Spoken vocabulary growth: Its role in the development of phoneme awareness and early reading ability

In this paper, two theoretical positionsregarding the developmental origins of thephoneme as a unit for lexical representationand processing are outlined – theaccessibility and emergent positions. OurLexical Restructuring Model (Metsala & Walley1998), which is consistent with the secondposition, focuses on the role of vocabularygrowth in prompting the implementation of morefine-grained, segmental representations forlexical items in childhood; this restructuringis viewed as an important precursor to theexplicit segmentation or phoneme awarenessskills implicated in early reading success.Empirical evidence that supports this model issummarized, including preliminary results fromone of our most recent studies. Severalsuggestions are made for future research thatwill lead to a better understanding of thedevelopment of spoken word recognition and thelinks between speech- and reading-relatedabilities.     

Adapting the delivery of learning materials to student preferences: Two studies with a course model based on ‘cases’

Current printed courses of the Open universiteit (Ou) have been designed according to a variety of course models; for example the ‘learning unit model’ or the ‘textbook‐workbook model’ (van den Boom & Schlusmans 1991). Considering the potential of the ILCE approach (Valcke & Martens, this issue), one can imagine new and innovative course models that build on the interactivity and flexibility possibilities of such an environment An essential feature of the ILCE approach is that developers can consider student differences when designing and producing learning materials.

In this article we will explore the problem of adapting the delivery of learning materials to student characteristics in relation to a course based on ‘cases’ in the law domain. Two different study modes are researched: a study mode that starts with the theory and next moves to practical work with the cases versus a study mode that starts with the practical work and next moves to the theoretical base.

Two studies are presented. Within the exploratory study, the research questions focus on the potential interrelations between student characteristics and the preference/choice for one of the two study modes. From the results can be concluded that almost all students from the Open universiteit prefer a theory‐based study mode, because they have a relatively large amount of experience with this study mode and because they find it a successful study mode.

In the second study, an experimental design is adopted with students studying in one of four different conditions: two study modes of printed learning materials and two study modes of interactive learning materials. In contrast with the exploratory study students clearly indicate a more diverse preference for certain study modes. Students also differ in their preference for the delivery mode. However the more traditional study and delivery mode (theory‐based and printed learning material) remains more popular. Again this might again be due to the greater experience students have with this approach. Only two student characteristics are significantly related to opting for the practice‐based study mode: the experience level with a study mode and one's prior knowledge with the subject matter. Comparable results were detected regarding the preferred delivery mode: students with little prior knowledge more readily prefer a printed book, probably because they have a better overview.     

Physiotherapy Student Clinical Education: the influence of subjective judgements on observational assessment

The process of assessing students on clinical placements has to date been under‐researched. In particular, while the involvement of subjective judgements in assessing students has been discussed in the literature, there has been no attempt to look for systematic evidence. This paper comprises the first attempt to relate judgement theory to the assessment of vocational education. Preliminary results demonstrate that physiotherapy assessors made subjective judgements of their students, that these contributed to the determination of assessment grades, and that in certain cases these judgements were erroneous. The relationship of these subjective judgements to the awarding of grades via a supposedly objective assessment instrument is not yet known. Given the widespread use of such assessment instruments across different professions, the question raised is whether all observational assessment systems suffer from similar problems. If students are being judged on criteria not included on assessment instruments, perhaps the other criteria being used need to be made more explicit.     

Assuring Quality in Collaborative Distance Education Programmes: The Experience of the University of Texas System TeleCampus

In 1997, the University of Texas (UT) System initiated the development of the UT TeleCampus, a centralized facilitation point for distance learning. The TeleCampus opened its virtual doors in May 1998. At the start, its focus was entirely on support services for students. By late 1998, however, the TeleCampus had begun developing what would become collaborative benchmark on-line programmes for the UT System. Since then, in developing more than twelve complete on-line degree programmes, the administrators of the TeleCampus have learned lessons about creating and maintaining quality in collaborative, Web-based, distance, for-credit, education courses and degree programmes. Some of the key issues arising from the collaborative nature of these programmes and methods that are used to ensure that each course meets a high-quality standard are discussed.     

Child development knowledge: Is it enough?

It would seem a foregone conclusion that early childhood program directors need a knowledge base in child development if they are to establish credibility in their role as directors (Kuykendall, 1990). The general assumption, then, is that directors' client base is young children. However, early childhood program directors in their daily experiences deal with opposite ends of the development continuum from children to adults.Sharon L. Wooden is Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. Nancy E. Baptiste is Coordinator, Child Development Associate Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.     

A psychological model of student persistence

The present study examines the validity of the Eccles model of achievement behaviors (model of academic choice) for its predictive validity when the outcome (behavior) is student persistence in the postsecondary educational system to completion of at least the baccalaureate degree. Patterns of effects hypothesized by the theoretical model were only partially supported by the results forthcoming from the estimation of the model. Of the two constructs hypothesized to directly influence persistence—the value placed on college attendance and expectations for success in college—only value had significant influence. Two measures of goal orientations—business/financial and humanitarian/social—exerted indirect influence as hypothesized, but level of degree aspirations had as strong a direct influence on persistence as did value. Prior achievement had the strongest total effects of any of the variables in the model.     

Auditorysame/different concept learning by monkeys

Two rhesus monkeys learned the auditory abstract concept ofsame/different. They were trained with 38 different environmental and natural sounds, which were arranged in different combinations as training progressed. Upon transfer to 138 different novel stimuli, they performed as well (78.8% correct) on the first exposure to the novel stimuli as they did (77.3%) with their training stimuli. The comparatively large set of training sounds, contact with the sound source, and a special fading procedure are thought to have contributed to the monkeys’ being able to learn this concept. Implications for species’ similarities/differences in cognitive processing are discussed.