducted to examine the differences in science achievement by ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status by teaching methodology. Results demonstrated a statistically significant gain in test scores when taught using inquiry based instruction. Subpopulation analyses indicated all groups showed improved mean standardized test scores except African American students. The findings benefit teachers and students by presenting data supporting a method of content delivery that increases teacher efficacy and produces students with a greater cognition of science content that meets the school's mission and goals.

A Comparison of Students in Single-Sex Classes and Coeducational Classes in High Poverty Public Elementary Schools in Mathematics and Reading Achievement

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Aldridge, Ashley Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether any statistically significant differences in mathematics and reading academic achievement and academic gains of male and female students taught in single-sex classes existed when compared to male and female students taught in coeducational classes. This study reported findings from mathematics…

Examination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health Care Content in North Carolina Schools of Nursing.

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Cornelius, Judith B; Enweana, Ijeoma; Alston, Celeste Kaysha; Baldwin, Dee M

2017-04-01

Nursing students require academic and clinical training in preparation for the increased demand for culturally competent care. One group that is in need of culturally knowledgeable health care providers is lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine how LGBT health care content is integrated into North Carolina schools of nursing curricula and to examine the existence of specific LGBT policies. A survey was mailed to 70 deans and directors of RN programs in North Carolina. Over 90% of the schools indicated that LGBT health care issues were taught in the curricula. The majority of the content was taught as an "other" course (37%). More than two thirds of the schools devoted less than 5 hours teaching LGBT content. LGBT health care content is being taught, yet the presence of specific LGBT practice policies is basically nonexistent. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(4):223-226.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Configuring Dementia; How Nursing Students Are Taught to Shape the Sociopolitical Role of Gerontechnologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jenny Melind Bergschöld

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This article contributes to the discussion on the materiality of age and aging in this special issue by presenting a case that illustrates how nursing students are trained to shape gerontechnologies in ways that have sociopolitical consequences for older adults with dementia who are aging at home. Drawing on ethnographical fieldwork and grounded theory, I deliberately stage a dialog between STS theory on technology, and relational approaches to the social study of dementia in an analysis of a lecture where master students in a university nursing program learn about gerontechnology and dementia. I identify inability to purposively use technology, recalcitrance, and attentiveness as three problematic behaviors that are described as typical for older adults with dementia who are aging at home, and selection and placement of gerontechnologies as two ways in which the nursing students are taught to delimit this behavior by material means. I show how selection and placement of gerontechnologies are means by which care professionals shape gerontechnologies in ways that can disempower older adults who are aging at home, and I show how the educators draw on a biomedical understanding of dementia to accomplish a link between disempowering, and caring for older adults with dementia. I argue that care professionals practices of shaping gerontechnologies can be understood as empirical sites where care professionals exercise power over older adults with dementia who are aging at home by sociomaterial means. I conclude that there is a continued need for studies of gerontechnologies that stage analytical dialogs between STS theory and understandings from other fields with longer traditions of studying processes of aging, to further elucidate how gerontechnologies can matter to older adults and the experience of aging.

Forces. 'O' Level Study Guide. Unit 1. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Udwin, Martin

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide is a five-part unit…

Western medical ethics taught to junior medical students can cross cultural and linguistic boundaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margolis Stephen A

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about teaching medical ethics across cultural and linguistic boundaries. This study examined two successive cohorts of first year medical students in a six year undergraduate MBBS program. Methods The objective was to investigate whether Arabic speaking students studying medicine in an Arabic country would be able to correctly identify some of the principles of Western medical ethical reasoning. This cohort study was conducted on first year students in a six-year undergraduate program studying medicine in English, their second language at a medical school in the Arabian Gulf. The ethics teaching was based on the four-principle approach (autonomy, beneficence, non-malfeasance and justice and delivered by a non-Muslim native English speaker with no knowledge of the Arabic language. Although the course was respectful of Arabic culture and tradition, the content excluded an analysis of Islamic medical ethics and focused on Western ethical reasoning. Following two 45-minute interactive seminars, students in groups of 3 or 4 visited a primary health care centre for one morning, sitting in with an attending physician seeing his or her patients in Arabic. Each student submitted a personal report for summative assessment detailing the ethical issues they had observed. Results All 62 students enrolled in these courses participated. Each student acting independently was able to correctly identify a median number of 4 different medical ethical issues (range 2–9 and correctly identify and label accurately a median of 2 different medical ethical issues (range 2–7 There were no significant correlations between their English language skills or general academic ability and the number or accuracy of ethical issues identified. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that these students could identify medical ethical issues based on Western constructs, despite learning in English, their second language, being in the third

Awareness, Interest, Sensitivity, and Advocacy--AISA: An Educational "Take-Away" for Business Ethics Students

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Smith, Brent

2009-01-01

It has been nearly 30 years since business schools began providing formal courses in business ethics to their students. In that time, the public has witnessed countless cases of business misconduct, often performed by these students. Scholars and researchers agree that ethics education is important, yet they disagree about how it should be taught,…

What's Our Position? A Critical Media Literacy Study of Popular Culture Websites with Eighth-Grade Special Education Students

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Kesler, Ted; Tinio, Pablo P. L.; Nolan, Brian T.

2016-01-01

This article reports on an action research project with 9 eighth-grade special education students in a self-contained classroom in an urban public school. The 1st author, in collaboration with the classroom teacher (3rd author), taught the students a critical media literacy framework to explore popular culture websites. Students learned to analyze…

Student Achievement in Title I Schools

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Diaz, Abby T.

2017-01-01

This researcher seeks to answer the following question: How did two elementary Title I schools, identified as "high performing" on the first Smarter Balanced assessment, address elements of Maslow's hierarchy of needs when developing school-wide initiatives to enhance student achievement? Many students in Title I schools face barriers to…

Opportunity to Learn, Test Bias, and School Effects.

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Anderson, Lorin W.

The purpose of the study was to examine test bias and the "non-effects" of schooling. Teachers were given a list of words selected from standardized vocabulary tests and asked to indicate the words they had taught. The words were classified by the grade level at which they were first introduced. Ninety-five third-grade students in four schools…

Competitive Intelligence for MBA Students: Credit Courses

OpenAIRE

Kirkwood, Hal P, Jr

2016-01-01

Poster was presented at the Business & Finance Division Poster Session at the Special Libraries Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA, 2016. Focus of the poster is on the credit-level courses taught by Prof Hal Kirkwood to MBA students in the Krannert Graduate School of Management on the topics of international business research and an introduction to competitive intelligence.

Characteristics of health education among secondary schools--School Health Education Profiles, 1996.

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Grunbaum, J A; Kann, L; Williams, B I; Kinchen, S A; Collins, J L; Kolbe, L J

1998-09-11

School health education (e.g., classroom training) is an essential component of school health programs; such education promotes the health of youth and improves overall public health. February-May 1996. The School Health Education Profiles monitor characteristics of health education in middle or junior high schools and senior high schools. The Profiles are school-based surveys conducted by state and local education agencies. This report summarizes results from 35 state surveys and 13 local surveys conducted among representative samples of school principals and lead health education teachers. The lead health education teacher is the person who coordinates health education policies and programs within a middle or junior high school and senior high school. During the study period, almost all schools in states and cities required health education in grades 6-12; of these, a median of 87.6% of states and 75.8% of cities taught a separate health education course. The median percentage of schools that tried to increase student knowledge on certain topics (i.e., prevention of tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, pregnancy, human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, violence, or suicide; dietary behaviors and nutrition; and physical activity and fitness) was > 72% for each of these topics. The median percentage of schools that tried to improve certain student skills (i.e., communication, decision making, goal setting, resisting social pressures, nonviolent conflict resolution, stress management, and analysis of media messages) was > 69% for each of these skills. The median percentage of schools that had a health education teacher coordinate health education was 33.0% across states and 26.8% across cities. Almost all schools taught HIV education as part of a required health education course (state median: 94.3%; local median: 98.1%), and more than half (state median: 69.5%; local median: 82.5%) had a written policy on HIV infection

Relations between the school physical environment and school social capital with student physical activity levels.

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Button, Brenton; Trites, Stephen; Janssen, Ian

2013-12-17

The physical and social environments at schools are related to students' moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) levels. The purpose of this study was to explore the interactive effects of the school physical environment and school social capital on the MVPA of students while at school. Data from 18,875 grade 6-10 students from 331 schools who participated in the 2009/10 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children survey were analyzed using multi-level regression. Students answered questions on the amount of time they spend in MVPA at school and on their school's social capital. Administrator reports were used to create a physical activity related physical environment score. The school physical environment score was positively associated with student MVPA at school (β = 0.040, p < .005). The association between the school social capital and MVPA was also positive (β = 0.074, p < .001). The difference in physical environments equated to about 20 minutes/week of MVPA for students attending schools with the lowest number of physical environment features and about 40 minutes/week for students attending schools with the lowest school social capital scores by comparison to students attending schools with the highest scores. The findings suggest that school social capital may be a more important factor in increasing students MVPA than the school physical environment. The results of this study may help inform interventions aimed at increasing student physical activity levels.

High School Physics Students' Personal Epistemologies and School Science Practice

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Alpaslan, Muhammet Mustafa; Yalvac, Bugrahan; Loving, Cathleen

2017-11-01

This case study explores students' physics-related personal epistemologies in school science practices. The school science practices of nine eleventh grade students in a physics class were audio-taped over 6 weeks. The students were also interviewed to find out their ideas on the nature of scientific knowledge after each activity. Analysis of transcripts yielded several epistemological resources that students activated in their school science practice. The findings show that there is inconsistency between students' definitions of scientific theories and their epistemological judgments. Analysis revealed that students used several epistemological resources to decide on the accuracy of their data including accuracy via following the right procedure and accuracy via what the others find. Traditional, formulation-based, physics instruction might have led students to activate naive epistemological resources that prevent them to participate in the practice of science in ways that are more meaningful. Implications for future studies are presented.

EARTHTIME: Teaching geochronology to high school students

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Bookhagen, Britta; Buchwaldt, Robert; McLean, Noah; Rioux, Matthew; Bowring, Samuel

2010-05-01

The authors taught an educational module developed as part of the EARTHTIME (www.earth-time.org) outreach initiative to 215 high school students from a Massachusetts (USA) High School as part of an "out-of-school" field trip. The workshop focuses on uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating of zircons and its application to solving a geological problem. The theme of our 2.5-hour module is the timing of the K-T boundary and a discussion of how geochronology can be used to evaluate the two main hypotheses for the cause of the concurrent extinction—the Chicxlub impact and the massive eruption of the Deccan Traps. Activities are divided into three parts: In the first part, the instructors lead hands-on activities demonstrating how rock samples are processed to isolate minerals by their physical properties. Students use different techniques, such as magnetic separation, density separation using non-toxic heavy liquids, and mineral identification with a microscope. We cover all the steps from sampling an outcrop to determining a final age. Students also discuss geologic features relevant to the K-T boundary problem and get the chance to examine basalts, impact melts and meteorites. In the second part, we use a curriculum developed for and available on the EARTHTIME website (http://www.earth-time.org/Lesson_Plan.pdf). The curriculum teaches the science behind uranium-lead dating using tables, graphs, and a geochronology kit. In this module, the students start by exploring the concepts of half-life and exponential decay and graphically solving the isotopic decay equation. Manipulating groups of double-sided chips labeled with U and Pb isotopes reinforces the concept that an age determination depends on the Pb/U ratio, not the absolute number of atoms present. Next, the technique's accuracy despite loss of parent and daughter atoms during analysis, as well as the use of isotopic ratios rather than absolute abundances, is explained with an activity on isotope dilution. Here the students

Indiana secondary students' evolution learning experiences and demarcations of science from non-science

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Lisa A.

