Martin Graff

Performance in e-learning: online participation and student grades

The beneficial effects of learners interacting in online programmes have been widely reported. Indeed, online discussion is argued to promote studentcentred learning. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that the benefits of online discussion should translate into improved student performance. The current study examined the frequency of online interaction of 122 undergraduates and compared this with their grades at the end of the year. The findings revealed that greater online interaction did not lead to significantly higher performance for students achieving passing grades; however, students who failed in their courses tended to interact less frequently. Other factors that may be salient in online interactions are discussed.

Learning from web‐based instructional systems and cognitive style

Two of the principal issues, which have been addressed in assessments of the benefits of web-based instructional systems, are firstly, whether the segmentation of information provided by the web structure aids users in apprehending the interrelationships between the units of information featured in the web. Secondly, whether providing the user with an overview of the web system assists in facilitating his/her learning. It is suggested in the present study that these two issues may be more effectively understood by a consideration of an individuals cognitive style. Fifty participants were assigned to one of two web-based instructional systems featuring information on the subject of psychological ethics. The information in one of the web systems was segmented to a greater degree than the information in the other. Half the participants using each web system were given an overview of the system and half were not. After a given time using the system, participants were tested on the information from the web. The findings suggest that cognitive style and segmentation had an effect on performance, although the provision of the overview had little effect. The results are discussed in terms of a consideration of cognitive style in the design of web-based instructional systems.

Individual Differences in Sense of Classroom Community in a Blended Learning Environment

Classroom community may be referred to as the sense of trust and interaction between groups of learners, and it has been argued that sense of community is imperative to successful learning. The construct of cognitive style has frequently been used to explain differences in the educational attainment and has also been found related to social behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cognitive style as measured by the Cognitive Styles Index (Allinson & Hayes, 1996) and sense of classroom community as measured by the Classroom Community Index (Rovai, 2002) in a group of students pursuing courses in a blended learning environment. The study also looked at the effects of gender on sense of community. The results indicate that the students with intuitive cognitive styles report a lower sense of community than students with an intermediate or analytic style; however, few differences were found with respect to gender. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of the construct of cognitive style in predicting social behaviour and guiding the design of blended learning environments.

Individual differences in hypertext browsing strategies

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in web browsing strategies between older and younger participants and also between individuals displaying verbaliser and imager cognitive styles. Typically, verbalisers process information in word form, whereas imagers process information in terms of images. Ten minutes each were allowed to 58 participants to read information in either a hierarchical or relational hypertext with the expectation of answering questions on this information. Browsing strategies were assessed firstly by using three indices of browsing patterns (number of pages visited, proportion of pages visited and pages revisited) and secondly by analysing assessments of browsing strategies given by independent judges. Differences were found between imagers and verbalisers for the indices of browsing patterns, with verbalisers visiting more pages in the hierarchical architecture and imagers visiting more pages in the relational architecture. Similarly, differences were noted between younger and older participants, with the younger groups visiting more pages in the hierarchical condition and the older groups visiting more pages in the relational condition. No differences were observed for the judges ratings of browsing strategy. The findings have possible implications for the design of web-based instructional systems.

Access, attitudes and the digital divide: children’s attitudes towards computers in a technology‐rich environment

