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2. Moving Away from 'Best Practices': Towards Relevant Pedagogical Approaches and Reforms. Working Paper #187.2. SPARKS Working Paper II
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Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education, Ghulam Omar Qargha, and Rachel Dyl
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In many low- and medium-income countries (LMICs), student-centered pedagogies are often implicitly or explicitly at the heart of innovative pedagogical reforms. In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on student-centered pedagogies, which aim to shift power dynamics, increase interaction, and prioritize the needs of learners. Many international agencies, governments, and education experts view these pedagogies as "best practices" or a pedagogical "silver bullet" to improve classroom practice. This paper is the second in a series of three working papers meant to serve as references and conversation starters for policymakers and researchers as they navigate pedagogical reform for education system transformation in their local contexts. Together, the three working papers emphasize the need for more locally driven collaborative research on how the interaction of culture, local education ecosystems, and learning theories--collectively called Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets--influences teachers' pedagogical choices in the classroom. This paper details why the authors recommend policymakers examine Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets in their local context to inform pedagogical reforms. The authors discuss the reasons why generalized "best practices"--namely "student-centered pedagogies" as currently implemented--do not often successfully transfer to new cultures, countries, and contexts and argue that many pedagogical reforms do not adequately consider the Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets embedded in each local context.
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- 2024
3. Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets: Developing a Contextual Understanding of Pedagogies. Working Paper #187.1. SPARKS Working Paper 1
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Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education, Ghulam Omar Qargha, and Rachel Dyl
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Although global access to schooling has increased over the last several decades, Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which champions inclusive, equitable, quality education, is far from being achieved. Experts predict that if the global community continues to operate education systems in the same way, by 2030, only one in six countries will reach the universal secondary school completion targets, and approximately 300 million students in school will continue to lack basic numeracy and literacy skills. The 2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit emphasized the urgent need for a complete overhaul of education systems to meet SDG 4 targets. One significant outcome of the summit was a call to improve student learning by transforming teacher classroom practice. This paper is the first in a series of three working papers meant to serve as references and conversation starters for policymakers and researchers as they navigate pedagogical reform for education system transformation in their local contexts. This paper explores various definitions of pedagogies, the lack of consensus on what pedagogy means in practice, and the effects of Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets on pedagogical approaches.
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- 2024
4. Linking Research to Policy to Practice: Collaborative Research for Evidence-Informed Policymaking in Education. Working Paper #187.3. SPARKS Working Paper III
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Brookings Institution, Center for Universal Education, Ghulam Omar Qargha, and Rachel Dyl
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Since the 1990s, there has been a growing demand for evidence-based education policy and practice. This demand stems from concerns that education systems are not meeting the needs of a changing world and that education research lacks rigor. While this demand aims to improve the quality of education, silos between different actors often hinder how evidence informs policymaking. We encourage researchers to use a collaborative research approach by involving multiple education actors in the research process to close the gaps between research, policy, and practice. This paper is the third in a series of three working papers meant to serve as references and conversation starters for policymakers and researchers as they navigate pedagogical reform for education system transformation in their local contexts. Together, the three working papers emphasize the need for more locally driven collaborative research on how the interaction of culture, local education ecosystems, and learning theories--collectively called Invisible Pedagogical Mindsets--influences teachers' pedagogical choices in the classroom. Primarily intended for education researchers, Working Paper III advocates the use of collaborative research approaches to actively include multiple education actors in the research process, foster complementary relationships between actors with different expertise, and make research findings more relevant and responsive to the local education ecosystem. The paper has three parts that discuss the need for flexible research approaches to inform policy given the complexities of education decision-making, the importance of communication and dissemination, and how collaborative research can bridge the gaps between research, policy, and practice. The paper concludes by looking at the ongoing work of the SPARKS project at the Center for Universal Education and how collaborative research can contribute to education systems transformation.
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- 2024
5. Talent Pipelines for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: How California PaCE Units Can Bridge Critical KSA Gaps. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.8.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Tyler Reeb, Chris Swarat, and Barbara Taylor
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This paper presents a rationale for using professional and continuing education (PaCE) units at post-secondary institutions throughout California to design and implement talent-pipelines, research and development collaborations, and other knowledge ecosystems where emerging and returning professionals can acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), as well as the experience, they need to address the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The paper provides an analysis of the reasons why PaCE units are uniquely positioned to address the needs of industry and job seekers, and on a timetable that keeps pace with 4IR velocity.
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- 2024
6. Reform and Reaction: The Politics of Modern Higher Education Policy. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.7.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and David O’Brien
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An ongoing debate in K-12 education policy has been between the "reform" agenda, including charter schools and school vouchers, and advocates of traditional public schools, led by educator unions. A similar split has emerged in higher education, particularly community colleges. Using California as an example, this paper: 1) summarizes the evolution of the current political divide between advocates of the "completion and success" agenda and faculty-led opponents, including the major reforms involved, 2) discusses the claims that leading organizations on each side have made, including their policy priorities, and 3) argues that the two sides share do share some areas of mutual agreement. The paper concludes by noting future policy considerations that could complicate reform efforts.
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- 2024
7. Device Ownership, Digital Equity, and Postsecondary Student Success. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.3.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Kate Berkley, Joseph I. Castro, and Shadman Uddin
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In recent years, American universities have implemented many innovative strategies to enhance the academic success of students, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. Yet first-generation and/or low-income (FLI) college students continue to encounter barriers to success because they do not have authentic access to digital technology needed to graduate and be career-ready in our rapidly changing economy. This paper analyzes the current state of digital inequity among FLI students at Stanford University. It also reviews existing programs to address digital inequity at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), the University of Michigan and Bowdoin College and provides guidance on developing a device program. Finally, the paper recommends strategies to better understand digital inequity and to address it in a sustainable way.
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- 2024
8. International Students: Poorly Suited Immigration Pathways Stymie Formation of High Growth Businesses. White Paper No. 273
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Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research, Aidan Enright, Joshua Bedi, and Eileen McAnneny, Contributor
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This paper examines the impact, characteristics, and entrepreneurial proclivities of foreign-born college graduates in the United States. A significant body of research has found that immigrants are more likely to start businesses than those born in the U.S., and the propensity of international students to concentrate in STEM fields indicates enormous potential for economic contributions and innovation. Yet the static nature of the immigration system, with visa pathways and restrictions that discourage business creation, hamper the nation's ability to take full advantage of the benefits immigrants can provide. In fact, this study finds that the U.S. immigration system likely delays foreign-born graduates from creating incorporated firms by as many as five years. The authors estimate that the creation of 150,000 incorporated firms and 580,000 jobs were delayed between 2013 and 2021. Without reform, the U.S. will continue to depress high-value firm creation by international students and cease to be the primary destination of global talent.
