Reviews: 4

Garrison, D R & Anderson, Terry (2003) E-learning in the 21st Century RoutledgeFalmer (London & New York) ISBN 0-335-20791-X 109 pp £17.99 (boards £55)
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Students’ knowledge acquisition and ability to apply knowledge into different science contexts in two different independent learning settings

Background: Recently, there is a growing interest in independent learning approaches globally. This is, at least in part, due to an increased demand for so-called ‘21st century skills’ and the potential of independent learning to improve student skills to better prepare them for the future.

Purpose: This paper reports a study that explored the effectiveness of two different independent learning approaches: (i) guided independent learning and (ii) unguided independent learning with independent research, in enabling students in an undergraduate Macromolecules course to acquire knowledge in one chemistry context and apply it successfully in another.

Sample: The study involved 144 chemistry students commencing their first term of undergraduate study at a northern university in England. Students completed pre- and post-intervention tests containing 10 diagnostic questions, of which 4 measured students’ knowledge acquisition in one context and 6 measured their ability to apply it in another.

Design and methods: Diagnostic questions had been identified using a Delphi approach. Paired t-tests and chi-square tests were used to analyse the significance of any change in students’ responses to the diagnostic questions and the number of responses evidencing misconceptions, respectively.

Results: Whilst guided independent learning settings were found to improve students’ knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge in novel situations, unguided independent learning had no statistically significant effect. Unguided independent learning was also linked to a statistically significant increase in the number of student misconceptions in one of the diagnostic questions.

Conclusions: The results of this study show that guidance in independent learning activities is a key necessity for effective learning in higher education. This paper has strong relevance and high significance to tertiary STEM education, especially in the light of increased importance of teaching, such as the Teaching Excellence Framework in the UK, and shifts to more independent learning activities.     

Treating child abuse-related posttraumatic stress and comorbid substance abuse in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Child abuse is a risk factor for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and subsequent Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The purpose of this review is to summarize current knowledge about effective treatments for adolescent abuse-related PTSD, SUD, and the co-occurrence of these conditions.METHOD: The literature on empirical treatment studies for these conditions in adolescence was reviewed, summarized, and synthesized.RESULTS: Randomized controlled studies of abuse-related PTSD and SUD in adolescents have supported the efficacy of cognitive behaviorally-based individual and family treatment components. Components overlap considerably in empirically supported treatments for each disorder. An integrated treatment approach is described for use in adolescents with abuse-related PTSD and SUD, with recommendations for optimizing services for this population and for future research.CONCLUSIONS: The available evidence on effective treatments suggests that integrated PTSD- and SUD-focused cognitive-behavioral and family treatment for adolescents with comorbid abuse-related PTSD and SUD may optimize outcomes for this population.     

The Biglan classification revisited

Conclusion The Biglan classification scheme provides a valid framework for studying academic diversity within the higher education system. It continues to be a strong construct for classifying faculty as evidenced by its power to discriminate current faculty on a recent faculty data set. Previously unclassified professional disciplines of Dentistry and Nursing were classified as hard-applied-nonlife and soft-applied-life respectively. Difficulty classifying other fields may be the result of diverse, interdisciplinary subject matter, and the stage of academic development of the discipline. An expanded classification system such as the one by Becher may be more inclusive and deserves further study.     

Phonological awareness,speech development,and letter knowledge in preschool children

Phonological awareness has been shown to be one of the most reliable predictors and associates of reading ability. In an attempt to better understand its development, we have examined the interrelations of speech skills and letter knowledge to the phonological awareness and early reading skills of 99 preschool children. We found that phoneme awareness, but not rhyme awareness, correlated with early reading measures. We further found that phoneme manipulation was closely associated with letter knowledge and with letter sound knowledge, in particular, where rhyme awareness was closely linked with speech perception and vocabulary. Phoneme judgment fell in between. The overall pattern of results is consistent with phonological representation as an important factor in the complex relationship between preschool children’s phonological awareness, their emerging knowledge of the orthography, and their developing speech skills. However, where rhyme awareness is a concomitant of speech and vocabulary development, phoneme awareness more clearly associates with the products of literacy experience.     

