Instructional Conditions Research Articles

Viewpoints on Undergraduate Research Among Nursing Students Conducting Q-Methodology Studies.

This article describes using Q-methodology to evaluate changes in attitudes about research among baccalaureate nursing students conducting Q-methodology studies as part of an undergraduate honors research program. Five senior students, who had designed Q-methodology studies, sorted 36 opinion statements about undergraduate research based on two conditions of instruction: (a) according to their current attitudes, and (b) according to their beliefs before they began the honors program. A two-factor final solution explained 70% of the variance. The Getting Ahead section of the study, associated with six sorting grids, also known as sorts, reflected positive beliefs about the professional benefits of engaging in undergraduate research. The Too Much Effort theme reflected beliefs held by three participants prior to engaging in the program. After engaging in an undergraduate research honors program where participants designed a Q-methodology study, this group of students reported gaining intellectual and practical skills and no longer found research to be as intimidating. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(2):96-98.].

Evaluating acquisition, preference and discrimination in requesting skills between picture exchange and iPad®-based speech generating device across preschoolers

This study compared a picture exchange (PE) system and an iPad®-based speech generating device (SGD) when teaching requesting skills to preschoolers with developmental disabilities and limited functional speech. A multiple baseline design with counterbalancing the order of two instruction conditions across participants was applied to compare the acquisition rate, followed by a concurrent operant arrangement to examine participants’ preference for these two augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. Discrimination of two picture symbols presented via the priority AAC system was also probed using a concurrent operant arrangement. Results indicated that two of three participants required less sessions to reach mastery for the iPad®-based instruction condition. All participants showed a clear preference for the iPad®-based SGD and were able to discriminate between two picture symbols presented simultaneously on the iPad®-based SGD when making requests. This study highlights practice implications in terms of describing a systematic approach that could be employed when identifying a priority AAC system for learners with developmental disabilities and limited functional speech.

Reassessing school effectiveness: Multi-objective value-added measures (MOVAM) of academic and socioemotional learning

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), it is imperative that American public schools assess and improve not only academic but also non-academic measures of student learning such as socioemotional skills. The policy shift towards broad-based school accountability calls for reassessing school effectiveness from whole child development perspectives and addressing potential biases and limitations of conventional value-added measures (VAM). Through multivariate multilevel analyses of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kintergarten (ECLS-K): 2011 data, this study applies multi-objective value-added measures (MOVAM) approach to assess and improve school effectiveness for academic and socioemotional learning. The study results show different patterns of academic vs. socioemotional learning gains, and also weak correlations between school effects on the two types of learning outcomes. Nevertheless, the comparisons of academically and socioemotionally effective vs. ineffective schools imply that schools can and should improve both academic and socioemotional learning outcomes through synergistic improvement of key organizational and instructional conditions.

An Experimental Approach to Investigate the Involvement of Cognitive Load in Divergent Thinking.

Up to now, support for the idea that a controlled component exists in creative thought has mainly been supported by correlational studies; to further shed light on this issue, we employed an experimental approach. We used four alternate uses tasks that differed in instruction type (“be fluent” vs. “be creative”) and concurrent secondary workload (load vs. no load). A total of 51 participants (39 female) went through all tasks and generated ideas for a total of 16 different objects; their responses were scored in terms of fluency (number of responses generated), creative quality, and flexibility. We did find, as expected, that the be-creative instruction resulted in fewer and more creative ideas, as well as more flexible idea sets, but neither of the expected interaction effects became significant. Specifically, fluency was not affected more strongly by secondary workload in the be-fluent instruction condition than in the be-creative instruction condition. Further, the performance drop evoked by the secondary workload was not stronger in the be-creative instruction condition compared to the be-fluent instruction condition when creative quality or flexibility were examined as dependent variable. Altogether, our results do not confirm that be-creative instructions involve more cognitive load than be-fluent instructions. Nevertheless, the analysis of the serial order effect and additional correlational examinations revealed some promising results. Methodological limitations which may have influenced the results are discussed in light of the inherent suspense between internal and external validity (i.e., most likely the applied self-paced dual-task approach increased external validity, but undermined internal validity) and potentially guide future research.