2007-12-01

Previous research has documented students' conceptual difficulties learning evolution and how student learning may be related to students' views of evolution and science. This mixed methods study addressed how 74 high school biology students from six Indiana high schools viewed their evolution learning experiences, the demarcations of science from non-science, and evolution understanding and acceptance. Data collection entailed qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews, classroom observations, surveys, and assessments to address students' views of science and non-science, evolution learning experiences, and understanding and acceptance of evolution. Qualitative coding generated several demarcation and evolution learning experience codes that were subsequently used in quantitative comparisons of evolution understanding and acceptance. The majority of students viewed science as empirical, tentative but ultimately leading to certain truth, compatible with religion, the product of experimental work, and the product of human creativity. None of the students offered the consensus NOS view that scientific theories are substantiated explanations of phenomena while scientific laws state relationships or patterns between phenomena. About half the students indicated that scientific knowledge was subjectively and socio-culturally influenced. The majority of students also indicated that they had positive evolution learning experiences and thought evolution should be taught in secondary school. The quantitative comparisons revealed how students who viewed scientific knowledge as subjectively and socio-culturally influenced had higher understanding than their peers. Furthermore, students who maintained that science and religion were compatible did not differ with respect to understanding but had higher acceptance than their peers who viewed science and religion as conflicting. Furthermore, students who maintained that science must be consistent with their

Building Astronomy Curriculum to Include the Sight Impaired: Week long summer camp activities for Middle School Students adherent to Washington State Curriculum Standards (EALR's)

Science.gov (United States)

Ramien, Natalie; Loebman, S. R.; Player, V.; Larson, A.; Torcolini, N. B.; Traverse, A.

2011-01-01

Currently astronomy learning is heavily geared towards visual aids; however, roughly 10 million people in North America are sight impaired. Every student should have access to meaningful astronomy curriculum; an understanding of astronomy is an expectation of national and state science learning requirements. Over the last ten years, Noreen Grice has developed Braille and large print astronomy text books aimed at sight impaired learners. We build upon Grice's written work and present here a five day lesson plan that integrates 2D reading with 3D activities. Through this curriculum, students develop an intuitive understanding of astronomical distance, size, composition and lifetimes. We present five distinct lesson modules that can be taught individually or in a sequential form: the planets, our sun, stars, stellar evolution and galaxies. We have tested these modules on sight impaired students and report the results here. Overall, we find the work presented here lends itself equally well to a week long science camp geared toward middle school sight impaired taught by astronomers or as supplemental material integrated into a regular classroom science curriculum. This work was made possible by a 2007 Simple Effective Education and Dissemination (SEED) Grant For Astronomy Researchers, Astronomical Society of the Pacific through funds provided by the Planck Mission, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.

School Safety Concerns All Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Megan

1999-01-01

Suggests that school safety is an issue that concerns all students. Discusses how the staff of the Rockwood South (Missouri) "RAMpage" covered the shootings at Columbine High School in a 14-page issue and in follow-up issues. Suggests that the student newspaper covered the controversial topic in an appropriate, tasteful manner. (RS)

Middle School Students' Perceptions of the Quality of School Life in Ankara

Science.gov (United States)

Eres, Figen; Bilasa, Pinar

2016-01-01

The aim of this research is to measure the perception of middle school students in Ankara regarding the quality of school life. According to the findings obtained, the students have moderate level perceptions about the quality of school life. Their perceptions about sub-dimensions vary. While the students have the highest perceptions about…

DATA MINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION : UNIVERSITY STUDENT DROPOUT CASE STUDY

OpenAIRE

Ghadeer S. Abu-Oda; Alaa M. El-Halees

2015-01-01

In this paper, we apply different data mining approaches for the purpose of examining and predicting students’ dropouts through their university programs. For the subject of the study we select a total of 1290 records of computer science students Graduated from ALAQSA University between 2005 and 2011. The collected data included student study history and transcript for courses taught in the first two years of computer science major in addition to student GPA , high school average ...

Student Voices in School-Based Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Siu Yin Annie; Adamson, Bob

2015-01-01

The value of student voices in dialogues about learning improvement is acknowledged in the literature. This paper examines how the views of students regarding School-based Assessment (SBA), a significant shift in examination policy and practice in secondary schools in Hong Kong, have largely been ignored. The study captures student voices through…

School Uniform Policies: Students' Views of Effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Teresa M.; Moreno, Josephine

2001-01-01

Focus-group interviews of New York City middle-school students about their perceptions of the effectiveness of the school-uniform policy. Finds that students' perceptions of the effects of school-uniform policy on school culture varied considerably with those intended by the principal. (Contains 40 references.) (PKP)

Analysis of high school students’ environmental literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Wardani, R. A. K.; Karyanto, P.; Ramli, M.

2018-05-01

The student’s environmental literacy (EL) is a vital component to improve the awareness of student on environmental issues. This research aims to measure and analyse the EL of high school students, and how the topic of environment has been taught in high school. The research was conducted in February to April 2017. The EL was measured on three aspects, i.e. knowledge, attitude and concern. The participants were sixty-five (21 boys, 44 girls) purposively selected from students of grade X, XI and XII of one Senior High School in Karanganyar Regency, Indonesia. The knowledge of students on concepts of environmental issues was tested by fourteen main questions followed by supported questions. The result showed that 80% of students were classified as inadequate category. The attitude of students was measured by New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) consisted of fifteen items, and students’ average score was 46.42 (medium). The concern was measured by fifteen statements about environment, and it was ranged from 2.58 to 4.18. EL of students may low due to students’ lack understanding of the environment concepts, the limited theories and concepts transferred to students, inappropriate lesson plan to meet the EL components.

UNDERSTANDING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH SCHOOL: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorel ROBU

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on student engagement with school. There is a large agreement on the predictive role that individual differences in student engagement with school plays in relation to a wide range of educational outcomes and to general adjustment. Numerous empirical studies have attempted to explain how individual characteristics of students (e.g., gender, academic motivation, school-related self-efficacy etc., family environment (e.g., parent social support, aspirations of parents concerning the adolescents’ school trajectory or quality of adolescent-parents relationship, and the school/classroom climate (e.g., social support from teachers and peers, autonomy granted to students, quality of instructional practices etc. impact student engagement with school and the academic achievement/performance. This paper summarizes the existing literature on antecedents and positive outcomes of student engagement with school. The implications for educational practice and policy makers are discussed.

Atoms and Molecules. 'O' Level. Teacher's Guide. Unit 2. ZIM-SCI, Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project. Year 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandizha, George

The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the third year of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This teaching guide, designed to be used in…

STAD AS A STRATEGY OF TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

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Fitri Ferina

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This research investigated whether there was a significant difference on students’ achievement in reading comprehension taught using STAD and lecture method. The sample was the eighth-graders of SMPN 3 Banjarmasin. A quasi-experimental design was employed in this research. The experimental group was taught using STAD while control group was taught using lecture method. A reading comprehension test as the instrument of collecting data was administered for both groups. Based on the research result using t-test, it was found that the t value was higher than t-table (2.39315 > 2.00 which means that there is a significant difference of achievement between the experimental group and control group. From these findings it can be interpreted that the use of STAD is more effective than lecture method in teaching reading comprehension for junior high school students. It is suggested for English teachers in Junior High School to use STAD in teaching reading since it is useful in improving students’ reading comprehension achievement.

The Effects of Communicative Grammar Teaching on Students' Achievement of Grammatical Knowledge and Oral Production

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Ho, Pham Vu Phi; The Binh, Nguyen

2014-01-01

So far the students of Le Hong Phong Junior High School have been taught grammar with GTM (Grammar-Translation Method), which just prepares learners for conventional grammar-paper tests. Despite their considerable knowledge of grammar, the students fail to use the language they have learnt to communicate in real-life situations. The purpose of…

The Influence of Documentary Films on 8th Grade Students' Views about Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Seckin Kapucu, Munise; Cakmakci, Gultekin; Aydogdu, Cemil

2015-01-01

This quasi-experimental study aims to investigate the documentary films' influence on 8th grade students' nature of science views. The study's participants were 113 8th grade students from two different schools taught by two different teachers. The study was completed over a 6-week period, during which topics related to "Cell Division and…

Improving Students' Chemical Literacy Levels on Thermochemical and Thermodynamics Concepts through a Context-Based Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Cigdemoglu, Ceyhan; Geban, Omer

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to delve into the effect of context-based approach (CBA) over traditional instruction (TI) on students' chemical literacy level related to thermochemical and thermodynamics concepts. Four eleventh-grade classes with 118 students in total taught by two teachers from a public high school in 2012 fall semester were enrolled…

On the Legal Issues of Teaching Evolution in Public Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann, Ronald S.

2013-01-01

In order to effectively teach evolution to all students, even those resistant to learning evolution, science teachers may question the extent to which religion can legally be discussed in the public high school science classroom. Evolution is taught from a variety of approaches, each of which has legal implications. Four approaches to teaching…

Medical Student Perceptions of the Learning Environment in Medical School Change as Students Transition to Clinical Training in Undergraduate Medical School.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, Lisette; Dekhtyar, Michael; Gruener, Gregory; CichoskiKelly, Eileen; Deitz, Jennifer; Elliott, Donna; Stuber, Margaret L; Skochelak, Susan E

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: The learning environment is the physical, social, and psychological context in which a student learns. A supportive learning environment contributes to student well-being and enhances student empathy, professionalism, and academic success, whereas an unsupportive learning environment may lead to burnout, exhaustion, and cynicism. Student perceptions of the medical school learning environment may change over time and be associated with students' year of training and may differ significantly depending on the student's gender or race/ethnicity. Understanding the changes in perceptions of the learning environment related to student characteristics and year of training could inform interventions that facilitate positive experiences in undergraduate medical education. The Medical School Learning Environment Survey (MSLES) was administered to 4,262 students who matriculated at one of 23 U.S. and Canadian medical schools in 2010 and 2011. Students completed the survey at the end of each year of medical school as part of a battery of surveys in the Learning Environment Study. A mixed-effects longitudinal model, t tests, Cohen's d effect size, and analysis of variance assessed the relationship between MSLES score, year of training, and demographic variables. After controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and school, students reported worsening perceptions toward the medical school learning environment, with the worst perceptions in the 3rd year of medical school as students begin their clinical experiences, and some recovery in the 4th year after Match Day. The drop in MSLES scores associated with the transition to the clinical learning environment (-0.26 point drop in addition to yearly change, effect size = 0.52, p effect size = 0.14, p work-life balance and informal student relationships. There was some, but not complete, recovery in perceptions of the medical school learning environment in the 4th year. Insights: Perceptions of the medical school learning

76 FR 12719 - Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-08

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Office of Safe and Drug- Free Schools; Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program; Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84... priorities, requirements, and definitions under the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) program. Since...

Impact of a school district's science reform effort on the achievement and attitudes of third- and fourth-grade students

Science.gov (United States)

Shymansky, James A.; Yore, Larry D.; Anderson, John O.

2004-10-01

This article is about one school district's effort to reform its elementary science curriculum through a program of professional development called Science, Parents, Activities and Literature (Science PALs). The differential exposure of the district's K-6 teachers to Science PALs and differences in how well teachers implemented Science PALs-type inquiry strategies allowed us to conduct a quasi-experimental study of the impact of Science PALs on student achievement and attitudes. We measured achievement with an instrument based on items taken from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS; International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, [1997]) and selected attitudes about science with the Student Perceptions of Classroom Climate (SPOCC; Yore et al., [1998]), an instrument that we designed. Our analyses of student attitude scores as a function of years of teacher participation in Science PALs and supervisor's rating of a teacher's implementation of the project's instructional approaches showed a significant overall positive impact on student attitudes toward school science. Student TIMSS scores on multiple-choice items or constructed-response items did not improve significantly when analyzed by the number of years a student's teacher was involved in the Science PALs effort or by the supervisor's rating of that implementation. We found no significant differences in attitude or achievement scores among students taught by a series of teachers rated high, medium, or low in quality of implementation by the district's science supervisor. We discuss possible explanations for the lack of clear and positive connections between Science PALs and student performance in light of the increased focus on accountability in reform projects.

High School Students' Perception of University Students as STEM Representatives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Eva Lykkegaard

The Danish government has an ambition to recruit more high school students into STEM edu-cations (science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics). The students’ choice of further education is based on the people and jobs they have knowledge of. Therefore, to recruit more students into STEM....... Some representatives transmit infor-mation and are thereby definers, whereas other representatives illustrates as personal examples and are thereby models. This study focuses on high school students’ views on STEM representatives and the impact these representatives have on the high school students...... studies, it is important to introduce high school students to good STEM representatives to make possible the development of potential STEM identities. A potential identity within a specific subject area relies on at least a situation bound relation-ship to the subject area or the person representing it...

Urban Middle School Students' Perceptions of Bullying, Cyberbullying, and School Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Varjas, Kris; Henrich, Christopher C.; Meyers, Joel

2009-01-01

This study examined 427 urban middle school students' perceptions of bullying, cyberbullying, and school safety utilizing the Student Survey of Bullying Behavior-Revised 2 (Varjas, Meyers, & Hunt, 2006). A unique finding is that cyberbullying may represent a unique modality of victimization and bullying compared with other school-based…

A student manual for promoting mental health among high school students.

