B ackground Ethics instruction is an important component of engineering undergraduate education, but little research has identified aspects of the undergraduate experience that contribute most to students' ethical development. Thus, an assessment of the impact of students' experiences on their ethical development is warranted. P urpose (H ypothesis ) We apply a conceptual framework to the study of engineering students' ethical development. This framework suggests that both formal curricular experiences and co‐curricular experiences are related to students' ethical development. D esign /M ethod Using survey data collected from nearly 4,000 engineering undergraduates at 18 institutions across the U.S., we present descriptive statistics related to students' formal curricular experiences and their co‐curricular experiences. Additionally, we present data for three constructs of ethical development (knowledge of ethics, ethical reasoning, and ethical behavior). R esults For our sample, the quantity and quality of students' formal curricular experiences and their co‐curricular experiences related to ethics was high. The levels of ethical knowledge and reasoning varied, as did ethical behavior. C onclusions Our data highlight opportunities for improving the engineering undergraduate/bachelor's level curricula in order to have a greater impact on students' ethical development. We suggest that institutions integrate ethics instruction throughout the formal curriculum, support use of varied approaches that foster high‐quality experiences, and leverage both influences of co‐curricular experiences and students' desires to engage in positive ethical behaviors.
Society's changing needs, advancing knowledge, and innovations in education require constant changes of medical school curricula. But successful curricular change occurs only through the dedicated efforts of effective change agents. This study systematically searched and synthesized the literature on educational curricular change (at all levels of instruction), as well as organizational change, to provide guidance for those who direct curricular change initiatives in medical schools. The focus was on the process of planning, implementing, and institutionalizing curricular change efforts; thus, only those articles that dealt with examining the change process and articulating the factors that promote or inhibit change efforts were included. In spite of the highly diverse literature reviewed, a consistent set of characteristics emerged as being associated with successful curricular change. The frequent reappearance of the same characteristics in the varied fields and settings suggests they are robust contributors to successful change. Specifically, the characteristics are in the areas of the organization's mission and goals, history of change in the organization, politics (internal networking, resource allocation, relationship with the external environment), organizational structure, need for change, scope and complexity of the innovation, cooperative climate, participation by the organization's members, communication, human resource development (training, incorporating new members, reward structure), evaluation, performance dip (i.e., the temporary decrease in an organization's performance as a new program is implemented), and leadership. These characteristics are discussed in detail and related specifically to curricular change in medical school settings.
Considering the ill-posed nature, contrastive regularization has been developed for single image dehazing, introducing the information from negative images as a lower bound. However, the contrastive samples are non-consensual, as the negatives are usually represented distantly from the clear (i.e., positive) image, leaving the solution space still under-constricted. Moreover, the interpretability of deep dehazing models is underexplored towards the physics of the hazing process. In this paper, we propose a novel curricular contrastive regularization targeted at a consensual contrastive space as opposed to a non-consensual one. Our negatives, which provide better lower-bound constraints, can be assembled from 1) the hazy image, and 2) corresponding restorations by other existing methods. Further, due to the different similarities between the embeddings of the clear image and negatives, the learning difficulty of the multiple components is intrinsically imbalanced. To tackle this issue, we customize a curriculum learning strategy to reweight the importance of different negatives. In addition, to improve the interpretability in the feature space, we build a physics-aware dual-branch unit according to the atmospheric scattering model. With the unit, as well as curricular contrastive regularization, we establish our dehazing network, named C <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> PNet. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our C <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> PNet significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods, with extreme PSNR boosts of 3.94dB and 1.50dB, respectively, on SOTS-indoor and SOTS-outdoor datasets. Code is available at https://github.com/YuZheng9/C2PNet.
This paper examines the effect of curricular and extracurricular activities on the entrepreneurial motivation and competences of university students. In order to address these issues, the authors have used Ajzen's model of planned behaviour, including curricular and extracurricular activities, analysing their effect on university students’ attitude and behavioural control and their entrepreneurial intention as well as competences. Using a convenience sample of university students, we chose two Spanish institutions, with a total sample size of 1475 students. The analysis demonstrates the effects of curricular and extracurricular activities on the entrepreneurial intention of university students. Such activities generate positive attitudes for entrepreneurship but at the same time they lower capacity and intention to start a business. Similarly, the study shows the different effects of such variables on the competencies for entrepreneurship. Strategic and methodological implications of these results are discussed.
