Posttest Performance Research Articles

Reaction-to-fire performance of fire-retardant treated wooden facades in Japan with respect to accelerated weathering

Wood has been used for building facades to enhance the aesthetic design of buildings since the revision to the evaluation method associated with the amendment of the Building Standard Law of Japan in 2000. In response, wood that has been pressure-impregnated with fire retardants (fire-retardant treated wood) is often used to ensure it is safe in the event of a fire. Currently, when fire-retardant-treated wood is tested for certification of reaction to fire performance, a cone calorimeter test is conducted in Japan. This test applies radiant heat to the surface of a square specimen, 100 mm each side, immediately after it has undergone fire-retardant treatment. However, when applying fire-retardant treatment to wood, aqueous chemical injection is the standard procedure. When wood is actually used to construct a building, there is a concern about environmental forces such as wind and rain that could cause the wood to deteriorate, and concerns about performance degradation associated with aging. One of the past studies in Japan [1] conducted a cone calorimeter test after an outdoor exposure test and accelerated weathering test, compared the post-test performance with the initial performance and confirmed the amount of remaining fire retardant in the treated wood had been reduced. However, no comparison of the fireproof performance of fire-retardant wood in actual use in a building facade had been conducted in Japan. There have been already valuable researches [e.g. 2, 3] on this issue internationally, but this paper is the first step in Japan and authors hope to focus on the wooden façade construction technique and the standard façade test in Japan.

Engaging Struggling Early Readers to Promote Reading Success: A Pilot Study of Reading by Design

In this study, we piloted a Tier 2 intervention designed to improve reading skills among struggling early readers using an intervention that included SRA Reading Mastery, listening-while-reading activities, strategies to increase motivation and engagement in reading, and parent involvement in reading homework. The study included 6 students in Grade 1 and 5 students in Grade 2 (N = 11), all of whom were failing to meet grade-level reading benchmarks. We delivered the intervention in small, grade-based groups for 35 min 4 times per week for 4 months. Pretest and posttest performance on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Third Edition using grade-based standard scores indicated significant improvement on the Total Reading cluster (p = .0017, d = 1.23) and the following subtests: Oral Reading Fluency (p = .0095, d = 1.21), Word Attack (p = .0064, d = 0.89), Passage Comprehension (p = .0207, d = 0.66), and Word Identification (p = .0245, d = 0.93). We discuss implications for practice and future research.

PowerPoint presentation in learning physiology by undergraduates with different learning styles.

PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) have become routine in medical colleges because of their flexible and varied presentation capabilities. Research indicates that students prefer PPTs over the chalk-and-talk method, and there is a lot of debate over advantages and disadvantages of PPTs. However, there is no clear evidence that PPTs improve student learning/performance. Furthermore, there are a variety of learning styles with sex differences in classrooms. It is the responsibility of teacher/facilitator and student to be aware of learning style preferences to improve learning. The present study asked the following research question: do PPTs equally affect the learning of students with different learning styles in a mixed sex classroom? After we assessed students' predominant learning style according to the sensory modality that one most prefers to use when learning, a test was conducted before and after a PPT to assess student performance. The results were analyzed using Student's t-test and ANOVA with a Bonferroni post hoc test. A z-test showed no sex differences in preferred learning styles. There was significant increase in posttest performance compared with that of the pretest in all types of learners of both sexes. There was also a nonsignificant relationship among sex, learning style, and performance after the PPT. A PPT is equally effective for students with different learning style preferences and supports mixed sex classrooms.

Prior knowledge, confidence and understanding in interactive tutorials and simulations

The balance between confidence and understanding can be difficult for students to manage, particularly in digital learning environments where they start with different levels of prior knowledge. The level of prior knowledge and perception of how well understood this prior knowledge is will drive the level of engagement and integration of new knowledge as students are exposed to it. Exploring the relationship between these factors is therefore important for the design of digital learning environments. In this paper we describe two studies examining the levels of confidence and understanding reported by students completing interactive and non-interactive exercises in a digital learning environment. The reported levels of confidence and understanding are then contrasted against pre- and post-test performance and self-reports of the experience completed at the conclusion of the session. The results suggest that students’ prior knowledge influences their confidence and perceived difficulty of the material but does not necessarily influence performance.

