Students' use of content in Web-supported academic courses

The use of the Internet as an instructional tool in higher education is rapidly increasing. Today, there is an increase in the development of academic course websites with huge amounts of learning materials imbedded within them. However, there is little empirical evidence regarding the actual use of these contents by students. In this study, a computer log is used to evaluate how online contents are consumed and to identify the individual differences among students in terms of contents usage and the amount of contents that are presented in Web-supported course sites. The findings of this study show that the amount of content that is accessed is very high, but large differences exist among students. The authors conclude with some ideas for further implications of information retrieved from the Web log as related to content usage in academic websites and show the relevance of logs and content usage for the evaluation of Internet implementation in higher education institutions.     

The elaboration theory of instruction: A model for sequencing and synthesizing instruction

This paper describes a novel instructional model for sequencing, syntheizing, and summarizing subject-matter content. The importance of such models is discussed, along with the need for a significant change in the role of subject-matter structure in instruction. A zoom-lens analogy is presented to facilitate an understanding of the elaboration model of instruction. Some basic concepts and principles upon which the model is based are described. The basic unvarying components of the elaboration model are described. And finally, some variations in the model for different kinds of goals are described. The elaboration model follows a general-to-detailed pattern of sequencing, as opposed to the hierarchically based sequences derived from Gagné-type task analyses.Many of the ideas described in this paper were developed under two projeets, one funded by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and the other by the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center in San Diego, California; however, the ideas expressed do not necessarily constitute the opinions of the funding institutions.     

A model for estimating student unit cost and staffing requirements for university academic programmes with reference to Kenyan public universities

A model for the estimation of student unit costs and the staffing requirements for university academic programmes is presented. The development of the model starts off with the specification of a staff distribution matrix, which sets out the proportions of the various staff levels in a given staff category that are needed to service at a particular degree level. The categories of staff considered are teaching (academic), senior administrative, technical, clerical, and semi-skilled. Within a given category of staff are considered various staff levels, e.g. Professor, Senior Lecturer and Lecturer in the case of the teaching staff category. The academic programmes are considered to be taken at the Bachelor's, Master's and the Doctorate degree levels. Ratios between numbers of staff in a given level within a category, as well as ratios of staff within the category needed to service at the various degree levels are specified a priori. Academic (teaching) student-staff ratios for the various programmes are also set out a priori. Student-staff ratios for the other categories of staff are then computationally derived from the academic student-staff ratios. For each staff category a staff distribution matrix is then worked out. With the staff distribution matrix thus specified, the student unit cost and staffing requirement for a given academic programme are computed through various manipulations on the matrix. As a test example, the model is used to estimate student unit cost and staffing requirements for the six public universities in Kenya.     

The effectiveness of supplemental phonics instruction employing constant time delay instruction for struggling readers

This study examined the provision of supplemental instruction using constant time delay for struggling readers who had fallen behind in developing word‐blending skills. Additionally, the study examined the utility of adding a material reward contingency to the instructional program with a contingency derived from percentile‐shaping procedures. Procedures were compared in a withdrawal design applied across blocks of letters with word blending as the target response. Participants exhibited substantial learning gains when provided constant time delay instruction in phonics skills as compared to baseline demonstrating clear experimental control. Results for the constant time delay plus reward contingency conditions were clearly differentiated from baseline but undifferentiated from the other instructional conditions. The implications of the findings for intervention for struggling readers and future research relevant to more comprehensive reading interventions are discussed.     

Computer-assisted instruction for dispersed populations: System cost models

Provision of CAI of any sophistication requires-at least with present technology-the existence of a large central computing system. Thus, if rural regions or dispersed populations (e.g. deaf students) are to be able to share in the potential of CAI, an extensive communication system is required. This paper provides cost estimates for a CAI system capable of handling 1300 highly despersed student terminals; in order to do this it develops cost models for alternative te restrial and satellite communication systems. Perhaps the most interesting result to emerge from the analysis is the viability of a satellite based system; for average terminal to computer distances on the order of 500 miles there is a distinct advantage for satellite based systems. Assuming 2,000 hours per year usuage of the student erminals, the system cost for a satellite based system serving a highly dispersed population is $ 0.85 per student contact hour.This work was supported by Grant No. OEG-0-70-4797 from the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped, U.S. Office of Education, to the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences (IMSSS), Stanford University. Portions of the paper were previously presented at the XXII International Congress of the International Astronautical Federation, Brussels, September 1971, and at the International School on Computers in Education, Pugnochiuso, Italy, July 1972.John Ball is the manager of the Computer Based Laboratory of IMSSS; Dean Jamison is a staff member of IMSSS, Assistant Professor of Management Science, Graduate School of Business, and Assistant Professor (by courtesy), School of Education, Stanford University. The authors are indebted to J. E. G. Ferraz and Joanne Leslie Jamison for valuable assistance with this paper.     

