Interactivity Between Protégés and Scientists in an Electronic Mentoring Program

Interactivity is defined by Henri (1992) as a three-step process involving communication of information, a response to this information, and a reply to that first response. It is a key dimension of computer-mediated communication, particularly in the one-on-one communication involved in an electronic mentoring program. This report analyzes the interactivity between pairs of corporate research scientists (mentors) and university biology students (protégés) during two consecutive implementations of an electronic mentoring program. The frequency and structure of the interactions within each pair were examined to provide context: 542 messages were posted among the 20 mentors and 20 protégés. These messages were formed into 5–10 threads per pair, with 3–4 messages per thread, indicating a high level of interactivity (there were more responses posted than independent messages). Mentor–protégé pairs rated as effective by both mentors and protégés posted more messages overall, had well-structured threads, had protégé and mentor postings that were similar in topic coverage and message length, and had little overt “management” behavior by mentors. However, there appears to be no clear recipe for successful interaction. Not only are there a variety of factors at play in developing an online relationship in this context, but mentor–protégé pairs can falter at various stages in the process and in various ways.     

Communication patterns in computer mediated versus face-to-face group problem solving

Research has shown that when group problem solving is computer mediated, communications become more task oriented with clearer role expectations, while face-to-face communications are more cohesive and personal. None of this research has examined those patterns of interactions in terms of the problem solving activities engaged. In this study, we compared the perceptions of participants, the nature of the comments made, and the patterns of communication in face-to-face and computer-mediated groups in terms of problem-solving activities while solving well-structured and ill-structured problems. The quantity of messages in the computer conference was smaller but more task related than in the face-to-face conversations because participants reflected more on ideas and perspectives in reaching their decisions. A cluster analysis of communication patterns showed that computer-mediated group decisions more closely resembled the general problem-solving process of problem definition, orientation, and solution development as group interaction progressed, while the face-to-face group interactions tended to follow a linear sequence of interactions. Participants who solved problems through computer conferencing were more satisfied with the process and believed that there was a greater quality in the problem-solving process.     

工读学校学生生活事件、不良情绪及其与应对方式的关系

目的:探讨工读学校学生生活事件与不良情绪的特点以及应对方式的作用.方法:问卷法,对上海市138名工读学校学生进行调查.结果:(1)工读学校的女生比男生更容易产生焦虑情绪;(2)工读学校一年级学生比二、三年级学生在人际关系和丧失方面存在更多的问题,也更容易陷入抑郁情绪之中,而三年级学生比一、二年级受到的惩罚相对较少;(3)不成熟型应对方式在健康适应生活事件与焦虑间起到部分中介作用,而其它生活事件直接影响工读学校学生的焦虑和抑郁.结论:工读学校学生生活事件、应对方式和不良情绪之间存在着密切的关系.     

Exploring detection of contact vs. fantasy online sexual offenders in chats with minors: Statistical discourse analysis of self-disclosure and emotion words

This exploratory study is the first to identify content differences between youths’ online chats with contact child sex offenders (CCSOs; seek to meet with youths) and those with fantasy child sex offenders (FCSOs; do not meet with youths) using statistical discourse analysis (SDA). Past studies suggest that CCSOs share their experiences and emotions with targeted youths (self-disclosure grooming tactic) and encourage them to reciprocate, to build trust and closer relationships through a cycle of self-disclosures. In this study, we examined 36,029 words in 4,353 messages within 107 anonymized online chat sessions by 21 people, specifically 12 youths and 9 arrested sex offenders (5 CCSOs and 4 FCSOs), using SDA. Results showed that CCSOs were more likely than FCSOs to write online messages with specific words (first person pronouns, negative emotions and positive emotions), suggesting the use of self-disclosure grooming tactics. CCSO’s self-disclosure messages elicited corresponding self-disclosure messages from their targeted youths. These results suggest that CCSOs use grooming tactics that help engender youths’ trust to meet in the physical world, but FCSOs do not.     

Interactive Contributions of Attribution Biases and Emotional Intensity to Child–Friend Interaction Quality During Preadolescence

Using data from a subsample of 913 study children and their friends who participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the interactive contributions of child-reported attribution biases and teacher-reported child emotional intensity (EI) at Grade 4 (M = 9.9 years) to observed child–friend interaction at Grade 6 (M = 11.9 years) were examined. Study children's hostile attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more negative child–friend interaction. In contrast, benign attribution bias, combined with high EI, predicted more positive child–friend interaction. The findings are discussed in light of the “fuel” interpretation of EI, in which high-intensity emotions may motivate children to act on their cognitive biases for better or for worse.     