Effectiveness of the Surgery Core Clerkship Flipped Classroom: a prospective cohort trial

BackgroundThe flipped classroom has been proposed as an alternative curricular approach to traditional didactic lectures but has not been previously applied to a surgery clerkship. MethodsA 1-year prospective cohort of students (n = 89) enrolled in the surgery clerkship was taught using a flipped classroom approach. A historical cohort of students (n = 92) taught with a traditional lecture curriculum was used for comparison. Pretest and post-test performance, end-of-clerkship surveys, and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) scores were analyzed to assess effectiveness. ResultsMean pretest and post-test scores increased across all modules (P < .001). There was no difference between mean NBME examination score in the prospective and historical cohorts (74.75 vs 75.74, P = .28). Mean ratings of career interest in surgery increased after curriculum completion (4.75 to 6.50, P < .001), with 90% reporting that the flipped classroom contributed to this increase. ConclusionsImplementation of a flipped classroom in the surgery clerkship is feasible and results in high learner satisfaction, effective knowledge acquisition, and increased career interest in surgery with noninferior NBME performance.

Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate an Abuse Prevention Curriculum for Women and Men With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

This study was designed (a) to assess the impact of the ESCAPE-DD curriculum on the decision-making skills of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in hypothetical situations of abuse, (b) to examine the role of problem awareness, and (c) to identify factors associated with posttest decision-making performance. Fifty-eight women and men with IDD were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a wait-list control group. Participants who experienced ESCAPE-DD made significantly greater gains on measures of overall effective decision making and safe-now effective decision-making relative to participants in the control group. Problem awareness was related to decision making, but it did not improve as a result of the intervention. Implications of the findings for future curriculum-development efforts are discussed.

Basic Cardiac Surgery Skills on Sale for $22.50: An Aortic Anastomosis Simulation Curriculum

Current resident and student duty-hour restrictions necessitate efficient training, which may be aided by simulation. Data on the utility of low-cost simulation in cardiothoracic surgery are scant. We evaluated the effect and value of a low-cost, low-fidelity aortic anastomosis simulation curriculum. Twenty participants (11 medical students, 9 residents) completed an aortic anastomosis on a porcine heart as a pretest. Participants were then provided access to a 14-minute online video created by a cardiac surgeon and given a low-cost task trainer for self-directed practice. Five weeks later, participants performed another aortic anastomosis on a porcine heart as a posttest. Pretest and posttest performances were filmed, deidentified, and graded blindly and independently by two cardiac surgeons using a standardized assessment tool (perfect score, 110; passing score, 58 or higher). Participants were surveyed anonymously after the posttest. The mean (SD) aortic anastomosis performance score improved significantly from pretest (53.3 [25.3]) to posttest (83.6 [15.3]; p < 0.001). Pass rates also improved significantly (35% versus 95%, p < 0.001). Medical students' scores improved most (p = 0.01). All 20 participants reported improved confidence in performing the task, and 18 believed that the online video was essential to better performance. The cost of the curriculum totaled $22.50 per participant, with 6 hours of total staff time required for assessment. An aortic anastomosis training and simulation curriculum improves the skills of student and resident trainees with minimal expense and staff time commitment. Such a curriculum may be of great value to both cardiothoracic training programs and their trainees.

Cumulative sum: An individualized proficiency metric for laparoscopic fundamentals

