The Effects of Discipline on Deep Approaches to Student Learning and College Outcomes

“Deep learning” represents student engagement in approaches to learning that emphasize integration, synthesis, and reflection. Because learning is a shared responsibility between students and faculty, it is important to determine whether faculty members emphasize deep approaches to learning and to assess how much students employ these approaches. This study examines the effect of discipline on student use of and faculty members’ emphasis on deep approaches to learning as well as on the relationships between deep approaches to learning and selected educational outcomes. Using data from over 80,000 seniors and 10,000 faculty members we found that deep approaches to learning were more prevalent in Biglan’s soft, pure, and life fields compared to their counterparts. The differences were largest between soft and hard fields. We also found that seniors who engage more frequently in deep learning behaviors report greater educational gains, higher grades, and greater satisfaction with college, and that the strength of these relationships is relatively consistent across disciplinary categories.     

Attitudes toward the level of men's involvement in abortion decisions

College students completed a questionnaire that assessed their attitudes toward the level of male responsibility in abortion decisions. Overall, both men and women thought that men should have some degree of involvement in the abortion decision. However, as expected by the first hypothesis, men indicated a desire for more responsibility in the abortion decision than women thought the men should have. A second hypothesis predicted women would feel more strongly than men that abortion was strictly a woman's issue. Contrary to the hypothesis, women tended to disagree that abortion was strictly a women's issue. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Two studies of low income parents' involvement in schooling

An interview and an intervention study are reported. Interview findings extend research on the positive relationship of parent involvement to school success. That is, although most of the low income families reported low-moderate participation, a postive relationship was found between parent involvement and school adjustment as early as kindergarten. With respect to negative valuing and barrier interpretations of low participation, the data support the latter; all but a few parents reported positive attitudes toward school involvement, while the majority indicated significant barriers. In comparing Latino and non-Latino groups, the former reported more barriers. Within the Latino group, parents whose children had made a good school adjustment indicated the most participation. Non-English proficient parents reported more barriers than those proficient in English but comparable degrees of involvement. In the intervention study, a simple strategy resulted in more treatment than control parents attending a school event. Differences in attendance were related to ethnicity and language.This work was carried out in conjunction with a dropout prevention demonstration project conducted as a collaborative effort of the School Mental Health unit (Janelle Munn, Director) and Dropout Prevention unit (Pete Martinez, Director) of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the School Mental Health Project at UCLA (Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, Co-directors). Partial support for the project came from the U.S. Department of Education. The authors, of course, assume full responsibility for the contents, but we want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of participating schools and project staff (especially Mary Beth DiCecco and Alison McAlpine). And although she declined author credit, this work could not have been accomplished with the many contributions of Linda Taylor, the project director. We would also like to thank Regina DeWitter, Teresa Gonzales, Kathy Eides and the many other UCLA students who assisted in various phases of the research.     

Including spirituality in counsellor education: Issues for consideration,with illustrative reference to a New Zealand example

The appropriate inclusion of spirituality in professional counsellor education programmes requires a careful definition of spirituality, and clarification of how it affects the programme's content. It also involves determination of how a programme may be structured to address various aspects of spirituality. This article highlights some of the issues involved in these tasks.     

Behavior of Infants with Iron-Deficiency Anemia

This study tested the hypothesis that infants with iron-deficiency anemia show behaviors, such as increased proximity to caregivers, increased wariness or hesitance, and decreased activity, that could contribute to “functional isolation.” The behavior of 52 Costa Rican 12- to 23-month-old infants with iron-deficiency anemia was contrasted with that of 139 comparison group infants with better iron status during free play and mental and motor testing and in the home. Infants with iron-deficiency anemia maintained closer contact with caregivers; showed less pleasure and delight; were more wary, hesitant, and easily tired; made fewer attempts at test items; were less attentive to instructions and demonstrations; and were less playful. Adult behavior also differed. The results indicate that iron-deficiency anemia in infancy is associated with alterations in affect and activity, suggesting that functional isolation is a useful framework for understanding poorer developmental outcome in iron-deficiency anemia, the world's most common single nutrient deficiency.     

Embracing the Opportunities Ahead: An Analysis of Communication Position Announcements for 2013–2014

Knowing what the Communication job market is can be helpful and informative when planning how to build a program of study or research. On the other side, those who are looking for a job or are preparing for future job hunting also need knowledge about the current job market to help make decisions and predictions. To facilitate these processes, this article surveys the entirety of job postings posted on NCA’s CRTNET service and Spectra publication over the course of 2013 and 2014. The analyses provide an in-depth look at what kind of positions are being offered, which have tenure-track options, what degrees are required, if and what research methodological experience is needed, what kind of institution is offering the position, whether grant and/or teaching experience is desired, and what kinds of topical specializations are sought after.     

Instructional Efficiency of Performance Analysis Training for Learners at Different Levels of Competency in Using a Web‐Based EPSS

ABSTRACT The measure of performance improvement potential (Gilbert, 1978) in human performance technology uses an exemplary performance as a criterion against which to measure the potential improvement in the performance of a workforce. The measure is calculated based on the performance efficiency which compares expended resources to productivity. The same notion is used to measure the efficiency of instructional conditions, based on learners' mental effort invested in a learning task compared to their performance. This article compares the efficiency of an instructional condition for three groups of students differentiated by their use of an electronic performance support system (EPSS) to conduct a performance analysis project. The results indicated that the instruction was most efficient for those learners who showed greater competency in using the EPSS. Implications for using this technique as a means of formative evaluation of a course are discussed.     

Going Deep into Mechanisms for Moral Reasoning Growth: How Deep Learning Approaches Affect Moral Reasoning Development for First-year Students

The purpose of this paper was to determine the effects of deep approaches to learning on the moral reasoning development of 1,457 first-year students across 19 institutions. Results showed a modest positive relationship between our measures of deep approaches to learning and moral reasoning at the end of the first year of college even after controlling for precollege moral reasoning. After accounting for a host of demographic and relevant student characteristics and for the natural clustering of students, we found that the integrative learning subscale, which captures students’ participation in activities designed to integrate information from varied sources and diverse perspectives, positively affected moral reasoning among first-year students. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.