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- 2024
9. Parenting in a Pandemic: Understanding the Challenges Faced by California Community College Students and Actionable Recommendations for Policy. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.4.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Dulcemonica Delgadillo, Norma Hernandez, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, and Ruth Luevanos
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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented numerous challenges to students across the United States, particularly those who are parents enrolled in community colleges. California's community college system serves a diverse student population, including a significant number of non-traditional, working adults who are also parents. These students have faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, including the difficulties of balancing childcare responsibilities with academic and professional obligations. This paper summarizes the preliminary findings of a study that intends to contribute to the crucial conversation around childcare needs among community college students. The focus of this study was understanding the experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) mothers with young children and the impact of COVID-19 on their educational experiences in community colleges across the state of California.
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- 2024
10. Mapping Organizational Support and Collective Action: Towards a Model for Advancing Racial Equity in Community College. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.6.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Eric R. Felix, Ángel de Jesus González, and Elijah J. Felix
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In this paper we present the Advancing Racial Equity in Community College Model which maps out the organizational conditions shaping institutional transformation. Focused on two dimensions, the level of "organizational support" and "shared responsibility" to enact equity, we describe four quadrants with distinct organizational conditions that shape how equity advocates design, build, and sustain equity efforts. With well-documented racial inequities and renewed calls for racial justice across higher education, it demands new ways of exploring and understanding how institutional actors leading equity efforts are nested within differing organizational contexts that can enable as well as restrict the enactment and success of racial equity efforts. Our model helps equity advocates gain an "awareness" of known barriers to implementation in higher education, assess the readiness of their campus for racialized change, and take action to build the necessary institutional support and capacity to move the work forward.
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- 2024
11. Reconceptualizing Quality Early Care and Education with Equity at the Center. Occasional Paper Series 51
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Bank Street College of Education, Mark Nagasawa, Cristina Medellin-Paz, Helen Frazier, Contributor, Virginia Dearani, Contributor, Charis-Ann Sole, Contributor, M. Nalani Mattox-Primacio, Contributor, Shin Ae Han, Contributor, Soyoung Park, Contributor, Sunmin Lee, Contributor, Nnenna Odim, Contributor, Jennifer Keys Adair, Contributor, Angie Zapata, Contributor, Mary Adu-Gyamfi, Contributor, Adrianna González Ybarra, Contributor, Seung Eun McDevitt, Contributor, Louella Sween, Contributor, Vanessa Rodriguez, Contributor, Mark Nagasawa, Cristina Medellin-Paz, Helen Frazier, Contributor, Virginia Dearani, Contributor, Charis-Ann Sole, Contributor, M. Nalani Mattox-Primacio, Contributor, Shin Ae Han, Contributor, Soyoung Park, Contributor, Sunmin Lee, Contributor, Nnenna Odim, Contributor, Jennifer Keys Adair, Contributor, Angie Zapata, Contributor, Mary Adu-Gyamfi, Contributor, Adrianna González Ybarra, Contributor, Seung Eun McDevitt, Contributor, Louella Sween, Contributor, Vanessa Rodriguez, Contributor, and Bank Street College of Education
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Issue 51 of the Bank Street Occasional Papers Series "Reconceptualizing Quality Early Care and Education with Equity at the Center" is a response to Gunilla Dahlberg, Peter Moss, and Alan Pence's 25-year interrogation of the concept of quality in early childhood education (ECE) (Dahlberg et al., 1999, 2013, 2023). Their groundbreaking work has called early childhood educators to question deeply held assumptions about the universality of childhood and how these shape the standardization of practices in early childhood settings around the world. While quality is typically conceived of as existing primarily in classrooms, the authors in Issue 51 remind readers that the small world of ECE exists within oppressive systems imbued with intersecting racism, classism, sexism, and ableism, and that, therefore, a beyond quality praxis requires nurturing and supporting educators through partnerships (recognizing that resilience is social), developing political commitments and orientations through relationships, and mobilizing these relationships for collective action towards liberatory alternatives. The idea for this issue, which is a part of a broader project to identify and analyze promising, equity-committed early childhood policies and practices, emerged over the past few years.
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- 2024
12. Paternity Leave and Child Development. Discussion Paper No. 2024
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London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom), Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), Lídia Farré, Libertad González, Claudia Hupkau, and Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela
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We study the effect of paternity leave on early child development. We collect sur-vey data on 5,000 children under age six in Spain and exploit several extensions of paternity leave that took place between 2017 and 2021. We follow a differences-in-discontinuities research design, based on the date of birth of each child and using cohorts born in non-reform years as controls. We show that the extensions led to significant increases in the length of leave taken by fathers, without affecting that of mothers, thus increasing parental time at home in the first year after birth. Eligibility for four additional weeks of paternity leave led to a significant 12 percentage-point increase in the fraction of children with developmental delays. We provide evidence for two potential mechanisms. First, children exposed to longer paternity leave spend less time alone with their mother, and more time with their father, during their first year of life. Second, treated children use less formal childcare. Our results suggest that paternity leave replaces higher-quality modes of early care. We conclude that the effects of parental leave policies on children depend crucially on the quality of parental versus counterfactual modes of childcare. [Funding for this report was provided by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.]
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- 2024
13. Working Towards an Equitable Future in California Dual Enrollment Programs. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.9.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and Rogelio Salazar
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This study explores the underrepresentation of Black and Latinx students in California's community college Dual Enrollment (DE) programs. The study investigates how DE staff describe an understanding and commitment towards equity for Black and Latinx students in DE programs and how staff engage in equitably aimed praxis to serve Black and Latinx students through practices and collaborations between feeder high schools. Using a Critical Policy Analysis lens, the research highlights how Black and Latinx students are prioritized through equitable practices focused in advising and outreach. However, not all DE staff prioritize Black and Latinx through practices. Despite this, scant instances reveal that collaborative efforts between DE programs, high schools, and districts improve DE services and outcomes, though majority of K-12 partners are absent from collaborative efforts led by DE programs. The study emphasizes the need for increased collaboration between K-12 partners and integrating equitable approaches to DE outreach and advising to engage and recruit Black and Latinx students. This research advances the conversation of equity in DE programs and offers insights for addressing participation gaps among Black and Latinx students.
