THE EFFECTS OF TARGETED ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INSTRUCTION USING MULTIMEDIA APPLICATIONS ON GRADE THREE STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION, ATTITUDE TOWARD COMPUTERS, AND ATTITUDE TOWARD SCHOOL

The purpose of this study was to investigate the specific effects of targeted English Language Arts (ELA) instruction using multimedia applications. Student reading comprehension, student attitude toward computers, and student attitude toward school were measured in this study. The study also examined the perceptions, of selected students, of the use of these applications. In this study, targeted ELA instruction was compared to similar instruction of ELA skills with the addition of multimedia software applications. In this study a sampling of grade 3 students in a medium-sized suburban school district received 10 weeks of targeted ELA instruction using traditional teaching methods. From this sample, approximately half of the students received instruction with ELA multimedia applications in lieu of a portion of the allotted ELA instruction time Two instruments were administered to all students as a pretest and as a posttest; the New York State English Language Arts Exam Part 1 (NYS ELA) and the Young Children’s Computer Inventory (YCCI). In addition, five students were selected for a semi-structured interview. The interviews explored the perceptions of the students who used the ELA multimedia applications in school and showed the greatest gain in reading comprehension scores at the conclusion of the treatment period. A pretest ANOVA was used to verify equivalency of groups for reach variable. Following this, a MANOVA revealed that students who participated in the treatment group and received ELA instruction using online multimedia applications scored significantly higher than students in the control group. Univariate ANOVA revealed that students in the treatment group scored higher on the attitude toward computers measure and the reading comprehension measure, and that there was no significant difference in scores on the attitude toward school measure between treatment and control groups. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed three themes that recurred throughout the five interviews. The themes were: having fun, learning content, and expressing emotions. Qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated, and implications for practitioners and researchers were discussed

As Predicted: Fact and Improbability in News Coverage of Astrology

This study examines a recent eruption of news about astrology. For a theoretical lens, it uses contemporary research on how traditional news values might allow what some have labeled mystical ideas to maintain public acceptance in spite of scientific evidence against them. As a contrast to that approach, a different perspective by Neil Postman is provided, an approach that suggests the dominant media of our culture will have as much impact as will professional practice in determining the nature of our messages. In investigating a group of news stories that questioned the validity of key astrological principles, the current study finds reporting did not provide significant scientific basis for dismissal of the belief. The two theories for analyzing this case provide very different insights, however, especially regarding the extent to which journalists (and media) play a role in promoting empiricism and discouraging mysticism

The Undergraduate in the “New Urban University”: Recognizing the Role of Agency and its Correlates in the Student’s Academic Life Story

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2016), only 36% of first time college students enrolled at broad-access institutions graduate within six years, compared to 60% at all universities. The vital role of academic agency is universally accepted; however, debate remains over a shared definition. The purpose of this study is to determine which combination of non-academic attributes generate, grow, and support academic agency for undergraduate students at a broad-access, minority-serving “New Urban University.” Three questions are examined: Which attributes define academic agency, and how do they relate to conceptually similar variables? Assuming academic agency exists along a continuum over time, is growth affected by age, pivotal life experiences, or both? What role can institutions of higher learning play in creating pivotal life experiences to foster growth of students’ academic agency? This research study utilizes a mixed-methods design divided into: Study 1, a quantitative examination, and Study 2, a qualitative methodology based on the life story method. In Study 1, a survey examining grit, self-efficacy, ethnic identity, leadership, fair academic opportunity, academic self-appraisal, and family support was administered to 63 undergraduate students. A new domain emerged for academic agency comprised of leadership, academic familiarity, and fair academic opportunity. All domains, except for ethnic identity, demonstrated significant increases in age, suggesting emergence of a continuum of growth for academic agency and other non-academic attributes. Study 2, using a qualitative design with 12 undergraduates, is guided by McAdams’ (2001) life story model of identity adapted for the context of education

The dark romanticism of vivas: practice issues and preparation

This paper addresses three areas. The first is a discussion of the context for doctoral education and the use of vivas across higher education as the assessment method for doctoral education. The second area is a review of the data on submissions for doctoral examination across a post-92 university. The findings of the paper are based on a review and analysis of data concerning submission for examination and outcomes from viva examination across three colleges across a two-year period. A qualitative analysis of anonymised data was completed from three areas. The third part of the paper addresses the advice and guidance given to candidate in preparation for the viva. This informs the aspiration to increase the postgraduate research community of the university, increase the offer of professional doctorates (PD), and grow the post graduate intake for the Doctoral School