Computer-Mediated Peer Support of Consultation: Case Description and Evaluation

In this article we describe the design, implementation, and outcomes of a computer-mediated peer support group. Four school psychologists used an enhanced version of electronic mail (e-mail) referred to as groupware. The purpose of the e-mail messages was to provide two of the school psychologists with support in regard to their consultations with teachers. During the 15-week project, the school psychologists exchanged 65 e-mail messages. Their perceptions of the learning and social outcomes of the group were assessed. The school psychologists indicated that the majority of the messages contributed to their becoming more knowledgeable about consultation and knowing what support to offer the other school psychologists. Overall, the computer-mediated group experience seemed to meet or exceed the school psychologists' preproject high expectations in regard to learning about classroom-based interventions and receiving social support. Moreover, they also perceived their computer-mediated group to be highly cohesive.     

The impact of immediate test score reporting on university students' achievement emotions in the context of computer-based multiple-choice exams

Test-taking is an emotion-laden event for many students. Typically, negative emotions are highest at the start of an examination and are replaced by positive emotions as the exam progresses. The impact of computer-based testing and immediate score reporting on students' emotions has not been examined. In Study 1, we evaluated university students’ emotions at the end of a computer-based exam and found positive emotions more strongly endorsed than negative. In Study 2, we replicated this finding and used a quasi-experimental pre-post design to examine how emotions changed in response to real examination scores. Exam scores presented immediately had significant positive effects on relief, pride, and hope and negative effects on anxiety and shame even after controlling for the corresponding emotion at the end of the exam. The one exception was anger, which was not impacted by examination score. No interaction effects were found.     

大学生文化取向与积极情感、消极情感的相关研究

探讨当代大学生文化取向的现状及其与积极情感、消极情感的关系。采用文化取向量表和积极情感消极情感量表对重庆市260名大学生进行测试。当代大学生的文化取向以水平集体主义倾向为主,在垂直个人主义和水平个人主义倾向上男生显著高于女生;水平集体主义倾向与积极情感呈正相关,与消极情感呈负相关,并对积极情感呈正向的预测作用,对消极情感呈负向的预测作用。     

Support provider mood and familiar versus unfamiliar events: An investigation of social support quality

Much of what communication scholars know about the production of effective comforting messages comes from the constructivist framework of Applegate (1980), Burleson (1985), and others. This paper extends this framework by addressing two questions put forth by scholars in this area, namely, what is the influence of cognition‐inhibiting situational variables such as mood on the generation of sophisticated, person‐centered comforting messages, and is this influence greater in situations requiring increased cognitive processing (Burleson & Planalp, 2000). In this study, support providers’ moods were manipulated before they were presented with either a familiar or an unfamiliar hypothetical support scenario. As hypothesized, results showed that supportive messages provided in response to a familiar situation were significantly more sophisticated than messages provided in response to an unfamiliar situation. Participants exposed to the happy mood induction encoded significantly more sophisticated comforting messages than did participants exposed to the sad mood induction. No effect was found regarding a two‐way interaction between the support provider's mood and the recipient's situation. Results are discussed within the constructivist framework for social support research, and directions for future investigations of social support are suggested.     

Evaluating students’ perceptions and attitudes toward computer-mediated project-based learning environment: A case study

This research investigated 68 secondary school students’ perceptions of their computer-mediated project-based learning environment and their attitudes towards Project Work (PW) using two instruments—Project Work Classroom Learning Environment Questionnaire (PWCLEQ) and Project Work Related Attitudes Instrument (PWRAI). In this project-based learning environment, students experienced a face-to-face classroom setting and e-learning by using a synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool called ‘iCollaborate’ for online communication and project collaboration with peers from other countries. The PWCLEQ and PWRAI instruments were used to evaluate the computer-mediated project-based learning environment using students’ perceptions of the learning environment and to further investigate how their perceptions might affect their attitudes towards PW lessons. Students perceived the computer-mediated project-based learning environment favourably but they preferred to experience more Material Environment and more Open-Endedness and Social Presence. Simple correlation analysis revealed that all environment dimensions were significantly and positively related to the students’ attitudes towards PW, while multiple regression analysis indicated that two scales, Instructor Support and Social Presence, were the strongest predictors of attitudes towards PW lessons.     

