Showing papers in "Review of Educational Research in 1977"

Field-Dependent and Field-Independent Cognitive Styles and Their Educational Implications

Abstract: s International, 1969, 29, 4868B-4869B. (University Microfilms No.

Research on Curriculum and Instruction Implementation

Abstract: "No matter what sort of bill you have, everything depends upon the men, who, so to speak, are inside of it, and who are to make it work. In the hands of the right men, any bill would produce the desired results...." Or so Charles Francis Adams, Jr., director of the Union Pacific Railway, reasoned in a letter dated 1 March 1884, counseling a member of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Commerce against opposing some pending regulatory railroad legislation (quoted in Kolko, 1965, p. 37). That is, Adams argued, how social policy is actually used in practice depends upon the daily activities of those organizational members in charge of applying or implementing it. If they respond to influences other than the intentions of the law's advocates, then even the most carefully worded and strongly supported legislation is unlikely to be implemented as planned.

Feedback in Written Instruction

Abstract: When students respond to an instructional communication, telling them whether or not their answer is correct increases the amount of material remembered on a later test (Anderson, Kulhavy, & Andre, 1971; Gilman, 1969; Meyer, 1960). Unfortunately, the mechanisms responsible for such facilitation are frequently misunderstood, and one can find numerous examples in both research and instructional development where feedback is used inappropriately, neutralizing any positive effects it might have on student performance. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an integration of the work done on feedback processes, especially as these results apply to written lessons and the design of instructional materials. Finally, this discussion makes no attempt to cover the more task specific literature dealing with motor learning, simple concept acquisition, or paired-associates, since excellent reviews already exist in these areas (Adams, 1968; Ammons, 1956; Bilodeau, 1966; Bourne, 1966; Renner, 1964).

The Determination of the Significance of Change Between Pre- and Posttesting Periods

Abstract: In this paper we review some of the major issues that arise in the measurement of change and, where possible, alternative approaches are discussed. The measurement of individual differences is considered first. This is followed by a discussion of some of the concerns involved in inferring treatment effects from group differences. We then conclude with a section on accountability systems based on student achievement.

The Use of Ethnographic Techniques in Educational Research

Abstract: T h e r e is a g r o w i n g i n t e r e s t in t h e u s e of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l t e c h n i q u e s in e d u c a t i o n a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h . T h e b a c k g r o u n d s of m a n y r e s e a r c h e r s , h o w e v e r , c o n t a i n l i t t l e t r a i n i n g in or e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h i s k i n d of r e s e a r c h , a l so ca l l ed q u a l i t a t i v e , p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l , o r e t h n o g r a p h i c . B e c a u s e e t h n o g r a p h i c m e t h o d o l o g y d i f f e r s s i g n i f i c a n t l y f r o m t h e r e s e a r c h a p p r o a c h e s m o r e c o m m o n l y u s e d in e d u c a t i o n a n d p s y c h o l o g y , i t is i m p o r t a n t to c l a r i f y i t s r a t i o n a l e a n d i t s d a t a c o l l e c t i o n p r o c e s s e s . I t is e s s e n t i a l to u n d e r s t a n d t h e w a y s in w h i c h e t h n o g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h e s d i f f e r f r o m o t h e r a p p r o a c h e s b e c a u s e t h e y r e p r e s e n t f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t c l a i m s a b o u t t h e n a t u r e of h u m a n b e h a v i o r a n d t h e b e s t w a y s of c o m i n g to u n d e r s t a n d it . We p r o p o s e , t h e r e fo re , to r e v i e w t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h i s k i n d of r e s e a r c h a n d t h e t e c h n i q u e s m o r e f a m i l i a r t o m o s t r e s e a r c h e r s b y e x p l a i n i n g t h e r a t i o n a l e b e h i n d i t s u s e a n d b y d i s c u s s i n g s o m e o f t h e p roc -

