Does learning longer improve student achievement? Evidence from online education of graduating students in a high school during COVID-19 period

This paper examines the effect of online learning time on graduating students' test scores in a senior high school. Decisions regarding online education, including those related to participation and learning hours, are endogenous due to both reverse causality and omitted variables. This paper is the result of the natural experiment of the outbreak of COVID-19, which made every student to participate in online education when the spring semester began. In addition, this paper uses a value-added model controlling for the scores that preceded online education, which is a sufficient statistic of students' unobserved ability and motivation. If this cannot completely eliminate the endogeneity problem, it should be able to largely alleviate the problem. The results indicate that: online education has positive but limited impacts on test scores on average, particularly those in the subject of math within the natural sciences track; top-tier students are most positively affected by online education; and the benefits of online education vary among students with different backgrounds. The quantile regression suggests that a 10% increase in online education time raises math test scores by more than 0.25 for the students between the 0.60th and 0.80th quantiles. Surprisingly, it is evident that online learning time has a significant negative effect for some students in certain subjects. Finally, online education neither widens nor narrows the inequality of students' test scores.     

Does school shutdown increase inequality in academic performance? Evidence from COVID-19 pandemic in China

The school shutdown due to the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to an increase in educational inequality through disproportionately affecting disadvantaged children. We use data from a unique survey of 7202 junior high school students and their parents from Shaanxi province to explore whether the school shutdown enlarged the educational gap between students with different parental socioeconomic statuses (SES) during the pandemic. We find that students with more highly educated parents experienced an increase in relative test rankings after the shutdown period. A 1-year increase in parents' education led to a relative 0.18-percentile increase in students' rankings of total test scores. We also identify the mechanisms behind the enlarged gap by means of heterogeneity analyses. We show that parents' education mainly affected children's academic performance through parents' engagement in their children's homeschooling, mitigating the negative impacts of Internet addiction on students, and serving as substitutes for teachers who were unable to teach well online.     

The multilevel analysis of students’ achievement: Evidence from Morocco

This paper, using multi‐level modelling, sought to highlight student‐level and school‐level characteristics that differentiate the academic performance in mathematics from a sample of 6080 Moroccan secondary students who participated in the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test. The results indicated little evidence to support the Heyneman–Loxley effect, as they showed that individual and family characteristics were the strongest determinants of achievement compared to the schools’ factors. Students scored higher when they were boys, were younger, were more self‐confident, were more ambitious, and felt secure in school. They also scored higher when they came from families with a higher socioeconomic status, particularly when their parents were able to ensure the availability of learning resources, and were of a higher level of education. Finally, schools were matter for their pupil achievement mainly through the location channel, as urban pupils outperformed rural ones. However, the other school characteristics, including those related to teachers, played a negative, or at best neutral, role in pupil outcomes. These findings have important public policy implications. Redesigning education policy towards improving the school's environment and fostering inclusivity would be needed to enhance learning performance of Moroccan students.     

Do selective high schools improve student achievement? Effects of exam schools in China

We use regression discontinuity design to examine the effect of a system of public exam high schools, which admit students solely by pre-existing achievement, on student college entrance exam scores in Beijing, China. More selective exam schools may have higher peer quality and sometimes are equipped with more experienced teachers and better facilities. We find, however, that elite exam high schools, which are the most selective, have no effects on student test scores. We find that on average the system of exam schools improves student performance on the exam, which indicates that students benefit from attending more selective non-elite schools. The results on qualifying for college admission are consistent with our findings about test scores. Differences among schools in peer achievement, student/teacher ratio and the percentage of certificated and experienced teachers partially explain our findings; self-choices of track and exam participation do not explain test scores or college admission.     

