Spring Arbor University

About: Spring Arbor University is a education organization based out in Spring Arbor, Michigan, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Activity coefficient & Higher education. The organization has 127 authors who have published 185 publications receiving 2051 citations. The organization is also known as: SAU & SAC.

Hybrid structures: Faculty use and perception of web-based courseware as a supplement to face-to-face instruction

Abstract: The researchers examined responses from 862 faculty members at 38 institutions nationwide using the blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) to supplement their face-to-face instruction. The four research questions addressed the primary uses that faculty make of blackboard, perceptions that faculty have of how certain blackboard features enhance or elevate (or might enhance or elevate) their assessment of student work and instructional capabilities, and how faculty use of blackboard might positively affect the psychosocial climate within the face-to-face classroom setting. Additional analysis sought to identify the factors that predict use and positive perception of blackboard as a supplement to face-to-face teaching activities. The results indicate that faculty primarily used blackboard as a course management/administration tool to make course documents available to students and manage course grades. Few faculty used blackboard for instructional or assessment purposes, and even fewer utilized blackboard to foster a more positive sense of community within their face-to-face classes. Faculty attitudes, on the whole, were positive when it came to the classroom management functions of blackboard, but neutral or otherwise undecided in terms of its instructional or psychosocial benefits. The main factor in determining blackboard usage—whether for course administration or instructional purposes—was experience with the tool. In addition, women had more positive attitudes than men did in terms of blackboard's potential to enhance classroom management and foster a positive relational climate. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed before concluding.

Interaction and Immediacy in Online Learning

Abstract: This article presents the concepts of interaction and immediacy and discusses their theoretical frameworks, implications, and relationship with one another. The authors propose the development of a new conceptual model and recommend additional antecedent research.

A preliminary evaluation of the cognitive and motor effects of pediatric HIV infection in Zairian children.

Abstract: Language and motor skill deficits have been noted for HIV-infected children when tested with Stanford-Binet. With the McCarthy Scales of Childrens Abilities quantitative verbal and memory ability deficits have also been documented with infected children and are particularly significant for those children with accompanying neurological impairment from the virus. Deficits of visual-spatial integrative ability and memory have also been identified with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. This paper reports results from a direct comparison of differences in cognitive and motor skills development between HIV-1-seropositive and HIV-1-seronegative children born to infected African mothers. Both subgroups were subsequently compared to a third group of HIV-negative children born to noninfected mothers in order to better assess some of the second-order effects of the epidemic upon the development of children who are not themselves infected but who bear the consequences of the disease in the form of illness of the primary caregiver and the hardship which that imposes upon the entire family. Such factors are most likely especially severe for nonaffluent families in developing countries. 14 asymptomatic HIV-infected Zairian children under 2 years old displayed social and motor developmental deficits on the Denver Developmental Screening Test when compared with 20 HIV-negative cohorts born to HIV-infected mothers and 16 control children. In the second study 11 infected children over 2 years old had sequential motor and visual-spatial memory deficits on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children and motor development deficits on the Early Childhood Screening Profiles. The authors conclude that HIV infection affects central nervous system structures mediating motor and spatial memory development even in seemingly asymptomatic children. Moreover maternal HIV infection compromises the labor-intensive provision of care in the African milieu and undermines global cognitive development in even uninfected children.

Improvements in Cognitive Performance for Schoolchildren in Zaire, Africa, Following an Iron Supplement and Treatment for Intestinal Parasites

Abstract: Tested 47 first-year primary school children at a mission school in rural Zaire for cognitive ability with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) adopted to the language of Kituba. Within a day of this test, each child was evaluated for blood hemoglobin (Hgb) level and the presence of intestinal parasites. Half of the children received an iron supplement (20 mg Fe) for 30 days and those children positive for the intestinal parasites of ankylostome or ascaris were randomly selected to receive either a vermifuge treatment or placebo. All of the children were again evaluated medically and cognitively 4 weeks after the initiation of treatment. Using discriminant analysis, performance on the Mental Processing Composite of the K-ABC 1 month after treatment in combination with increases in blood Hgb resulted in the successful classification of 74% in terms whether a child had received both iron supplement and vermifuge treatment (p = .007). With respect to our home evaluation for each child, factors related to the nutritional and economic well-being of the home environment proved a reliable marker for Simultaneous Processing ability. However, the present findings also suggest that over the short-term, changes in blood Hgb that accompany both vermifuge and iron supplement treatment together can improve certain aspects of cognitive ability, perhaps by means of heightened attentional capacity.

Teaching Beer’s Law and Absorption Spectrophotometry with a Smart Phone: A Substantially Simplified Protocol

Abstract: A very simple protocol for teaching Beer’s Law and absorption spectrophotometry using a smart phone is described. Materials commonly found in high school chemistry laboratories or even around the house may be used. Data collection and analysis is quick and easy. Despite the simple nature of the experiment, excellent results can be achieved.