Constructivist Approaches in Educational Research

Abstract: This review briefly examines what will be called a "constructivist" theme in the history and philosophy of the social and behavioral sciences, outlines a rationale for such studies in education today, and evaluates some applications. It is probable that such views will rapidly gain credibility in the decade ahead for educational researchers, much as cognitive views gained acceptance in the parent disciplines of psychology and sociology within the last two decades. The development of the fields of cognitive psychology and sociology is not clearly understood by most educational researchers, but represents the adoption of somewhat nontraditional values regarding what the important phenomena are in the social and behavioral sciences. These values need to be briefly described and examined at the outset, but will also be reconsidered in more detail from time to time in the discussion. The constructivist perspective holds as a chief assumption about much complex behavior that the "subjects" being studied

Imagery and Children’s Learning: Putting the Picture in Developmental Perspective

Abstract: The focus of this paradigmatic review of the effects of imagery on children's learning is the specification of conditions under which imagery increases children's learning of verbal materials. In particular, this paper examines the recurrent speculation tha t imagery is more effective at some developmental levels than at others. The paradigmatic nature of the children's learning l i terature dictates Ihe paradigmatic organization of this article. Pairedassociate learning is discussed first and most extensively be­ cause the bulk of experimental work on imagery and children's l ea rn ing has been conducted wi th in a pa i red-associa te framework. The remainder of the paper reviews other popular paradigms used to investigate imagery effects. The discussion proceeds from simple tasks (recognition and recall) to more difficult tasks (prose learning). Because of space limitations the review of research in these latter paradigms will not be as exhaustive as the discussion of imaginal effects on pairedassociate learning. Instead, the emphasis will be on topics of recent interest to researchers in these paradigms. Each section

Classroom Reward Structure: An Analytical and Practical Review

Abstract: At various times in the history of social psychology, interest has arisen in the reward structure of the classroom, particularly in the idea of using reward structures that place students in mutual dependence for rewards-cooperative reward structures. Some high points in the study of classroom reward structure were publications by Deutsch (1949a, 1948b), who presented a comprehensive theory of cooperation and competition, Miller and Hamblin (1963), and Johnson, D. W. and Johnson, R. T. (1974). Of these, only Johnson and Johnson reviewed the large body of research that has been done on cooperative, competitive, and individual reward structures, but their review was lacking in analysis of these findings. The present paper attempts to fill this gap by drawing theoretical and practical conclusions from the research on reward structures.

Classroom Reward Structures and Academic Performance

Abstract: Classroom reward structures refer to the performance criteria, contingencies, or standards that students must satisfy in order to receive presumably valued or reinforcing consequences such as prizes or high grades. The reward structure typical of most classrooms appears to be some compromise between indirect individual competition, in which grades are assigned to students based on their performances relative to those of their classmates (i.e., the curve), and individual reward contingencies, in which grades are assigned to students on the basis of how much material each student apparently masters (i.e., the percent mastery criterion). The typical classroom reward structure has been increasingly criticized as being less effective than alternative reward structures in strengthening the academic performances of students (e.g., Deutsch, 1949a, 1949b; Coleman, 1959; Spilerman, 1971; and Johnson & Johnson, 1974). The critics have urged more frequent use of group reward structures (i.e., group reward contingencies and intergroup competition) and less frequent use of individual reward structures (i.e., individual reward contingencies and individual competition) in schools. In addition, the critics have presented strong evidence that group reward structures more effectively strengthen certain process variables such as cooperation (i.e., collaboration and coordination), interpersonal attraction among group members, and positive attitudes towards tasks, as well as actual performance on tasks requiring cooperative interaction (i.e., interdependent tasks) such as group discussion and problem solving (e.g., Johnson & Johnson, 1974). However, attempts to demonstrate that group

Reexamining the Methodology of Research on Media and Technology in Education

Abstract: Research on media and technology in education covers a wide and diverse range of topics, settings, and domains. Its methodologies vary from basic experimental work in the laboratory through field experiments in educational institutions, to large-scale evaluations of programs and products in current use by schools. No single research methodology can accurately cover this range, nor can the field be made uniform to fit some arbitrary conception of the best approach to research. However, underlying this diversity there are common research objectives that guide the field and allow us to classify diverse studies, such as those resulting from a system's approach together with studies of onevs. two-channel inputs, under the heading of media research. Three major objectives of media research can be identified. The first is to obtain knowledge about the instructional effectiveness of a chosen medium, or technology. Researchers who emphasize this first objective attempt to