BackgroundA reliable metric of technical proficiency is indispensable to the training of fellows and residents. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cumulative sum (Cusum) has predictive validity in laparoscopic training. We hypothesized that Cusum would be a better predictor of technical ability in fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) than traditional practice volume metrics. MethodsTwenty medical students were recruited to practice three FLS tasks: peg transfer, circle cut, and intracorporeal knot tie. Up to 7hours of self-directed practice was allotted to each participant. Practice attempts were scored by standard FLS criteria and monitored via Cusum. Each participant’s terminal Cusum performance was analyzed retrospectively. Posttests were conducted by faculty blinded to practice performance. ResultsEighteen participants completed the study (90%). Median adjusted posttest scores were 102.3, 84.1, and 78.6 for peg transfer, circle cut, and knot tie, respectively. For the knot tie task, participants who exceeded the Cusum decision interval during their final practice attempts performed significantly higher on posttesting (81.2 vs 71.5, p=0.015). Knot tie terminal Cusum score was positively associated with posttest performance after adjusting for practice volume (p=0.031). Total practice volume and practice time were not significantly associated with posttest performance for any FLS task. ConclusionCusum score is a more valid representation of FLS proficiency than practice volume or practice time. Incorporating Cusum in a clinical setting may promote more efficient allocation of time resources and operative volume.

Effects of Polya Questioning Instruction for Geometry Reasoning in Junior High School

Background:In teaching geometry, most instructors opt for direct demonstration with detailed explanations; however, under this kind of instruction students face considerable difficulties in the development of the reasoning skills required to deal with problems of a geometric nature.Materials and methods:This study adopted a nonequivalent pretest-postest quasi-experimental design employing Polya’s approach of four-stage problem solving using question prompts in conjunction with multimedia demonstration. Two classes of grade 7 students were randomly selected as the experimental group receiving instruction based on Polya questioning and two others were selected as the control group receiving instruction based on direct presentation.Results:Our results revealed the following: (1) The posttest performance in geometry reasoning of students receiving instruction based on Polya questioning was superior to that of students receiving direct presentation. (2) Among students with high prior knowledge, those receiving Polya questioning outperformed the control group in delayed posttest performance. However, among students with low prior knowledge, no significant difference was observed between those receiving Polya questioning and those receiving direct presentation in the delayed posttest.Conclusions:This study presents a framework of Polya questioning instruction based on four stages of problem solving and the theory of questioning prompts, tailored specifically for the instruction of geometry reasoning.

The complexity of teaching density in middle school

Background: Density is difficult to learn and teach in middle schools. This study, hypothesizing that the density concept develops as part of a conceptual system, used a conceptual change approach to teaching density. The approach emphasized the use of multiple strategies to teach the density concept and the associated concepts in the conceptual system.Purpose: This study assessed post-instructional understanding of different aspects of density in a sample of seventh grade students, examined the effectiveness of the multi-dimensional approach in teaching density, investigated the relations between prior student characteristics and their post-instructional understanding, and investigated if the concept of density develops as part of a conceptual system.Program description: In the first part of the study, student understanding of density was assessed in regular classrooms. In the second part, the investigator and a science teacher co-taught the density unit over a two-week period emphasizing relations between density, mass, volume, part-whole relations, and a scientific particulate conception of matter. A conceptual change approach was used which emphasized multiple representations of knowledge and the use of analogies.Sample: The sample in regular classes consisted of 1645 seventh graders in 51 schools in the West Bank, Palestine. The intervention group consisted of 29 students in one school.Design and methods: The post-instructional understanding of density in 51 regularly taught classrooms was assessed in the first part of the study using a pencil-and paper test. In the second part, a pre-test was used with the intervention group. Students in both parts of the study took the same post-test. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe student performance. Comparison between pre-test and post-test performance of students in the intervention group was conducted using t-test and ANOVA. Correlations between pre-test sub-scores and post-test scores for students in the intervention class also were calculated. X2 was used to test for co-development of the density concept and other concepts using the different items of the post-test for all groups.Results: Student understanding of density was found poor after instruction, while the intervention had a moderate effect on understanding. Students who started with a basic understanding of some aspects of density gained more from the intervention. The density concept co-developed with the concept of volume and a particulate conception of matter.Conclusions: Teaching density as part of a conceptual system helps promote understanding of the concept. This requires the continuous development and refinement of a learning progression of density, volume, and the particulate nature of matter on the one hand, and an in-depth treatment while teaching the concept on the other hand.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Syntactic Treatment Procedures With Cantonese-Speaking, School-Age Children With Language Disorders.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of sentence-combining (SC) and narrative-based (NAR) intervention approaches to syntax intervention using a randomized-controlled-trial design. Fifty-two Cantonese-speaking, school-age children with language impairment were assigned randomly to either the SC or the NAR treatment arm. Seven children did not receive treatment as assigned. Intervention in both arms targeted the same complex syntactical structures. The SC group focused on sentence combination training, whereas the NAR group made use of narratives in which the target structures were embedded. Pretest and posttest performances measured using a standardized language assessment were subjected to analyses of covariance mixed-effect-model analyses of variance. Children in both treatment arms demonstrated significant growth after 4 months of intervention. The main effect between treatment arms and time was not significant after controlling the pretest performance, suggesting that both treatment approaches showed similar effects. The main effect of time was significant. This study provided evidence to support language intervention in the school years in Cantonese-speaking children. However, neither approach was shown to be more efficacious than the other. Future researchers could examine the effects of a longer treatment period and include functional outcome measures.

