Samuel DiGangi

SElf-Graphing of On-Task Behavior: Enhancing the Reactive Effects of Self-Monitoring on On-Task Behavior and Academic Performance:

This study investigated the effects of self-graphing on improving the reactivity of self-monitoring procedures for two students with learning disabilities. Differential effects of self-evaluation and self-reinforcement were assessed along with self-monitoring and self-graphing using a single-case multiple-treatment design. Subjects self-monitored and self-graphed their on-task behavior. Measures of academic arithmetic performance (productivity and accuracy) were collected simultaneously. For both students, on-task behavior and academic performance improved during self-monitoring, with additional increases due to self-graphing. However, little improvement in on-task behavior and academic productivity was noted with the introduction of self-reinforcement and self-evaluation, although academic accuracy increased slightly for both. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

A Component Analysis of Self-Management Training with Behaviorally Disordered Youth.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the interaction effects among three components of self-management training: self-monitoring, self-evaluation/self-reinforcement, and self-instruction upon the appropriate and inappropriate verbal behaviors of three behaviorally disordered students. An extension of the A-B-A-B design was used to assess interaction effects. A combination of all three components and the combination of self-instruction and self-monitoring were the most effective treatments across all three subjects. Self-monitoring and self-evaluation/self-reinforcement, when employed as individual treatments, were least effective, while self-instruction was the most effective treatment when employed in isolation. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Dysfunctional cognitions associated with adolescent depression: Findings across special populations

Abstract In this study, we investigated the prevalence of dysfunctional cognitive self‐statements across three adolescent populations in two conditions: learning‐disabled, seriously emotionally disturbed, and nonhandicapped students enrolled in public school and incarcerated in facilities for juvenile delinquents. Reliability scores for the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire were calculated and validated across populations. We computed multivariate analysis of variance to examine differences in reported depressive symptomatology and related dysfunctional cognitions. Females with learning disabilities or emotional disturbance scored higher on both measures than their nonhandicapped peers, whereas males with learning disabilities or emotional disturbance reported less depressive symptomatology than their nonhandicapped counterparts. Differences in levels of depressive symptomatology between incarcerated and public school adolescents differed as a function of label. We discuss issues related to differences in ...

Teaching Factor Analysis in Terms of Variable Space and Subject Space Using Multimedia Visualization

There are many common misconceptions regarding factor analysis. For example, students do not know that vectors representing latent factors rotate in subject space, rather than in variable space. Consequently, eigenvectors are misunderstood as regression lines, and data points representing variables are misperceived as data points depicting observations. The topic of subject space is omitted by many statistics textbooks, and indeed it is a very difficult concept to illustrate. An animated tutorial was developed in an attempt to alleviate this problem. Since the target audience is intermediate statistics students who are familiar with regression, regression in variable space is used as an analogy to lead learners into factor analysis in the subject space. At the end we apply the Gabriel biplot to combine the two spaces. Findings from a textbook review, a survey, and a “think aloud” protocol were taken into account during the program development and are discussed here.

Enhancement of Student Experience Management in Higher Education by Sentiment Analysis and Text Mining

Theobjectiveofthiscasestudyistoillustratehowtextminingofopen-endedresponsesandsentimental expressions(positiveornegative)fromstudentsurveycouldyieldvaluableinformationforimproving studentexperiencemanagement(SEM).TheconceptofstudentSEMwasborrowedfromthenotionof customerexperiencemanagement(CEM),whichaimsforongoingimprovementofcustomerrelations throughunderstandingofthecustomer’spointofview.Withtheadvanceoftextminingtechnology, whichisbaseduponartificialintelligenceandmachinelearning,textualdatathatwerepreviously underutilizedarefoundtobevaluableinCEM.ToillustratehowtextminingcanbeappliedtoSEM, theauthorsdiscussanexamplefromacampus-widesurveyconductedatArizonaStateUniversity.The purposeofthissurveywastobetterunderstandstudentexperienceswithinstructionaltechnologyin orderforadministratorstomakedata-drivendecisionsonitsimplementation.Ratherthanimposing the researchers’ preconceived suppositions on the students by using force-option survey items, researchersonthisprojectchosetouseopen-endedquestionsinordertoelicitafreeemergenceof themesfromthestudents.Themostvaluablelessonlearnedfromthisstudyisthatstudentsperceive anidealenvironmentasawebofmutuallysupportingsystems.Specifically,onlineaccessshouldbe augmentedbyuseoflaptopsandavailabilityofcoursematerials,whereasvirtualclassesshouldbe balancedbyhumaninteractions.

Effects of Activation of Preferred Stimulus on Tummy Time Behavior of an Infant with Down Syndrome and Associated Hypotonia

Infants with Down syndrome often have low muscle tone (hypotonia) and need activities designed to increase muscle tone (e.g., tummy time). However, no study has examined the effects of strategies designed to increase of tummy time for this population. The current study investigated activation of a preferred toy as a strategy to increase head lifting during tummy time for a 5-month-old with Down syndrome and associated hypotonia. The intervention was successful and is a promising early strategy for addressing hypotonia in infants with Down syndrome.• Infants with Down syndrome often have associated hypotonia, or poor muscle tone.• “Tummy time” is widely described as an important activity for motor development in early infancy.• Activating preferred stimuli during tummy time increased head lifting in an infant with Down syndrome and hypotonia.• Activation of a preferred stimulus is an easy intervention that parents can use to enhance tummy time.

The Arab Grid for Learning: A Model for System-Wide Resource Sharing and Services

Throughout the world significant investments have and are being made in the design, development and deployment of digital learning content, learning management systems, content repositories and brokerage systems to facilitate the exchange of metadata and associated content to educational software systems. The experience in Europe and the US is that with all these projects financed, designed, implemented and maintained independently, the impact of these initiatives has been reduced and return on investment sub-optimal. Sustainability suffers and content is hard to find. With hindsight, the Arab world should be able to overcome these issues by creating a system-wide infrastructure to enable the discovery and identification of learning resources across different projects and technical systems in the Arab world and beyond in a uniform way. This paper provides an overview of the Arab Grid for Learning, an initiative lead by Obeikan Research and Development in conjunction with Cambridge University Press, Arizona State University and Dublin City University to provide a network of national portals with a common learning platform, online content service, and social networking system for all educators and learners across the Arab World.