Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Basic Skills (basic + skill)
Selected AbstractsDid a Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools (FLES) Program in a Kansas School District Affect Students' Academic Achievement in English?FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANNALS, Issue 3 2005Bernard G. Schuster Abstract: What happens to English academic achievement when valued class time is devoted to a foreign language in the elementary schools (FLES) program? Is there a reduction in achievement as suggested by a time-on-task hypothesis, or is there some form of compensation, as suggested by additive bilingualism? The school district in this study started a FLES program with Grade 2 students in five schools in 1995,96, and the students continued FLES through Grades 3, 4, and 5. Students in the other eight district schools received no FLES. The FLES and no-FLES students were compared based on the Grade 6 Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), using Grade 2 ITBS Survey Battery to control for initial variation in test scores. No significant statistical difference was found. [source] Academic Achievement Through FLES: A Case for Promoting Greater Access to Foreign Language Study Among Young LearnersMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010CAROLYN TAYLOR The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established foreign languages as a core curricular content area; however, instructional emphasis continues to be placed on curricular areas that factor into state educational accountability programs. The present study explored whether foreign language study of first-year Grade 3 foreign language students who continued their foreign language study through Grade 5 in Louisiana public schools contributed to their academic achievement in curricular areas tested on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program for the 21st Century (LEAP 21) test. Notable findings emerged. First, foreign language (FL) students significantly outperformed their non-FL peers on every test (English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies) of the Grade 4 LEAP 21. Second, the present research suggested that regardless of the test, whether the Grade 4 criterion-referenced LEAP 21 or the Grade 5 norm-referenced ITBS, at each grade level FL students significantly outperformed their non-FL counterparts on language achievement tests. [source] Basic skills revisited,and rewarded,in CPR's annual awardsALTERNATIVES TO THE HIGH COST OF LITIGATION, Issue 3 2009Russ Bleemer A rundown of the CPR Institute 25th Annual Awards for Excellence in ADR, including excerpts, as well as registration details for next month's Chicago E-Discovery CLE training event; the release of new CPR franchise and drafting guidance, and highlights from the keynote address at CPR's Annual Meeting. [source] The International Adult Literacy Survey in Britain: Impact on policy and practiceDYSLEXIA, Issue 2 2003Angela J. Fawcett Abstract There is increasing concern for the skills of the workforce in the UK and elsewhere, but despite this concern until recently there has been little information available which objectively measures basic skills in adults. In this paper, evidence derived from the prose scale of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS, 1996) is outlined, with emphasis on the performance of adults at the lowest levels, 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom. A new analysis based on the 183 adults who self-reported learning disabilities demonstrates that over 50% of this group perform at level 1 on the prose scale. Over 60% report that these disabilities persist into adult life, although this number falls to 50% in the youngest age group, reflecting changes in recognition of learning disabilities within the education system. The paper concludes with a case study of the redefinition of basic skill levels in Britain based on the IALS levels. The impact of the IALS findings on policy and practice, and in particular through the recommendations of the Moser report, are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Attitudes towards skills examinations for basic surgical traineesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2005S.D. Bann Summary Objective measures of surgical skill and cognition are becoming available. A questionnaire study examining surgeons' beliefs towards a skills-based examination, current standards and possible benefits was devised. Three hundred pairs of standardised anonymous questionnaires were sent to consultants and their basic surgical trainees (BSTs) irrespective of surgical speciality. Responses were requested using a Likert scale (1,5, 3 = neutral response). Two-hundred and two replies were received (including 54 pairs). BST experience ranged from 6 to 60 months (mean 24 months). When questioned regarding current training in basic surgical skills, only 34% believed that they were given adequate training at present. Sixty-four per cent of respondents believed the introduction of a skills examination would raise standards and 66% believed it necessary. Eighty-three per cent of respondents believed that they or their BST would practice these skills, if an examination were introduced and 85% wanted or would provide dedicated teaching time for this. However, 68% had no access to a dedicated skills facility, and uptake of these, where available, was variable. When questioned about their ability to perform the six appropriate tasks, there was a poor correlation of scoring between the groups. Consultants and their BSTs do not believe that they are given adequate training in basic skills. The introduction of an examination would lead to practice of these skills and is seen as a positive move. [source] Integrating the Principles of Evidence-Based Practice Into Clinical PracticeJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 3 2004Kathleen A. Klardie RN Column Editor Comment This series of articles illustrates many considerations relevant to the application of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). This particular column describes the actions of a nurse practitioner (NP) striving to understand the foundations of recommendations that are based largely on expert opinion. Although application of CPGs does not generally require this degree