Effects of different ways of using visualizations on high school students’ electrochemistry conceptual understanding and motivation towards chemistry learning

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of different ways to use visualizations on high school students’ electrochemistry conceptual understanding and motivation towards chemistry learning. Expanding upon a model-based learning approach (Khan, 2007), we adopted a VGEM sequence (View, Generate, Evaluate, and Modify) to create three instructional conditions. All conditions involved the viewing, evaluating, and modifying phases, whereas there were variations in the generating phase: (1) finishing worksheets (V group), (2) generating drawings (VD group), and (3) generating animations (VA group). Three intact classes with 109 eleventh graders from a public high school were randomly assigned to the three groups. A test of conceptual understanding was used as the pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest to assess respectively initial understanding, changes, and retention of understanding up to 6 weeks later. A questionnaire to measure students’ motivation to learn chemistry was administered before and after the instruction. Statistical results of the within-group comparisons revealed that all three instructional conditions could support students to develop a significantly better conceptual understanding of electrochemistry and that in the three groups, students’ understanding was retained after 6 weeks. Regarding the overall motivation before and after the instruction, only the VA group showed motivational benefits for chemistry learning. Furthermore, the between-group comparisons indicated no significant differences between the means of the three groups in the posttest and delayed posttest, and suggested that the three groups developed and retained a similar level of conceptual understanding after the instruction. Similarly, different uses of visualizations made no difference to students’ chemistry learning motivation. This study advances the understanding of how to develop effective instructional activities with visualizations for chemistry learning, and suggests possible conceptual and motivational benefits of viewing and generating visualizations.

Lineup Instruction Verbiage's Effect on the Accuracy of Eyewitness Identifications: Michigan's Procedure

ABSTRACT Our study examined the effects of biased and unbiased lineup instructions verbiage on the accuracy of eyewitness identification in a suspect-absent photographic lineup. Seventy subjects were randomly assigned to either a biased instruction condition or an unbiased instruction condition where they watched a mocked crime video, solved word-search puzzles for five minutes, completed a suspect-absent photographic lineup, and then completed an online post-witness experience feedback questionnaire. The unbiased condition utilized photographic lineup instructions from the State Bar of Michigan's Eyewitness Identification Task Force recommended policy writing guide. For the biased condition, the instructions alluded to subjects that the suspect was present. Subjects in the unbiased condition answered correctly 45.7% of the time compared to 28.6% of those in the biased condition. Chi-square test for independence indicated no significant association between the lineup instructions verbiage and the accuracy of eyewitness identification rates. Binomial logistic regression found that the confidence level in the identification choice made, ease of making an identification, decision making time, ability to recognize the lineup appeinstructions, and group condition were not significant predictors of subjects correctly identifying the suspect. Our results would suggest that the verbiage of the lineup instructions does not increase accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

The Performance of Visual Perceptual Tasks in Patients with Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

The most significant features for clinical diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) are cognitive-perceptual and disorganized symptoms. Experimental study of visual perceptual processes is important to elucidate the psychological mechanisms of cognitive-perceptual impairment in SPD. To research the performance of visual perceptual tasks in SPD. Series I and II presented the subjects with visual perceptual tasks with different types of instructions (vague, verbal, or visual perceptual cues). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) was also administered. The participants were 39 SPD patients, 36 obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) patients (F.21.8, F.60.5 in ICD-10, respectively), and 102 healthy controls. SPD patients had a significantly lower number of correct answers in conditions of vague instruction and verbal cues in Series I of a visual-perceptual task in comparison with healthy subjects (p < 0.01). With visual perceptual cues in Series II, patients with SPD had the same number of correct answers as controls, whereas OCPD patients had the same number of correct answers as controls with verbal cues in Series I. SPD patients had significantly lower scores in most verbal and nonverbal WAIS-R subtests in comparison with controls. SPD patients differed from OCPD patients in that they had lower scores in the "Information" (p < 0.05) and "Comprehension" (p < 0.05) subtests. With visual-perceptual cues, SPD patients were able to achieve normative results in the performance of visual-perceptual tasks, whereas patients with OCPD demonstrated lower productivity. In SPD patients, the basic impairments were associated with difficulties in inhibition of peculiar responses, stability of a subjective manner of performance and inability to revise it, low orientation to the model, and slipping into subjective associations with the stimuli.