“Evaluation of different teaching modalities for better understanding of subject in first year medical students”

Aim- To assess the effect of different teaching modalities in first year medical students at MAPIMS, Tamilnadu. M ethods - Two types of teaching methods were used, lecture class and case based discussion. Students were divided in to two groups as Group I (case based discussion) and group II (lecture class). To assess the effect of both methods we used MCQs as pre and post test before and after the session respectively Statistical analysis -was done using paired t test to compare the pre and post test of group I and group II. Independent t test was used to compare pre test of both groups and post test of both groups. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant results. Results - Our study showed that in both type of teaching post test performance was better compared to pre test (p=0.0001). And within post test performance, Group I performed better than group II, with significance of p value <0.05. Conclusion - Our study showed that case based discussion is better than usual lecture classes.

A dataset for education‐related majors' performance measures with pre/post‐video game practice

AbstractThis dataset includes a series of 30 education‐related majors' performance measures before and after they completed a 10‐hour video game practice in a computer lab. The goal of the experimental study was to examine the effects of action video gaming on students' mathematics performance and mathematics anxiety as mediated by the effect of attention on working memory. The dataset includes students' pre‐ and posttest performance measures for geometry, word and non‐word mathematics problems, perceived cognitive load associated with mathematics assessment, mental rotation test, working memory assessment, mathematics anxiety and confidence in learning mathematics.

Weighing the merits of form-focused intervention

Most of the contributions to this issue of Language Teaching Research can be characterized as form-focused intervention studies, each investigating the merits of initiatives to direct learners’ attention to particular language features or discourse features. Kissling investigates the effect of explicit (metalinguistic) phonetics instruction on second language (L2) Spanish learners’ ability to discriminate between native and non-native speakers’ pronunciation of Spanish consonants. Her comparison of pre-test and post-test performance shows progress on the part of the treatment group that received the explicit instruction, whereas such progress was not attested for a comparison group that engaged in different, more meaning-focused, activities. Saito’s study, also on pronunciation, examines Japanese EFL learners’ renderings of word-initial /ɹ/ (as in red). This phoneme was made salient to participants in various activities and games, but in one of two groups the instructor consistently reacted to the learners’ inaccurate renderings of /ɹ/ by means of recasts, whereas no such recasts were provided in the comparison group. The recasts were found to significantly benefit learners’ pronunciation, especially when learners repeated them (and thus engaged in output practice). De Silva investigates the effects of a comprehensive strategy instruction programme on EAP (English for academic purposes) students’ writing quality in comparison with a writing programme where less attention was given to writing strategies. Evaluations of students’ writing at the beginning and at the end of the programme show that the strategy instruction brought about greater improvements in writing quality than the comparison condition. Bardovi-Harlig, Mossman and Vellenga test the effectiveness of instruction designed to help learners of English as a second language (ESL) master pragmatic routine formulas to express speech acts such as agreement (e.g. Good point), disagreement (e.g. Okay, but …), and clarification (e.g. What I mean …). Pre-test–post-test comparisons reveal that, while the learners in a control group tended to keep relying on a narrow range of formulas to express these speech acts, the learners who received the focused instruction successfully expanded their repertoires. Pragmatics is also the subject of van Compernolle and Henery’s contribution. They present an instructional procedure, informed by Vygotskian (i.e. sociocultural) principles, for helping L2 French learners appreciate the distinction between the personal pronouns tu and vous. The article differs from the aforementioned ones in that 580632