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- 2024
14. Education, Gender and Family Formation. Discussion Paper No. 2011
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London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom), Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), Hanna Virtanen, Mikko Silliman, Tiina Kuuppelomäki, and Kristiina Huttunen
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We study the effect of educational attainment on family formation using regression discontinuity designs generated by centralized admissions processes to both secondary and tertiary education in Finland. Admission to further education at either margin does not increase the likelihood that men form families. In contrast, women admitted to further education are more likely to both live with a partner and have children. We then pre-register and test two hypotheses which could explain each set of results using survey data. These suggest that the positive association between men's education and family formation observed in the data is driven by selection. For women, our estimates are consistent with the idea that, as increased returns to social skills shift the burden of child development from schools to parents and particularly mothers, education can make women more attractive as potential partners. [Funding for this report was provided by The Strategic Research Council, the Research Council of Finland, and Palkansaajasäätiö.]
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- 2024
15. Enrolment and Persistence in Postsecondary Education among High School Graduates in British Columbia: A Focus on Special Needs Status. Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series. Catalogue No. 11F0019M
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Statistics Canada, Allison Leanage, and Rubab Arim
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This study used Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) administrative data within the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform to compare enrolment and persistence in postsecondary education (PSE) among high school graduates in British Columbia with and without special needs across five cohorts from 2010/2011 to 2014/2015 before and after controlling for several sociodemographic characteristics and academic achievement. The use of integrated longitudinal administrative data from the British Columbia Ministry of Education, the PSIS and the T1 Family File and the disaggregation of the special needs categorization were two major strengths of this study. Results show that high school graduates with mental health-related or cognitive needs and those with physical or sensory needs were less likely to enrol in PSE compared with high school graduates without special needs, even after controlling for covariates. Moreover, graduates with mental health-related or cognitive needs were less likely to transition to PSE immediately and less likely to persist in PSE two years after enrolment. These findings suggest that high school graduates with special needs, particularly those with mental health-related or cognitive needs, may encounter different types of barriers in transitioning to PSE.
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- 2024
16. College and Career Ready: How Well Does 8th Grade MAP Performance Predict Post-Secondary Educational Attainment? Working Paper No. 300-0524
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Darrin DeChane, Takako Nomi, and Michael Podgursky
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Like most other states, Missouri uses assessments intended to measure whether students are on a pathway to "college and career readiness." The state longitudinal data system now has the capacity to directly test that claim. We make use of 8th-grade assessment (MAP) scores in Math, Science, and Communication Arts for roughly 260,000 first-time Missouri freshmen who began high school between Fall, 2009 and Fall, 2012. These students were tracked through high school and for five years following on-time high school graduation. We find a strong positive association between MAP performance scores in 8th grade Math, Science, and Communication Arts and post-secondary college attendance and degree completion. This is true overall and for White, Black, and Hispanic students disaggregated by gender. Proficiency on all three exams matters even more. Based on a logistic forecasting model, if all students who scored below Proficient on the 8th-grade MAP raised their scores to Proficient, the number earning post-secondary degrees would increase by roughly 50 percent. Black and Hispanic students earning post-secondary degrees would increase by roughly 150 and 75 percent, respectively. We conclude that 8th-grade MAP proficiency scores are highly informative about whether students are on a pathway to college and career readiness.
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- 2024
17. Yiwulv Mountain Manchu Paper-Cutting: Designing and Developing Digital Media for Learning about Cultural Heritage
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Huang Lin and Sastra Laoakka
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The objectives of this research are to study: (i) the history and development of knowledge of Yiwulv Mountain Manchu paper-cutting art, and (ii) the process of designing and developing digital media for learning about cultural heritage. This research used qualitative research methods. By studying documents and collecting field data by surveys, interviews, observations, group discussions, and workshops. The data was elicited from a group of 40 participants. The analysis was based on the objectives and the results were presented in a descriptive analytical manner. The results are as follows: (i) The art of paper-cutting is related to history and culture. There is a unique cultural identity of the Manchus on Yiwulv Mountain. The way of conveying knowledge is told orally. Currently, there is a problem due to the age of paper-cutting artists and lack of inheritance. Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to protect them as well as transfer them to youth and those who are interested. (ii) The art of paper-cutting is applied with 3D animation technology to inherit and learn the art of Yiwulv Mountain Manchu paper-cutting. The teaching materials created can be explained in detail from the perspective and content. The design combines virtual tour technology to make it interesting. Learners study through digital media and computer systems, which makes it convenient to access information.
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- 2024
18. Paper Circuit Project-Based Steam Learning to Enhance Student Understanding and Creativity
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Arnie Novianti Zulkarnain, Eka Cahya Prima, Nanang Winarno, and Bevo Wahono
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Students believed physics was one of the most challenging sciences in education, and their interest in learning physics was lacking. Therefore, this study aims to enhance students' understanding and creativity in the STEAM learning system on electricity by creating a project (Paper Circuit) using the students' creativity at the junior high school level - quantitative research with a pre-experimental design used for this study. The population is 8th grade and 9th grade (50 students adapted to the curriculum used in the school) in one of the Junior Secondary Schools located in Bandung and Cimahi, Indonesia. The data is obtained from the pretest-posttest results, which show that the average pre-test score was 57.04 and the post-test score was 76.64. The nonparametric test was tested using the Wilcoxon test to measure student understanding. The results from e Wilcoxon are 0.000, which shows sig. <0.05, which means there is a significant difference between pre-test and post-test. Students' creativity is obtained from the Creativity Product Analysis Matrix (CPAM), and the result for Project 1 is 73.71%, categorized as enough, and Project 2 is 83.13%, categorized as good. Based on the result, Paper Circuit STEAM project-based learning can enhance student understanding and creativity. STEAM project-based learning can be used as an alternative teaching strategy in junior secondary school.
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- 2024
19. Fostering Students' Definitions and Images in Parallelism and Perpendicularity: A Paper Folding Activity
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Emine Catman-Aksoy and Mine Isiksal-Bostan
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This study investigated the effect of a paper folding activity prepared to develop the sixth-grade students' concept definitions and images of parallelism and perpendicularity concepts. The study also examined how the concept definition and images changed after the paper folding activity. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used. A one-group pre-/posttest design revealed that the paper folding activity had a significant positive effect on students' concept definitions and images. In addition, the interviews after pre- and post-tests indicated that the students' personal concept definitions of parallelism and perpendicularity of two lines/line segments began to match the formal concept definitions of these concepts after the paper folding activity. Lastly, missing and mis-in concept image situations, encountered generally in the pre-test, were observed less after the paper folding activity.
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- 2024
20. Students' Assignments and Research Papers Generated by AI: Arab Instructors' Views
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Reima Al-Jarf
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This study explores Arab university faculty's views on fully AI-generated assignments and research papers submitted by students, what reasons they give for their stance and how they react in this case. Surveys with a sample of 45 Arab instructors revealed that 98% do not accept AI-generated assignments and research papers from students at all. They gave numerous reasons for their position. If students submit AI-generated assignments or research papers, they would ask them to re-write them. The study recommends raising students' awareness of university policies regarding AI-generated content and introducing faculty and students to AI plagiarism detection tools. Faculty views and recommendations are reported in detail.