Assessing preschool education quality via the ECERS-R scales

The article covers current trends in the worldwide experience of quality assessment in preschool education. The authors have analyzed the world's best practices in assessing the quality of preschool education. One of the tools recognized in the world community is the ECERS-R scale. The authors share understanding of the ways to apply these scales to quality assessment in accord with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for preschool education and make it possible to assess the quality of conditions for development, moral instruction and education of preschool children. The ECERS-R scores make it possible to reveal the development vector of a preschool educational organization. When using ECERS-R scales for a comprehensive assessment of the quality of education in preschool educational organizations, the assessment becomes the key to the development of the preschool establishment. Identifying and bridging the gap between the norm of the standard and activities of the institution, i.e. the goal and the reality, shape the key directions in work. On the basis of this assessment, a program for development of a preschool organization should be defined. The authors conducted a research on introducing the ECERS-R scales into activities of the teaching staff to improve the quality of interaction between employees. The researchers worked out and implemented a plan for improving staff interaction and collaboration based on the ECERS-R scales. The work carried out showed a significant qualitative improvement in the interaction between employees, which consequently affects the education quality.

The Performance of Visual Perceptual Tasks in Patients with Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Background. The most significant features for clinical diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) are cognitive-perceptual and disorganized symptoms. Experimental study of visual perceptual processes is important to elucidate the psychological mechanisms of cognitive-perceptual impairment in SPD. Objective. To research the performance of visual perceptual tasks in SPD. Design. Series I and II presented the subjects with visual perceptual tasks with different types of instructions (vague, verbal, or visual perceptual cues). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) was also administered. The participants were 39 SPD patients, 36 obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) patients (F.21.8, F.60.5 in ICD-10, respectively), and 102 healthy controls. Results. SPD patients had a significantly lower number of correct answers in conditions of vague instruction and verbal cues in Series I of a visual-perceptual task in comparison with healthy subjects (р ≤ 0.01). With visual perceptual cues in Series II, patients with SPD had the same number of correct answers as controls, whereas OCPD patients had the same number of correct answers as controls with verbal cues in Series I. SPD patients had significantly lower scores in most verbal and nonverbal WAIS-R subtests in comparison with controls. SPD patients differed from OCPD patients in that they had lower scores in the “Information” (p ≤ 0.05) and “Comprehension” (p ≤ 0.05) subtests. Conclusion. With visual-perceptual cues, SPD patients were able to achieve normative results in the performance of visual-perceptual tasks, whereas patients with OCPD demonstrated lower productivity. In SPD patients, the basic impairments were associated with difficulties in inhibition of peculiar responses, stability of a subjective manner of performance and inability to revise it, low orientation to the model, and slipping into subjective associations with the stimuli.

