Approaches to studying and perceptions of academic quality in a short web-based course

Both the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI) were administered to students who were taking an introductory web‐based course in computing. The constituent structure of both questionnaires was preserved in this distinctive context, and the students’ scores on the individual scales of the CEQ and the RASI shared over 80% of their variance. Students’ perceptions of academic quality were positively associated with their adoption of desirable approaches to studying and negatively associated with their adoption of undesirable approaches. Students’ academic attainment was positively associated with their perceptions of academic quality and their adoption of a strategic approach to studying and negatively associated with their adoption of a surface approach to studying.     

Approaches to studying and perceptions of academic quality in distance education

The Course ExperienceQuestionnaire (CEQ) and a short form of theApproaches to Studying Inventory (ASI) wereadapted for use in distance education and wereadministered to students taking six differentcourses with the Open University. Theconstituent structure of the CEQ was preservedin this distinctive context, and a second-orderfactor analysis confirmed its status as ameasure of perceived academic quality. Thestudents' scores on the individual scales ofthe CEQ and the ASI shared almost half of theirrespective variance. It is concluded thatapproaches to studying in distance educationare strongly associated with students'perceptions of the academic quality of theircourses.     

Pedagogy for partisanship: research training for Black graduate students in the Black intellectual tradition

Current and former students of two professors in a southern research university and a community educator, all participants in an African-centered research collaborative/apprenticeship, describe what and how we study together and our struggle to use our knowledge and research in service to our community. We uplift the works of key Pan-African/Black/Africana Studies/Nile Valley scholars to illustrate the African epistemic foundation of our collaborative/apprenticeship. We describe how we utilized the methodology of narrative inquiry to explore our experiences as participants in the HeKA (Heritage Knowledge in Action) research collaborative and how HeKA has provided ways of knowing and being centered in our culture and heritage. We present our findings, which include some of the dilemmas of Black doctoral students and emerging scholars engaged in HeKA and how this collaborative/apprenticeship serves as an emancipatory praxis to enable the next generation to realize their goals of partisan research and pedagogy in higher education.     

Teacher collaborative inquiry in the context of literacy education: examining the effects on teacher self-efficacy,instructional and assessment practices

This case study research reports on elementary (grade 8) and secondary school (grade 9) teachers’ participation in job-embedded, professional learning and engagement in collaborative inquiry. Teachers constructed an inquiry-oriented media literacy unit following the collaborative inquiry model. The current study sought to investigate how collaborative inquiry influenced their self-efficacy in literacy instruction, instructional and assessment practices. Qualitative data sources included researchers’ anecdotal notes, teacher interviews, and professional learning blog conversations. Inductive analyses of the data generated six major themes comprising enhancements to teachers’ literacy instructional and assessment practices, which were evident in their adoption of the backward-design model, use of success criteria, and greater emphasis on diagnostic and formative assessment. With respect to teachers’ self-efficacy, data analyses also revealed increased levels of intrinsic motivation, professional satisfaction, and reflective practice. This study provides evidence for the transformative potential and characteristics of school-based teacher collaborative inquiry and the resultant impacts on teacher learning.     

The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to early school age

Children at risk for familial dyslexia (n = 107) and their controls (n = 93) have been followed from birth to school entry in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) on developmental factors linked to reading and dyslexia. At the point of school entry, the majority of the at-risk children displayed decoding ability that fell at least 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Measures of speech processing were the earliest indices to show both group differences in infancy and also significant predictive associations with reading acquisition. A number of measures of language, including phonological and morphological skill collected repeatedly from age three, revealed group differences and predictive correlations. Both the group differences and the predictive associations to later language and reading ability strengthened as a function of increasing age. The predictions, however, tend to be stronger and the spectrum of significant correlations wider in the at-risk group. These results are crucial to early identification and intervention of dyslexia in at-risk children.     

Student Learning in Higher Education

There has been relatively little systematic experimental investigation of individual differences in student learning. The findings of mainstream laboratory‐based research are of limited value, though they are generally consistent with the results of surveys of student performance. Nevertheless, it has been possible to demonstrate qualitative and commensurable variation among individual students in both the outcome of learning and the process of learning, and in both formal experimental tasks and in normal academic studies. There has been limited success in attempts to manipulate cognitive processing by varying the anticipated form of assessment or by inducing variations in motivational factors. However, there are radical effects of matching the instructional procedures to the subjects’ cognitive approaches. More recent research has demonstrated considerable variation within individual subjects across different learning situations. Current discussion concerns the consistency, variability, and flexibility of individual learners, the identification of causal relationships, the validity of introspective reports and the adequacy of traditional research methodology.     

Motives,attitudes and approaches to studying in distance education

This study investigated the relationships between demographic characteristics, motives and attitudes to studying, self-reported study behaviour and measures of outcome. Students taking courses by distance learning received a postal survey containing a short form of the Motivated Strategies and Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI). Path analysis was used to assess the causal relationships among 395 students’ age, gender and prior qualifications, their scores on the MSLQ and the RASI and their marks. Evidence was obtained for the causal efficacy of most of the paths among the main components. In particular, the causal link between variations in students’ motives and attitudes and variations in their study behaviour is bidirectional.     

Designing online courses: A taxonomy to guide strategic use of features available in course management systems (CMS) in distance education

Course developers can be distracted from applying sound instructional design principles by the amount of flexibility offered through online course development resources (<citeref rid="b16">Kidney & Puckett, Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4 (2003)</citeref>, 203-212). Distance education course management systems (CMS) provide multiple features that can be easily integrated into online instruction. Easy integration does not equal good design, and poor design can impede learning (<citeref rid="b15">Kearsley, A guide to online education (1997)</citeref> http://gwis.circ.gwu.edu/～etl/online.html). A taxonomy of the instructional value for CMS features is described. An example of how a course was translated into an online version, initially a failure, and redesigned using this taxonomy is presented. A taxonomy that strategically guides the use of appropriate CMS features to integrate informational, instructional, and learning elements into online courses can support designers in the development of quality of online instruction.     

Treatment for Sexual Assault Survivors at University Counseling Centers

University Counseling Centers (UCCs) provide important services for sexual assault survivors, yet little research has been conducted on interventions used by clinicians in this unique setting. As a preliminary investigation, UCC professionals were asked about services provided to survivors of sexual assault and staff perceptions of the effectiveness of these interventions. Supportive counseling was perceived to be the most effective relative to other interventions, and many participants indicated that they did not use or were not sure if other evidence-based interventions were effective with student victims. Several recommendations for future research on sexual assault services in UCCs are suggested.