of investigation, it is essential that providers understand the processes used to interpret the basis of recommendations, including the application of the basic statistical concepts, when making decisions about how recommendations apply to individual patient scenarios. Utilizing evidence-based practice when providing patient care requires a range of skills that allows the NP to locate appropriate research evidence, to develop an understanding of the statistics used in interpreting and reporting research, and to evaluate the effects of interventions on patient outcomes. The application of the key concepts of evidenced-based practice within the primary care setting is explored through a hypothetical patient scenario, which was created as the focal point for three articles that illustrate principles of evidence-based practice. The goal of this series of articles is to provide a basic understanding of evidence-based practice and its application in clinical practice. This article explores the use of interventions selected from CPGs and investigates the potential effects of recommended interventions on patient outcomes. Commonly encountered statistical concepts are reviewed, and examples of their application in interpreting and reporting research are demonstrated. The principles of relative risk, relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction, and numbers needed to treat are described. This review provides the NP with some basic skills to determine both the quality and usefulness of research. [source] The social and discursive construction of computing skillsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Sanna Talja In this article a social constructionist approach to information technology (IT) literacy is introduced. This approach contributes to the literature on IT literacy by introducing the concept of IT self as a description of the momentary, context-dependent, and multilayered nature of interpretations of IT competencies. In the research literature, IT literacy is often defined as sets of basic skills to be learned, and competencies to be demonstrated. In line with this approach, research on IT competencies conventionally develops models for explaining user acceptance, and for measuring computer-related attitudes and skills. The assumption is that computer-related attitudes and self-efficacy impact IT adoption and success in computer use. Computer self-efficacy measures are, however, often based on self-assessments that measure interpretations of skills rather than performance in practice. An analysis of empirical interview data in which academic researchers discuss their relationships with computers and IT competence shows how a self-assessment such as "computer anxiety" presented in one discussion context can in another discussion context be consigned to the past in favor of a different and more positive version. Here it is argued that descriptions of IT competencies and computer-related attitudes are dialogic social constructs and closely tied with more general implicit understandings of the nature of technical artifacts and technical knowledge. These implicit theories and assumptions are rarely taken under scrutiny in discussions of IT literacy yet they have profound implications for the aims and methods in teaching computer skills. [source] Surgical skills training: simulation and multimedia combinedMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2001Roger Kneebone Context Basic surgical skills are needed throughout the medical profession, but current training is haphazard and unpredictable. There is increasing pressure to provide transparency about training and performance standards. There is a clear need for inexperienced learners to build a framework of basic skills before carrying out surgical procedures on patients. Effective learning of a skill requires sustained deliberate practice within a cognitive framework, and simulation offers an opportunity for safe preparation. Objectives This paper presents a new approach to basic surgical skills training, where tuition using a specially designed computer program is combined with structured practice using simulated tissue models. This approach to teaching has evolved from practical experience with surgical skills training in workshops. Methods Pilot studies with 72 first-year medical students highlighted the need for separate programs for teaching and for self-directed learning. The authors developed a training approach in the light of this experience. Subsequent in-depth observational and interview studies examined (a) individual teaching sessions between surgical teachers and learners (five consultant surgeons and five senior house officers) and (b) group teaching sessions with general practitioners (14 participants in three group interviews). Further work has resulted in a self-directed learning program. Conclusions Qualitative analysis of observational and interview data provides strong preliminary support for the effectiveness of this approach. The response of teachers and learners was extremely positive. The combination of information (presented by computer) and practice of psychomotor skill (using simulated tissue models) could be extended to other surgical and practical skills. [source] Genetics and Neuroscience in Dyslexia: Perspectives for Education and RemediationMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007Gerd Schulte-Körne ABSTRACT , Our understanding of the causes of a developmental disorder like dyslexia has received recent input from both neuroscience and genetics. The discovery of 4 candidate genes for dyslexia and the identification of neuronal networks engaged when children read and spell are the basis for introducing this knowledge into education. However, the input from educational practitioners as well as empirical knowledge from research on learning also contribute significantly to our understanding of how children acquire the basic skills for learning to read and spell. It is imperative to merge the knowledge acquired from research in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and empirical education, as well as to understand how the learning brain and instruction interact. Doing so can be seen as a major step in attaining an optimal approach for teaching, reading, and spelling and for finding the best suited and most effective