Evaluation of Online, On-Demand Science Professional Development Material Involving Two Different Implementation Models

This report presents pilot-test results for a science professional development program featuring online, on-demand materials developed by the National Science Teachers Association. During the spring 2006 semester, 45 middle school teachers from three different school districts across the United States participated in a professional development program designed to facilitate content knowledge and skills in the area of Newtonian force and motion. Participants from one of the school districts experienced a full-day instructor-led workshop along with two web-based seminars with a content-area expert. This was followed by a 4-week period of time in which they had access to self-directed, online, on-demand instructional materials that included activities, information, simulations, examples, and practice with immediate feedback over the targeted outcomes. Participants from the two other school districts only had access to the online materials with no instructor-led experience. This report documents positive gains in achievement as well as levels of confidence in teaching the material within all of the professional development groups. Data about the use of specific features within the online material are included, as well as completion rates and attitude survey results. Recommendations for future study are also included.     

Effects of self-evaluation on the independent work skills of preschool children with disabilities

This study examined the effects of a self-evaluation treatment package on the independent work skills of preschool children with disabilities. Children learned to conduct self-assessments and to compare their ratings with those of the teacher. Data were collected on children's percentages of appropriate behavior, the level of teacher prompting, and the match between child and teacher ratings. Results indicated that the treatment produced immediate and substantial improvements in child behavior and that it was possible to systematically withdraw each component while maintaining a high level of appropriate child behavior.     

How Visual Displays Affect Cognitive Processing

We regularly consult and construct visual displays that are intended to communicate important information. The power of these displays and the instructional messages we attempt to comprehend when using them emerge from the information included in the display and by their spatial arrangement. In this article, we identify common types of visual displays and the kinds of inferences that each type of display is designed to promote. In particular, we outline different types of semantic and pictorial displays. Then, we describe four main ways in which visual displays can affect cognitive processing including selection, organization, integration, and processing efficiency and how semantic and pictorial displays support these types of processing. We conclude with seven recommendations for designing visual displays and possible directions for future research.     

The informationist: building evidence for an emerging health profession

Background:

To encourage evidence-based practice, an Annals of Internal Medicine editorial called for a new professional on clinical teams: an informationist trained in science or medicine as well as information science.

Objectives:

The study explored the effects of informationists on information behaviors of clinical research teams, specifically, frequency of seeking information for clinical or research decisions, range of resources consulted, perceptions about access to information, confidence in adequacy of literature searches, and effects on decision making and practice. It also explored perceptions about training and experience needed for successful informationists.

Methods:

Exploratory focus groups and key interviews were followed by baseline and follow-up surveys conducted with researchers and clinicians receiving the service. Survey data were analyzed with Pearson''s chi-square or Fisher''s exact test.

Results:

Comparing 2006 to 2004 survey responses, the researchers found that study participants reported: seeking answers to questions more frequently, spending more time seeking or using information, believing time was less of an obstacle to finding or using information, using more information resources, and feeling greater satisfaction with their ability to find answers. Participants'' opinions on informationists'' qualifications evolved to include both subject knowledge and information searching expertise.

Conclusion:

Over time, clinical research teams with informationists demonstrated changes in their information behaviors, and they valued an informationist''s subject matter expertise more.

Highlights

• Informationist involvement in traditional team activities—going on rounds and searching and critically evaluating the literature—increased over time.
• As the relationship between a clinical team and informationist developed, activities expanded to include projects such as development of wikis, databases, and websites.
• Clinical teams came to view subject knowledge as key to an informationist''s preparation; however, their expertise as information scientists was valued most highly.
• “Initiative,” approaching research staff in their workplace, was the one personal trait focus group participants agreed on as most desirable for an informationist.
• When first introduced to the concept, researchers cited customization of services to team needs as a major benefit.

Implications

• To assure a successful informationist program, libraries must be prepared to commit time and money.
• Whether informationists or not, librarians should be prepared to support users'' increased need for genetics and molecular biology information.