Using the method of qualitative metasynthesis, this study analyzes 49 qualitative studies to interrogate how high-stakes testing affects curriculum, defined here as embodying content, knowledge form, and pedagogy. The findings from this study complicate the understanding of the relationship between high-stakes testing and classroom practice by identifying contradictory trends. The primary effect of high-stakes testing is that curricular content is narrowed to tested subjects, subject area knowledge is fragmented into test-related pieces, and teachers increase the use of teacher-centered pedagogies. However, this study also finds that, in a significant minority of cases, certain types of high-stakes tests have led to curricular content expansion, the integration of knowledge, and more student-centered, cooperative pedagogies. Thus the findings of the study suggest that the nature of high-stakes-test-induced curricular control is highly dependent on the structures of the tests themselves.
O presente artigo visa estabelecer uma reflexão crítica acerca da nova versão da Base Nacional Comum Curricular – BNCC mediante a apresentação de pontos importantes da legislação que trata do currículo e da própria base curricular através de uma revisão bibliográfica dos principais marcos legais educacionais. A leitura aponta para importantes avanços na atual versão da base curricular, destacando a participação dos diferentes atores envolvidos no processo educacional, seu caráter democrático, bem como as implicações práticas da nova proposta, de modo especial o deslocamento do termo currículo, transcendendo o conteúdo, que passa a ser entendido como meio, não como fim do processo educativo.
Using national transcript data, the authors examine inequality in access to an advanced curriculum in high school and assess the consequences of curricular intensity on test scores and college entry. Inequalities in curricular intensity are primarily explained by student socioeconomic status effects that operate within schools rather than between schools. They find significant positive effects of taking a more intense curriculum on 12th-grade test scores and in probabilities of entry to and completion of college. However, the effect sizes of curricular intensity are generally modest, smaller than advocates of curricular upgrading policies have implied.
Extra-curricular activities including clubs, fraternities and societies have been part of the fabric of higher level institutions since their origin. A significant body of educational research has investigated the impact of these activities on academic performance and the acquisition of discipline complementary skills and competencies. In the modern context, driven by forces such as marketization and massification, higher level educational institutions find themselves competing to attract students on the basis of the lived student experience. In this article, a large qualitative survey is used to capture data on the impact of extra-curricular activity on the lived student experience. In addition to supporting existing theories on the academic and skills acquisition effect of extra-curricular activities, the article contributes by identifying a wide range of additionalities to the student experience that participants attribute to their participation in extra-curricular activities.
This article tests a framework connecting features of subject matter with curricular activities among high school teachers of five academic subjects. Using survey responses, it compares the conceptions of subject matter (defined, static, sequential) and curricular activities (coordination, coverage, consensus on content, standardization, course rotation, etc.) of English, social studies, science, math, and foreign language teachers from 16 high schools. Teachers differ in their perceptions of their subjects as defined, sequential, and static. For example, math and foreign language teachers score higher on those features than other teachers. In turn, certain curricular activities seem to differ depending on subject features. For example, in sequential subjects, teachers report more coordination with colleagues and more press for coverage of content than in less sequential subjects. Implications for research and policy are presented.
As a multicultural nation with aspirations to an international peacekeeping role, Canada makes an interesting context in which to study global citizenship education. This article is based on research conducted in Ontario schools. It examines how individual teachers have prioritized global citizenship issues in their teaching, in the context of other curricular demands. The methodology is based on a multiple case study approach, and methods included documentary analysis, classroom observation, and interviews. The research revealed that teachers who are determined to make global education a priority have found that the new Ontario curriculum guidelines have given them plenty of opportunities to do so. Civics Education as a compulsory subject offered possibilities. Both classroom‐based and extra‐curricular activities were seen to focus in dynamic and innovative ways on global issues, and there was considerable enthusiasm for these themes among learners. The teachers were able to ‘use’ the expectations of the curriculum creatively to justify their approaches, and did not see their priorities as being at odds with the recent emphasis on academic standards in education. They were supported in this by a network of like‐minded teachers, and by a programme geared to their interests at the University of Toronto. However, these teachers noted that while the tightening of curricular expectations did not reduce opportunities for incorporating global education priorities, they were unusual among their colleagues. Despite the potential, it was felt that many teachers were demoralized by public opinion and perceived themselves as restricted by the curriculum. The study suggests that where teachers are highly motivated and supported in pursuing goals which they consider important—global citizenship learning in particular—they had the agency to do so.
