CAI - multimedia approach to farm tractor and machinery safety certification

Research was conducted at Purdue University with the primary goal to compare a newly developed self-instructional CAI/multimedia computer program with traditional instructional methods for use by youth enrolled in a farm tractor and machinery safety program. Seventy-two subjects selected from three 8th and 9th grade agricultural education classes and one group of middle school-aged youth (grades 6–19) involved in a 4-H tractor and machinery-related program were randomly divided, with half of each group receiving traditional instructor-based training using printed materials, videos, and demonstrations, and the other half receiving self-instruction with a computer program. A pretest and post test evaluation revealed that there was not a statistical difference in knowledge gained between the two instructional strategies. However, an analysis of low, middle and high achievement youth, based on knowledge gain, did reveal significant difference between the two instructional strategies. Subjects from the computer-based instructional method dominated both high and low achievement groups, while the traditional instructional method subjects tended to fall into the middle achievement group.     

Recall agreement between actual and retrospective reports of competitive anxiety: a comparison of intensity and frequency dimensions

Using a mixed-method design, we compared athletes' abilities to recall intensity and frequency of competitive anxiety. In Phase 1, performers (n = 35) completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens, Burton, Vealey, Bump, & Smith, 1990) at four pre-competition and four post-competition intervals to compare actual and recalled responses. In Phase 2, follow up interviews (n = 6) explored the perceived mechanisms underpinning the quantitative results. Limits of agreement (Bland & Altman, 1999) analysis on the quantitative data indicated that, compared with intensity, memory for frequency was generally more reliable, and recall ability of this dimension was less biased for symptoms that occurred earlier in the week. Inductive analysis of the qualitative interviews suggested athletes were more attuned to the frequency rather than the intensity of their competitive anxiety symptoms. These findings provide support for the notion that the frequency of symptoms may act as a precursor for increasing anxiety levels and this dimension may be a more accurate reflection of experienced symptoms when recalling emotional accounts. The implications are that researchers and practitioners need to consider frequency in addition to intensity when seeking to manage anxiety responses during the time preceding competition.     

Students’ Persistence in a Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to identify factors contributing to students’ persistence in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education by obtaining quantitative results from surveying 278 current and former students and then following up with four purposefully selected typical respondents to explore those results in more depth. In the first, quantitative, phase, five external and internal to the program factors were found to be predictors to students’ persistence in the program: “program”, “online learning environment”, “student support services”, “faculty”, and “self-motivation”. In the qualitative follow up multiple case study analysis four major themes emerged: (1) quality of academic experiences; (2) online learning environment; (3) support and assistance; and (4) student self-motivation. The quantitative and qualitative findings from the two phases of the study are discussed with reference to prior research. Implications and recommendations for policy makers are provided.