The role of time and cuing in a college lecture

The lecture process was studied systematically with the following objectives: to reexamine the effects of time upon note-taking and immediate retention, to compare the relative effectiveness of spoken and written cues, and to investigate cuing schedules. Students were asked to view one of a series of videotaped lectures in which certain statements were highlighted by either spoken or written cues. The contents of students' notes and assessments of immediate recall and recognition provided the dependent measures. Students recorded increasingly less information in their notes over the course of the lecture, but retention of material from different portions of the lecture was essentially the same. Written-cued statements were recorded more frequently and retained better than statements preceded by spoken cues. Finally, the different schedules of cuing were shown to have subtle effects upon note-taking and recall.     

In‐Text Questions: A Note on an Experiment in Instructional Design

The use of instructional design is increasingly being discussed in the distance education and higher education literature. This paper reports an experiment in which self study questions are inserted in the text of lecture note material for external students. An evaluation revealed that students who received notes with in‐text questions were no different from those who received the standard lecture notes as judged by both performance and attitudinal criteria. Possible reasons for the perverse findings are given and it is concluded that professional instructional design assistance would be of value to subject matter experts.     

Medical student retention of embryonic development: Impact of the dimensions added by multimedia tutorials

The purpose of this project was to develop Web‐based learning modules that combine (1) animated 3D graphics; (2) 3D models that a student can manipulate independently; (3) passage of time in embryonic development; and (4) animated 2D graphics, including 2D cross‐sections that represent different “slices” of the embryo, and animate in parallel. These elements were presented in two tutorials, one depicting embryonic folding and the other showing development of the nervous system after neural tube formation. The goal was to enhance the traditional teaching format—lecture combined with printed diagrams, text, and existing computer animations—with customized, guided, Web‐based learning modules that surpassed existing resources. To assess module effectiveness, we compared quiz performance of control groups who attended lecture and did not use a supporting module, with study groups who used a module in addition to attending lecture. We also assessed our students' long‐term retention of the material, comparing classes who had used the module with students from a previous year that had not seen the module. Our data analysis suggests that students who used a module performed better than those given only traditional resources if they used the module after they were already somewhat familiar with the material. The findings suggest that our modules—and possibly computer‐assisted‐instruction modules in general—are more useful if used toward the later stages of learning, rather than as an initial resource. Furthermore, our data suggest that the animation aids in long‐term retention. Both medical students at the University of Cincinnati and medical faculty from across the country commented favorably on their experiences with the embryonic development modules. Anat Sci Ed 1:252–257, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

A Model for Developing and Testing Custom-Made Laboratory Manuals to Use with Food Chemistry and Food Analysis Courses

ABSTRACT: This project reports on a model for preparing food chemistry and food analysis laboratory manuals that provide a closer link between lecture material and laboratory exercises. Teaching effectiveness was also improved by evaluating the composition and eliminating duplication between these complementary courses. Utilizing the combination of personal experience and the scientific literature, laboratory exercises were developed and modified to fit with the lecture material. Labs were initially performed and critiqued by a graduate student. After making appropriate revisions, undergraduate students tested the labs under the graduate student's supervision and completed a questionnaire about their experiences. Based on the undergraduate feed-back, final revisions were made and custom laboratory manuals were printed. This project demonstrates one effective way for developing custom food science labs to parallel with lecture material.     

Students' note-taking behaviors and the efficacy of providing the instructor's notes for review

College students viewed a videotaped lecture with or without taking notes. Average performance between the two groups did not differ on an immediate test. The encoding effect of note taking was therefore unsupported. Two days later, note takers reviewed their notes while listeners reviewed the instructor's notes in preparation for the delayed exam. Subjects who reviewed the instructor's notes achieved significantly more, on factual items, than did subjects who reviewed their own relatively brief and unorganized notes. Thus, listening to a lecture and subsequently reviewing the instructor's notes prior to a delayed exam leads to relatively higher achievement than does the traditional method of taking and reviewing personal lecture notes.     

