Personalizing and Contextualizing Multimedia Case Methods in University-based Teacher Education: An Important Modification for Promoting Technological Design in School Science

Results of various studies suggest that multimedia ‘case methods’ (activities associated with case documentaries) have many benefits in university-based teacher education contexts. They can, for example, help to ‘bridge the gap’ between perspectives and practices held by academic teacher educators and those held by student-teachers – who may adhere to perspectives and practices commonly supported in schools. On the other hand, some studies, along with theoretical arguments, suggest that there are limits to the effectiveness of multimedia case methods – because, for example, they can never fully represent realities of teaching and learning in schools. Furthermore, often missing from multimedia case methods is the student-teacher in the role of teacher. To address these concerns, we modified an existing multimedia case method by associating it with a special practice teaching situation in a school context. Qualitative data analyzed using constant comparative methods suggest that student-teachers engaged in this modified multimedia case method developed relatively deep commitments to encouraging students to conduct technology design projects – a non-traditional practice in school science. Factors that appeared to influence development of this motivation included student-teachers’ pre-instructional perspectives about science and the personalization and contextualization inherent to the modified multimedia case method.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SELECTION OF A GERONTOLOGY CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Educational programs in academic gerontology with differing formats and requirements have emerged in a variety of educational institutions across Canada and the United States during the past decade. In 1986 and 1987, two gerontology certificate programs were initiated in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. One program is offered through the Faculty of Continuing Education at the local university, the other through the community college's Department of Nursing and Allied Health. Although both programs are multidisciplinary, they differ in their relative emphasis on theory, practice, and research.

The above and other differences were examined by a survey designed to probe why students from a variety of disciplines selected one of these programs over the other. It was hypothesized that variables such as preferred learning style, previous experience with specific types of educational facilities, and influence of peers and work setting would be factors influencing program selection. The results of this study lead to recommendations regarding the status of gerontological credentials in Canada and the need for students to be more aware of program choices.     

Student achievement and attitude in a satellite‐delivered high school science course

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of satellite‐delivered instruction on student achievement and attitude in a high school anatomy and physiology course. The experimental group included students from seven high schools enrolled in the satellite‐delivered course. The control group consisted of students from seven high schools in which classroom teachers provided instruction. An experimental versus control matched‐pair design was used in the study. Two hypotheses were tested using the t test for dependent samples. The findings show that there was no significant difference between the experimental group and control group in attitude toward anatomy and physiology. However, on the achievement test, the mean post‐test score of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group.     

The S‐Machine: An Alternative Approach to Teaching Assembler Programming

The demand for assembler language programmers has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years with the advent of structured programming languages and the accessibility of hardware features from high‐level languages. Nevertheless, a course in assembler language programming is often the first, and sometimes the only, introduction a student has to a machine's hardware. For this reason alone, assembler language programming courses should not be removed from a curriculum; instead, they should be kept and taught in conjunction with modern software engineering practices. This article describes an alternative approach to teaching assembler language programming. Whereas the students are still introduced to a machine and its assembler language, they are required to write several low‐level library routines they used in introductory courses (such as ACM CS1 and CS2). Furthermore, the S‐Machine's support software allows students to study the internals of an assembler, a librarian, and a linker.     

Using SAS® PROC CALIS for path analysis: An introduction

This article presents a straightforward approach for using PROC CALIS programs that will perform path analyses using observed variables. The step‐by‐step approach should help the beginner understand concepts in path analysis and how to use the SAS^® System's PROC CALIS procedure. The approach begins with the development of a program figure, a figure that graphically illustrates the researcher's theoretical model and identifies the parameters to be estimated in the model. A set of 14 rules guide this task. The article illustrates how to convert the program figure into a PROC CALIS program that will estimate parameters in the diagrammed model and how to review the output of PROC CALIS (e.g., residuals, chi‐square test, fit indices) to assess the fit of the model to the data.