The role of articulatory cues in the establishment of perceptual categories

This study investigates the interaction of perceptual and articulatory information in the acquisition of non-native phoneme categories. There is evidence that perceptual learning can improve production of target sounds in a new language, but the reverse—improvement of perceptual discrimination from articulatory learning—is less well-studied (for one example, see Catford and Pisoni 1970). In this experiment, native English speakers learned Hindi coronal stop contrasts (dental vs. retroflex; 4-way VOT contrast) in a pre-test/training/post-test paradigm. Training involved production training, where subjects got explicit instruction about place of articulation and voicing of the target sounds, and practiced producing them. Comparison of pre- and post-test performance on an AX discrimination task indicated greater accuracy (β = 0.486, t = 2.763) and faster responses (β = −0.215, t = −3.396) for most target contrasts after training. (Those contrasts which did not improve tended to map onto English phonemic distinctions, and were well-discriminated at pre-test.) This result supports the hypothesis that articulatory information can contribute to the early development of novel perceptual categories under certain conditions. More generally, it suggests that information from one speech domain can be used to support representations in another speech domain.

Peer Mentoring: It’s Effect on Students’ Mathematics Performance, Attitudes and Epistemological Learning Beliefs in Mathematics

This study is conducted in the fact that non-passer in the College Entrance Test (CET) may not be able to pass the Maritime Schools Assessment Program (MSAP) examination; thus, peer mentoring was utilized. The investigation focused on the performance, epistemological beliefs and attitudes towards mathematics among maritime transportation students. Thirty students that were selected randomly were gathered in the program and were divided into fifteen pairs. Each pair had an assigned mentor that was selected purposively.The students’ performance and attitudes towards mathematics were measured using a researchers’ made 50 item pre and posttest multiple choice questionnaire and a researchers’ made attitudes instrument respectively; pilot – tested, validated and reliability-tested. Schommer’s Epistemological Belief Questionnaire was used to assess their epistemological learning beliefs. Frequency count and means were the descriptive statistical tools and paired sample t-test and Pearson’s r set at .05 Alpha levels are the inferential statistical tools. Results showed “low” pre and “high” post mathematics performance. Simple knowledge, certainty of knowledge and omniscient authority are best possessed by the participants for the epistemological learning beliefs. Positive attitudes towards mathematics manifested in both pre and post attitudes of the participants. There is a significant difference between the pretest and posttest mathematics performance and between pre-attitudes and post attitudes towards mathematics of the participants. There is no significant relationship between mathematics performance, attitudes, and epistemological learning beliefs. Sustainability of the program, the conduct of similar studies, continuing training and re-training of student mentors and financial support to those who rendered their services as mentors are highly recommended. Keywords- Peer mentoring, mathematics performance, epistemological learning beliefs, attitudes, descriptive design, experimental design, Iloilo City, Philippines.

Example-based learning: comparing the effects of additionally providing three different integrative learning activities on physiotherapy intervention knowledge.

