Differences in competencies between doctoral students on‐campus and at a distance

Abstract

This article describes differences between on‐campus and distance learners by knowledge, skills, and abilities. On‐campus doctoral students at Texas A&M University were compared with doctoral students enrolled in a distance education program offered jointly with Texas Tech University. Student perceptions of their competency levels were gathered using a mixed mailed/Internet questionnaire. On‐campus and distance education students had different levels of competence. Competency models can serve faculty and administrators as an assessment tool for strategic decision making and development of courses and curricula. This study provides a model for benchmarking competencies and provides baseline data for making such changes.     

Coping with writing apprehension

Students with high writing apprehension (WA) were exposed or not exposed to visualization (a procedure designed to encourage positive thinking). Those exposed to visualization reported enjoying writing more than those who were not trained to visualize, both immediately and over time. The paper ends with a discussion of these and other results.     

The new books on our shelves

Introductory Mechanical Drawing. By Albert A. Lacour and Glenn N. Shaeffer. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1931. pp. 23.

Two Times Two Is Four. Adapted from the Swedish of Zacharias Topelins by Vera C. Himes. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1931. Pp. 64.

Jean and Fanchon: Children of Fair France. By Virginia Olcott. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1931. Pp. viii + 168.

Introduction to the Use of Standard Tests (Revised Edition). By Sidney L. Pressey and Luella Cole. New York: World Book Company, 1931. Pp. iii + 266.

Health Horizons. By Jean Broadhurst and Marion Olive Lerrigo. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company, 1931. Pp. i + 44.

Poems for Enjoyment. By Elias Lieberman. New York: Harper Brothers, 1931. Pp. v + 510.

Fabrics and Dress. By Lucy Rathbone and Elizabeth Tarpley. New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1931. Pp. ix + 430.

Factors Influencing the Choice of Courses by Students in Certain Liberal Arts Colleges. By Helen Foss Weeks. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. i + 62.

Manual for Expressing Educational Measures as Percentile Ranks. By Francis C. Buros and Oscar K. Buros. Yonkers: World Book Company, 1930. Pp. 27.

Mental and Interest Tests. By Lea Hamilton King. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. 1 + 124.

The Bearing of Certain Personality Factors Other Than Intelligence on Academic Success. By Henry T. Tyler. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. v + 88.

Psychology of Exceptional Children. By Norma V. Scheidemann. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931. Pp. i + 520.

Problems in School Supervision. By George C. Kyte. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1931. Pp. xiv + 214.

The Birch Bark Roll of Woodcraft. By Ernest Thompson Seton. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 268.

How to be Interesting. By Professor Robert E. Rogers. Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 170.

Grammar in Action. By J. C. Tressler. New York: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 404.

Uncle Remus. By Joel Chandler Harris. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1931. Pp. xxiii + 283.

Making the Most of High School. By Clyde M. Hill and Raymond D. Mosher. New York: Laidlaw Brothers, 1931. Pp. v + 288.

Modern Business Law. By Jay Finley Christ. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930. Pp. xiv + 612.

Capital Outlay in Relation to a State's Minimum Educational Program. By Foster E. Grossnickle. New York: Columbia University, 1931. Pp. iii + 65.

Students' Marks in College Courses. By John E. Bohan. Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis Press, 1931. Pp. iii + 133.

The Influence of Training on Changes in Variability in Achievement. By Homer B. Reed. Albany: Psychological Review Company, 1931, Pp. 1+ 59.

Education and the Philosophy of Experimentalism, By John L. Childs. New York: The Century Company, 1931. Pp. vii + 264.

Progress in Adjusting Differences of Amount of Educational Opportunity Offered Under the County Unit Systems of Maryland and Utah. By L. John Nuttall, Jr. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1931. Pp. v + 105.

Modern Chemistry. By Charles E. Dull. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1931. Pp. xii + 776.

An Introduction to Organic Chemistry. By Roger J. Williams. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., 1931. Pp. iii + 585.

Educational Measurement in the High School. By C. W. Odell. New York: The Century Company, 1930. Pp. 641.

Furniture Boys Like to Build. By Richard Shaver. Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Company, 1931. Pp. 216.

General Metal Work. By Alfred B. Grayshon. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1930. Pp. viii + 206.

Coloring, Finishing, and Painting Wood. By A. C. Newell. Peoria: The Manual Arts Press, 1930. Pp. 419.

A Gateway to Music. By Wilton W. Blanche and Jay Speck. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931. Pp. v + 178.

Plane Geometry Work Book, By Theodore Herberg and Sinclair J. Wilson. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1931.

Standard Service Arithmetics, Grades One and Two. By J. W. Studebaker, F. B. Knight and W. C. Findley. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1929. Pp. 154.

Introductory Algebra. By Alan Johnson and Arthur W. Belcher. Chicago: Laurel Book Company, 1930. Pp. 407.

Fabrics and Clothing. By Sara MacBride and Ellen Beers McGowan. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1931. Pp. viii + 225.

Mathematics, Seventh School Year. By Fred Engelhardt and Mary L. Edwards. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1931. Pp. xvi + 232.     

Book reviews

The Light That Shines: Chapel Hill, 1912–1916. Robert B. House. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1964. Pp. 216. $5.00.)

Psychology of Adolescence for Teachers. Glenn Myers Blair and R. Stewart Jones. (New York: Macmillan, 1964. Pp. 118. $1.50, paper.)

Psychology of the Child in the Classroom. Don C. Charles. (New York: Macmillan, 1964. Pp. 86. $1.25, paper.)

Reading Instruction for Today's Children. Nila Banton Smith. (Engle‐wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice‐Hall, 1963. Pp. 594. $7.50.)

Religion and the Schools, The Great Controversy. Paul Blanchard. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963. Pp. 265. $4.95.)

School Business Administration in the Smaller Community. Fredrick W. Hill and James W. Colmey. (Minneapolis: T. S. Denison and Company, 1964. Pp. 324. $7.95.)

Sociology of Childhood. Oscar W. Ritchie and Marvin R. Koller. (New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, 1964. Pp. 333. $5.00.)

The Teaching of Mathematics. Roy Dubisch. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1963. Pp. 124. $2.95, paper.)

Vignettes on the Theory and Practice of School Administration. Finis E. Engleman, Shirley Cooper, and William J. Ellena. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1963. Pp. 237. $4.80.)