Barbara A. Greene

Project-based Learning with the World Wide Web: A Qualitative Study of Resource Integration

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process used by learners to seek, locate, and integrate information resources for use in a project-based environment. Four cases (n=9) were analyzed from an introductory educational technology course during a unit on telecommunications. Participants were asked to generate projects for integrating the Internet into the curriculum. Within this project-based context, learners searched for information resources that would accompany their project ideas. Three major findings related to use of hypermedia systems during project-based learning are discussed: (a) progressing from data-driven to goal-driven approaches was critical to developing coherent project ideas; (b) consolidation of information resources with project methods and rationales was challenging for learners, often resulting in topic “drifts” or idea simplification; and (c) metacognitive, domain, and system knowledge appeared critical to achieving coherence in project development. Implications related to the role of instructional scaffolding in encouraging goal-driven and metacognitive processing during open-ended learning are considered.

The Relations Between Student Motivational Beliefs and Cognitive Engagement in High School

The authors examined relations among student perceptions of classroom achievement goals, self-efficacy, perceived instrumentality of classroom work, and sense of belonging within a classroom. Participants were 249 high school students. The authors also examined how cognitive engagement was predicted by those variables along with personal achievement goals (mastery and performance approach). The results indicate that the adoption of mastery goals was predicted by perceived instrumentality, self-efficacy, and belonging, whereas cognitive engagement was predicted by belonging and perceived instrumentality. Last, the authors found that a classroom promoting a mastery orientation was predictive of a students sense of belonging. They discuss the importance of mastery-oriented classrooms.

Predicting Preservice Teachers' Cognitive Engagement With Goals and Epistemological Beliefs

The authors examined relationships among achievement goals, epistemological beliefs, cognitive engagement, and application learning of 101 preservice teachers. The authors used an 84-item survey to measure achievement goals (learning and performance), epistemological beliefs (innate ability, certain knowledge, simple knowledge, quick learning, and omniscient authority), and cognitive engagement (meaningful and shallow). Also included was a measure of application learning that was based on an actual course test. Regression analyses showed that goals and beliefs were important for predicting meaningful and shallow cognitive engagement. The only statistically significant predictor of application learning was shallow cognitive engagement with a negative relationship.

Measuring Cognitive Engagement with Self-Report Scales: Reflections from over 20 Years of Research.

Research spanning 20 years is reviewed as it relates to the measurement of cognitive engagement using self-report scales. The authors research program is at the forefront of the review, although the review is couched within the broader context of the research on motivation and cognitive engagement that began in the early 1990s. The theoretical origins of self-report instruments are examined, along with the early measurement findings and struggles. Research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics contexts are highlighted. The author concludes that self-report data have made significant and important contributions to the understanding of motivation and cognitive engagement. However, the evidence also suggests a need to develop and use multiple approaches to measuring engagement in academic work rather than rely only on self-report instruments. Some alternatives to self-report measures are suggested here and throughout this issue.

A study strategies self-efficacy instrument for use with community college students

Theories of self-efficacy and self-regulation were used to examine scores from an instrument that measures self-efficacy for using self-regulatory study strategies. The authors investigated the dimensionality of responses to the Study Skills Self-Efficacy Scale using exploratory factor analysis and Rasch measurement. They also investigated the utility of the Rasch measures in differentiating between groups of students who report being academically successful or at risk. The participants were 550 social science students at a midsized northeastern community-technical college. Results indicated that responses define three related dimensions and that measures were able to differentiate between students reporting to be academically successful or at risk. Additional items need to be developed to increase measurement precision along various portions of the self-efficacy dimensions.

Superior Reliability and Validity for a New Form of the Sentence Verification Technique for Measuring Comprehension

A study was conducted to evaluate a new form of the Sentence Verification Technique (SVT) of measuring comprehension. The new form, called the Meaning Identification Technique (MIT), was designed to retain the property of requiring examinees to evaluate the meaning of the text while at the same time increasing test reliability and validity. One-hundred-three students from an undergraduate educational psychology class were administered a reading comprehension test based on either the traditional SVT or MIT format. Higher reliability coefficients were found for the MIT test and performance on the MIT was a better predictor of course exam scores than performance on either the traditional version of the SVT or the Scholastic Aptitude Test. These results suggest that the MIT has better reliability and the validity than the SVT.

Fostering 21st Century Skill Development by Engaging Students in Authentic Game Design Projects in a High School Computer Programming Class

This study used technology-rich ethnography (TRE) to examine the use of game development in a high school computer programming class for the development of 21st century skills. High school students created games for elementary school students while obtaining formative feedback from their younger clients. Our experience suggests that in the teaching of computer science in high schools, the development of games that include common game features such as dynamic feedback systems, backstory, levels, cheats, and compelling graphics challenges students and engages them in learning. Incorporating real client feedback is also useful for improving their work and connecting it to the “real” world. This article reports findings from the second year of a research project with a high school computer programming class. The authors argue that such approaches that leverage video games, design, programming, authenticity, and cooperation mobilize multiple 21st century skills that must be nurtured among contemporary young people so that they may grow to be part of a productive citizenry.

Hopes and Fears for Science Teaching: The Possible Selves of Preservice Teachers in a Science Education Program

Given the high attrition rate of beginning science teachers, it is imperative to better prepare science preservice teachers, so that they can be successful during the early years of their teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore science preservice teachers’ views of themselves as a future teacher, in particular their hopes and fears for science teaching and the experiences that help to shape their possible selves. Employed were qualitative methods, which included open-ended surveys and face-to-face interviews. Eleven preservice teachers who enrolled in a secondary science teacher preparation program participated. Findings showed six categories of future selves with the most frequent category being for effective/ineffective science teaching. When their hoped-for and feared selves were not balanced, participants articulated more fears. Regarding the primary influence in shaping their hopes and fears, diverse past experiences related to teaching and learning appeared to be more salient factors than science teacher education program. Given the enriched understanding of the science preservice teachers’ perceptions, we provided suggestions for science teacher educators.

The Use of Theory-Based Computer-Assisted Instruction in Correctional Centers To Enhance the Reading Skills of Reading-Disadvantaged Adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of theory-based CAI for reading with incarcerated adults reading below the ninth grade level. The participants were offenders drawn from participating correctional centers in Oklahoma who were randomly assigned to a CAI or a non-CAI instructional group. Reading assessment instruments were administered on a pre-test/post-test basis. Results showed a significant reading achievement gain for computer-assisted reading instruction when compared to traditional instruction for entry levels of 0–3.0 Grade Equivalency Level (GEL). Higher entry levels showed approximately the same gain for both groups. These findings are consistent with a cognitive components model of reading.

Multiple dimensions of teacher identity development from pre-service to early years of teaching: a longitudinal study

Abstract Based on dialogical self theory framework that highlights three dimensions of identity construction (multiplicity vs. unity; social vs. individual; discontinuity vs. continuity), this study explored multiple aspects of teacher identity development over time, in relation to the unity of self, the way the social environment is negotiated, and the shifting or continuing pattern over time. The study employed a qualitative, longitudinal study design that followed five pre-service teachers for four years, including three waves of interviews. Variations of each participant’s journey to develop their teacher identity over time are described. Implications relevant to researchers, teacher educators, and pre-service and beginning teachers are discussed.