Exploring the Relation Between Q Methodology and Phenomenology: Designing Conditions of Instruction Based on the Phenomenological Concepts of Variation and Horizons

Exploring the Relation Between Q Methodology and Phenomenology: Designing Conditions of Instruction Based on the Phenomenological Concepts of Variation and Horizons

Evaluating instructional designs with mental workload assessments in university classrooms

ABSTRACT Cognitive cognitive load theory (CLT) has been conceived for improving instructional design practices. Although researched for many years, one open problem is a clear definition of its cognitive load types and their aggregation towards an index of overall cognitive load. In Ergonomics, the situation is different with plenty of research devoted to the development of robust constructs of mental workload (MWL). By drawing a parallel between CLT and MWL, as well as by integrating relevant theories and measurement techniques from these two fields, this paper is aimed at investigating the reliability, validity and sensitivity of three existing self-reporting mental workload measures when applied to long learning sessions, namely, the NASA Task Load index, the Workload Profile and the Rating Scale Mental Effort, in a typical university classroom. These measures were aimed at serving for the evaluation of two instructional conditions. Evidence suggests these selected measures are reliable and their moderate validity is in line with results obtained within Ergonomics. Additionally, an analysis of their sensitivity by employing the descriptive Harrell-Davis estimator suggests that the Workload Profile is more sensitive than the Nasa Task Load Index and the Rating Scale Mental Effort for long learning sessions.

Do we “fear for the worst” or “Hope for the best” in thinking about the unexpected?: Factors affecting the valence of unexpected outcomes reported for everyday scenarios

Though we often “fear the worst”, worrying that unexpectedly bad things will happen, there are times when we “hope for the best”, imagining that unexpectedly good things will happen, too. The paper explores how the valence of the current situation influences people's imagining of unexpected future events when participants were instructed to think of “something unexpected”. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 127) were asked to report unexpected events to everyday scenarios under different instructional conditions (e.g., asked for “good” or “bad” unexpected events), and manifested a strong negativity bias in response to non-valenced instructions (i.e., being asked to “think of the unexpected” with no valence given). They mainly reported quite “predictable” unexpected outcomes that were negative; however, a post-test (N = 31) showed that the scenarios used were predominantly positive. In Experiment 2 (N = 257), when participants were instructed to think of “something unexpected and bizarre”, under the same instructional manipulations as Experiment 1, this negativity bias was replicated. In Experiment 3, using a design in which positive/negative materials were matched (verified by a pre-test, N = 60), it was found that when participants (N = 102) were given negative scenarios, they reported more positive events than they do when they are given positive scenarios. Though responding still retained an overwhelming negative bias, this result provided some evidence for a weaker valence-countering strategy; that is, where a negative scenario can lead to positive unexpected events being mentioned, and a positive scenario leads to negative unexpected events being reported. The implications of these results for people's projections of unexpected futures in their everyday lives is discussed.

Misattributions of the source of health-related information in HIV disease

ABSTRACT Introduction: Growing access to both legitimate and dubious sources of health information makes accurate source memory increasingly important, yet it may be negatively impacted by conditions that impair prefrontal functioning, including HIV. This study hypothesized that instructions supporting source encoding on a health-related memory task would disproportionately benefit source memory of people with HIV (PWH), and to examine the pattern of source memory errors that are observed. Method: 102 individuals (61 HIV+, 41 HIV-) completed comprehensive neurobehavioral (including health literacy) and neuromedical evaluations, and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions for a health-related memory task: Attend to Source Instructions explicitly participants to attend to the source of health statements presented to them, which were either health professionals or lay-persons, whereas no such instruction was provided in a Control Instructions condition. Results: There was no significant interaction of HIV status by condition or main effect of HIV (ps>.05). There was a main effect of condition whereby those who received Attend to Source Instructions performed better on item-corrected source memory than those in the Control Instructions condition (p =.04). Those who received Control Instructions were more likely to misattribute the source of the health information to a health professional when the correct source was a lay-person (Cohen’s d = −0.53), which was correlated with poorer overall cognitive performance (p =.008) and performance-based measures of health literacy (ps<.05). Conclusions: Given that people are rarely reminded to attend to the source of new health information in the real world, the risk for misattributing health information to a qualified health professional in the absence of such instructions raises the concern that people may readily incorporate questionable health recommendations into their health regimen, particularly among persons with poorer cognitive functioning and lower levels of health literacy. This may have significant downstream health consequences such as drug interactions, side effects, and inefficacy.