Science.gov (United States)

Gigantesco, Antonella; Del Re, Debora; Cascavilla, Isabella

2013-01-01

We describe a school program based on a student manual for promoting mental health and preventing mental illness. A preliminary version of the manual was assessed for face validity by two focus groups. The final version was evaluated for acceptability among 253 students in 10 high schools and 1 middle school in Italy. The manual included 18 chapters (or "units") which address skills for enabling students to cope with their daily lives: communication skills, problem-solving, assertive skills, negotiation, stress management, anger management and conflict resolution. The manual was found to have been acceptable by high school students. The effectiveness of the manual in actually promoting mental health and preventing mental illness is currently being evaluated.

No Need to Wait for Superman: A Case Study of One Unique High School

Science.gov (United States)

Ratcliff, N. J.; Jones, C. R.; Costner, R. H.; Knight, C.; Disney, G.; Savage-Davis, E.; Sheehan, H.; Hunt, G. H.

2012-01-01

Based on a theoretical model developed by Schlechty, this case study focuses on a small high school, located on a college campus and designed to address the educational needs of gifted 9th- through 12th-grade students. Eight teachers who taught 9th- and 12th-grade classes and their 60 students were observed. Each teacher was observed during six…

Achievement and Demographics of Home School Students: 1998

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence M. Rudner

1999-03-01

Full Text Available This report presents the results of the largest survey and testing program for students in home schools to date. In Spring 1998, 20,760 K-12 home school students in 11,930 families were administered either the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS or the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP, depending on their current grade. The parents responded to a questionnaire requesting background and demographic information. Major findings include: the achievement test scores of this group of home school students are exceptionally high--the median scores were typically in the 70th to 80th percentile; 25% of home school students are enrolled one or more grades above their age-level public and private school peers; this group of home school parents has more formal education than parents in the general population; the median income for home school families is significantly higher than that of all families with children in the United States; and almost all home school students are in married couple families. Because this was not a controlled experiment, the study does not demonstrate that home schooling is superior to public or private schools and the results must be interpreted with caution. The report clearly suggests, however, that home school students do quite well in that educational environment.

Student Media in U.S. Secondary Schools: Associations with School Demographic Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Bobkowski, Piotr S.; Goodman, Mark; Bowen, Candace Perkins

2012-01-01

This study provides an up-to-date counting of student media in U.S. public high schools. The analysis underscores the importance of school demographic characteristics in predicting whether schools offer student media. The disparities identified here should inform how journalism schools, scholastic journalism organizations, funding agencies, and…

A photovoice study of school belongingness among high school students in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Lieblein, Vaiva Sunniva Deraas; Warne, Maria; Huot, Suzanne; Laliberte Rudman, Debbie; Raanaas, Ruth Kjærsti

2018-12-01

Although high school graduation is important for living conditions and health throughout life, many students do not complete. In Norway's northern most county, Finnmark, up to 45% of students do not complete high school. Contrary to prior research that has primarily focused on causes for dropout, this study's aim was to deepen understanding of factors that support high school attendance. A strengths-based participatory approach using photovoice addressed attendance factors as perceived by seven participating students from one high school in Finnmark. Qualitative content analysis of data generated through group dialogue about participant-generated photos and individual interviews identified six factors important for students' school attendance: a supportive school environment, a good learning environment, recuperation and recreation, family and friends, goals and ambitions, and place attachment. Related aspects of a supportive environment and belongingness, where school staff made important contributions to promoting a positive environment, were essential.

School climate factors contributing to student and faculty perceptions of safety in select Arizona schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosworth, Kris; Ford, Lysbeth; Hernandaz, Diley

2011-04-01

To ensure that schools are safe places where students can learn, researchers and educators must understand student and faculty safety concerns. This study examines student and teacher perceptions of school safety. Twenty-two focus groups with students and faculty were conducted in 11 secondary schools. Schools were selected from a stratified sample to vary in location, proximity to Indian reservations, size, and type. The data analysis was based on grounded theory. In 9 of 11 schools, neither faculty nor students voiced overwhelming concerns about safety. When asked what makes school safe, students tended to report physical security features. School climate and staff actions also increased feelings of safety. Faculty reported that relationships and climate are key factors in making schools safe. High student performance on standardized tests does not buffer students from unsafe behavior, nor does living in a dangerous neighborhood necessarily lead to more drug use or violence within school walls. School climate seemed to explain the difference between schools in which students and faculty reported higher versus lower levels of violence and alcohol and other drug use. The findings raise provocative questions about school safety and provide insight into elements that lead to perceptions of safety. Some schools have transcended issues of location and neighborhood to provide an environment perceived as safe. Further study of those schools could provide insights for policy makers, program planners, and educational leaders. © 2011, American School Health Association.

Urban Students' Perceptions of the School Environment's Influence on School Violence

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Sarah Lindstrom; Burke, Jessica Griffin; Gielen, Andrea Carlson

2012-01-01

This article provides information about aspects of the school environment students perceive to influence the occurrence of school violence. Concept mapping, a mixed-methods methodology, was used with two groups of urban, primarily African American high school students (N = 27) to create conceptual frameworks of their understanding of the school…

Comparison of differences in performance evaluation of faculty by students with faculty's self-assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Azizi, Kourosh; Aghamolaei, Teamur; Parsa, Nader; Dabbaghmanesh, Tahereh

2014-07-01

The present study aimed to compare self-assessment forms of coursework taught in the school of public health at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels and students' evaluation of the performance of the faculty members at these levels. The subjects in this cross-sectional study were the faculty members and students of the School of Public Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. The data were collected using a socio-demographic information form and evaluation forms of professors prepared by the Educational Development Center (EDC). The faculty members were assessed by the students in undergraduate and graduate classes. Among the study subjects, 23 faculty members filled out the self-assessment forms which were then evaluated by 23 students. Then, the data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical 14. Paired t-test was used to compare the students' evaluation of the faculty members' performance and the professors' self-assessment. The mean score of self-assessment of the faculty members who taught undergraduate courses was 289.7±8.3, while that of the students' evaluation was 281.3±16.1; the difference was statistically significant (t=3.56, p=0.001). Besides, the mean score of the self-assessment of the faculty members who taught graduate courses was 269.0±9.7, while that of the students' evaluation was 265.7±14.6 but the difference was not statistically significant (t=1.09, p=0.28). Teaching performance perceptions of the faculty were similar to those of the graduate students as compared to the undergraduate ones. This may reflect better understanding of coursework at this level compared to the undergraduate students. Faculty members may need to adjust teaching methods to improve students' performance and understanding especially in the undergraduate level.

Medical School Outcomes, Primary Care Specialty Choice, and Practice in Medically Underserved Areas by Physician Alumni of MEDPREP, a Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program for Underrepresented and Disadvantaged Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Metz, Anneke M

2017-01-01

Minorities continue to be underrepresented as physicians in medicine, and the United States currently has a number of medically underserved communities. MEDPREP, a postbaccalaureate medical school preparatory program for socioeconomically disadvantaged or underrepresented in medicine students, has a stated mission to increase the numbers of physicians from minority or disadvantaged backgrounds and physicians working with underserved populations. This study aims to determine how MEDPREP enhances U.S. physician diversity and practice within underserved communities. MEDPREP recruits disadvantaged and underrepresented in medicine students to complete a 2-year academic enhancement program that includes science coursework, standardized test preparation, study/time management training, and emphasis on professional development. Five hundred twenty-five disadvantaged or underrepresented students over 15 years completed MEDPREP and were tracked through entry into medical practice. MEDPREP accepts up to 36 students per year, with two thirds coming from the Midwest region and another 20% from nearby states in the South. Students complete science, test preparation, academic enhancement, and professionalism coursework taught predominantly by MEDPREP faculty on the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus. Students apply broadly to medical schools in the region and nation but are also offered direct entry into our School of Medicine upon meeting articulation program requirements. Seventy-nine percent of students completing MEDPREP became practicing physicians. Fifty-eight percent attended public medical schools, and 62% attended medical schools in the Midwest. Fifty-three percent of program alumni chose primary care specialties compared to 34% of U.S. physicians, and MEDPREP alumni were 2.7 times more likely to work in medically underserved areas than physicians nationally. MEDPREP increases the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented students entering and graduating

Charter Schools and Student Compositions of Traditional Public Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nevbahar Ertas

2013-06-01

Full Text Available One of the most contentious urban education policy issues in the United States today is the expansion of charter schools and its repercussions. Does the expansion of charter schools affect the racial and socioeconomic composition of traditional public schools in the United States? This study provides empirical evidence on this question by relying on a panel design that uses school-level data from two states that have experimented with charter schools for more than 15 years: Ohio and Texas. Using county-level, spatial, and enrollment-based measures of charter exposure, the changes from pre- to post-charter-legislation stages in the student compositions of public schools that do and do not face competition from charters are examined. The results suggest that charter school presence contributes to aggregate-level changes in the share of non-Hispanic White and free-lunch-eligible students in traditional public schools in both states in different ways.

Are school-level factors associated with primary school students' experience of physical violence from school staff in Uganda?

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Louise; Nakuti, Janet; Allen, Elizabeth; Gannett, Katherine R; Naker, Dipak; Devries, Karen M

2016-01-01

The nature and structure of the school environment has the potential to shape children's health and well being. Few studies have explored the importance of school-level factors in explaining a child's likelihood of experiencing violence from school staff, particularly in low-resource settings such as Uganda. To quantify to what extent a student's risk of violence is determined by school-level factors we fitted multilevel logistic regression models to investigate associations and present between-school variance partition coefficients. School structural factors, academic and supportive environment are explored. 53% of students reported physical violence from staff. Only 6% of variation in students' experience of violence was due to differences between schools and half the variation was explained by the school-level factors modelled. Schools with a higher proportion of girls are associated with increased odds of physical violence from staff. Students in schools with a high level of student perceptions of school connectedness have a 36% reduced odds of experiencing physical violence from staff, but no other school-level factor was significantly associated. Our findings suggest that physical violence by school staff is widespread across different types of schools in this setting, but interventions that improve students' school connectedness should be considered. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Latino Students' Transition to Middle School: Role of Bilingual Education and School Ethnic Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Jan N; Im, MyungHee; Kwok, Oi-Man; Cham, Heining; West, Stephen G

2015-09-01

Participants were 204 academically at-risk Latino students recruited into a study when in first grade and followed for 9 years. Using piecewise latent growth curve analyses, we investigated trajectories of teacher-rated behavioral engagement and student-reported school belonging during elementary school and middle school and the association between trajectories and enrollment in bilingual education classes in elementary school and a change in school ethnic congruence across the transition to middle school. Overall, students experienced a drop in school belonging and behavioral engagement across the transition. A moderating effect of ethnic congruence on bilingual enrollment was found. A decline in ethnic congruence was associated with more positive trajectories for students previously enrolled in bilingual classes but more negative trajectories for non-bilingual students.

Pedagogical Red Tape: Difficulties in Teaching the Bureaucracy to Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, William J.; Kaltenthaler, Karl; Feuerstein, Derek

2010-01-01

Americans are often perceived as holding extremely negative views of governmental bureaucrats. Phrases like bureaucratic waste and unresponsive bureaucracy fill the mainstream media and taint the image of bureaucrats. Beginning in basic high school civics classes, students are taught to respect the lawmaking process, the executive power of the…

Code Compliant School Buildings Boost Student Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald B. Lumpkin

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Much of the focus in the literature in raising student achievement has included parental involvement, principal leadership, quality of instruction, students’ socioeconomic status, curriculum, and use of technology. Limited empirical research relates the condition of the school building as a variable that affects student achievement. Furthermore, there is no research that has examined the impact of building codes on achievement outcomes in the state of Florida. This research determined whether academic achievement of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students as measured by the mathematics and reading subtests of the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test (FCAT increased in new school buildings compliant to the 2000 Florida State Requirements for Educational Facilities. A causal-comparative design determined whether the independent variables, old and new school building influenced student achievement as measured by students’ FCAT mathematics and reading subtest scores. The control group was two cohorts of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students who attended school in old buildings. The experimental group was two cohorts of 4th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students who attended school in new buildings. Transition from an old school into a new school was the treatment. Two hypotheses were formulated for testing and the research question for the inquiry was whether the percentage of students passing the FCAT mathematics and reading subtests increases after transitioning from an old school building into a new 2000 UBC (Uniform Building Code compliant facility.