Given that children in Germany with a lower socio‐economic status (SES) are over‐represented at general secondary schools, the present study aimed to examine the impact of children’s SES on attitudes towards computers. The results suggest that compared to average SES students, children from deprived socio‐economic backgrounds perceive the computer as important but remain generally more cautious towards computers, despite being exposed to a “technologically rich environment”, where computer‐based instruction is part of the curriculum and ensures frequent access to high quality ICT devices. The findings add further support to the notion that the mere provision of ICT access is not sufficient to close the digital divide. Rather, the extent of support that low SES children receive from their social network and prevailing stereotypes with respect to ICT proficiency, seem to be salient variables which require further investigation. Zugang, Einstellungen und die digitale Kluft: die Einstellungen von Kindern zu Computern in einer technologie‐geprägten Umgebung In Anbetracht dessen, dass Kinder in Deutschland mit einem niedrigeren sozioökonomischen Status (SES) bei allgemeinen Höheren Schulen überrepräsentiert sind, hatte die vorliegende Studie zum Ziel, den Einfluss des SES von Kindern auf Einstellungen zu Computern zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass im Vergleich zu SES‐durchschnittlichen Studenten Kinder mit sozial benachteiligten sozioökonomischen Hintergründen den Computer als wichtig wahrnehmen, aber allgemein zurückhaltender gegenüber Computern bleiben. Trotzdem wurden sie einer “technologisch reichen Umgebung” ausgesetzt, wo Computer Instruktion stützte, ein Teil des Lehrplans ist und häufigen Zugang zu ICT Geräten hoher Qualität sicherte. Die Ergebnisse der Studie legen nahe, dass die bloße Bestimmung des ICT‐Zugangs nicht ausreichend ist, um auf eine digitale Kluft zu schließen. Eher scheinen sie das Ausmaß der Unterstützung, dass als niedrig‐SES bewertete Kinder von ihrem sozialen Netz und vorherrschenden Stereotypien in Bezug auf ICT Kenntnisse erhalten, wichtige Variablen zu sein, die weitere Untersuchungen erfordern. Accès, attitudes et fossé numérique: les attitudes des enfants par rapport aux ordinateurs dans un environnement riche en technologie Etant donné qu’en Allemagne les enfants venant d’un niveau socio‐économique plus bas (NSE) sont sur‐représentés dans les écoles secondaires générales,la présente étude avait pour objet d’étudier l’impact du niveau socio économique des enfants sur leur attitude par rapport aux ordinateurs. Les résultats permettent de penser que, si on les compare aux élèves NSE moyens, les enfants venant de milieux socio économiques défavorisés, perçoivent l’importance de l’ordinateur mais restent généralement plus prudents vis‐à‐vis de l’informatique bien qu’ils aient été exposés à «un environnement riche en technologie» où l’enseignement fondé sur l’ordinateur fait partie du cursus et assure un accès fréquent à des systèmes TIC de grande qualité. Ces résultats renforcent également la notion selon laquelle le seul fait de fournir un accès TIC ne suffit pas à lui seul pour combler la fracture numérique. A la vérité, l’ampleur du soutien que les enfants de milieux socio économiques défavorisés reçoivent de leur réseau social et les stéréotypes en vigueur par rapport aux compétences informatiques, semblent constituer des variables frappantes qui nécessitent des études plus approfondies. Acceso, actitudes y la brecha digital: algunas actitudes de los niños acerca de los ordenadores en entornos ricos en tecnologías Considerando que en Alemania los niños procedentes de niveles socio económicos (NSE) bajos están sobrerepresentados en en las escuelas secundarias generales, el objetivo del presente estudio era de examinar el impacto del nivel socioeconómico de esos niños sobre sus actitudes acerca de los ordenadores. Los resultados nos llevan a pensar que en comparación con el promedio de los alumnos NSE, los niños procedentes de familias desfavorecidas perciben indudablemente el ordenador como una cosa importante pero generalmente permanecen más cautelosos acerca de los ordenadores aunque están expuestos a entornos ricos en tecnologías en los cuales la enseñanza basada en los ordenadores forma parte del curriculo y garantiza un acceso frecuente a aparatos informáticos de alta calidad. Esos resultados demuestran con más fuerza que la mera provisión de un acceso a las TICs no es suficiente para compensar la brecha digital. Al contrario el grado de apoyo que los niños de NSE bajo reciben de su red social así como los estereotipos comunes acerca de la competencia informática, parecen constituír variables destacadas que necesitan investigaciones minuciosas.

Differences in Concept Mapping, Hypertext Architecture, and the Analyst-Intuition Dimension of Cognitive Style

There is now evidence to suggest that the degree to which hypertext or web‐based instructional systems facilitate recall of information appears to be contingent on an individual’s cognitive or information processing style. Concept maps also reflect the way in which individuals process information and therefore it is possible that cognitive style and hypertext architecture might influence concept map drawings produced by hypertext users. In this study, 55 participants were assigned to one of three hypertext conditions and were required to recall information and produce maps of the hypertext. Cognitive style was assessed using the analyst–intuition dimension of cognitive style. The findings confirmed earlier research that individuals possessing different cognitive styles differed in recall performance when using different hypertexts. Furthermore, the concept maps produced by participants with different cognitive styles differed between architecture conditions. The findings are explained partly as being due to differences between individuals’ perceived ease of use of hypertext.

The Affective Dimensions of Mathematical Difficulties in Schoolchildren

Mathematical difficulties (MDs) are frequently characterised by cognitive deficits such as ineffective problem solving strategies and a lack of computational fluency. The established literature indicates that mathematical achievement is not only a function of cognitive factors but it also points to the importance of affective factors for the development of mathematical achievement. In the light of this evidence, the exploration of childrens affective responses towards mathematics becomes a central issue. Whereas previous studies tended to research affective motivational constructs such as self-efficacy in isolation from other related constructs, the literature suffers from a shortage of research on the relationship between different affective motivational variables and their impact on mathematical achievement in different age and achievement bands. The present paper aims to address this aim by employing a newly developed instrument to measure affective motivational variables. Overall, the present findings support the assumption that children of average ability are less influenced by affective factors than children with mathematical difficulties.

Revealing All: Misleading Self-Disclosure Rates in Laboratory-Based Online Research

Laboratory-based experiments in online self-disclosure research may be inadvertently compromising the accuracy of research findings by influencing some of the factors known to affect self-disclosure behavior. Disclosure-orientated interviews conducted with 42 participants in the laboratory and in nonlaboratory settings revealed significantly greater breadth of self-disclosure in laboratory interviews, with message length and intimacy of content also strongly related. These findings suggest that a contrived online setting with a researcher presence may stimulate motivation for greater self-disclosure than would occur naturally in an online environment of an individuals choice. The implications of these findings are that researchers should consider the importance of experimental context and motivation in self-disclosure research.

Abnormalities in Pattern of Lateralization in Relation to Visuospatial Short Term Memory in Children with Williams Syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder characterised by significant intellectual disability. Initial studies indicate that children with WS have a profound bias for information in the top left of visual arrays. Study 1, using a visuospatial memory test for items presented in a matrix, found a significant top left bias in WS children relative to controls. Study 2 used a probe-based memory test with arrays in which items appeared with equal probability in each position. Relative to controls, WS children showed a significant top and left bias. In Study 3, the same children engaged in a visual search task and again, a top and left bias was found in the WS group. It is concluded that children with WS display atypical laterality, which might be explained by abnormal saccadic movements, by abnormalities involving development of the dorsal stream or by uneven cortical development.