No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Predicting learning: Comparing an open educational resource and standard textbooks.
Abstract
Open educational resources (OERs) enable anyone, anywhere, to access psychological science for free. Are OERs as effective learning tools as standard textbooks (STBs)? I compared students using an OER with students using STBs in 2 large, multisite studies (N = 1,099 and N = 2,229, respectively). Studies measure key student variables and possible confounds such as metacognition, study techniques, time spent studying, perceptions of the instructor, and rating of the quality and helpfulness of the textbook. Students completed a standardized test using a subset of items from a released Advanced Placement exam. In both studies, OER users reported lower ACT scores. In Study 1, students using an OER scored lower on the test after controlling for ACT scores, F(1, 777) = 48.09, p < .001, ηp2 = .06, and rated the book as lower in quality. Scores on book helpfulness did not vary between groups. Study 2 also compared book format (hard copy or electronic) and showed a main effect of book used, no main effect of format, and a significant book used by format interaction effect, F(2, 1406) = 5.29, p = .005, ηp2 = .01: OER hard copy users scored lowest. Book used predicted significant variance in learning over and above ACT scores and student variables (STB users performed better). The results highlight limitations of current attempts to assess learning in psychology and underline the need for robust comparisons of a wider variety of OERs, with a focus on lower ability students, and e-book usage patterns.
... A backward search of the reference lists of reports found and a forward search of work that had cited found reports was then conducted. This led to a selection of seven reports for this review (one of which contained two studies; Gurung, 2017b). An eighth report was recommended by an anonymous reviewer. ...
... Student outcomes in OER research has typically focused on performance measures in their courses, such as overall grade, passing rates, and exam grades. However, there was one study in which performance on a standardized assessment chosen by a researcher was compared between students enrolled in courses with OER and those using commercial textbooks (Gurung, 2017b). In terms of results, two studies on performance favor OER (although they may be limited to certain measures), two studies found no differences between OER and commercial materials, and two studies favored commercial materials. ...
... In addition, the type of OER and/or commercial textbooks used may explain the conflicting findings between Robinson (2015) and Fischer et al. (2015), but details about the materials were not provided in either report. Gurung (2017b) conducted a multi-institution study comparing Introduction to Psychology students enrolled in courses using an open textbook (Noba; Biswas-Diener & Diener, 2014) to those in courses with commercial textbooks. Instead of examining learning outcomes based on course grades, Gurung (2017b) used researcher-chosen measures in two separate studies, one based on the Psychology Advanced Placement exam and the second on the Noba testbank, both of which students completed online. ...
Open educational resources (OER) have been developed to free students from the expense and instructors from the restrictions of commercial materials. There has been a wealth of empirical examination on numerous aspects of OER. The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize and integrate the findings on OER in psychology to assist instructors in making informed decisions about course materials. Topics in this review were organized according to the Cost, Outcomes, Usage, and Perceptions framework. Results indicated that OER adoption yielded cost savings while generally having similar or better outcomes in terms of grades. Students typically reported similar use and perceptions of OER compared to commercial course materials. Resources for instructors interested in OER are described. Criticisms of OER, such as concerns about quality, are addressed as well as limitations of reviewed research and future directions for research and development of OER.
... Other studies of larger scale show mixed effects of OER, with one study (Gurung, 2017) reporting lesser performance on learning and biopsychology quiz items when OER versus traditional textbooks were used, and two others reporting improved outcomes with OER use. In Biology, History, Psychology, and Sociology courses for over 10,000 students at a large State university, Colvard and colleagues (2018) showed that course grades increased and rates of nonproductive grades (i.e., earning a D or F grade, or a W for course withdrawal) decreased for students who typically are at risk in college (e.g., part-time students, students who received Pell grant) when OER was adopted. ...
... The neutral outcome is consistent with most prior work on OER (e.g., Clinton, 2018;Hilton, 2016;Wang & Wang, 2017) and inconsistent with prior work reporting positive (Weller et al., 2015) and negative (Gurung, 2017) impacts of OER. Clinton (2018), in another study of undergraduates at a regional State university, reported similar outcomes for students when OER and commercial textbooks were used; further, students in that study -like ours and in French et al. (2015) -indicated their likelihood of using the course resources and perceived quality of resources were similar regardless of whether the resources were costly or free. ...
... Recall that only two negative comments about OER materials in the present study involved student's desire for print materials. While "professionalization" is critical for students to perceive them as credible (Bliss et al., 2013, Gurung, 2017, OER also should be mobile friendly (Ally & Samaka, 2013). Finally, web-based supplements (e.g., StatHand, Allen et al., 2019) can enrich streamlined open-access textbooks. ...
Research methods course(s), a standard in psychology programs, often use multiple textbooks to address conceptual and data-analytic information. This study involved transitioning from traditional textbooks to open educational resources in a research methods course. Two psychology instructors, each offering course sections, identified open-access textbooks that aligned with course learning objectives and developed instructional materials to accompany those textbooks. All materials were organized publicly in an institutional subject guide. We compared students’ grades, pretest-posttest scores, and survey reports of resource use and evaluation in a spring semester, when traditional/costly textbooks were used, to the following fall semester, when no-cost textbooks were used. Student grades and pretest-posttest growth, and reported use and ratings of course materials, were similar across semesters. Though the present findings are limited in scope, they suggest that no-cost resources can be used successfully for teaching research methods with minimal transition difficulties and without student learning deficits.
