Showing papers in "Educational Psychology Review in 2005"

Cognitive Load Theory and Complex Learning: Recent Developments and Future Directions

Abstract: Traditionally, Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has focused on instructional methods to decrease extraneous cognitive load so that available cognitive resources can be fully devoted to learning. This article strengthens the cognitive base of CLT by linking cognitive processes to the processes used by biological evolution. The article discusses recent developments in CLT related to the current view in instructional design that real-life tasks should be the driving force for complex learning. First, the complexity, or intrinsic cognitive load, of such tasks is often high so that new methods are needed to manage cognitive load. Second, complex learning is a lengthy process requiring learners’ motivational states and levels of expertise development to be taken into account. Third, this perspective requires more advanced methods to measure expertise and cognitive load so that instruction can be flexibly adapted to individual learners’ needs. Experimental studies are reviewed to illustrate these recent developments. Guidelines for future research are provided.

A Review of the Relationship Among Parenting Practices, Parenting Styles, and Adolescent School Achievement

Abstract: This article reviews the literature on the relationship among parenting practices, parenting styles, and adolescent school achievement. The review of the empirical research indicates that parental involvement and monitoring are robust predictors of adolescent achievement. Several studies, however, indicate that parental involvement declines in adolescence, prompting the call for future research on the reasons for and associated consequences of this decline. Furthermore, the review indicates that authoritative parenting styles are often associated with higher levels of student achievement, although these findings are not consistent across culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Darling and Steinberg’s contextual model of parenting provides a promising model to help resolve these discrepancies, however, further research is needed to examine the major linkages of the model. It is also argued that the contextual model should expand its notion of context towards the larger cultural and economic context in which families reside.

Examining the Relationship Between Parental Involvement and Student Motivation

Abstract: Parent involvement has a sound research base attesting to the many potential benefits it can offer in education. However, student motivation as an academic outcome of parental involvement has only recently been investigated. The purpose of this article is to show how parent involvement is related to students’ motivation. Studies of students from the elementary school to high school show a beneficial relationship between parental involvement and the following motivational constructs: school engagement, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, perceived competence, perceived control, self-regulation, mastery goal orientation, and motivation to read. From the synthesis of the parent involvement and motivation literature, we offer potential explanations for their relationship. Directions for areas of continued research are also presented.

A Review of the Research on Internet Addiction.

Abstract: Research indicates that maladaptive patterns of Internet use constitute behavioral addiction. This article explores the research on the social effects of Internet addiction. There are four major sections. The Introduction section overviews the field and introduces definitions, terminology, and assessments. The second section reviews research findings and focuses on several key factors related to Internet addiction, including Internet use and time, identifiable problems, gender differences, psychosocial variables, and computer attitudes. The third section considers the addictive potential of the Internet in terms of the Internet, its users, and the interaction of the two. The fourth section addresses current and projected treatments of Internet addiction, suggests future research agendas, and provides implications for educational psychologists.

The Promise and Practice of Learner-Generated Drawing: Literature Review and Synthesis

Abstract: This article explores learner-generated drawing, a strategy in which learners construct representative illustrations in support of learning goals. Both applied and empirical literature is reviewed with the purpose of stimulating research on this strategy. Clear from this review is the gap that exists between prescriptive readings on learner-generated drawing and research-based understandings.To make sense of inconsistent empirical evidence, the research review is organized around a series of hypotheses grounded in current understandings of cognitive and strategic processing.A theoretical framework for understanding the drawing strategy is proposed by extending R. E. Mayer's (1993) theoretical processes of selection, organization, and integration.The framework is intended to guide and organize future research efforts and, to that end, earlier proposed hypotheses are incorporated into the explanatory constructs of this theoretical perspective. The article concludes with a discussion of how strategy instruction might play a role in the effectiveness of the drawing strategy.

A Threefold Model of Intellectual Styles.

Abstract: The field of styles presents three major controversial issues: styles as value-laden versus value-free, styles as traits versus states, and styles as different constructs versus similar constructs with different labels. We address these issues by proposing an integrative model of styles—the Threefold Model of Intellectual Styles—which divides all styles into three basic kinds. The foundation of this model is Sternberg and Zhang’s body of empirical investigations into the thinking styles proposed in the theory of mental self-government. The model also draws upon others’ previous empirical findings in the literature. The model argues that most styles are value-laden rather than value-free; that they have both trait-like and state-like aspects, but for the most part are modifiable and hence more state-like; and that they overlap highly across theories.

