Instructional Psychology

The media has recently exposed that grade inllation is a concern for higher education in North America. Grade inflation may be due to consumerism by universities that now compete for students. Keeping students happy (and paying) may have been emphasized more than learning. We review the literature on faculty evaluation and present a model that incorporates students" individual differences and grade inllation as sources of bias in teaching evaluations. To improve teaching effectiveness, and avoid consumerism in higher education, faeulty evaluations must begin to tocus on students and the reciprocal role ot grade inllation in teaching evaluation.

The main purpose of this study is to explore the predictors of programming achieve-ment. With this aim in mind, the students' success in the programming courses is specified as the dependent variable and creativity, problem solving, general aptitudes, computer attitudes and ...

"A successful instructional use of simulations at school and in training courses
requires a careful consideration of the cognitive mechanisms of learning.
The most interesting educational simulations are not so much those which
want to be a copy of reality, but those which favour in the student a process
of internalization of the simulated model and a process of externalization
and comparison of one’s mental models. Model-based education represents
a new and promising paradigm in the designing and the didactic use of
simulations."

Education has been the platform of many individuals in and out of politics. Often, the topic is focused on school test scores, student achievement, and the demand for highly qualified teachers in the classroom. The No Child Left Behind legislation mandates school systems to adhere to a curriculum that promotes academic growth. Therefore, teachers must incorporate strategies that will lead to increased academic performance. This applied quantitative study makes a comparison between two distinct instructional methods: Multiple Intelligence (MI) and Direct Instruction (DI). The current research examines how these methods affect the achievement scores in Mathematics. The results suggest that performance on a post mathematics assessment for students exposed to MI will show considerable increase when compared to those taught using DI. ********** Currently a new definition applied to the word learning is one that recognizes the components of cognition, philosophical, and multicultural rese...

An action research was carried out during the fall 2003 term. Nineteen students in an Applied Research in Education course at Fayetteville State University, North Carolina were participants in the study to determine the impact of using peers in the evaluation of a partial research paper. The answers to three questions were sought: 1) To what extent is peer feedback meaningful and effective: 2) What lessons (if any) do the peer-evaluators learn from the activity: and 3) To what extent does the peer evaluation process result in better research papers for student researchers and peer evaluators? Results showed that all of the student researchers agreed that the feedback was helpful, constructive, clear and understandable. Further, results indicated that the student researchers realized that they need to include more substantial information in the review of the literature section and that the activity was helpful in the final paper revision process. Overall, the quality of the papers fr...

Play has been traditionally recognized as an activity within early childhood education, but in actuality, it has substantial importance to learners at all levels. Since the idea of play is abstract and has no pre-determined outcomes, some teachers feel uneasy about allowing students to play with concepts and materials, especially with the advent of increased accountability and scripted curriculums. However, discovery learning is one of the single greatest ways in which students develop critical thinking skills to solve academic problems ...

... Di Vesta, FJ and Ross, SM (1971) Imagery ability, abstractness, and word order as variables in recall of ... Kosslyn, SM (1980) Image and mind Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ... Kulhavy, RW and Swenson, I. (1975) Imagery instructional and the comprehension of text. ...

