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Learning Gains (learning + gain)
Selected AbstractsLearning gains associated with annotation and communication software designed for large undergraduate classesJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2007T. L. Wentling Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of annotation and communication software (eFuzion) developed for the improvement of students' learning and to determine the effectiveness of the software. eFuzion is designed to be useful in a significantly large classroom by allowing instructors and teaching assistants to provide immediate responses to students' questions and to provide a broader array of options for the lucid presentation of complex concepts. To determine the effectiveness of the software, two groups that took the same course were compared in terms of their learning scores, one group having used the software, the other having not used it. In the three measures of learning, the students who used the software showed significantly higher learning scores than students who did not use it. In addition, students indicated that they felt closer to the instructor and that their understanding of the lecture material was increased by using the software. The results imply that the software has great potential for improving students' learning when it is appropriately used and free of technical difficulties. [source] Using concept mapping principles in PowerPointEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007I. M. Kinchin Abstract:, The use of linear PowerPoint templates to support lectures may inadvertently encourage dental students to adopt a passive approach to learning and a narrow appreciation of the field of study. Such presentations may support short-term learning gains and validate assessment regimes that promote surface learning approaches at the expense of developing a wider appreciation of the field that is necessary for development of clinical expertise. Exploitation of concept mapping principles can provide a balance for the negative learning behaviour that is promoted by the unreflective use of PowerPoint. This increases the opportunities for students to access holistic knowledge structures that are indicators of expertise. We illustrate this using the example of partial denture design and show that undergraduates' grasp of learning and teaching issues is sufficiently sophisticated for them to appreciate the implications of varying the mode of presentation. Our findings indicate that students understand the strategic value of bullet-pointed presentations for short-term assessment goals and the benefits of deep learning mediated by concept mapping that may support longer term professional development. Students are aware of the tension between these competing agendas. [source] Robust monotone gradient-based discrete-time iterative learning controlINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 6 2009D. H. Owens Abstract This paper considers the use of matrix models and the robustness of a gradient-based iterative learning control (ILC) algorithm using both fixed learning gains and nonlinear data-dependent gains derived from parameter optimization. The philosophy of the paper is to ensure monotonic convergence with respect to the mean-square value of the error time series. The paper provides a complete and rigorous analysis for the systematic use of the well-known matrix models in ILC. Matrix models provide necessary and sufficient conditions for robust monotonic convergence. They also permit the construction of accurate sufficient frequency domain conditions for robust monotonic convergence on finite time intervals for both causal and non-causal controller dynamics. The results are compared with recently published results for robust inverse-model-based ILC algorithms and it is seen that the algorithm has the potential to improve the robustness to high-frequency modelling errors, provided that resonances within the plant bandwidth have been suppressed by feedback or series compensation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Long-term effects of computer training of phonological awareness in kindergartenJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2005Eliane Segers Abstract The present study examined the long-term effects of a computer intervention for the development of phonological awareness in Dutch kindergartners. Native Dutch and immigrant children worked with the software 15 min/week during one school year. Following a pretest , interim test , post-test , retention test design, the effects on rhyming, phonemic segmentation, auditory blending, and grapheme knowledge were assessed. The intervention showed significant immediate effects on rhyming and grapheme knowledge. The time spent on the computer games also correlated with the learning gains for the experimental group. In the first grade, retention effects were demonstrated after 4 months of formal reading education. [source] Effects of active-learning experiences on achievement, attitudes, and behaviors in high school biologyJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2007Roman Taraban Abstract Active-learning labs for two topics in high school biology were developed through the collaboration of high school teachers and university faculty and staff and were administered to 408 high school students in six classrooms. The content of instruction and testing was guided by State of Texas science objectives. Detailed teacher records describing daily classroom activities were used to operationalize two types of instruction: active learning, which used the labs; and traditional, which used the teaching resources ordinarily available to the teacher. Teacher records indicated that they used less independent work and fewer worksheets, and more collaborative and lab-based activities, with active-learning labs compared to traditional instruction. In-class test data show that students gained significantly more content knowledge and knowledge of process skills using the labs compared to traditional instruction. Questionnaire data revealed that students perceived greater learning gains after completing the labs compared to covering the same content through traditional methods. An independent questionnaire administered to a larger sample of teachers who used the lab-based curriculum indicated that they perceived changing their behaviors as intended by the student-centered principles of the labs. The major implication of this study is that active-learning,based laboratory units designed and developed collaboratively by high school teachers and university faculty, and then used by high school teachers in their classrooms, can lead to increased use of student-centered instructional practices as well as enhanced content knowledge and process learning for students. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 960,979, 2007 [source] | ||||||||||