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- 2024
21. Four Years of Pandemic-Era Emergency Licenses: Retention and Effectiveness of Emergency-Licensed Massachusetts Teachers over Time. Working Paper No. 299-0424
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Ben Backes, James Cowan, Dan Goldhaber, and Roddy Theobald
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Most states responded to the onset of the pandemic by temporarily granting teachers Emergency licenses. These licenses allowed teachers to work in classrooms without passing the typical licensure exams. Since then, several states have extended their use of Emergency licenses, raising questions about how these policies impact the composition of the teacher workforce and student outcomes. In this paper, we examine the result of these policies using data on multiple cohorts of Emergency licensed teachers (ELTs) who taught in Massachusetts between 2021 and 2023. We find that ELTs were slightly more likely to remain in the same school and in the teaching workforce than teachers from other entry routes. However, ELTs' students scored significantly lower on standardized tests in math and science than other students in the same school and same year. Our findings are at odds with earlier, more positive assessments of Emergency licensure in Massachusetts. Our updated results appear to be driven by more recent cohorts of ELTs, rather than the teachers who received Emergency licenses at the start of the pandemic. Overall, this study suggests policymakers should be cautious when drawing sweeping conclusions about the impacts of teacher licensure based solely on the earliest cohort of teachers who obtained pandemic-era Emergency licenses.
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- 2024
22. Whole-College Reforms in Community Colleges: Guided Pathways Practices and Early Academic Success in Three States. CCRC Working Paper No. 136
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Columbia University, Community College Research Center (CCRC), Veronica Minaya, and Nicolas Acevedo
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The guided pathways model, comprising 14 different practices, is a framework for comprehensive, whole-college reform undertaken by community colleges to help all students choose, enter, progress through, and complete a program of study that enables them to secure sustaining-wage employment or transfer with junior standing in a major. Since its introduction in 2015, it has been adopted by hundreds of community colleges across the United States. This paper asks whether guided pathways practices implemented at 62 community and technical colleges in three states--Tennessee, Ohio, and Washington--are associated with improvements in student outcomes during the first year of college. Specifically, using institutional survey and rich administrative data, we construct measures of adoption of guided pathways reforms to examine the association between guided pathways practices and fall-to-fall persistence, college credits earned, college math credits earned, and STEM credits earned. Our study reveals substantial variation in the adoption of guided pathways reforms across the states and across community colleges within the states over time. While we cannot establish a causal relationship between guided pathways adoption and student outcomes, we find significant positive associations between the statewide adoption of guided pathways reforms and early student outcomes in Tennessee. The observed improvements in that state are likely the result of concurrent reforms--guided pathways and others--implemented simultaneously, rather than of guided pathways reforms alone. We do not find evidence of improved student outcomes in either Ohio or Washington following the launch of statewide guided pathways initiatives. Our findings suggest that complementarities among adopted practices within and across areas of practice--rather than the adoption of individual practices or the intensity of adoption--seem to drive larger improvements in early academic success across the three states. Our study is the first of its kind to explore the potential of guided pathways reforms in contributing to improved early academic success, representing a significant descriptive contribution given that whole-college reforms in higher education are understudied.
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- 2024
23. Public University Systems and the Benefits of Scale. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.2.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and James R. Johnsen
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Multi-campus public higher education governance systems exist in 44 of the 50 U.S. states. They include all the largest and most influential public colleges and universities in the United States, educating fully 75 percent of the nation's public sector students. Their impact is enormous. And yet, they are largely neglected and as a tool for improvement are underutilized. Meanwhile, many states continue to struggle achieving their goals for higher education attainment, social and economic mobility, workforce development, equitable access and affordability, technological innovation, and human and environmental health. The dearth of scholarly research on these systems and their more effective use is explored in a forthcoming volume edited by the author. This paper extracts from that volume a set of specific ways in which systems can leverage their unique ability to use scale in service to their mission.
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- 2024
24. MCAS, NAEP, and Educational Accountability. White Paper No. 266
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Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and Cara Candal
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In 1993, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dramatically overhauled its K-12 education system and created a new school finance formula, building an educational accountability structure to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) established academic standards in core subjects, mandated assessments to measure student outcomes on those standards, and established a system for holding schools accountable when students failed to meet basic expectations. This system has helped Massachusetts' public schools become the highest performing in the country. Student outcomes in all tested subjects and across demographic groups have improved steadily over time, but disparities in achievement and attainment exist between the Commonwealth's most privileged students and their less privileged counterparts, many of whom are black or Hispanic. Without the MERA and its requirement to assess every student and publish aggregate academic outcomes, policymakers may not understand the extent of disparity or how to address it as student outcomes data are integral to understanding where Massachusetts' public schools have been, where they are going, and how they can get there. This paper illustrates the importance of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act and how it has positively impacted students over time. It explains why the current accountability system evolved as it did and why preserving the most important aspects of that system is critical if the state is going to fulfill its constitutional obligation to educate all children to a high common standard.
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- 2024
25. Pandemic Learning Loss by Student Baseline Achievement: Extent and Sources of Heterogeneity. Working Paper No. 292-0224
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Ian Callen, Dan Goldhaber, Thomas J. Kane, Anna McDonald, Andrew McEachin, and Emily Morton
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It is now well established that the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating and unequal impact on student achievement. Test score declines were disproportionately large for historically marginalized students, exacerbating preexisting achievement gaps and threatening educational and economic inequality. In this paper, we use longitudinal student-level NWEA MAP Growth test data to estimate differences in test score declines for students at different points on the prepandemic test distribution. We also test the extent to which students' schools and districts accounted for these differences in declines. We find significant differences in learning loss by baseline achievement, with lower-achieving student's scores dropping 0.100 SD more in math and 0.113 SD more in reading than higher-achieving students' scores. We additionally show that the school a student attended accounts for about three-quarters of this widening gap in math achievement and about one-third in reading. The findings suggest school and district-level policies may have mattered more for learning loss than individual students' experiences within schools and districts. Such nuanced information regarding the variation in the pandemic's impacts on students is critical for policymakers and practitioners designing targeted academic interventions and for tracking disparities in academic recovery. [Additional funding for this report was provided by Kenneth C. Griffin.]