Inappropriate behaviors of elementary and middle school students are many times extremely difficult to change. These behaviors tend to be supported by reinforcement within the environment. When manifested in the classroom, these undesirable actions become the focus of negativity which translates into disciplinary problems and ultimately discipline referrals by the teacher. This longitudinal study will investigate the potential impact of a program designed to reduce the discipline referral rate of students displaying negative behaviors in the classroom. The influx of disruptive behaviors is causing quite a stir throughout classrooms in America. Research indicates that many of these problems are related to increases in emotional and behavioral issues among students (Stanley, Canham, & Cureton, 2006). The consequences of these emotional and behavioral issues often result in many students being reprimanded, in an attempt to discourage the unwanted behavior, to protect peers, and to inform parents of their children's conduct. Unfortunately, these consequences do not address the underlying factors that cause these students to behave in a negative manner which translates to school systems experiencing a pattern of repetitive discipline referrals and suspensions among the same groups of students. This type of behavior becomes an impediment to the learning process for the behaviorally challenged students and their counterparts, as well (Warren, Bohanon-Edmonson, Tumbull, Sailor, Wickham, Grigg, & Beech, 2006). Positive Behavior Support (PBS) With a growing emphasis on improving the nation's schools and eliminating school discipline problems, Utley, Kozleski, Smith, and Draper (2002) note the relationship between and among those variables. Edward Carr and Robert Homer (2007) discovered the primary concern of discipline as problem contexts, not problem behavior or problem people. Cheryl Utley et al., (2002) communicated the notion that, "Researchers and practitioners must examine issues related to classroom discipline, cultural diversity, and culturally responsive teaching to develop successful approaches for teaching prosocial skills and reducing antisocial behavior" (p. 197). Research indicates that peer relations may be an underlying factor of students' negative behaviors. In a recent qualitative research study involving a variety of problem situations commonly faced among African-American urban youth (Farrell, Erwin, Bettencourt, Mays, Vulin-Reynolds, Sullivan, Allison, Kliewer, & Meyer, 2008), the theoretical framework of developing positive social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral skills was employed to address aggressive emotional behavior. Within this framework, the researchers emphasized appropriate social interaction by interviewing and transcribing students' perceptions of situation-response sets dealing with peer relationships. This intervention was infused with the school's Positive Behavior Support (PBS) system (Farrell et al., 2008). It is well documented about the use of school-wide PBS systems as a possible solution for addressing problem behavior, increasing academic achievement, and reducing discipline referral rates (Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, & Feinberg, 2005). School-wide PBS, as defined by Warren et al. (2006), is a prevention-oriented approach to student discipline characterized by its focus on defining and teaching behavioral expectations, rewarding appropriate behaviors, continual evaluation of its effectiveness, and the integration of supports for individuals, groups, the school as a whole, and school, family community partnerships. PBS interventions are based on the premise of applied behavior analysis and should be proactive. Preventative measures that diminish problem situations before they escalate while concurrently teaching students how to make better choices during these situations (Safran & Oswald, 2003, as cited in Carr et al., 1999). Kincaid, Childs, Blase, and Wallace (2007) reiterate, The process of school wide positive behavior support includes the application of evidence-based strategies and systems to help schools increase academic performance, increase safety, decrease problem behavior, and establish positive school cultures. …

A case study was conducted on the development of the LISTEN intervention strategy for use with autistic students to improve inappropriate social behaviors. The study was conducted in a special education classroom in an autism school in Kuwait. Examination of LISTEN Intervention Strategy applications included: duration of targeted behavior; methods used to teach the strategy; classroom activities used to teach the appropriate behavior; rewards provided to the participant; data collection and analysis; results; and final recommendations to the Kuwait Ministry of Education (KMOE) regarding future research. Study results revealed that implementation of the LISTEN strategy modified the targeted inappropriate social behavior of the participating autistic student. Observational data showed that repeated modeling by the teacher was required during the first two steps of the LISTEN strategy before understanding of the strategy by the student could be verified. Additionally, when the teacher ...

This study represents a collaborative school university partnership. Using a mixed-method approach, the authors report on the motivational and psychological consequences of students choosing their groupmates in cooperative learning triads. 139 students in five science classes participated in this study. Classes were randomly assigned to condition: Teacher-selected or student-selected. In teacher-selected classes, the teacher chose the members of each group; in student-selected classes, the students chose their groupmates. Results revealed a decrease in willingness to choose one's groupmates. Focus group data indicated that students felt obligated to choose friends as groupmates, and low-achieving students questioned the value of working with similar others. Teachers should be aware that when permitting students to choose their groupmates that friendships and status hierarchies exert strong influences on choice of partner.

Based on Bandura's (1977) social learning theory, the purpose of this study is to identify the relationship of preservice teachers' perceptions of faculty modeling of computer-based technology and preservice teachers' intent of using computer-based technology in educational settings. There were ...

