Learning from web-based instructional systems and cognitive style

Two of the principal issues, which have been addressed in assessments of the benefits of web‐based instructional systems, are firstly, whether the segmentation of information provided by the web structure aids users in apprehending the interrelationships between the units of information featured in the web. Secondly, whether providing the user with an overview of the web system assists in facilitating his/her learning. It is suggested in the present study that these two issues may be more effectively understood by a consideration of an individual's cognitive style. Fifty participants were assigned to one of two web‐based instructional systems featuring information on the subject of psychological ethics. The information in one of the web systems was segmented to a greater degree than the information in the other. Half the participants using each web system were given an overview of the system and half were not. After a given time using the system, participants were tested on the information from the web. The findings suggest that cognitive style and segmentation had an effect on performance, although the provision of the overview had little effect. The results are discussed in terms of a consideration of cognitive style in the design of web‐based instructional systems.     

Integrating cognitive task analysis into instructional systems development

Traditional methods for task analysis and training design, such as those embodied in Instructional Systems Development (ISD), decompose jobs into discrete tasks composed of specific action sequences and identify prerequisite knowledge and skills for each task. Although these methods have been effective for designing training for simple procedural skills, they offer little insight for analysis or training of jobs involving complex cognitive skills, which increasingly require training today. Because of this, cognitive considerations need to be incorporated into ISD, particularly in the task analysis phase. Recently, cognitive methods have begun to be used to conduct task analysis for training program development and human-computer system development. In this article, recent developments in cognitive task analysis are reviewed, and The Integrated Task Analysis Model (ITAM), a framework for integrating cognitive and behavioral task analysis methods within the ISD model, is presented. Discussed in detail are ITAM's three analysis stages—progressive cycles of data collection, analysis, and decision making—in three components of expertise: skills, knowledge, and mental models. This research was supported in part by the U.S. Air Force Armstrong Laboratory, Human Resources Directorate, Operational Training Division. The views contained herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Air Force or the Department of Defense. Both authors contributed equally to this article. Joan M. Ryder is with CHI Systems, Inc. Richard E. Redding is with Human Technology, Inc. Drs. Bernell Edwards and Thomas Killion were the technical monitors and provided valuable guidance. The authors thank John Cannon, Sharon Fisher, Wayne Zachary, and the participants of an AL/HR Workshop on Cognitive Skills Acquisition for helpful comments.     

Public education: The next generation

Abstract

Keith Stanovich (1986) uses a biblical allusion the “Matthew Effect”; when discussing the acquisition of reading Stanovich (1986) claimed that in the acquisition of reading, as with the acquisition of what are deemed to be many of life's prizes, the mote one has, the more one gets This is often expressed as the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer In essence, when a student has demonstrated high skills within an area, they are encouraged to increase this ability with extra practice, resulting in even higher standards. The characteristics of the Gifted and Learning Disabled (GLD) student generally mean that the student will display subject‐specific weaknesses, subject‐specific strengths and often have poor organisational skills. Some GLD students may display academic weakness across the curriculum and demonstrate their ability with higher order thinking skills purely orally! Gifted students without a specific learning disability do not display such extremes in their academic endeavors. Thus, the “Matthew Effect”; when applied (in reverse) to the GLD student means that where a student has an underlying academic weakness, enjoyment of that subject is decreased, practice is limited, and standards are not raised to a level commensurate with intellectual potential. That is in the case of many GLD students, the poor get poorer (obviously, this would depend upon the level of specific learning disability, as some students are barely affected at all). Inevitably, success in school subjects links directly to motivation, perceptions of self‐ efficacy and self‐image. It should be no surprise that successful students are motivated, have high expectations of self‐efficacy, and good self image. Successful students would have positive affective characteristics, and thus, unsuccessful students would have the reverse.

It is important to define what is meant by assistive technology, as it could be argued that a rubber pencil grip or even a ruler might be considered assistive technology (Bryant &; Bryant: 1998, Bryant, Erin, Lock, Allan &; Resta: 1998; Lewis: 1998). Raskind and Higgins (1998:27) supply the following definition of assistive technology as “any technology that enables an individual with LD to compensate for specific deficits.”; Lewis (1998: 16) says that it is “any technology with the potential to enhance the performance of persons with disabilities”;. Lewis (1998) continues by saying that the purpose of assistive technology is firstly, to build on one's strengths, counterbalancing any weaknesses, and secondly, to provide alternative ways of performing a task. Indeed, Lewis (1998 17) likens assistive technology to a “cognitive prosthesis”;. The focus of this article will be on electronic assistive technology, with an emphasis on software programs suitable for use by middle and upper secondary gifted and learning disabled students. Thus, access and accommodation are key words. The ability of a student to access required programs and differentiation by accommodation are vital issues at the heart of electronic assistive technology. A definition of Gifted and Learning Disabled would (loosely) be, any gifted student who also has a specific learning disability. Students such as these will display elements of giftedness and elements of a specific learning disability Emphasis will be on the development of academic strengths, not on remediation of academic weaknesses. It is not the intention of this article to review interactive software programs which supply remedial work for phonics awareness, language, mathematical or reading difficulties. Reviews of such programs are available through subject‐interest journals or software suppliers.     