The Effects of Strategic Notetaking on the Recall and Comprehension of Lecture Information for High School Students with Learning Disabilities

This investigation examined the effects of strategic notetaking on the recall and comprehension of high school students with learning disabilities (LD) or educable mental retardation (EMR). Twenty-six students with high incidence disabilities (LD or EMR) were randomly assigned by grade and disability to either an experimental or control group. Using strategic notetaking, students in the experimental group were taught to independently take notes while viewing a videotaped lecture. Students who were taught strategic notetaking scored significantly higher on measures of immediate free recall, long-term free recall, comprehension, and number of notes recorded than students in the control group who used conventional notetaking. The limitations of the research and implications of this technique for classroom application are discussed.     

The effects of a combination of text structure awareness and graphic postorganizers on recall and retention of science knowledge

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a self-regulated strategy on immediate recall and retention of science knowledge in community-college anatomy and physiology students who participated in a 14-hour (8 weeks) study skills class. The class emphasized the recognition of five common science textbook text structures (cause and effect, classification, enumeration, generalization, and sequence) and the construction of graphic postorganizers of the text structures. A pretest, two immediate posttests, and a retention posttest were used to measure recall and retention. Results indicated that on immediate posttests students who actively constructed graphic postorganizers of the test structure recalled significantly more content than did the control students who simply underlined, reread, or highlighted. On a 3-week retention posttest, those students in the study skills class retained significantly more of the material studied than did the control group of students.     

Readers’ Letters

We present findings from a study exploring student and staff perceptions of the use of webnotes, and whether their availability affects attendance at lectures. A questionnaire survey gathered data from 162 undergraduate and masters students and 20 staff. Students and staff agree that webnotes have become an expected supplement to lecture delivery, and cite a range of advantages of such notes. There are mixed views on the impact of webnotes on attendance; all agree that it is important that the lecture is seen to ‘add value’ over webnotes. Some see gapped notes as encouraging interaction and engagement, whilst others feel that they interrupt concentration and learning. Staff offered insights into how lecturers can enhance the effectiveness of students’ use of webnotes. Suggestions are offered as to how both students and academic staff might improve their practice in this context.     

Effects of Videotape Mediation on the Development of Skills in Audiovisual Instruction

This study investigated whether videotape‐mediated instruction has any effect on the learning of the principles of audiovisual instruction, and on the development of practical skills. A total of 100 students were used as the sample population, 50 students (control group) receiving lectures on the selected concepts and the other 50 (experimental group) receiving both videotaped and lecture‐based instruction. Results indicated that the experimental group gained more, in general, than did the control group.     

Hypertext computer study guides and the social studies achievement of students with learning disabilities, remedial students, and regular education students

Hypertext is a relatively new term for today's teachers, who work hard to stay abreast of the quickly changing field of computer technology in education. Hypertext as an educational tool is very different from traditional computer-assisted instructional software, offering the reader immediate access through its computer format to supplemental information. Two related studies were conducted to design and field-test hypertext computer study guides. In Study 1, 40 students (10 with learning disabilities, 15 remedial, and 15 regular education) worked in three different treatment groups (lecture, lecture/computer study guide, and computer study guide). Study 2 involved the five lowest achieving students (two with learning disabilities and three remedial) from Study 1 in an A-B-A design. Results indicated that (a) the computer study guide treatment was as effective as lecture, (b) the lecture/computer study guide treatment was as effective as lecture, (c) posttest scores were higher for the computer study guide group, and (d) retention test scores were higher for the computer study guide group.     

