Ecologically Valid Assessments of Attention and Learning Engagement in Media Multitaskers

This paper provides a synthesis of core literature of media multitasking, attention, and learning engagement. The focus, however, is on the ecologically valid assessments examining the depth-biased or breadth-biased attention and learning engagement in the media multitasking environments. We propose novel approaches to assess media multitasking including electroencephalography and virtual reality. We conclude with suggestions for some technology-enhanced and cross-disciplinary research methods for improving studies in this area.     

Spelling without phonology: A study of deaf and hearing children

To what extent does phonology play a role in spelling English words? The written responses of deaf students and groups of hearing children to five tasks were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses. The first three tasks were used to see if deaf students utilized phonology when they generated their own words and to compare their spelling performance with that of hearing subjects. The fourth and fifth tasks were designed to compare the spelling performance of deaf and hearing subjects when they were required to reproduce visually presented common words. Results showed that deaf students, who were chronologically much older, were not better spellers than hearing children from the fifth grade. Analysis of data revealed little evidence that the deaf students involved in the present study utilize phonology in spelling. Nor did word-specific visual memory for entire words appears to play a role in spelling by deaf students. Rote visual memory for letter patterns and sequences of letters within words, however, appears to play a role in the spelling by deaf students. It is concluded that sensitivity to the stochastic-dependent probabilities of letter sequences may aid spelling up to certain point but phonology is essential for spelling words whose structure is morphophonemically complex.

     

Let's go on an elephant hunt

Here's a great finger-play drill that teaches the different forms of transportation. The kids (and you) will love it.Nicki Klein Parsons is a registered nurse and special education teacher who has worked as head teacher in a day care center and is now a special education teacher at the Johnson Elementary School in Montrose, Colorado. Ms. Parsons can be reached at 1714 Story Lane, Montrose, Colorado 81401.     

Making sense of students' science: The construction of a model of tinkering

The science which students bring to the classroom has received a lot of research attention in recent years. These studies have focused on the investigation of children's conceptualisation of scientific phenomena. The present study brought a wider perspective by also seeking to describe the intuitive methods which students learn from their everyday experiences. The focus was on one method by which some students acquire their prior experiences, namely tinkering. Specifically, the nature of tinkering was explored within the context of one area of physical science, electricity. The findings therefore add a new dimension to our understanding of the science that students bring to the classroom. The results offer this clarification by proposing a model of tinkering.     

Elite universities,fields of study and top salaries: Which degree will make you rich?

This article assesses the chances of entering the top 5% of earners for a British cohort currently in their 40s. We assess the difference made by a university degree from an elite (Russell Group) or non‐elite university, and from different undergraduate fields of study. Our study uses rich longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). This allows us to control for an unusually large range of potential confounding factors, including childhood socio‐economic circumstances, cognitive scores, secondary schooling and prior qualifications. We find that large raw differences in the chances of achieving a top salary are strongly attenuated by our controls, but substantial differences between degree subject areas remain. The large gap between men and women in the chance of gaining a top salary is not explained by the type of degree achieved, and we found no evidence of gender differences in the gains from institutional prestige or particular fields of study.