The Effects of Extinction in the Treatment of Sleep Problems with a Child with a Physical Disability

Sleep problems are common among young children with developmental disabilities. In many cases, parental attention has shaped and reinforced these problems. In the present study, extinction of parental attention was effective in the elimination and long-term maintenance of nighttime crying with a young child with a physical disability.     

Toward a taxonomy of adaptivity for learning

Abstract

Adaptive learning and personalization have long been of great interest to learning designers and educators, and recent technological advances that have opened up a range of new possibilities for adaptivity. However, we lack clear definitions of the terms adaptivity and personalization, and the theoretical and empirical soundness of implementations of corresponding systems varies greatly. We therefore first provide definitions for key concepts related to adaptivity. We then discuss what variable systems should adapt for, how these variables can be measured, and what modifications to the learner experience can be made based on these variables. We propose a taxonomy of adaptivity that distinguishes adaptivity based on cognitive, emotional, motivational, and social/cultural variables, and that defines types of adaptivity at a macro-level and a micro-level.     

A longitudinal analysis of gender differences in academic self-concept and language achievement: A multivariate multilevel latent growth approach

This study investigated the development of academic self-concept and language achievement from Grade 7 to Grade 12 by repeated assessment of 2826 Flemish adolescents in 50 secondary schools. Latent growth curve modeling showed that both girls and boys experience a declining academic self-concept during the period of secondary education and that girls declined at a faster rate. Furthermore, girls were shown to have an increase in Dutch language achievement over time, whereas boys showed a decrease in middle years, followed by an increase from Grade 9 on. The multivariate multilevel growth curve model suggested that the evolution of academic self-concept was not related to the evolution in achievement, neither at the individual level, nor at the school level. There is, however, a positive relation between students’ academic self-concept and their achievement, the magnitude of which decreased throughout secondary school. At the school level, the correlation is small, but also positive, except for the girls from Grade 10 on. The results are discussed in relation to the reciprocal effects model and the developmental perspective regarding the self-concept/achievement relation.     

Students' approaches to exploring relationships between categorical variables

In the context of an afterschool program in which students explore relatively large authentic datasets, we investigated how 11- to 14-year old students worked with categorical variables. During the program, students learned to use the Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP), a statistical analysis platform specifically designed for middle and high school students, to create and interpret graphs. Following the program, we conducted individual clinical interviews, during which students used CODAP to answer questions about relationships between variables. Here, we describe how students engaged in exploratory data analysis that involved looking at relationships between two categorical variables. Students worked from data in table form and created “contingency graphs,” a variant of contingency tables, which they used to analyze and draw insights from the data. Our research identified four strategies that students used to examine the data in order to explore patterns, make comparisons, and answer questions with the data.     

Big change through small action

Many of us strive to improve our efforts but can be overwhelmed by a variety of perceived obstacles. Wendy Young, Chris Ehrhart, and Greg Meyer describe how they made incremental steps within their personal sphere of influence that resulted in significant change.     

The Role of Intermediating Institutions in the Diffusion of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): How Industry Associations Intervened in Denmark, Finland, and Hong Kong

Electronic data interchange (EDI) provides means for interorganizational communication, creates network externalities, requires an advanced information technology (IT) infrastructure, and relies on standards. In the diffusion of such innovations, institutional involvement is imperative. Such institutions contain governmental agencies, national and global standardization organizations, local government, and nonprofit private organizations like industry associations. The last type of organizations we call intermediating institutions. They intermediate or coordinate ("inscribe") the activities of a group of would-be adopters. Unfortunately, little is known of how these organizations shape the EDI diffusion trajectory. In this article we examine one specific type of intermediating organizations?industry associations?and how they advanced the EDI diffusion process in the grocery sectors of Hong Kong, Denmark and Finland. We identify six institutional measures, placed into a matrix formed by the mode of involvement (influence vs. regulation) and the type of diffusion force (supply push vs. demand pull), that can be mobilized to further the EDI diffusion. Industry associations were found to be active users of all these measures to varying degrees. Their role was critical especially in knowledge building, knowledge deployment, and standard setting. Furthermore, institutional involvement varied due to policy and cultural contingencies and power dependencies.     

Understanding and Enhancing the Use of Multiple External Representations in Chemistry Education

Theories on learning with Multiple External Representations (MER) claim that low prior knowledge learners in science have difficulties using MER, which are seen as necessary to achieve a conceptual understanding. In two experiments, we analyze the mechanisms underlying the learning of chemistry with MER. Our first experiment focuses on how MER can support learning. We found no difference in learning gains of conceptual understanding, regardless of the format (whether MER were provided or not). It is concluded that chemical MER on themself cannot be seen as learning aids. The second experiment compares three types of instructional aids (prompts, prompts with an answer, and note-taking) to determine which types of aids enhance learning with MER. Contrary to the findings of Seufert (Learn Instr 13:227?C237, 2003), path-analysis suggests that the lowest prior knowledge group benefits the most from instructional aids such as prompts and note-taking. These aids guide learners?? attention towards one specific representational format (symbols), while other formats (submicroscopic representations) receive less attention.