Impact of information use architecture on load and usability

Information use is defined as the application of acquired and transmitted information in the decision making of an organization at the strategic and tactical levels. The purpose of the research is to investigate how information use architecture impacts information load and usability at the operational level of manufacturing where machines, humans and the production processes are information users. A new approach to information load is introduced which takes all the characteristics of information use (tacit, mechanical, paper and digitized) and possibilities of users (machine, operator and process) into consideration. Information use nodes are conceptualized building blocks for information use architecture which impact information load and usability. The results suggest that information use load is sensitive to information encoding/decoding. A combination of the federated and integrated information use architectures tends to result in a low information use load and can become a strategic tool for waste reduction. How information usability relates to load varies depending on the usability characteristic in view. The major conclusion is that a holistic approach to information systems includes the consideration of information use architecture which is an important factor in the management of information load and usability at the operational level.     

Quality in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms

Research Findings: Quality of care for preschool children in inclusive and noninclusive classrooms was examined in two studies. In Study 1, comparisons across a large sample of classrooms (N = 1, 313) showed that inclusive classrooms were higher than noninclusive classrooms in global quality as well as on two dimensions of quality (Activities/Materials and Language/Interactions). In Study 2, a more diverse sample of 44 classrooms (20 inclusive and 24 noninclusive) did not reveal differences on the global measures of quality but did show a difference on a measure of teacher–child interactions. Teachers in inclusive classrooms had higher quality and more appropriate interactions with all children than did teachers from noninclusive classrooms. Ratings of perceived severity of children's disabilities were not related to any of the measures of classroom quality in either study. Practice or Policy: Both studies suggest that including children with disabilities in regular preschool classrooms does not result in lower quality programs or in less adequate teacher–child interactions, particularly for children with mild to moderate disabilities. Results illustrate the importance of continued education for early childhood professionals on high-quality teacher–child interactions. Faculty in personnel preparation programs as well as policymakers need to continue to promote high-quality interactions between teachers and children.     

PowerPoint slide provision and student performance: the moderating roles of self-efficacy and gender

Research on the pedagogical value of providing students with PowerPoint (PPT) slide handouts has produced mixed results. One reason for the inconsistent findings may be that most studies in this stream of research have neglected to examine individual differences. In the current study, we aimed to advance research on the pedagogical value of providing students with access to PPT slide handouts by examining whether self-efficacy and gender influence the effect of PPT slide provision on academic performance. We found no evidence to suggest that the provision of slide handouts has broad, unconditional pedagogical value. Instead, we found that both self-efficacy and gender moderated the extent to which the availability of the handouts enhanced or hindered students’ performance. As predicted, both students high on self-efficacy and males performed significantly better when they were provided with handouts. Conversely, students low on self-efficacy performed significantly worse when the handouts were provided. Female students also trended toward lower performance when the handouts were provided. Additionally, we found that students who were provided with PPT handouts perceived their instructor as more effective, and that this relation was mediated by students’ feeling of preparation. Finally, students also considered the provision of PPT handouts more valuable to their learning and course performance than one-to-one interactions with the professor. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

The pedagogical benefits of enacting positive psychology practices through a student–faculty partnership approach to academic development

Academic development that supports the enactment of positive psychology practices through student–faculty pedagogical partnership can increase faculty confidence and capacity in their first year in a new institution. When student partners practice affirmation and encouragement of strengths-based growth, processes of faculty acclimation and self-authoring can be accelerated. This article presents a student–faculty pedagogical partnership program and positive psychology practices that focus on faculty strengths and capacities as the foundation for reinforcing and revising existing pedagogical strategies and for sustaining energy for continued development. It combines collaborative autoethnographic and comparative case study approaches to investigate the pedagogical benefits of these practices.     

‘They do it anyway’: a study of Primary 1 teachers' perceptions of children's transition into primary education

Almost all 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds in Scotland now experience some form of pre‐school provision prior to school entry. Given such high rates of participation, the impact of pre‐school experiences on children's readiness for primary school has become an important issue for those involved in the early stages of compulsory schooling. Teachers in early years classes need to be aware of the experiences and achievements of individual children in their pre‐school setting to enable each child to transfer into mainstream education with the least amount of disruption to their learning. This study was carried out in one small Scottish local authority and explored the perceptions of early years teachers, from a diverse range of primary schools, of what information is important for them as children start school. This article presents the perspectives of Primary 1 teachers on children's readiness for schooling. It reports the factors, which these teachers identified as having an impact on successful transition from the pre‐school setting into the primary school.     

Precursors of mnemonic strategies in very young children's memory

In 4 studies with 18-24-month-old children, evidence was obtained of strategy-like behaviors in a memory-for-location task in which the child had to remember in what natural location a toy had been hidden. The children exhibited behaviors that resemble the mature strategies of rehearsal and monitoring, including talking about the toy or its hiding place and looking or pointing at it during the delay interval. In Experiments 1 and 2, these strategy-like behaviors were engaged in differentially as a function of familiarity, both of the setting in which the task was embedded and of the task itself. Significantly more target behaviors occurred in an unfamiliar than in a familiar setting, and more target behaviors occurred on the first than on the second day of observation. In Experiment 3, when the basic memory task was modified to remove the memory demands from the child, very few of the strategy-like behaviors occurred, indicating that they were indeed memory specific. In the fourth experiment, the rehearsal-like behaviors were shown to be related to subsequent retrieval. We interpret these results as evidence of an early natural propensity to keep alive what must be remembered, a rudimentary and imperfect version of what will later become more elaborate and planful mnemonic strategies.     

How Useful are our Models? Pre-Service and Practicing Teacher Evaluations of Technology Integration Models

We report on a survey of K-12 teachers and teacher candidates wherein participants evaluated known models (e.g., TPACK, SAMR, RAT, TIP) and provided insight on what makes a model valuable for them in the classroom. Results indicated that: (1) technology integration should be coupled with good theory to be effective, (2) classroom experience did not generally influence teacher values and beliefs related to technology integration, (3) some models may be more useful to teachers than others, (4) the widespread use of a model does not necessarily reflect usefulness, (5) useful models for teachers should engender real-world, concrete application, and (6) visual appeal of a model is largely subjective, but some visual representations might convey notions of practicality. Conclusions should be used to help researchers and practitioners understand the practical application value of technology integration models in real-world settings.     

The need for culturally sensitive sexuality education in a pluralised Nigeria: But which kind?

A substantial number of studies have been conducted on sexuality education in Nigeria. These provide evidence of the positive impact of sexuality education on the psychosocial well-being of children and youth and the value of sexuality education for the sexual health of young people. Yet another research has investigated the views of parents on the school-based sexuality education of children and the different models and approaches employed. All of these studies implicitly reflect an issue that has not yet been sufficiently discussed. Nigeria is a uniquely pluralised country, with a multitude of cultures and sexual cultures. The implications of this diversity for policy and practice in sexuality education and for how sexuality education has (or has not) responded to this heterogeneity are rarely considered. This article addresses this gap by seeking to conceptualise how sexuality education might proactively address the cultural diversity of Nigeria. It begins by sketching out key features of this diversity in Nigeria and highlights the need for a culturally sensitive approach. Thereafter, there is a critical engagement with three possible approaches that sexuality education might take. Highlighting the weaknesses of monocultural, multicultural and transcultural approaches, this article argues for an open-cultural stance as the best means of fostering culturally sensitive sexuality education.