Negotiating School Conflicts to Prevent Student Delinquency.

Science.gov (United States)

De Cecco, John P.; Roberts, John K.

One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter presents a model of negotiation as a means to resolve school conflict. The assumption is that school conflict is inevitable, but student delinquency is not. Delinquent behavior results from the way that the school deals with conflict. Students resort to…

School Start Times for Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2011-12 School Year.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheaton, Anne G; Ferro, Gabrielle A; Croft, Janet B

2015-08-07

Adolescents who do not get enough sleep are more likely to be overweight; not engage in daily physical activity; suffer from depressive symptoms; engage in unhealthy risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking tobacco, and using illicit drugs; and perform poorly in school. However, insufficient sleep is common among high school students, with less than one third of U.S. high school students sleeping at least 8 hours on school nights. In a policy statement published in 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged middle and high schools to modify start times as a means to enable students to get adequate sleep and improve their health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life. AAP recommended that "middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m.". To assess state-specific distributions of public middle and high school start times and establish a pre-recommendation baseline, CDC and the U.S. Department of Education analyzed data from the 2011-12 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Among an estimated 39,700 public middle, high, and combined schools* in the United States, the average start time was 8:03 a.m. Overall, only 17.7% of these public schools started school at 8:30 a.m. or later. The percentage of schools with 8:30 a.m. or later start times varied greatly by state, ranging from 0% in Hawaii, Mississippi, and Wyoming to more than three quarters of schools in Alaska (76.8%) and North Dakota (78.5%). A school system start time policy of 8:30 a.m. or later provides teenage students the opportunity to achieve the 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep recommended by AAP and the 8-10 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.

A student manual for promoting mental health among high school students

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Antonella Gigantesco

2013-03-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES. We describe a school program based on a student manual for promoting mental health and preventing mental illness. METHODS. A preliminary version of the manual was assessed for face validity by two focus groups. The final version was evaluated for acceptability among 253 students in 10 high schools and 1 middle school in Italy. RESULTS. The manual included 18 chapters (or "units" which address skills for enabling students to cope with their daily lives: communication skills, problem-solving, assertive skills, negotiation, stress management, anger management and conflict resolution. The manual was found to have been acceptable by high school students. CONCLUSIONS. The effectiveness of the manual in actually promoting mental health and preventing mental illness is currently being evaluated.

Students? approaches to medical school choice: relationship with students? characteristics and motivation

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Wouters, Anouk; Croiset, Gerda; Schripsema, Nienke R.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Spaai, Gerard W.G.; Hulsman, Robert L.; Kusurkar, Rashmi A.

2017-01-01

Objectives The aim was to examine main reasons for students? medical school choice and their relationship with students? characteristics and motivation during the students? medical study. Methods In this multisite cross-sectional study, all Year-1 and Year-4 students who had participated in a selection procedure in one of the three Dutch medical schools included in the study were invited to complete an online survey comprising personal data, their main reason for medical school choice and sta...

Undergraduate medical student's perception about an integrated method of teaching at a medical school in Oman

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Harshal Sabane

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective In recent years, there has been a gradual but definitive shift in medical schools all over the globe to promote a more integrated way of teaching. Integration of medical disciplines promotes a holistic understanding of the medical curriculum in the students. This helps them better understand and appreciate the importance and role of each medical subject. Method The study was conducted among the 5th year Pre-clinical students. Questionnaire consisted of 4 questions on the level of integration, 5 questions on various aspects of the assessment and some questions which tested the level of awareness of the integrated method. Result Out of a total of 72 students present on the day of data collection, 65 participated in the study giving a response rate of 90.27 %. After primary data cleansing 4 questionnaires had to be omitted. Most of the students opined as “good” or “very good” for the questions on integration and its attributes. Only 27 (44 % were aware of integrated curriculum being taught in other medical schools in the gulf. Similar findings were observed regarding assessment related questions. Reduction in the number of block exams is unpopular among the students and only 6% have agreed for 3, 4, or 5 non-summative block assessments. Opinion regarding the help of integrated teaching in IFOM based OMSB entrance examination was mixed with a greater variance in the responses. 43% students have indicated that they would like to spend more time with PDCI. Conclusion The students of our institution seem to have a favourable opinion regarding the integrated system of teaching. The satisfaction with the conduct of examinations and its related variables is found to be high. A reduction in the number of block exams however is unpopular among the target group and they would appreciate a greater time allocation for subjects of PDCI and Pharmacology.

Executive Functions as Predictors of School Performance and Social Relationships: Primary and Secondary School Students.

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Zorza, Juan Pablo; Marino, Julián; Acosta Mesas, Alberto

2016-05-12

This study examined the relationship between executive functions (EFs) and school performance in primary and secondary school students aged 8 to 13 years (N = 146, M = 10.4, 45.8% girls). EFs were evaluated using the Trail Making Test (TMT), Verbal Fluency (VF), and the Stroop Test. Students' GPAs and teachers' assessment of academic skills were used to measure school performance. To evaluate the students' social behavior, participants were asked to rate all their classmates' prosocial behavior and nominate three students with whom they preferred to do school activities; teachers also provided evaluations of students' social skills. EF measures explained 41% (p = .003, f 2 = .694) of variability in school performance and 29% (p = .005, f 2 = .401) of variance in social behavior in primary school students. The predictive power of EFs was found to be lower for secondary school students, although the TMT showed significant prediction and explained 13% (p = .004, f 2 = .149) of variance in school performance and 15% (p = .008, f 2 = .176) in peer ratings of prosocial behavior. This paper discusses the relevance of EFs in the school environment and their different predictive power in primary and secondary school students.

Public School Uniforms: Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and Student Self-Perceptions.

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Wade, Kathleen Kiley; Stafford, Mary E.

2003-01-01

Examined the relationship between public school uniforms and student self-worth and student and staff perceptions of gang presence and school climate. Surveys of middle school students and teachers indicated that although students' perceptions did not vary across uniform policy, teachers from schools with uniform policies perceived lower levels of…

Effects of multiple intelligences instruction strategy on students achievement levels and attitudes towards English Lesson

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Gokhan Bas

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research was to investigate the effects of multiple intelligences instruction strategy and traditional instructionalenvironment on students’ achievement and their attitude towards English lesson. The research was carried out in 2009 – 2010education-instruction year in Karatli Sehit Sahin Yilmaz Elementary School, Nigde, Turkey. Totally 60 students in two differentclasses in the 4th grade of this school participated in the study. In this study, an experimental method with a control group hasbeen used in order to find out the difference between the students who were taught by multiple intelligences instructionstrategy in the experiment group and the students who were taught by traditional instructional methods in the control group.The results of the research showed a significant difference between the attitude scores of the experiment group and thecontrol group. It was also found out that the multiple intelligences instruction strategy activities were more effective in thepositive development of the students’ attitudes. At the end of the research, it is revealed that the students who are educatedby multiple intelligences instruction strategy are more successful and have a higher motivation level than the students who areeducated by the traditional instructional methods.

School-based physical therapy services and student functional performance at school.

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Mccoy, Sarah Westcott; Effgen, Susan K; Chiarello, Lisa A; Jeffries, Lynn M; Villasante Tezanos, Alejandro G

2018-03-30

We explored relationships of school-based physical therapy to standardized outcomes of students receiving physical therapy. Using a practice-based evidence research design, School Function Assessment (SFA) outcomes of 296 students with disabilities (mean age 7y 4mo [standard deviation 2y]; 166 males, 130 females), served by 109 physical therapists, were explored. After training, therapists completed 10 SFA scales on students at the beginning and end of the school year. Therapists collected detailed weekly data on services (activities, interventions, types, student participation) using the School-Physical Therapy Interventions for Pediatrics (S-PTIP) system. Stepwise linear regressions were used to investigate S-PTIP predictors of SFA outcomes. Predictors of SFA section outcomes varied in strength, with the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) for each outcome ranging from 0.107 to 0.326. Services that correlated positively with the SFA outcomes included mobility, sensory, motor learning, aerobic/conditioning, functional strengthening, playground access interventions, and higher student participation during therapy (standardized β=0.11-0.26). Services that correlated negatively with the SFA outcomes included providing services within student groups, within school activity, with students not in special education, during recreation activities, and with positioning, hands-on facilitation, sensory integration, orthoses, and equipment interventions (standardized β=-0.14 to -0.22). Consideration of outcomes is prudent to focus services. Overall results suggest we should emphasize active mobility practice by using motor learning interventions and engaging students within therapy sessions. No specific interventions predicted positively on all School Function Assessment (SFA) outcomes. Active movement practice seems related to overall better SFA outcomes. Active mobility practice improved SFA participation, mobility, recreation, and activities of daily living. Engaging

Effectiveness of Science-Technology-Society (STS) Instruction on Student Understanding of the Nature of Science and Attitudes toward Science

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Akcay, Behiye; Akcay, Hakan

2015-01-01

The study reports on an investigation about the impact of science-technology-society (STS) instruction on middle school student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and attitudes toward science compared to students taught by the same teacher using traditional textbook-oriented instruction. Eight lead teachers used STS instruction an…

School Mobility and Students' Academic and Behavioral Outcomes

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Han, Seunghee

2014-01-01

The study examined estimated effects of school mobility on students' academic and behaviouiral outcomes. Based on data for 2,560 public schools from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) 2007-2008, the findings indicate that high schools, urban schools, and schools serving a total student population of more than 50 percent minority…

School Motivation in Secondary Schools: A Survey of LGB and Heterosexual Students in Flanders

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Aerts, Saskia; Van Houtte, Mieke; Dewaele, Alexis; Cox, Nele; Vincke, John

2015-01-01

This study focuses on the school motivation of LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) students in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium, a fairly LGB-friendly country. The authors hypothesize that LGB students in Flemish secondary schools are less motivated for school than heterosexual students because they experience less sense of school belonging and…

The personal and contextual contributors to school belongingness among primary school students.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharmila Vaz

Full Text Available School belongingness has gained currency among educators and school health professionals as an important determinant of adolescent health. The current cross-sectional study presents the 15 most significant personal and contextual factors that collectively explain 66.4% (two-thirds of the variability in 12-year old students' perceptions of belongingness in primary school. The study is part of a larger longitudinal study investigating the factors associated with student adjustment in the transition from primary to secondary school. The study found that girls and students with disabilities had higher school belongingness scores than boys, and their typically developing counterparts respectively; and explained 2.5% of the variability in school belongingness. The majority (47.1% out of 66.4% of the variability in school belongingness was explained by student personal factors, such as social acceptance, physical appearance competence, coping skills, and social affiliation motivation; followed by parental expectations (3% out of 66.4%, and school-based factors (13.9% out of 66.4% such as, classroom involvement, task-goal structure, autonomy provision, cultural pluralism, and absence of bullying. Each of the identified contributors of primary school belongingness can be shaped through interventions, system changes, or policy reforms.

Knowledge About HIV/AIDS Among Secondary School Students.

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Gupta, Pratibha; Anjum, Fatima; Bhardwaj, Pankaj; Srivastav, Jp; Zaidi, Zeashan Haider

2013-02-01

HIV/AIDS has emerged as the single most formidable challenge to public health. School children of today are exposed to the risk of HIV/AIDS. The study was conducted to determine the knowledge among secondary school students regarding HIV/AIDS and provide suggestions for HIV/AIDS education in schools. A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of tenth to twelfth standard in the intermediate schools of Lucknow, India, from July to October 2011. A total of 215 students, both boys and girls, were enrolled in the study. In this study, for majority of the students (85%), the source of information about HIV/AIDS was the television. Regarding knowledge about modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS among girl students, 95.1% of them told that it is through unprotected sex. A total of 75.8% students said that it was transmitted from mother to child. It was observed that the knowledge of the school students was quite satisfactory for most of the variables like modes of transmission, including mother-to-child transmission of the disease. However, schools should come forward to design awareness campaigns for the benefit of the students.

