Analyzing and Selecting Instructional Strategies and Tactics

“Formulation of instructional strategy to match subject matter and learner requirements” is an integral part of most instructional design models (Andrews & Goodson, 1980, p.5). Yet the meaning and purpose of instructional strategies in these design models vary considerably. An instructional strategy in traditional design models usually refers to the selection of instructional delivery vehicles (e.g., lecture, demonstration, computer-assisted instruction) and support activities (e.g., practice exercises, tutoring) (cf. Tracey, Flynn, <& Legere, 1970). Contrast those conceptions with the many instructional strategies described in elaboration theory (Reigeluth & Stein, 1983), such as sub-sumptive sequencing, internally consistent orienting structures, synthesizers, summarizers, and cognitive strategy activators. What is obvious from these disparate conceptions is that instructional designers do not share a consistent definition of instructional strategies. Many of the activities that are referred to as instructional strategies are not in fact strategies, but rather are presentation vehicles. In this article, we first define instructional strategies and tactics in the context of an iterative design model. Instructional strategies are then distinguished from instructional tactics, which are the implementation of strategies. We then list the range of instructional strategies and tactics that implement them. Finally, we provide a decision tree for assisting designers to select appropriate instructional tactics.     

The Perception of Scientific Authorship Across Domains

Minerva - We extend previous research by systematically investigating whether perceptions of scientific authorship vary between domains. Employing regulations for authorship of scientific journals...     

Factorial Invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale among Senior Women in the Nurses’ Health Study Cohort

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial invariance of the Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-A) across subgroups based on demographic, health-related, behavioral, and environmental characteristics among Nurses’ Health Study participants (N = 2,919; age M = 73.0, SD = 6.9 years) living in California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. A series of multigroup confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to evaluate increasingly restrictive hypotheses of factorial invariance. Factorial invariance was supported across age, walking limitations, and neighborhood walking. Only partial scalar invariance was supported across state residence and neighborhood population density. This evidence provides support for using the NEWS-A with older women of different ages, who have different degrees of walking limitations, and who engage in different amounts of neighborhood walking. Partial scalar invariance suggests that researchers should be cautious when using the NEWS-A to compare older adults living in different states and neighborhoods with different levels of population density.     

Concurrent validity of the Woodcock-Johnson tests of cognitive ability with the WISC-R: EMR children

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability (WJTCA) were administered in a counterbalanced order to 30 children referred for a three-year reevaluation. All children were currently placed in an educable mentally retarded (EMR) program. The children ranged in age from 8-0 to 12-5 years, with a mean of 10-6. The correlation coefficient between the WISC-R and WJTCA was observed to be .72. Significant mean differences were found between the WISC-R and WJTCA full scale standard scores. The implications of the findings are discussed relative to the placement of children in classes for the mentally retarded. Explanations for the mean differences between the WJTCA and WISC-R also are explored.     

A case of vitamin B12 deficiency neurological syndrome in a young adult due to late-onset cobalamin C (CblC) deficiency: a diagnostic challenge

Vitamin B12 deficiency can present with neurologic and psychiatric symptoms without macrocytic anaemia. We describe a case of late-onset cobalamin C deficiency which typically presents with normal serum vitamin B12 concentrations, posing an additional diagnostic challenge. A 23-year-old woman with decreased muscle strength and hallucinations was diagnosed with ‘catatonic depression’ and admitted to a residential mental health facility. She was referred to our hospital for further investigation 3 months later. Heteroanamnesis revealed that the symptoms had been evolving progressively over several months. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed diffuse symmetrical white matter lesions in both hemispheres. Routine laboratory tests including vitamin B12 and folic acid were normal except for a slight normocytic, normochromic anaemia. Over the next 6 weeks her symptoms deteriorated, and she became unresponsive to stimuli. A new MRI scan showed progression of the white matter lesions. The neurologist requested plasma homocysteine (Hcys) which was more than 8 times the upper limit of normal. Further testing revealed increased methylmalonic acid and the patient was diagnosed with adult-onset cobalamin C deficiency. This case illustrates that Hcys and/or methylmalonic acid should be determined in patients presenting with neuropsychiatric symptoms suggestive of vitamin B12 deficiency with a normal serum vitamin B12 to rule out a late-onset cobalamin C deficiency.     

Coordination variability and skill development in expert triple jumpers

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of skill of expert triple jumpers on the coordination variability of lower extremity intra-limb couplings. In contrast to the traditional motor learning perspective, we hypothesized that as skill and thus performance increases, movement coordination variability will also increase. Three-dimensional kinematic and ground reaction force data were collected during the hop-step transition phase of the triple jump. Relative motion plots and a modified vector coding technique were used to quantify the coordination variability across the trials. The results were consistent with a U-shaped curve, representing coordination variability, as skill increases. The high coordination variability in less skilled athletes is present while the appropriate characteristics defining the movement coordination patterns are acquired. This coordination variability may not be beneficial to performance. As the refinement of these characteristics is achieved, coordination variability decreases, resulting in a more consistent or regulated performance. In the final stages of developing a skilled performance, a functional variability is accessed that brings flexibility to the system allowing it to cope with perturbations. This study highlights the need to address the learning effect when analysing coordination variability from a dynamical systems perspective.