中国城市农民工子女主观幸福感的发展特点研究

在福建选取了1739名9-21岁的城市农民工子女进行调查。研究发现：（1）城市农民工子女的主观幸福感水平、生活满意度、积极情绪显著低于城市儿童。（2）城市农民工子女在积极情感上表现出年段和性别、性别与独生与否的交互作用,在消极情感上表现出性别与独生与否的交互作用。（3）农民工子女的主观幸福感、生活满意度和积极情绪均呈随年段递减的趋势,小学生显著高于初中生、初中生显著高于高中生,小学生的消极情绪显著低于初高中生。     

Type and degree of co-occurrence of the educational communication in a community of inquiry*

The study analyzes the type and quantity of co-occurrence of social, cognitive, and teaching presence in a Community of Inquiry (CoI). Content analysis of the virtual educational communication shows units of analysis that must be assigned to more than one category. By crossing the categories of the CoI model, we observe that Social Presence is involved in all of the crossings and that graphic, linguistic, and paralinguistic elements change the meaning of the communication in the social, cognitive, and teaching interaction. We demonstrate the communicative richness of the educational encounters in which Social Presence interacts with the other elements and draw conclusions about the importance of support for communication in virtual communication. We stress the need to analyze co-occurrences to achieve a full analysis of computer-mediated communication.     

Exploring students’ conceptions of science learning via drawing: a cross-sectional analysis

ABSTRACT

This cross-sectional study explored students’ conceptions of science learning via drawing analysis. A total of 906 Taiwanese students in 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade were asked to use drawing to illustrate how they conceptualise science learning. Students’ drawings were analysed using a coding checklist to determine the presence or absence of specified attributes. Data analysis showed that the majority of students pictured science learning as school-based, involving certain types of experiment or teacher lecturing. In addition, notable cross-sectional differences were found in the ‘Activity’ and ‘Emotions and attitudes’ categories in students’ drawings. Three major findings were made: (1) lower grade level students conceptualised science learning with a didactic approach, while higher graders might possess a quantitative view of science learning (i.e. how much is learned, not how well it is learned), (2) students’ positive and negative emotions and attitudes toward science learning reversed around middle school, and (3) female students expressed significantly more positive emotions and attitudes than their male counterparts. In conclusion, higher graders’ unfruitful conceptions of science learning warrant educators’ attention. Moreover, further investigation of girls’ more positive emotions and attitudes found in this study is needed.     

Continuities in Emotion Understanding from Three to Six Years

As part of a longitudinal study, 47 children who were tested on their understanding of basic emotions when they were 3 years old were tested again at 6 on their understanding of conflicting emotions. Significant stability in individual differences was found over this 3-year period. Antecedents to emotion understanding at 3 continued to be significantly related to children's understanding at 6, including participation in discourse about causality, positive interaction with older siblings, and language ability. Girls outperformed boys, and there was a suggestion that the girls' understanding of emotions was more closely associated than the boys' with the quality of their sibling relationships. Children's concurrent reports of negative experiences at home and at school were related to their sensitivity to the experience of ambivalent emotions. The results are discussed with respect to the social origins and implications of this core aspect of children's social-cognitive development.     

The catcher in the lie: The role of emotions and epistemic judgments in changing students’ misconceptions and attitudes in a post-truth era

We extend previous theoretical and empirical work by examining the role that emotions and epistemic judgments play when learning from different refutation plus persuasive and expository plus persuasive texts. We examined how variations in messages designed to change misconceptions and attitudes about genetically modified foods (GMFs) might differentially impact the extent to which individuals engage in epistemic judgments; the emotions individuals experience during learning; and, how epistemic judgments and emotions might facilitate or constrain conceptual and attitudinal change. One hundred twenty-five undergraduate university students were randomly assigned to one of four text conditions: refutation plus positive persuasive text, refutation plus negative persuasive text, expository plus positive persuasive text, or expository plus negative persuasive text. Students were asked to think and emote out loud during learning to capture epistemic judgments and emotions as they occurred in real time. After the learning session, students also self-reported the emotions they experienced during learning. Results revealed that students who were given positive persuasive texts experienced more positive emotions (both intensity and frequency) during learning, whereas those who were given negative persuasive texts experienced more negative emotions (frequency) during learning. Students who were given positive persuasive texts engaged in more epistemic judgments and changed more misconceptions about GMFs compared to students in the other three text conditions. Finally, epistemic judgments were significant positive predictors of conceptual and attitudinal change, and both positive emotions and negative emotions predicted attitudinal change. Implications for theories of conceptual and attitudinal change are discussed.     

Inclusive dyslexia-friendly collaborative online learning environment: Malaysia case study

Currently available web page accessibility guidelines focus more on reading and writing, with inadequate attention to other aspects of online learning such as computer-mediated communication. This study aims to explore the engagement of Malaysia secondary school students with dyslexia and students without dyslexia on various synchronous and asynchronous communication interaction technologies in an online collaborative learning environment. Multiple case within subject qualitative study was employed to investigate the engagement of students using a semi structured interview guideline. The findings revealed that (1) text chat is unsuitable for learning discussion for all learners, (2) forum affords self-paced and organized formal discussion for most learners and (3) video conferencing is suitable for interactive face-to-face, verbal discussion for most learners.     

