The sequencing of instruction and the concept of assimilation-to-schema

The concept of assimilation-to-schema proposes that learning depends on three conditions: (1) the reception of the to-be-learned material, (2) the availability of a cognitive structure to which the new material may be assimilated, (3) the activation of the structure during learning. The concept provides weak (i.e., concerning amount of learning) and strong (i.e. concerning the structure of learning outcomes) predictions with respect to the effects of sequencing of instruction, ordering of instruction and organization of instruction. The present review demonstrates that studies of the role of instructional sequencing provide an important test of the assimilation-to-schema theory, and that many apparent inconsistencies in the literature may be better understood by an analysis of the internal assimilation process.This paper was partially supported by a Faculty Research Grant from the Academic Senate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.     

Responding to a fiscal crisis: a data‐driven approach

The Division of Planning and Institutional Improvement (PAII) at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis provides for the campus data for academic planning and management, assessment and evaluation services, and progress reports on mission‐critical goals. To respond to a forecast fiscal crisis and support long‐range planning for the Division, staff undertook a survey of deans and other key campus stakeholders to determine which of its services were best‐known and considered most useful for unit‐level planning and decision‐making, especially as these units faced the same projections of severe fiscal constraints. Findings indicated greater awareness and use of PAII data among deans than among other academic leaders and provided important insights into the kinds of data needed most for decision‐making. These outcomes will guide the Division’s future strategies for educating deans and other stakeholders on underused, but potentially useful, services and for selecting new services to offer.     

Opposite Sides of the Same Coin? Exploring the Connections between School Absenteeism and Student Mobility

ABSTRACT

Mobile students and absent students are important subsets of at-risk students in schools and districts nationwide. As such, student mobility and school absenteeism are two challenges in K-12 education with significant policy and equity implications. Although both issues are at the nexus of schooling and society and there is an apparent overlap in the attributes of these student subgroups, school absenteeism and student mobility are often discussed in separate conversations. This article connects the two disparate literatures in hopes of forging stronger ties that may benefit policymakers, researchers, educators, and students. The limited empirical evidence is mixed but suggests that school absenteeism and student mobility are correlated and absenteeism plays a small mediating role in the relationship between student mobility and student outcomes. The reasons underlying student mobility and student absenteeism are interrelated but not all reasons are common. The overlapping causes of student mobility and chronic absenteeism indicate that economic and social circumstances are important underlying factors. In particular, poverty is a key shared reason for missing or switching schools. Although both phenomena contribute to disparities in educational opportunities, experiences, and outcomes, this study posits that changing schools and missing school provide instructive examples of how inequality in society may be reproduced in districts and schools. Recommendations to address both phenomena and directions for future research are discussed.     

Vocational Interests and Career Efficacy Expectations in Relation to Occupational Sex-Typing Beliefs for Eighth Grade Students

Following the recommendations of Lent, Brown and Hackett's Social Cognitive Career Theory (2000), we measured eighth grade boys' and girls' perception of the proportion of men and women employed in occupations and their level of interest and self-efficacy for those occupations. Results indicated that eighth grade boys and girls expressed stronger career interest in and higher self-efficacy for those occupations that they rated as employing more of their own gender. The study highlights how career practitioners can work with adolescents to widen their perceived range of occupational choices.     

The effects of early sexual abuse on adult risky sexual behaviors among persons with severe mental illness

OBJECTIVE: There were two aims: first, to examine the relationship between prior sexual abuse and three types of adult risky sexual behaviors [(1) ever traded sex for drugs or money, (2) had unprotected sex in the past 6 months, and (3) frequency of unprotected sex in the past 6 months] among persons with severe mental illness (SMI), and second, to examine the potential mediating effects of adult rape, substance use, and PTSD. METHOD: Using a pooled sample of individuals with SMI (N=609), logistic and negative binomial regression analyses were used to investigate the impact of prior sexual abuse on these adult risky sexual behaviors. RESULTS: Childhood sexual abuse was associated with having ever traded sex for money and having engaged in unprotected sex in the past 6 months. However, childhood sexual abuse was inversely associated with the number of times males had unprotected sex in the past 6 months. Results differed between males and females and the impact of potential mediators also varied by gender and type of outcome studied. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a complex link between childhood sexual abuse and adult risky sexual behaviors in persons with SMI. Clinical assessments of child abuse sequelae should include a variety of indicators and parameters of adult risky sexual behavior, as persons with SMI are at an increased risk of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors and tend to have a higher exposure to childhood sexual abuse than does the general population.     

The concept map as an advance organizer

The objective of this study was to determine if a concept map used as an advance organizer can improve the science achievement of eighth-grade students. Eighty-two eighth-grade students in four science classes participated in this study. The experimental group completed the concept map at the beginning of the science unit under the teacher's supervision. At the end of the two-week unit a science test was administered to the experimental and the control group. The results of a one-tailed t test indicated that there was a significant difference between the two groups. The effect size is 0.40. It appears that the concept map can provide the classroom teachers with a meaningful and practical structured approach for using advance organizers in their classes.     

Hypervideo

Methods for incorporating video in hypermedia programs are discussed in this article. Hypermedia is defined, and linear and interactive video are contrasted. It is argued that hypermedia presents unique problems in knowledge representation affecting video production, and that techniques are required differing from those for linear video and other forms of interactive video. Suggestions are made for giving interactive video the “look and feel” of hypermedia that primarily involve condensing information and accelerating presentation pace. They are based on the authors' experiences evaluating interactive media and creating “compressed” video programs. Existing media and visual ability research is re-interpreted to support these interactive, “hypervideo” methods.