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Descriptors:
Academically Gifted; Student Attitudes; Play; Rural Schools; Focus Groups; Online Surveys; Talent; Urban Schools; Suburban Schools; Socialization; Barriers; Attention Control; Learning Motivation; Retention (Psychology); Teamwork; Problem Solving; Cognitive Development; Social Development; Physical Development

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the concept of play through the eyes of talented and gifted (TAG) fifth- and sixth-grade students. Three focus groups consisting of fifth- and sixth-grade TAG students were conducted in one urban, one suburban, and one rural school district in the Midwest. Students were asked to describe the value of play in the cognitive, physical, and social domains. Additional open-ended questions were asked about the importance of play and its relevance to their lives. From these results, an online survey was created. Data from an additional 162 fifth- and sixth-grade TAG respondents substantiated that play is a significant activity for learning and socializing in the general classroom, gifted programs, and outside their classrooms. Despite its importance, students experienced structural barriers for time to play. Putting the Research to Use: Results of this study hold implications for teachers to acknowledge the value of play as a tool for learning. Children see play as a renewal activity. They see play as motivating and as a way to increase attention, retention, and focus in learning. Children emphasized that play develops teamwork and problem-solving skills. Play enhances meaningful activities in the talented and gifted program as well as the general classroom. Results of this study suggest that parents should acknowledge their children's need for play in all three domains (cognitive, physical, and social) and allow time for self-directed play after school with limits on scheduled activities. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Animation; Computer Assisted Instruction; Prior Learning; Learner Controlled Instruction; Novices; Chinese; Short Term Memory; Pacing; Science Instruction; Cognitive Processes; Difficulty Level; Learning Strategies; Self Management; Educational Experiments; Retention (Psychology); Educational Technology; Instructional Design; Instructional Effectiveness; Comparative Analysis; Pretests Posttests; Sequential Learning; Ideography

Abstract:
Learning with instructional animations may overstretch limited working memory resources due to intense processing demands associated with transient information. The authors investigated whether explicit instructional advice coupled with a task-specific learner control mechanism (such as a timeline scrollbar) could facilitate the successful self-management of transient information. The effectiveness of a timeline scrollbar that allowed self-pacing and self-sequencing of animations was compared with computer-controlled animations. Experiment 1 demonstrated that a timeline scrollbar (with instructional advice on its strategic use) enhanced the retention of stroke sequences in writing Chinese characters. In Experiment 2, a timeline scrollbar was used in an integrated set of narrated animations dealing with complex scientific information. Retention and comprehension post-tests indicated that although a scrollbar accompanied by instructional advice in its use assisted novice learners, no such effect was found with participants who possessed higher levels of prior knowledge. The findings have implications for the formulation of criteria for the effective incorporation of learner control into the design of instructional animations. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Medical Students; Problem Based Learning; Conventional Instruction; Study Skills; Retention (Psychology); Physiology; Comparative Analysis

Abstract:
The rapid improvements in medical sciences and the ever-increasing related data, however, require novel methods of instruction. One such method, which has been given less than due attention in Iran, is problem-based learning (PBL). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of study skills and the PBL methods on short and long-term retention of information provided for medical students in the course of respiratory physiology and compare it with traditional learning method. In this study, 39 medical students from Medical School of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran (2006-2010) were enrolled in the study and allocated randomly in three equal groups (13 in each group). All groups underwent a pre-test to be assessed for their basic information regarding respiratory physiology. Two groups were instructed using the traditional method, and one group used PBL. Among the two groups of the traditional method, one was instructed about study skills and the other was not. Once the PBL group took the study skill workshop, they were aided by tutors for their education. In the final term test, those students who had learned study skills and were instructed with the traditional method scored higher compared to other groups (p less than 0.05). However, in the 1 year (p less than 0.05) and 4 year (p less than 0.01) interval examinations, the PBL group achieved significantly higher scores. Despite the fact that PBL had no positive effect on the final term exam of our students, it yielded a more profound and retained understanding of the subject course. Moreover, considering the positive effect of study skills on long-term student scores, we recommend students to receive instructions regarding the appropriate study skills when initiated into universities. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Teaching Methods; Statistical Analysis; Constructivism (Learning); Scores; Methods Courses; Preservice Teachers; Elementary School Teachers; Mixed Methods Research; Science Education; Preservice Teacher Education; Retention (Psychology); Models; Elementary School Science; Science Instruction; Scientific Concepts; College Instruction; Instructional Effectiveness; Surveys; Qualitative Research; Pretests Posttests

