Defining the Learner Feedback Experience

A surge in the proliferation of educational technology tools and models means that postsecondary learners and instructional designers have more options than ever before. Selecting the most appropriate tool for a given learner-centered instructional situation is challenging. The construct of feedback is central to an effective learner-centered instructional design. The present summary of the research on feedback in learner-centered instructional design models provides a rationale for the value of defining the dimensions of a high-quality learner feedback experience. Six dimensions of feedback are proposed; namely, timeliness, frequency, distribution, source, individualization, and content. Key questions posed include whether an analysis of the learner’s feedback experience is a better proxy for measuring the quality in postsecondary online learning than grades, satisfaction, or regular and substantive contact.     

The influence of students' values and educational attitudes on their evaluation of faculty

The study determined the influence of students' values and educational attitudes on their evaluation of faculty. Sixty-five graduate students completed an evaluation form, a value survey, and an attitude scale at the end of an adult learning theory course. Multiple regression and path analysis showed that (a) educational attitudes and selected values accounted for 27% of the variance in student evaluation of faculty, (b) educational attitudes were responsible for 8% of the variance in student evaluation of faculty, and (c) values per se were not significantly related to student evaluation of faculty. A path model suggested that values influenced student evaluation of faculty through educational attitudes. The findings suggested that students' values and attitudes play a major role in their evaluation of faculty and should be recognized by teachers when interpreting the results of such ratings.     

MOOC instructor designs and challenges: what can be learned from existing MOOCs in Indonesia and Malaysia?

The purpose of this study was to explore Indonesian and Malaysian instructors’ perceptions of massive open online course (MOOC) design and how they deal with the design challenges. Surveys, email interviews, and course reviews are the main data-collection methods employed in this sequential mixed methods study. Forty-six instructors participated in the survey, and nine of them voluntarily participated in an email interview. The findings revealed that half of the courses were delivered using a hybrid/blended type of MOOC. Personal motives, institutional encouragement, and altruism were among the main reasons for instructors to offer MOOCs. Preparation, attraction, participation, and assessment were the categories used to explain the design strategies used by these instructors in designing their courses. The survey also revealed that collaboration encouragement, participant engagement, video development, and time constraints were the primary design challenges that the instructors experienced during the design process. Furthermore, most instructors sought advice from other MOOC instructors, MOOC providers, their institutions, video tutorials, and open educational resources (OERs) to surmount their design challenges.

     

Quality Management Procedures Influence the Food Safety Practices at Childcare Centers

Childcare in the United States (US) has become a necessary part of life for most working parents with the increased use of center-based childcare over the past three decades. Approximately 13 million preschoolers attend some form of childcare. Literature indicates the main predictors of quality childcare programs are adequate experience and specialized training of childcare staff. A growing concern among researchers, however, is the limited training among childcare professionals in the area of food safety. Children have minimal control of food safety risks because other people prepare their meals. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to childcare center directors in Texas and Iowa to identify the demographic, food safety and other practices that influence the training and decisions made by childcare center directors. Results indicate the need of continual management and food safety training for both directors and staff in order to provide a safe environment for young children.     

Operant responding with free access to the reinforcer: A replication and extension

This study was conducted to assess the maintenance of operant responding in the presence of free access to the reinforcer. The results replicated earlier research using food reinforcement and demonstrated that the same general results could be obtained with water reinforcement.     

When is a science analogy like a social studies analogy? A comparison of text analogies across two disciplines

This textbook survey analyzes the construction and use of analogies in social science texts and compares the results to an earlier analysis of physical science texts. Although the results indicate that the categories in the Curtis and Reigeluth classification system for analogy construction were consistent across disciplines, several differences were revealed related to how and when the analogy is used as an instructional design strategy.     

