Preparing CBI print‐based support material: an information/instructional design perspective

Computer‐based instructional (CBI) materials are frequently accompanied by student study guides. This report details Grant MacEwan Community College's experience in producing print‐based material to support its computer‐managed learning (CML) system. Thus the report is written from a CBI perspective, and attempts to place emphasis on the recognition of cognitive processes in the development of CBI and related materials. Grant MacEwan material has been developed using the instructional design principles promoted by Gagne and Briggs (1979). The first part of this report focuses on content organization. The ideas presented may be applicable to any setting requiring the development of independent study print support material.     

Conflict and Its Resolution in Small Groups of One- and Two-Year-Olds

48 1- and 48 2-year-olds were observed in groups of 3 for 25 min on 2 consecutive days, once with ample resources and once with scarce resources. The triads were composed of either 2 girls and a boy or 2 boys and a girl, and duplicate copies of toys were available for half the groups. Their conflicts contained interpersonal features and were more affected by social influences than by the availability of resources. Contrary to expectations, scarcity of resources did not result in increased conflict. In fact, 2-year-olds were more likely to resolve conflict by sharing when toys were scarce. The provision of duplicates decreased the probability of conflict, but many conflicts occurred even when a duplicate was easily accessible. The form of conflict depended on the children's age and the gender composition of the group. Older children and groups dominated by boys, relative to younger children and groups dominated by girls, were less likely to use force and more likely to resolve disputes in prosocial ways. Taken together, these findings provide further evidence for the social nature of conflict in the first few years of life.     

University students vary their use of textese in digital messages to suit the recipient

Background

The casual, abbreviated writing style sometimes known as ‘textese’ (e.g., sorry im late ?) has become widespread with the rise of digital communication. We explored Australian university students' views on, and use of, textese across three modalities (text message, Facebook post, email) and three recipient types (friends, peers, lecturers).

Methods

In Study 1, 51 undergraduates composed messages across the three modalities to the three recipient types. They also rated the appropriateness of messages written with high, medium and no textese, across modality and recipient types. In Study 2, 37 additional students provided examples of their own sent messages across modalities and recipients.

Results

Overall, participants rated textese use as more appropriate, and used significantly more textese, in messages to friends, than to peers, than to lecturers.

Conclusions

Undergraduates are sensitive to when and where it is appropriate to use textese and vary their use (and opinions) of written language as a function of the recipient.

     

DESIGNING INTELLIGENT KNOWLEDGE: EPISTEMOLOGICAL FAITH AND THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SCIENCE

A bstract .  In this essay, Clayton Pierce examines the epistemological standpoints of Intelligent Design (ID) and evolutionary science education, focusing specifically on the pedagogical question of how ID and modern science-based education fail to promote democratic relations in how students learn, think, and associate with science and technology in society. Pierce explores the debate in education between ID and traditional science education that centers on the epistemological assumptions embodied in the modern scientific model. Turning to Bruno Latour's recent work in the field of science studies, Pierce develops his argument that both expressions of knowledge fail to deliver an adequate theoretical and practical democratic framework for teaching and learning about knowledge systems and technologies in their social, political, and cultural environments.     

E-assessment: challenges to the legitimacy of VET practitioners and auditors

This research examines what practitioners in vocational education and training (VET) organisations and external auditors judge to be the key issues in the current and future use of e-assessment. Applying the framework of legitimacy theory, the study examined the tensions around the use and growth of e-assessment in training organisations, and challenges to both training bodies and auditors around their legitimacy to operate. Forty-eight interviews, 10 focus groups and 2 industry workshops were completed with practitioners and auditors who had in-depth experience in e-assessment and audit practices. Results revealed tensions between training providers and auditors around the current validity, authenticity and security of e-assessment. However, there was also strong agreement between the groups about the practical steps for resolving these tensions between auditors and VET institutions.     

Working the Borderlands: working-class students constructing hybrid identities and asserting their place in higher education

Abstract

Through the case-study experiences of 24 White and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) working-class students from three very different universities, we aim to illuminate the often hidden struggle for recognition and respect for classed, ‘raced’ and gendered ways of being in the university. We discuss how the students perceive their identities in relation to their universities and their peers, and whether they feel the need to adapt and change their classed/’racialised’ identities in order to survive and progress or whether they resist any pressures and expectations to do so. We explore the tension between ‘assimilation and belonging’ and ‘betrayal and exclusion’ for White and BAME working-class students and consider the intersectional implications. We draw on the concept of hybridity to show the fluidity and fusions of transitioning and developing identities. The article also seeks to contribute further to the illumination of habitus as generative, through a process of hybridity.     

IMPROVING CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR: EVALUATION OF THE CLASS PASS INTERVENTION

Off‐task and disruptive classroom behaviors have a negative impact on the learning environment and present a unique challenge for teachers to address. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Class Pass Intervention (CPI) as a behavior management strategy for secondary students with disruptive classroom behavior. The CPI consists of providing students with passes that they can either (1) use to appropriately request a break to engage in a preferred activity for a preset amount of time or (2) keep and later exchange for a preferred item or activity. Using an ABAB withdrawal design with replication through a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design, the CPI was shown to increase academic engagement, which is incompatible with disruptive behavior, in 4 students who engaged in high levels of disruptive behavior throughout the baseline condition. Results also demonstrated partial support for the durability of intervention effects over time and indicated that both teachers and students perceived the intervention to be socially feasible. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.