A series of important studies and observations over the last few decades has resulted in an increasingly clear understanding of the nature and composition of the Sumerian school curriculum in the Old Babylonian period, especially at Nippur. The sequence of lexical texts has been subject to extensive study, Lipit-Eštar hymn B has been identified as probably the first literary text to be read in the schools, and a further ten texts almost certainly followed Li B in the same sequence as they are given in the curricular catalogues.The purpose of this interim presentation is twofold. Firstly, to attempt to demonstrate that in addition to Li B there are three other core compositions, namely Iddin-Dagan hymn B, Enlilbani hymn A, and Nisaba hymn A, which are read early in schools and do not appear in the curricular catalogues. Secondly, to present an additional piece of evidence which bears directly on the observation that at least the first ten entries of the curricular catalogues give, in sequence, the next ten texts read in schools after the four elementary hymns.
Os desafios para a implementação da Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) e a expectativa de que ela diminua as desigualdades educacionais estão em debate nesta entrevista exclusiva com um dos relatores do Parecer que levou à sua instituição como norma para a Educação Básica de todo o País.
An adolescent female with multiple handicaps and a long history of severely disruptive behavior participated in a functional assessment linked directly to specific revisions in her school curriculum. During Phase 1, reversal designs were used to test hypotheses pertaining to antecedent and curricular influences on problem behavior. During Phase 2, a multiple baseline across afternoon and morning time periods demonstrated that the curricular revisions were effective in eliminating severely disruptive behavior and increasing on-task responding. Data also showed that inappropriate "psychotic" speech was reduced and appropriate social interactions were increased. Follow-up results showed that the changes were maintained throughout the school year. Questionnaire data provided social validation of the procedures and outcomes. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications for functional assessment, individualized curricula, and positive programming for students with disabilities and serious behavior problems.
In response to rapidly changing demographics and increased racial tensions, institutions across the country have implemented diversity-related initiatives—to varying degrees—designed to promote positive intergroup relations. This increased interest has resulted in a growing body of research examining the impact of curricular and cocurricular diversity activities on a variety of outcomes and racial bias in particular. Whereas past reviews have highlighted the inconsistency in the research findings thus far, this study presents the first quantitative synthesis on this topic to date. The findings of this meta-analysis demonstrate that these initiatives do indeed reduce bias and that the effectiveness of this result depends on the characteristics of the program as well as the students.
The lived . . . other . . . These words inscribed in the title of this article speak to the way I have already been claimed by curricular landscapes of practicing teachers and their students. So claimed, I ask that I be allowed to dwell near, if not in the midst of, these landscapes, so that I may, by listening more thoughtfully to sayings of teachers and students, become more alert to the archi-texture of curricular landscapes within which activities like curriculum supervision, curriculum development, curriculum implementation, and curriculum evaluation are said to take place.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of curricular (textbook, revised, and differentiated) and grouping (whole, between, and within-class) practices on intermediate students' achievement in mathematics. A pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design using a stratified random sample of 31 teachers and their students ( N = 645) was used in this study. Achievement data were collected using a curriculum-based assessment. Repeated measures analysis of variance was employed to investigate the effects of grouping arrangements and curricular design on the treatment and comparison group posttest scores. Results indicated significant differences, F (5, 246) = 22.618, p <. 001, between comparison and revision treatment groups on the posttest after adjusting for grade level (4 or 5). Further results indicated significant differences, F (11, 673) = 41.548, p <. 001, among all treatment groups after adjusting for grade level.
