Understanding student pathways in context-rich problems

This paper describes the ways that students’ problem-solving behaviors evolve when solving multi-faceted, context-rich problems within a web-based learning environment. During the semester, groups of two or three students worked on five physics problems that required drawing on more than one concept and, hence, could not be readily solved with simple “plug-and-chug” strategies. The problems were presented to students in a data-rich, online problem-based learning environment that tracked which information items were selected by students as they attempted to solve the problem. The students also completed a variety of tasks, like entering an initial qualitative analysis of the problem into an online form. Students were not constrained to complete these tasks in any specific order. As they gained more experience in solving context-rich physics problems, student groups showed some progression towards expert-like behavior as they completed qualitative analysis earlier and were more selective in their perusal of informational resources. However, there was room for more improvement as approximately half of the groups still completed the qualitative analysis task towards the end of the problem-solving process rather than at the beginning of the task when it would have been most useful to their work.     

Validation of the elementary social behaviour assessment: teacher ratings of students’ social skills adapted to Norwegian,grades 1–6

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Elementary Social Behaviour Assessment (ESBA), a teacher-report measure of students’ social skills and academic engagement adapted for use in Norwegian schools. At two times, 8 weeks apart, 151 teachers rated 793 students in Grades 1–6 on the ESBA and the Social Skills Rating System Teacher’s form (SSRS-T). Exploratory factor analysis with the first assessment suggested one or possibly two factors. Confirmatory factor analysis with the second assessment confirmed the one- or two-factor models but did not offer strong evidence for one over the other. The ESBA demonstrated good to excellent reliability. Strong concurrent and predictive correlations with the SSRS-T established criterion validity. The school and teacher levels explained only a limited amount of the total variance in ESBA scores, suggesting that teachers rate students quite similarly. The Norwegian-adapted ESBA paralleled the reliability and validity evidence from US samples.     

Tracking New Directions in the Evaluation of Postgraduate Supervision

This article focuses on the evaluation of thesis supervision and highlights the vast range of problem areas presently documented as significant areas of concern for both graduate students and their supervisors. Additionally, the authors report on a study completed in 1995, which surveyed all Australian universities about current evaluative practices in postgraduate supervision. The conclusion of this study was that the conduct of such evaluations appears to be minimal and is primarily designed to obtain an indicator of the general health of a university's postgraduate supervision rather than to foster improved supervisory practices. As part of the same study, the authors conducted University faculty-based student and supervisor focus groups. Key issues emerging from these focus groups were: (1) the importance of relational aspects of supervision as the student communicates over the long term with one or more supervisors; (2) the importance of systematic feedback, monitoring, and evaluation to the supervisory process; and (3) the lack of strategies to facilitate this evaluative feedback process. On the basis of these findings, the authors designed evaluative strategies to facilitate regular ongoing feedback between students and supervisors.     

Essential elements of successful child abuse and neglect treatment

Not all child abuse is preventable. Society faces an ongoing need to support programs that treat the members of families in which abuse occurs. There is little systeamatically generated knowledge on the most efficient and effective ways to assist parents and children faced with abuse. The purpose of our 40-month study of eleven child abuse and neglect demonstration service programs in the United States was to expand the knowledge base in this area by determining, through evaluative research, the essential elements of successful treatment programs. This paper highlights our findings that pertain to more effective delivery of services to abusive and neglectful parents.     

A portrait of academic life:

The process of constructing A Portrait of Academic Life web resource has included careful evidence gathering and analysis of student performance necessary to assess learning and give useful feedback to increase the students’ ability to use information effectively in education. The students, too, develop self-assessment and reflective skills as they create online research portfolios. The online resources model new technologyenhanced strategies for teaching and learning that support standards-based teacher education programs in higher institutions. Other artifacts contained in A Portrait of Academic Life include digital video vignettes of students actively completing course assignments and reflecting on the learning process, and instructor reflections on teaching strategies to improve learning outcomes. As a culminating course activity, students showcase their online research portfolios at a gallery walk. The students were tremendously excited to present the wealth of information they have so carefully collected using the powerful technology tools available for their use in the teacher education program at Towson University. The innovation and originality presented in the form of student online research portfolios offered fresh perspectives to the honored guests. Likewise, it will enormously help students and faculty to see examples of the process of transforming traditional research papers into rich, informative online research portfolios.     

