Search

In a flipped classroom, an increasingly popular pedagogical model, students view a video lecture at home and work on exercises with the instructor during class time. Advocates of the flipped classroom claim the practice not only improves student achievement but also ameliorates the achievement gap. We conduct a randomized controlled trial at West Point and find the flipped classroom produced short-term gains in math and no effect in economics. The flipped model broadened the achievement gap: Effects are driven by white, male, and higher-achieving students. We find no long-term average effects on student learning but the widened achievement gap persists. Our findings demonstrate feasibility for the flipped classroom to induce short-term gains in student learning; however, the exacerbation of the achievement gap, the effect fade-out, and the null effects in economics, suggest that educators should exercise caution when considering the model.

As millions of soldiers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, Veteran Affairs Disability Compensation payments quadrupled and the veteran suicide rate rose rapidly. We estimate the causal contribution of combat deployments to declining veteran well-being. Deployments increase injuries, combat deaths, and disability compensation, but we find limited effects on suicide, deaths of despair, financial health, incarceration, or education. Our estimates suggest that deployment cannot explain either the recent rise in disability payments, which is more likely driven by policy changes, or the surge in noncombat deaths, which is better explained by shifts in observable characteristics of soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the effect of the U.S. Army's June 2020 decision to increase the service obligation for Army aviators from six to ten years on West Point cadets' preferences for aviation. We use a difference-in-differences identification strategy, exploiting how the policy took effect after the Class of 2021 submitted four sets of interim preferences but before cadets submitted two final sets of preferences, using preferences from cadets in the Classes of 2015 to 2020 to form counterfactual outcomes. The increased service obligation made aviation less popular, reducing the percentage of cadets who ranked aviation as their first choice by 4.1 percentage points (baseline of 18.5%) and increasing the percentage of cadets who ranked aviation as among their three lowest choices by 6.9 percentage points (baseline of 8.9%). The reduction in aviation's popularity is most pronounced among cadets with above-median grade-point-averages, above-median aviation talent scores, and above-median SAT scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laptop computers have become commonplace in K-12 and college classrooms. With that, educators now face a critical decision. Should they embrace computers and put technology at the center of their instruction? Should they allow students to decide for themselves whether to use computers during class? Or should they ban screens altogether and embrace an unplugged approach? The right way forward is unclear, especially at colleges that pride themselves on connectivity. The personal computer is a powerful tool. It can efficiently store and enhance student work; it can also effectively transport a student's attention away from that work. To determine the impact of laptop usage on student performance, the authors conducted a randomized controlled trial among undergraduate students at the United States Military Academy, widely known by the name of its location in West Point, New York. In the study, they designated who was allowed to use and who was prohibited from using laptops or tablets to take notes in class. They found that allowing any computer usage in the classroom--even with strict limitations--reduces students' average final-exam performance by roughly one-fifth of a standard deviation. This effect is as large as the average difference in exam scores for two students whose cumulative GPAs at the start of the semester differ by 0.17 grade points on a standard 0-4.0 scale. Importantly, these results are from a highly competitive institution where student grades directly influence employment opportunities at graduation--in other words, a school where the incentives to pay attention in class are especially high.

LAPTOP COMPUTERS HAVE BECOME COMMONPLACE in K-12 and college classrooms. With that, educators now face a critical decision. Should they embrace computers and put technology at the center of their [...]

The article presents an analysis of a model that was manufactured to optimize the number of explosive detection system machines to provide baggage screening security at airports. The baggage screening system model was divided into three phases: the first phase was called as the check-in phase, the second phase was called as the baggage inspection phase and the last phase was called as the movement phase. The focus of the check-in phase was to determine the distribution of passengers arrival at the airport. In the second phase, the length of the passenger line was determined so that they can find the number of ticket agents and the time needed for passengers to get through to check their bags and ticket lines. The arrival of the number of passengers during the peak hours was calculated by using the information from the problem statement.