Beyond access: special education in America

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to examine the parallels between many aspects of conductive education and the conceptual framework of Feuerstein's theory of mediated learning. Conductive education is not a treatment administered to remedy some pathology, as is the case with many therapies, but rather a system of education aimed at developing the whole individual. How this process is achieved may be enlightened by reference to Feuerstein's model of mediated learning experience (MLE). Two key aspects of Feuerstein's theory are examined: first, structural cognitive modifiability (SCM), which maintains that every individual's cognitive structures are capable of modifiability, despite barriers of retardation ‐ very much in line with modern neuroscience and its model of the brain as a plastic and adaptable system; and secondly, mediation (MLE), which is the process whereby a more initiated individual acts as a mediator between culture and child and thereby directs the child into preparing an adequate response. A detailed examination with exemplars is then undertaken into the mediation of many different aspects of development, including the three essential mediation processes of intentionality and reciprocity, transcendence and meaning. Finally, the implications of Feuerstein's theory for models of research and evaluation are considered, particularly the need for more qualitative and interactional approaches which maintain ecological validity.     

A closer look at split visual attention in system- and self-paced instruction in multimedia learning

Two experiments examined visual attention distribution in learning from text and pictures. Participants watched a 16-step multimedia instruction on the formation of lightning. In Experiment 1 (N = 90) the instruction was system-paced (fast, medium, slow pace), while it was self-paced in Experiment 2 (N = 31). In both experiments the text modality was varied (written, spoken). During learning, the participants’ eye movements were recorded. Results from both experiments revealed that learners spent more time studying the visualizations with spoken text than those with written text. In written text conditions learners consistently started reading before alternating between text and visualization; moreover, they spent more time reading the text than inspecting the visualizations. While in Experiment 1 additional time that was made available in conditions with a slow or medium instruction pace was spent inspecting visualizations, in Experiment 2 longer learning times resulted from reading the text more intensively. With respect to learning outcomes (retention, transfer, and visual memory) Experiment 1 revealed an effect of text modality for visual memory only. In Experiment 2 no modality effects were found. Instruction pace was hardly related to learning outcomes. Overall, the results confirm prior findings suggesting that the distribution of visual attention in multimedia learning is largely guided by the text.     

Ahead of the pack? Explaining the unequal distribution of scholarships in Germany

This article investigates to what extent scholarships are unequally distributed among students in Germany and how these inequalities can be explained. Following sociological theory, the article argues that elites seek qualitative ways of distinguishing themselves in a mass higher education system. Using student surveys, we demonstrate that class effects cannot merely be explained with reference to class differences in academic achievement but that higher classes have better access to scholarships independent of earlier school performance. Class differences were particularly persistent when the intermediate classes were compared with higher classes with more education. These findings illustrate that social classes have different strategies when it comes to participating in higher education and suggest that information about and access to scholarships is important in gaining a class advantage.