Computers in writing instruction

For computers to be useful in writing instruction, innovations should be valuable for students and feasible for teachers to implement. Research findings yield contradictory results in measuring the effects of different uses of computers in writing, in part because of the methodological complexity of such measurements. Yet the computer seems to be a promising tool in several new, theoretically based approaches to writing instruction. Research of these kinds of computer applications should continue, paying attention to context variables that influence the implementation process importantly

An examination of the relationships among learning style, attitudes, and outcomes of computer-assisted instruction

This research was based upon a hypothesized AptitudeTreatment Interaction (ATI). More specifically, the research investigated the relationships between student learning style (aptitude) and student outcomes with computer-assisted instruction (treatment). These outcomes included student achievement with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and student attitude toward CAI. To examine these relationships, a researcher-developed CAI program on light and color theory was validated and administered to 144 students in an educational media course at the University of Northern Iowa. Participants in the study were first asked to complete the Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) inventory along with a demographic survey. Next, each participant completed a pretest, engaged in the CAI, and completed a posttest. Student achievement with CAI was defined as gain scores, a measure of the difference between pretest and posttest scores. Finally, attitude toward CAI was measured through the use of Allen\u27s Attitude Toward CAI Instrument, a semantic differential tool. A stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that learning style as measured by the GRSLSS is an inadequate predictor of either student achievement with CAI or student attitude toward CAI. Furthermore, relationships examined between specific learning style scales and either achievement with CAI or attitude toward CAI showed only one significant correlation: a positive relationship between the Participant learning style and attitude toward CAI. These relationships were examined using the partial correlation technique, which allowed the researcher to control for the demographic variables: (a) CAI experience, (b) computer experience, (c) gender, (d) year in school, and (e) GPA. While student attitude toward CAI was positive overall, no significant relationship was found between attitude toward CAI and gain scores. This finding suggests that significant learning occurs regardless of student attitude toward CAI. It was concluded that learning style, as measured by the GRSLSS, is an inadequate measure of factors related to aptitude for CAI. Other possible reasons for finding no effect include: (a) the sample of students participated as volunteers, and (b) the sample consisted of of teacher education majors, schooled in instructional design and media

Perceived parenting and social support: can they predict academic achievement in Argentinean college students?

The aim of this study was to test the ability to predict academic achievement through the perception of parenting and social support in a sample of 354 Argentinean college students. Their mean age was 23.50 years (standard deviation =2.62 years) and most of them (83.3%) were females. As a prerequisite for admission to college, students are required to pass a series of mandatory core classes and are expected to complete them in two semesters. Delay in completing the curriculum is considered low academic achievement. Parenting was assessed taking into account the mother and the father and considering two dimensions: responsiveness and demandingness. Perceived social support was analyzed considering four sources: parents, teachers, classmates, and best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend. Path analysis showed that, as hypothesized, responsiveness had a positive indirect effect on the perception of social support and enhanced achievement. Demandingness had a different effect in the case of the mother as compared to the father. In the mother model, demandingness had a positive direct effect on achievement. In the case of the father, however, the effect of demandingness had a negative and indirect impact on the perception of social support. Teachers were the only source of perceived social support that significantly predicted achievement. The pathway that belongs to teachers as a source of support was positive and direct. Implications for possible interventions are discussed.Fil: de la Iglesia, Guadalupe. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Freiberg Hoffmann, Agustín. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez Liporace, Maria Mercedes. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The effect of rhythm-based computer-assisted music instruction designed for individual learning style preferences on the learning of preservice elementary education majors

This study investigated the effect of rhythm based computer-assisted music instruction designed for individual learning style preferences. Participants were undergraduate preservice elementary education majors (N = 82) enrolled in Fundamentals of Music. The Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Survey and the Diablo Valley College Learning Style Survey were used to measure learning preferences. Two content knowledge assessments were administered as pre and posttest: (a) Music Achievement Test (MAT) Test 2-Part 3-Auditory and Visual Discrimination subtest b and (b) Researcher-Developed Rhythm Test (RDRT). Researcher-developed software programs were constructed, teaching participants the basic elements of rhythm based on learning style preferences. Forty-three of the participants (13 auditory, 13 visual, and 17 tactile/kinesthetic) completed software programs designed for their individual learning preferences. A stratified randomly selected group (11 auditory, 10 visual, and 18 tactile/kinesthetic) was assigned software that addressed all learning style strategies (n = 39) to complete the rhythm unit. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) conducted to determine the effect of three types of learning style strategies and two treatments (learner specific and all learning styles) on the two dependent variables (MAT and RDRT) revealed significant differences between the dependent measures. Two separate three-way repeated measures ANOVAs calculated on the MAT and RDRT found significant differences from pretest to posttest, indicating a significant increase in skill level on both measures. MAT scores revealed no significant differences with regards to treatment or learning style preferences. A significant two-way interaction between treatment and pretest to posttest was found for the RDRT. Both groups made significant gains due to treatment from pretest to posttest. The gain was greater for participants who used all learning styles software than for those who used individualized learning styles software. A significant two-way interaction among learning style strategies, RDRT pretest to posttest, was revealed. All participants made large gains due to treatment; tactile/kinesthetic learners gained noticeably less than aural and visual learners. Participants with the highest and lowest posttest scores (n = 23) from each learning style preference were selected for interviews. Overlapping themes indicated positive acceptance of the program, superior educational value, and creative program design

A Comparison Of Computer And Traditional Face-to-face Classroom Orientation For Beginning Critical Care Nurses