BackgroundExample-based learning using worked examples can foster clinical reasoning. Worked examples are instructional tools that learners can use to study the steps needed to solve a problem. Studying worked examples paired with completion examples promotes acquisition of problem-solving skills more than studying worked examples alone. Completion examples are worked examples in which some of the solution steps remain unsolved for learners to complete. Providing learners engaged in example-based learning with self-explanation prompts has been shown to foster increased meaningful learning compared to providing no self-explanation prompts. Concept mapping and concept map study are other instructional activities known to promote meaningful learning. This study compares the effects of self-explaining, completing a concept map and studying a concept map on conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills among novice learners engaged in example-based learning.MethodsNinety-one physiotherapy students were randomized into three conditions. They performed a pre-test and a post-test to evaluate their gains in conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills (transfer performance) in intervention selection. They studied three pairs of worked/completion examples in a digital learning environment. Worked examples consisted of a written reasoning process for selecting an optimal physiotherapy intervention for a patient. The completion examples were partially worked out, with the last few problem-solving steps left blank for students to complete. The students then had to engage in additional self-explanation, concept map completion or model concept map study in order to synthesize and deepen their knowledge of the key concepts and problem-solving steps.ResultsPre-test performance did not differ among conditions. Post-test conceptual knowledge was higher (P < .001) in the concept map study condition (68.8 ± 21.8%) compared to the concept map completion (52.8 ± 17.0%) and self-explanation (52.2 ± 21.7%) conditions. Post-test problem-solving performance was higher (P < .05) in the self-explanation (63.2 ± 16.0%) condition compared to the concept map study (53.3 ± 16.4%) and concept map completion (51.0 ± 13.6%) conditions. Students in the self-explanation condition also invested less mental effort in the post-test.ConclusionsStudying model concept maps led to greater conceptual knowledge, whereas self-explanation led to higher transfer performance. Self-explanation and concept map study can be combined with worked example and completion example strategies to foster intervention selection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0308-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Nap sleep preserves associative but not item memory performance

Many studies have shown that sleep improves memory performance, and that even short naps during the day are beneficial. Certain physiological components of sleep such as spindles and slow-wave-sleep are thought to be particularly important for memory consolidation. The aim of this experiment was to reveal the role of naps for hippocampus-dependent associative memory (AM) and hippocampus-independent item memory (IM) alongside their corresponding ERP old/new effects. Participants learnt single words and word-pairs before performing an IM- and an AM-test (baseline). One group was subsequently allowed to nap (∼90min) while the other watched DVDs (control group). Afterwards, both groups performed a final IM- and AM-test for the learned stimuli (posttest). IM performance decreased for both groups, while AM performance decreased for the control group but remained constant for the nap group, consistent with predictions concerning the selective impact of napping on hippocampus-dependent recognition. Putative ERP correlates of familiarity and recollection were observed in the IM posttest, whereas only the later recollection-related effect was present in the AM test. Notably, none of these effects varied with group. Positive correlations were observed between spindle density during slow-wave-sleep and AM posttest performance as well as between spindle density during non-REM sleep and AM baseline performance, showing that successful learning and retrieval both before and after sleep relates to spindle density during nap sleep. Together, these results speak for a selective beneficial impact of naps on hippocampus-dependent memories.

Evaluating listening and speaking skills in a mobile game-based learning environment with situational contexts

Game-based learning activities that facilitate students' listening and speaking skills were designed in this study. To participate in learning activities, students in the control group used traditional methods, while students in the experimental group used a mobile system. In our study, we looked into the feasibility of mobile game-based learning activities. One experiment was carried out and the results revealed that the experimental-group students significantly outperformed the control-group students on the verbal post-test. However, the performance of the two groups was equal on the listening post-test. Two variables (the average score for the interactive jigsaw game and the number of designed cards) were found to be the most important factors for influencing students' performance in the verbal post-test. Furthermore, most students had positive perceptions toward learning activities that are supported by a mobile system. These results suggest that game-based learning activities can significantly improve students' speaking skills if driven by a mobile system. Furthermore, these results suggest that learning activities with a mobile system foster students to (1) practice speaking English as a foreign language (EFL) more frequently as well as to reflect on their speech; (2) create meaningful sentences and speak with greater accuracy and confidence; and (3) practice speaking EFL in an authentic context.

Knowledge Prediction of Different Students’ Categories Trough an Intelligent Testing

Student’s modelling, prediction, and grouping have remained open research issues in the multi-disciplinary area of educational data mining. The purpose of this study is to predict the correct knowledge of different categories of tested students: good, very good, and all. The experimental data set was gathered from an intelligent post-test performance containing student’s correct, missing, and wrong knowledge, time undertaken, and final mark. The proposed procedure applies consequently correlation analysis, simple and multiple liner regression using a power specialized tool for programming by the teacher. The finding is that the accuracy of the procedure is satisfactory for the three students’ categories. The experiment also confirms some findings of other researchers and previous authors’ team studies.