Capturing Student Mathematical Engagement through Differently Enacted Classroom Practices: Applying a Modification of Watson's Analytical Tool

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Patahuddin, Sitti Maesuri; Puteri, Indira; Lowrie, Tom; Logan, Tracy; Rika, Baiq

2018-01-01

This study examined student mathematical engagement through the intended and enacted lessons taught by two teachers in two different middle schools in Indonesia. The intended lesson was developed using the ELPSA learning design to promote mathematical engagement. Based on the premise that students will react to the mathematical tasks in the forms…

School Location, School Section and Students' Gender as Predictors to Secondary School Dropout Rate in Rivers State, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Mathew

2015-01-01

This study was undertaken to underscore the extent the variables of school location, students' gender and school section can predict the rate of drop out of secondary school students. Ex post facto design was adopted and all data on students' enrollment, retention and completion were collected from available schools' records for two cohorts of…

An overview of ten years of student research and JDSO publications

Science.gov (United States)

Freed, Rachel; Fitzgerald, Michael; Genet, Russell; Davidson, Brendan

2017-06-01

The astronomy research seminar, initially designed and taught by Russell Genet at Cuesta College over the past decade, has resulted in over 100 published student research papers in the Journal of Double Star Observations along with dozens of other papers and conference presentations. While the seminar began at a single community college it has now spread to include students from dozens of institutions and instructors, reaching students from middle school through graduate school. The seminar has integrated the large community-of-practice of amateur and professional astronomers, educators, students, and hardware and software engineers while providing an important experience for student researchers. In this paper, we provide an overview analysis of 109 publications authored by 320 individual students involved in the astronomy research seminar over the last decade.

Students Learn Systems-Based Care and Facilitate System Change as Stakeholders in a Free Clinic Experience

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Colbert, Colleen Y.; Ogden, Paul E.; Lowe, Darla; Moffitt, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Systems-based practice (SBP) is rarely taught or evaluated during medical school, yet is one of the required competencies once students enter residency. We believe Texas A&M College of Medicine students learn about systems issues informally, as they care for patients at a free clinic in Temple, TX. The mandatory free clinic rotation is part of…

Growing Community Roots for the Geosciences in Miami, Florida, A Program Aimed at High School and Middle School Students to Increase Awareness of Career and Educational Opportunities in the Geosciences

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Whitman, D.; Hickey-Vargas, R.; Gebelein, J.; Draper, G.; Rego, R.

2013-12-01

Growing Community Roots for the Geosciences is a 2-year pilot recruitment project run by the Department of Earth and Environment at Florida International University (FIU) and funded by the NSF OEDG (Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences) program. FIU, the State University of Florida in Miami is a federally recognized Minority Serving Institution with over 70% of the undergraduate population coming from groups underrepresented in the geoscience workforce. The goal of this project is to inform students enrolled in the local middle and high schools to career opportunities in the geosciences and to promote pathways for underrepresented groups to university geoscience degree programs. The first year's program included a 1-week workshop for middle school teachers and a 2-week summer camp aimed at high school students in the public school system. The teacher workshop was attended by 20 teachers who taught comprehensive and physical science in grades 6-8. It included lectures on geoscience careers, fundamental concepts of solid earth and atmospheric science, hands on exercises with earth materials, fossils and microscopy, interpretation of landform with Google Earth imagery, and a field trip to a local working limestone quarry. On the first day of the workshop, participants were surveyed on their general educational background in science and their familiarity and comfort with teaching basic geoscience concepts. On the final day, the teachers participated in a group discussion where we discussed how to make geoscience topics and careers more visible in the school curriculum. The 2-week summer camp was attended by 21 students entering grades 9-12. The program included hands on exercises on geoscience and GIS concepts, field trips to local barrier islands, the Everglades, a limestone quarry and a waste to energy facility, and tours of the NOAA National Hurricane Center and the FIU SEM lab. Participants were surveyed on their general educational background

Student Socioeconomic Status and Gender: Impacts on School Counselors' Ratings of Student Personal Characteristics and School Counselors' Self-Efficacy

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Glance, Dorea E.

2012-01-01

This research focused on how students' socioeconomic status and gender impact school counselors' ratings of student personal characteristics and school counselor self-efficacy. While previous literature focuses on how students' socioeconomic status and gender impact school counselors' ratings of academic characteristics such as…

The Racial School Climate Gap: Within-School Disparities in Students' Experiences of Safety, Support, and Connectedness.

Science.gov (United States)

Voight, Adam; Hanson, Thomas; O'Malley, Meagan; Adekanye, Latifah

2015-12-01

This study used student and teacher survey data from over 400 middle schools in California to examine within-school racial disparities in students' experiences of school climate. It further examined the relationship between a school's racial climate gaps and achievement gaps and other school structures and norms that may help explain why some schools have larger or smaller racial disparities in student reports of climate than others. Multilevel regression results problematized the concept of a "school climate" by showing that, in an average middle school, Black and Hispanic students have less favorable experiences of safety, connectedness, relationships with adults, and opportunities for participation compared to White students. The results also show that certain racial school climate gaps vary in magnitude across middle schools, and in middle schools where these gaps are larger, the racial achievement gap is also larger. Finally, the socioeconomic status of students, student-teacher ratio, and geographic location help explain some cross-school variation in racial climate gaps. These findings have implications for how school climate in conceptualized, measured, and improved.

XIII Modave Summer School in Mathematical Physics

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

The Modave Summer School on Mathematical Physics is a yearly summer school in topics of theoretical physics. Various topics ranging from quantum gravity and cosmology to theoretical particle physics and string theory. The school takes place in Modave, a charming village in the Belgian Ardennes close to Huy. Modave School is organised by PhD students for PhD students, and this makes it rather unique. The courses are taught by Post-Docs or late PhD students, and they are all made of pedagogical, basic blackboard lectures about recent topics in theoretical physics. Participants and lecturers eat and sleep in the same place where the lectures are given. The absence of senior members, and the fact of spending day and night together in an isolated, peaceful place contribute to creating an informal atmosphere and facilitating interactions. Lectures of the thirteenth edition are centered around the following subjects: bulk reconstruction in AdS/CFT, twistor theory, AdS_2/CFT_1 and SYK, geometry and topology, and asymptotic charges.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training in Schools: A Comparison of Trainee Satisfaction among Different Age Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Hori, Shingo; Suzuki, Masaru; Yamazaki, Motoyasu; Aikawa, Naoki; Yamazaki, Hajime

2016-09-25

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has recently been added to the school curriculum worldwide and is currently taught to students between the ages of 10 and 16 years. The effect of the age of trainees on their satisfaction with CPR training has yet been elucidated. The aim of this study was to compare the satisfaction of trainees of different ages who participated in CPR training in schools in Japan. In total, 392 primary school students (10-11 years old), 1798 junior high school students (12-13 years old), and 4162 high schools students (15-16 years old) underwent the same 3-h course of CPR training, according to the guidelines of 2000 for Emergency Cardiovascular Care and CPR. The course was evaluated by a questionnaire completed by the participants. Primary school students responded most positively to all questions, including those reflecting enjoyment and the confidence of participants to apply CPR (Jonckheere-Terpstra test: P CPR training was strongly related to their age. Primary school students enjoyed CPR training more and were more confident in their ability to perform CPR than junior high and high school students were. Therefore, children aged 10-11 years may be the most appropriate candidates for the introduction of CPR training in schools.

Uniforms in the Middle School: Student Opinions, Discipline Data, and School Police Data

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Sanchez, Jafeth E.; Yoxsimer, Andrew; Hill, George C.

2012-01-01

This study investigated public middle school students' opinions on the benefits of wearing a school uniform. A review of related literature is provided along with results of the opinions obtained from 604 seventh- and eighth-grade middle school students attending a public school in Nevada that had recently initiated a school uniform policy.…

A European Collaborative EO Summer School for the Education of Undergraduate and Masters Level Students- FORMAT-EO

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Graves, Rosemarie; Remedios, John; Tramutoli, Valerio; Gil, Artur; Cuca, Branka

2014-05-01

specific EO topic. Students were assessed based on individual and group presentations of the results of their project work. The impact of the summer school was assessed through pre and post-evaluations. The evaluation form was designed to grade students understanding of subjects taught on the course. For all topics the average increase in understanding for students who were assessed was between 30 and 50%. Overall the course was deemed to be a success, with funding secured for a second year and students all demonstrating an increased understanding and enthusiasm for the topics covered. It is hoped that this course will provide a first step towards the construction of a common European curriculum in Earth Observation in the near future. In this presentation the pedagogical approaches, learning outcomes and innovation of the course will be discussed alongside an evaluation of the merits of the course.

Comparative Study Of Private And Public Schools Student ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Student perceptions of school engagement (i.e., sense of connection to school, teachers and peers), motivation to learn, self-esteem, and student safety are part of a range of public accountability indicators. This study examined differences between two groups of Senior Secondary three (SS III) students from public school ...

Attitudes of Turkish High School Students toward Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Yenilmez, Kursat

2007-01-01

This study examines high school students' attitudes toward mathematics and analyzes whether there were differences in attitude and its source that could be attributed to gender, class level, type of school, mathematics success, whether the students received preschool education, families' income level, and high school student's place of living.…

High School Students' Recommendations to Improve School Food Environments: Insights From a Critical Stakeholder Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Asada, Yuka; Hughes, Alejandro G; Read, Margaret; Schwartz, Marlene B; Chriqui, Jamie F

2017-11-01

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) directed the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to revise school meal standards. Students are most affected by efforts to improve the school food environment; yet, few studies directly include students. This study examined high school students' experiences of school meal reform to gain insight into implementation recommendations. We conducted 5 focus groups with high school students (N = 15) from high schools across 9 states. We also conducted follow-up interviews to further explore personal experiences. Focus groups and interview transcripts were coded and organized in Atlas.ti v7 by analysts, following principles of constant comparative analysis. Students reported overall positive perceptions of the revised school meal standards and supported continued efforts to improve the food environment. Recommendations to improve the food environment included engaging students, focusing on the quality and palatability of meal items, moving toward scratch-cooking, and addressing cafeteria infrastructure. Students' recommendations point to opportunities where school districts, as well as local, state, and federal organizations can work to improve the school food environment. Their insights are directly relevant to USDA's recently released Local School Wellness Policy final rule, of which school meal standards are one provision. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Advancing the Math Skills of Middle School Students in Technology Education Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Bottge, Brian A.; Grant, Timothy S.; Stephens, Ana C.; Rueda, Enrique

2010-01-01

While curriculum specialists and committees often decide how mathematics is taught, it is ultimately principals who influence the extent to which these initiatives are carried out. The overall goal of this article is to provide school leaders with classroom-based research that describes one way of improving the math skills of middle school…

Start Later, Sleep Later: School Start Times and Adolescent Sleep in Homeschool vs. Public/Private School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Meltzer, Lisa J.; Shaheed, Keisha; Ambler, Devon

2014-01-01

Homeschool students provide a naturalistic comparison group for later/flexible school start times. This study compared sleep patterns and sleep hygiene for homeschool students and public/private school students (grades 6-12). Public/private school students (n=245) and homeschool students (n=162) completed a survey about sleep patterns and sleep hygiene. Significant school group differences were found for weekday bedtime, wake time, and total sleep time, with homeschool students waking later and obtaining more sleep. Homeschool students had later school start times, waking at the same time that public/private school students were starting school. Public/private school students had poorer sleep hygiene practices, reporting more homework and use of technology in the hour before bed. Regardless of school type, technology in the bedroom was associated with shorter sleep duration. Later school start times may be a potential countermeasure for insufficient sleep in adolescents. Future studies should further examine the relationship between school start times and daytime outcomes, including academic performance, mood, and health. PMID:25315902

Facing the Challenge of Improving the Legal Writing Skills of Educationally Disadvantaged Law Students in a South African Law School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Diane Crocker

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Many first-year students in the School of Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College, who have been disadvantaged by a poor primary and secondary education, exhibit poor legal writing skills. Over a period of four years, in order to address this urgent need for legal writing instruction, the School of Law introduced two successive legal writing interventions. The first intervention was the Concise Writing Programme, followed by the Integrated Skills in Context Programme. The Concise Writing Programme focused on English writing skills and grammar in the hope that first-year law students would be able to transfer these generic writing skills to the more specific legal discourse within which they were learning to operate. The Law School reviewed the success of this initial programme and found that students who took part in the programme not only lacked the motivation to learn generic English writing skills, but that they also did not find it easy to transfer these skills to the more specific legal writing environment. The Law School then implemented a second legal writing intervention – The Integrated Skills in Context Programme. This programme acknowledged the fact that legal writing has a multi-faceted nature, encompassing legal analysis and application, as well as logical sequencing and argument, all of which could not be taught in a vacuum, particularly when most of the student base was largely unfamiliar with any form of legal discourse and many had English as a second language. This paper recognises that there is no silver bullet to improving the legal writing skills of these students. The reality is that it will take hard work as well as financial incentives to make a difference to these students' legal writing skills. Our students need intensive one-on-one attention by qualified academics, and this means that those doing the instruction must be recognised and adequately compensated.