The research discussed in this manuscript was supported by a capacity building grant funded by the Department of Education as a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology Grant (PT3). The problem was to determine which instruction provided by teacher candidates provided the greatest learning and attitudinal gains for elementary school students. Pairs of teacher candidates were divided into three groups to provide instruction in one of three ways, (1) multimedia (HyperStudio), (2) Internet, and (3) control which didn't use technology to instruct elementary school students. Pre- and posttests designed to measure the learning and attitudinal gains were administered to all participating elementary school students. The instruction provided was focused on levers for one session and simple machines for the second session. A statistical analysis was made of the pre and posttests. Findings revealed significant differences between groups. ********** In the fall of 1980, five fift...

A case study was conducted on the development of the LISTEN intervention strategy for use with autistic students to improve inappropriate social behaviors. The study was conducted in a special education classroom in an autism school in Kuwait. Examination of LISTEN Intervention Strategy applications included: duration of targeted behavior; methods used to teach the strategy; classroom activities used to teach the appropriate behavior; rewards provided to the participant; data collection and analysis; results; and final recommendations to the Kuwait Ministry of Education (KMOE) regarding future research. Study results revealed that implementation of the LISTEN strategy modified the targeted inappropriate social behavior of the participating autistic student. Observational data showed that repeated modeling by the teacher was required during the first two steps of the LISTEN strategy before understanding of the strategy by the student could be verified. Additionally, when the teacher ...

Differential Item Functioning (DIF) is a widely used term in test development literature. It is very important to analyze test's data for DIF because It is a serious threat to validity. If the same data matrix was transposed, similar analysis can be carried for Differential Person Functioning (DPF). The purpose of this paper is to introduce and encourage the use of DPF analysis in tests of emotional or cognitive intelligence as a diagnostic approach through two examples illustrating the presence of DPF. ********** Tests and testing play a major role in today's society. Therefore, it is extremely important that test developers and users strive to insure the validity of their tests and instruments for the target population and purposes for which they were designed for. Therefore, many writers, investigators, and researchers have addressed the notion of test\ or item bias. Many definitions of item bias have been offered. Runder (1978) suggested that a biased item is one that "behaves differently for members of two different culture groups" (p.33). Angoff (1993) explains that "statistically biased" means a tendency for an estimate to deviate in one direction or another from a true value. It means that, whenever systematically inaccurate estimation occurs, bias is there. However, he believes that "there should be an educational and psychological rational for deciding that a statistically biased item is indeed biased" (p. 114). O'Neal (1991) argues that empirical and statistical indices of bias do not necessarily indicate bias as equivalent to unfairness. Unfair advantages of an item could arise in subpopulation (e.g., males & females) when compared to another subpopulation. This unfair advantage will exist if within the subpopulations both have equal standing on the construct\ or trait being measured. This means that irrelevant sources of variation are not distributed similarly for both subpopulations (Cromwell, 2002). In other words, even when an item shows a significant statistical bias, it might be still judged as a fair item depending on the purpose of the test unless a criterion of overall measure is used to control for the compared subpopulations (Angoff, 1993). To come over this argument, the term Differential item functioning (DIF) was introduced to mean that an item is functioning differentially (i.e., presents a real and clear bias) if showed different statistical properties in different group settings provided that similar ability levels were controlled while comparing all groups. In DIF analysis, a data matrix resulting usually from different assessment situations consists of many persons or cases (i. e., the column variable) responding to many test items (i.e., the raw variable). For a particular person, his score on each item is assumed to reflect his\her standing point on the scale of the trait measured by that item. In other words, persons' abilities are being rated by items. But, is it possible to draw the same logic for the opposite case if the same typical data matrix was transposed? Can we think of items being rated (agreed upon\ or persons' proportion correct) by persons. In short, an item shows DIF when it functions differentially between matched subgroups of persons. An item in a mathematical test, for example, functions differentially for two classes a & b if the item is easier for one class than the other when comparing between subgroups of the same ability level (i.e., total test score) from both classes. Such item functioning behavior is referred to as DIF. Similarly, a person may function differently on two groups of items after controlling for an overall measure. Such person functioning behavior is referred to as differential person functioning or DPF (Johanson & Alsmadi 2000; Alsmadi, 1998). In their study on DPF in Attitude assessment, Johanson & Osborn (2000) presented an example of DPF with positively and negatively phrased item format. …

Based on Bandura's (1977) social learning theory, the purpose of this study is to identify the relationship of preservice teachers' perceptions of faculty modeling of computer-based technology and preservice teachers' intent of using computer-based technology in educational settings. There were ...

