Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw

Web 2.0 Technologies: Facilitating Interaction in an Online Human Services Counseling Skills Course

In the face-to-face classroom, human services counseling educators rely on highly interpersonal, interactive methods to teach clinical skills. Replicating these instructional methods in the asynchronous, text-based e-learning environment has been difficult and sometimes impossible. However, web-based technologies, specifically Web 2.0 technologies, may afford educators the opportunity to simulate and enhance the strengths of highly interpersonal and interactive methods of face-to-face clinical skill instruction. These authors demonstrate how a human services counseling skills course can be taught using Web 2.0 technologies. Most of the focus will be on two synchronous applications: 3-D virtual worlds and web conferencing. Implications for educators and recommendations for future research are provided.

The relationship between transformational leadership and cultural intelligence

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a relationship between the factors of cultural intelligence and transformational leadership in international school leaders. Design/methodology/approach – This correlational research study examined 193 international school leaders, who participated in a survey that included the Cultural Intelligence Scale and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire 5X. A standard multiple regression analysis was used to determine if the factors of cultural intelligence predict transformational leadership. The individual contribution of each factor to the model was examined. Findings – The results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between cultural intelligence and transformational leadership in international school leaders. Leaders who have a higher level of cultural intelligence exhibit a higher level of transformational leadership style, which suggests that individuals with high-cultural intelligence are able to lead and to manage mor...

The Efficacy of Computer Mediated Communication Technologies to Augment and Support Effective Online Helping Profession Education

With the increased adoption of online education, it has become vital for helping profession educators to consider the use of online education. It is also vital for them to consider technologies that can support effective online education for the profession. This study considers the use of both synchronous and asynchronous technologies in helping profession courses. Results of the causal comparative design suggested that online students who used a combination of technologies had statistically significantly higher levels of social presence than the students who used only asynchronous technologies. No difference in cognitive presence, teacher presence, and perceived learning was found between the two groups.

Electronic Versus Print Textbooks: The Influence of Textbook Format on University Students’ Self-Regulated Learning Strategies, Motivation, and Text Anxiety

Because a majority of university students do not regularly read course textbooks, a study was conducted to determine if portable electronic textbooks (e-textbooks) would increase university student motivation to read by enhancing cognitive learning strategies and self-regulation of learning. The participants included 538 university students who self-chose to use either a print or e-textbook throughout the semester. The dependent variables self-efficacy, intrinsic value, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, and text anxiety were measured in each of two groups of participants using the Technology Confidences and Attitudes scale and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The results of a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analysis indicated that there was a significant difference in the students’ MSLQ scores based on their choice of textbook format. These results imply that students who use e-textbooks are more likely to use cognitive and self-regulation strategies than students who use traditional print textbooks in their courses.

Should Online Doctoral Instructors Adopt Audio Feedback as an Instructional Strategy? Preliminary Evidence

Literature supports that feedback is central to the learning process, and technology is central in the delivery of online education. Critical lines of research consistently identify two crucial variables associated with effective online higher education: community and learning. Thus, the current study examined how audio and text feedback as compared written feedback can contribute to 125 online doctoral students’ sense of community and learning. The findings show that doctoral students who received audio and text feedback had better perceptions of their instructor and cognitive development than those who received written feedback. The students who received audio and text feedback also had better learning outcomes. There was no difference in social presence between the two groups. These results are consistent with qualitative research on audio and text feedback and are explained by media theory.

Poverty and Persistence: A Model for Understanding Individuals' Pursuit and Persistence in a Doctor of Education Program

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to extend the theoretical foundations of selfdetermination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2008), Tinto’s (1993) integration model of graduate persistence, and the framework of resilience (Cefai, 2004; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000) to generate a theoretical model explaining how doctoral candidates from backgrounds of poverty persist through to successful admittance to doctoral candidacy. The proposed theoretical model provides an account for the relationship among significant losses in childhood that are subsequently transformed into positive attributes that motivated participants’ pursuit and persistence in a doctoral program. This study produced two new constructs contributing to the empirical and theoretical literature addressing persistence: familial integration and altruistic motivation. With high attrition rates across disciplines, this study makes an important contribution to the theoretical and empirical literature addressing doctoral persistence. Further, understanding the unique phenomena of familial integration and altruistic motivation assists universities in identifying marketing strategies and support services for the population under study.

A comparison of a multimedia wiki-based class text and a traditional textbook: Does type of text impact learning?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an improved understanding of how a wiki text compares to the use of a traditional text, and to provide an improved understanding of how integrating audio and video into a learner‐created wiki class text impacts learning.Design/methodology/approach – For this case study, a causal comparative research design was used to compare students’ learning between the two groups. A one‐way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the quantitative data. Cognitive learning, affective learning, psychomotor learning, and course points were used as dependent variables.Findings – Findings of the present study provided evidence that there was a significant difference in the learning, affective learning and psychomotor learning between the two groups; students who used the learner‐created multimedia wiki text reported higher levels of learning than the learners who used the traditional text book. No significant difference existed between groups in terms ...