IPv6: The next generation Internet Protocol

IPv4, the workhorse protocol of the currently popular TCP/ IP protocol suite, is fast becoming obsolete. The exponential growth of the Internet is the main reason that has required the creation of the next generation of Internet Protocol-IPv6. IPv6 is much more flexible and promises to take care of the address space and security issues in the foreseeable future. Part 1 of the paper lays the foundation of the various issues involved in designing the Internet Protocol and motivates the need for an upgraded version of this protocol.     

IPv6: The next generation internet protocol

IPv4, the workhorse protocol of the currently popular TCP/ IP protocol suite, is fast becoming obsolete. The exponential growth of the Internet is the main reason that has required the creation of the next generation of Internet Protocol-IPv6. IPv6 is much more flexible and promises to take care of the address space and security issues in the foreseeable future. In this part we explain the new features introduced in the emerging Internet Protocol standard and why they have been introduced. Harsha Stlnath is currently pursning his MS degree in Computer Science at the Center for Advanced Computer Studica (CACS) in University of Loulsiana at Lafayette, USA. His research interests include networking with an emphasis on wireless networks, distributed databases and data mining     

Implications of cognitive theory for instructional design: Revisited

The field of cognitive science is contributing significantly to the research and theory on learning, and to the development of intelligent tutoring systems. The instructional design literature indicates an interest in cognitive theory as well as attempts to integrate it into our theory and research base. However, cognitive psychologists do not necessarily find this synthesis satisfactory. The purpose of this article is to point out the conflicts, so that instructional designers can be aware of the nature of our coexistence. This paper was written while the author was with Human Resources Research Organization, Alexandria, VA.     

Successful instructional methods: A cognitive information processing approach

This is the fifth ECTJ/ERIC-IR Young Scholar Paper, an annual award initiated to stimulate writing by young professionals in the field of instructional technology. Preparation of the paper was supported by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources at Syracuse, N.Y. -Ed. The author wishes to acknowledge the extensive advice and assistance of Richard E. Clark in preparing the final version of the original paper and the many recommendations for revision from the Young Scholar judges, and particularly to thank William Winn, Robert Heinich, and Tom Schwen for their suggestions, without, of course, holding them responsible for the final product.     

教学系统设计方法在培训领域中的应用

教学系统设计方法在国内外企业培训领域中占有主导地位。本文阐述了教学系统设计在培训领域的应用方法和过程,并对如何在培训中实施教学系统设计做了具体深入的分析。另外,本文也探讨了随着社会的发展,教学系统设计在培训领域的应用中出现的问题,并对此给出了作者的几点看法。     

Neuroimaging of cognitive load in instructional multimedia

This paper reviews research literature on cognitive load measurement in learning and neuroimaging, and describes a mapping between the main elements of cognitive load theory and findings in functional neuroanatomy. It is argued that these findings may lead to the improved measurement of cognitive load using neuroimaging. The paper describes how current measures of cognitive load cannot accurately show the distinction between different types of cognitive load in different learning conditions, and existing approaches to cognitive load assessment are limited in terms of their precision and methodology. A literature review discusses the conceptual framework of Sweller's [Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and instructional design. Learning and Instruction 4, 295-312; Sweller, J. (1999). Instructional design in technical areas. Camberwell, Australia: ACER Press] cognitive load theory, and describes various approaches to load measurement and their limitations. The paper then describes how the core components of cognitive load - intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load - may be observable using neuroimaging techniques, and argues for the exploration of new links between education research and neuroscience.     

职业教育教学组织系统说

伴随职业教育学习过程组织的范式演变，相应地出现了四种形式的学习过程组织系统，即教程形式的学习系统、产品形成的学习系统、项目形式的学习系统，市场形式的学习系统。     

A system of cognitive stimulation in instructional strategies

Cognitive Stimulation is a system of intrinsic motivation which draws upon neo-behavioral, cognitive, and information-processing theories and upon a body of related research. The essential features of this system are the following: (a) a discrepancy between stimulus input and the learner's expectations for that input, (b) instrumental responses by the learner to reduce the discrepancy, and (c) feedback which may have the effect of maintaining the discrepancy or of reducing it by signalling changes in the environment or by modifying the learner's expectations. Based on this formulation, some important instructional considerations include the collative content of the input and the type of expectation which the input violates. In order to maximize their motivational effects, discrepancies must be maintained at optimal levels by manipulating variables such as the total value of the discrepant elements and the degree to which the elements are incompatible. Finally, the motivational impact of discrepancies is subject to the facilitating or debilitating effects of cognitive and personality differences among individual learners. The implications of this system for instructional decision-making were considered in terms of the selection of instructional topics, instructional materials, and instructional strategies.