Knowledge Maps as Scaffolds for Cognitive Processing

Knowledge Maps Are Node-Link Representations in Which Ideas Are Located in Nodes and Connected to Other Related Ideas through a Series of Labeled Links. the Research on Knowledge Mapping in the Last 12 Years Has Produced a Number of Consistent Findings. Students Recall More Central Ideas When They Learn from a Knowledge Map Than When They Learn from Text and Those with Low Verbal Ability or Low Prior Knowledge Often Benefit the Most. the Use of Knowledge Maps Also Appears to Amplify the Benefits Associated with Scripted Cooperation. Learning from Maps is Enhanced by Active Processing Strategies Such as Summarization or Annotation and by Designing Maps According to Gestalt Principles of Organization. Fruitful Areas for Future Research on Knowledge Mapping Include Examining Whether Knowledge Maps Reduce Cognitive Load, How Map Learning is Influenced by the Structure of the Information to Be Learned, and the Possibilities for Transfer. Implications for Practice Are Briefly Delineated

The Effect of Textual Errors on Dyadic and Individual Learning

The Major Objective of the Present Experiment Was to Assess the Effects of Textual Errors on Dyadic and Individual Learning. One Hundred Undergraduates Were Taught a Four-Step Learning Strategy, after Which They Studied a Text Passage Either Dyadically or Individually. Half of the Passages within Both Conditions Contained Syntactic Errors. Total Recall Measures Indicated that Dyads Performed Better Than Individuals on Recall of Text in Sections Not Containing Errors, Whereas the Groups Did Not Differ on Recall of the Material in Text Sections Containing Errors. Further, Dyads Outscored Individuals on Measures of Recall of Error Location, Error Frequency, and Perceived Difficulty of the Text Sections Which Contained Errors. in Addition, Subjective Processing Measures Indicated that Motivation and Interest Were Strongly Related to Recall. © 1989, SAGE Publications. All Rights Reserved

Promoting Functional Literacy through Cooperative Learning

The Effects of Cooperative Learning Strategy Manipulations on the Enactment and Recall of a Medical Procedure Were Explored. One Hundred and Twenty-Three College Students Completed the Experiment. during Training, Participants Were Randomly Assigned to a Dyad in One of Four Conditions: (A) No-Strategy, (B) Baseline Strategy, (C) Prompting Strategy, and (D) Planning Strategy. during Testing, Participants Both Performed and Produced Written Recalls of the Procedure Instructions. Test Order Was Counterbalanced within Dyad. Training and Test Performances Were Videotaped. the Planning Group Produced the Best Recalls and Recalled More Conditions of the Procedure. the Prompting Group Performed Best. Recall of the Procedure in All Groups Was Enhanced by Prior Performance. However, Performance Was Enhanced by Prior Recall in Only Two Groups. the Groups Differed Also in the Nature of the Transition from Training to Testing. Theoretical and Applied Implications of These Findings Are Discussed. © 1988, SAGE Publications. All Rights Reserved