Abstract:
The aim of this study was to explore a group of prospective primary teachers' conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis as they implemented a 5E constructivist model and related materials in a science methods course. Fifty prospective primary teachers' ideas were elicited using a pre- and post-test and delayed post-test survey consisting of ten two-tier questions of which an explanatory part was integral. Individual interviews were conducted with six prospective teachers at the end of the implementation of the unit using four questions. Test scores were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Post-instructional interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA of student test scores pointed to statistically significant differences between pre- and post- and delayed post-test (p less than 0.05). A qualitative analysis of the prospective teachers' explanations in the two-tier questions revealed changes in their ideas overtime. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that the teaching activities promoted students' conceptual understanding. No statistically significant differences were found between post-test and delayed post-test scores, suggesting that the teaching activities based on 5E model enabled students to retain their new conceptual understanding. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Attention; Orientation; Short Term Memory; Auditory Stimuli; Change; Retention (Psychology); Young Adults

Abstract:
According to the object-based account of attention, multiple objects coexist in short-term memory (STM), and we can selectively attend to a particular object of interest. Although there is evidence that attention can be directed to visual object representations, the assumption that attention can be oriented to sound object representations has yet to be validated. Here, we used a delayed match-to-sample task to examine whether orienting attention to sound object representations influences change detection within auditory scenes consisting of 3 concurrent sounds, each occurring at a different location. On some trials, the 2 scenes were identical; in the remaining trials, the locations of 2 sounds were switched. In a control experiment, we first identified auditory scenes, in which the 3 sounds were unambiguously segregated, for the subsequent experiments. In 2 experiments, we showed that orienting attention to a sound object representation during memory retention (via a retro-cue) enhanced performance relative to uncued trials, up to 4 s of memory retention. Our study shows that complex auditory scenes composed of cooccurring sound sources are quickly parsed into sound object representations--which are then available for top-down selective attention. Here, we demonstrate that attention can be guided toward 1 of those representations, thereby attenuating change deafness. Furthermore, the effects of retro-cues in audition extend analogous findings in the visual domain, thereby suggesting that orienting attention to an object within visual or auditory STM may follow similar processing principles. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Memory; Cognitive Processes; Problem Solving; Simulation; Imagination; Retention (Psychology)

Abstract:
Memory serves critical functions in everyday life but is also prone to error. This article examines adaptive constructive processes, which play a functional role in memory and cognition but can also produce distortions, errors, and illusions. The article describes several types of memory errors that are produced by adaptive constructive processes and focuses in particular on the process of imagining or simulating events that might occur in one's personal future. Simulating future events relies on many of the same cognitive and neural processes as remembering past events, which may help to explain why imagination and memory can be easily confused. The article considers both pitfalls and adaptive aspects of future event simulation in the context of research on planning, prediction, problem solving, mind-wandering, prospective and retrospective memory, coping and positivity bias, and the interconnected set of brain regions known as the default network. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Individual Testing; Biology; Scoring; Group Testing; Introductory Courses; Large Group Instruction; Teaching Methods; Performance Based Assessment; Retention (Psychology); Recall (Psychology); Matched Groups; Cohort Analysis; Achievement Tests; Criterion Referenced Tests; Norm Referenced Tests; Achievement Gains; Student Evaluation; Comparative Analysis; Comparative Testing