Introducing the R2D2 Model: Online learning for the diverse learners of this world

The R2D2 method—read, reflect, display, and do—is a new model for designing and delivering distance education, and in particular, online learning. Such a model is especially important to address the diverse preferences of online learners of varied generations and varied Internet familiarity. Four quadrants can be utilized separately or as part of a problem‐solving process: the first component primarily relates to methods to help learners acquire knowledge through online readings, virtual explorations, and listening to online lectures and podcasts. As such, it addresses verbal and auditory learners. The second component of the model focuses on reflective activities such as online blogs, reflective writing tasks, self‐check examinations, and electronic portfolios. In the third quadrant, visual representations of the content are highlighted with techniques such as virtual tours, timelines, animations, and concept maps. Fourth, the model emphasizes what learners can do with the content in hands‐on activities including simulations, scenarios, and real‐time cases. In effect, the R2D2 model is one means to organize and make sense of the diverse array of instructional possibilities currently available in distance education. It provides new ways of learning for diverse online students, and demonstrates easy‐to‐apply learning activities for instructors to integrate various technologies in online learning. When thoughtfully designed, content delivered from this perspective should be more enriching for learners. The R2D2 model provides a framework for more engaging, dynamic, and responsive teaching and learning in online environments.     

Joy of movement

Movement is as natural and essential to young children's lives as loving care, rest, and nutrition. Movement provides children with an outlet for expression, creativity, and discovery. Through movement, children learn about themselves, their environment, and others. Movement is a stimulus for physical growth and development. The joy of movement is a child's expression of an emotional need fulfilled. Sandra Curtis is a consultant in Science Education at the University of California in Berkeley. This article is excerpted, with permission, from The Joy of Movement in Early Childhood, ©1982 by Teachers College Press, New York.     

Frontal plane comparison between drop jump and vertical jump: implications for the assessment of ACL risk of injury

The potential to use the vertical jump (VJ) to assess both athletic performance and risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury could have widespread clinical implications since VJ is broadly used in high school, university, and professional sport settings. Although drop jump (DJ) and VJ observationally exhibit similar lower extremity mechanics, the extent to which VJ can also be used as screening tool for ACL injury risk has not been assessed. This study evaluated whether individuals exhibit similar knee joint frontal plane kinematic and kinetic patterns when performing VJs compared with DJs. Twenty-eight female collegiate athletes performed DJs and VJs. Paired t-tests indicated that peak knee valgus angles did not differ significantly between tasks (p = 0.419); however, peak knee internal adductor moments were significantly larger during the DJ vs. VJ (p < 0.001). Pearson correlations between the DJ and VJ revealed strong correlations for knee valgus angles (r = 0.93, p < 0.001) and for internal knee adductor moments (r = 0.82, p < 0.001). Our results provide grounds for investigating whether frontal plane knee mechanics during VJ can predict ACL injuries and thus can be used as an effective tool for the assessment of risk of ACL injury in female athletes.     

Open to critique: predictive effects of academic outcomes from a bridging/foundation programme on first-year degree-level study

Bridging/foundation programmes are often provided by tertiary institutions to increase equity in access and academic performance of students from under-served communities. Little empirical evidence exists to measure the effectiveness of these bridging/foundation programmes on undergraduate academic outcomes. This research identifies the predictive effect of academic outcomes achieved within a bridging/foundation programme, targeted towards indigenous and ethnic minority students, on first-year degree-level outcomes. Overall performance within the bridging/foundation programme was positively associated with increasing Grade Point Average (GPA), ‘Core 4’ GPA and passing all courses in first year. However, mixed associations were identified between feeder bridging/foundation courses and their intended first year course counterparts. These findings support the continued provision of bridging/foundation education; however, curricular reform within the bridging/foundation programme was required. Key developments included: restructuring course delivery; increasing constructive alignment across the curriculum; increasing cultural content within western science-orientated courses; introduction of cross-curricular assessment and use of additional innovative teaching and learning activities. Additional challenges remain for degree programmes to explore how they can change in order to better support indigenous and ethnic minority student success within first-year tertiary study.