Crop Updates 2005 - Farming Systems

This session covers forty four papers from different authors: PLENARY 1. 2005 Outlook, David Stephens and Nicola Telcik, Department of Agriculture FERTILITY AND NUTRITION 2. The effect of higher nitrogen fertiliser prices on rotation and fertiliser strategies in cropping systems, Ross Kingwell, Department of Agriculture and University of Western Australia 3. Stubble management: The short and long term implications for crop nutrition and soil fertility, Wayne Pluske, Nutrient Management Systems and Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture 4. Stubble management: The pros and cons of different methods, Bill Bowden, Department of Agriculture, Western Australia and Mike Collins, WANTFA 5. Effect of stubble burning and seasonality on microbial processes and nutrient recycling, Frances Hoyle, The University of Western Australia 6. Soil biology and crop production in Western Australian farming systems, D.V. Murphy, N. Milton, M. Osman, F.C. Hoyle, L.K Abbott, W.R. Cookson and S. Darmawanto, The University of Western Australia 7. Urea is as effective as CAN when no rain for 10 days, Bill Crabtree, Crabtree Agricultural Consulting 8. Fertiliser (N,P,S,K) and lime requirements for wheat production in the Merredin district, Geoff Anderson, Department of Agriculture and Darren Kidson, Summit Fertilizers 9. Trace element applications: Up-front verses foliar? Bill Bowden and Ross Brennan, Department of Agriculture 10. Fertcare®, Environmental Product Stewardship and Advisor Standards for thee Fertiliser Industry, Nick Drew, Fertilizer Industry Federation of Australia (FIFA) SOIL AND LAND MANAGEMENT 11. Species response to row spacing, density and nutrition, Bill Bowden, Craig Scanlan, Lisa Sherriff, Bob French and Reg Lunt, Department of Agriculture 12. Investigation into the influence of row orientation in lupin crops, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture and Angie Roe, Farm Focus Consultants 13. Deriving variable rate management zones for crops, Ian Maling, Silverfox Solutions and Matthew Adams, DLI 14. In a world of Precision Agriculture, weigh trailers are not passé, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture 15. Cover crop management to combat ryegrass resistance and improve yields, Jeff Russell, Department of Agriculture and Angie Roe, Farm Focus Consultants 16. ARGT home page, the place to find information on annual ryegrass toxicity on the web, Dr George Yan, BART Pty Ltd 17. Shallow leading tine (SLT) ripper significantly reduces draft force, improves soil tilth and allows even distribution of subsoil ameliorants, Mohammad Hamza, Glen Riethmuller and Wal Anderson, Department of Agriculture PASTURE ANS SUMMER CROP SYSTEMS 18. New annual pasture legumes for Mediteranean farming systems, Angelo Loi, Phil Nichols, Clinton Revell and David Ferris, Department of Agriculture 19. How sustainable are phase rotations with Lucerne? Phil Ward, CSIRO Plant Industry 20. Management practicalities of summer cropping, Andrea Hills and Sally-Anne Penny, Department of Agriculture 21. Rainfall zone determines the effect of summer crops on winter yields, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny and David Hall, Department of Agriculture 22. Summer crops and water use, Andrea Hills, Sally-Anne Penny and David Hall, Department of Agriculture, and Michael Robertson and Don Gaydon, CSIRO Brisbane 23. Risk analysis of sorgum cropping, Andrea Hills and Sally-Anne Penny, Department of Agriculture, and Dr Michael Robertson and Don Gaydon, CSIRO Brisbane FARMER DECISION SUPPORT AND ADOPTION 24. Variety release and End Point Royalties – a new system? Tress Walmsley, Department of Agriculture 25. Farming system analaysis using the STEP Tool, Caroline Peek and Megan Abrahams, Department of Agriculture 26. The Leakage Calculator: A simple tool for groundwater recharge assessment, Paul Raper, Department of Agriculture 27. The cost of Salinity Calculator – your tool to assessing the profitability of salinity management options, Richard O’Donnell and Trevor Lacey, Department of Agriculture 28. Climate decision support tools, Meredith Fairbanks and David Tennant, Department of Agriculture 29. Horses for courses – using the best tools to manage climate risk, Cameron Weeks, Mingenew-Irwin Group/Planfarm and Richard Quinlan, Planfarm Agronomy 30. Use of seasonal outlook for making N decisions in Merredin, Meredith Fairbanks and Alexandra Edward, Department of Agriculture 31. Forecasts and profits, Benefits or bulldust? Chris Carter and Doug Hamilton, Department of Agriculture 32. A tool to estimate fixed and variable header and tractor depreciation costs, Peter Tozer, Department of Agriculture 33. Partners in grain: ‘Putting new faces in new places’, Renaye Horne, Department of Agriculture 34. Results from the Grower group Alliance, Tracey Gianatti, Grower Group Alliance 35. Local Farmer Group Network – farming systems research opportunities through local groups, Paul Carmody, Local Farmer Group Network GREENHOUSE GAS AND CLIMATE CHANGE 36. Changing rainfall patterns in the grainbelt, Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture 37. Vulnerability of broadscale agriculture to the impacts of climate change, Michele John, CSIRO (formerly Department of Agriculture) and Ross George, Department of Agriculture 38. Impacts of climate change on wheat yield at Merredin, Imma Farré and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture 39. Climate change, land use suitability and water security, Ian Kininmonth, Dennis van Gool and Neil Coles, Department of Agriculture 40. Nitrous oxide emissions from cropping systems, Bill Porter, Department of Agriculture, Louise Barton, University of Western Australia 41. The potential of greenhouse sinks to underwrite improved land management in Western Australia, Richard Harper and Peter Ritson, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and Forest Products Commission, Tony Beck, Tony Beck Consulting Services, Chris Mitchell and Michael Hill, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting 42. Removing uncertainty from greenhouse emissions, Fiona Barker-Reid, Will Gates, Ken Wilson and Rob Baigent, Department of Primary Industries - Victoria and CRC for Greenhouse Accounting (CRCGA), and Ian Galbally, Mick Meyer and Ian Weeks, CSIRO Atmospheric Research and CRCGA 43. Greenhouse in Agriculture Program (GIA), Traci Griffin, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting 44. Grains Greenhouse Accounting framework, D. Rodriguez, M. Probust, M. Meyers, D. Chen, A. Bennett, W. Strong, R. Nussey, I. Galbally and M. Howden CONTACT DETAILS FOR PRINCIPAL AUTHOR

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Subjective Graphing of Metacognitive, Affective, and Social Processing: A Psychometric Analysis

The Present Experiment Examined a Subjective Graphing Measure Designed to Assess Students\u27 Ongoing Processing While Studying. It is Proposed that This Measure, Which Has Served in a Number of Diverse Investigations, Offers Theoretical and Pragmatic Advantages over Existing Measures. the Internal Structure, Reliability, and Validity of This Assessment Tool Were Tested within the Context of Scripted Cooperative Learning. Results Indicated that the Measure Could Be Described Adequately by Three Relatively Independent, Replicable Factors. in Addition, These Factors Were Consistent with a Priori Expectations based on Dansereau\u27s (1986) Model of Learning Task Performance. Subjective Graphing Was Found to Be Reliable in Terms of Both Internal and Test-Retest Analyses. Further, the Validity Analyses Indicated that Subjective Graphing is Sensitive to Both Performance and Situational Manipulations as Long as Students Are Given Ample Opportunity to Become Acquainted with the Measure. © 1989 Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation

Cognitive, Social/Affective, and Metacognitive Outcomes of Scripted Cooperative Learning

In the Present Study, We Explored the Effects of Manipulations of Cooperative Learning Scripts on the Cognitive, Social/affective, and Metacognitive Outcomes from Initial and Transfer Tasks. We Used Combinations of Free Recall Tests and Subjective Graphing Methods to Assess the Three Kinds of Outcomes. Ninety-Three Participants Completed the Two-Session Experiment. during the First Session, Participants Were Assigned to (A) Scripted Dyads (B) Unscripted Dyads, or (C) a Group of Individuals. Participants Studied the Initial Task in These Conditions. All Participants Were Assigned to New Partners for the Second Task and Worked Together as Unscripted Dyads. They Completed Subjective Graphs for Both Tasks. Dyads Recalled More Than Individuals. Participants Low in Public Self-Consciousness Recalled More Than Participants High in Public Self-Consciousness and Recalled the Information More Accurately. Scripted Dyads Were More Positive About their Second Partners Than Unscripted Dyads, and They Perceived the Situation as Less Anxiety-Provoking Than the Individuals. in Addition, the Scripted Dyads Were More Accurate in Rating their Performance. © 1987 American Psychological Association

Effects of Cooperative Script Manipulations on Initial Learning and Transfer

When Two People Study Cooperatively, their Expectations, Roles, and Prior Exposure to the Information to Be Discussed Can Potentially Affect Retention. in Addition, a Cooperative Experience Has the Potential to Facilitate Subsequent Individual Study. Four Cooperative Study Scripts Were Employed to Test their Effects on Initial Recall and on Transfer to an Individual Task. as Partners, Students Read and Studied Two Passages. in Group 1, Partners Each Read One Passage Only and Then Taught the Material to Each Other. They Did Not Expect to Be Able to Read their Partner\u27s Passage, Although They Were Later Given Time to Do So. Group 2 Was Identical to Group 1, Except that Partners in Group 2 Expected the Extra Reading Time. in Group 3, Partners Cooperated in Reading Both Passages by Alternating Summarizer and Listener Roles Four Times within Each Passage. in Group 4, Partners Played Summarizer and Listener Roles Only Once, at the End of Each Passage. All Participants Later Studied a Third Passage Individually (The Transfer Task). Recall Tests Revealed that Those using a Teaching Script (Groups 1 and 2) Outperformed Those using a Cooperative Learning Script (Groups 3 and 4) on the Initial Task But Not on the Transfer Task. Furthermore, Playing a Teacher Role Significantly Improved Recall. Frequency of Summarization and Expectancy Manipulations Were Not Found to Be Significant Factors. © 1988, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Dyadic Learning of Technical Material: Individual Differences, Social Interaction, and Recall

To Examine the Relationships among Individual Differences, Interaction, and Recall, Students Were Paired with Same-Sex Partners to Read and Study a Passage Describing a Piece of Technical Equipment. This Material Included Both Procedural Information ( How-To Statements) and Structural/functional Information (The Organization and Function of Parts of the Equipment). Both Partners Read the Material, Stopping Periodically to Summarize the Information to One Another. the Verbal Interactions of Each of the Pairs Were Audiotaped. Several Individual Difference Measures Were Administered as Well as Free- and Cued-Recall Tests over the Studied Material. Results Revealed that Verbal Ability and Field-Independence Were Positively Related to the Recall of Structural/functional Information Which Included Pictures of the Equipment. Also, Higher Scores on a Measure of Deep Processing (The Ability to Critically Evaluate and Compare and Contrast Information) Facilitated the Recall of Procedural Information. with Regard to Verbal Interaction, It Was Found that Those Verbal Utterances that Were Directly Related to the Content of the Passage Enhanced Recall of the Information Presented Visually. Several Interpretations and Implications of These Results Are Discussed. © 1990

The Role of Individual Differences in the Cooperative Learning of Technical Material

Individual Differences in the Recall of Procedural and Structural/functional Information Was Investigated in Situations in Which Students Studied in Dyads or Alone. Three Hundred Undergraduates Completed a Series of Nine Individual Difference Measures and Learned a Four-Step Study Strategy. They Then Studied Passages that Included Both Structural/functional and Procedural Material Either in a Dyad or Alone. They Completed a Free-Recall Test of the Material 2 Days Later. Induction Ability Was Found to Be Significantly Predictive of the Dyadic Recall of Structural/functional Material. Social Orientation Was Negatively Related to the Recall of Procedural Material for Those Who Studied Individually. Furthermore, Those Who Studied in Dyads Recalled Significantly More Than Did Those Who Studied Alone. Theoretical Implications and Practical Applications of the Results Are Discussed