Cross‐time attitudes,concept formation,and achievement in college freshman physics

The relationships among science and engineering attitude, physics conceptual understanding, and physics achievement were explored for a population of college freshman engineering students over two semesters. Gender and SAT‐Quantitative measures were included as exogenous variables in a longitudinal path analysis. Attitude was theorized to predict achievement contemporaneously and at the next time point, while conceptual understanding was theorized to predict physics achievement contemporaneously and at the next time point. Each at one time was theorized to predict scores at the next time. A sample of 200 freshman engineering students participating in an integrated curriculum were assessed in September, December, and April (with a loss of 64 students) with the Force Concepts Inventory (FCI), Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT), and a locally developed attitude measure. The observed model indicated that the FCI predicted attitude at time 1 with no other paths between them, that FCI at time 1 predicted MBT at time 1 and time 2, FCI at time 2 predicted MBT at time 3, and MBT at time 1 predicted FCI at time 2. Gender and SAT‐Quantitative scores were predictive only of FCI and MBT at time 1. Results supported an interactive model of conceptual understanding and achievement, with attitude largely irrelevant to the process for this population. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 1112–1120, 2000     

Distance education: relationship between academic performance and technology-adept adult students

Advances in technology assisted education are revolutionizing the educational process as most know it today. What impact, if any, does technology-assisted education have on the future of higher education? In this study, we examine data from an ongoing evaluation of the distance education program for graduate level business students in a private university. The study addresses the impact of technology-assisted learning on academic performance among distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. The study further explores the relationship between academic performance and students' technological adeptability. The findings indicate, when adjusted for gender (females out-performed males), there were no significant differences in academic performance between distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. Analysis also shows no significant differences in overall academic performance between technology-adept students and those without technological skills. These findings may remove at least some perceived barriers in the decision to initiate distance education programs.     

Making a Difference in the Lives of Youth: Mapping Success with the “Six Cs”

Many museums offer specialized programs for young people during out‐of‐school time, yet the consequences of such programs are not well documented. This article explores the potential utility of borrowing a conceptual framework from the youth development literature as a tool for assessment. The authors map findings from three studies of museum youth programs onto the youth development framework as an exercise in understanding the extent to which this model may be useful in developing museum youth programs. Results from this preliminary analysis demonstrate that the framework could serve as a viable tool for program design, and could offer a clear, grounded framework with common language for articulating program impacts often known intuitively and/or anecdotally but not formalized.     

Language Impairment and Reading Disability: Connections and Complexities Introduction to the Special Issue

Researchers and practitioners in the fields of reading and language are well informed about the importance of phonological awareness in beginning reading. The purpose of this special issue of Learning Disabilities Research & Practice is to present recent research that extends the search for language and reading connections beyond the realm of phonological awareness. Many children with language impairment (LI) identified before formal schooling experience persistent difficulty in learning to read. Two interrelated issues are prerequisite for understanding the developmental course of events that might link language and reading (dis)ability in these children. One is an appreciation of exactly what is meant by LI, while the second concerns how LI should be explained. In this introductory article, we explore the complexities of these two issues, in particular the controversy between the domain‐specific perspective and the domain‐general perspective on the nature of specific LI (SLI). Consistent with these perspectives, future studies on possible language‐reading links will need to measure language and related processes in greater breadth and depth, over time, and within a variety of experiential contexts. The five articles in this issue represent a critical first step in this direction.     

Paying for technology: student fees and libraries

Technology resource fees provide a possible source of funding for library technology. Integrating these student funds into libraries’ budgets requires strategic planning, good communication, and student involvement. Through a review of peer institutions and a broad student survey, this study explored how libraries may tap into these funds.