Changes in the health care environment have impacted nursing workload, quality of care, and patient safety. Traditional nursing workload measures do not guarantee efficiency, nor do they adequately capture the complexity of nursing workload. Review of the literature indicates nurses perceive the quality of their work has diminished. Research has…

This paper takes a complexity theory approach to looking at language learning, an approach that investigates how language learners adapt to and interact with people and their environment. Based on interviews with four graduate students, it shows how complexity theory can help us understand both the situatedness of language learning and also…

More than 200 early college high schools serving 50,000 students have opened across the United States since 2002--and they are achieving results. Eighty-six percent of early college graduates enroll in college immediately after high school, compared with two-thirds of high school graduates nationwide. Of the 3,000 early college graduates in 2009,…

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess probation officers knowledge levels of offenders with intellectual disabilities by utilizing a synthesis of subject matter analysis technique and a comprehensive review of literature. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was devoted to establishing the knowledge…

Traditional mathematics education focuses on teaching rote procedures to solve problems, though these procedures are not usually motivated by goals. As a result, students have trouble flexibly using procedures and generalizing their knowledge to solve novel problems that differ from the problems they practice during instruction. In the following…

Contradictory evidence has been reported on the effects of discovery learning approach and the role of instructional explanations. By manipulating the presence of instruction (verbal explanation) and transparency of problem structures, we investigated how effects of instructional explanations differed depending on the transparency of problem…

Enacting tasks at high levels of cognitive demand helps preservice teachers make sense of mathematical ideas and serves as a model for instruction. Small group discussions can be useful pedagogical tools for maintaining a task's cognitive demands. In this article, we contrast two small group discussions within a preservice elementary classroom to…

In recent years, the Australian Government has invested heavily ($2.4 b) into the Digital Education Revolution with initiatives that aim at increasing ICT proficiencies in teachers and school leaders and equipping Years 9-12 students with a laptop each. Such initiatives should be welcomed by the science education community as ICT offers…

The addition of video capabilities to portable media playing devices has engendered a broader definition of the term podcast to include video files. Current research designs on podcast use in education are neglectful of the considerations of cognitive load on student learning. Podcasting is the process by which multimedia learning objects (MLOs)…

Although distance educators are adopting electronic portfolios (eportfolios) for purposes of assessment and collaboration, some researchers question their utility in these venues. In a setting where feelings of isolation and attrition are high, this study examined how eportfolios affect cognitive load and student perceptions of support. The study…

The effects of self-pacing versus system-pacing were examined in different versions of a computer-based learning environment (static pictures/animations). The role of cognitive style was also considered. While the variables investigated did not have a direct impact on either learning outcome or cognitive load, significant interaction effects were…

Introduction: This study addresses two major issues with respect to cooperative learning. The study aims at experimentally investigating the function of positive resource interdependence and individual accountability on academic performance of individuals in cooperative learning. Method: To achieve the purpose a two by two randomized post-test…

We report tests of hypotheses derived from a theory of supportive communication outcomes that maintains the effects of supportive messages are moderated by factors influencing the motivation and ability to process these messages. Participants in two studies completed a measure of cognitive complexity, which provided an assessment of processing…

Multivariate matching in Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analyses may contribute to understand the sources of DIF. In this context, detecting appropriate additional matching variables is a crucial issue. This present article argues that the variables which are correlated with communalities in item difficulties can be used as an additional…

Updating and extending the work of O'Leary-Kelly, Martocchio, and Frink (1994), with this meta-analysis on goal setting and group performance we show that specific difficult goals yield considerably higher group performance compared with nonspecific goals (d = 0.80 plus or minus 0.35, k = 23 effect sizes). Moderately difficult and easy goals were…