Ideas to Enhance Higher Education's Impact on Graduates' Lives; Alumni Recommendations

Based on a recently completed alumnistudy of 522 graduates at a private college inthe northeastern Unites States, this paperpresents a model for designing alumni researchto assess higher education's effectiveness inpreparing graduates for work and life. Resultsrevealed substantial variation in alumnievaluation of their education. While alumnireported a high level of satisfaction with theacademic programme and career preparation,their feedback suggests they seek more fromtheir college experience. Results reveal thatstudents who feel a sense of community are moresatisfied with their overall college experienceand those who are satisfied with their sociallife are more likely to recommend the collegeto prospective students.     

Using Representations: Comprehension and Production of Actions with Imagined Objects

Previous research suggests that young children have difficulty producing actions with imagined objects (pantomimes): They frequently substitute a body part to represent the object involved in the action. This response has also been observed in neurologically impaired adults. Study 1 examined the comprehension and production of pantomimes in 3- and 5-year-old children and normal adults to explore further this aspect of representational ability. Results indicate that young children not only have difficulty producing imaginary object representations in contrast to normal adults, they also have difficulty comprehending imaginary object representations and are better at comprehending pantomimes with a body part representation. The results from the pantomime comprehension task were replicated in Study 2 with 3- and 4-year-olds. These findings are discussed in the context of the development of representational ability as children demonstrate increasing independence from concrete environmental support in their knowledge about actions.     

Maternal Interactions and Self-Reports Related to Attachment Classifications at 4.5 Years

Building on attachment theory and infancy research, this study examines relations between maternal style and attachment patterns in early childhood. Mothers of children classified as Secure at 4.5 years were rated higher than mothers of Insecure children on positive mood, meshing, enjoyment of child, and providing a relaxed home atmosphere. In a laboratory joint task, they had a higher frequency of monitoring, planning, and affirming and also received higher ratings for providing a sensitive framework. Compared with all other mothers, mothers of Avoidant children monitored less and planned less but reported themselves in a better light on 3 temperament scales as well as a depression scale. Mothers of Ambivalent children rated themselves as the most depressed and anxious and the least satisfied with their marriages. Their interactions at home were characterized by friction. Mothers of Controlling children rated themselves as least irritable and anxious, but in the laboratory they affirmed less, enjoyed the task less, and provided a less sensitive framework than all other mothers.     

The Effects of a Student Sampling Plan on Estimates of the Standard Errors for Student Passing Rates

Examined in this study were three procedures for estimating the standard errors of school passing rates using a generalizability theory model. Also examined was how these procedures behaved for student samples that differed in size. The procedures differed in terms of their assumptions about the populations from which students were sampled, and it was found that student sample size generally had a notable effect on the size of the standard error estimates they produced. Also the three procedures produced markedly different standard error estimates when student sample size was small.     

The Mind's "I": Children's Conception of the Mind as an Active Agent

1 hypothesis about children's developing conception of the mind is that preschoolers are limited to an understanding that persons have internal, mental contents like thoughts and beliefs, whereas older children and adults conceive of the mind itself as an independent, active structure or processor. Adults' conception of the mind in this independent active fashion seems evident in their use of personified mental metaphor (e.g., "My mind tricked me"). 3 studies examined the development and consolidation of this active, personified view. Study 1 provided an analysis of natural language data regarding 1 child's uses of vision words such as see and look from age 2 1/2 to 8 years. We examined the child's use of such words to refer literally to perception (e.g., "I see the TV") and also to refer nonliterally to active mental processes such as comprehension and inference (e.g., "I see what you mean"). Studies 2 and 3 examined 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds' comprehension and production of mental metaphors. In a metaphor comprehension task, we asked children to interpret personified metaphoric statements about the mind (e.g., "My mind wandered") and 3 comparison domains, mechanics (e.g., "The car is dead"), nature (e.g., "The wind is howling"), and emotion (e.g., "Her heart was smiling"). In an explanation task, we asked children to explain the processes underlying the making of both instant photos and mental images. The findings reveal a developing ability to interpret and produce statements personifying the mind and provide considerable evidence about children's movement toward a conception of the mind as an independent entity deserving reference and conceptualization in its own right.