Teaching to the curriculum or teaching to the test

Purpose: This research aimed to investigate teaching practices that dominates the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination class to ascertain discrepancies between the prescribed and implemented curriculum. Research methodology: The study adopted ex-post facto research design of a survey type. 1719 students and 53 mathematics teachers participated in the study. Four instruments were used for data collection: Mathematics Content Completion Inventory, Teaching Depth Rating Scale(r=0.96), Classroom Observation Checklist(r=0.95) and Mathematics Learning Task(r=0.95). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical model in SPSS version 20. Results: Results indicated that Full implementation of the prescribed curriculum ranged between 46.2% to 86.5% for 54 topics, but only three out of them were indepthly taught. Teaching activities revolved around examination preparation, with the highest percentage of 48.55 among nine different categories. Limitation: This study was limited to only one state in Nigeria, one subject and one type of high-stakes examination. It can be replicated on different school subjects to provide greater generalizability. Contribution: Results will help stakeholders strategise on reforms that will promote in-depth teaching and optimal implementation of the prescribed mathematics curriculum. Keywords: Curriculum, High-Stakes examination, Mathematics, Teaching depth

Underwater Glider Propulsion Systems VBS Part 1: VBS Sizing and Glider Performance Analysis

The Variable Buoyancy System (VBS) is a critical device in the operation of underwater gliders that should be properly sized to achieve the required vehicle propulsion; safety within the operating range; and adequate efficiency at the nominal depth rating. The VBS budget volume depends mainly on the glider hydrodynamics and the main operating states of the vehicle. A method is proposed with analytical equations to analyze the performance of underwater gliders and to estimate the resultant velocities of the vehicle as a function of the buoyancy change and the glider angle. The method is validated to analyze the glider performance of underwater gliders and is essential to get the main design requirement for the propulsion system: the VBS budget volume. The paper presents the application of the method to obtain the VBS sizing for an academic glider; a comparison with the historical hydrodynamic data of the Slocum glider; the results of the glider performance study; and the development of the characteristic charts necessary to evaluate the performance of the vehicle and its flight parameters.

Depth, Connectedness, and Structural Relevance in the Object-Superiority Effect: Line Segments are Harder to See in Flatter Patterns

A briefly flashed line can be identified more accurately when it is part of certain types of pattern than in others (the ‘object-superiority effect’). Three experiments were designed to investigate what aspects of these patterns determine the facilitatory effect of context. Subjects identified which of four line segments was present in various briefly flashed figures. Other subjects rated the figures for three-dimensionality, connectedness, and ‘structural relevance’ of the target line. Little relationship was found between connectedness ratings and accuracy in the identification task, but accuracy was highly correlated with mean depth rating (accounting for 95% of the variance) and with mean structural-relevance rating (88%). Because of the high correlation ( r = 0·98) between these two judgments in the present experiments, and confounding with other stimulus variables in previously published studies, the relative importance of these two global attributes cannot yet be determined definitively (though there was some evidence that for these patterns depth judgments were primary and structural-relevance judgments derivative). A reexamination of pertinent research suggests that comparisons between well-matched stimuli (as in the object-superiority effect) are likely to be more robust and informative than comparisons between lines alone and in context (the ‘object-line effect’).

Spherical Acrylic Pressure Hulls With Multiple Penetrations

An experimental program has been conducted to determine the effect of multiple penetrations on the performance of spherical acrylic plastic hulls under external hydrostatic pressure. As test specimens served 15-in. OD × 14-in. ID model scale NEMO spheres. The distribution of strains and the magnitudes of short term critical pressures indicate that the structural response of acrylic spheres with multiple penetrations to external hydrostatic pressure is identical to spheres with only one penetration equipped with a metallic closure providing that the included angles of the penetrations are ≤46 deg and the edges of the penetrations are at least one penetration radius apart. Based on these findings it is feasible to incorporate three or more large penetrations into the spherical hulls of acrylic submersibles without decreasing their operational depth rating that has been based on the experimentally proven structural performance of spheres with only one penetration, or two penetrations 180 deg center to center apart.

Personality Correlates of Actual Self-Disclosure

A questionnaire which obtained actual self-disclosure about five topics—interests, personality, studies, body, and money—and instruments which measured seven personality traits were administered to 52 Ss. Seven self-disclosure scores were obtained from the questionnaire, one depth rating for each topic, a total depth score (sum of the five topic depth ratings), and an amount of disclosure score (count of words written in responding to all five topic areas). All self-disclosure measures were correlated with the personality variables for males and females separately and also with sex. No significant relationships were found between the personality variables and the measures of self-disclosure for females. However, data suggested that more emotionally unstable males tended to disclose more about their personality and their health and physical appearance than the stable males. Although no significant correlations were found between masculinity-femininity as a personality trait and the measures of actual disclosure, females tended to disclose more than males about all topics except “money.”