Adding Net Value: The Nature of Online Education at a South African Residential Institution

Online learning is usually implemented as a component of distance learning, although this technology also has definite advantages for residential educational institutions. When addressing issues such as computer literacy, improved communication skills, problem-based learning, inclusion of real-life issues and exposing students to the working world, the online environment holds tremendous potential. The first year journalism students at the Technikon Pretoria, South Africa, were incorporated in a carefully designed online course with assignments and activities to supplement and enrich their learning experience. This paper will report on the strategy that was implemented and will offer some suggestions when teaching a residential course online. Ajoutant la valeur du Net: la nature d'une éducation on-line dans une institution d'Afrique du Sud d'enseignement résidentiel. L'éducation on-line est généralement mise en m uvre comme une composante de l'enseignement À distance bien que cette technologie ait des avantages certaines pour les institutions donnant une éducation résidentielle. Lorsque l'on considère les problèmes comme l'aptitude À se servir de l'ordinateur, des aptitudes améliorés en communication, des apprentissages fondés sur l'étude de problèmes, l'inclusion de problèmes de la vie réelle et l'exposition des étudiants au monde du travail, l'environnement on-line offre un potentiel énorme. Les étudiants de la première année de journalisme au Technikon Pretoria, en Afrique du Sud ont été impliqués dans un cours on-line soigneusement planifié avec des devoirs et des activités qui complètent et enrichissent leur expérience d'apprentissage. Cet article fait rapport des stratégies qui ont été mise en m uvre et propose des suggestions pour un cours on-line en enseignement résidentiel. Der Vorteil des (Net) Netzwert: Online Ausbildung an einer Bildungseinrichtung in einer Wohngegend Süd Afrikas. Online lernen beschränkt sich am allgemeinen auf den Fernunterricht, obwohl diese Technologie Vorteile für Bildungseinrichtungen in einigen Wohngebieten bietet. Wenn es um Fragen geht wie: Computerfertigkeiten, Kommunikationsfähigkeiten zu verbessern, lernen auf der Basis von Problemlösungen, die Einbeziehung von Themen aus dem wirklichen Leben und die Schüler auf die Arbeitswelt vorzubereiten, bietet das online Umfeld ein enormes Potential. Die Studenten des Erstsemester für Journalistik am Technikon Pretoria, Süd-Afrika, wurden mit einem wohl geplanten online Kurs inklusive Aufgabenstellung konfrontiert, um ihre Lernerfahrungen auszubauen. Dieser Artikel berichtet über die angewandte Strategie und macht Unterrichtsvorschläge unter Einbeziehung von online Kursen in Wohngebieten.     

Partial reinforcement in autoshaping with pigeons

The acquisition, maintenance, and extinction of autoshaped responding in pigeons were studied under partial and continuous reinforcement. Five values of probability of reinforcement, ranging from .1 to 1.0, were combined factorially with five values of intertrial interval ranging from 15 to 250 sec for different groups. The number of trials required before autoshaped responding emerged varied inversely with the duration of the intertriai interval and probability of reinforcment, but partial reinforcement did not increase the number of reinforcers before acquisition. During maintained training, partial reinforcement increased the overall rate of responding. A temporal gradient of accelerated responding over the trial duration emerged during maintenance training for partial reinforcement groups, and was evident for all groups in extinction. Partial reinforcement groups responded more than continuous reinforcement groups over an equivalent number of trials in extinction. However, this partial-reinforcment extinction effect disappeared when examined in terms of the omission of “expected” reinforcers.     

Phonemic—Morphemic dissociation in university students with dyslexia: an index of reading compensation?

A phonological deficit constitutes a primary cause of developmental dyslexia, which persists into adulthood and can explain some aspects of their reading impairment. Nevertheless, some dyslexic adults successfully manage to study at university level, although very little is currently known about how they achieve this. The present study investigated at both the individual and group levels, whether the development of another oral language skill, namely, morphological knowledge, can be preserved and dissociated from the development of phonological knowledge. Reading, phonological, and morphological abilities were measured in 20 dyslexic and 20 non-dyslexic university students. The results confirmed the persistence of deficits in phonological but not morphological abilities, thereby revealing a dissociation in the development of these two skills. Moreover, the magnitude of the dissociation correlated with reading level. The outcome supports the claim that university students with dyslexia may compensate for phonological weaknesses by drawing on morphological knowledge in reading.     

