William A. Kealy

How geographic maps increase recall of instructional text

This article reviews research on how geographic maps influence the recall of associated text. Drawing on literature from cartography and educational, experimental, and cognitive psychology, the authors describe a model of map-text learning based on dual-coding theory and focused on activities that take place during working memory operations. The instructional implications of the model are explored, and recommendations for instructional applications are given.

Concreteness and imagery effects in the written composition of definitions.

Concreteness and imagery effects have been found to be among the most powerful in explaining performance on a variety of language tasks. Concreteness and imagery effects involve the capacity of concrete language to evoke sensory images in the mind (e.g., juicy watermelon), whereas abstract language has relatively less capacity to do so (e.g., agriculturalproduce). The effects of concreteness and imagery on reading and text recall have been well-established (e.g., Goetz, Sadoski, Fatemi, & Bush, 1994; Paivio, 1971, 1986; Paivio, Walsh, & Bons, 1994; Sadoski, Goetz, & Avila, 1995; Sadoski, Goetz, & Fritz, 1993a, 1993b). Concrete words, phrases, sentences, and texts have been found to be more imageable, comprehensible, memorable, and interesting than abstract language units even when other relevant contextual variables are carefully controlled. These results can be consistently interpreted by dual coding theory (Paivio, 1971, 1986, 1991), which maintains that cognition involves the operation of two separate but interconnected systems, one for verbal representations and processes and one for nonverbal (imagery) representations and processes.

Knowledge Maps and Their Use in Computer-Based Collaborative Learning Environments

Conceptual learning of 13 graduate students at a university in the southeastern United States was studied during a six-week course that employed the Internet for collaborative learning of on-line articles. Five groups were formed with each creating a knowledge map—a diagram that graphically arranges and interconnects concepts to show their relationship—during the first and fifth week of the course. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis was used to study the change in each groups mapping over time to determine the influence of a computer-based collaborative learning environment on conceptual understanding. MDS analysis was also used to compare a knowledge map and a similarity rating (of the same 10 concepts) completed by each student at the end of the course. Results of the first analysis indicated that, despite the collaborative nature of the learning environment, groups did not become more similar over time in their understanding of key concepts. However, the second analysis revealed common student perceptions about the dimensions that characterized the conceptual relationships involved. Importantly, this analysis provided evidence that knowledge maps are comparable to rating instruments, thereby supporting recent research claims that they are valid representations of conceptual knowledge. Prescriptions are made for the expanded role of MDS in collaborative knowledge mapping activities.

Widening the Circle: Faculty-Student Support Groups as Innovative Practice in Higher Education

Faculty-student support groups have the potential to promote strategies for co-mentorship in places of learning. They can also function to facilitate alternative forms of pedagogical practice in the context of lifelong learning. The purpose of this paper is to describe ideas and practices in the innovative development of faculty-student support groups in higher education. The authors provide a context for introducing the model of a co-mentoring support group, for considering institutional dynamics in forming co-mentoring support groups, for illustrating a case study analysis of a university-based support group, for providing a collegial response to the mentoring literature, for considering the need to formalize mentoring programs and outcomes, for exploring challenges to and benefits of the support group effort, and finally for envisioning co-mentoring support groups more generally. The authors argue that more attention needs to be given to studying alternative pedagogical practices that enable mutualistic relationships to endure. This article accordingly offers an original holistic guide for viewing mentoring as interconnected cycles and phases of lifelong learning.

Guest Editors' Introduction: At the nexus of mentoring and technology

With the ever-increasing role of technology as an innovative force in society, we have witnessed major changes in the types of education being developed and in how learning and instruction is conceptualised. Consider, for example, the dramatic rise in the number of Internet-based courses offered in higher education as well as the evolving role of the teacher as creator of learning environments. Accordingly, considering the possibilities and limitations of mentoring in this new and dynamic technological context is both timely and relevant. It is the nexus between mentorship and technology that is the subject of this first special issue of Mentoring & Tutoring.