Laptop versus longhand note taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement

There has been a shift in college classrooms from students recording lecture notes using a longhand pencil-paper medium to using laptops. The present study investigated whether note-taking medium (laptop, longhand) influenced note taking and achievement when notes were recorded but not reviewed (note taking’s process function) and when notes were recorded and reviewed (note taking’s product function). One unique aspect of the study was determining how laptop and longhand note taking influence the recording of lecture images in notes and image-related achievement. Note-taking results showed that laptop note takers recorded more notes (idea units and words) and more verbatim lecture strings than did longhand note takers who, in turn, recorded more visual notes (signals and images) than did laptop note takers. Achievement results showed that when taking laptop notes, the process function of note taking was more beneficial than the product function of note taking (i.e., better image-related learning and similar text-related learning). When taking longhand notes, the product function of note taking was more beneficial than the process function of note taking (i.e., better text-related learning and similar image-related learning). Achievement findings suggest that the optimal note-taking medium depends on the nature of the lecture and whether notes are reviewed.     

Some factors influencing student performance in laboratory experimental work in physiology with implications for curriculum deliberations and instructional design

A class of 1st-year medical students was divided into a control group who performed a laboratory experiment for themselves, and an experimental group who were given a demonstrationdata interpretation exercise. Prior to the practical session the experimental group were given a programmed text covering the underlying theoretical principles, to use in their private study. The control group were instructed to do their private study in the usual way using only their lecture notes and textbooks. Prior knowledge and the gain resulting from practical instruction were assessed using pre- and post-tests.The conventional laboratory method was ineffective and did not facilitate conceptual understanding. The post-test performance and gain of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group, but this result did not appear to be dependent upon greater prior knowledge. The pretest performance of both treatment groups revealed that many students were inadequately prepared for the practical exercise. Many students did not appear to study the programmed text conscientiously, probably because they were accustomed to the traditional method of teaching and adopted a surface, reproductive approach to all learning. Furthermore, the students had difficulty linking their prior knowledge to the experiment, suggesting the need for pre-laboratory exercises designed to achieve closer integration between theory and experimentation.It is clear that in order to achieve more meaningful learning there is a need for the students to change their attitudes and approaches to learning and for active, student-centred teaching-learning experiences to be incorporated into the curriculum.     

The impact of interactive,computerized educational modules on preclinical medical education

Interactive computerized modules have been linked to improved retention of material in clinical medicine. This study examined the effects of a new series of interactive learning modules for preclinical medical education, specifically in the areas of quiz performance, perceived difficulty of concepts, study time, and perceived stress level. We randomly allocated 102 medical student volunteers into control and experimental groups. All participants studied selected anatomical and physiologic concepts using existing material (lecture notes, textbooks, etc.), while those in the experimental groups used the new interactive modules as well. All participants completed a quiz to test their knowledge of the assigned concepts and a survey to assess their subjective experiences in studying with the modules. We found a trend toward higher quiz scores in the experimental group relative to the control group, though it did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.31). Perceived concept difficulty was significantly reduced among those who studied with the modules (P < 0.001), and the number of hours spent studying the concepts was significantly increased (P = 0.028). Of those who used the modules, 83% rated them as “very helpful” or “extremely helpful.” No significant differences existed between participants' reported stress levels during the course of the study (P = 0.44). Our data suggest that medical students may learn more effectively and feel less intimidated by difficult concepts when interactive modules supplement traditional instruction. Anat Sci Ed 1:247–251, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

Drama in Teaching Survey Research Methods

Theories of conditioning, modeling, and andragogy suggest drama's usefulness for teaching such topics as survey research methods to social work students. A randomized factorial experimental design compared groups of graduate social work students receiving materials presented in the form of a play or a lecture by two different professors. Initial testing indicated that the lecture by two different professors. Initial testing indicated that the lecture and play groups were equivalent in attitudes toward the experience. One week later the play group had significantly more positive attitudes. While the lecture and play groups were initially equivalent in knowledge retention, the lecture group showed significantly higher scores one week later.     