School Cheating Behavior

Abstract: paper, letting others copy a homework paper, plagiarizing, and ghostwriting, to name just a few. These types of behavior can be traced in history through thousands of years. Brickman (1961) reported that during the civil service examinations in ancient China tests were given in individual cubicles to prevent examinees from looking at the test papers of others, that examinees were searched for notes before they entered the cubicles, that the death penalty was in effect for both examinees and examiners if anyone was found guilty of cheating; but cheating still occurred. In modern society, Brickman continued, cheating is a frequent occurrence. In this regard, Zastrow (1970) provided evidence of a 40% incidence of cheating among graduate students. In a study by Schab (1969), approximately 24% of the girls and 20% of the boys admitted that they first began cheating in the first grade, 17% of the girls and 15% of the boys began in the eighth grade, and 13% of the girls and 9% of the boys began in the seventh grade. It would seem, then, that cheating is currently widespread in the American education

Advance Organizers as a Teaching Strategy: A Reply to Barnes and Clawson

Abstract: In a recent issue of this journal, Barnes and Clawson (1975) reviewed a selection of the growing number of experiments designed to facilitate learning by the use of "advance organizers." Previous reviews (e.g., Ring & Novak, 1971; West & Fensham, 1974) have commented critically on Ausubel's learning theory, and it might be expected that Barnes and Clawson's review would provide further evidence, or new perspectives, on this topic. However, most of their paper consists of a selective review from which they conclude that "The efficacy of advance organizers has not been established" (p. 651). This conclusion would be important except for the fact that an overly large proportion of the data from these selected research studies must be considered somewhat trivial-a fact attested to by Barnes and Clawson in their concluding remarks (p. 657). Concerning their claim and related recommendations for further research, we have subjected the evidentiary conclusions to a rather circumspect analysis. We have asked three questions about the description of Ausubel's learning theory, the analysis of the selected studies, and the conclusions reached: (a) What exactly has Ausubel said about meaningful subsumption learning, and what are the substantive factors in subsumptive programmatic learning? (b) Does the analysis of the literature allow for any substantive conclusions? (c) Whether or not the selected literature supports the conclusions posited by Barnes and Clawson, does the conclusion itself further an understanding of the

The Generalizability of Class Means

Abstract: Recently, a number of researchers have given serious consideration to the problem of estimating reliability when the unit of analysis is a class mean or some other aggregate score for a set of persons. Haney (1974a, 1974b) has reviewed important aspects of the relevant literature. The study of this topic has been motivated by the analysis of data from several different sources. In particular, large scale evaluations, such as those, undertaken for Head Start (see Smith & Bissell, 1970) and Follow Through (see Abt Associates, 1974), frequently require estimates of reliability when class is the unit of analysis. Similar issues arise in the study of course evaluation questionnaires (See Kane, Gillmore, & Crooks, 1976), and studies of school effectiveness and accountability (see Dyer, Linn, & Patton, 1969; Marco, 1974). Using concepts from classical reliability theory, Shaycoft (1962), Wiley (1970), and Thrash and Porter (Note 1) have de-

The Measurement of the Hyperactive Syndrome in Children

Abstract: The hyperactive syndrome in school-aged children has become one of today's major mental health problems. Estimates of the prevalence of the syndrome indicate that from 5% to 20% of the elementary school population are affected (Cantwell, Note 1). Evidence is beginning to accrue that links hyperactivity in childhood with later disorders in adolescence and adulthood (Menkes, Rowe, & Menkes, 1967). In school and at home children with hyperactive behavior are extraordinarily difficult to manage and demand an inordinant amount of a parent's and a teacher's time. Although many children may be treated successfully with stimulant medication, this practice has been hotly debated in the press and in professional publications (Grinspoon & Singer, 1973). Over the last fifteen years an extensive body of studies on the topic of hyperactivity has accumulated, most of which have either described the condition or have evaluated the effectiveness of various treatment regimens for helping children control and change their behavior. Research will undoubtedly continue in this area as new treatments are devised, e.g., diet regulation (Conners, Goyette, Southwick, Lees, & Andrulonis, 1976), and as new medications come onto the market. Other research trends are the prediction of response to medication and the determination of subgroups of hyperactive children on the basis of etiology or other diagnostic information.