The concept of authenticity is an under-theorized design principle at the centre of debates about the relationship of school activities to professional practices. We explore one approach to articulating the concept of authenticity through the design of a novel curricular structure, which we call 'mutual benefit partnership', developed in collaboration with a telecommunications company and four middle schools. The partnership created products of value to the corporate partner as well as to the teachers and students. But attempts to provide significant benefits to all parties of the partnership brought out conflicts in cultural values between school and corporate communities, resulting in both learning opportunities and risks to participants. Mutual benefit from students' work resulted more from ancillary (or secondary) products of their work than from primary products, suggesting the need to design curricular structures to achieve joint focus of school and corporate participants on the primary products of student work.
PURPOSE: Problem-based learning (PBL) is now used at many medical schools to promote lifelong learning, open inquiry, teamwork, and critical thinking. PBL has not been compared with other forms of discussion-based small-group learning. Case-based learning (CBL) uses a guided inquiry method and provides more structure during small-group sessions. In this study, we compared faculty and medical students' perceptions of traditional PBL with CBL after a curricular shift at two institutions. METHOD: Over periods of three years, the medical schools at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of California, Davis (UCD) changed first-, second-, and third-year Doctoring courses from PBL to CBL formats. Ten months after the shift (2001 at UCLA and 2004 at UCD), students and faculty who had participated in both curricula completed a 24-item questionnaire about their PBL and CBL perceptions and the perceived advantages of each format RESULTS: A total of 286 students (86%-97%) and 31 faculty (92%-100%) completed questionnaires. CBL was preferred by students (255; 89%) and faculty (26; 84%) across schools and learner levels. The few students preferring PBL (11%) felt it encouraged self-directed learning (26%) and valued its greater opportunities for participation (32%). From logistic regression, students preferred CBL because of fewer unfocused tangents (59%, odds ration [OR] 4.10, P = .01), less busy-work (80%, OR 3.97, P = .01), and more opportunities for clinical skills application (52%, OR 25.6, P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: Learners and faculty at two major academic medical centers overwhelmingly preferred CBL (guided inquiry) over PBL (open inquiry). Given the dense medical curriculum and need for efficient use of student and faculty time, CBL offers an alternative model to traditional PBL small-group teaching. This study could not assess which method produces better practicing physicians.
Background Multiple reports call for undergraduate programs to develop engineers who have leadership abilities. Such preparation requires understanding how the undergraduate experience relates to student leadership abilities. Limited research has shown disagreement among faculty members and administrators about effective approaches for engineering leadership development. Purpose/Hypothesis The purpose of this research was to understand what precollege characteristics and experiences, university experiences, and undergraduate engineering program contexts relate to undergraduate engineers' self-reported leadership skills. Design/Methods Using hierarchical linear modeling, this quantitative study examined the variance of students' self-reported leadership skills as explained by their precollege characteristics and undergraduate experiences. The study drew from a nationally representative survey-based dataset of 5,076 undergraduate engineers from 150 undergraduate engineering programs from 31 colleges and universities. Results Although multiple facets of the undergraduate experience significantly relate to students' self-reported leadership skills, curricular emphases on core engineering thinking, professional skills, and broad and systems perspectives explain the greatest amount of variance. The lack of significant relationships at the program level suggests a lack of formal leadership development within the undergraduate curriculum at large. Conclusions Results indicate that entrusting the leadership development of undergraduate engineering students to the co-curriculum is an inefficient method of developing leadership skills for undergraduate engineers. The curriculum more strongly relates to engineering students' leadership skills. Identifying ways for faculty members to enhance this curricular focus could further development of technologically adept engineering leaders.
ABSTRACT Decades of research demonstrate that a strong curricular approach to preschool education is important for later developmental outcomes. Although these findings have often been used to support the implementation of educational programs based on direct instruction, we argue that guided play approaches can be equally effective at delivering content and are more developmentally appropriate in their focus on child‐centered exploration. Guided play lies midway between direct instruction and free play, presenting a learning goal, and scaffolding the environment while allowing children to maintain a large degree of control over their learning. The evidence suggests that such approaches often outperform direct‐instruction approaches in encouraging a variety of positive academic outcomes. We argue that guided play approaches are effective because they create learning situations that encourage children to become active and engaged partners in the learning process.