Abstract:
Collaborative testing has been shown to improve performance but not always content retention. In this study, we investigated whether collaborative testing could improve both performance and content retention in a large, introductory biology course. Students were semirandomly divided into two groups based on their performances on exam 1. Each group contained equal numbers of students scoring in each grade category ("A"-"F") on exam 1. All students completed each of the four exams of the semester as individuals. For exam 2, one group took the exam a second time in small groups immediately following the individually administered test. The other group followed this same format for exam 3. Individual and group exam scores were compared to determine differences in performance. All but exam 1 contained a subset of cumulative questions from the previous exam. Performances on the cumulative questions for exams 3 and 4 were compared for the two groups to determine whether there were significant differences in content retention. Even though group test scores were significantly higher than individual test scores, students who participated in collaborative testing performed no differently on cumulative questions than students who took the previous exam as individuals. (Contains 7 figures and 2 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Online Courses; Web Based Instruction; Open Source Technology; Integrated Learning Systems; Instructional Design; College Instruction; Instructional Effectiveness; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Comparative Analysis; Predictor Variables; Questionnaires; Data Analysis; Content Analysis; Online Surveys; Use Studies; Reflection; Educational Experiments; Retention (Psychology); Prompting; Intervention; Metacognition; Tests

Abstract:
This paper reports on a controlled experiment on the effects of three types of reflection triggers in an online course. Fifty-four volunteers, distributed in five groups, used these structured opportunities for reflection during learning. Results show that reflection triggers were extensively employed by the test persons and were perceived as quite useful to reflection and learning. Test persons in the experimental groups reported significantly more reflective prompting and more intensive reflection than those in the control group. In contrast, no positive effects on learner performance and retention could be established. This paradox elicits different possible explanations, which are discussed in the light of the common pedagogical claim that more thoughtful approaches to learning should be promoted. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Animation; Multimedia Instruction; Pretests Posttests; Quasiexperimental Design; Redundancy; Narration; Second Language Learning; Vocabulary; Second Language Instruction; Classroom Research; Epistemology; Undergraduate Students; Retention (Psychology); Vocabulary Development; Instructional Design; Educational Technology; Computer Assisted Instruction; Teaching Methods; College Instruction; Instructional Effectiveness; Data Analysis; Student Surveys; Turkish

Abstract:
This study was designed to examine the effect of the redundancy principle in a multimedia presentation constructed for foreign language vocabulary learning on undergraduate students' retention. The underlying hypothesis of this study is that when the students are exposed to the material in multiple ways through animation, concurrent narration, and concurrent text (ANT), the learning and the retention will have better results in foreign language learning. This small study is expected to contribute to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning literature in three ways. First, the study was conducted in an ecologically more valid environment than Mayer's experiments, because the experiment was done through authentic classroom experience. Unlike the experiments done in Mayer's cognitive laboratory, this study was done within regular classroom settings (Mayer et al., 2001). Classroom research is an important way to establish external validity of findings when using multimedia. Second, the study was done in a different content area, foreign language learning. It was suggested by Plass and Jones (2005, p. 483) that an area for future research is "the integration of second-language acquisition theory and cognitive theories of multimedia learning." Third, the study was conducted with non-Turkish speaking students, which is also another contribution to the literature on multimedia learning. Overall, the results show that adding on-screen text to a multimedia presentation with animation and narration helped students to learn new vocabulary in a previously unfamiliar foreign language (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Mathematics Instruction; Formative Evaluation; Student Surveys; Mathematics Tests; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Interviews; Educational Environment; Cooperative Learning; College Students; College Faculty; Developmental Studies Programs; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Outcomes of Education; Regression (Statistics); Instructional Effectiveness; Retention (Psychology); Prediction

Abstract:
For a period of four semesters, the possibility was explored of using a "group quiz" as a learning activity that provides a collaborative learning environment, a review of the previous week's material, and a formative assessment for both the student and the instructor. Using both quantitative (i.e., student surveys) and qualitative (i.e., student interviews) methods, this article explores the effectiveness of the learning activity in a college-level developmental mathematics course. In addition, a preliminary quantitative analysis will be discussed regarding the success of the quiz using success rates of classes that did and did not incorporate the learning activity. Moreover, since the student's grade for the quiz is a self-assessed score, the relationship was investigated between the self-assessed score and the outcome of exam grades using a regression study. The results demonstrate that the majority of students found the "group quiz" beneficial and desirable. The preliminary qualitative analysis showed an increase in success rates, suggesting that the activity is effective in knowledge retention. Finally, the self-assessed grade revealed a surprising correlation in predicting students' average exam scores. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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