From a distance? Globalisation,space‐time compression and distance education

In this article, Roger Lewis, Director of Services, for the Open College, examines notions of ‘quality’ in open learning for corporate users, and how this can be evaluated. The approach to ‘quality’ is based on The Training Agency's publication, ‘Ensuring quality in open learning’, and the argument for the importance of assessing resultant change and therefore benefits is relevant, it is proposed, to training and evaluation more generally.     

Typologies of radio station target audiences

One of the most frustrating methodological problems facing researchers interested in broadcast programming is that of classification of target audiences and programming formats. The following article presents a new approach to this problem, one that keeps in mind the varying approaches to radio programming in the United States today. Robert Moomey is Program Manager of WIND, the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company radio station in Chicago. Roger Skolnik, who formerly was on the faculty of the University of Illniois at Chicago Circle, recently earned his doctorate in Michigan State Unversity and currently is Executive Producer at WIND.     

Comparison of student learning about diffusion and osmosis in constructivist and traditional classrooms

Student learning about diffusion and osmosis was measured at three different universities using a newly developed instrument [Odom and Barrow (1995) Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32, 45-61] which tests the underlying knowledge of students in addition to their ability to answer factual questions correctly. Instructors at two of the universities taught utilizing the very common large lecture/small laboratory approach. The instructor at the third university taught using a small discussion/laboratory approach which was informed by constructivist theory. Results of pre- and post-testing indicate that students learned about and understood diffusion and osmosis most deeply in the small discussion/ laboratory course. Reasons why this may be are discussed and suggestions are presented to help improve student learning in other settings.