Enhancing Numeracy Skills of Grade 3 Students Through Authentic Performance Tasks

Numeracy is the capacity to use mathematical ideas in all facets of life.It involves activities such as adding and subtracting numbers,counting,number recognition,solving number problems involving various operations,sorting,observing,identifying,and establishing patterns.It is one of the fundamental skills that students should have mastered by the end of their primary schooling.With the notable importance of mastery of numeracy skills,low achievement and performance of the learners were observed in this aspect.This study aimed in enhancing the numeracy skills of Grade 3 learners through authentic performance tasks.The variable in numeracy skills includes the four fundamental operations and problem solving.The quasi-experimental design was utilized wherein purposive sampling or non-randomized sampling was used.In this study,33 Grade 3 learners of Rizal Elementary School were selected to participate in the tests.Pre-test and post-test crafted by the teacher were the main instrument in the study.The result revealed that in the pre-test the learners obtained a mean percentage score(MPS)of 38.20%in four fundamental operations,which implied a non-numerate level.While in terms of problem solving,the learners obtained a MPS of 20.60%which is also in the non-numerate level.It has a grand mean of 29.40%with an interpretation of non-numerate level.In the post-test,it was observed that four fundamental operations have a MPS of 81.10%which is in average numerate level,while problem solving has a MPS of 76.30%with a grand mean of 78.70%with an interpretation of average numerate level.This implied that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test in the four fundamental operations and problem solving.Thus,it can be concluded that the application of authentic performance tasks was effective to bridge the gap on numeracy skills.

Preliminary evaluation of the VIsion PERformance(VIPER) simulator

Background:This study evaluated the VIsion PERformance(VIPER)simulator’s ability to assess the functional visual performance in warfighters conducting civilian and military tasks.Methods:Thirty service members,aged 25–35 years old with a best corrected distance visual acuity(VA)better than or equal to 20/20 or logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution(logMAR)0.00,were randomized to locate and identify road signs and mock improvised explosive devices(IEDs)under either daytime conditions or with infrared imagery,with(cc)and without(sc)wearing their habitual correction.Participants also underwent binocular uncorrected(UDVA)and corrected(CDVA)visual assessment,refraction,contrast sensitivity testing and wavefront aberrometry.Results:The mean age was 28.47 years.The manifest spherical equivalent was–3.16±1.75 diopters(D),the UDVA in both eyes(OU)was logMAR 0.83±0.47,and the CDVA OU was–0.11±0.06.For VIPER,the mean difference in the detection distance(DD)for road signs ccDD vs.scDD was(76.7±52.8)m(P<0.001).The average difference in identification distance(ID)ccID vs.scID was(13.9±6.3)m(P<0.001).The mean accuracies were 83.5%and 27.9%for cc and sc,respectively(P<0.001).The regression analysis indicated that a 1.6 m change in the distance accounts for a 1%change in the accuracy(P=0.002).Without correction,a 4.1 m change accounts for a 1%change in the accuracy(P<0.001).The average IED ccDD was(29.9±8.2)m,and that for scDD was(13.2±13.6)m(P<0.001).The average IED ccID was(32.2±6.2)m and that for the scID was(7.4±10.3)m(P<0.001).The mean IED identification accuracy was 46.7 and 11.4%for cc and sc,respectively(P<0.001).Conclusions:The preliminary results reflect VIPER’s ability to assess functional visual performance when detecting and identifying signs and IEDs.Furthermore,VIPER is able to detect performance changes with and without correction.

Authoritarian leadership and task performance:the effects of leader-member exchange and dependence on leader

This study examines how and when authoritarian leadership affects subordinates’task performance.Using social exchange theory and power dependence theory,this study proposes that authoritarian leadership negatively influences task performance through leader-member exchange(LMX).This study further proposes that the effect of authoritarian leadership on LMX is stronger when a subordinate has less dependence on a leader.A two-wave survey was conducted in a large electronics and information enterprise group in China.These hypotheses are supported by results based on 219 supervisor-subordinate dyads.The results reveal that authoritarian leadership negatively affects subordinates’task performance via LMX.Dependence on leader buffers the negative effect of authoritarian leadership on LMX and mitigates the indirect effect of authoritarian leadership on employee task performance through LMX.Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Creation and Evaluation of a Multi-sensory Virtual Assembly Environment