Bullying victimization and student engagement in elementary, middle, and high schools: Moderating role of school climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chunyan; Sharkey, Jill D; Reed, Lauren A; Chen, Chun; Dowdy, Erin

2018-03-01

Bullying is the most common form of school violence and is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including traumatic responses. This study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the multilevel moderating effects of school climate and school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high schools) on the association between bullying victimization and student engagement. Participants included 25,896 students in 4th to 12th grades from 114 schools. Results indicated that, after controlling for student and school demographic factors, positive school climate was associated with higher behavioral/cognitive and emotional engagement of students across all grades. This highlights the critical and fundamental role of positive school climate in bullying prevention and intervention, among students across all grade levels, including those with frequent bullying victimization experience. Results also showed that negative associations between student-level bullying victimization and engagement were intensified in more positive school climates. This finding suggests that, in comparison with students in schools with less positive school climates, the engagement of bullying victims in schools with a more positive school climate might be more negatively influenced by their victimization experience. Additionally, the relation between student-level bullying victimization and emotional engagement was significantly different across middle and high schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Exploring Strategies to Promote Middle School Student Participation in the School Breakfast Program

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Karen Weber; Thompson, Deborah I.; Watson, Kathleen B.

2012-01-01

Purpose/Objective: Providing a school breakfast to students may be a practical intervention that improves energy balance, nutrient intake, and school academic achievement variables. This purpose of this pilot study was to identify the ecological factors influencing middle school student school breakfast participation and possible strategies to…

Student Trust in Teachers and Student Perceptions of Safety: Positive Predictors of Student Identification with School

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Roxanne M.; Kensler, Lisa; Tschannen-Moran, Megan

2018-01-01

This study examined the effects of student trust in teacher and student perceptions of safety on identification with school. Data were collected from one large urban district in an eastern state. Participants included 5441 students in 3rd through 12th grades from 49 schools. Students responded to surveys that assessed student trust in teachers,…

Academic performance in a pharmacotherapeutics course sequence taught synchronously on two campuses using distance education technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Michael; Morin, Anna K

2011-10-10

To compare the academic performance of campus-based students in a pharmacotherapeutics course with that of students at a distant campus taught via synchronous teleconferencing. Examination scores and final course grades for campus-based and distant students completing the case-based pharmacotherapeutics course sequence over a 5-year period were collected and analyzed. The mean examination scores and final course grades were not significantly different between students on the 2 campuses. The use of synchronous distance education technology to teach students does not affect students' academic performance when used in an active-learning, case-based pharmacotherapeutics course.

Great Expectations: A Guide to Alabama's High School Graduation Exam. Revised

Science.gov (United States)

Alabama Department of Education, 2003

2003-01-01

State leaders, parents, and business people want to be sure that students truly learn what they are being taught in school. Today, basic skills are not sufficient to guarantee that children will find good jobs and become productive citizens. As a result, the Alabama State Legislature passed its Education Accountability Law in 1995. The new…

refractive errors among secondary school students in Isuikwuato

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Eyamba

STUDENTS IN ISUIKWUATO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ... the prevalence and types of refractive errors among secondary school students ... KEYWORDS: Refractive error, Secondary School students, ametropia, .... interviews of the teachers as regards the general performance of those students with obvious visual.

Comparing Practice Management Courses in Canadian Dental Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Schonwetter, Dieter J; Schwartz, Barry

2018-05-01

Practice management has become an increasingly important aspect of dental education over the years in order to better prepare students for the reality of practice. The aim of this study was to quantify and describe practice management courses taught at the ten Canadian dental schools in order to identify common approaches, compare hours, determine types of instructors, and assess the relationship between courses' learning objectives and the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD) competencies and Bloom's cognitive levels. The academic deans at these ten schools were surveyed in 2016; all ten schools responded for a 100% response rate. The authors also gathered syllabi and descriptions of the courses and analyzed them for themes. The results showed a total of 22 practice management courses in the ten Canadian dental schools. The courses provided 27 to 109 hours of teaching and were mostly taught in the third and fourth years and by dentists on three main topics: ethics, human resource management, and running a private practice. The courses were correlated to the ACFD competencies related to ethics, professionalism, application of basic principles of business practices, and effective interpersonal communication. Most of the courses' learning objectives addressed comprehension and knowledge in Bloom's cognitive levels of learning. These results can help to guide discussions on how practice management courses can be developed, improved, and refined to meet the challenges of preparing students for dental practice.

Molecular Modeling as a Self-Taught Component of a Conventional Undergraduate Chemical Reaction Engineering Course

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Rothe, Erhard W.; Zygmunt, William E.

2016-01-01

We inserted a self-taught molecular modeling project into an otherwise conventional undergraduate chemical-reaction-engineering course. Our objectives were that students should (a) learn with minimal instructor intervention, (b) gain an appreciation for the relationship between molecular structure and, first, macroscopic state functions in…

How High School Students Select a College.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmour, Joseph E., Jr.; And Others

The college selection process used by high school students was studied and a paradigm that describes the process was developed, based on marketing theory concerning consumer behavior. Primarily college freshmen and high school seniors were interviewed, and a few high school juniors and upper-level college students were surveyed to determine…

Scientific Literacy of High School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Keith B.; Tulip, David F.

This investigation was undertaken in order to establish the status of scientific literacy among three groups of secondary school students in four Brisbane, Australia high schools, and to reduce the apparent reticence of science teachers to evaluate students' achievement in the various dimensions of scientific literacy by demonstrating appropriate…

Matching Students to Schools

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Dejan Trifunovic

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present the problem of matching students to schools by using different matching mechanisms. This market is specific since public schools are free and the price mechanism cannot be used to determine the optimal allocation of children in schools. Therefore, it is necessary to use different matching algorithms that mimic the market mechanism and enable us to determine the core of the cooperative game. In this paper, we will determine that it is possible to apply cooperative game theory in matching problems. This review paper is based on illustrative examples aiming to compare matching algorithms in terms of the incentive compatibility, stability and efficiency of the matching. In this paper we will present some specific problems that may occur in matching, such as improving the quality of schools, favoring minority students, the limited length of the list of preferences and generating strict priorities from weak priorities.

Teaching Students to Read the Primary Literature Using POGIL Activities

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Murray, Tracey Arnold

2014-01-01

The ability to read, interpret, and evaluate articles in the primary literature are important skills that science majors will use in graduate school and professional life. Because of this, it is important that students are not only exposed to the primary literature in undergraduate education, but also taught how to read and interpret these…

Relationships Among Student, Staff, and Administrative Measures of School Climate and Student Health and Academic Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gase, Lauren N; Gomez, Louis M; Kuo, Tony; Glenn, Beth A; Inkelas, Moira; Ponce, Ninez A

2017-05-01

School climate is an integral part of a comprehensive approach to improving the well-being of students; however, little is known about the relationships between its different domains and measures. We examined the relationships between student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate to understand the extent to which they were related to each other and student outcomes. The sample included 33,572 secondary school students from 121 schools in Los Angeles County during the 2014-2015 academic year. A multilevel regression model was constructed to examine the association between the domains and measures of school climate and 5 outcomes of student well-being: depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation, tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, and grades. Student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate were weakly correlated. Strong associations were found between student outcomes and student reports of engagement and safety, while school staff reports and administrative measures of school climate showed limited associations with student outcomes. As schools seek to measure and implement interventions aimed at improving school climate, consideration should be given to grounding these efforts in a multidimensional conceptualization of climate that values student perspectives and includes elements of both engagement and safety. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Elementary Student Perceptions of School Climate and Associations with Individual and School Factors

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La Salle, Tamika P.; Zabek, Faith; Meyers, Joel

2016-01-01

School climate has increasingly been recognized as an essential component of school improvement owing to the established associations between a positive school climate and academic outcomes for students. Our study examines associations among a brief measure of school climate assessing elementary student perceptions and the College and Career Ready…

Attitudes of High School Students towards Geometry

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Esat Avcı

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this research, attitudes of high school students towards geometry were investigated in terms of gender, grade, types of the field and school. Population of research includes students who were studying at high school in five distincs of Mersin in 2013-2014 academical year. Sample of research includes 935 students from twelve high schools. Attitude scale which was developed by Su-Özenir (2008 was used for data collection. For data analysis, mean, standart deviation, t test and ANOVA were used. A meaningful difference between students’ attitudes towards geometry and variance of gender and grade level wasn’t observed, on the other hand a meaningful difference according to field and school type is observed.Key Words:    Attitudes towards geometry, high school geometry lesson, attitude scale

Engineering for Sustainable Energy Education within Suburban, Urban and Developing Secondary Schools

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Kaikai, Moijue; Baker, Erin

2016-01-01

It is crucial that the younger generation be included in the conversation of sustainable development, given the urgent need of a global transition to cleaner energy solutions. Sustainable energy engineering (SEE) taught as early as secondary school can not only increase the number of students that will potentially study engineering to solve global…

Greenhouse Schools: How Schools Can Build Cultures Where Teachers and Students Thrive. Executive Summary

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TNTP, 2012

2012-01-01

Successful teachers make successful schools. Yet some schools are better than others at accelerating student learning by developing and keeping great teachers, even compared to schools that serve the same population of students and have access to the same resources. These schools are called "greenhouse schools"--schools with carefully fostered…

Career orientation of senior secondary school students

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Suryadi Bambang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this study is to portray career orientation of Senior High School (SMA and Vocational High School (SMK students and the role that school counselors should play in providing vocational guidance. This study used a survey method involving 278 students from both SMA and SMK di Jakarta. Career Orientation Inventory (COI and Counselor Role in Career Guidance Inventory were used as an instrument of data collection. Descriptive statistics and t-test were conducted to analyze the data. The findings of the study reveal that majority of SMA and SMK students wanted to further their study to university and only small number of them wanted to find out jobs or run their own business. The findings also show that school counselors play a very important role in providing vocational guidance services for senior secondary students. Therefore, in order for students to have a bright career in future, school counselors should improve the quality of vocational guidance services and plan comprehensive vocational guidance programs.

Reliability and validity of the Student Perceptions of School Cohesion Scale in a sample of Salvadoran secondary school students

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Arrivillaga Marcela

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite a growing body of research from the United States and other industrialized countries on the inverse association between supportive social relationships in the school and youth risk behavior engagement, research on the measurement of supportive school social relationships in Central America is limited. We examined the psychometric properties of the Student Perceptions of School Cohesion (SPSC scale, a 10-item scale that asks students to rate with a 5-point Likert-type response scale their perceptions of the school social environment, in a sample of public secondary school students (mean age = 15 years living in central El Salvador. Methods Students (n = 982 completed a self-administered questionnaire that included the SPSC scale along with measures of youth health risk behaviors based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the scale, and two internal consistency estimates of reliability were computed. Construct validity was assessed by examining whether students who reported low school cohesion were significantly more likely to report physical fighting and illicit drug use. Results Results indicated that the SPSC scale has three latent factors, which explained 61.6% of the variance: supportive school relationships, student-school connectedness, and student-teacher connectedness. The full scale and three subscales had good internal consistency (rs = .87 and α = .84 for the full scale; rs and α between .71 and .75 for the three subscales. Significant associations were found between the full scale and all three subscales with physical fighting (p ≤ .001 and illicit drug use (p Conclusion Findings provide evidence of reliability and validity of the SPSC for the measurement of supportive school relationships in Latino adolescents living in El Salvador. These findings provide a foundation for further research on

Sociopolitical development of private school children mobilising for disadvantaged others

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Hoeg, Darren; Lemelin, Nathalie; Bencze, John Lawrence

2015-12-01

A contemporary focus on democratic decision-making has occurred in school science through curricular developments such as socioscientific issues (SSIs) and Science, Technology, Society and Environment (STSE), creates opportunities for inclusion of activist education. However, it appears these components are often taught, if at all, as simply add-on content. Private schools represent a domain of education that has received relatively little attention in research literature regarding sociopolitical activism for addressing SSIs. In this study, we aimed to document the extent to which private school students were able to implement socioscientific activism and to map their socio-political development in the context of a project on child labour. Data collected from student projects and interviews indicate, in many cases, dramatic development of socially critical views and activist orientations that took place over time, and in various steps. A discussion of the factors enabling students' activist development, such as the school culture, the curriculum, and their teacher, are discussed.