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- 2024
26. Graduation of High School Students in British Columbia from 2010/2011 to 2018/2019: A Focus on Special Needs Status. Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series. Catalogue No. 11F0019M. No. 476
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Statistics Canada, Allison Leanage, and Rubab Arim
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Using British Columbia Ministry of Education administrative school data within the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform, this study compared the proportions of high school graduates among Grade 12 students with and without special needs across nine cohorts from 2010/2011 to 2018/2019 before and after controlling for several sociodemographic characteristics. Two major strengths of this study were the use of longitudinal administrative education data integrated with income tax data from the T1 Family File and the further disaggregation of the special education needs categorization. Students with special needs in all different categories (excluding those with gifted status) were less likely to have graduated across all nine cohorts compared with students without special needs, even after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and academic achievement, suggesting that students with special needs may face other types of barriers in completing high school. Yet there was diversity among students with special needs, with the highest proportions of graduation among students with learning disabilities or those with sensory needs and the lowest among students with intellectual disabilities. A larger share of females than males graduated high school among students without special needs. However, sex differences were less consistent among students with special needs status (including students with gifted status). As expected, the proportions of graduation were significantly higher at age 19 compared with at age 18 or younger, with the differences being slightly higher among students with special needs (excluding those with gifted status; 5 to 10 percentage points) compared with those without special needs (3 to 7 percentage points). The largest age differences were observed among students with autism spectrum disorder, behavioural needs or mental illness, and those with physical needs across all nine cohorts.
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- 2024
27. ESSER Funding and School System Jobs: Evidence from Job Posting Data. Working Paper No. 297-0424
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Dan Goldhaber, Grace Falken, and Roddy Theobald
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The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) was the largest onetime federal investment in K-12 schools in history, funneling almost $200 billion to states and school districts. We use novel data from Washington State to investigate the extent to which ESSER funding causally influenced spending on school personnel. We argue one cannot infer this directly from ESSER claims data because of the fungibility of school budgets. Thus, we rely on a more direct signal of district hiring decisions: public education job postings scraped from district hiring websites. To address endogeneity concerns, our preferred approach employs an instrumental variables strategy that exploits a formula mechanism used to determine Title I funding for 2020-21 (and thus ESSER allocations in 2022) based on the number of Title I formula-eligible children. We find strong, arguably causal, evidence that public school hiring increased in response to the availability of ESSER funding. Specifically, we estimate that each $1,000 in ESSER allocations caused districts to seek to hire $206 in additional staff, disproportionately teachers. These estimates suggest that roughly 12,000 new staff (including 5,100 teachers) were hired in Washington because of ESSER. In the absence of new funding, school staffing budgets will likely need to contract substantially following the sunset of ESSER.
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- 2024
28. Departmentalized Instruction and Elementary School Effectiveness. Working Paper No. 298-0424
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Ben Backes, James Cowan, and Dan Goldhaber
- Abstract
Departmentalized instruction, in which teachers specialize in one or more core subjects and instruct multiple groups of students in a day, has become increasingly prominent in elementary schools. Using 8 years of data from Massachusetts and a difference-in-differences design, we estimate the effects of departmentalization on student achievement. We find that departmentalization has positive effects in English language arts (ELA) and science and mixed evidence of positive effects in math. These positive effects are not driven by teacher productivity improvements: Consistent with prior findings on teacher specialization, teachers are less effective when specializing in math and no more effective in ELA than when teaching self-contained classrooms. Rather, consistent with the theoretical underpinnings for specialization, departmentalized schools tend to assign teachers to their stronger subjects.
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- 2024
29. Shaping the STEM Teacher Workforce: What University Faculty Value about Teacher Applicants. Working Paper No. 295-0324
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Dan Goldhaber, Roddy Theobald, Amy Roth McDuffie, David Slavit, Jennifer Dechaine-Berkas, John M. Krieg, and Emma Dewil
- Abstract
Who ends up in the teacher workforce is greatly influenced by who is admitted into teacher education programs (TEPs). To better understand how the preferences of teacher education faculty might shape admissions of STEM teacher candidates, we surveyed faculty who teach content or methods courses to STEM teacher candidates across five universities. Faculty reported that they most value information collected from individual interviews with applicants and data on the number of STEM courses taken in college and their performance in these courses, and least value data on university admissions tests, high school GPA, and teacher licensure test scores. When we investigate faculty members' revealed preferences through a conjoint analysis, we find that faculty most value applicants who have worked with students from diverse backgrounds and applicants from a marginalized racial or ethnic community, and least value whether they received high grades in math and/or science courses. Finally, we find significant variation in these perceptions across respondents in different faculty roles, who teach different courses, and from different institutions: for example, Arts and Sciences faculty tend to value TEP applicants' performance in college STEM courses relatively more than STEM education faculty, while STEM education faculty tend to value applicants' race and ethnicity relatively more than Arts and Sciences faculty.
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- 2024
30. Course Corrections? The Labor Market Returns to Correctional Education Credentials. Working Paper No. 294-0224
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), James Cowan, Dan Goldhaber, and Suvekshya Gautam
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Correctional education is a prevalent form of rehabilitation programming for prisoners in the United States. There is limited evidence, however, about the labor market returns to credentials received while incarcerated. Using incarceration, educational, and labor market data in Washington State, we study the labor market returns to GEDs and short-term vocational certificates earned in prison. We identify the returns to credentials by a difference-indifferences design that compares changes in earnings and employment for incarcerated persons who earn a credential to those who enroll in a program but fail to complete a GED or certificate. We estimate that GEDs increase post-incarceration earnings by about $450 per quarter and that vocational certificates increase earnings by about $250 per quarter. Degree completers have higher hourly wages, are more likely to be employed, and work more hours following release. For vocational programs, earnings increases are driven by certificates in construction and manufacturing. [The research presented presented in this report uses confidential data from the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) located within the Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM).]
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- 2024
31. Misalignments between Student Teaching Placements and Initial Teaching Positions: Implications for the Early-Career Attrition of Special Education Teachers. Working Paper No. 293-0224
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National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) at American Institutes for Research (AIR), Ben Backes, James Cowan, Dan Goldhaber, Zeyu Jin, and Roddy Theobald
- Abstract
Graduates of special education teacher education programs can teach in a range of special education settings, raising the potential that their training can occur in very different settings than where they find their first jobs. We follow 263 completers of Moderate Disabilities programs in Massachusetts from their field placements to their early-career teaching positions and study the characteristics of their field placements and the degree to which these are aligned with their early-career teaching positions. We also assess the degree to which alignment is associated with early-career teacher turnover. We found that many of these teachers student-taught in an inclusive setting but were hired into a self-contained special education setting and vice versa, and teachers who experienced this misalignment were more likely to leave the workforce early in their careers. Teachers who student taught with a supervising practitioner without a special education license were also more likely to leave early. Findings suggest that teachers training to educate students with learning disabilities should student teach in a setting that is aligned with where they are likely to be hired, and with a supervising practitioner who is trained in special education.
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- 2024
32. The AI Divide: Equitable Applications of AI in Higher Education to Advance the Completion Agenda. A Position Paper on AI, Access, and Digital Tools as Levers for Equity in Higher Education.
