Generic Skills, Academic Achievement, and Means of Improving the Former

In Canada, in general – and in the Province of Ontario in particular – academics, employers, and government agencies are concerned with the low generic skill levels of university students and graduates. The assumption is that such deficiencies detract from academic and job success. Despite this concern, in Canada, research has not focused on potential links between objectively measured generic skills and grades recorded in administrative records. In view of this lacuna, the current research has two objectives. First, to assess the net effect of objectively measured generic skills on academic achievement as recorded in administrative records. Second, to determine the efficacy of an online course dedicated to the development of generic skills. Overall, I found that generic skills were better predictors of students’ achievement than high school grades used in admission processes; the relationship between high school grades and generic skill levels was weak; students’ generic skill levels did not improve over time; and an online course devoted to increasing students’ generic skills was effective in boosting skills to an acceptable level. Accordingly, if they are concerned with academic achievement, universities in Ontario and in other jurisdictions in which students are admitted to university primarily based on their secondary school grades might make the development of generic skills a priority; however, unless such skills are demanded across the curriculum, they will atrophy.

Personality trait by intelligence interaction effects on grades tend to be synergistic

Background Earlier research has identified both synergistic and compensatory personality traits by intelligence interaction effects on academic performance. Methods The present study employed data on intelligence, personality traits, and academic performance in the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97, N = 8984). Results Some intelligence by personality trait interaction effects, mainly involving indicators of dependability, on high school grades were identified. The interaction effects tended to be synergistic, meaning that the association between the trait and grades tended to strengthen with increased intelligence. A positive association between intelligence and the reliability in the measurement of a dependability composite score accounted for a substantial portion of the synergistic dependability by intelligence interaction effect on academic performance. Conclusions Personality trait by intelligence interaction effects on academic performance tend to be synergistic and may, at least to some degree, be due to a positive association between intelligence and reliability in the measurement of personality traits.

THE ATTIUDES OF THE ACADEMIC STAFF IN THE DEPATMENT OF ‎APPLIED ARTS AT KADOORIE UNIVERSITY TOWARDS ADMISSION ‎POLICIES AND THEIR ROLE IN ACHIEVING THE QUALITY OF ‎OUTPUTS

This is study aimed to identify the attitudes of the academic staff in the Department of Applied ‎Arts at Kadoorie University towards admission policies and their role in achieving the quality of ‎outputs,‎the admission policies of the Department of Applied Arts at Palestine Technical University- ‎Kadoorie have adopted several criteria for accepting students based on their high school grades, in ‎addition to their passing an abilities test. Based on these policies been adopted for students’ ‎admission and the diversity of criteria; this study used to know the attitudes of the members of the ‎academic staff in the Department of Applied Arts at Palestine Technical University- Kadoorie ‎toward these policies and their role in achieving the quality of outputs. The researcher followed the ‎qualitative approach through the use of the focus group that was applied to a sample of members of ‎the academic staff in the Department of Applied Arts at Kadoorie University consisting of (8) ‎members, and the results of the study showed that the trends of the focus group varied between ‎positive and negative, with reservation on some of the procedures followed in students’ admission, ‎the response of the focus group on the relationship of admission policies with the quality of outputs ‎was positive and with the approval of the majority, and many proposals were submitted to develop ‎them and develop programs in the department, several recommendations were also made, the most ‎important of which are: That the admission policies for the Department of Applied Arts at Palestine ‎Technical University- Kadoorie should be reviewed since the results of this study showed that some ‎of the current adopted policies do not contribute in achieving the quality of outputs‎.

Machine Learning Bias in Predicting High School Grades: A Knowledge Perspective

This study focuses on the machine learning bias when predicting teacher grades. The experimental phase consists of predicting the student grades of 11th and 12thgrade Portuguese high school grades and computing the bias and variance decomposition. In the base implementation, only the academic achievement critical factors are considered. In the second implementation, the preceding year’s grade is appended as an input variable. The machine learning algorithms in use are random forest, support vector machine, and extreme boosting machine. The reasons behind the poor performance of the machine learning algorithms are either the input space poor preciseness or the lack of a sound record of student performance. We introduce the new concept of knowledge bias and a new predictive model classification. Precision education would reduce bias by providing low-bias intensive-knowledge models. To avoid bias, it is not necessary to add knowledge to the input space. Low-bias extensive-knowledge models are achievable simply by appending the student’s earlier performance record to the model. The low-bias intensive-knowledge learning models promoted by precision education are suited to designing new policies and actions toward academic attainments. If the aim is solely prediction, deciding for a low bias knowledge-extensive model can be appropriate and correct. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01298 Full Text: PDF

