How Instructional Designers Solve Workplace Problems

This naturalistic inquiry investigated how instructional designers engage in complex and ambiguous problem solving across organizational boundaries in two corporations. Participants represented a range of instructional design experience, from novices to experts. Research methods included a participant background survey, observations of problem‐solving activities, in‐depth interviews, and analysis and evaluation of project documents and other tools. The findings revealed differences between experts and novices with regards to tolerance of ambiguity, expectations about their own roles in finding solutions for their clients, adaptability, attention to appropriate details, and management of workplace stress. The contrast between instructional design processes taught in universities and actual workplace practice was noted by both expert and novice participants. Experienced participants demonstrated adaptability in processes and communications to efficiently arrive at viable solutions for their clients. Expectation setting and relationship building emerged as techniques for creating environments supportive of instructional designers' problem‐solving activities.     

Book reviews

SPECTACULAR NATURE: CORPORATE CULTURE AND THE SEA WORLD EXPERIENCE. By Susan G. Davis. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1997; pp. xii + 313. paper $18.95.

FEMINISM AND DOCUMENTARY. By Diane Waldman and Janet Walker. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999; pp. xvi + 365. $49.95 cloth; $19.95 paper.

FASHIONABLE NONSENSE: POSTMODERN INTELLECTUAL'S ABUSE OF SCIENCE. By Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont. New York: Picador USA, 1998; pp. xiv + 300. $16.10 cloth; $11.20 paper.     

Self-Deception in the Classroom: Educational manifestations of Sartre’s concept of bad faith

This article explores an important section of Jean-Paul Sartre’s famous early work, Being and Nothingness. In that section Sartre proposes that part of the human condition is to actively engage in a particular kind of self-deception he calls bad faith. Bad faith is recognized by the obvious inconsistency between the purported self-knowledge of an individual and ways of acting and being in the world that are demonstrably in defiance of that stated position. This article begins by exploring examples of this self-deception in education along with a short query into the role pain avoidance might play in the development of this particular skill. The article then goes on to offer a series of manifestations of bad faith that Sartre identified along with possible examples of how each example, perhaps ‘excuse’, of bad faith might appear in education.     

Swing kinematics of male and female skilled golfers following prolonged putting practice

Abstract

Given that males and females respond differently to endurance-based tasks, prolonged putting practice may provide an avenue to examine gender-related differences in golf swing kinematics. The aim of this project was to determine if 40 min of putting affects thorax and pelvis kinematics during the full swing of males and females. Three-dimensional trunk kinematics were collected during the swings of 19 male (age: 26 ± 7 years, handicap: 0.6 ± 1.1) and 17 female (age: 24 ± 7 years, handicap: 1.4 ± 1.7) golfers before and after 40 min of putting. Angular displacement at address, top of backswing and ball contact for the pelvis, thorax, and pelvis–thorax interaction were calculated, in addition to the magnitude of peak angular velocity and repeatability of continuous segment angular velocities. Female golfers had less pelvis and thorax anterior–posterior tilt at address, less thorax and thorax–pelvis axial rotation at top of backswing, and less pelvis and thorax axial rotation and pelvis lateral tilt at ball contact pre- to post-putting. Analysis of peak angular velocities revealed that females had significantly lower thorax–pelvis lateral tilt velocity pre- to post-putting. In conclusion, an endurance-based putting intervention affects females’ thorax and pelvis orientation angles and velocities to a greater extent than males.     

Attention problems,phonological short-term memory,and visuospatial short-term memory: Differential effects on near- and long-term scholastic achievement

The current study examined individual differences in children's phonological and visuospatial short-term memory as potential mediators of the relationship among attention problems and near- and long-term scholastic achievement. Nested structural equation models revealed that teacher-reported attention problems were associated negatively with composite scholastic achievement (reading, math, language), both initially and at 4-year follow-up in an ethnically diverse sample of children (N = 317). Much of this influence, however, was attenuated by phonological short-term memory's contribution to near-term achievement and visuospatial short-term memory's contribution to long-term achievement. Domain-specific reading and math models showed similar results with some exceptions. In all models, measured intelligence made no contribution to later achievement beyond its initial influence on early achievement. The results contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms associated with individual differences in children's scholastic achievement, and have potential implications for identifying early predictors of children at risk for academic failure, and developing remedial programs targeting phonological and visuospatial short-term memory deficits in children with attention problems.     

The effects of experience grouping on achievement, satisfaction, and problem-solving discourse in professional technical training

When a course designed around cooperative, problem-centered instruction attracts learners with a wide range of experience in the topic, should learners be grouped heterogeneously or homogeneously in terms of their relative expertise? In this study, learners were randomly distributed between the two types of groups; learning gains, satisfaction, and problem-solving discourse were compared. Overall, no significant differences were found between heterogeneous and homogeneous groups. However, groups solving relatively ill-structured problems exchanged significantly more elaborated explanations than groups solving relatively well-structured problems.     

Team teaching with NES and NNES teachers

Language teachers are often categorised as either native or non native speakers,with some students, fee-paying parents,teachers and researchers subscribing to the idea that being a native English speaker (NES) is enough to make a teacher more valuable than a non-native English speaker(NNES).     

Procrastination and Motivation of Undergraduates with Learning Disabilities: A Mixed‐Methods Inquiry

The purpose of this mixed‐methods article was to report two studies exploring the relationships between academic procrastination and motivation in 208 undergraduates with (n= 101) and without (n= 107) learning disabilities (LD). In Study 1, the results from self‐report surveys found that individuals with LD reported significantly higher levels of procrastination, coupled with lower levels of metacognitive self‐regulation and self‐efficacy for self‐regulation than those without LD. Procrastination was most strongly (inversely) related to self‐efficacy for self‐regulation for both groups, and the set of motivation variables reliably predicted group membership with regard to LD status. In Study 2, individual interviews with 12 students with LD resulted in five themes: LD‐related problems, self‐beliefs and procrastination, outcomes of procrastination, antecedents of procrastination, and support systems. The article concludes with an integration of quantitative and qualitative results, with attention paid to implications for service providers working with undergraduates with LD.