ETR&D - Volume 53 - Number 1

ETR & D Archive

2005 Volumes
  * Vol. 53 No. 4
  * Vol. 53 No. 3
  * Vol. 53 No. 2
  * Vol 53 No. 1
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Volume 53 Number 1 2005
	Editors, Editorial Board, Consulting Editors		download pdf

*Research*
	An Analysis of Cognitive Tool Use Patterns in a Hypermedia Learning Environment Min Liu Stephan Bera		download pdf
		In this study, we examined the use of cognitive tools provided in a problem-based hypermedia learning environment for sixth graders. Purposes were to understand how the built-in tools were used, and if tool use was associated with different problem-solving stages. Results showed that tools supporting cognitive processing and sharing cognitive load played a more central role early in the problem-solving process, whereas tools supporting cognitive activities that would be out of students' reach otherwise, and hypothesis generation and testing were used more in the later stages of problem-solving. The findings also indicated that students increasingly used multiple tools in the later stages of their problem-solving process. The various tools, performing different functions, appeared to enable students to coordinate multiple cognitive skills in a seamless way and, therefore, facilitated their information processing. Results also suggested that students with higher performance scores made more productive use of tools than students with lower performance scores. Findings of the study are discussed.

	Does Spatial or Visual Information in Maps Facilitate Text Recall? Reconsidering the Conjoint Retention Hypothesis Marlynn M. Griffin Daniel H. Robinson Julie Sarama		download pdf
		The conjoint retention hypothesis (CRH) claims that students recall more text information when they study geographic maps in addition to text than when they study text alone, because the maps are encoded spatially (Kulhavy, Lee, & Caterino, 1985). This claim was recently challenged by Griffin and Robinson (2000), who found no advantage for maps over feature lists in facilitating text recall. In two experiments, we crossed maps and lists with icons and names (c.f., Griffin & Robinson), and employed materials and methodology very similar to those used in previous CRH studies by Kulhavy and colleagues (Kulhavy, Stock, Verdi, Rittschof, and Savenye, 1993; Stock, Kulhavy, Peterson, Hancock, & Verdi, 1995). In addition, we included a concurrent task to measure spatial encoding, as did Griffin and Robinson. No advantages were found for maps over lists in facilitating text recall, nor were maps processed in a more spatial manner than lists. Instead, it appears that the key stimulus feature for facilitating text recall is mimetic icons (i.e., icons that represent features) rather than the spatial characteristics of geographic maps, a finding that supports dual-coding theory (Paivio, 1986), but not the CRH.

	Instructional Systems Design and the Learning Sciences: A Citation Analysis Joshua A. Kirby Christopher M. Hoadley Alison A. Carr-Chellman		download pdf
		Learning sciences (LS) and instructional systems design (ISD) are two related fields that have shared interests in the application of technology for advancing human learning. While the two fields may have different values, boundaries, and in some cases methods, they also share significant overlap of content and purpose. We examine the relationship between the two fields through a citation analysis of three journals in each of the respective fields. The findings of the study indicate that the amount of cross-field publication is low, but there exists a trend for increased cross-field citation. As cross-field publication increases, we suggest that the existence of invisible colleges that link the fields will become more salient.
*Development*
	Application of Cognitive Apprenticeship Model to a Graduate Course in Performance Systems Analysis: A Case Study A. Aubteen Darabi		download pdf
		This article reports a case study describing how the principles of a cognitive apprenticeship (CA) model developed by Collins, Brown, and Holum (1991) were applied to a graduate course on performance systems analysis (PSA), and the differences this application made in student performance and evaluation of the course compared to the previous semester. I analyzed the requirements for the CA learning environment and identified the contributions of instructor, students, and the course based on those requirements. I then applied the findings to create an authentic learning environment based on CA principles. In this case the students became performance consultants, immersed in practical application of the PSA content and methodology to authentic organizational performance issues provided by real clients. Finally, I compare student evaluations of the course to student evaluations in the previous semester, and report their responses to a set of open-ended questions concerning the application of CA principles.

	Problem-Based Learning and Self-Efficacy: How a Capstone Course Prepares Students for a Profession Joanna C. Dunlap		download pdf
		Problem-based learning (PBL) is apprenticeship for real-life problem solving, helping students acquire the knowledge and skills required in the workplace. Although the acquisition of knowledge and skills makes it possible for performance to occur, without self-efficacy the performance may not even be attempted. I examined how student self-efficacy, as it relates to being software development professionals, changed while involved in a PBL environment. Thirty-one undergraduate university computer science students completed a 16-week capstone course in software engineering during their final semester prior to graduation. Specific instructional strategies used in PBL-namely the use of authentic problems of practice, collaboration, and reflection-are presented as the catalyst for students' improved self-efficacy. Using a self-efficacy scale as preand postmeasures, and guided journal entries as process data, students were observed to increase their levels of self-efficacy.

	Making Learning Fun: Quest Atlantis, A Game Without Guns Sasha Barab Michael Thomas Tyler Dodge Robert Carteaux Hakan Tuzun		download pdf
		This article describes the Quest Atlantis (QA) project, a learning and teaching project that employs a multiuser, virtual environment to immerse children, ages 9-12, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in commercial gaming environments with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. It allows users at participating elementary schools and after-school centers to travel through virtual spaces to perform educational activities, talk with other users and mentors, and build virtual personae. Our work has involved an agenda and process that may be called socially-responsive design, which involves building sociotechnical structures that engage with and potentially transform individuals and their contexts of participation. This work sits at the intersection of education, entertainment, and social commitment and suggests an expansive focus for instructional designers. The focus is on engaging classroom culture and relevant aspects of student life to inspire participation consistent with social commitments and educational goals interpreted locally.

*Departments*
	BOOK REVIEW
		Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd Edition). Marcy P. Driscoll. (2005). Reviewed by Shujen L. Chang	download pdf
	INTERNATIONAL REVIEW
		A Feasible Constructivist Instructional Development Model for Virtual Reality (VR)-Based Learning Environments: Its Efficacy in the Novice Car Driver Instruction of Malaysia by Chwen Jen Chen and Seong Chong Toh	download pdf