Process and structure: Reorganizing the university for instructional technology

The university must be reorganized in order that the new instructional technologies be effectively utilized. The present organizational structure is based on the assumption that the critical dimension in teaching is subject matter expertise. However, teaching is the process of changing people. Not only is knowledge in this process required, but new organizational roles as well. The control of instruction by instructional experts will meet social and individual needs more adequately than they are met at present. One possible organizational arrangement for the coordination of instructional experts is suggested. The proposed reorganization would facilitate both the teaching and the research mission of the university.     

The continued usage of business e-learning courses in Hong Kong corporations

Other research has investigated aspects of e-learning, e.g., comparing the effectiveness of e-learning with traditional classroom training and gauging the success of IT or computer skills training. This study focused on how to ensure that individuals continue their usage of business and management e-learning courses for self-development in Hong Kong corporations. This paper reports the development and testing of a theoretical model for continued usage. The proposed model was calibrated with a sample of 212 cases from five corporations in Hong Kong, and was subsequently validated with 15 questionnaires from a small e-commerce company of 50 staff. The data supported the model and the model had a moderate explanatory power (R ² = 37%) for continued usage. The structural model was not affected by different collection periods (first collection batch vs. last collection batch), sample (calibration vs. validation), gender (male vs. female), position (manager vs. nonmanager), or computer usage experience (10 years or more vs. less than 10 years). However, the model was different for groups of different ages (aged 36 and above vs. below 36) and educational levels (university graduates vs. nongraduates). Further research and the business implications for improving the continued usage of business e-learning courses are discussed.     

Affect-congruent social-cognitive evaluations and behaviors

This study examined whether the affect children feel toward peers would influence children's social-cognitive evaluations and behaviors. The sample consisted of 209 fifth-grade children (11- to 12-year-olds; 119 boys and 90 girls). For each child, 3 target peers (liked, disliked, and neutral) were identified via a sociometric nomination procedure. The names of the targets were then inserted into hypothetical vignettes in which the target peer's behavior had a negative consequence for the child. After each vignette, questions about intent, outcome expectations, and self-efficacy beliefs were asked. In addition, self-reports regarding relationship-specific proactive and reactive aggression and regarding victimization were collected. The results demonstrate that children social-cognitively differentiate between the relationship types and that relationship-specific evaluations are associated with relationship-specific behaviors.     

Learning on Campus and Learning at a Distance: A Randomized Instructional Experiment

To address a major methodological problem in the body of evidence on distance learning in postsecondary education, we conducted a randomized, true-experiment paired with a quasi-experiment. Community college students randomly assigned to receive instruction at a distance via a two-way interactive telecourse demonstrated learning equivalent to that of students assigned to on-campus, face-to-face instruction. However, students choosing to take the course via telecourse at remote sites had significantly higher course learning than either randomly assigned group. Such evidence suggests that the body of evidence on distance learning could be seriously confounded by learner self-selection.     

Strength in Numbers: A Model for Undergraduate Research Training and Education in the Social and Behavioral Sciences

This study describes a new approach to undergraduate science training that offers an alternate model to the national objective of scaling up scientific research interests and capabilities among undergraduate students. With this new focus, we seek to more effectively bring scientific research methods and experiences to larger numbers of students in non-elite educational circumstances. Our model has been designed and implemented, at the John Jay College and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, both of which are part of the City University of New York (CUNY), where we have a majority non-White and economically disadvantaged student body. We have successfully engaged large numbers of undergraduate students by linking multiple classes in the social and behavioral sciences to build collective cross-disciplinary research projects that give every enrolled student an opportunity to receive high-quality research training and create cumulative data sets over years that are cumulative, collaborative, and of professional value.