Informal faculty-student contact and commuter college freshmen

Based on prior research conducted at residential colleges and universities, nonclassroom informal faculty-student contact appears to be an element of student socialization. This study extends this line of research to a commuter student population. The extent to which informal contact socializes students by influencing their educational aspiration level in a commuter setting is investigated using a longitudinal data collection with the student as unit of analysis. Ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares techniques are used to analyze the data. Significant interactions between informal faculty-student contact and race were found. White and nonwhite students were sbusequently analyzed separately. The ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression results suggest that informal contact makes a slight but significant contribution to the explanation of freshmen aspirations for whites, but not for nonwhites. The two-stage least squares (2SLS) analysis suggests that the assumption that contact influences aspiration may not be valid and, indeed, that aspiration level may cause students to seek to initiate informal contact with faculty.     

A Classroom Study on the Relationship Between Student Achievement and Retrieval-Enhanced Learning

Retrieval practice has been shown to produce powerful learning gains in laboratory experiments but has seldom been explored in classrooms as a means of enhancing students’ learning of their course-relevant material. Furthermore, research is lacking concerning the role of individual differences in learning from retrieval. The current study explored the effects of retrieval in a large undergraduate introductory biology course as a function of individual differences in student achievement. Students completed in-class exercises that required them to retrieve course information (e.g., recalling definitions for terms and labeling diagrams) followed by feedback or to simply copy the information without retrieving it. A later quiz over the information showed that high-performing students benefited more from retrieving than copying, whereas middle- and low-performing students benefited more from copying than retrieving. When asked to predict their quiz scores following the in-class exercises, high-performers demonstrated better overall metacognitive calibration compared to middle- or low-performers. These results highlight the importance of individual differences in learning from retrieval and encourage future research using course-relevant material to consider the role of student achievement in classroom-based interventions.     

Reinvigorating adolescent sexuality education through alternate reality games: the case of The Source

This paper presents findings from a focus group study conducted to evaluate The Source, an alternate reality game (ARG). ARGs are a relatively new genre of interactive digital games that use a variety of media to engage game players. We developed modules on sexual health, sexual orientation, and homophobia in a game that was delivered to 133 predominantly African-American and Latino US youth. Ten focus groups were conducted with 43 young people aged 13–18 who played The Source to understand feasibility and acceptability issues and the impact of the game on young people’s attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours. Data were transcribed and analysed for common themes by two independent coders. Four primary themes were identified: (1) the feasibility and acceptability of using an ARG for sexual education; (2) the acceptability of The Source’s specific sexual health content; (3) the game’s influence on sexual health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours; and (4) the impact of the game on young people’s thoughts and responses to sexual orientation and homophobia. Study findings indicate that an ARG is an exciting and interactive way to educate young people on sensitive topics in sexuality education, but that attention to narrative authenticity and effective messaging are important issues to address.     

重围之下的大学——当代学术领域中的信任和责任制

本文探索发生在欧洲高等教育中的变革:从冯堡的大学理念转变为在准市场压力下操作的大学模式。虽然促进了大学中的责任制,但是,与大学的资助制度和相关“使命”上的变化相联系的这种发展,是与传统信任机制的被侵蚀联系在一起的。本文主要从英国的经验出发,这种经验现已在国际上得到延伸和拓展,思考目前可能存在于英国和欧洲大学中的制度变革和问题的教训。     

Images of rate and operational understanding of the fundamental theorem of calculus

Conceptual analyses of Newton's use of the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and of one 7th-grader's understanding of distance traveled while accelerating suggest that concepts of rate of change and infinitesimal change are central to understanding the Fundamental Theorem. Analyses of a teaching experiment with 19 senior and graduate mathematics students suggest that students' difficulties with the Theorem stem from impoverished concepts of rate of change and from poorly-developed and poorly coordinated images of functional covariation and multiplicatively-constructed quantities.Research reported in this paper was supported by National Science Foundation Grants No. MDR 89-50311 and 90-96275, and by a grant of equipment from Apple Computer, Inc., Office of External Research. Any conclusions or recommendations stated here are those of the author and do not necessarity reflect official positions of NSF or Apple Computer. Also, I wish to thank Paul Cobb and Guershon Harel for their helpful reactions to an earlier draft of this article.     