专题式教学在《概论》课程中的运用思考

《概论》课程承担着提高大学生政治理论素养、坚定社会主义信念、做中国特色社会主义建设骨干人才的重要任务。但是由于《概论》课程的课时分布与所讲授的教学内容较多,教师和学生的负担都较重,并且其教学内容还在不断地进行补充和调整。根据以往的教学实践和当代大学生的实际学习情况,可以尝试对《概论》课程个别章节进行专题式教学,使之能够更符合教学规律。     

Does a “bad apple” spoil the bunch? The impact of low-achieving students on non-cognitive outcomes

This paper investigates whether the presence of low-achieving classmates affects the noncognitive outcomes of regular students in junior high school. Exploiting random assignments of teachers and students to classes, we show that having classmates who had ever repeated a grade in primary school improves students' mental health and social skills, and the positive peer effects are concentrated among students with a longer duration of peer exposure and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Mechanism analysis reveals that the improved teacher–student and student–student interactions contribute to the enhancement of noncognitive outcomes.     

Flipping the Undergraduate Economics Classroom: Using Online Videos to Enhance Teaching and Learning

The flipped classroom has been proposed as a teaching method with the potential to enhance student learning by removing much of the ‘‘transmission of knowledge’’ from the classroom and replacing this with active learning approaches that enable the assimilation of information. This article analyzes the impact of a flipped undergraduate economics course that leverages an existing suite of online lectures by Khan Academy. The study employs a quasiexperimental design to evaluate the impact of two different flipped treatments on an undergraduate microeconomics principles final exam. Student achievement is compared for students in (i) a “traditional” undergraduate course; (ii) a “complemented” (or partially flipped) classroom including traditional “mini” lectures complemented with online video lectures assigned as homework; and (iii) a flipped classroom. Results suggest that students in both of the flipped courses scored between 4 and 14 percentage points higher on set of common questions and a cumulative final exam.     

Targeting Teaching: Does the Medium Matter? Online versus Paper Coursework

If individuals process information differently when it is accessed electronically rather than on paper, then the transition from paper to electronic text may affect learning and retention. Using a randomized experiment, we compare learning outcomes of economics students who use electronic teaching tools with students who access the same material on paper. We find that students who submit homework online complete more assignments but have lower classroom attendance rates. However, there is no effect on exam scores. This suggests that while an electronic medium may enable instructional material to be accessed more easily, it does not significantly impact learning.     

高职教育思想下的考试改革探析——以“人体生理解剖基础”课程为例

考试是检查学生学习效果的一种方法,能对学生掌握和运用知识的具体情况进行评价。但考试的最终目的不是检验学生,而是通过考核的方式促进教学模式的改革和教学方法的改进,促进学生不断学习。从高职院校的独特教学模式角度,针对非医学背景的老年服务与管理专业学生在＂人体生理解剖基础＂课程考试中存在的问题,探讨本门课程的考试改革。     

Teachers’ unions and industrial action in South African primary schools: Exploring their impacts on learning

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates a disruption hypothesis that student learning is lost as a direct consequence of teacher strike action in South Africa. At face value estimates from a within-student across-subject analysis suggest that teacher strike participation negatively affects learning for students in the poorest three quarters of schools. Strike action also limits access to nutrition as school closures prevent student participation in daily school feeding programmes. However, despite controlling for student and school level factors that may drive teacher selection into strike participation, unobserved teacher characteristics continue to bias estimates. Assuming that selection on observable characteristics can tell us something about selection on unobservable characteristics, there is an implied negative selection of teachers into strike participation.     