Differing Map Construction and Text Organization and Their Effects on Retention

Abstract On the basis of Kulhavys (R. W. Kulhavy, J. B. Lee, & L. C. Caterino, 1985) conjoint retention model of text learning with organized spatial displays, the authors conducted 2 experiments to analyze the effects of different types of maps and a considerate text (i.e., a text that follows the scanning pattern of the map) or an inconsiderate text. In the 1st study, 158 participants viewed an intact or a segmented map and a considerate or a randomized text. Those participants who viewed the intact map and read the considerate text recalled significantly more information than those who viewed the intact map and read the randomized text. In the 2nd study, 179 participants viewed a flat map, a 1-point perspective map, or a 2-point perspective map, and a considerate text formulated on the basis of the predicted scanning pattern of the map. Those participants who viewed the flat map recalled significantly more information than those who viewed the perspective maps.

Opportune Encounters: Hosting extramural mentoring programmes for new scholars

This article explores the new and important field of mentoring in higher education. It describes a pilot project that launched the mentoring of new scholars through an academic writing programme. In its inaugural year, this national programme attracted educators from the US, Canada, and the UK who are international members of a US-based conference. The analysis of the extramural programme uses the formative evaluations of the 48 participants-mentors (established scholars) and mentees (graduate students, recent graduates, and beginning faculty). The questionnaire data are organised into issues highlighting preliminary insights for programmatic development at professional venues. Salient elements of the Mentoring for Academic Writing (MAW) Programme are provided to encourage the development of other mentoring opportunities for new scholars. Benefits and limitations are included. An overview of the current mentoring climate that supports new models of human relationship is given. Discussion covers the relevant literature and recommendations for programmatic improvement.

Conjoint Processing of Time-Compressed Narration in Multimedia Instruction: The Effects on Recall, but Not Recognition

Although previous research shows verbal recall of time-compressed narration is significantly enhanced when it is accompanied by a representational adjunct picture (Ritzhaupt & Barron, 2008), the reason for this increased performance remains unclear. One explanation, explored in the current study, is based on the Conjoint Retention Hypothesis (CRH), which posits that mentally stored visual information can serve as a secondary retrieval cue that boosts recall of related verbal material. Four groups of participants (N = 153) listened to a compressed audio narration at different rates of speed. The narration was accompanied by visuals, 50% of which were pictorially-related and 50% of which were pictorially-unrelated. Results show the type of information significantly influenced the recall, but not the recognition performance. While CRH provides the most feasible explanation for the increased recall, the generative-recognize view best explains the differences between recognition and recall performance.

Conjoint Influence of Maps and Auded Prose on Children’s Retrieval of Instruction

Fifth-grade students studied a map of a fictitious island while twice listening to a related narrative containing target feature and nonfeature items. The students were cued by varying iconic and verbal stimuli in four map cue conditions; they received immediate and delayed tests to recall text items, map features, and feature locations. The students were also required to rate their confidence in each response. Students remembered more text features and were more confident of their responses when cued by icons plus labels and by icons only. Students in these groups also recalled more map features and their locations on a map reconstruction task. Memory for feature information and pictorial retrieval cues appeared to activate memory for nonfeature information contained in the text.

Assessment Certitude as a Feedback Strategy for Learners' Constructed Responses

Educational researchers have rarely addressed the problem of how to provide feedback on constructed responses. All participants (N = 76) read a story and completed short-answer questions based on the text, with some receiving feedback consisting of the exact material on which the questions were based. During feedback, two groups receiving feedback also rated the certainty of their response correctness—an activity we have termed assessment certitude. Additionally, participants in one of these groups viewed their initial responses along with the feedback. All three feedback conditions showed significant gains in recall performance compared to a fourth group that received no feedback. Low ratings of assessment certitude significantly correlated with improved recall for two groups receiving feedback that did not include their original responses. Among these participants, mental reiteration of the feedback received was the most frequently used mental strategy while participants in a third group, who saw their original responses during feedback, reported using other approaches such as visualization.