Students’ experiences of learning with iPads in upper secondary school – a base for proto-TPACK

This research focuses on Finnish students’ (n?=?84) experiences of using personal iPads in their studies through 3 years of upper secondary schooling. It is based on results from one of the first schools in Finland where all the new students were provided with iPads at the start of their studies. Data consists of: (i) 127 short stories written by students about how they would advise a new teacher and a new student to use iPads in teaching and learning, and (ii) four group discussions on the same topics. Qualitative thematic analysis of the data was guided by the TPACK framework. Results suggest that: (i) teachers’ pedagogical approaches changed little in response to the new devices and remained largely teacher-centred, and (ii) students do not have the confidence to radically change learning styles to take advantage of the affordances of the devices. The value that iPads add to teaching and learning is difficult to quantify because of the complex and often conflicting factors involved. Overall, the findings imply that teachers’ TPACK is generally resistant to change and students’ proto-TPACK is insufficiently developed to initiate change. An approach that systematically develops both students’ and teachers’ TPACK is advocated.     

Using Social Networking Technologies for Postgraduate Research Supervision at a South African Rural-Based Historically Disadvantaged Institution

Abstract

The use of social networking technologies (SNTs) for academic purposes has created new pedagogy opportunities, especially for well-resourced teaching and learning institutions. This article reports on a study that analysed the use of SNTs for postgraduate research supervision at a South African university classified as previously disadvantaged during the apartheid era. The current democratic government is trying to ameliorate the consequences of the Bantu Education Act by paying greater attention to historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs). Although the study generated quantifiable data from a questionnaire, it largely employed the qualitative research approach and was underpinned by the connectivism theory of learning. A structured questionnaire and an interview schedule were used to collect quantifiable and qualitative data, respectively, from 32 postgraduate students who were enrolled for research by distance learning and eight lecturers who supervised postgraduate research. Quantifiable data from the structured questionnaire was analysed and plotted on graphs while qualitative data from the interviews was thematically analysed. The study findings revealed that the use of SNTs had positively impacted on postgraduate supervision and improved the success rate in students’ problem-solving skills and critical thinking at one rural-based HDI. From the study findings, it is recommended that more resources be channelled to the South African HDIs, to equip both their students and lecturers with the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively harness SNTs into research supervision, as well as teaching and learning, through deliberately designed online learning platforms, so that they can catch up with all-white historically advantaged institutions (HAIs) on research output.     

Assessment of research quality

The assessment of research quality and accountability for research funding are major issues in higher education. This paper describes the British experience of nationwide research quality assessment exercises, and newly introduced measures intended to improve accountability. The consequences are examined, including those for the higher education system as a whole and for individual institutions, using the University of Glasgow as an example. Comprehensive peer review of research quality has demonstrated the usefulness of certain performance indicators. Their relevance for U.S. institutional researchers is discussed, and similarities with the measures used by the National Academy of Sciences in its assessment of researchdoctorate programs are identified. The requirements of the U.S. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) are noted.     

A procedure for using and evaluating concept maps

Conclusion The procedures devised for mapping and evaluating maps has been applied to a number of different topic areas both for senior chemistry and for junior science. We believe that this procedure for constructing concept maps is more comprehensive and facilitates student use better than previous procedures. The procedure for evaluating concept maps has also been refined to the point whereby the classroom teacher can readily apply it as part of his/her teaching strategy. The research for this paper further supports concept mapping both as an instructional and evaluative tool.     

Introduction to the Special Section of Child Development on Positive Youth Development in Diverse and Global Contexts

Positive youth development (PYD) research seeks to understand and promote positive aspects of development in young people. In this the special section, focused upon youth from diverse racial–ethnic backgrounds around the globe, we describe the origins and development of the field, identify key and emerging themes, and present the challenges for work in the area in the years ahead. Central to these are elements that are inherent in many of the articles that constitute the section: These include a need to articulate more clearly the role of social and cultural context in positive development, a need to refine the measures and methods used for collecting data, the significance of social identities, and engagement with other fields of study and with policymakers.