Peer and Cross-Age Tutoring in Math: Outcomes and Their Design Implications

Abstract: This review of the literature on peer and cross-age tutoring emphasizes programs in mathematics and suggests that such programs have positive academic outcomes for African American and otherminority students as well as for White students who participate as tutors, as tutees, or both. Such programs also appear to have a positive impact on a variety of attitudinal and socioemotional outcomes, such as students' attitudes towards school, their self-concepts, and their sense of academic efficacy. This review also explores whether specific features of the tutoring programs (e.g., tutor training and amount of tutoring) or characteristics of the students (e.g., academic level prior to tutoring and gender composition of tutor-tutee pairs) affect various outcomes. Role theory is used as a theoretical framework to explain some intriguing and surprising findings (e.g., why tutors show academic gains even when they do not receive additional subject matter instruction, whylonger and/or more substantial tutoring programs may not foster greater immediate academic gains than shorter programs, and why mixed-sex pairs do not consistently reap benefits equal to those of same-sex pairs). Finally, implications of the review for the development of peer and cross-age tutoring programs are discussed.

WICS: A Model of Positive Educational Leadership Comprising Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity Synthesized.

Abstract: Who are the people who become positive educational leaders? This essay presents WICS as a model of positive educational leadership. WICS stands for wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized. Each of these elements is asserted to constitute one of the elements of educational leadership. Regrettably, our society is organized around a closed system of selection and talent development that emphasizes intelligence in a narrowly defined way that sometimes ignores its synthesis with creativity and wisdom.

An Interview with Richard Mayer

Abstract: Richard E. Mayer is professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he has served since 1975. He received a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Michigan, in 1973, and served as visiting assistant professor of psychology at Indiana Univer sity, from 1973 to 1975. He is past-president of the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association, former editor of Educational Psychologist and former co-editor of Instructional Science, for mer chair of the UCSB Department of Psychology, and the year 2000 re cipient of the E. L. Thorndike Award for career achievement in educa tional psychology. He was ranked #1 as the most productive researcher in the field of educational psychology for 1991-2001 (Contemporary Ed ucational Psychology, Vol. 28, pp. 422-430). Prof. Mayer is the author of 18 books and more than 250 articles and chapters, including The Promise of Educational Psychology: Vols. 1 and 2 (1999, 2002), Multimedia Learning, (2001), Learning and Instruction (2003), and E-Learning and the Science of Instruction (with R. Clark, 2003). He serves on the editorial boards of 11 journals mainly in educational psychology. For the past 35 years he has conducted research on how instructional methods affect learning, and in the past 15 years, his research has focused on multimedia learning. In this interview, he discusses his current research agenda concerning multimedia learning and responds to critical questions regarding web-based instruction and the nature of educational research.

From Research to Practice and Back: The Animation Tutor Project

Abstract: The Animation TutorTM is a curriculum project that uses software to supplement instruction in courses such as intermediate algebra. Its purpose is to ground mathematical reasoning in concrete experiences through the use of interactive animation and the virtual manipulation of objects. This article summarizes how the project has progressed from research to practice and back. The first section shows how research helped implement six instructional objectives: emphasize interactivity with reflection, integrate multiple representations, reduce cognitive load, facilitate transfer, replace ineffective static images with animated images, and provide domain-specific knowledge. The last section illustrates the reciprocal nature of research and practice by describing how formative evaluations of the Animation TutorTM program led to laboratory studies aimed at improving instructional materials and student strategies.

Women’s Involvement in Educational Psychology Journals from 1976 to 2004

Abstract: Previously, Robinson, McKay, Katayama, and Fan (1998) examined women’s involvement in six educational psychology journals (American Educational Research Journal, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, Educational Psychology Review, Journal of Experimental Education, and Journal of Educational Psychology) from 1976 to 1996 and found that although women made gains as authors and editorial board members, they remained underrepresented as editors. In this Reflections on the Field article, we compare the Robinson et al. data with our more recent data. We found that from 1996 to 2004, the percentage of women members in education and psychology organizations has risen. Meanwhile, the percentage of women authors has remained stable; the percentage of women editorial board members has risen slightly; and the percentage of women editors has risen dramatically. We also found that the percentage of women authors and editorial board members lags slightly behind what would be expected based on organizational membership percentages for women. On the other hand, there are now more female editors than would be expected.

An Interview with James M. Royer About Reading and Comprehension

Abstract: James M. Royer is a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts. His research has focused on the development, vali dation, and application of the Sentence Verification Technique (SVT) which measures reading and listening comprehension. Dr. Royer also investigates math learning difficulties and has developed a Computer based Academic Assessment System (CAAS) which is available at www.educationalhelp.com. Professor Royer's work is internationally rec ognized and applied. He has worked on projects in Grenada, Guatemala, Belize, Haiti, Burkina Faso, India and Nigeria. There, he assists educa tors with the development of educational tests. In this interview, he dis cusses his research and the domain of reading comprehension and its measurement.