Curricular quality and day‐to‐day learning activities in pre‐school

The purpose of this paper is to show how curricular quality is related to the day‐to‐day activities experienced by children and the pedagogical activities of staff, both coded through systematic target‐child observations. Data were drawn from the Effective Provision of Pre‐School Education (EPPE) and the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY) studies. Curricular quality was measured by coding the ECERS‐E, an English curricular extension to the well‐known ECERS‐R. In centres scoring high on the ECERS‐E, staff engaged in pedagogical practices that included more ‘sustained shared thinking’ and more ‘direct teaching’ such as questioning or modelling. In high‐scoring centres, children were also observed participating in more activities associated with early reading, emergent writing and active listening. Children in centres assessed as ‘adequate’ spent more time in activities associated with the ‘Physical Development’ and ‘Creative’ curriculum. Thus the ECERS‐E gives higher scores to pedagogical practices and activities where staff take a more active role in children’s learning, including scaffolding young children’s play, especially in the communication and literacy domains of the curriculum.     

Implementation Intentions for Improving Self-Regulation in Multimedia Learning: Why Don’t They Work?

Abstract

Learners face several self-regulatory challenges during multimedia learning: choosing adequate cognitive strategies (cognitive self-regulation), relying on their own learning abilities (motivational self-regulation), and investing sufficient effort (behavioral self-regulation). Implementation intentions (plans that help transform intentions into action) can support self-regulation. We expected that cognitive, motivational, or behavioral implementation intentions improved learning, compared to a control group. In a first experiment, we found weak evidence that cognitive and behavioral implementation intentions improved learning, whereas motivational implementation intentions reduced learning. However, replication failed in two follow-up experiments. Our findings contradict previous research and suggest that implementation intentions are not suitable to support multimedia learning. Future research should focus on possible boundary conditions that could account for the unexpected and unstable findings.     

The Role of Working Memory in Multimedia Instruction: Is Working Memory Working During Learning from Text and Pictures?

A lot of research has focused on the beneficial effects of using multimedia, that is, text and pictures, for learning. Theories of multimedia learning are based on Baddeley’s working memory model (Baddeley 1999). Despite this theoretical foundation, there is only little research that aims at empirically testing whether and more importantly how working memory contributes to learning from text and pictures; however, a more thorough understanding of how working memory limitations affect learning may help instructional designers to optimize multimedia instruction. Therefore, the goal of this review is to stimulate such empirical research by (1) providing an overview of the methodologies that can be applied to gain insights in working memory involvement during multimedia learning, (2) reviewing studies that have used these methodologies in multimedia research already, and (3) discussing methodological and theoretical challenges of such an approach as well as the usefulness of working memory to explain learning with multimedia.     

Information comparisons in example-based hypermedia environments: supporting learners with processing prompts and an interactive comparison tool

Global comparisons of learning from hypertext/hypermedia and traditional presentation formats like text have yet failed to show major advantages concerning the effectiveness of hypermedia learning. Thus, it is proposed in the current paper to evaluate hypermedia environments more specifically with regard to their potential to implement and support well-defined learning approaches. According to this view, an effective hypermedia design needs to be based on thorough cognitive task analyses with regard to structures, processes, and resources that are required to benefit from a specific learning approach. This claim is illustrated by two experiments in which we explored the instructional potential of hypermedia environments for improving schema acquisition from worked-out examples. A cognitive task analysis was used to identify specific types of information comparisons that are crucial for successful schema induction and that might be effectively supported by suitably designed hypermedia environments. The experiments investigated two methods for enhancing comparison processes in hypermedia-assisted learning from worked-out examples, namely, elaboration prompts and an interactive comparison tool. Both methods improved performance for near-transfer problems. Ways of extending this task-analytical approach to facilitating far transfer are also discussed.

In Infants' Hands: Identification of Preverbal Infants at Risk for Primary Language Delay

Early identification of primary language delay is crucial to implement effective prevention programs. Available screening instruments are based on parents' reports and have only insufficient predictive validity. This study employed observational measures of preverbal infants' gestural communication to test its predictive validity for identifying later language delays. Pointing behavior of fifty‐nine 12‐month‐old infants was analyzed and related to their language skills 1 year later. Results confirm predictive validity of preverbal communication for language skills with the hand shape of pointing being superior compared to the underlying motives for pointing (imperative vs. declarative). Twelve‐month‐olds who pointed only with their open hand but never with their index finger were at risk for primary language delay at 2 years of age.     

Ein Vorgehensmodell für die Multimedia-Entwicklung mit Autorensystemen

Zusammenfassung.   Multimedia-Anwendungen sind interaktive Softwaresysteme und verlangen als solche, mit softwaretechnischen Methoden erstellt zu werden. Sie werden heutzutage in der Regel mit Hilfe von Autorensystemen entwickelt, die eine Ad-hoc-Entwicklung auf Implementierungsniveau unterstützen. Hierdurch und wegen des Fehlens etablierter Vorgehensmodelle für die Multimedia-Softwareentwicklung reduziert sich der Multimedia-Entwicklungsproze? auf die Implementierungsphase. Dies führt zu den in der Softwaretechnik bekannten Problemen wie mangelnder Konzeption und fehlender Dokumentation. Wir stellen in diesem Beitrag ein Vorgehensmodell für die Entwicklung von Multimedia-Anwendungen vor, in dessen Mittelpunkt eine Analyse- und Entwurfsphase im Hinblick auf eine Implementierung der Multimedia-Anwendung mit einem Autorensystem stehen. Ausgehend von einem frameworkbasierten Analysemodell der Anwendung und einem Modell der Realisierungsm?glichkeiten mit einem konkreten Autorensystem wird systematisch ein Implementierungsmodell auf Instanzebene abgeleitet, das als Eingabe für das Autorensystem verwendet wird. Das postulierte Vorgehensmodell wird exemplarisch für das Autorensystem Director am Beispiel der Dom?ne multimedialer Lehr-/Lernanwendungen erl?utert. Eingegangen am 2. November 1998 / Angenommen am 18. M?rz 1999     

Urban neighbourhood quality and school leaving age: Gender differences and some hypotheses

This study used longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to examine the role of neighbourhood quality, assessed when cohort members were aged five, in boys’ and girls’ school leaving age. It was expected that, since context is in general more strongly predictive of boys’ rather than girls’ behaviour, neighbourhood quality would be more strongly related to men’s than women’s school leaving age. Results showed that, as expected, even after controlling for cognitive ability, parental socio‐economic disadvantage and social class, family structure, and maternal education, age and depressed mood, neighbourhood quality was more strongly related to men’s than women’s school leaving age. To rule out the possibility that neighbourhood quality is simply picking up individual level social class the study also explored the interaction of neighbourhood quality with parental social class. It was found that, compared to cohort members of high social class groups, cohort members of lower social class groups were less likely to stay in education after the minimum school leaving age in both neighbourhood groups, but being in the lower social class groups was more of a disadvantage for children living in well‐to‐do rather than average or poor neighbourhoods at age five.     

Is drawing after learning effective for metacognitive monitoring only when supported by spatial scaffolds?

Instructional Science - In this study, we investigated whether drawing after learning supports metacognitive monitoring especially when students are supported in their drawing efforts. Therefore,...