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Complete College America (CCA)
- Abstract
In this position paper, the authors lay out the imperative for equitable artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting the essential role of access-oriented institutions and calling on technology companies (both large and small), foundations, and local, state, and federal regulators to consult with the newly convened Complete College America Council on Equitable AI in Higher Education. Their belief is that equitable AI spans far beyond the risk of mis-trained data. How schools adopt or reject these tools, the priorities of AI vendors, access to resources that enable the use of these tools, and the systemic integration of historically underrepresented and underserved voices will shape whether technology amplifies privilege or fosters inclusivity. A three-fold framework is presented for understanding Equity in AI, considering not just the quality and unbiased nature of the data used to train generative AI machines but also who has access to conversations around policy and product, as well as which institutions have access to the resources and safety nets that enable innovation and experimentation in the field of AI. A disruptive new advisory council is proposed, the Complete College America Council on Equitable AI in Higher Education, composed of representatives from historically excluded institutions and, by extension, students. The authors urge policymakers, technologists, and funders to proactively consult the Council and disrupt systemic inequities by integrating AI into higher education rather than continue to perpetuate them. [This paper was created in partnership with T3 Advisory.]
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- 2023
33. Is the University of California Drifting toward Conformism? The Challenges of Representation and the Climate for Academic Freedom. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.5.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Steven Brint, and Komi Frey
- Abstract
In this essay, we explore the consequences of the University of California's policies to address racial disparities and its support for social justice activism as influences on its commitment to academic freedom and other intellectual values. This is a story of the interaction between two essential public university missions -- one civic, the other intellectual -- and the slow effacement of one by the other. The University's expressed commitments to academic freedom and the culture of rationalism have not been abandoned, but they are too often considered secondary or when confronted by new administrative initiatives and social movement activism related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The experimental use of mandatory DEI statements on a number of the ten UC campuses, within willing academic departments, as initial screening mechanisms in faculty hiring is the most dramatic of the new administrative policies that have been put into place to advance faculty diversity. This policy can be considered the most problematic of a series of efforts that the UC campuses and the UC Office of the President have taken for more than a decade to prioritize representation in academic appointments. Our intent is to encourage a discussion of these policies within UC in light of the University's fundamental commitments to open intellectual inquiry, the discovery and dissemination of a wide range of new knowledge, and a culture of rationalism.
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- 2023
34. Developing EFL Students' Multimodal Communicative Competence through Lady Whistledown's Society Papers: A Teaching Proposal
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Beatriz P. Rubio-López
- Abstract
This paper focuses on integrating multimodal communication into the English-as-a-foreign-language classroom to enhance the development of students' multimodal communicative competence, multiliteracies, and 21st-century skills. To do so, I compiled a corpus of authentic materials from Lady Whistledown's Society Papers in Julia Quinn's novel "The Viscount Who Loved Me" (2000), her appearances as narrator in the Netflix series "Bridgerton" (2022), and some tweets posted by @Bridgerton. This corpus was used to plan and design a game-based teaching proposal. Finally, the paper offers a critical analysis and suggests how this proposal can feasibly contribute to fostering students' multimodal communicative competence.
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- 2024
35. Comparison of an iPad and Paper-Based Modality for a Flashcard Sight-Phrase Intervention
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Kathleen B. Aspiranti, Sara Ebner, and Lizeth Tomas Flores
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Drill-and-practice flashcard interventions are often used when students display delays in sight word recognition and word reading fluency. Sight-phrase interventions connect two to three words together to teach connected text instead of words in isolation. Although studies have shown that students can learn to read sight phrases through a tablet-based intervention, there have been no studies comparing a tablet-based drill-and-practice sight-phrase intervention with a similar paper-based intervention. The current study used a multiple-baseline design across three students and implemented a sight-phrase intervention both using traditional flashcards and using an iPad app. Students were prompted to see the phrase, attempt to read the phrase, hear the phrase read, and then say the phrase again before moving to the next phrase. Results showed that all students quickly acquired all unknown phrases within two to five sessions. There was no difference in acquisition rate between the paper and iPad modalities. Discussion focuses on the applicability of the iPad intervention to increase efficiency in flashcard intervention delivery given that the intervention can increase student sight-phrase acquisition at a similar rate as traditional flashcard interventions.
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- 2024
- Full Text
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36. Note-Taking by University Students on Paper or a Computer: Strategies during Initial Note-Taking and Revision
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Salomé Cojean and Manon Grand
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Background: Taking notes during learning has benefits both during class (through writing things down to encode information) and after class (by using written notes as external storage for revision). Comparisons of note-taking methods (i.e., using paper or a computer) have mainly shown that paper leads to better learning. However, previous studies have mostly been conducted in laboratory contexts. Aims: The current study investigates university students' perceptions of the efficacity of their own preferred note-taking method, along with the strategies they employ. Sample: Data were collected from 108 university students. Methods: Students answered a questionnaire about their note-taking strategies during initial note-taking (in class) and revision (after class). Results: The results show that students who take notes on paper do not consider their method to be more effective, but they report engaging in more reformulation and less multitasking. Students who take notes on a computer are more likely to reformat their notes, and thus to reformulate at a later stage. For all students, review sheets are mostly done on paper. Conclusions: These results suggest that although students are not necessarily aware of the benefits of reformulation associated with handwriting on paper during initial note-taking, when revising, they tend to choose handwriting and benefit from reformulation when aiming for deeper processing. Therefore, revision activities remain mainly paper-based.
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- 2024
- Full Text
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37. Sonographer Training Pathways -- A Discussion Paper on Curriculum Design and Implementation
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Christopher Edwards, Ricky Tunny, Heather Allen, Danielle Bowles, Angela Farley, Sandra O'Hara, Jane Wardle, and Tristan Reddan
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Sonography is a highly specialized diagnostic imaging profession facing significant workforce challenges due to increased service delivery demands and a shortage of clinical training opportunities. Developing sustainable solutions is crucial for workforce growth. Using examples from the Australian workforce and education context, this paper explores the current sonography training pathways available and the benefits and challenges of each, highlighting the importance of work-integrated learning (WIL) in facilitating the development of professional identity, clinical competence and the quality of sonographer education. Conclusions are drawn that WIL is integral to the future of the sonography profession to improve patient outcomes and address workforce shortages. However, effective implementation requires careful planning and consideration of many factors, including regulatory requirements, industry partnerships, student and supervisor/tutor support, and issues related to equitable access and participation in WIL. Key recommendations are provided to encourage ethical student learning, university-industry collaboration, effective resource allocation, and WIL-specific research.