辰溪中学生课堂消极心理分析及对策

这篇文章从学生身上探寻教育落后的原因,分析他们在课堂上的表现及心理活动,并探究产生这些心理活动的原因并提出对策。从而让教师有针对性的指导学生,提高学生的学习效率,构建一个高效课堂。     

中职学校计算机教学中的思考

在中职学校的计算机教学中,教师要通过营造一个良好的课堂氛围,运用各种各样的教学方法和手段来不断提高学生的学习兴趣,为此,教师更要不断提高自身的教学水平和各方面的素质来适应当代学生的要求。     

School Boarding and Students’ Prosocial Behaviors: Evidence from Rural China

This study investigated the effects of boarding at school on students’ prosocial behaviors in rural China using data from the National Children's Study of China. The instrumental variable (IV) approach was used to control for potential endogeneity, and the IVs were the proportion of boarding students in higher grades and the school area per student. The ordinary least squares and IV estimates showed that boarding students exhibited more prosocial behaviors, including compliance with rules, positive traits, and altruistic attitudes. These results were robust. Heterogeneity analyses suggested that students from low-income families, children who were not “left behind,” high-grade students, and female students were more likely to benefit from boarding. We found that these effects were primarily due to boarding students developing stronger feelings of trust and support from their peers and teachers and participating in more school-organized events and team activities.     

工学结合背景下高职院校外语专业教师可持续发展研究

工学结合是将学习与工作结合在一起的教育模式,主体包括学生、企业、学校。它以职业为导向,充分利用学校内、外不同的教育环境和资源,把以课堂教学为主的学校教育和直接获取实际经验的校外工作有机结合,贯穿于学生的培养过程之中。工学结合背景下高职院校外语专业教师的可持续发展,可从教师应具备的意识、职业技能、基本要素和发展方法等方面进行探讨。     

THE EFFECT OF STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS ON ACHIEVEMENT IN INTRODUCTORY MICROECONOMICS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This paper uses OLS regression analysis to examine the effect of student characteristics on performance in Introductory Microeconomics at five South African universities. No consistent race‐effects were found, but Indian students performed significantly worse than Whites at historically‐White universities. Male students outperformed females in general. Older students did better at the historically‐White institutions only. At one university, Black students who speak English as their home language outperformed those who are non‐English speakers. Students who devoted more time to study outside formal classes did better in general. Greater verbal and mathematical ability had large and significant positive effects on student achievement.     

高职生网络意见领袖引导策略研究

网络已经成为大学生的生活方式,网络舆论直接作用于现实生活。对作为互联网主要用户群的大学生而言,他们的思想和行为受到网络越来越深入的影响。作为从事高职生事务管理的一线教师,需要对高职生的网络生活进行积极的引导。针对不同类型的高职生网绺意见领袖,采取不同的策略,从而提高思想政治教育工作的针对性与实效性。     

Head teachers,peer effects,and student achievement

Teachers can influence student achievement, not only directly, but also indirectly via peer effects. Based on a unique data set from a Chinese middle school (grades 7–9), this paper uses a student fixed-effects model to estimate peer effects for four core subjects (Chinese, Math, English, and Science) at the level of the class cohorts studying each subject. We find negative peer effects that are significant from both an economic and a statistical perspective. However, in the subjects taught by head teachers, who have more tools to manage students than do regular teachers, such negative peer effects disappear. Further investigation suggests that head teachers generate positive peer effects that override the negative ones.     

长春市高中女生健美操课普及情况调查与分析

本文对长春市五所高中开设女生健美操课情况进行了调查.结果表明:长春市高中女生和体育教师对健美操运动有浓厚的兴趣深受广大师生喜爱,但由于师资力量、场地器材等因素的限制,影响了长春市开设高中女生健美操课的普及率,针对这一现象探索健美操课的普及率.     

远程学习的评估与实施——基于项目管理与评估的个案

远程学习是教师和学生在分离的状态下,学生借助教学媒介进行自主学习的过程。学习过程中教师对学生的监督以及评价相对传统教学而言缺乏及时性。本文借助项目管理与评估的理念和方法,将远程学习视为项目,将项目管理与评估的理念转化到远程学习评估理念中,对远程学习评估进行分析,加以借鉴,进而通过需求评估、理论评估、过程评估、影响评估、绩效评估五个方面对远程学习项目进行评估,并以个案进行分析,以期以最优的方法达到最好的效果。