Understanding and supporting adoptive families

The number of adopted children in early childhood classrooms continues to rise each year; teachers need knowledge of adoption issues in order to face the unique challenges and meet the special needs of these children and their adoptive parents. This article provides “adoption awareness” for early childhood educators and offers practical suggestions for working with adoptive parents and their children. A list of adoption resources and consultants is included, along with a collection of suggested adoption books for young children.     

Indiana women of achievement: using self-directedness,self-efficacy and self-determination to explore opportunities for leadership

This article shares examples of how leadership opportunities, self-directedness, self-efficacy and self-determination developed in professional women who have been recognised as leaders. This study presents six women honoured as ‘Women of Achievement’. Through narrative interviews, each woman described aspects of her life that guided decision-making and her approach to various life situations. Using the narrative examples provided, one may be able to see themes or strategies for working with other learners to enhance their own leadership. Findings included: growth and development as leaders within their own environments and through interactions with people who mentored or influenced them; openness to opportunities presented to them; the effect that time, place and culture contributed to the goals and tasks that these women undertook. While they were bound by social constraints concerning gender, race and class, each found a way to adapt within those environments and make changes for the better through their contributions. Consistently, these women realised their actions made a difference. Implications for further research include: enhancing self-directedness, self-efficacy and self-determination in women; expanding the definition of leadership; and understanding the motivation for engaging in leadership opportunities. Through this and other research, we seek to expand women’s roles and participation as leaders.     

Infant Information Processing in Relation to Six-Year Cognitive Outcomes

As part of a longitudinal follow-up of full-terms and preterms, infant measures of information processing obtained at 7 months and 1 year were related to various 6-year outcomes: general intelligence, language proficiency, early reading and quantitative skills, and several facets of perceptual organization (N = 91). 7-month Visual recognition memory (VRM) was associated with 6-year performance in all domains, and 3 1-year measures--VRM, cross-modal transfer (CMT), and object permanence--were related to IQ and/or one or more specific outcomes (r's = .20 to .47). Many of the infant-childhood relations remain significant even with IQ partialed. Additionally, 7-month VRM and 1-year CMT scores were lower for infants who, at 6 years, were considered at risk for learning disabilities. Overall, measures from the first year of life predicted both specific cognitive abilities and IQ at 6 years; to some extent, the specific abilities were predicted independently of IQ.     

Competence in educational theory and practice: a critical discussion

This paper first provides a brief overview of the history and current usage of the concept of competence in academic research, and then undertakes a critical discussion of how the term is currently used in educational policy. The running example used throughout the paper is competence in foreign language learning. The PISA study is discussed to demonstrate how the concept of competence has come to prominence in the international discourse on education in recent years. Following this, particular attention is given to the situation in Germany where there has been a shift towards competence as an aim of teaching in recent years, coupled with an increased focus on standards and accountability. The relationship between competence and standards is examined critically, since some authors appear to use the two interchangeably whether or not this is justified. Finally, the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFR) and a German curriculum document are examined critically with regard to their use of the concept of competence.     

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL LEVEL PROTECTIVE FACTORS IN OVERCOMING CUMULATIVE RISK FOR BEHAVIOR DIFFICULTIES IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES

The study investigated whether school‐level protective factors could moderate the effects cumulative risk has upon behavior difficulties in children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The sample comprised 4,288 children identified with SEND: 2,660 pupils within 248 primary schools, and 1,628 pupils within 57 secondary schools. Risk factors associated with increases in behavior difficulties over an 18‐month period were summed to a cumulative risk score. Various school‐level factors were added to multilevel models, with interaction terms computed between cumulative risk and these variables to assess their potential protective effects. The primary school model revealed a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school academic achievement in predicting behavior difficulties. Higher levels of achievement in primary schools help reduce behavior difficulties for children most at risk. The secondary school model evidenced a significant interaction between cumulative risk and school percentage of students eligible for free school meals (FSM). Lower proportions within a school of children eligible for FSM were associated with reductions in behavior difficulties for children at high levels of risk. Interventions aimed at improving school‐level academic achievement and targeting high‐risk students attending schools with large proportions of children eligible for FSM would be beneficial.