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- 2024
38. Mapping the Student Journey: The Many Faces of Completion and Non-Completion in VET. Technical Paper
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National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) (Australia) and Michelle Hall
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This document provides technical detail and supporting data for the research findings discussed in 'The student journey in VET: the many faces of completion and non-completion'. The analysis in this technical paper explores: (1) an approach to identifying VET subject enrolment activity that serves a compliance or regulatory purpose; (2) variability in completion rates across VET qualifications, and associated differences in patterns of subject enrolments and outcomes; (3) different indicators of student outcomes in VET, including program completion, subject completion, and movement to subsequent VET; (4) student training pathways exploring the extent to which students undertook programs, stand-alone subjects, or a combination of the two, and how this training choice evolved over time; and (5) student training pathways exploring the extent to which students went on to enrol in a program at a higher, lower, or the same level of educations, and how these pathways compared for students who did and did not complete their initial program.
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- 2024
39. 'Waiving' Goodbye to Placement Testing: Broadening the Benefits of Dual Enrollment through Statewide Policy. CCRC Working Paper No. 135
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Columbia University, Community College Research Center (CCRC), Daniel Sparks, Sarah Griffin, and John Fink
- Abstract
Each year, more than a million high school students nationally take college dual enrollment courses, which have been shown to increase college access and success among participants. Yet racial/ethnic and other equity gaps in dual enrollment participation are widespread. To broaden the benefits of dual enrollment, the state of Ohio passed legislation in 2017 establishing the Innovative Programs (IP) policy, allowing waivers to test-based eligibility requirements--a frequently identified barrier to equitable access--for specific high school-college partnerships providing expanded outreach and support for students underrepresented in the state's dual enrollment program. This paper describes a multiple methods study of IP we conducted to examine how these partnerships were implemented to address the needs of underrepresented students and to evaluate whether the partnerships were successful in broadening access to and success in dual enrollment, as measured by course participation, pass rates, and college matriculation after high school. We find that the IP increased participation in dual enrollment among Black and Hispanic students. And while the implementation of the policy broadened access without changing course outcomes, the impacts on college enrollment after high school were mixed. Our results underscore the importance of pairing increased access to dual enrollment with adequate financial, advising, and academic resources to promote student success in and beyond dual enrollment courses.
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- 2024
40. The Influence of Learning Outcomes on Pedagogical Theory and Tools. Research Paper
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Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
- Abstract
This publication was prepared as part of the Cedefop project The shift to learning outcomes: rhetoric or reality. The purpose of this research is to analyse the conceptual, structural and political factors influencing the transformation of intended learning outcomes into achieved learning outcomes. It is considered as a first step in a long-term research strategy aiming to understand better the conditions for high quality vocational education, training and learning. The research focuses on initial vocational education and training, in schools and apprenticeships, in the 27 Member States of the EU as well as Iceland and Norway. The research is divided into five separate but interlinked themes: (1) Addressing the influence of learning outcomes on pedagogical theory and tools; (2) Focusing on the influence of learning outcomes-based curricula on teaching practices (in school-based programmes); (3) Examining the influence of learning outcomes-based curricula in company training (part of apprenticeship programmes that takes place in companies); (4) Mapping and analysing the influence of learning outcomes on assessment; and (5) Developing suggestions for the way forward supporting stakeholders and policy-makers in addressing future challenges and opportunities in this area. This report examines how the learning outcomes approach is embedded in and promoted by theories of teaching and learning (epistemology, didactics, pedagogy). It aims to analyse selected theories and the way these are presented to teacher training institutions in selected regions/countries. This allows for a better understanding of the explicit and implicit assumptions made regarding the role and relevance of learning outcomes. Results of the research illustrate differences across countries in whether and how the learning outcomes approach is embedded in theories underpinning VET teacher training programmes.
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- 2024
41. How Helpful Are Average Wage-by-Major Statistics in Choosing a Field of Study? Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.1.2024
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and Zachary Bleemer
- Abstract
Average-wage-by-major statistics have become widely available to students interested in the economic ramifications of their college major choice. However, earning a major with higher average wages does not necessarily lead individual students to higher-paying careers. This essay combines literature review with novel analysis of longitudinal student outcomes to discuss how students use average-wage-by-major statistics and document seven reasons that they may differ, sharply in some cases, from the causal wage effects of major choice. I focus on the ramifications of two-sided non-random selection into college majors, mismeasurement of longitudinal student outcomes, and failures of extrapolation between available statistics and student interests. While large differences in average wages by major are likely to indicate causal ordinal differences between fields, small differences are probably best ignored even by students with strong interest in the economic consequences of their major choices. This essay is adapted from Chapter 6 of "Metrics that Matter: Counting What's Really Important to College Students."
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- 2024
42. New York State Testing Program: Grades 6 and 7 English Language Arts Paper-Based Tests. Teacher's Directions. Spring 2024
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New York State Education Department and NWEA
- Abstract
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 6 and 7 English Language Arts Tests are administered in two sessions on two consecutive school days. Students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the areas of reading and writing. Students will have as much time as they need each day to answer the questions in the test sessions within the confines of the regular school day. For Grades 6 and 7, the tests consist of multiple-choice (1-credit) and constructed-response (2- and 4-credit) questions. Each multiple-choice question is followed by four choices, one of which is the correct answer. Students record their multiple-choice responses on a separate answer sheet. For Session 1, students will write their responses to the constructed-response questions in their separate answer booklets. For Session 2, students will write their responses to these questions directly in their test booklets. By following the guidelines in this document, teachers help ensure that the test is valid, reliable, and equitable for all students. A series of instructions helps teachers organize the materials and the testing schedule.
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- 2024
43. New York State Testing Program: English Language Arts Paper-Based Tests. Teacher's Directions, Spring 2024. Grades 3 and 4
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New York State Education Department
- Abstract
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 3 and 4 English Language Arts Tests are administered in two sessions on two consecutive school days. Students are asked to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the areas of reading and writing. Students will have as much time as they need each day to answer the questions in the test sessions within the confines of the regular school day. For Grades 3 and 4, the tests consist of 1-credit multiple-choice questions, 2-credit constructed-response questions, and 4-credit (Grade 4 only) constructed-response questions. Each multiple-choice question is followed by four choices, one of which is the correct answer. Students record their multiple-choice responses on a separate answer sheet. For Session 1, students will write their responses to the constructed-response questions in their separate answer booklets. For Session 2, students will write their responses to these questions directly in the test booklets. By following the guidelines in this document, teachers help ensure that the test is valid, reliable, and equitable for all students. A series of instructions helps teachers organize the materials and the testing schedule.
