Accuracy and stability of cognitive structures and retention of geometric content

This study sought to determine whether clear distinctions in cognitive structures which existed at the time of instruction between students classified as formal operational and concrete operational would persist over time and result in prototypical structures for each group. In addition, this study investigated the effect of the ability to produce an accurate cognitive structure on the retention of geometric content and the stability of cognitive structures.The results showed that clear prototypical structures could be derived for the students who were formal operational at the time of instruction and also for those who were concrete operational. The students in the formal operational group exhibited initial structures of the geometric content more like the content experts, and after one year performed significantly better on a content test, and constructed more stable and accurate cognitive structures than those in the concrete operational group.     

Technology and informatics in Australian health libraries

Australia is no different to any other country in that information technology (IT) and the speed of its advancement has a huge impact on health care and therefore on health libraries. Australian health librarians are valuable members of health care teams and strive to integrate services and resources across hospitals. This article looks at the role Australian health libraries play in the broader health information landscape and the importance of information governance and health informatics as a tenet of the work undertaken by libraries. Of particular focus in this is the Health Libraries Australia/Telstra Health Digital Health Innovation Award, offered annually, to help focus on particular technological challenges. Three cases studies are explored demonstrating impact on the systematic review process, inter-library loan system automation and a room booking service. Also discussed are the ongoing professional development opportunities, which help upskill the Australian health library workforce. Australian health libraries also face many challenges with piecemeal IT systems across the nation, resulting in lost opportunities. Also, many Australian health services do not have a qualified librarian on staff, which undermines information governance. However, resiliency shines through with strong professional health library networks working to challenge the status quo in an effort to improve the application of health informatics.     

Effective Classroom Instruction: Implications of Child Characteristics by Reading Instruction Interactions on First Graders' Word Reading Achievement

Too many children fail to learn how to read proficiently with serious consequences for their overall well-being and long term success in school. This may be because providing effective instruction is more complex than many of the current models of reading instruction portray; there are child characteristic by instruction (CXI) interactions. Here we present efficacy results for a randomized control field trial of the Individualizing Student Instruction (ISI) intervention, which relies on dynamic system forecasting intervention models to recommend amounts of reading instruction for each student, taking into account CXI interactions that consider his or her vocabulary and reading skills. The study, conducted in seven schools with 25 teachers and 396 first graders, revealed that students in the ISI intervention classrooms demonstrated significantly greater reading skill gains by spring than did students in control classrooms. Plus, they were more likely to receive differentiated reading instruction based on CXI interaction guided recommended amounts than were students in control classrooms. The precision with which students received the recommended amounts of each type of literacy instruction, the distance from recommendation, also predicted reading outcomes.     

Reframing Management Education: A Humanist Context for Teaching in Business and Society

The modern economic process is becoming increasingly uncoupled from the humane ends it was originally intended to serve. This paper examines the ideological means by which this separation has been achieved, the implications for business and for society, and some possible means by which the original humanistic intent of economy can be recreated through the structuring of educational experience.     

Pharmacologic treatment and behavior therapy: Allies in the management of hyperactive children

Proposes reasons for the popular use of stimulant medication in the treatment of hyperactivity, as well as assertions that drug therapy alone is inadequate and insufficient. Adjunctive techniques to pharmacologic management have been proposed, however, frequently without empirical support. Behavior modification, although limited in applications with hyperactive children, has demonstrated a favorable effect on disruptive behaviors, self-concept, peer acceptance, and academic performance. A summarization of research providing empirical support for behavior therapy as an alternate or adjunctive treatment to drug therapy is included.     

Do primary students understand how pregnancy can occur? A comparison of students in Jakarta,West Java,West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi,Indonesia

In Indonesian primary schools, sex education is implicitly integrated into various related subjects, such as science, biology, social studies and religion. The technical facts of ovulation and sperm are mentioned in biology, although little or no connection is made between this process and sexual intercourse. By the end of primary school, therefore, children are likely to have a poor understanding of how pregnancy can occur. Given that young girls at this age have already experienced or will soon experience menarche, and given the increasing trend towards delaying the age at marriage in Indonesian society, this lack of knowledge places young people at risk of various negative consequences, including unwanted pregnancy. In this paper, we investigate the level of understanding regarding human reproduction amongst 1762 students attending the last year of primary school, distributed across 32 different schools in Indonesia. Despite the fact that all schools follow a national curriculum, our results reveal widespread variability in the students' comprehension of how pregnancy can occur. In particular, students attending Islamic religious schools and those in less developed provinces of Indonesia appear to have a much poorer understanding of the link between sexual intercourse and conception.