The first clinical training experience or practicum for graduate students in a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT program is one of the most important aspects of the entire training program. After a year-long journey through textbook and classroom knowledge, students have the opportunity to finally apply their skills to real life environments with real counseling clients. A blueprint for setting up an on-site clinical training course is provided along with the rationale for providing initial clinical training in the academic program. *********** The practicum experience in a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) training program offers graduate students pursuing their master's degree in counseling or psychology their first training experiences as clinicians. The practicum initiates a sequence of supervised applied training activities, progressing to the post-master's degree internship and culminating in licensure for independent practice. Surprisingly, little attention has been pa...

In this study, the purpose was to examine Kuwaiti special education teachers' attitudes toward autistic students in the Autism School in Kuwait. This research study is divided into two parts: Introduction (the problem statement, the purpose statement, the research questions, definition of terms), and Procedures (using a case study in research, the role of the researcher, data collection procedures, methods for verification, outcome of the study and relation to theory and the literature). The researcher analyzed data from interviews of two special education teachers who work in the Autism School in Kuwait. ********** The Autism School was established in 1999 in the State of Kuwait (Kuwait) for children with autism. This school provides the appropriate educational programs for autistic children who depend on individualized learning settings and goals. Teachers try to give children the skills needed so that they can survive in society once they leave the school (KMOE, 2001). Curren...

The availability of Internet connections in K-12 classrooms is increasing, yet the use of such resources continues to be low. One explanation may be teachers' attitudes toward the use of web resources due to lack of opportunities for teacher to collaborate on integrating web resources into classroom practices. The hypothesis tested in this research was that teachers who discussed how to use web resources during computer-mediated communications would have higher attitudes toward the use of web resources in their classrooms than teachers who did not. The results of this research, as described in an adoption of innovations framework, demonstrated that teachers who participated in discussions had significantly higher attitude scores toward the use of web resources thus were more likely to adopt such innovations. Powerful new technologies exist that can enhance instruction and learning, yet these new world wide web technologies are not being widely used by K- 12 public school teacher...

In this paper we explore the relationship between language acquisition, and the construction of a symbolic world. According to Bowers (1989) language is a collection of patterns regulating social life. This conception is close to that of Symbolic Interactionists (Charon, 1989) who see society as made up of interacting individuals who are symbol users. According to Shapiro (1977), learning different languages and cultures influences cognitive processes by exposing individuals to different values, beliefs and demands. How does this affect literacy in the schooling of immigrant children? There are two basic responses to this question. One response is that of Ferdman (1990) who sees the educational system as an equalizer that should help children in integration and adaptation to the major culture. Another response is the retentionalist position which aims to preserve the language and the culture of newcomers. Although, full participation in life is only possible with the acquisition of the language of the majority in which children live, it is very important to provide the possibility of learning the heritage language. This would help children to harmonize their symbolic world built out of internal and external symbols. In this paper we discuss the relationship between language acquisition and the process of thinking within the symbolic worldview of bilingual children. Language as a symbolic medium influences the child's thought and S. Deri (1984), H. Gardner (1978), W.H.O. Schmidt (1973) and Nowak-Fabrykowski (1992). In our own work, we have paid attention to the processes of symbolization and schooling. In research we found that children are exposed to an entire spectrum of symbols (Nowak-Fabrykowski, 1991). Some are introduced by language, others by the school and the country in which children are educated. Language employs a special kind of symbolism which encompasses all social objects and actions, and which ultimately constructs the individual's cultural identity and perspective. Research has shown the importance of analyzing the culture of a child in order to understand what material he/she uses in his/ her thought process. Culture as the dominant factor influences his/her knowledge by importing values, norms and beliefs. The process of second language education and socialization starts with the first words and concepts learned by the child and with the first experience brought by living in the new country and learning the new language. Many authors stress that the process of teaching children is conditioned by the culture of the society. In order to understand a child and his/her learning we have to analyze the context and influence of culture on the child's process of thinking, since the culture stimulates the behavior of children and influences their learning by exposing them to different values, norms and demands. Celebration of traditional holidays and events help the child to integrate and understand cultural symbols prevalent in their society. By learning the language and meaning of expressions, the child associates and assimilates different values and norms prevalent in the "new" society. Culture and Thought Process In considering a definition of "culture", different approaches can be taken. In Spradley's (1979) definition a culture is considered as a system of meaningful symbols. According to Spradley (1979), children in every society discover the meaning of symbols with great ease, and this process accelerates especially with learning the language. Each child is born into a society where he/she learns to recognize the patterns of behavior and the way of life called culture. This culture is a shared perspective among individuals, who are socialized through the integration of different symbols and through interaction inside the society (Charon, 1989). The process of teaching children is conditioned by the culture of a given society. For example the research of Whiting and Child (1953) has examined the different approaches for training of walking and sleeping in Africa and in America. …