Research on the effectiveness of computer-based instruction: A review

This article reviews the research on the effectiveness of computer-based instruction (CBI) conducted over the past two decades. Using student achievement as a dependent measure, research on CBI is reviewed under the headings of evaluative studies, summaries of the proportion of studies favourable and unfavourable to CBI (‘box-score reviews’) and meta-analyses. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of CBI with regard to academic and social achievement. Finally, a cost-analysis of CBI is provided.     

BRIDGE: A model for comparing the costs of using distance instruction and classroom instruction

Abstract

A computerized cost‐simulation model designed to compare the cost of expanding a campus using distance instruction to that of classroom instruction is discussed. The rationale for the cost comparison is the working hypothesis that the benefits of distance instruction are at least as good as those of classroom instruction. Cost comparison examples from classroom, television/broadcast, and asynchronous network courses are discussed. The model also demonstrates the cost‐saving potential of sharing courses and programs among campuses.     

A cultural assets model for school effectiveness

This paper offers a cultural assets model for supporting school effectiveness that moves beyond the deficit and difference approaches of the twentieth century. The model incorporates the capacity to identify contemporary cultural assets, and support cultural continuity, cultural diversity and cultural resilience during change. Undertaking concept-centric analysis, the reconceptualised understanding of contemporary cultural assets informs the construction of schools as cultural hubs, and reveals seven benefits that enhance asset-based approaches to school effectiveness. The model incorporates multigenerational flows of influence, community cultural activities, a communication conduit, and glocalised interactions. An empirical analysis of evidence advances the model’s sociocultural view of effective schools; provides opportunities to extend research beyond minority studies; and establishes the importance of cultural assets in secure base leadership for developing schools as dynamic organisations.     

A distributed model for managing academic staff in an international online academic programme

Online delivery of programmes of Higher Education typically involves a distributed community of students interacting with a single university site, at which the teachers, learning resources and administration of the programme are located. The alternative model, of a fully “Virtual University”, which assumes no physical campus, poses problems of resource provision, recognition, and accreditation. We describe here an intermediate solution, based on an established on-ground university, but in which both students and teachers are distributed worldwide. We discuss the issues of management, communication, and quality assurance that are faced in implementing this fully distributed model. We describe the solutions we have applied in a wholly online programme of Higher Education which is delivered to over 2,000 graduate students in more than 100 countries by a worldwide pool of instructors.     

A treatment program for failure to thrive: A cost/effectiveness analysis

Failure to thrive (FTT) is a frequent cause for the admission of infants to the hospital. Such hospitalizations are often lengthy and expensive, and usually do not contribute to an understanding of the etiology of FTT. Generally, organic causes of FTT can be ruled out by a thorough history and physical examination. In this study two groups were examined: 17 infants who were admitted to foster medical placement homes (MPH), private homes with specially trained parents; and a comparison group of 18 infants who were treated in a more traditional way with diagnostic hospitalization. The groups were similar in all regards prior to admission. All infants were less than a year of age. Family disruption was a prominent feature in both groups, but socio-demographic analysis showed them to be similar in all areas studied. The comparison group gained an average of 276 grams in the hospital over 8.6 days. The MPH group gained 362 grams in the hospital over 8.7 days, with an additional 1270 grams in the medical placement home over 31.1 days. Five children were admitted to the medical placement home without hospitalization. After correcting for an expected weight gain of 15 grams per day (normal growth), the comparison group showed a catch-up growth of 16 gms/day, while the MPH group gained 29 gms/day in excess of expectation, almost twice the comparison group. A 100-gram weight gain cost +308 in the MPH program and +1,635 in the traditional approach. This five-fold difference was felt to be a significant deterrent to the continuing approach of admitting children to the hospital for for the workup of FTT.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A cognitive model for the evaluation of units of instruction

Instructional Science - This paper describes an approach to the problem of how particular pre-existing systems of cognitive structures in individuals could be brought to bear on the design and...     

Direct instruction revisited: A key model for instructional technology

Rooted in behavioral theory, particularly the radical or selectivist behaviorism of B.F. Skinner (1953, 1954, 1966, 1968, 1974), the direct instruction (DI) approach to teaching is now well into its third decade of influencing curriculum, instruction, and research. It is also in its third decade of controversy. Our purpose is to present the DI model with the notion that the designer can and should use the model effectively based on appropriate assessment of the learners, content, context, and task at hand. To accomplish our goal, we begin with a general discussion of the basic DI framework, followed by a summary of the major DI models that have been used in live instructional contexts. We then shift to a review of how DI has been used in technology-based learning environments. Finally, we conclude with a look into the future of DI.     

Characteristics of academic areas and students' evaluation of instruction

This study examines the relationship between characteristics of academic areas and students' evaluation of instruction. Based on Biglan's model of subject matter and relevant studies of the role of instruction, a weak partial order model for classifying academic fields and predicting their relative ranking on instructional evaluation was tested. The findings of the study support the weak partial order model for all three criteria of instructional evaluation that are used in this research. Moreover, the major discriminant facet in this study is the knowledge base of the academic program (i.e., hard versus soft sciences). Based on the results of this research, an adapted model for understanding the role of academic areas in predicting instructional evaluation is proposed. The implications of this study are discussed and elaborated.