Adapting the delivery of learning materials to student preferences: Two studies with a course model based on ‘cases’

Current printed courses of the Open universiteit (Ou) have been designed according to a variety of course models; for example the ‘learning unit model’ or the ‘textbook‐workbook model’ (van den Boom & Schlusmans 1991). Considering the potential of the ILCE approach (Valcke & Martens, this issue), one can imagine new and innovative course models that build on the interactivity and flexibility possibilities of such an environment An essential feature of the ILCE approach is that developers can consider student differences when designing and producing learning materials.

In this article we will explore the problem of adapting the delivery of learning materials to student characteristics in relation to a course based on ‘cases’ in the law domain. Two different study modes are researched: a study mode that starts with the theory and next moves to practical work with the cases versus a study mode that starts with the practical work and next moves to the theoretical base.

Two studies are presented. Within the exploratory study, the research questions focus on the potential interrelations between student characteristics and the preference/choice for one of the two study modes. From the results can be concluded that almost all students from the Open universiteit prefer a theory‐based study mode, because they have a relatively large amount of experience with this study mode and because they find it a successful study mode.

In the second study, an experimental design is adopted with students studying in one of four different conditions: two study modes of printed learning materials and two study modes of interactive learning materials. In contrast with the exploratory study students clearly indicate a more diverse preference for certain study modes. Students also differ in their preference for the delivery mode. However the more traditional study and delivery mode (theory‐based and printed learning material) remains more popular. Again this might again be due to the greater experience students have with this approach. Only two student characteristics are significantly related to opting for the practice‐based study mode: the experience level with a study mode and one's prior knowledge with the subject matter. Comparable results were detected regarding the preferred delivery mode: students with little prior knowledge more readily prefer a printed book, probably because they have a better overview.     

Mapping Visual Culture in Comparative Education Discourse

It would be fascinating to map out the political implications of scopic regimes, but it can't be done too reductively. The perspectivalist regime is not necessarily complicitous only with oppressive political practices. Under certain circumstances it may be emancipatory; it really depends on how it is used. [1] [1] M. Jay (1988) Scopic regimes of modernity, in: H. Foster (Ed.) Vision and Visuality, pp. 3‐28 (Seattle, WA, Bay Press). View all notes

     

Navamaga: a new path to new lives

A project in Sri Lanka sponsored by USAID AND the Overseas Education Fund (OEF) used nonformal training to prepare development workers to help women's groups orgnize income-generating projects. OEF and the Women's Bureau developed a 2-phase program for a toatl of 2 months training, which was separated by a 5-month period of field work. By the time the project came to an end in June 1982, development officers had helped rural women set up 2000 income-generating activities in Sri Lanka. their net profit was US $32,000 per month or an average of US $16 per woman. The profits from their activities surpassed the cost of the training project in less than a year. In the following year another 2000 activities were successfully started, so that beneficiaries, as of June, 1983 totalled over 22,000 people--4000 rural wmen and their families. The project, therefore, had a positive impact in a variety of areas: increased agricultural population, increased employment, increased participation of women in economic activities, development of institutional capability in rural areas, raised income of the rural poor and enhancement of health and nutrition.     

An ecological explanation of factors associated with the demise of independent liberal arts II colleges

Recent demographic trends and growth in the public sector of higher education have created severe strains for many private liberal arts colleges. The population ecology model, which explains the survival or demise of organizations in terms of their ability to negotiate for resources in their environment, provides a framework for assessing predictors of continued success among colleges. A three-way discriminant analysis based on the population ecology framework and other empirical research led to the successful classification of almost 72% of a sample of colleges in terms of their experiences during the 1970s. Number of departments, median state income, library holdings per enrollee, sectarian affiliation, annual tuition, Roman Catholic affiliation, and SAT composite score were found to be major predictors.     

The reading–science learning–writing connection: Breakthroughs,barriers, and promises

This article establishes a broad framework from which to interpret and evaluate the reading–science learning–writing connection. The presentation of breakthroughs, barriers, and promises is intended to outline the established links between, to identify current bottlenecks in thinking about, and to highlight productive inquiries into, print-based languages and scientific understanding. The ideas presented come from various disciplines connected to science education. The ideas are meant to be informative, provocative, integrative, supportive, and without hidden agenda.     

Does teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge affect their fluency instruction?

The relation is studied between teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of reading and the quality of their subsequent classroom behaviour in teaching fluent reading. A confirmatory factor analysis model with two latent variables is tested and shows adequate goodness-of-fit indices. Contrary to our expectations, the results of structural equation modelling reveal a small but significant γ-value of .29, indicating that only 8% of the variance in teachers’ classroom behaviour in teaching fluent reading is accounted for by teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of reading. Presumably teacher knowledge is not as stable and conclusive as one might think. More research is needed in determining the factors that work restricting for teachers in putting their knowledge into classroom practice. It is recommended that preservice and in-service teacher training should not be limited to transfer of knowledge, but should also assist teachers in designing and performing effective fluent reading instruction.     

Effects of identical context on visual pattern recognition by pigeons

The effects of identical context on pattern recognition by pigeons for outline drawings of faces were investigated by training pigeons to identify (Experiment 1) and categorize (Experiment 2) these stimuli according to the orientation of the mouth—an upright U shape representing a smiling mouth or an inverted U shape representing a sad mouth. These target stimuli were presented alone (Pair 1), with three dots in a triangular orientation to represent a nose and eyes (Pair 2), and with the face pattern surrounded by an oval (Pair 3). In Experiment 1, the pigeons trained with Pair 1 were most accurate, those trained with Pair 2 were less so, and those trained with Pair 3 failed to acquire the discrimination within eighty 100-trial sessions. The same ordering was found in Experiment 2 for pigeons trained on the three pairs simultaneously. The authors suggest that a contrasting finding in humans, the face superiority effect, might be due to a gain in discriminability resulting from recognition of the pattern as a face. An exemplar model of information processing that excludes linguistic coding accounts for the present results.     

Kinetics study on biomass pyrolysis for fuel gas production

Kinetic knowledge is of great importance in achieving good control of the pyrolysis and gasification process and optimising system design. An overall kinetic pyrolysis scheme is therefore addressed here. The kinetic modelling incorporates the following basic steps: the degradation of the virgin biomass materials into primary products (tar, gas and semi-char), the decomposition of primary tar into secondary products and the continuous interaction between primary gas and char. The last step is disregarded completely by models in the literature. Analysis and comparison of predicted results from different kinetic schemes and experimental data on our fixed bed pyrolyser yielded very positive evidence to support our kinetic scheme. Project (No. 2001CB409600) Supported by the National Key Basic Research Program (973) of China