The Academic Achievement of Black Students in Desegregated Schools: A Critical Review

Abstract: s International, 1970, 81-A, 5040. (Univerisity Microfilms No. 71-10, 401) McClelland, D. C. Measuring motivation in phantasy: The achievement motive. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press, 1951. McPartland, J. The segregated student in desegregated schools: Final report to the Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1968. Mosteller, F., & Moynihan, D. P. (Eds.). On equality of educational opportunity. New York: Random House, l972.(a) Mosteller, F., & Moynihan, D. P. A pathbreaking report. In F. Mosteller & D. P. Moynihan (Eds.), On equality of educational opportunity. New York: Random House, l972.(b) Nunnally, J. C. Psychometric theory. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Pettigrew, T. F., Useem, E. L., Normand, C, & Smith, M. S. Busing: A review of \"the evidence.\" The Public Interest, 1973, 30, 88-118. Prichard, P. N. The effects of desegregation on selected variables in the Chapel Hill school system (Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, 1969). Dissertation Abstracts International, 1969, 30-A, 3697. (University Microfilms No. 70-3301) (a) Prichard, P. N. Effects of desegregation on student success in the Chapel Hill schools. Integrated Education, 1969,1, 33-38. (b) St. John, N.H. Desegregation and minority group performance. Review of Educational Research, 1970, 40, 111-133. St. John, N. H. School desegregation: Outcomes for children. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1975. St. John, N. H., & Lewis, R. The influence of school racial context on academic achievement. Social Problems, 1971,19, 68-78. Samuels, J. M. Busing, reading, and self in New Haven. Integrated Education, 1972,10, 23-28. Singer, H., Gerard, H. B., & Redfearn, D. Achievement. In H. B. Gerard & N. Miller (Eds.), School desegregation. New York: Plenum Press, 1975. Smith, M. S. Equality of education opportunity: The basic findings reconsidered. In F. Mosteller & D. P. Moynihan (Eds.), On equality of educational opportunity. New York: Random House, 1972. Stallings, F. H. A study of the immediate effects of integration on scholastic achievement in the Louisville public schools. Journal of Negro Education, 1959, 28, 439-444. U. S. Commission on Civil Rights. Racial isolation in the public schools (Vol. 1). Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1967. Weinberg, M. The relationship between school desegregation and academic achievement: A review of the research. Law and Contemporary Problems, 1975, 39, 241-270. Weinberg, M. Minority students: A research appraisal. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, in press. Weinstein, E. A., & Geisel, P. N. Family decision-making over desegregation. Sociometry, 1962, 25, 21-29. Wilson, A. Educational consequences of segregation in a California community. In Appendix C-3 (Vol. 2) of U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, Racial Isolation in the Public Schools. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1967. Zdep, S. M. Educating disadvantaged urban school children in suburban schools: An evaluation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1971, 1, 173-186.

Re-Entry Women: A Selective Review of the Educational Process, Career Choice, and Interest Measurement:

Abstract: Overview This review examines some factors related to the re-entry of women to postsecondary education and draws implications for needed research. It includes areas that are necessary to the larger goals of studying educational and career patterns of re-entry women, and to the development of adequate program evaluation models. The first part of the review considers barriers and opportunities in postsecondary education for the mature woman. These barriers include college restrictions, family resistance, and financial problems, as well as attitudinal and selfconcept characteristics. Opportunities are examined in a review of frequently proposed solutions: counseling and special programs. One factor that limits these solutions at present is current theory and research on career choice for women, especially the "re-entry" woman. These major theories are briefly noted, as well as the findings of recent research studies, in the second part of this review. The third part deals specifically with a tool used by counselors-interest inventories. The issue of sex bias in interest measurement is discussed and recent research in the area is reviewed. The review concludes with implications for needed research-theoretical, programmatical, and in the area of interest measurement.