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- 2024
44. A Mummers Farce -- Retractions of Medical Papers Conducted in Egyptian Institutions
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Rahma Menshawey, Esraa Menshawey, and Bilal A. Mahamud
- Abstract
Egypt currently holds the record for the most retractions in the continent of Africa according to the Retraction Watch database, and the 2nd highest of countries in the Middle East. The purpose of this study was to analyse the retracted medical publications from Egyptian affiliations, in order to delineate specific problems and solutions. We examined databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar and others, for all retracted medical publications that were conducted in an Egyptian institution, up to the date of August 31st 2022. We observed for the reason(s) for retraction, number of citations of the retracted work, the length of time between publication and retraction, and where the work was published (journal, publisher and impact factor). 68 retractions were identified. Most retractions were from the speciality of Obstetrics and Gynecology (n = 22), followed by Anesthesia (n = 7). The top 3 reasons for retraction were unreliable results, FFP level misconduct, and duplicate publication. The number of retractions significantly increased over the years, especially in 2022. When taking into account the number of medical publications per institution, the institute with the highest rate of retractions was Mansoura University, while the lowest rate was Cairo University. The number of retracted medical Egyptian publications continues to increase over time, although they represent a small portion of the overall body of Egyptian medical research. Future studies on retracted articles should employ a methodology that considers the institutions where the studies were conducted. This could allow a better understanding of specific problems in certain countries or regions.
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- 2024
- Full Text
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45. Access to Civics Content and Evidence-Based Instructional Approaches in U.S. Schools. AIR-NAEP Working Paper 2023-07
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American Institutes for Research (AIR), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (ED/IES), Education Statistics Services Institute Network (ESSIN), Corey Savage, and Saki Ikoma
- Abstract
Civic learning is an increasingly salient topic in research, policy, and practice. However, the recent empirical evidence on access to civic learning opportunities is limited. We build on prior research using survey items from the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress civics assessment and provide descriptive evidence on disparities in access to three categories of civics content and three evidence-based instructional approaches. We highlight inequalities in opportunities by student characteristics, school characteristics, and state characteristics among a national sample of more than 10,000 8th-grade students enrolled in a course with at least some civics focus (controlling for variation in the extent of civics focus). Our findings conflict with most of the prior evidence regarding disparities in access by race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background, favoring Black students, Hispanic students, and students of relatively lower socioeconomic backgrounds. This suggests a shift in recent years, potentially due to an increased focus on equity. English learners and students with disabilities also reported greater access than their counterparts. Other findings include inequalities across school types, school location (city students reporting greater opportunity than both rural and suburban students), census region, and state testing policy. Additional findings are presented, and implications and opportunities for future research are discussed.
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- 2023
46. US Universities Face a Red Tide and a Precipice: A Neo-Nationalism and University Brief. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.14.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and John Aubrey Douglass
- Abstract
The United States retains many aspects of a healthy open society, but there are indicators of trouble and deep divisions around the meaning and importance of democratic values. This debate has significant repercussions for universities and their academic communities. In the most-simple terms, there is a red and blue state divide over the role and importance of public institutions, including universities -- red representing largely rural states in which most voters vote Republican and blue being majority Democratic voters, often with one of the two parties having majorities in their respective state legislatures. Then there are so-called purple states in which both parties are vying for dominance, but they are fewer in number. This brief discusses this contemporary dynamic and its implication for higher education and science policy.
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- 2023
47. The Future of Democracy and Academic Freedom in Central Europe: A Neo-Nationalism and University Brief. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.16.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), Wilhelm Krull, and Thomas Brunotte
- Abstract
This brief discusses cases of neo-nationalist violations of academic freedom in Hungary and Poland. The most prominent case of neo-nationalist violation of academic freedom in Hungary is the fate of the Central European University (CEU). The circumstances of CEU's forced move out of Hungary came before the European Court of Justice regarding it a possible violation of EU law. The Court cited the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under one of the three pillars of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 1994 agreement, free trade, and the determination that CEU was a form of international educational services that should not be denied to the people of Hungary. Poland has a similar hostile environment to academics and academic freedom, although with a glimmer of hope following recent elections. The brief also discusses how such open breaches of academic freedom as in Hungary or Poland, in which politicians directly try to exert influence on research institutions and professors, are fortunately rather rare in Germany. However, a confluence of factors perhaps obscures the differences between "academic freedom" and the "freedom of opinion." In Germany, academic freedom includes the search for topics, rigorous methodical investigation, and professional norms to express findings and competent opinions, whereas the free speech is outside of these professional norms. The brief concludes with a discussion of the role of universities and the future of democracy in the context of ensuring a space for free and open debate.
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- 2023
48. The Weaponization of Russian Universities: A Neo-Nationalism and University Brief. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.13.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and Igor Chirikov
- Abstract
Starting this year, tens of thousands of Russian freshmen found themselves attending a new mandatory course -- "Foundations of Russian Statehood." Swiftly designed under the auspices of Putin's administration, this ideologically charged course aims to position Russia as a unique civilization-state, bolstering Putin's political narrative and providing justification for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Consider, for example, this excerpt from the course's instructional video: "The 'Russian world' extends beyond current Russian borders, transcending ethnicities, territories, religions, political systems, and ideological preferences." As this curriculum becomes standard in Russian universities, it contributes to the emerging trend of weaponizing Russian universities and turning them into instruments in Russia's war of attrition with Ukraine and its broader stand-off with the West. This report discusses this weaponization process and the impact it is having on Russian universities, faculty, students, and the academic communities they belong to. It is regrettably a story of back to the future, reminiscent of the Soviet era of repression and attempts at control and manipulation of academics.
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- 2023
49. How Economic and Political Pressures Are Re-Shaping China's Higher Education System: A Neo-Nationalism and University Brief. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.15.2023
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University of California, Berkeley. Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) and Karin Fischer
- Abstract
China's higher-education system has been shaped in recent years by a trio of factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, the ambitions of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to make his country into an innovation superpower that is loyal to the Communist Party, and western alarm about those ambitions. But a fourth development, the slowing of China's formerly super-charged economy, could play a more prominent role going forward. This article examines these four factors.
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- 2023
50. Federal Pandemic Relief Funding for Massachusetts' Schools: Where Did It Go and What's Next? White Paper No. 265
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Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and Candal, Cara Stillings
- Abstract
Since 2020, the federal government has distributed almost $2 billion to American school districts to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic school closures. Released in three separate tranches through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, the Trump and Biden administrations outlined parameters for spending this unprecedented amount of money and ensured that most of it went directly to local school districts, with a comparative sliver going to state education agencies. This report gives an overview of the most common ESSER expenditures to date and assesses the factors that might influence whether district ESSER investments will make a difference for students. It also provides recommendations for how stakeholders should evaluate the ESSER experiment once it officially ends.
- Published
- 2023
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