The multi-modal information presentation, integrated into the virtual environment （VE）, has potential for stimulating different senses, improving the user＇s impression of immersion, and increasing the amount of information that is accepted and processed by the user＇s perception system. The increase of the useful feedback information may reduce the user＇s cognitive load, thus enhancing the user＇s efficiency and performance while interacting with VEs. This paper presents our creation of a multi-sensory virtual assembly environment （VAE） and the evaluation of the effects of multi-sensory feedback on the usability. The VAE brings together complex technologies such as constraint-based assembly simulation, optical motion tracking technology, and real-time 3D sound generation technology around a virtual reality workbench and a common software platform. The usability evaluation is in terms of its three attributes： efficiency of use, user satisfaction, and reliability. These are addressed by using task completion times （TCTs）, questionnaires, and human performance error rates （HPERs）, respectively. Two assembly tasks have been used to perform the experiments, using sixteen participants. The outcomes showed that the multi-sensory feedback could improve the usability. They also indicated that the integrated feedback offered better usability than either feedback used in isolation. Most participants preferred the integrated feedback to either feedback （visual or auditory） or no feedback. The participants＇ comments demonstrated that nonrealistic or inappropriate feedback had negative effects on the usability, and easily made them feel frustrated. The possible reasons behind the outcomes are also analysed by using a unifying human computer interaction framework. The implications, concluded from the outcomes of this work, can serve as useful guidelines for improving VE system design and implementation.

Effects of Local-Lag Mechanism on Task Performance in a Desktop CVE System

Consistency maintenance is a kernel problem in Collaborative VirtualEnvironment (CVE) research. The approaches used in Networked Virtual Environments (e.g., DRalgorithm) could not be used in CVEs, for they could not prevent short-term inconsistency.Therefore, local-lag mechanism has been proposed to eliminate short-term inconsistency in CVEs.Choosing a proper lag value is a key problem in local-lag mechanism. This paper studied the effectsof lag value (0ms-900ms) on task performance in a desktop CVE system. Experimental results indicatethat the effect of lag value on task performance is not linear. The effect could be separated intofour segments by three dividing points: 150ms, 300ms and 600ms. Lag has no effect on taskperformance while ranging from 0ms to 150ms. From 150ms to 300ms, lag slightly affects taskperformance. Lag deteriorates task performance seriously while ranging from 300ms to 600ms. When lagis longer than 600ms, the task cannot be accomplished sometimes.

Moxibustion modulates working memory in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment:a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the correlation between changes in brain activity associated with working memory and assessment scales of memory scores in amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI)before and after moxibustion therapy.METHODS:aMCI patients were randomized into the moxibustion treatment(MT)group and the placebo moxibustion(PM)group.Each group received either moxibustion therapy or a placebo moxibustion for eight weeks.Neuropsychological performance and functional brain responses to a working memory task were assessed at baseline and at the end of treatment.Memory function was evaluated individually by the Rivermead behavioral memory test(RBMT),and working memory was assessed by the N-back task.RESULTS:Compared with the PM group,RBMT score changes were significant(P<0.05).In the MT group,the accuracy of the N-back texts increased compared with those before the intervention.After moxibustion intervention,the right insula,postcentral gyrus,precentral gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,thalamus,lingual gyrus,calcarine sulcus,posterior cingulate gyrus,middle frontal gyrus and anterior frontal gyrus were significantly activated(P=0.01,Cluster-level Family-Wise Error=0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that the insula,lingual gyrus and posterior cingulate gyrus were associated with changes in N-back score.Spearman correlation analysis showed that the postcentral gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,thalamus,lingual gyrus,and posterior cingulate gyrus were correlated with RBMT score changes.CONCLUSION:Moxibustion treatment improved memory in aMCI patients and was associated with the activation of the brain region of the insula,lingual gyrus,posterior cingulate gyrus,postcentral gyrus,superior temporal gyrus,and thalamus,which may be an important mechanism by which moxibustion improves the memory function.