Personality by intelligence interaction effects on grades tend to be synergistic

Earlier research has identified personality traits × intelligence interaction effects on academic performance. The present study, employing data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97, N = 8984), identified some interaction effects, mainly involving indicators of dependability, on high school grades. The interaction effects tended to be synergistic, meaning that the association between the trait and grades tended to strengthen with increased intelligence. This could be due to a sufficient level of intelligence being necessary for higher grades, and that lack thereof cannot be compensated for by a high degree of some advantageous personality trait. However, a positive association between intelligence and reliability in the measurement of personality, as well as a reversed causal effect of grades on self-rated personality moderated by intelligence, could also be contributing causes to the tendency for synergistic interaction effects.

Formation of new competencies in high school students (grades 9-11) when introducing new technological subjects into the school curriculum, such as architectural literacy, design, basics of holographic engineering

В статье рассматривается важность внедрения в старших классах (9-11классы) таких дисциплин как: архитектурная грамотность, основы инженерии, компьютерный дизайн (голография), космобиология, основы космического проектирования. Авторы отмечают, что на сегодняшний день мир профессий меняется стремительно, растет спрос на разработки новых технологий, а стало быть, появлений новых профессий: архитектор умного дома, боевой медик, проектировщик подводных станций (жилья), проектировщик воздушного жилья (создание дирижабль-городов), голографическая инженерия, а также профессии связанные с разработкой космического пространства, (космобиология, планетный гид, экскурсовод по космическим спутникам и так далее). В рамках данной статьи было проведено исследование, где будущие студенты высших учебных заведений обсудили вопросы синтезирования различных профессий и выявили предметы, которые, по их мнению, должны изучаться в рамках школьной программы в отдельных профессионально ориентированных классах. В процессе исследования были выявлены общие различия по разным видам компетенций среди школьников, особенно при обучении инженерным и архитектурным дисциплинам. Практическая сторона работы заключается в возможности использования результатов для специалистов схожего профиля и области исследований. The article discusses the importance of implementation in high school (grades 9-11) such disciplines as: architectural literacy, fundamentals of engineering, computer design (holography), cosmobiology, fundamentals of space design. The authors note that today the world of professions is changing rapidly, the demand for the development of new technologies is growing, and therefore, the emergence of new professions: architect of a smart home, combat medic, designer of underwater stations (housing), designer of air housing (creating airship cities), holographic engineering, as well as professions related to the development of outer space (cosmobiology, planetary guide, guide to space satellites, and so on). Within the framework of this article, a study was conducted where future students of higher educational institutions discussed the issues of synthesizing various professions and identified subjects that, in their opinion, should be studied as part of the school curriculum in separate professionally oriented classes.

WILLINGNESS TO SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION

"The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence an individual’s choice to share personal information online. Specifically, the role of age, gender, personality, overall media exposure, and perceived risks and benefits were examined in relation to a willingness to share personal information that differed in sensitivity (high school grades, medical records, income) and differed in target audience (social media, online store, general public). A total of 202 individuals participated in this survey study. The majority were young (M age = 22.46 years, SD = 5.77), single (83.7%), women (80.7 %), with at least some post-secondary education (90.1%). A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated that willingness to share personal information on social media was predicted by having higher scores on the personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, and negative emotionality. Higher scores on perceived purchase benefits and total media exposure also predicted willingness to share personal information on social media. In terms of willingness to share personal information with an online store, total media exposure was a significant predictor along with higher extraversion and lower conscientiousness scores. Finally, willingness to share personal information with the general public was predicted by overall media exposure. Participants generally believed that there were risks involved in sharing personal information, but these risks were considered to be slight. As well, they only slightly disagreed when asked if the internet could be trusted, and were neutral on whether there were purchase benefits to providing personal information."

Reading Takes You Places

This study investigates effects of a web-based summer reading program on the reading behaviors and attitudes of adolescents. The study takes place in an American high school, grades nine through twelve. A purposive random sample of 288 students and eleven teachers ensured representation of students from each of three ability groupings. Data were collected through student surveys and teacher interviews. Findings show that students expressed satisfaction with the program, but it did not meet the needs of low achieving students. Mixed responses from teachers point to the need for consensus about the purpose of a summer reading program.