Toward Practical Procedures for Predicting and Promoting Success in Virtual School Students     

M. D. Roblyer  Lloyd Davis  Steven C. Mills  Jon Marshall  Liz Pape 《The American journal of distance education》2013,27(2):90-109

Abstract

Two lines of research have emerged to study the causes and prevention of student failure in virtual (K–12) schools: studies of learner characteristics and studies of learning environment characteristics. To develop a useful model for predicting failure and promoting success in virtual school environments, a study was designed to measure the relation between a combination of student and environmental factors derived from previous research and successful course completion during one semester at a large (N =?4,100) virtual school. Study findings yielded a model that can discriminate between successful and unsuccessful online school students and is especially effective at identifying those likely to succeed.  相似文献   

On the Search for Regularities in Studies of School Effectiveness and Improvement: Some Comments on Peter Tymms’ Comments     

John Gray  Harvey Goldstein  David Jesson  Keith Hedger  Jon Rasbash 《School Effectiveness & School Improvement》2013,24(2):118-122

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Metaphorical understandings and scientific ideas     

Jon Ogborn  Isabel Martins 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(6):631-652

This study looks at the ideas which children have of the particulate model of matter, at the time they start formal science in school. Pupils aged about eleven in three European countries‐‐Greece, Portugal and the UK‐‐were studied using word association tests. In the UK and Portugal the children had received no teaching of the particulate model; in Greece the pupils had received one year of introductory science, containing some teaching of the particulate model. Key words associated with the particulate model were investigated as free associations. In Portugal and the UK there was little or no evidence of particulate ideas in the pupils’ responses. In the Greek data particulate ideas were more in evidence. There were other clear differences in the data from the three countries. Educational and research implications of the findings are discussed.  相似文献   

A causal framework for analysing alternative conceptions     

Rufina Gutierrez  Jon Ogborn 《International Journal of Science Education》2013,35(2):201-220

A model for the analysis of subjects’ causal reasoning is proposed, drawing on de Kleer and Brown's ‘mechanistic mental models’. The purpose of the model is to provide a framework for understanding the possible causal structure of children's and adults’ spontaneous reasoning about the physical world. The model is used to analyse data on students’ understanding of aspects of forces and motion; to reanalyse a protocol of Driver's; and to compare and criticize the models of Andersson and of Rozier. We show how the model can provide a language for describing common‐sense causal thinking.  相似文献   

Causal Modeling and Research on Teacher Education     

Jon J. Denton  M. Patrick Mabry JR. 《Journal of Experimental Education》2013,81(4):207-213

Causal modeling was applied to data collected in a naturalistic setting in an attempt to validate a conceputal model of teaching. These data, collected on 44 student teachers, included supervisory ratings of the variables: specifying performance objectives, diagnosing learners, selecting instructional strategies, and interacting with learners. Additionally, the mean number of objectives achieved by the classes of each of the student teachers was used as a measure of the fifth variable in the model, evaluating the effectiveness of instruction. A recursive causal model which described the relationship of these variables was developed and analyzed, using four linear equations. Examination of the path coefficients from these equations revealed that the variables, specification of performance objectives, and diagnosing learners account for over one-half the variance in selecting instructional strategies. Other results indicated there were low to moderate amounts of variance shared by the variables in the model. This study illustrates the application of causal modeling techniques in testing theoretical models in education using data collected in naturalistic, nonexperimental settings.  相似文献   

Rhetorical imperialism and Sun‐Tzu's art of war: A response to combs’ rhetoric of parsimony     

Shaun Treat  Jon Croghan 《Quarterly Journal of Speech》2013,99(4):429-435

This essay discusses how Wesker conveys his central intuition about the limitations of language by employing verbal and visual games and rituals that function as narrative, analogue, symbol, and subtext in The Trilogy. These games take the form of playfulness to indicate emotional solidarity, of everyday rituals with archetypal or religious undertones, or of games about the acquisition of language itself.  相似文献   

A test of anxiety/uncertainty management theory: The intercultural adaptation context     

Mitchell R. Hammer  Richard L. Wiseman  J. Lewis Rasmussen  Jon C. Bruschke 《Communication quarterly》2013,61(3):309-326

Anxiety/Uncertainty Management theory, as formulated by Gudykunst and Hammer (1987a), proposes that intercultural adaptation outcomes are based on the two mediating dimensions of uncertainty reduction and anxiety reduction and sixteen secondary variables that systematically influence uncertainty and anxiety reduction. In this paper, the sixteen variables originally identified are categorized into four “fundamental factors”; (interpersonal saliencies, intergroup saliencies, communication message exchange, and host contact conditions). The present study examines this revised Anxiety/Uncertainty Management (AUM) theory of intercultural adaptation. A total of 291 international students at two universities in the United States participated in the study. The study found overall fit of the revised AUM theory vis‐a‐vis the two mediating factors of uncertainty and anxiety reduction, the importance of interpersonal saliencies for uncertainty reduction, and the importance of host contact conditions for facilitating feelings of comfort and reducing anxiety. Intergroup saliencies were significantly related to uncertainty reduction but not, contrary to expectation, to anxiety reduction. Communication message exchange (which consists of information gathering strategies and second language proficiency) was, again contrary to expectation, not significantly related to either uncertainty or anxiety reduction. Finally, cultural identity showed a small though significant negative relationship to intergroup saliencies, suggesting a stronger, ingroup identity was associated with increased uncertainty. The paper concludes by proffering explanations for the findings and suggestions for future research.  相似文献   

When prophecy fails     

Jon Baggaley 《Distance Education》2013,34(1):119-128

Inaccurate predictions about educational technology are discussed, and the tendency for them to go unchallenged. Their global generalizability is questionable when the expertise underlying them is restricted to local contexts or is unknown. The limitations of futuristic studies need to be stressed to prevent their conclusions from being applied out of context. Problems arise when studies inaccurately claiming to represent developing-world needs and conditions are used for educational planning in those nations. The article analyzes the predictions made by the annual Horizon Reports and the One Laptop Per Child project. It suggests that these projects are currently responding to criticism in a manner similar to that described in the classic study When Prophecy Fails.  相似文献   

Changing Social Behavior and Cognitive Skills     

Dr. Jon J. Denton 《Clearing house (Menasha, Wis.)》2013,86(4):184-188

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What does bullying really mean?     

Jon Swain 《Educational research; a review for teachers and all concerned with progress in education》2013,55(3):358-364

The first part of this short report looks at the problems of using the term ‘bullying’ across different cultures; and the difficulties in arriving at a definitive definition of what constitutes bullying among professional researchers and other adults. The second part looks at young children's perception of what bullying means to them, and draws on a small‐scale piece of recent research that formed part of an MA dissertation on the incidence of bullying in a junior school in Essex. The results suggested that pupils (and teachers) found the term ‘bullying’ rather ambiguous and difficult to define. Younger pupils were found to have a more extensive definition of the term, and a hypothesis was proposed that this might account for the higher levels of being bullied found in the lower school.  相似文献