Reprint of: The system of planned, stage-by-stage formation of mental actions (PSFMA) as a creative design of psychological conditions for instruction

Piotr Galperin is a representative of cultural-historical psychology and a follower of Lev Vygotsky. His legacy considers the nature of human mental life, its origin and further development in the process of phylogenesis, anthropogenesis and ontogenesis. In addition, Galperin's contribution was in developing a system of psychological conditions, which enables the formation of mental actions, images and representations with prescribed outcomes. This system is defined as the system of planned stage-by-stage formation of mental actions (PSFMA). Among other applications, PSFMA can be used: i) as a method to study the formation and development of a person's mental activity, ii) to examine the relationship between the theoretically described and objectively occurring in practice the process of systematic formation of mental functions and iii) to design learning and teaching activity aimed at developing 21st century competences. In this paper, I argue, that the direct transfer and application of the mechanisms of PFSMA in classrooms gives satisfactory results only when the conditions of the theoretically planned formation closely correspond to the conditions of real situations in classrooms. In order to bridge the conditions outlined in PFSMA and the real educational practice, it is necessary to carry out several adjustments to account for the complexity of learning. To do so, three models of instructional design are presented in the paper: i) psychological, ii) psychological-pedagogical and iii) procedural or technological model. However, the three-model framework should be considered as an intellectual tool rather than as an algorithm that provides instructions for teachers' actions.

How to analyze change in perception from paired Q-sorts

Although there have been some previous attempts on analyzing changes in perceptions in Q-methodology, a systematic approach is lacking. In this article we introduce two new methods for analyzing change in perceptions in Q-methodology using paired Q-sorts. We also demonstrate these methods using an actual dataset. Method I: This approach is appropriate for assessing the changes in perceptions between two different conditions of instruction applied to the same subjects. The changes are assessed using a factor analysis on the differences between the Q-sorts from the two conditions of instruction. Method II: This method examines the changes in perception from a baseline Q-analysis. This is usually appropriate when data are collected at two time-points, e.g., before-after situations, where the first assessment is considered as the baseline. In this approach, a by-person factor analysis is conducted on the baseline Q-sorts (condition 1) and factors are identified. Then, the changes in perceptions are assessed for the subjects loaded on any factor from baseline using the Q-sorts from condition 2. In conclusion, these two methods are easy to apply, the results are more objective, and are less prone to investigator bias.

Artificial Intelligent Approach to Predict the Student Behavior and Performance

Presently a days Predicting understudy execution turns out to be progressively productive because the procedure enormous content of information in instructive databases. Numerous examinations are utilizing this idea and region of execution is as yet expanding bigger various models understudy marks, participation, semester mark, grade focuses, situation, wellbeing, educational plan exercises, and so on. In late patterns the measure of information put away is growing quickly. The primary objective is to make an overview of “A savvy way to deal with foresee the understudy conduct and execution” To build up a model to anticipate understudy Behavior and execution. The understudy execution in training is a significant job in instructive conditions. The put away database contains understudy data to improve understudy viewpoint and conduct. This paper show patterns and sorts of dissect ought to be performed to improve the training process. We anticipated understudy subtleties and produce a report to the workforce and guardians. In light of the presentation, we offer answers to improve their exhibition. Foreseeing understudy execution turns out to be all the more testing because of the enormous volume of information in instructive databases. This paper additionally centers around how the anticipated data can be utilized to recognize the most significant qualities of determination in understudy information. We could improve understudy accomplishment and achievement more in an effective manner utilizing instructive information mining systems. It could carry the advantages and effects of understudy, teachers, and scholastic foundations.