Team Teaching and Academic Achievement

Abstract: Dating from the work of secondary school staff utilization theorists in the 1950's, team teaching has spread across all grade levels to become a fixture of the American educational scene. Born in a time of acute teacher shortage and a national concern for improving scientific and technical education—a response to Sputnik I—team teaching has survived both a shift from teacher shortage to teacher surplus and a change in the national consen­ sus concerning the proper outcomes of education. Team teaching, in short, has proved to be an extraordinarily resilient innovation. In its most generic sense, "a teaching team is a group of two or more persons assigned to the same students at the same time for instructional purposes in a particular subject or combination of subjects" (Johnson & Lobb, 1959, p. 59). Cunningham (1960) suggests four general organizational patterns in team teaching:

Advances in Item Analysis

Abstract: Ever since Binet and Simon (1916) plotted the proportion of correct response to an item as a function of age, item analysis has been an important component in the field of educational measurement. Two basic theoretical models, the classical psychometric and the item characteristic curve, have been developed, and a wide variety of item analysis procedures have been created. At the present time, it is a rare measurement textbook that does not devote some space to item analysis. Following the example set in these textbooks, most practitioners of item analysis use the classical psychometric model in which item difficulty and the item-criterion correlation are used to describe an item. In recent years, however, the primary advances in the theory of item analysis have been under the item characteristic curve model. This model has a strong statistical orientation and has been subsumed under what is now called "Latent Trait Theory" (see Lord & Novick, 1968). While latent trait theory has the estimation of ability as a primary goal, the item characteristic curve model is at the core of the theory. Since about 1960, there have been significant developments and refinements in item analysis, new item characteristics curve models have been employed, more sophisticated estimation procedures have been used, and a richer conceptualization of the role of item statistics in test construction has evolved. While some lag between developments in theories and their use in practice is to be expected, this lag in the field of item analysis appears to be unusually large. In their survey of test theory, Bock and Wood (1971) found that few measurement books included the item characteristic curve model, and the one extended

To Err or Not to Err: A Question for the Instruction of Psychomotor Skills

Abstract: s International, 1969, No. 69-20, 790, p. 2385-A. Prather, D. C. Trial-and-error versus errorless learning: Training, transfer and stress. American Journal of Psychology, 1971, 84, 377-386. Prather, D. C., & Berry, G. A. Comparison of trial-and-error versus highly prompted learning of a perceptual skill. Proceedings of the 78th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 1970, 5, 677-678. Prather, D. C., Berry, G. A., & Bermudez, J. M. Effect of prompting and feedback on performance during learning, stress, and transfer of a perceptual skill. Proceedings of the 80th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 1972, 7, 643-644. Schmidt, R. A. A schema theory of discrete motor skill learning. Psychological Review, 1975, 82, 225-260. Schurr, E. Movement experiences for children. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, 1967. Seidel, R. J. Theories and strategies related to measurement in individualized instruction (HumRRO Tec. Rep. 2-71). Alexandria, Va.: Human Resources Research Organization, March 1971. Shulman, L., & Keislar, E. Learning by discovery-a critical appraisal. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966. Singer, R. N. Coaching, athletics, and psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972. Singer, R. N. Motor Learning and human performance. (2nd ed.) New York: Macmillan, 1975. Singer, R. N., & Dick, W. Teaching physical education: A systems approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. Singer, R. N., & Gaines, L. Effect of prompted and trial-and-error learning on transfer performance of a serial motor task. American Educational Research Journal, 1975, 12, 395-403. Singer, R. N., & Pease, D. The effect of different instructional strategies on

From Universalism to Usurpation: An Essay on the Antecedents to Compulsory School Attendance Legislation

