Students’ Ability to Apply Their Knowledge in a Gaming Exercise: An Exploratory Study

This paper reports on a study exploring master students’ ability to apply their knowledge when solving an internal pricing problem in a supply chain. Analyses of 33 negotiation progress reports and 8 recordings of discussions demonstrate that most of the students were not able to apply relevant concepts and models to guide their handling of the task. The main reason for the variability in performance was the significant differences in the students’ general problem-solving abilities. Most students did not perform a thorough task analysis or develop a solution strategy before they met for negotiations, and they did not keep track of their task performance. The implications for teaching are highlighted, and directions for further research are proposed.     

Video game–based learning: An emerging paradigm for instruction

Interactive digital media, or video games, are a powerful new medium. They offer immersive experiences in which players solve problems. Players learn more than just facts—ways of seeing and understanding problems so that they “become” different kinds of people. “Serious games” coming from business strategy, advergaming, and entertainment gaming embody these features and point to a future paradigm for eLearning. Building on interviews with leading designers of serious games, this article presents case studies of three organizations building serious games, coming from different perspectives but arriving at similar conclusions. This article argues that such games challenge us to rethink the role of information, tools, and aesthetics in a digital age.     

Using Standard-Setting Data to Establish Cutoff Scores

Is it enough to run the standard-setting panel and to stop? Once a panel has met or a contrasting group experiment has been conducted, do we have a cutoff score? On what basis might a proposed cutoff score be adjusted? Who should make the adjustment decision?     

Assessing reference staff competency in the electronic environment

This paper shows how the Galter Health Sciences Library of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine developed and implemented a program to assess reference staff competencies for assisting users in the electronic environment after completing a new training program. The first phase was a year-long assessment of reference questions to identify the types of questions received at the desk. Next, a training program for reference was developed and implemented with an emphasis on answering the most common questions identified such as remote access, access privileges, holdings information, and database searching. The program included individualized instruction on library policies, electronic resources, access restrictions, and troubleshooting. The next phase was to create instruments to test staff competencies in answering questions after training. Based on the scores, additional training was individualized and provided to the appropriate staff member to enhance their skills where needed. The training system that was developed has proven to be effective as most staff scored better than 92% on initial testing. As a result, library management can be certain that users' questions are being answered correctly and that the staff has the skills required to work in an electronic environment.     

Viewing the reconstruction of primary schooling in Southern Sudan through education data, 2006–2009

After one of the longest wars in the history of Africa, Southern Sudan accomplished one of the world’s quickest education reconstruction programmes. Once the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, the international donor community and the government and people of Southern Sudan united under a common goal: to increase access to education for both children and adults. Southern Sudan’s experience leads to three lessons. First, countries entering a post-conflict situation should anticipate and plan for the possibility of a large and rapid influx of new students immediately after hostilities end. Second, after a prolonged conflict, an alternative education system is critical to allow children, and the young adults who were previously deprived of education, the opportunity to acquire the skills they need to earn a living. Finally, donors must respond rapidly, demonstrate considerable flexibility, forgo extensive planning and documentation before acting, and be willing to make a multi-year commitment.     

Creepiness Creeps In: Uncanny Valley Feelings Are Acquired in Childhood

The uncanny valley posits that very human-like robots are unsettling, a phenomenon amply demonstrated in adults but unexplored in children. Two hundred forty 3- to 18-year-olds viewed one of two robots (machine-like or very human-like) and rated their feelings toward (e.g., “Does the robot make you feel weird or happy?”) and perceptions of the robot's capacities (e.g., “Does the robot think for itself?”). Like adults, children older than 9 judged the human-like robot as creepier than the machine-like robot—but younger children did not. Children's perceptions of robots’ mental capacities predicted uncanny feelings: children judge robots to be creepy depending on whether they have human-like minds. The uncanny valley is therefore acquired over development and relates to changing conceptions about robot minds.     

Electronic Performance Support Technology; Defining the Domain Originally published in 1996, PIQ 9.1

Electronic performance support is an expanding area within the field of performance technology. This article reviews and classifies the literature, both conceptual and case-based, in order to assess settings for use, initiating factors for development, and general features of the various systems. Identification of each article reviewed is presented in a matrix of categories that can be used to point those interested in specific aspects of this complex topic to the most pertinent information for their own needs. A general summary of findings follows.     

Factor analysis of the conners teacher rating scale with brain-damaged and learning-disabled children

Prior studies have indicated a possible lack of stability in the factor structure of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) across populations of children. The current study examined this factor structure in a sample of medically referred brain-damaged and learning-disabled children. Six factors were extracted: Conduct Disorder, Hyperkinesis, Distractibility, Depression, Dyssocial behavior, and Introversion. Comparison with prior work indicates that factors of conduct disorder, hyperkinesis, and a social behavior factor are fairly common, but that disparities regarding other factors exist. Cross-validation of the factor structure in each new population for which CTRS is to be used is recommended.