School ethnic diversity and students' interethnic relations.

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Thijs, Jochem; Verkuyten, Maykel

2014-03-01

School ethnic desegregation has been a topic of strong societal and educational concern. Research has examined the effects of ethnic school composition on students' interethnic relations with diverging outcomes and sometimes inconsistent results. In this review paper, we provide an assessment of this literature to explain why and when school desegregation might improve or worsen ethnic relations and to identify important future research directions. We discuss different theoretical perspectives predicting positive versus negative aspects of school ethnic diversity: intergroup contact theory and the perspectives of group threat and power differences. Subsequently, we consider a number of school and educational characteristics that can moderate the impact of ethnic diversity on students' interethnic relations and that could be considered in future research. Furthermore, we discuss the need for studying underlying psychological and social processes as well as the importance of investigating interethnic relations in combination with academic adjustment. School ethnic diversity is not enough to promote interethnic tolerance. It is important to examine diversity in relation to other aspects of the school environment that may influence how students respond to the ethnic diversity within school. Important factors to consider are the presence of multicultural education and inclusive school identities, student-teacher relationships, and peer norms and networks, but also the role of parents and of peer relations outside the school context. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Dual Enrollment for High School Students

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Edwards, Linsey; Hughes, Katherine

2011-01-01

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in college courses and potentially earn college credit. The term concurrent enrollment is sometimes used interchangeably with dual enrollment, and sometimes to refer to a particular model of dual enrollment. In some programs, students earn high school and college credit simultaneously;…

An Overview of Ten Years of Student Research and JDSO Publications (Abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Freed, R.; Fitzgerald, M.; Genet, R.; Davidson, B.

2017-12-01

(Abstract only) The astronomy research seminar, initially designed and taught by Russell Genet at Cuesta College over the past decade, has resulted in over 100 published student research papers in the Journal of Double Star Observations along with dozens of other papers and conference presentations. While the seminar began at a single community college, it has now spread to include students from dozens of institutions and instructors, reaching students from middle school through graduate school. The seminar has integrated the large community-of-practice of amateur and professional astronomers, educators, students, and hardware and software engineers while providing an important experience for student researchers. In this paper, we provide an overview analysis of 109 publications authored by 320 individual students involved in the astronomy research seminar over the last decade.

Law School Intentions of Undergraduate Business Students

Science.gov (United States)

Edmonds, Thomas; Flanagan, David J.; Palmer, Timothy B.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that influence business students' intentions to enroll in law school. Scant research has focused on factors that influence business students' decisions to enroll in law school. This paper attempts to fill that gap. Hypotheses about student intentions are based on Ajzen & Fishbein's (1977) Theory…

Stress and Perception of School Satisfaction on a Sample of Slovene Primary School Students

OpenAIRE

Ines Lovenjak; Cirila Peklaj

2016-01-01

The aim of our research was to determine the relationships between experiencing stress, coping strategies, coping self-efficacy and primary school students' school satisfaction. We were also interested in the predictive power of these variables on school satisfaction. A total of 512 students from the seventh, eighth and ninth grades participated in this study and the results show that primary school students which are feeling stressed are less satisfied with school. There is a negative correl...

Relationships between Student, Staff, and Administrative Measures of School Climate and Student Health and Academic Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Gase, Lauren Nichol; Gomez, Louis M.; Kuo, Tony; Glenn, Beth A.; Inkelas, Moira; Ponce, Ninez A.

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND School climate is an integral part of a comprehensive approach to improving the wellbeing of students; however, little is known about the relationships between its different domains and measures. This study examined the relationships between student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate in order to understand the extent to which they were related to each other and student outcomes. METHODS The sample included 33,572 secondary school students from 121 schools in Los Angeles County during the 2014–2015 academic year. A multilevel regression model was constructed to examine the association between the domains and measures of school climate and five outcomes of student wellbeing: depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation, tobacco use, alcohol use, marijuana use, and grades. RESULTS Student, staff, and administrative measures of school climate were weakly correlated. Strong associations were found between student outcomes and student reports of engagement and safety, while school staff reports and administrative measures of school climate showed limited associations with student outcomes. CONCLUSIONS As schools seek to measure and implement interventions aimed at improving school climate, consideration should be given to grounding these efforts in a multi-dimensional conceptualization of climate that values student perspectives and includes elements of both engagement and safety. PMID:28382671

Survey on a sleep habits for university and high school students.

OpenAIRE

林, 光緒; 堀, 忠雄

1988-01-01

A survey was performed on 466 high school students and 403 university students. 86% of high school students and 89% of university students estimated their customary sleep time to be 6-8 hours. Although there was no significant difference between high school students and university students with awake time, bed time was later for university students than high school students. So that sleep time was shorter for university students. Also there was more regular sleepers for high school students a...

Short Sleep Duration Among Middle School and High School Students - United States, 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheaton, Anne G; Jones, Sherry Everett; Cooper, Adina C; Croft, Janet B

2018-01-26

Insufficient sleep among children and adolescents is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, attention and behavior problems, and poor academic performance (1-4). The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that, for optimal health, children aged 6-12 years should regularly sleep 9-12 hours per 24 hours and teens aged 13-18 years should sleep 8-10 hours per 24 hours (1). CDC analyzed data from the 2015 national, state, and large urban school district Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBSs) to determine the prevalence of short sleep duration (school nights among middle school and high school students in the United States. In nine states that conducted the middle school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire, the prevalence of short sleep duration among middle school students was 57.8%, with state-level estimates ranging from 50.2% (New Mexico) to 64.7% (Kentucky). The prevalence of short sleep duration among high school students in the national YRBS was 72.7%. State-level estimates of short sleep duration for the 30 states that conducted the high school YRBS and included a question about sleep duration in their questionnaire ranged from 61.8% (South Dakota) to 82.5% (West Virginia). The large percentage of middle school and high school students who do not get enough sleep on school nights suggests a need for promoting sleep health in schools and at home and delaying school start times to permit students adequate time for sleep.

School Lunch Waste among Middle School Students: Implications for Nutrients Consumed and Food Waste Costs

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Juliana F.W.; Richardson, Scott; Austin, S. Bryn; Economos, Christina D.; Rimm, Eric B.

2013-01-01

Background The National School Lunch Program has been guided by modest nutrient standards, and the palatability of meals, which drives consumption, receives inadequate attention. School food waste can have important nutritional and cost implications for policy makers, students, and their families. Purpose Nutrient losses and economic costs associated with school meal waste were examined. The study also assessed if school foods served were valid proxies for foods consumed by students. Methods Plate waste measurements were collected from middle school students in Boston attending two Chef Initiative schools (n=1609) and two control schools (n=1440) during a two-year pilot study (2007-2009) where a professional chef trained cafeteria staff to make healthier school meals. The costs associated with food waste were calculated and the percent of foods consumed was compared with a gold standard of 85% consumption. Analyses were conducted in 2010-2011. Results Overall, students consumed less than the required/recommended levels of nutrients. An estimated $432,349 of food (26.1% of the total food budget) was discarded by middle school students annually at lunch in Boston middle schools. For most meal components, significantly less than 85% was consumed. Conclusions There is substantial food waste among middle school students in Boston. Overall, students' nutrient consumption levels were below school meal standards and foods served were not valid proxies for foods consumed. The costs associated with discarded foods are high; if translated nationally for school lunches, roughly $1,238,846,400 annually is wasted. Students would benefit if additional focus was given to the quality and palatability of school meals. PMID:23332326

Impact of the Systemic Approach on Literacy Achievement of Jordanian 1st Graders at Mu'tah University Model School

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Al-Hajaya, Nail

2012-01-01

This study investigates the effect of the systemic approach in literacy achievement of the first grade students at Mu'tah University's Model School. The sample (N = 45) consisted of all first grade students, who were assigned into two groups; a control group taught traditionally while the other group was exposed to the system approach during the…

A Study of Democratic School Culture Perceptions of Sport High School Students

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Isikgöz, Enes

2016-01-01

In this study; the perceptions of the students studying at sport high schools about democratic school culture were analysed in accordance with different variables. Participants of the research consisted of 216 students studying at Sport High Schools in Sakarya and Batman Provinces of Turkey. The data were collected with the Democratic School…

"What Today's University Students Have Taught Us”

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Alison J. Head

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Today, more students in the US are attending university than ever before. An unprecedented number of these students were born digital—meaning digital technologies have been a constant feature in their lives. For these young adults, information literacy competencies are always being formed, practiced, and learned. Project Information Literacy (PIL is a series of ongoing quantitative and qualitative research studies in the US that investigates what it is like to be a university student in the digital age. This research study has investigated how students find information and conduct research—in their words and through their experiences—for coursework, use in their everyday lives, and, once they graduate, in the workplace and their communities. Since 2008, more than 11,000 university students at nearly 60 US higher education institutions have been surveyed or interviewed, making PIL the largest study of information literacy ever conducted. Results from PIL’s studies have concluded students’ information competencies are put to the test in the vast information landscape they inhabit. Furthermore, finding and using information is exponentially more complex than it was a generation ago, especially since the information landscape has shifted from one of scarce resources to one of overload. In this keynote, five research takeaways were presented from PIL’s eight studies: (1 Students find research more difficult than ever before, (2 getting started is the hardest part of research, (3 frustrations begin with finding context, i.e., big picture, information-gathering, language, and situational context, (4 search strategies are based on predictability, familiarity, and efficiency, and (5 evaluation is the one information skills most learn to use. Discussion included implications of these findings for teaching, learning, work, and librarianship in the 21st century.

School Climate for Academic Success: A Multilevel Analysis of School Climate and Student Outcomes

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Kwong, Darren; Davis, Jonathan Ryan

2015-01-01

This multilevel study examined the relationship between school climate and academic achievement. Using the Educational Longitudinal Survey (ELS, 2002), and a sample of 16,258 students and 1954 schools nationwide, we found that student-level perception of school climate--especially the student learning environment--was highly predictive of academic…

Emergency telephone consultations: a new course for medical students.

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Schaufelberger, Mireille; Harris, Michael; Frey, Peter

2012-12-01

Using the telephone for consultations is now common practice. Although there is a clear need for specific training for telephone consultations, it is uncommon for it to be taught in medical school. A practical course on emergency telephone consultations (ECTs) was designed for the medical degree course at the University of Bern Medical School. During the module, each of the volunteer fifth-year medical students had to perform two simulated telephone consultations. Medical students in their first year of medical school acted as simulated patients (SPs), and they gave immediate feedback to the participants. Nineteen per cent of fifth-year students voluntarily undertook the ETC course. The course was rated 'very informative' by 68 per cent of the participants, and 'informative' by 32 per cent. Ninety-four per cent of the attendees recorded a personal learning gain, and 68 per cent suggested that the course should be obligatory. All the participants thought that the SPs played their roles realistically. In their rating of the ETC, the fifth-year students gave it a mean mark of 5.5 (out of a maximum of 6), suggesting that they thought it had been very successful. Students became aware of their need for ETC training through the course itself, and they recommended that it should be obligatory. The ETC pilot received a highly positive response from lead clinicians who anticipated a rising number of telephone consultations, and who have to deal with trainees who have not been taught about how to deal with ETCs. As a result, the Faculty of Medicine decided to make the course obligatory. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

[The influencing factors on alienation in high school students].

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Lee, Eun-Sook

2004-02-01

This study was performed to identify the influencing factors on alienation among high school students. Data was collected by questionnaires from 550 students of academic and vocational high schools in G city. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. The scores of alienation among students in financially lower middle class and lower class were higher than those of the upper middle class students, resulting in significant differences(F=6.87, p=.00). A sense of alienation showed a significantly negative correlation with the scores of responding parenting style(r=-.32), family cohesion(r=-.33), school attachment(r=-.51), academic performance(r=-.34), peer relationships(r=-.38), self-control (r=-.43), and social skills(r=-.33). The most powerful predictor of alienation among high school students was school attachment and the variance explained was 26%. A combination of school attachment, self control, peer relationships, family cohesion, demanding parenting style, and academic performance account for 40% of the variance in alienation among high school students. This study suggests that school attachment, self control, peer relationships, family cohesion, demanding parenting style, and academic performance are significant influencing factors on alienation in high school students. Therefore, nursing strategy is needed to manage these revealed factors.

[Relationship between nutritional status and school absenteeism among students in rural schools].

