A study analyzed family decision-making style, peer group affiliation, and academic achievement in 10th grade as predictors of academic achievement of African American students in 12th grade. Findings indicated that though peer groups were known to influence academic performance, affiliation with learning oriented peers in 10th grade did not…

The purpose of the present study is to gain more insight into the relationship between students' approaches to learning and students' quantitative learning outcomes, as a function of the different components of problem-solving that are measured within the assessment. Data were obtained from two sources: the revised two factor study process…

Analysis was made of the common sense explanations of 60 Mexican teenage illicit drug users in rehabilitation to determine their drug use debut. The explanatory model was separated into three blocks, two of which contained common sense aspects: interaction between subject's plane and the collectivity; and relationship between subject's interior…

Background: Children with fluent and accurate word reading in the presence of poor text comprehension are impaired on a wide range of reading-related tasks. Aims: This study investigated the consistency of skill impairment in a sample of poor comprehenders to identify any fundamental skill weakness that (i) might be associated with poor text…

The authors conducted a systematic review of studies examining correlations between assessments of function not obtained using self-report and those obtained using performance-based measures for community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Articles for this review were identified using electronic searching in MEDLINE, CINHAL, and AGELINE and…

Validation of a classroom observation measure for use with English Learners (ELs) in grade 1 was the focus of this study. Fourteen teachers were observed during reading and language arts instruction with an instrument used to generate ratings of instructional quality on a number of dimensions. In these classrooms we assessed the reading…

This study examines an innovative course pedagogy developed to increase learning of advanced financial concepts and positively affect attitudes of non-traditional graduate students toward the discipline of finance in a non-traditional Master of Business Administration program. The hypothesis tested is that use of innovative instructional methods,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of virtual learning environments in multicultural higher education of two different subjects: foreign language and marketing. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes the aims, development and results of an interdisciplinary collaboration project was held between two European…

While Garrison and colleagues' (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has generated substantial interest among online learning researchers, it has yet to be subjected to extensive quantitative verification or tested for external validity. Using a sample of students from 55 online MBA courses, the findings of this study suggest strong…

Although protocol analysis can be an important tool for researchers to investigate the process of collaboration and communication, the use of this method of analysis can be time consuming. Hence, an automatic coding procedure for coding dialogue acts was developed. This procedure helps to determine the communicative function of messages in online…

The major purpose of this study is to assist college students in constructing mental representation of referential resolution in a computer system. Ninety students were asked to draw mental maps indicating the relationships between references, take reading comprehension tests, and fill out open-ended questionnaire. Results showed that the…

Because of the perceived lack of youth physical fitness and/or concerns for increased obesity, physical education teachers are interested in youth fitness and physical activity levels. Statewide mandates are being developed that require school-based teachers to complete physical fitness testing. Data from the nationally representative School…

The purpose of this study is to examine whether teachers' perceptions of educational value discontinuity are predictive of the psychological antecedents of academic performance (e.g., academic engagement and academic self-efficacy) during middle school. Educational value discontinuity is defined as the difference between teachers' actual…

Risk-taking behavior includes alcohol and drug use, delinquency, acts of aggression, sexual activity, and so on. Many studies have explored the relationship between adolescents and risk-taking behavior; however, only a few studies have examined this link in adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…

The purpose of the study was to determine comparability of an online version to the original paper-pencil version of Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). This study employed methods from both Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Findings from CTT analyses supported the reliability and discriminant validity of both versions.…