Comparing Models of Nature of Science Dimensionality Based on the Next Generation Science Standards

Instruments measuring understanding of the nature of science (NOS) are required if educational institutions intend to use benchmarks or examine the effects of interventions targeting students’ NOS development. Compared to other constructs, NOS understanding is complex, having been the subject of debate among scholars in both its substance and its dimensionality. This complexity invites challenges in defining what is to be measured. Drawing from the perspective that policy reform documents provide pragmatic consensus-based definitions of NOS, this study investigated how well the dimensionality described in the NOS component of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) framework matched the empirical structure of data collected from a set of secondary-school students’ responses to an NOS instrument comprising multiple-choice and Likert-scale items. Using multidimensional item response modeling to compare structures of NOS dimensionality, we found that treating NOS as comprising multiple dimensions—as defined by the themes in the NGSS NOS framework—resulted in a better fitting model than when treating NOS as a single dimension. The multidimensional model also had fewer poorly functioning items and revealed NOS profiles that otherwise would have been masked in a model treating NOS as a single dimension. These results provide support for the NOS NGSS framework and contribute to the ongoing discussion about the dimensionality of NOS.     

Participation,progression and value added: business and economics for 14–19-year-olds in England

This article attempts to map the business and economics curriculum and explain some of the reasons for it being as it is; and to examine the number of students choosing to study the subjects and the ‘perceived relative value’ of studying economics and business studies. In 1988 a National Curriculum was introduced for all 5–16-year-olds in state schools in England but curiously neither business studies nor economics were mandatory subjects. In England, government education policy has influenced the development of the business and economics school curriculum in four main ways: first, in defining a core curriculum; second, in changes in school type; third, in the treatment of the academic/vocational divide; and, finally, in the development of a qualifications framework. With a new government elected, changes in education policy will therefore have an impact on the study of these subjects. We argue that while business and economics are very popular options for study by 14–19-year-olds, this area of the English curriculum needs further strengthening, and that all students should have the opportunity to study business and economics in some form to develop their own economic wellbeing and to better understand the world in which they live.     

Analyzing and Selecting Instructional Strategies and Tactics

“Formulation of instructional strategy to match subject matter and learner requirements” is an integral part of most instructional design models (Andrews & Goodson, 1980, p.5). Yet the meaning and purpose of instructional strategies in these design model vary considerably. An instructional strategy in traditional design models usually refers to the selection of instructional delivery vehicles (e.g., lecture, demonstration, computer–assisted instruction) and support activities (e.g., practice exercises, tutoring) (cf. Tracey, Flynn, & Legere, 1970). Contrast those conceptions with the many instructional strategies described in elaboration theory (Reigeluth & Stein, 1983), such as subsumptive sequencing, internally consistent orienting structures, synthesizers, summarizers, and cognitive strategy activators. What is obvious from these disparate conceptions is that instructional designers do not share a consistent definition of instructional strategies. Many of the activities that are referred to as instructional strategies are not in fact strategies, but rather are presentation vehicles. In this article, we first define instructional strategies and tactics in the context of an iterative design model. Instructional strategies are then distinguished from instructional tactics, which are the implementation of strategies. We then list the range of instructional strategies and tactics that implement them. Finally, we provide a decision tree for assisting designers to select appropriate instructional tactics.     

Did you learn something useful today? An analysis of how perceived utility relates to perceived learning and their predictiveness of satisfaction with training

A popular taxonomy for categorizing outcomes of training is the four‐level model formulated by Kirkpatrick (1959). The first level in the model consists of reactions to training. Kirkpatrick recognized only affective reactions, but more recent reformulations of the model posit other types of reactions, including utility and perceptions of learning. We studied the relationship between three types of reaction measures (Kirkpatrick level 1) in six cohorts of first‐year college students participating in an evaluation of an orientation training program. The assessed reactions were amount learned, the usability of the information, and satisfaction with the training program. A substantial correlation (.6 to .7) exists between self‐assessed learning and the perceived usefulness of the information. Usefulness was almost as good as amount learned in predicting satisfaction with the training. The findings underscore the importance of using relevance strategies to make information appear useful.