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Escobar, Gilma; Vargas-Cruz, Sandra L; Ibáñez-Pinilla, Edgar; Matiz-Salazar, María I; Jörgen-Overgaard, Hans

2015-12-01

Objective To determine the nutritional status and prevalence of malnutrition and overweight in students in rural schools and their relationship with school absence rates. Methods Descriptive study carried out in 34 rural schools in Anapoima and La Mesa in 2013. A sample of 785 (82.4 %) students was selected by convenience sampling. The inclusion criteria were students registered for the period 2013 in grades 0-5 (ages 5-16) with parental consent and student assent. Weight and height of all subjects were taken. Overall absence rates and illness-related absence rates were recorded. Results 422 pupils were male (53.8 %) and 524 (66.8 %) had between 5-9 years old. A lower than average height for age occurred in 10.1 %(n=79) of the students. The thinness was recorded at 1.75 %(n=13), the overweight at 14.3 %(n=112) and the obesity at 4.5 %(n=45) of the students. The number of absence episodes per child per year due to any reason and due to disease was 5.7 and 1.4, respectively. Stunted growth and overweight students had a significantly higher number of absence days compared to students with adequate nutritional status (p school absence days (both general and illness-related) and stunting and overweight in students.

THE CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

OpenAIRE

Gürbüz Ocak; İjlal Ocak; Emine A. Baysal

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to find out the causes of high school students’ absenteeism. Survey method was used. The population was comprised of 531 students in the public high schools. The data was collected with "The Scale of Absenteeism Causes" developed by the researchers. Cronbach Alpha was calculated as α=0.936. Findings show the causes of students' absenteeism aren't related to school, students themselves and their parent, however, student absenteeism causes partly psychological reaso...

Eating School Lunch Is Associated with Higher Diet Quality among Elementary School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Au, Lauren E; Rosen, Nila J; Fenton, Keenan; Hecht, Kenneth; Ritchie, Lorrene D

2016-11-01

Few studies have assessed the dietary quality of children who eat meals from home compared with school meals according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The objective of this study was to examine diet quality for elementary school students in relation to source of breakfast and lunch (whether school meal or from an outside source). An observational study was conducted of students in 43 schools in San Diego, CA, during the 2011-2012 school year. Fourth- and fifth-grade students (N=3,944) completed a diary-assisted 24-hour food recall. The Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) scores of children who ate breakfast and lunch at school were compared with the HEI-2010 scores of children who obtained their meals from home and a combination of both school and home. Analysis of variance, χ 2 test, and generalized estimating equation models adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, grade, language, and school level clustering were performed. School lunch eaters had a higher mean±standard deviation overall diet quality score (HEI-2010=49.0±11.3) compared with students who ate a lunch obtained from home (46.1±12.2; P=0.02). There was no difference in overall diet quality score by breakfast groups. Students who ate school breakfast had higher total fruit (P=0.01) and whole fruit (P=0.0008) scores compared with students who only ate breakfast obtained from home. Students who ate school foods had higher scores for dairy (P=0.007 for breakfast and Pempty calories from solid fats and added sugars (P=0.01 for breakfast and P=0.007 for lunch). Eating school lunch was associated with higher overall diet quality compared with obtaining lunch from home. Future studies are needed that assess the influence of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act on children's diet quality. Copyright © 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remote Research Mentoring of Virginia High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Corby, Joanna; Dirienzo, W. J.; Beaton, R.; Pennucci, T.; Zasowski, G.

2013-01-01

Graduate students at the University of Virginia (UVa) are volunteering as research advisors on astronomy projects for Virginia's science and technology high schools. In previous years, we have worked with more than a dozen students through a research class at Central Virginia Governor's School in Lynchburg to develop an astronomy research curriculum that teaches background concepts and terminology, guides students in data analysis, and prepares them to present material in poster and oral forums. In our fourth year of operation, we are continuing to work with Central Virginia Governor's School and adapting the research curriculum to an independent course at Roanoke Valley Governor's School in Roanoke. Because both schools are far from UVa in Charlottesville, the program operates remotely; graduate advisors and high school students interact through "virtual" means, establishing a successful framework for meaningful remote mentoring. In the current year, six students will complete projects on astrophysical topics including megamasers, astrochemistry, and pulsars using data taken by the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Students at Roanoke Valley were directly trained on the GBT as part of a separate outreach program called the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, and all six students will receive hands-on experience in handling GBT data. The current projects are components of larger research efforts by graduate student and professional level researchers, so that the projects contribute to high-level projects only possible with the GBT. This stands as a rare outreach program that uses the principle of “deliberative practice” to train high school students in the development of skills that are crucial to success in science. Furthermore, it provides graduate students with an opportunity to plan and advise research projects, developing a skill set that is required in more advanced academic positions. Our poster discusses the implementation of our online curriculum in two distinct

Evaluating a blended-learning course taught to different groups of learners in a dental school.

Science.gov (United States)

Pahinis, Kimon; Stokes, Christopher W; Walsh, Trevor F; Cannavina, Giuseppe

2007-02-01

The purpose of this study was to present and evaluate a blended-learning course developed for undergraduate (B.D.S.), postgraduate, and diploma (hygiene and therapy) students at the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry. Blended learning is the integration of classroom face-to-face learning with online learning. The overall methodology used for this study was action research. The data were collected using three processes: questionnaires to collect contextual data from the students taking the course; a student-led, nominal group technique to collect group data from the participants; and a non-participant observer technique to record the context in which certain group and individual behaviors occurred. The online component of the course was accepted as a valuable resource by 65 percent of those responding. While online information-sharing occurred (31 percent of the students posted in forums), there was no evidence of online collaboration, with only 8 percent replying to forum postings. Accessibility of the online environment was one of the main concerns of the students at the nominal group sessions. Differences regarding overall engagement with the course between the student groups (years) were observed during the sessions. The majority of the students were satisfied with the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) course. No statistically significant differences between males and females were found, but there were differences between different student cohorts (year groups).

School as a risk factor for psychoactive substance use by middle school students

Science.gov (United States)

Okulicz-Kozaryn, Katarzyna

2010-01-01

For the majority of Polish students school is a source of negative experiences and therefore may increase the risk of adolescent problem behaviors. The results of the study conducted in Warsaw middle schools (N=2244, 54% girls) indicated that changes for worse (between 7 and 8 grade) in students' behavior increase the risk of drug use. However, changes for better in students' perception of school value and school achievements are risk factors, too (even when family and peer risk factors are controlled). PMID:21152104

Do schools influence student risk-taking behaviors and emotional health symptoms?

Science.gov (United States)

Denny, Simon J; Robinson, Elizabeth M; Utter, Jennifer; Fleming, Theresa M; Grant, Sue; Milfont, Taciano L; Crengle, Sue; Ameratunga, Shanthi N; Clark, Terryann

2011-03-01

Many schools engage in health promotion, health interventions, and services aimed at improving the health and well-being outcomes for students. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of schools on student health risk-taking behaviors and depressive symptoms. A nationally representative sample (n = 9,056) of students from 96 secondary schools completed a health and well-being survey using Internet Tablets that included questions on school climate, health risk-taking behaviors, and mental health. Teachers (n = 2,901) and school administrators (n = 91) completed questionnaires on aspects of the school climate which included teacher well-being and burnout, the staff work environment, health and welfare services for students, and school organizational support for student health and well-being. Multilevel models were used to estimate school effects on the health risk-taking behaviors and depression symptoms among students. Schools where students reported a more positive school climate had fewer students with alcohol use problems, and fewer students engaging in violence and risky motor vehicle behaviors. Schools where teachers reported better health and welfare services for students had fewer students engaging in unsafe sexual health behaviors. Schools where teachers reported higher levels of well-being had fewer students reporting significant levels of depressive symptoms. More positive school climates and better school health and welfare services are associated with fewer health risk-taking behaviors among students. However, the overall school effects were modest, especially for cigarette use and suicidal behaviors. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Secondary School Students' Predictors of Science Attitudes

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Tosun, Cemal; Genç, Murat

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect the secondary school students' attitudes in science. This study was conducted using survey method. The sample of the study was 503 students from four different secondary schools in Bartin and Düzce. Data were obtained using the Survey of Factors Affecting Students' Science Attitudes…

A comparison of rural high school students in Germany with rural Tennessee high school students' mathematics and science achievement

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Harding, R. Fredrick

This descriptive study compared the science and mathematics aptitudes and achievement test scores for the final school year students in rural White County and Van Buren County, Tennessee with rural county students in Germany. In accordance with the previous research literature (Stevenson, 2002), German students outperformed U.S. students on The International Trends in Math and Science test (TIMSS). As reform in the U.S. education system has been underway, this study intended to compare German county student final school year performance with White County and Van Buren County (Grade 12) performance in science and mathematics. The entire populations of 176 White and Van Buren Counties senior high final school year students were compared with 120 school final year students from two rural German county high schools. The student responses to identical test and questionnaire items were compared using the t-test statistical analysis. In conclusion after t-test analyses, there was no significant difference (p>.05 level) in student attitudes on the 27 problem achievement and the 35 TIMSS questionnaire items between the sampled population of 120 German students compared with the population of 176 White and Van Buren students. Also, there was no statistically significant difference (p>.05 level) between the German, White, and Van Buren County rural science and math achievement in the TIMSS problem section of the final year test. Based on the research, recommendations to improve U.S. student scores to number one in the world include making changes in teaching methodology in mathematics and science; incorporating pamphlet lessons rather than heavily reliance on textbooks; focusing on problem solving; establishing an online clearinghouse for effective lessons; creating national standards in mathematics and science; matching students' course choices to job aspirations; tracking misbehaving students rather than mainstreaming them into the regular classroom; and designing

An Introduction to Computing: Content for a High School Course.

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Rogers, Jean B.

A general outline of the topics that might be covered in a computers and computing course for high school students is provided. Topics are listed in the order in which they should be taught, and the relative amount of time to be spent on each topic is suggested. Seven units are included in the course outline: (1) general introduction, (2) using…

Recruiting and Retaining Effective Teachers for Urban Schools: Developing a Strategic Plan for Action.

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Claycomb, Carla; Hawley, Willis D.

This analysis discusses ways to address the persistent challenge of ensuring that students who attend urban schools are taught by highly effective teachers. It presents a four-point strategic plan that includes: (1) increase the quantity and quality of people entering and returning to teaching in urban districts (precollegiate recruitment, higher…

Supporting Students with Disabilities during School Crises: A Teacher's Guide

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Clarke, Laura S.; Embury, Dusty Columbia; Jones, Ruth E.; Yssel, Nina

2014-01-01

Most schools have crisis plans to support student safety, but few plans address the complex needs of students with disabilities. School supports should include analysis of school plans and student strengths and needs to ensure that students with disabilities have the best opportunity to be safe in school crises. Recommendations include developing…

An Investigation of Students' Perceptions about Democratic School Climate and Sense of Community in School

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Karakus, Memet

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate students' perceptions about democratic school climate and sense of community in school. In line with this purpose, it aims to find answers to the following questions: How democratic do students find the school climate? What is students' sense of belonging level at school? What is the academic success level of…

The Effect of School Design on Student Performance

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Ariani, Mohsen Ghasemi; Mirdad, Fatemeh

2016-01-01

The present study aims at exploring the influence of school design on student performance. The participants consisted of 150 students who studied at two Iranian public school and private school in Mashhad City. School Design and Planning Laboratory (SDPL) model of Georgia University (and Tanner (2009)) was used as an appraisal indicator of school…

School-level factors associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption among students in California middle and high schools.

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Gosliner, Wendi

2014-09-01

This study assessed associations between selective school-level factors and students' consumption of fruits and vegetables at school. Better understanding of school factors associated with increased produce consumption is especially important, as students are served more produce items at school. This cross-sectional study included 5439 seventh- and ninth-grade students from 31 schools in California in 2010. Multilevel regression models estimated whether the odds of consuming fruits or vegetables at school among students eating the school lunch were associated with the length of the lunch period, quality/variety of produce options, or other factors. A longer lunch period was associated with increased odds of a student eating fruits (odds ratio [OR] = 1.40) and vegetables (OR = 1.54) at school. Better fruit quality increased the odds of a student consuming fruit (OR = 1.44). Including a salad bar and involving students in food service decisions increased a student's odds of consuming vegetables (OR = 1.48 and OR = 1.34, respectively). This study suggests that institutional factors in schools are positively associated with middle and high school students' consumption of produce items at school. Additional efforts to structure school meal environments to enhance students' consumption of produce items can benefit students' nutrition and health. © 2014, American School Health Association.