Development and evaluation of self-paced instructional units for two dendrology-silvics coures in forestry

Self-paced instructional units were developed, used, and evaluated in two dendrology-silvics courses. This new teaching scheme: (1) com-pletely replaced the group-paced, lectured laboratory sessions with self— paced, indoor, slide-tape programs in Dendrology and Silvics of the Gymnosperms (Forestry 3050), and (2) supplemented the group-paced, lec-tured fieldtrips with a self-paced, taped, fieldtrip program in Dendrology and Silvics of the Woody Angiosperms (Forestry 3040). The study was divided into two major phases: (1) development of the instructional units, and (2) evaluation of the instructional units. The development phase was concerned with: (1) selection of appropriate instructional materials; (2) preparation of the instructional units; and (3) operational procedures of this teaching system. The evaluation phase was concerned with: (1) the learning effectiveness of the self-paced instructional units; (2) the students\u27 attitudes toward the self—paced instructional units, and (3) the costs of implementing the self-paced instructional units. Several evaluation procedures were used in the evaluation phase of this study. Student performance or achievement was evaluated in the Gymnosperms course by: (1) comparing the learning effectiveness of one of the eight self-paced instructional units developed with the same material taught in a traditional group-paced setting, and (2) observing the final grade distributions of the two classes that used the self-instructional system. Student performance or achievement was evaluated in the Angiosperms course by examing the students\u27 grade distributions from a written post-test. In both courses subjective measures of student satisfaction were evaluated from quiestionnaires made available to all the students. Subjective measures of student preferences toward different re-cording styles were evaluated from written critiques and discussion ses-sions with eight students in the Angiosperms course. The costs of the teaching materials used with the self-paced instructional systems were evaluated by examining the various expenditures. Several conclusions were made from the findings. In the Gymnosperms course it was concluded that: (1) the self—paced instructional setting was as effective in teaching the one weekly experimental unit as was the traditional group-paced instructional setting, (2) the self-paced instructional setting was effective in stimulating high overall class grades, (3) the self-paced teaching format enabled the presentation of more material in less time, (4) the overall majority of the students preferred the self-paced instructional units, and (5) the self-paced in-structional materials were more expensive than those formerly needed with the group-paced instructional method. In the Angiosperms course it was concluded that: (1) the self-paced, taped, fieldtrip instructional unit was effective toward providing high student grades, (2) the overall major-ity of the students were favorable to the self-paced, outdoor instruc-tional unit, (3) the self-paced instructional materials were more expen-sive than those used for group—paced instruction, and (4) students were: more at ease with a tape recorded by the instructor, that continuous music used throughout the tape was distracting, that opening and closing music on the tape was appropriate, that beeps and musical interludes were unnecessary on the tape to signal a move to the next station, that an enthusiastic, varying, conversational tone of voice was the best pre-sentation format, and that a moderately rapid speaking rate was preferred

The Application of Transformative Learning Theory to Online Teaching

Transformative learning has emerged as a powerful image for understanding how adults learn (Dirkx, 1998). Mezirow (1991) in explaining his theory of transformative learning, maintained that adults seem to realize personal and professional growth when confronted with dilemmas that challenge their existing views of the world. Transformative educators do not necessarily teach content that is significantly different from other educators. However, they teach the content with a different objective in mind. Transformative educators teach with the aim of consciousness-raising (Freire, 1970), critical reflection (Mezirow, 1995), development (Daloz,1986), or individuation (Boyd & Myers,1988). Many adult educators teaching in the traditional face to face classroom environment have long used one or more of these objectives in their delivery strategies. These strategies include role playing, the sharing of critical incidents or other in class strategies designed to engage students

Confronting the Imposter Syndrome in the Adult Learning Classroom

This paper examines the experiences of two African American male professor in confronting the Imposter Syndrome. The relevant literature on the Imposter Syndrome is used to analyze the experiences of these two educators and strategies are advanced for addressing the phenomenon of both a personal and a professional level

The Career Paths of African Americans in the Corporate and Political Arenas

This paper compares the career development experiences of African Americans in the areas of politics and corporate America. The authors aim to identify congruencies in the career development experiences of African Americans in both fields

Corporate America and Politics: A Comparative Analysis of the Career Aspirations and Experiences of African Americans

This paper compares the career development experiences of African Americans in the areas of politics and corporate America. The authors identified congruencies in the career development experiences of African Americans in both career fields to fill the void in the literature concerning empirical research on the career development of African Americans in various disciplines. The researchers‘ findings inform their proposed culturally relevant career development model. Keywords: Career Development, African Americans, Politics, Human Resources, Leadership Development

Facilitating Cross-Cultural Mentoring

Researchers have recognized several factors that are formidable forces preventing African Americans and other minorities to achieve their fullest potentials in organizations (Thomas, 1989; Hackett & Byers 1996). Studies have revealed that African American women are more disadvantaged than African American men in the career development process (Cox & Blake 1991; Cox, 1993; Palmer, 2001). While racism remains a defiant career barrier for both, African American women must deal with the added layer of sexism. Experts and scholars believe that various barriers (discrimination, prejudice, structural variables, lack of mentoring, etc.) have prevented African Americans from achieving their full potentials in the workplace (Carnevale & Stone, 1995). Studies have concluded that the lack of mentoring can have a negative impact on the career development of African Americans. Much of the mentoring that occurs in organizations tends to be on an informal basis and occurs between diverse groups within organization

Critical Educational Gerogogy: Towards Enlightenment and Emancipation

: This paper examines how critical educational gerogogy (CEG) can be used to expose ageism and relationships of power and inequality in the lives of older adults. The current literature in CEG is reviewed. The authors conclude by advancing a counterhegemonic approach which embraces transformative and emancipative education for older adults

Literature Review: Barriers to Participation in the Online Learning Environment: The Role of Race and Gender

As the number of adults participating in online learning continues to grow, it is important that adult educators, curriculum designers and the administrators of those programs understand the nature and characteristics of the adult learners filling those programs. Just as there are concerns about the efficacy of learning within traditional classrooms, there needs to be equal concerns about the effectiveness of learning in the online environment. An important question to be addressed--What is the significance of race, ethnicity and gender in the online learning environment

The epistemological foundations of music piracy in the digital marketplace

This paper examines the fundamental epistemological gap between the consumers and producers of digitally based products. Using the music industry and the significance of digital products in this arena as a case study of evolving relationships between buyers and sellers, we evaluate the nature of ‘piracy’ from multiple perspectives: creators, intermediaries, distributors, and end consumers. Our study centres on the epistemological boundaries of these agents and actors, using existing evidence and qualitative research to examine the nature and limits of the epistemological reach of agents and actors in this digital marketplace. Our theoretical model is an adapted and applied version of Domain-Generality and Domain-Specificity in Personal Epistemology. We find a series of epistemological dissonances, driven by differing levels of understanding about (and access to) the underlying technological, legal, and social structures of an evolving marketplace. As a result of instability, these structures inevitably create various epistemological boundaries. Using the analytical framework developed, the case study of music piracy illustrates how identifying epistemological dissonance helps sellers develop strategies that could minimize the impact of piracy on their revenue streams