The influence of participants in formative evaluation on the improvement of learning from written instructional materials

Formative evaluation in instructional design is widely advocated as a means to improve instructional materials through tryouts with learners and experts and revision based on this feedback. Research on formative evaluation has sought to prove its effectiveness and to provide guidance as to which methods of collecting feedback and which sources of feedback are most effective in improving learning. It is difficult to determine from the research whether aspects of tryout or of revision are responsible for improved learning. This paper describes a systematic investigation of both tryout and revision to more clearly determine the influence of different formative evaluation participants (experts, learners and revisers) on the improvement of learning from written instructional materials.It was found that revised versions incorporating learner feedback had the most impact on improving learning from the materials. It was also found that revisers have a far more powerful impact on formative evaluation outcomes than was previously supposed, in terms of how they mediate and incorporate the feedback they are given. The results refute contentions that any revision is better than none since versions revised without learner feedback did not improve learning. Implications are discussed.     

The compelling argument for harassment prevention training: Implications for instructional designers

The purpose of this article is to inform instructional design and development specialists on the importance of harassment prevention training in organizations. The review includes a summary of relevant case law, a review of litigation costs associated with harassment litigation, and the value of return on investment for such instruction. Good‐faith effort as a strategy to avoid litigation and punitive damages is emphasized. Recommendations for designing and implementing harassment prevention instruction are proposed.     

The civic‐minded instructional designers framework: An alternative approach to contemporary instructional designers' education in higher education

This paper argues that an emphasis on training‐for‐the‐job approaches has distracted designers from thinking about the meaning of their profession and the grand purpose of practising instructional design. Drawing from literature in the fields of sociology and educational technology, this paper synthesises discourses on civic professionalism in instructional design and technology, and proposes a conceptual framework that highlights the roles and qualities of a civic‐minded instructional designer. It is claimed that a critical discussion on civic professionalism in the field of educational technology can offer an alternative perspective on educating instructional designers, and have practical implications on instructional design and technology curricula in higher education.     

The influence of visual cognitive style when learning from instructional animations and static pictures

In a 2 × 2 design, we examined the role of visual cognitive style in two multimedia-based learning environments (text plus static pictures/animations). A statistically significant interaction was obtained for deeper comprehension: Highly developed visualizers (HDV) who learned with static pictures performed better than HDV who learned with animations, and less developed visualizers (LDV) performed the same with static pictures or animations.For factual knowledge, there was a main effect in favor of HDV. Subsequent tests revealed that HDV outperformed LDV only when learning from static pictures, but not when studying animations. There were no overall differences between animations and static pictures. The assumption is made that HDV benefit from their cognitive style when they have to construct a mental animation from static pictures.Concluding, we did not find any rationale for converting static pictures to animations — HDV learned better with static pictures, while for LDV, it made no difference.     

The use of observational data for formative evaluation of an instructional model

This paper describes a study investigating the characteristics of teacher behavior under two different instructional management models and their differential effects on students under an individualized early learning program. The study investigated the effectiveness and feasibility of using observational techniques in classroom settings to obtain information about student learning processes and outcomes necessary for implementing an adaptive early education model. Observational data, records of student progress in he curricula, and records of student learning activities were collected systematically in order to characterize the classroom behaviors of students and teachers.Learning Research and Development Center University of PittsburghThe research reported herein was supported in part by a grant from the Ford Foundation, and in part by a grant from the United States Office of Education to the Learning Research and Development Center. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the sponsoring agencies and no official endorsement should be inferred.     

教育部今年将调整中职专业目录新一轮职业教育教学改革和教材建设工作启动

以服务为宗旨、以就业为导向的新一轮职业教育教学改革和教材建设工作日前正式启动,“十一五”期间,教育部将进一步加强对中等职业教育教材管理工作的指导,同时根据市场和社会需要合理调整专业结构,大力推进精品专业、精品课程和教材建设。     

Vehicles of Logics: The role of policy documents and instructional materials in reform

To understand the complexities of education policy implementation, it is necessary to consider how artifacts associated with reform are imbued with ideas, meanings, and values. This empirical paper draws on neo-institutional theory to reveal how artifacts carried particular logics (D’Adderio in J Inst Econ 7(2):197–230, 2011; Feldman and Pentland in Adm Sci Q 48:94–118, 2003; Pentland & Feldman in Ind Corporate Change 14(5):793–815, 2005; in: Scott, Institutions and organizations, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 2001). This paper argues that two types of artifacts, policy documents, and instructional materials, carried logics of reading instruction, thereby playing a role in the implementation of this reform. This paper draws on qualitative data collected over a 13-month period in order to advance our understanding of the relationship between institutional logics, policy, and practice. The findings from this paper have implications for district and school reform, as well as for policymakers and non-system actors.     

