Attitudinal effects as a function of undergraduate statistics course design: Personalized (self-directed) vs. traditional

Two undergraduate statistics course designs were compared for their effects on attitudes involving perceived competency with respect to course content, the concept of psychology as a science, the social atmosphere within a course and the interest and value in the area of statistics and research design. One design involved the traditional format of lecture-laboratory-discussion while the other was modeled after Keller's personalized program involving the application of principles of behavioral analysis. The Keller design produced more positive attitudes with respect to perceived competency and the notion of psychology as a science. The attitudes toward the social atmosphere and the interest and value in the course were higher at the beginning of the personalized design and did not change as a result of the students' experiences in the courses. The outcomes seem to be a result of both the specific course design and the context or learning system in which the student functions.     

Educational brokering: New services for adult learners

This paper describes a fast-growing variety of programs that directly enable adult learners to pursue educational and career plans within their communities. Educational brokering serves an intermediary role between individual clients and the vast array of educational resources in a region. This paper considers the missions of brokering—advisement, assessment, and advocacy—its organizational arrangements, and the sources of its support and development. Specific successes and impacts of brokering are presented, as is the importance of the brokering idea to several larger public policy issues. Efforts currently underway to expand brokering activities on a national level are also discussed.Dr. Heffernan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Higher/Postsecondary Education at Syracuse University and is Coordinator of Research and Editor of theBulletin of the National Center for Educational Brokering. He has been assisted in the preparation of this article by Francis U. Macy and Donn F. Vickers, Director and Associate Director, respectively, of the National Center for Educational Brokering, 405 Oak Street, Syracuse, New York 13203.     

PERSONALITY INFLUENCES ON CONFIDENCE TEST SCORES*

From the earliest years in the development of confidence testing, several authors have expressed the concern that confidence test scores were influenced, to a measurable degree, by personality variables. Advocates of confidence testing have claimed that the effects of personality variables can be reduced with practice. This study attempts to evaluate the association of personality variables with confidence test scores in light of practice. It was concluded that although significant correlations between personality variables and confidence testing scores could be obtained, these correlations did not hold up with replication.