Exploring the Relation Between Q Methodology and Phenomenology: Designing Conditions of Instruction Based on the Phenomenological Concepts of Variation and Horizons

This article investigates the relation between Q methodology and phenomenology. The common characteristics of Q and phenomenology have been discussed by Q methodologists, but these discussions have remained at an abstract level. They look at how Q is close to the aims of phenomenology, but they provide little guidance on how to apply Q in a more phenomenological manner. As a result, phenomenology can easily become a mere label rather than a mode of enquiry. This can lead to overlooking important aspects when elaborating research designs for Q studies. It also leads phenomenologists to discard Q as a tool to achieve their goals. The contribution of this article lies not only in linking the purpose of Q to phenomenology but also in the identification of elements that can be manipulated by the researcher when designing a Q study in order to collect and analyze Q data in a phenomenological way. We suggest that the tools used by phenomenologists, specifically variations, can be applied in Q to improve the quality of the data collected. A framework is proposed to identify variations based on the different horizons described in phenomenology, supported by an illustrative single-case study.

Mediating effect of cognitive load in song learning with visually presented lyrics

The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether seeing the lyrics while learning a difficult song aurally induces less cognitive load in learners compared to not seeing the lyrics, leading to better recall accuracy of the learned song. Cognitive load was assessed through a reaction time measure based on a dual-task paradigm. Recall accuracy of the learned song was measured regarding lyrics, pitches, and rhythm. Thirty-six non-music majors individually learned two songs through prerecorded aural instruction; for one song they saw the lyrics and for the other song they did not see the lyrics. The presentation order of instructional condition and song were counterbalanced. Results showed instructional condition affected cognitive load but not recall accuracy. A path analysis revealed a mediating effect of cognitive load regarding lyrics and rhythm, suggesting seeing the lyrics indirectly increases recall accuracy of lyrics and rhythm through its positive effect on cognitive load. Given limited instructional time, several strategies should be considered to prevent learners from experiencing cognitive overload while learning a difficult song aurally. Showing the lyrics of the difficult song could be one strategy for that purpose, at least for young adults with low levels of musical expertise.

Evaluation of patterning instruction for kindergartners

To determine whether patterning instruction was as useful or more useful than other forms of instruction, kindergarten children (age five) were taught either patterning or early literacy or mathematics or social studies in matched sessions. Instruction was conducted in 15-minute sessions from November through mid-April. Posttests on patterning, mathematics, early literacy, and three executive functions showed that the children taught patterning became significantly better at patterning than those in the other instructional conditions. No differences were found between the children taught mathematics, early literacy, or social studies. Correlational analyses indicated that the relations of patterning ability, working memory, and inhibitory control to mathematics achievement were similar. Cognitive flexibility was not very strongly related to any other measure and the executive functions were relatively independent of each other for the children who were age five.

Understanding and supporting Chinese middle Schoolers’ monitoring accuracy in mathematics

While many studies of monitoring accuracy have been conducted with college students, less is known about middle school students’ monitoring accuracy, especially in Asian countries. Prior research also found discrepancies in students’ monitoring accuracy between Western and Asian cultures. To understand and support Chinese middle school students’ monitoring accuracy in mathematics, we implemented a three-week long monitoring intervention with 7th grade students in Southwestern China. Students were divided into three conditions: a control condition, a confidence rating condition (CR), and a confidence rating combined with monitoring instructions condition (CR + MI). Findings indicated that Chinese middle school students were slightly underconfident, yet quite accurate when monitoring during task completion in mathematics. Specifically, although students in the CR and CR + MI conditions did not show significant increases in mathematics performance, students in the control condition significantly decreased their performance overtime. In terms of monitoring, students’ confidence bias increased overtime in the CR + MI and control conditions while students in the CR condition did not show significant change. Students also demonstrated increased self-reported metacognitive awareness across the three conditions. We also asked students to provide justifications for their confidence judgments. Findings indicated that students tended to consider a single factor when judging their performance during a mathematics task. Regression models of students’ justifications indicated potential suggestions for future interventions. Implications and future directions are discussed.