Teacher Clarifying Behaviors

High school social studies students (N = 448) were each assigned to one of 16 groups defined by possible combinations of two teacher uncertainty conditions (uncertainty vs. no uncertainty), two teacher “bluffing” conditions (bluffing vs. no bluffing), two lesson discontinuity conditions (discontinuity vs. no discontinuity), and two lecture notes conditions (notes handouts vs. no notes handouts). Each group was presented a lesson about the geography, politics, history, and economy of Botswana. The lessons were the same except for variations in the four conditions stated above. After the lesson, each group was tested on comprehension of the material, and then each group completed a lesson evaluation. Teacher uncertainty negatively affected achievement, and notes handouts positively affected achievement. Both teacher bluffing and lesson discontinuity negatively affected student evaluation of the lesson. Several significant interactions were obtained. These findings are discussed in relation to previous research on low-inference behaviors related to teacher clarity.     

Revising lecture notes: how revision,pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement

Note taking has been categorized as a two-stage process: the recording of notes and the review of notes. We contend that note taking might best involve a three-stage process where the missing stage is revision. This study investigated the benefits of revising lecture notes and addressed two questions: First, is revision more effective than non-revision? Second, what revision method is best? Experiment 1 addressed the first question by comparing the performance of participants who revise or recopy lecture notes. Experiment 2 addressed the second question by investigating whether revision was best done (a) during pauses throughout the lecture or one equally-timed pause after the lecture, and (b) with a partner or alone. Dependent measures were original and additional notes and fact and relationship test scores. Results upheld three effects: (a) a modest revision effect—revisers recorded more additional notes and achieved somewhat higher scores on relationship items than re-copiers, (b) a pause effect—those revising during pauses outperformed those revising after the lecture on the notes and achievement measures, and (c) a modest partner effect—those revising with partners recorded more original notes than those revising alone. Furthermore, the combination of pauses and partners has merit and holds promise as a means for revision. Overall, findings suggested that revision is a new student-centered means to boost lecture note taking and achievement.     

A more equitable account of the note-taking functions in learning from lecture and from text

Previous research investigating the encoding, encoding-plus-storage, and extermal-storage functions of note taking has failed to equate processing opportunities among the groups. The present studies did so by having the encoding group take notes on two occasions without review, the encoding-plus-storage group take notes one time and review notes the next, and the external-storage group twice review a set of borrowed notes. Three forms of note taking were used: conventional, and note taking on skeletal and matrix frameworks. In both Experiment 1, involving lecture learning, and Experiment 2, involving text learning, an advantage was found for the encoding-plus-storage function on tests involving factual-recall and recognition performance but not on tests measuring higher-order performance. With respect to note-taking forms, no advantage existed for any form when information was acquired from lecture. When text material was used there was some advantage for conventional notes and a clear advantage for not taking notes at all, but instead twice reading the material. These findings were explained relative to observed note-taking behaviors, the opportunity for review, and the processing demands proposed by the combination of reading and note taking, particularly when notes must be classified into an existing framework.     

Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of providing lecture notes: The role of internet technology as a delivery system and research tool

Relationships among patterns of access to online notes, examination performance, and student absenteeism were examined. Students who made more frequent use of online notes performed at a higher level on course examinations. Students most frequently accessed online notes while corresponding lecture content was being presented in class, but this pattern weakened to some extent during the semester. Students who attended class most consistently made greater use of online notes. Patterns of online note use were different for students with low and high rates of absenteeism.     

Multimedia,It's How You Use It

SUMMARY

The current study chronicles what one professor learned from teaching a distance education course with and without the aid of PowerPoint multimedia presentation software. It compares student ratings of three lectures from the same classes by the same professor; the first, a traditional lecture without any audiovisual aids; the second, a lecture supplemented by PowerPoint notes outlining the lecture; and finally, a multimedia lecture utilizing PowerPoint notes with pictures, music and animations. Students reacted no differently to any of the presentations when delivered by an experienced teacher. The students did, however, prefer PowerPoint multimedia to PowerPoint outline presentations. Suggestions for the optimal uses of presentation software are provided.