Situated Learning: Conceptualization and Measurement

A focus on the interaction between cognitive schemas and context in situ has been suggested as fundamental in organizational decision making and information interpretation. Past research suggests that the situation and the social interaction that occur during learning at the cognitive level consist of factors that affect the process, but the research lacks a coherent explanation for how those factors affect it. We propose a conceptualization of learning, termed situated learning, which accounts for these factors. By drawing on situated cognition theory, social learning theory, and the theory of mental models, we identify and measure four components of situated learning, that is, thematic focus, cognitive absorption, social structure, and participation. Among the most important lessons for researchers and practitioners is the need to consider learning as a constellation of the four components instead of an indivisible phenomenon. This perspective can enhance our understanding of cognitive processes, such as information interpretation and decision making.     

Anatomical Sciences Education Vol. 5, Issue 3, 2012 Cover Image

Medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada, learn clinical facts about the hepatobiliary system as transplant surgeon Dr. Vivian McAlister (at the far right) demonstrates Whipple's procedure in the anatomy laboratory. In this issue of ASE, Ullah and colleagues describe an extracurricular student initiative known as the Surgically Oriented Anatomy Program (SOAP), which aims to deliver anatomy teaching from a surgical perspective through the philosophy of “education through recreation”.     

Evaluation of a university course to promote physical activity: project GRAD

Project GRAD (Graduate Ready for Activity Daily) evaluates a university course to promote physical activity. In a randomized study, 338 university seniors participated in either an intervention or control course for academic credit, and posttest data were collected on 321. The control course was knowledge-oriented. The intervention course taught behavior change skills in weekly lectures and peer-led labs. Physical activity was assessed with 7-Day Physical Activity Recall interviews. The intervention had no significant effects on men. Among women, the intervention increased total physical activity during leisure, strengthening exercises, and flexibility exercise. This university course had the intended effects of promoting healthful patterns of physical activity among women, but no effects were observed on men, who were more active than women at baseline.     

Promoting gun trigger-lock use: insights and implications from a radio-based health communication intervention

A radio public service announcement (PSA) focusing on the danger to children from an unlocked and loaded gun was designed and aired 340 times on three radio stations in one Michigan county. At the end of the message, individuals were given a toll-free number to call to receive a free gun trigger-lock. Three surveys were used to assess the effectiveness of this intervention: a general population telephone survey, an automated telephone survey, and a follow-up mail survey. Approximately 20 percent of individuals in the general population heard the PSA. There was a significant increase in uncued knowledge of the locking-related gun-safety practices in the treatment county between time one and time two. Further, individuals in both counties had very high levels of self-efficacy and response efficacy, moderate levels of perceived severity, and very low levels of perceived susceptibility at both points in time. Seven-hundred and ninety-nine individuals called the toll-free number to receive a free gun trigger-lock; or approximately 17 percent of gun-owning households exposed to the message. The majority of callers were males who owned guns primarily for hunting purposes and who planned to use the lock themselves. Follow-up survey results indicated that individuals were using the gun trigger-locks, and that they believed using gun trigger-locks was an easy and effective way to prevent gun injuries. Insights and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The role of communication in managing reductions in work force

Reductions in work force (downsizing, delayering, resizing, outplacement, layoffs, demassing) are used by organizations to achieve desired economic goals and ensure survival. However, these reductions often negatively affect the work behaviors and attitudes of continuing employees and thus, may detract from the success of the reduction in work force. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the effects of multiple workforce reductions on survivors by extending Brockner's (1988) model and outlining the role of communication in the process so that researchers and practitioners can better predict and control for the effects of workforce reductions. In pursuit of this goal, a causal model of effects on survivors was developed and then tested with data collected in a large, midwestern insurance company that implemented two workforce reductions.

The hypothesized model was inconsistent with the data and subsequently was rejected. A revised model was then tested and found to fit at three time periods. The revised model demonstrates survivor reactions to reductions are complex and change over time and in response to multiple reductions. The main conclusion was that managers can influence survivor information deprivation, career future uncertainty, work satisfaction, and propensity for turnover by paying attention to, and if possible controlling, organizational identification, financial rewards, work team communication support, and manager communication support. The results also suggest that survivor reactions to prior organizational interventions may influence the success of current interventions.     

Book Reviews by the Numbers

In the fall of 1985, four rural Illinois public libraries were weeded as part of a research project funded by the lllinois State Library. In each library, ten percent of the collection was removed by identifying books with low circulation rates in the circulating adult collection. Shelf time period and subjective opinion were used as weeding criteria. Although this cooperative weeding approach accurately identified books that would remain unused, weeding was not met with a corresponding increase in circulation.     

Focusing on the Thinking,Not the Tools: Incorporating Critical Thinking Into an Information Literacy Module for an Introduction to Business Course

Two librarians at the University of Louisville explain how a university-wide Quality Enhancement Plan focused on critical thinking led to positive changes in information literacy instruction at their institution. A revised information literacy module for an introductory business course serves as an example of a new instructional approach that emphasizes critical thinking about information, rather than library tools such as catalogs and databases.