Publication productivity in doctoral research departments: Interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary factors

Examination of a national data set reporting departmental levels of publication productivity in 23 disciplines revealed very large differences between disciplines, with the mean departments in the most productive disciplines averaging more than 10 times the number of publications of the mean departments in the least productive disciplines. The differences within disciplines were also very large. Analyses of the characteristics of departments associated with productivity showed great variation across disciplines. Regression analyses indicated the importance of size and internal university support rather than federal support. Similar results are reported for the number of citations to the work of departments. The implications of these results for program review and the reputations of departments are reviewed.     

A comparison of student reactions to biology instruction by interactive videodisc or conventional laboratory

This study was designed to learn if students perceived an interactive computer/videodisc learning system to represent a viable alternative to (or extension of) the conventional laboratory for learning biology skills and concepts normally taught under classroom laboratory conditions. Data were collected by questionnaire for introductory biology classes at a large midwestern university where students were randomly assigned to two interactive videodisc/computer lessons titled Respiration and Climate and Life or traditional laboratory investigation with the same titles and concepts. The interactive videodisc system consisted of a TRS-80 Model III microcomputer interfaced to a Pioneer laser-disc player and a color TV monitor. Students indicated an overall level satisfaction with this strategy very similar to that of conventional laboratory instruction. Students frequently remarked that videodisc instruction gave them more experimental and procedural options and more efficient use of instructional time than did the conventional laboratory mode. These two results are consistent with past CAI research. Students also had a strong perception that the images on the videodisc “were not real” and this factor was perceived as having both advantages and disadvantages. Students found the two approaches to be equivalent to conventional laboratory instruction in the areas of general interest, understanding of basic principles, help on examinations, and attitude toward science. The student-opinion data in this study do not suggest that interactive videodisc technology serve as a substitute to the “wet” laboratory experience, but that this medium may enrich the spectrum of educational experiences usually not possible in typical classroom settings.     

Acquisition of behavioral control by the auditory features of an imprinting object

Presentations of a visible moving object immediately suppressed ongoing distress vocalization in newly hatched ducklings, but presentations of only the auditory features of the object initially had no effect. However, as the ducklings received more and more exposure to the visible moving object, the object’s auditory features gradually acquired the ability to suppress distress calls themselves. These auditory features failed to develop suppressive properties in ducklings which received prolonged exposure to those features but never saw the object in motion. The gradual acquisition of behavioral control by the auditory features of a moving object is taken to represent the essence of the imprinting process.     

Exploring immigrant students' adjustment to learning in their new cultural setting

The adjustment of non-English speaking immigrant students to learning was explored by comparing the learning characteristics of immigrant students with those of a matched group of Canadian students. Eleven immigrant students and eleven Canadian students from three grade 4 classrooms in three schools in a large Western Canadian urban school system were assessed on academic achievement, attitude to school, English proficiency, academic self-concept, and quality of teacher-student interaction. Data on attitudes of teachers toward immigrant students and on attitudes of parents of immigrant students towards the mother culture and learning in a second culture were also collected. Results indicated that immigrant students did not differ significantly from Canadian students on any of these variables. Findings were supported by other Canadian studies on immigrant students and the research on second language learning. The adjustment of immigrant students to learning appeared to be dependent upon three factors: length on time in the second culture, the proportion of immigrant students within a classroom, and the cultural harmony in both home and school settings.     

Changing Minds With the Story of Adaptation: Strategies for Teaching Young Children About Natural Selection

Research Findings: Educational guidelines recommend a delayed, piecemeal approach to instruction on adaptation by natural selection. This approach is questionable given suggestions that older students’ pervasive misunderstandings about adaptation are rooted in cognitive biases that develop early. In response to this, Kelemen et al. (2014) recently showed that young children can learn a basic yet comprehensive explanation of adaptation by natural selection from a picture storybook intervention. However, this research was conducted in a laboratory-based setting with children from middle and higher socioeconomic backgrounds. To further explore the intervention’s efficacy, this investigation examined whether Kelemen et al.’s (2014, Experiment 2) findings extend to a more diverse sample of children tested in a more naturalistic setting, namely, after-school programs. After a 10-min picture storybook reading that described adaptation within a fictitious but realistic mammal species, 5- to 6- and 7- to 8-year-old children’s learning of adaptation was examined. Results revealed that younger and older children benefitted from the intervention; however, older children displayed pronounced learning and generalization. Practice or Policy: Findings confirm that children are capable of learning complex biological ideas and that comprehensive storybook interventions are simple but powerful teaching tools. Implications for instruction on natural selection are discussed.     

Improving the participation and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in business education

Most Australian universities have among their goals to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at their institutions. In the Australian higher education context, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are seriously under-represented, particularly in business education compared to other disciplines. An understanding of why a larger proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students do not choose to study a discipline that provides promising employment opportunities, is fundamental to improving the status quo. This paper reviews the literature to identify key barriers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ participation and engagement in business education. Apart from multiple general barriers to participation in higher education, factors specific to business as a profession and as an academic discipline are also considered. The paper then discusses a number of strategies Australian educational institutions could pursue when seeking to increase participation and engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in business. Drawing on the review, the paper concludes with recommendations for higher education institutional policy to further improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student participation and engagement in business studies.     

Influences affecting the development of students' critical thinking skills

This study estimates the relative and unique effects on changes in critical thinking of three dimensions of students' college experience: curricular exposure, formal classroom and instructional experiences, and out-of-class experiences. Students' classroom/instructional and out-of-class experiences both make positive, statistically significant, and unique contributions to gains in critical thinking above and beyond students' precollege characteristics and level of critical thinking. Theoreticians have long speculated that students' academic and nonacademic experiences jointly influence change, and this study supports that belief. The design and instruments in this study may be of interest to persons involved in assessment or the study of college impact.Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, New Orleans, LA, May 1993.The National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), under Grant No. R117G10037. The opinions herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policies of OERI, and no official endorsement should be inferred.     

The effects of tactile stimulation on imprinting in ducklings after the sensitive period

Four-day-old ducklings received visual-plus-tactile exposure to one novel object and visual-only exposure to a different novel object. In a subsequent test, strong suppression of ongoing distress vocalization was exerted only by the object to which visual-plus-tactile exposure had been given. With these results, the experimental conditions under which physical contact is known to facilitate the initiation of imprinting are extended to include subjects that are past the sensitive period.     

Effects of microcomputer-administered diagnostic testing on immediate and continuing science achievement and attitudes

This investigation had three purposes: (1) to document any immediate and continuing benefits associated with the use of microcomputer-administered testing; (2) to determine what type of student might benefit most from microcomputer-administered diagnostic testing; and (3) to document the feasibility of microcomputer-administered diagnostic testing. The subjects of the study were enrolled in a biology course based on the BSCS Blue text. A random half of the students received behaviorally-stated performance objectives, while the remaining half received behaviorally-stated performance objectives in conjunction with microcomputer-administered diagnostic testing. The results of this study indicate that microcomputer-administered diagnostic testing can positively influence the immediate, but not the continuing, achievement of students in science. In addition, neither student aptitude nor achievement motivation level were found to interact with treatment or influence achievement. Affective data indicate that students react favorably to the use of objectives, computers, and diagnostic testing. Cost summary data reveal that when the expense of administering diagnostic testing by microcomputer is prorated over a five-year period, the cost of a diagnostic test is reduced to approximately three cents.