treatment concepts for dyslexic children and adolescents. [source] Basic Emergency Medicine Skills Workshop as the Introduction to the Medical School Clinical Skills CurriculumACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 2009Wallace Carter Introduction:,Most medical school curricula lack training in basic skills needed in a medical emergency. After the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, junior level medical students at our institution volunteered their time in the emergency department[ or at Ground Zero. They quickly realized they had little or no practical training for an emergency situation. Objectives:,To correct this curriculum deficit, a five hour basic emergency medicine skills / first responder course for students in their first few weeks of medical school was designed. Methods:,The course consists of lectures followed by related skills stations. Lectures include an introduction to the first responder concept, basic airway, breathing, and circulation management, and a rapid, systematic approach to common emergencies. Skills stations teach basic airway management, bag valve mask ventilation, splinting and immobilizing, and moving patients in the field, stressing improvisation. Multiple skills are practiced in a final simulation station using actors with wound moulage and scripted scenarios. Results:,This course, instituted at Weill Cornell Medical School in 2002, has become a mainstay of the first year curriculum. Student evaluations have been uniformly superlative. There is strong student sentiment that this is the most practical course of the first year. Conclusion:,After six years of experience, we have shown it is possible to present a truncated first responder course as part of the first year curriculum. The course generates tremendous interest and awareness regarding emergency medicine. Future research will examine whether skills taught in this course are retained and can be correctly applied later in medical school. [source] Life, information, entropy, and time: Vehicles for semantic inheritanceCOMPLEXITY, Issue 1 2007Antony R. Crofts Abstract Attempts to understand how information content can be included in an accounting of the energy flux of the biosphere have led to the conclusion that, in information transmission, one component, the semantic content, or "the meaning of the message," adds no thermodynamic burden over and above costs arising from coding, transmission and translation. In biology, semantic content has two major roles. For all life forms, the message of the genotype encoded in DNA specifies the phenotype, and hence the organism that is tested against the real world through the mechanisms of Darwinian evolution. For human beings, communication through language and similar abstractions provides an additional supra-phenotypic vehicle for semantic inheritance, which supports the cultural heritages around which civilizations revolve. The following three postulates provide the basis for discussion of a number of themes that demonstrate some important consequences. (i) Information transmission through either pathway has thermodynamic components associated with data storage and transmission. (ii) The semantic content adds no additional thermodynamic cost. (iii) For all semantic exchange, meaning is accessible only through translation and interpretation, and has a value only in context. (1) For both pathways of semantic inheritance, translational and copying machineries are imperfect. As a consequence both pathways are subject to mutation and to evolutionary pressure by selection. Recognition of semantic content as a common component allows an understanding of the relationship between genes and memes, and a reformulation of Universal Darwinism. (2) The emergent properties of life are dependent on a processing of semantic content. The translational steps allow amplification in complexity through combinatorial possibilities in space and time. Amplification depends on the increased potential for complexity opened by 3D interaction specificity of proteins, and on the selection of useful variants by evolution. The initial interpretational steps include protein synthesis, molecular recognition, and catalytic potential that facilitate structural and functional roles. Combinatorial possibilities are extended through interactions of increasing complexity in the temporal dimension. (3) All living things show a behavior that indicates awareness of time, or chronognosis. The ,4 billion years of biological evolution have given rise to forms with increasing sophistication in sensory adaptation. This has been linked to the development of an increasing chronognostic range, and an associated increase in combinatorial complexity. (4) Development of a modern human phenotype and the ability to communicate through language, led to the development of archival storage, and invention of the basic skills, institutions and mechanisms that allowed the evolution of modern civilizations. Combinatorial amplification at the supra-phenotypical level arose from the invention of syntax, grammar, numbers, and the subsequent developments of abstraction in writing, algorithms, etc. The translational machineries of the human mind, the "mutation" of ideas therein, and the "conversations" of our social intercourse, have allowed a limited set of symbolic descriptors to evolve into an exponentially expanding semantic heritage. (5) The three postulates above open interesting epistemological questions. An understanding of topics such dualism, the élan vital, the status of hypothesis in science, memetics, the nature of consciousness, the role of semantic processing in the survival of societies, and Popper's three worlds, require recognition of an insubstantial component. By recognizing a necessary linkage between semantic content and a physical machinery, we can bring these perennial problems into the framework of a realistic philosophy. It is suggested, following Popper, that the ,4 billion years of evolution of the biosphere represents an exploration of the nature of reality at the physicochemical level, which, together with the conscious extension of this exploration through science and culture, provides a firm epistemological underpinning for such a philosophy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity, 2007 [source] | ||||||||||||||||