The role of written formative feedback in inducing non-formal learning among masters students

This article adds to the existing literature on nonformal learning in education in general and the role played by written feedback in providing the space for such learning in particular. The study was conducted in an English as a Foreign Language context in which the participating students received written feedback on their English writings. Employing qualitative interviews and stimulated recall methodology, we explored interstudent interactions, cross-cultural understanding, and initiation into communities of practice, and categorized these as reactive and deliberative types of nonformal learning. Drawing upon Eraut's typology of nonformal learning, we would argue that formative written feedback provided on students' writings could lead to nonformal learning because it encourages them to act upon it.     

The use of schema theory in the design of instructional materials: A physics example

What are the implications of cognitive science for the design of instructional materials given its central concern with meaningful learning? This question was addressed during an attempt to improve the quality of learning in an introductory non-calculus college physics course where a major intellectual problem that many students face is the development of a coherent view of the information provided to them. The absence of a conceptual framework may contribute to the rapid loss of information often observed among many students shortly after their taking a test. Lack of a conceptual framework also may account for the frequent use of trial-and-error approaches to using formulae. This report cites the use of schema theory for the development of a generative schema or a set of schemas that could be used by students to integrate all of the physics content, and for the design of a means for representing and teaching the schema(s) in a set of instructional materials.     

The availability,suitability and use of instructional materials in integrated science classrooms in Zimbabwean schools

Abstract

The study surveyed the availability, suitability and use of instructional materials for “O” Level Integrated Science in the Gweru District of Zimbabwe. Judgmental sampling was used to select a sample of 15 schools in the district, including rural boarding schools, urban boarding schools, urban day schools, rural day schools and private schools. A questionnaire and interviews were used to gather data on the availability of instructional materials. Another questionnaire obtained data to evaluate the suitability of instructional materials and an observation schedule was applied to evaluate the use of instructional materials. The results reveal that the availability and suitability of the materials varied among the different types of schools investigated and that there was much room for improvement. Most teachers have not yet reached higher levels of operation regarding the use of instructional materials. In conclusion a number of recommendations are made to improve the situation.     

The multiple sources of workplace stress among land-grant university faculty

Workplace stress has received a fair amount of treatment in the research literature over the past decade. What has not been examined, at least not systematically, is this same phenomena inacademe. Our study looked at stress among university faculty at a land-grant university located in the western region of the U. S. Analyses from the self-assessment mail survey (N = 786) reveals that faculty in the Hard Pure Nonlife (e. g., Astronomy, Math, Physics), Hard Applied Nonlife (e. g., Civil Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Computer Science) and Soft Applied Life (e. g., Education Administration, Special Education) experience more stress than faculty in disciplines such as Hard Pure Life (e. g., Botany, Zoology) and Soft Pure Nonlife (e. g., English, Philosophy, Communications). Careful attention was paid to the different levels of stress reported by male and female faculty, with women professors reporting a higher level of stress than their male counterparts. We provide an assessment and explanation for this finding. Research ends with several proposals for individual faculty, department chairs and academic administrators for addressing the problem of workplace pressure and work overload.     

The effects of instructional intervention on improving proportional,probabilistic, and correlational reasoning skills among undergraduate education majors

The main purpose of this study was to test the effect of instruction to improve the reasoning skills of undergraduates majoring in the field of education. The results of this investigation demonstrate the lack of proficiency in formal reasoning by undergraduate education majors in the areas of proportional, probabilistic, and correlational reasoning. However, after receiving three specifically planned interventions, students in the experimental group showed improvement in all three areas of reasoning (p ≤ 0.05). Also, it was noted that students with science and/or math in their backgrounds performed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) better in all three areas of reasoning on both pre‐ and post‐tests than did students with no science or math in their backgrounds. This study is among the first to show that background knowledge obtained from college level science and math courses correlates with better reasoning skills. Data from this study also demonstrated that interventions focusing on probability and proportionality improved the correlational reasoning skills of students. The results of this investigation indicate that deficiencies in reasoning abilities in the areas of proportionality, probability, and correlational reasoning can be successfully addressed even with limited classroom intervention. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 981–995, 2000