Emotionally Intense Science Activities

Science activities that evoke positive emotional responses make a difference to students’ emotional experience of science. In this study, we explored 8th Grade students’ discrete emotions expressed during science activities in a unit on Energy. Multiple data sources including classroom videos, interviews and emotion diaries completed at the end of each lesson were analysed to identify individual student's emotions. Results from two representative students are presented as case studies. Using a theoretical perspective drawn from theories of emotions founded in sociology, two assertions emerged. First, during the demonstration activity, students experienced the emotions of wonder and surprise; second, during a laboratory activity, students experienced the intense positive emotions of happiness/joy. Characteristics of these activities that contributed to students’ positive experiences are highlighted. The study found that choosing activities that evoked strong positive emotional experiences, focused students’ attention on the phenomenon they were learning, and the activities were recalled positively. Furthermore, such positive experiences may contribute to students’ interest and engagement in science and longer term memorability. Finally, implications for science teachers and pre-service teacher education are suggested.     

Affective-motivational effects of performance feedback in computer-based assessment: Does error message complexity matter?

The impact of computer-based performance feedback on students’ affective-motivational state may be very different, depending on the positive or negative direction of the feedback message and its specific content. This experiment investigated whether more elaborated error messages improve students’ affective-motivational response to negative (i.e., corrective) feedback. We systematically varied the presence and complexity of corrective feedback messages (1 × 4 between-subjects design) and analyzed the effects of the provided feedback on students’ emotions, task-related perceived usefulness, and expectancy-value beliefs. University students (N = 439) worked on a low-stakes test with 12 constructed-response geometry tasks. They received either no feedback or different complexities of immediate corrective feedback after incorrect responses (i.e., Knowledge of Results [KR], Knowledge of Correct Response [KCR], or Elaborated Feedback [EF]), paired with immediate confirmatory KCR feedback after correct responses (i.e., confirming their response). Our data showed that students’ task-level performance moderated the emotional impact of feedback (i.e., beneficial effects after correct responses; detrimental effects after incorrect responses). Students’ performance further moderated several feedback effects on students’ expectancy-value beliefs. Regarding error message complexity, we found that students reported higher levels of positive emotions after receiving EF or KCR compared to KR, while only EF decreased students' level of negative emotions compared to KR and increased students' task-related perceived usefulness compared to all other groups. Overall, our results suggest that performance feedback is likely to improve students’ affective-motivational state when the feedback confirms a correct response. Moreover, when reporting an error, EF (or KCR messages) were more beneficial to affective-motivational outcomes than simple KR notifications.     

Manifestations of Quality Learning in Computer-Mediated University Courses

A prototype computer-mediated communication system was assessed for its capability to stimulate intellectual activity through mandating peer comments in graduate and undergraduate computer science classes. Measured against Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, about half the total comments in two classes exhibited no evidence of classifiable intellectual activity. Of the remaining half, a positive correlation was found between number of characters and level of cognition exhibited by a comment, though exceptions were found at every level. A significant but weak relationship was also shown between cognitive level of comments and level of classes. The results suggest modifications to the computer-mediated communication system so that students more effectively engage in peer–peer assessment.     

Comparative signaling generated for expository texts by 4th–8th graders: variations by text structure strategy instruction,comprehension skill,and signal word

Explicit signals of important relationships in expository texts can provide efficient processing instructions for readers with strategic knowledge about text structures. However, such signal words do not help readers without strategic knowledge about use of text structures and signal words. This study provided the first detailed investigation about the effects of structure strategy instruction on understanding several types of comparative signal words in multi-paragraph expository texts. The study, set in 41 school districts, examined four comparative signal words generated by three groups of reading comprehenders in Grades 4, 5, 7, and 8 and how such understandings were impacted by instruction with the text structure strategy. Students in classrooms randomly assigned to structure strategy instruction showed more understanding of comparative signal words than those in the business as usual control. The intervention aided 4th, 5th, and 7th graders’ generation of all signal words, but more so for the more difficult signaling words that transitioned between paragraphs. For Grade 4 the intervention helped some reading comprehension groups more than others depending on signal word difficulty. For Grade 8 the intervention increased understanding of difficult signal words, but not the easiest signal word. Males in Grade 5 using the web-based structure strategy instruction improved their generation of the easiest signal word more than females, but females improved more on the difficult signal words. The comparison text structure and its signaling words appear ideal targets for instruction at upper elementary and middle school. The findings have implications for classroom instruction about text structures.