Purpose: Education of the novice critical care nurse has traditionally been conducted by critical care educators in face-to-face classes in an orientation or internship. A shortage of qualified educators and growth in electronic modes of course delivery has led organizations to explore electronic learning (e-learning) to provide orientation to critical care nursing concepts. Equivalence of e-learning versus traditional critical care orientation has not been studied. The primary aim of this study was to examine the equivalency of knowledge attainment in the cardiovascular module of the Essentials of Critical Care Orientation (ECCO) e-learning program to traditional face-to-face critical care orientation classes covering the same content. Additional aims were to determine if learning style is associated with a preference for type of learning method, and to determine any difference in learning satisfaction between the two modalities. Methods: The study was conducted using a two-group pretest-posttest experimental design. Forty-one practicing volunteer nurses with no current critical care experience living in southwest Florida were randomly assigned to either the ECCO (n=19) or face-to-face (n=22) group. Those in the face-to-face group attended 20 hours of classroom instruction taught by an expert educator. Those in the ECCO group completed the lessons on line and had an optional 2 hour face-to-face discussion component. Pre-test measures included the Basic Knowledge Assessment Test (BKAT-7), modified ECCO Cardiovascular (CV) Examination, and Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI). Post-tests included the BKAT-7, modified CV Examination, and Affective Measures Survey. Results: The majority of subjects were female, married, and educated at the associate degree level. Their mean age was 39.5 + 12 years, and they averaged 9.9 + 11.7 years of nursing experience. The diverging learning style was assessed in 37% of subjects. Classroom instruction was preferred by 61% of participants. No statistical differences were noted between groups on any demographic variables or baseline knowledge. Learning outcomes were compared by repeated measures analysis of variance. Mean scores of subjects in both groups increased statistically on both the BKAT-7 and modified CV Examination (p= \u3c .01); however, no significant differences (p \u3e .05) were found between groups. Preference for online versus classroom instruction was not associated with learning style (X2 = 3.39, p = .34). Satisfaction with learning modality was significantly greater for those in the classroom group (t=4.25, p=.000). Discussion/Implications: This is the first study to evaluate the ECCO orientation program and contributes to the growing body of knowledge exploring e-learning versus traditional education. The results of this study provide evidence that the ECCO critical care education produces learning outcomes at least equivalent to traditional classroom instruction, regardless of the learning style of the student. As participant satisfaction was more favorable toward the classroom learning modality, consideration should be given to providing blended learning if using computer-based orientation programs. Replication of this study with a variety of instructors in varied geographic locations, expanded populations, larger samples, and different subject matter is recommended

The design and application of a decision-making process for identification of critical curricular variables which affect optimal application of CAI in a baccalaureate school of nursing

Ph.D. University of Kansas, Curriculum and Instruction 1981There is a need for a model which will guide nursing educators in making decisions about the critical curricular variables involved in the implementation of computer-assisted instruction. Effective decision makers "• • • make decisions as a systematic process.with clearly defined elements and in a distinct sequence of steps" (Drucker, 1967, p. 113). A well-designed instructional model should help a faculty make good decisions about implementing computer-assisted instruction in a baccalaureate school of nursing. The purpose of the study was to develop an instructional model for affecting optimal application of computer-assisted instruction in a baccalaureate school of nursing. A possible model was then developed and an example of its application is included

What is the problem to which interactive multimedia is the solution?

This is something of an unusual paper. It serves as both the reason for and the result of a small number of leading academics in the field, coming together to focus on the question that serves as the title to this paper: What is the problem to which interactive multimedia is the solution? Each of the authors addresses this question from their own viewpoint, offering informed insights into the development, implementation and evaluation of multimedia. The result of their collective work was also the focus of a Western Australian Institute of Educational Research seminar, convened at Edith Cowan University on 18 October, 1994. The question posed is deliberately rhetorical - it is asked to allow those represented here to consider what they think are the significant issues in the fast-growing field of multimedia. More directly, the question is also asked here because nobody else has considered it worth asking: for many multimedia is done because it is technically possible, not because it offers anything that is of value or provides the solution to a particular problem. The question, then, is answered in various ways by each of the authors involved and each, in their own way, consider a range of fundamental issues concerning the nature, place and use of multimedia - both in education and in society generally. By way of an introduction, the following provides a unifying context for the various contributions made here

Causality, causality, causality: the view of education inputs and outputs from economics

Educators and policy makers are increasingly intent on using scientifically-based evidence when making decisions about education policy. Thus, education research today must necessarily be focused on identifying the causal relationships between education inputs and student outcomes. In this paper we discuss methodologies for estimating the causal effect of resources on education outcomes; we also review what we believe to be the best evidence from economics on a few important inputs: spending, class size, teacher quality, the length of the school year, and technology. We conclude that while the number of papers using credible identification strategies is thin, the body of credible research on causal relationships is growing, and we have started to gather evidence that some school inputs matter while others do not.Education - Economic aspects ; Technology - Economic aspects

Culture and rapport promotion in service encounters: protecting the ties that bind

The present study aimed at investigating possible cultural effects on the perceived importance of interactional concerns in service encounters. Individual values were examined to establish an explanatory framework for any effects that might emerge. Hong Kong Chinese and Filipinos participated in the present study by rating the importance of 12 interactional concerns in five hypothetical scenarios involving service provision. “Rapport promotion” was the only consistent factor of interactional concerns to emerge from the five scenarios in each of the two cultural groups. The dimensions of individual values, labeled “Conservation” and “Self-Transcendence” by Schwartz (1992), significantly predicted a respondent’s level of rapport promotion across all scenarios, with self-transcendence partially unpackaging the cultural difference that emerged in one of the service scenarios. We use these results to support a model of communication in service provision that predicts communication concerns as arising from cultural socialization for personal characteristics and situational features of the encounter, leading to the petitioner’s being more dependent on the good will of the service provider