There is growing interest in the use of semantic collections in order to identify and analyse domain knowledge. This paper describes some technical issues to consider when contemplating research which incorporates small-to-medium domain-specific word sets. The purpose of the corpus construction described was to provide an external word collection…

A technique to study combined influence of environmental and genetic factors on the base of changes in phenotype distributions is presented. Histograms are exploited as base analyzed characteristics. A continuous time, discrete state Markov process with piece-wise constant interstate transition rates is associated with evolution of each histogram.…

Although research has established that phonological awareness is a predictor of future reading skill, the effects of variant vs. contiguous presentations of grapheme-phoneme correspondences as part of a teaching program have not been examined. A variant presentation is one in which there is a mismatch between the letter and sound or sound and…

A survey of 96 Australian primary and secondary school teachers was carried out based on a stratified random sample. The study aimed to determine Middle Years teachers' perceptions and management of disruptive classroom behaviour. Variables such as gender, teacher confidence and experience, supports, specific disruptive student behaviours, and…

The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which undergraduates engage in disciplined enquiry, as one means of operationalising critical thinking. Three hundred essays from second-year students were judged on the indicators of disciplinary concepts, elaborated written communication and analysis. Non parametric statistical tests…

This paper examines reading achievement when the maternal/paternal language has become a de facto second language. The performance of a cohort of Greek-Australian high school students (N = 270) on a diagnostic Greek reading test was significantly below that of pupils in second to fourth grades in Greece. The mean item difficulty for…

This study examines the use of a cooperative physical games program "The Game Factory" on social behaviour among children. Children are required to work together towards positive collective outcomes. A pretest-intervention-posttest design is used. Parents and teachers assessed 90 Australian primary school children in two experimental groups and…

This paper describes the validation of actual and preferred forms of a new classroom environment instrument--the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI)--using multitrait-multimethod modelling. The 80-item TROFLEI assesses 10 classroom environment dimensions: Student Cohesiveness, Teacher Support, Involvement,…

This paper outlines the procedures used in the textual analysis of examiner reports for 101 PhD candidates across disciplines in one Australian University. The method involves the use of QSR software. Three levels of findings are outlined. The first level is the coding categories that emerged out of reading the report text. There are five broad…

This paper discusses ways in which examiners position themselves in relation to doctoral students' knowledge. The epistemological thesis of Habermas is utilized and its well-established connections with the world of formal learning re-stated. Against this conceptual framework, the examiner reports are appraised with a view to identifying the ways…

This paper focuses on doctoral assessment as an area that has been relatively neglected in higher education research. It then describes and justifies a mixed-method approach to the study of PhD examination processes and outcomes in Australia. The design is reported of a study including candidate and candidature information for approximately 800…

Discusses the origin and elaboration of the concept of learning styles. Traces the influence of a cognition and learning-centered approach to the psychology of individual development. Argues for an integration of various models into a single learning style. Includes a tabular description of fundamental dimensions of cognitive style. (MJP)

Reviews the origins of the concept of cognitive style. Explores the fundamental applications of that style and relevant methods of assessment. Examines the distinction between style, which is likely to be relatively fixed, and strategies which are capable of being learned and developed. Discusses the relationship of style to learning preferences…

Summarizes the results of a study of 245 university undergraduates and describes the range of individual differences in cognitive style within that sample. Identifies four broad categories: (1) cognitive personality elements, (2) information processing style, (3) approaches to studying, and (4) instructional preferences. Discusses the differences…

Considers the theoretical validity of two approaches to cognitive style. Wholist-Analytic maintains that cognitive processes depend on the interaction of two opposing forces, destructive and constructive. Reflection-Impulsivity characterizes learners according to their reflective or impulsive responses to solution hypotheses. Evaluates these…