Abstract: Compulsory education is receiving increasing attention in policy making, educational, and scholarly circles. The Yoder case, which established the right of the Amish in Wisconsin not to send their children to school beyond the eighth grade, tested compulsion in the policy arena via the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. In finding for Yoder, however, the court majority noted more than three centuries of self-sufficiency and adherence to the principles of law and order by the Amish, and cautioned that the court's decision should not be construed as opening the door to a flood of petitions against compulsory education per se. This action by the Supreme Court appeared to discourage questioning the propriety of compulsion itself, especially by groups, as Justice Burger put it, \"claiming to have recently discovered some progressive or more enlightened process for rearing children in modern life.\" Yet the dimensions of compulsory education itself are not the direct provision of the Supreme Court, as education in general is under state rather than federal jurisdiction. Here too, compulsion is receiving wider publicity. Recently, a Florida judge ruled that the father of five young children was not required to send

Children As Therapeutic Change Agents: Reinforcement Intervention Paradigms

Abstract: By far the majority of the literature dealing with therapeutic behavioral change in children casts adults in the role of change agent. For a variety of reasons, including economy, necessity, and scientific curiosity, adults who design therapeutic interventions have begun to look more closely at the role of the child's classmates and playfellows in bringing about desirable behavioral change. The empirical roots of the notion that children may serve as therapeutic change agents are found in investigations of children's effectiveness as reinforcement agents. Patterson and Anderson (1965) conducted a laboratory experiment to demonstrate elementary students' ability to shape a peer's preference in a simple marble game. In a similarly designed study, Hartup (1964) used nursery school children as reinforcement agents to condition a peer's motor response (marbledropping rate). A subsequent study by Tikten and Hartup (1965) was undertaken to expand on the results Hartup originally obtained. Once again, elementary age children demonstrated their prowess as "programmed" social reinforcers. Evidence that retarded children can serve as agents of reinforcement was presented by Terrel and Stevenson (1965). All of these studies were also concerned with the relationship between differential effectiveness of children and sociometric status. Hartup, Glazer, and Charlesworth (1967) have presented data

The Relationship of Sound Blending to Reading Achievement

Abstract: In a recent review of research relating auditory abilities to reading achievement, Hammill and Larsen (1974) found several statistically significant relationships between these variables, but they concluded that in most cases the relationships were too weak to be considered useful in the classroom. Most of this research involved numerous measures of auditory abilities, and much of it included visual measures as well. When comprehensive studies of this sort are reviewed from the broad, generalized perspective adopted by Hammill and Larsen, the influence of individual design variables on the relationship between any single skill and reading achievement may be overlooked. A detailed analysis of the literature, isolating only one of the many skills studied, might reveal more information than is apparent from a global perspective. Such information may have important implications for theoretical models of reading acquisition with a consequent impact on instructional approach. The sound-blending skill is particularly interesting in this regard since it has been offered as a component of the decoding process by recent investigators (e.g., Richardson & Bradley, 1974). Certain developmental projects in the area of programmed instruction have suggested that sound-blending training is critical to transfer in basic phonics (e.g., Gotkin, McSweeney, & Richardson, 1969; Silberman & Coulson, 1964). Follow-up studies

Workers’ Education, Labor Education, Labor Studies: An Historical Delineation

Abstract: A cursory examination of the literature in the field of the education of workers indicates that three separate terms have been used to describe this movement in the United States. The terms workers' education, labor education, and labor studies have gained widespread usage in chronological sequence. The first term, workers' education, described the movement from its permanent beginnings in the first decade of the twentieth century until the 1940's; the second term, labor education, began to be used in the late 1930's and became the predominant term used to describe the movement after World War II; the third term, labor studies, was first used in the late 1960's and is presently gaining acceptance among practitioners in the field. Throughout the literature, these terms have been used almost interchangeably with little consideration of the possible differences in their meaning. Such usage has confused not only outsiders but also students within the field. The core of the problem is more than a question of semantics. A careful examination of the literature leads one to believe that three distinctive historical periods accompany the three distinctive terms (for a different position see Linton, 1965; Rogin & Rachlin, 1968; Carlson, 1971). The three periods differ in curriculum content, student body, and the basic objectives that were sought. Granted, these periods are not mutually exclusive. There is some overlapping, but the major trends in the movement