Linking online course design and implementation to learning outcomes: A design experiment

This paper reports on preliminary findings from ongoing design-based research being conducted in the fully online Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership (MTL) program at a small, Midwest public university. Researchers are using the Quality Matters (QM) and Community of Inquiry (CoI) frameworks to guide the iterative redesign of core courses in the program. Preliminary results from the redesign of one course suggest that such approach can improve student learning outcomes. Results also support the efficacy of the QM and CoI theoretical frames, and the usefulness of design-based approaches in online learning.     

‘Science’, ‘Wind’ and ‘Bottom’: Eighteenth-Century Boxing Manuals

The eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of a plethora of sporting professionals, many of whom were involved in developing training and coaching practices. Teaching the skills, the ‘science’, of boxing became an important source of income for professional fighters while some practitioners also developed careers as trainers, normally operating on behalf of the wealthy ‘amateurs’ who retained professionals in order to make profitable wagers. These practices were described in some of the early instructional manuals of the period, notably a detailed analysis of wrestling by Parkyns in 1713, who considered technique, fitness, and diet, and by Godfrey in 1747 who included a seminal section on boxing in his A Treatise upon the Useful Science of Defence. The proliferation of boxing manuals in the last quarter of the century reflected both a revival of interest in the sport and a desire to record the essential elements of this martial ‘science’ since it was only now that contemporaries believed a full understanding had been achieved of the importance of ‘wind’ (endurance), ‘bottom’ (courage), and ‘science’ (technique). This paper explores a number of texts where authors discussed these essential components of boxing performance and highlights the longevity of their methods of athletic preparation.     

The International Boxing Union (1913–1946): A European Sports and/or Political Failure?

In 1913, some interested Frenchmen, aided by a Belgian launched the International Boxing Union (IBU), the only body whose primary purpose was to govern the sport at a world level. In the immediate post-war years, this initiative, continuously driven by Frantz Reichel and Paul Rousseau, foundered despite the brief participation of the English, through the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), and of some Americans. But the IBU could never establish a monopoly over the diverse international community involved in professional boxing. The USA, in particular, was itself unable to regulate the sport at a national level and this helped confine the IBU to having a purely European role. The involvement of the fascist powers of Italy and Germany and the improvement in relations between the BBBC and the IBU reinforced this continental perspective as did the failure of the World pugilistic congress at Rome in 1938 to establish an unified international organization. The Second World War witnessed the final transformation of the IBU into a European organization under Italian control. In reality, though, the change of name in 1946 to the European Boxing Union was merely the final confirmation of a transformation that had occurred many years before.     

A Typology of Undergraduate Textbook Definitions of ‘Heat’ across Science Disciplines

The physics and chemistry education literature has grappled with an appropriate definition for the concept of heat for the past four decades. Most of the literature promotes the view that heat is ‘energy in transit’ or ‘involves the transfer of energy’ between the system and surroundings because of a difference in temperature. Given that many undergraduate students are not learning the concept of heat in physics and chemistry alone, the goal of this investigation is to explore the conceptions of heat as presented in textbooks from across the science disciplines. An analysis of the definitions of heat from physics, chemistry, the biological sciences and the earth sciences showed a significant variation in the definitions within a discipline and between the disciplines. Specifically, the physics and chemistry textbooks used ‘energy in transit’ or ‘transfer of energy’ definitions (Class I), whereas textbooks from other disciplines typically used definitions which relate heat to ‘molecular kinetic energy’ (Class II) or they used a hybrid of Class I and II definitions. Although a universal definition of heat across disciplines may not be possible (or even desirable), we suggest that discrepancies in definitions be acknowledged and clearly communicated to students.     

Hearing you loud and clear: student perspectives of audio feedback in higher education

The use of audio feedback for students in a full-time community nursing degree course is appraised. The aim of this mixed methods study was to examine student views on audio feedback for written assignments. Questionnaires and a focus group were used to capture student opinion of this pilot project. The majority of students valued audio feedback as more detailed, personalised and supportive than written feedback. Lecturers were also consulted about their experience of audio feedback and its place within current assessment strategies. Further development of this innovative assessment feedback strategy and its integration into a post-registration nursing course is considered.     

Young Voter Perceptions of Political Satire as Persuasion: A Focus on Perceived Influence,Persuasive Intent,and Message Strength

This study focuses on the perceived effectiveness of political satire. A pair of experimental studies using original satirical works offer findings for audience perceptions regarding two types of satire, juvenalian and horatian, compared to traditional opinion-editorial argumentation. The two studies produced replicable findings that indicate clear perceptions of persuasive intent associated with both types of satire, and horatian satire ranking lower than traditional opinion-editorials in perceived message strength and perceived influence on self.     

Further Reflections on the WorldCat Collection Analysis Tool

This article focuses on a recent enhancement to the WorldCat Collection Analysis tool, the Interlibrary Loan Analyses module, exploring the possibilities that this enhancement offers for strategic collection development. The study concentrates on the tool as a way to assess the impact of the recent growth at North Carolina State University in biomedicine and human medicine programs. The research contained in this article originated from a session presented at XXVII Annual Charleston Conference, which was held in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 8, 2007.     

Learning and communication theory∗

Learning theory and communication theory share many problems in common. The developments in learning theory in the last decade can provide significant contributions to the growth of communication theory. Communication theorists can no longer ignore the basic structural and dynamic models of the learning process.