The seductive details effect in technology‐delivered instruction

Seductive details are highly interesting information tangential to course objectives. The inclusion of seductive details generally harms performance on recall tests, but few studies have used multimedia training or investigated effects on performance on recognition tests or transfer tasks. We conducted two studies using computer‐based training, instructing college students to use either Excel or Word mail merge. Contrary to most prior results, we found no negative effect for seductive details on recognition tests, and we found a facilitative effect on transfer performance. We discuss implications for theories of learning and transfer, and practical implications for instructional design and delivery.     

Collaborative digital government in Mexico: Some lessons from federal Web-based interorganizational information integration initiatives

The use of information and communication technologies in government has been characterized as one powerful strategy for administrative reform. From recent experiences around the world, it seems clear that in order to enjoy some of the greatest benefits of digital government, the integration of information across organizational boundaries is necessary. However, these digital government initiatives face additional challenges, since the required level of interorganizational collaboration and trust is often not supported by existing institutional arrangements, organizational structures, and managerial processes. In fact, many institutions and administrative structures found in government contexts offer incentives for single-agency work only, which produces stove-pipe systems. Based on an extensive case study in the Mexican federal government, this paper explores how certain institutional arrangements and organizational structures can enable or hinder cross-agency collaboration and consequently, interorganizational information integration.     

Information needs and information-seeking behaviors of HIV positive men and women

Although a portion of the HIV/AIDS population has long been active in seeking out information in support of self-care, little work has been done to examine closely the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of this community relative to the provision of medical reference. This exploratory study provides insight into the types of information HIV positive individuals seek and the resources they consult in gathering information to bolster health and well-being. Having a better understanding of the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of individuals with HIV/AIDS will facilitate information intervention for this community.     

Be(com)ing an excellent student: a qualitative study with engineering undergraduates

This study explores the factors affecting the development of academic excellence on a group of 33 high-achieving engineering students. Participants were interviewed individually to explore several personal and contextual aspects of their past and current academic pathways. The results obtained reflect three main contributions to the conceptualization and understanding of excellence in academic contexts: the need to adopt a multidimensional and dynamic view about the concept of excellence; the existence of a variety of possible pathways and environmental conditions to achieve excellence; and the understanding of excellence as a process undergoing continuous development, which thrives within the family context and school environment, and that seems to be continuously nurtured by individuals in interaction with their contexts.     

“Spanish as a foreign language” teachers’ profiles: inclusive beliefs, teachers’ perceptions of student outcomes in the TCLA program, burnout, and experience

The present study focuses on the Temporary Classroom of Linguistic Adaptation program (TCLA program) in which specialist teachers (Spanish as a foreign language teachers—SFL teachers) teach Spanish to immigrants who are not proficient in the language. We suggest that support for immigrant students in Spanish schools should adopt a new inclusive educational approach. The present investigation is a preliminary attempt at characterizing the profiles of SFL teachers by assessing, simultaneously, five relevant variables (through cluster analysis): inclusive beliefs, teachers’ perceptions of student outcomes in TCLA program, general burnout, diversity-related teacher burnout, and years of teaching experience. Eighty-one SFL teachers from 132 schools in Spain (EU) were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. Cluster analysis found two clearly differentiated groups: the larger one, Innovative SFL Teachers and the smaller, Traditional SFL Teachers. The Traditional SFL Teachers are characterized by more years of experience, lower inclusive beliefs scores, lower teachers’ perception of student outcomes in the TCLA program scores, and higher burnout scores as compared with the Innovative SFL Teachers. Moreover, Traditional SFL Teachers conceptualize their teaching role as a "teacher of Spanish" whereas Innovative SFL Teachers see themselves much more as playing a supportive role.     

The Implications of the Cognitive Sciences for the Relation Between Religion and Science Education: The Case of Evolutionary Theory

This paper discusses the relationship between religion and science education in the light of the cognitive sciences. We challenge the popular view that science and religion are compatible, a view that suggests that learning and understanding evolutionary theory has no effect on students?? religious beliefs and vice versa. We develop a cognitive perspective on how students manage to reconcile evolutionary theory with their religious beliefs. We underwrite the claim developed by cognitive scientists and anthropologists that religion is natural because it taps into people??s intuitive understanding of the natural world which is constrained by essentialist, teleological and intentional biases. After contrasting the naturalness of religion with the unnaturalness of science, we discuss the difficulties cognitive and developmental scientists have identified in learning and accepting evolutionary theory. We indicate how religious beliefs impede students?? understanding and acceptance of evolutionary theory. We explore a number of options available to students for reconciling an informed understanding of evolutionary theory with their religious beliefs. To conclude, we discuss the implications of our account for science and biology teachers.     

Language in science performance: do good readers perform better?

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Science performance is highly affected by students’ reading comprehension. Recently, there has been a growing attention to the role of linguistic...     

Measuring the Transfer of Training

This study examined the use of self-report to measure training transfer by comparing three training transfer assessment methods. Applying a framework provided by instructional alignment theory, the study tested the hypothesis that if training transfer is measured by assessment methods that vary in their degree of alignment with the post-training learning assessment, the training transfer scores would be higher as the degree of alignment increased. Instructional alignment is the extent to which stimulus conditions match across instructional components: intended outcomes, instructional processes, and assessment. Three training transfer assessments were administered to 40 telecommunications technicians approximately 60 days after they completed a training course. The moan transfer score for the job performance assessment with high alignment was significantly higher than the two self-report assessments of moderate and low alignment with effect size differences of 0.96 (p < .01) and 0.87 (p < .01), respectively. The mean scores for the two self-report assessments did not significantly differ. This study has implications for the extensive use of self-report to assess training transfer in both research and training evaluation programs.     

Failure is not an option: Entrepreneurship and the existential crisis of internationalization in the U.S.

Internationalization has become intertwined with efforts for institutions to compensate for declines in public funding with the development of new revenue streams. The purpose of this study is to understand the social construction of entrepreneurship in internationalization in the United States as well as explore the multiple meanings of entrepreneurship and its contradictions in discourse among senior international officers. The findings discuss and explore competing views, tensions and ethical complexities of the ‘new entrepreneurism’ increasingly common in internationalization, which blends creative problem-solving with pressures for revenue generation. The findings of this study illustrate that as the world faces genuine existential crises that threaten the continued existence of our species on the planet, internationalization is in the midst of an identity crisis. The drift towards privatization is proving to be increasingly unsustainable and an entirely insufficient response to the existential threats that face the world.