Relationships between outdoor and classroom task settings and cognition in primary schoolchildren

While recent studies suggest an association in early years’ children between outdoor classrooms and predictors of achievement (Davis & Waite, 2005), here termed cognitive factors (affordances, attention, motivation, memory, social interaction, positive affect, physical activity and positive teacher feedback), support for performance impacts remains weak. The thesis predicts that due to a predisposition for natural affordances (Kahn Jr. & Kellert, 2002), children’s performance on a school task will be better outdoors than in a classroom, and associated with natural richness. Employing a systems-based theoretical framework informed by the Santiago Theory of Cognition (Maturana & Varela, 1992), field experiments were undertaken with 3 Scottish primary schools. Participants were mainly school starters (n=57), average age 5½ years, but included an ‘experienced’ group with 4-5 years’ regular exposure to woodland learning, average age 9½ years (n=14). Classes were split into matched groups and performed a curriculum task outdoors – in either a wood or playground – and then in a classroom, or vice versa. Settings were categorised for ‘natural richness’ using a checklist of affordances and biodiversity. Data were video recordings and, administered 6-7 months post-task, teacher interviews and a questionnaire which recorded recollections, and preferences related to performance and perceived restoration. Greater social interaction, creative diversity and movement outdoors were general task observations. Outdoor tasks were recalled more readily and in richer detail, and were preferred for all criteria, with the experienced group returning the strongest preferences. Underachievers recalled more outdoors than peers, and returned higher perceived restorativeness scale task ratings. Setting preferences exhibit a two-factor structure: perceived ‘autonomy’ outdoors is the dominant component, and ‘creative compatibility’ is associated with ‘natural richness’ and hinges on perceived compatibility, discovery and resourcefulness outdoors. A causal loop analysis of interview data implies the enabling and regulating impacts of the outdoor settings on individuals and groups, with environmental novelty, non-prescriptiveness and immersiveness implicated. Discussion suggests stronger empirical support for all cognitive factors outdoors, best summarised as a virtuous systemic interrelationship between affordance richness, functional motivation and positive interdependence, with significant implications for task performance. The research contributes new measures and approaches, and informs the case for embedding outdoor learning in the Scottish early years’ curriculum, particularly, through support for transition and underachievement

The Evolution of Student Engagement: Writing Improves Teaching in Introductory Biology

In response to calls for pedagogical reforms in undergraduate biology courses to decrease student attrition rates and increase active learning, this article describes one faculty member’s conversion from traditional teaching methods to more engaging forms of practice. Partially told as a narrative, this article illustrates a.) the way many faculty initially learn to teach by modeling the pedagogy from their own undergraduate programs; b.) the kind of support biology faculty may need to break out of traditional molds; c.) how writing can promote active learning; and d.) the impact of reformed pedagogy on student levels of engagement. The latter will be demonstrated through assessment results gathered from student surveys, reflective writing, and focus group interview. Ultimately, the study challenges misunderstandings some faculty might have regarding the value of writing in science classes and offers inspiration, urging critical reflection and persistence

Communicating organisational outcomes using simple performance indicators: a case study using ACT elective surgery waiting lists

This research explores the communication consequences of using simple, numerical information to convey information about the performance of large, public-sector organisations. To control the scope of the research, both practically and theoretically, the case study is based on publically available material, in other words, the material accessible by a lay, rather than a specialist audience. The formal publication and public reporting in the local newspaper of elective surgery waiting times in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) public health system during 2010 and 2011 is used as a detailed case study. The theoretical basis for the research is drawn from three main disciplinary streams: performance indicators and evaluation; public health and public health policy; and communicating about and with numerical information. Each of these broad areas is itself multi-disciplinary, with research findings published across many different outlets. When I began this research in mid-2011 there was little overlap between the insights from the different discipline groups canvassed in this literature review. In particular, the application of communication theories to performance indicators had yet to be systematically explored. Research in the period 2011-2016 clarifies issues within each of the broad areas but there is still very little synthesis between them. The overall goal of the research is twofold: to characterise and systematically describe the way numerical performance indicators are used; and to develop a framework for determining how difficult to understand a numerical performance indicator is likely to be. The resulting model for analysing the communication effectiveness of using different types of statistical constructs as performance indicators can be used both as a tool for designing performance indicators and as a tool for analysing communication problems related to numerical performance indicators