Teaching Spelling: microcomputers or small group tuition

Two groups of eight and nine year old children were given spelling practice using 25 words. One group used computer assisted learning whilst the other was given small group tuition by a teacher. Both groups achieved signficantly better results than a third (control group). There was, however, no significant difference between the gains made by the two experimental groups.     

Working together to make things happen: New on-campus higher education opportunities in a regional centre

In 2005 a South Australian university inaugurated a new provision of higher education programs in a regional city. Previously, would-be university students in the area had only the options of off-campus study, moving away from home to become internal students, or not pursuing university studies at all. The initiative provided the opportunity to study the effects of the new university presence on its students, university staff and the wider community, and at the same time to learn much that would enable continuous improvement of the methods used in offering these programs. This article reports on the results from focus groups of students and staff, and a survey of the first cohort of students, part of the first stage of a longitudinal study. A combination of effort and collaboration has contributed to meeting community educational needs and aspirations.     

Erziehungswissenschaft im Spiegel ihrer Studieng?nge

What happens to study programs for a major in education science in the wake of the Bologna reform? What are the consequences of the transition to Bachelor and Master degree programs for the institutional organization of the discipline in the form of its study programs and thus for the position of the discipline in the university system? This contribution investigates both the structural characteristics and the subject-related orientation of these new training models on the basis of a survey of the current study programs offered in education science major programs. The technical terms used and the module manuals are compared with the ??Core Curriculum Education Science?? proposed by the German Society for Education Studies (DGfE). Despite the limited validity of this investigation, it is clear that the clash of political reorganization of higher education processes with an identity-seeking discipline has drastic consequences for the institutional organization of education science. This is reflected in an increased differentiation of the major study programs within education science, which can affect both the position of the discipline in the academic system as well as the disciplinary self-reproduction.     

Extending Sociocultural Theory to Group Creativity

Sociocultural theory focuses on group processes through time, and argues that group phenomena cannot be reduced to explanation in terms of the mental states or actions of the participating individuals. This makes sociocultural theory particularly useful in the analysis of group creativity and group learning, because both group creativity and group learning emerge over time from the successive contributions of individual members, and they are difficult to reductively explain in terms of the mental states or actions of participating individuals. This paper presents a case study of group creativity, analyzing how a collective creative product emerges over 17 successive encounters of an improvisational theater group. This case study demonstrates the value of sociocultural theory in the study of group processes over time. And yet, it suggests that to fully explain group creativity and group learning, existing sociocultural theory must be extended beyond a narrow focus on process and practice, to focus on three levels of analysis: individual creative acts, interactional dynamics over time, and the emergence of collective group creations.     

Book Reviews

The Accidental Webmaster by Julie M. Still Information Today, 2003. Pp 192. Paperback $29.50. ISBN 1‐57387‐164‐8 Clark's Publishing Agreements – A Book of Precedents, 6th edn, General Editor Lynette Owen Butterworths Lexis Nexis, 2002, £70.85. 615 pp. Hardback and CD‐ROM. ISBN 0‐406‐93916‐0     

Academic Reform in Fractured Disciplines – On the Interaction of Bologna,New-Public-Management and the Dynamics of Disciplinary Development

Minerva - At the intersection of science studies and higher education research, this contribution looks at the way in which the requirements of universities as organizations release development...     

Specialized Study Skills,Developmental-Reading Instruction and Counseling

Ninety beginning freshmen at the University of Missouri-Rolla were utilized as subjects. The sample was sub-divided into three equal groups; the experimental group was composed of pre-registered students enrolled in an intensified instructional program in Study Skills and Developmental Reading and were provided specialized counseling services; one control group was composed of students that had taken part in the pre-registration program at UMR, but were not enrolled in the Study Skills and Developmental Reading instruction and were not provided specialized counseling services; and the other control group was accorded no variation in traditional method of enrollment or instruction. All three groups were matched on their obtained School and College Ability Test scores, English and Mathematics Placement Test scores, college majors and semester hours attempted. All students in these groups were above average in quantitative skills and below average in verbal skills.

The experimental group met for developmental reading and study skills instruction on a bi-weekly basis for no academic credit. The study skills instruction included material dealing specifically with both study habits and study attitudes. The developmental reading sequence consisted of both machine and workbook instruction. The counseling service was provided on a voluntary basis and was initiated at the time of pre-registration. A statistically significant difference in grade point average (GPA) was discerned after the first semester of the project. While no significant differences in GPA existed after the second and third semesters of the investigation, the attrition rate was considerably lower for the experimental group than for the control groups. Highly significant gains were evidenced in reading rates with no significant loss in reading comprehension.     

The counseling and consultation component of TIP'S summer residential program

Although more academic summer programs are developing for the gifted population, little attention has been paid to the psychosocial needs and adjustment of gifted students attending such programs. Duke University's Talent Identification Program has developed a strong counseling and consultation component within its Summer Residential Program in an attempt to deal with the normal developmental problems and emotional difficulties experienced by academically gifted adolescents. The personnel who administer this component, the methods they employ, and the presenting problems of students in Duke University's TIP Summer Residential Program are described. Future directions for counseling and consultation are discussed.