Relationship of Program to Volume 1, Department-wide Objectives: This initiative supports Objectives 1.4 (a talented and dedicated teacher is in every classroom in America) and Objective 1.7 (schools use advanced technology for all students and teachers to improve education) by providing co mpetit ve grants to consortia that implement improvements in teacher preparation programs. FY 2000—$75,000,000 FY 2001—$150,000,000 (Requested budget)

A case study was conducted on the development of the LISTEN intervention strategy for use with autistic students to improve inappropriate social behaviors. The study was conducted in a special education classroom in an autism school in Kuwait. Examination of LISTEN Intervention Strategy applications included: duration of targeted behavior; methods used to teach the strategy; classroom activities used to teach the appropriate behavior; rewards provided to the participant; data collection and analysis; results; and final recommendations to the Kuwait Ministry of Education (KMOE) regarding future research. Study results revealed that implementation of the LISTEN strategy modified the targeted inappropriate social behavior of the participating autistic student. Observational data showed that repeated modeling by the teacher was required during the first two steps of the LISTEN strategy before understanding of the strategy by the student could be verified. Additionally, when the teacher ...

Previous research indicates that students' learning styles, as assessed by the Inventory of Learning Processes (ILP; Schmeck, Ribich, & Ramanaiah, 1977), change during college. Additionally, prior research indicates that teaching students about their learning styles enables them to change those learning styles. The current study investigated the effect of teaching students about effective learning processes in general to determine if this would alter their learning processes. Twenty-six Cognitive Psychology students completed the ILP 1 week before and 1 week following instruction on the topic of effective learning processes. The students' scores on the Deep Processing and Elaborative Processing subscales significantly increased from before instruction to alter instruction, which is substantial given the significant relations between scores on these subscales and academic achievement. ********** Schmeck, Ribich, and Ramanaiah (1977) developed the Inventory of Learning Processes (ILP) to assess the manners in which students process information. The ILP measures students' learning style by examining the behaviors they employ to process the material, such as critically evaluating it, rewording class information and connecting it to their lives, focusing on facts and details, or using commonly prescribed study methods. The ILP focuses on how students process information in academic settings via such cognitive concepts as organization, elaborative processing, and depth- of-processing, in addition to encoding, storage, and retrieval strategies. The ILP is divided into four subscales: Deep Processing, Elaborative Processing, Fact Retention, and Methodical Study. The Deep Processing subscale assesses the extent to which students focus on higher-level concepts and critical evaluation of the information. The Elaborative Processing subscale measures a student's inclination to personally encode the information, through such methods as self-involvement. The Fact Retention subscale examines a student's proclivity to memorize facts and details. Finally, the Methodical Study subscale assesses how often a student studies and the student's usage of techniques in "how-to" study guides (i.e., those techniques frequently believed to lead to earning high grades) (cf., Schmeck et al., 1977). The subscales of the ILP have been shown to relate to academic achievement, such as correlations with GPA, correlations with course grades, correlations with entrance examination scores, differences between students successful in a course and those not, differences between those students with higher GPAs and those with lower GPAs, and differences between honors students and non-honors students (Albaili, 1993, 1994; Battling, 1988; Carnicom & Clump, 2005; Gadzella, 1995; Gadzella & Baloglu, 2003; Gadzella, Ginther, & Bryant, 1997; Gadzella, Ginther, & Williamson, 1986; Gadzella, Ginther, & Williamson, 1987; Gadzella, Stephens, & Baloglu, 2002; Kozminksy & Kaufman, 1992; Lockhart & Schmeck, 1983, Miller, Alway, & McKinley, 1987; Miller, Finley, & McKinley, 1990; Schmeck & Grove, 1979; Watkins, Hattie, & Astilla, 1983; Westman, 1993). Two very important studies investigated changes in students' scores on the ILP during their progression through college. Bartling (1988) used a longitudinal design to examine the changes in students' learning styles as measured by the ILP. Bartling found that students in general significantly increased their utilization of Deep Processing and significantly decreased their application of Methodical Study as they progressed through college. Jakoubek and Swenson (1993) used a full cross-sectional design to compare the learning styles of college students. They found significantly different scores between the student cohorts on the Deep Processing, Methodical Study, and Elaborative Processing subscales. In a similar line, but not using the ILP, Busato, Prins, Elshout, and Hamaker (1998) found longitudinal changes in learning styles for students with a significant increase on the meaning directed learning style. …

This paper reports on the theory, design, and calibration of an instrument for measuring gender difference in motivation for learning technology. The content of the instrument was developed based upon the motivational theories of Eccles and others. More specifically, the learners' self-concept of ability, perception of technology, perception of parental beliefs, causal attributions (success and failure), value factors, and gender issues in using technology were investigated. The function of the instrument was evaluated according to the principles of Measurement theory, using a Rasch rating scale measurement model. ********** The Global society is increasingly technological. Consequently, keeping pace with other industrialized nations requires educators to ensure that students who are future entrants into the workforce have the necessary knowledge and skill in learning and using technology (Gore, 1999). Unfortunately, the number of American students pursuing degrees in the scienc...

The research discussed in this manuscript was supported by a capacity building grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education as a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to use Technology Grant (PT3). The problem was to determine the effect on teacher candidates of a field experience in which candidates used technology to support the teaching of a science topic to elementary children. Pairs of teacher candidates were divided into three groups to provide science instruction in one of three ways: (1) instructing with the support of multi-media (HyperStudio(tm)), (2) instructing with the support of the Internet, and (3) instructing without technology support (control group). Pre- and post surveys designed to measure attitudinal gains were administered to all participating teacher candidates. Findings revealed significant advantages associated with the inclusion of technology upon the attitudes of teacher candidates. Implications for maximizing the impact of technology in instruction are d...

A sample of 263 junior and senior undergraduates (101 males, 162 females) participated in a study to determine relationships between their agreement/disagreement about a university-wide writing competency graduation requirement and (1) level of writing capability as measured by the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test, (2) attitudes toward writing in college classes, (3) challenges encountered in writing, and (4) self-regulatory strategies to resolve writing challenges. Students with "high" THEA writing scores approved of the writing graduation requirement, desired more writing in college classes, and sought help in resolving writing dilemmas. Students with "low and average" THEA writing scores disagreed with the graduation policy, desired less writing in classes, and used negative practices to resolve writing challenges. Survey instrument and suggestions for practitioners are included. ********** Personnel in post-secondary institutions have a vested in...

The availability of Internet connections in K-12 classrooms is increasing, yet the use of such resources continues to be low. One explanation may be teachers' attitudes toward the use of web resources due to lack of opportunities for teacher to collaborate on integrating web resources into classroom practices. The hypothesis tested in this research was that teachers who discussed how