... However, other researchers (e.g. Gurung, 2017b) have reported that the format of the book (print vs. electronic) can contribute to significant differences in quiz performance on specific topics of psychology. These findings suggest that despite offering an alternative and often cheaper means to access course content, electronic textbooks may not be equally effective for all students or all content areas. ...
... More recent work has attempted to address many of these original confounds. While some researchers have found that the use of OER is associated with improved (Bliss, Robinson, Hilton, & Wiley, 2013;Colvard, Watson, & Park, 2018) or worsened (Gurung, 2017b) outcomes, most research has found OER to be equivalent to traditional textbooks (e.g. Hendricks, Reinsberg, & Rieger, 2017;Jhangiani, Dastur, Le Grand, & Penner, 2018;Watson, Domizi, & Clouser, 2017). ...
... Those that have (e.g. Fischer, Hilton, Robinson, & Wiley, 2015;Hilton & Laman, 2012;Robinson, 2015) have typically included confounds or have only examined specific topic areas of psychology (Gurung, 2017b). Most recently, Jhangiani and colleagues (2018) compared psychology student performance using traditional or OER textbooks, but acknowledged that the two textbooks differed in content, structure, and style. ...
Open Educational Resources (OER) remove barriers to access instructional material. In light of their increased availability and use, a body of research has emerged to examine the impact of OER on college student success. While many of these studies have broadly examined efficacy across a variety of disciplines, the current study specifically examined the impact of the type of textbook (commercial vs. OER) on course content mastery within an undergraduate sample of introductory psychology students (N = 63) while controlling for instructor and student differences. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in content mastery between those students in introductory psychology courses who were assigned a traditional commercial textbook and those who were assigned an OER textbook. These results support that OER can be equally effective as traditional, commercial textbooks and have implications for course material selections that help ensure access for all students.
... Similarly, Pawlyshyn et al. (2013) reported dramatic improvement when OER was adopted; however, the OER adoption came simultaneously with flipped classrooms, making it difficult to correlate changing efficacy and OER. These critiques have been raised by other researchers (Gurung 2017;Griggs and Jackson 2017). ...
... It is also possible that students tend to have an overall positive experience in every class they take thus causing them to rate most classes as "better" than a typical class, even though this is not mathematically possible. Gurung (2017), used a short version of the Textbook Assessment and Usage Scale (TAUS; Gurung and Martin 2011) to assess student perceptions of CT and OER. The TAUS is assesses different components of a textbook, such as study aids, visual appeal, examples, and so forth. ...
... The TAUS is assesses different components of a textbook, such as study aids, visual appeal, examples, and so forth. Gurung (2017) asked students to rate the current textbook they were using (some subjects used OER and others used CT) and compared the results. In his first study, Gurung found CT users rated the total quality of their textbook as higher than those using an OER textbook. ...
Although textbooks are a traditional component in many higher education contexts, their increasing price have led many students to forgo purchasing them and some faculty to seek substitutes. One such alternative is open educational resources (OER). This present study synthesizes results from sixteen efficacy and twenty perceptions studies involving 121,168 students or faculty that examine either (1) OER and student efficacy in higher education settings or (2) the perceptions of college students and/or instructors who have used OER. Results across these studies suggest students achieve the same or better learning outcomes when using OER while saving significant amounts of money. The results also indicate that the majority of faculty and students who have used OER had a positive experience and would do so again.
... Many studies have examined differences in learning performance as well as course withdrawal rates between open and commercial textbooks (see Hilton, , 2018, for reviews). However, results have been mixed with some showing positive results (Colvard, Watson, & Park, 2018;Hilton, Fischer, Wiley, & Williams, 2016), some showing negative results (e.g., Gurung, 2017), and some showing no difference between commercial and open textbooks (Allen et al., 2015;Grissett & Huffman, 2019;Medley-Rath, 2018). The purpose of this article is to meta-analyze the research findings comparing learning performance and course withdrawal rates between open and commercial textbooks. ...
... 2 These concerns are not unwarranted. Indeed, in two studies comparing performance on researcher-developed, objective learning measures, students enrolled in courses with commercial textbooks outperformed students enrolled in courses with open textbooks (Gurung, 2017). However, there have been numerous studies on open textbooks indicating no meaningful differences in learning compared with commercial textbooks (e.g., Clinton, 2018;Engler & Shedlosky-Shoemaker, 2019;Jhangiani, Dastur, Le Grand, & Penner, 2018;Medley-Rath, 2018) that need to be considered alongside Gurung's (2017) findings. ...
... Indeed, in two studies comparing performance on researcher-developed, objective learning measures, students enrolled in courses with commercial textbooks outperformed students enrolled in courses with open textbooks (Gurung, 2017). However, there have been numerous studies on open textbooks indicating no meaningful differences in learning compared with commercial textbooks (e.g., Clinton, 2018;Engler & Shedlosky-Shoemaker, 2019;Jhangiani, Dastur, Le Grand, & Penner, 2018;Medley-Rath, 2018) that need to be considered alongside Gurung's (2017) findings. For this reason, a meta-analysis in which the overall efficacy of open textbooks across studies were summarized would be informative for instructors, administrators, and policymakers. ...
Open textbooks have been developed in response to rising commercial textbook costs and copyright constraints. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine open textbooks with varied findings. The purpose of this study is to meta-analyze the findings of studies of postsecondary students comparing learning performance and course withdrawal rates between open and commercial textbooks. Based on a systematic search of research findings, there were no differences in learning efficacy between open textbooks and commercial textbooks (k = 22, g = 0.01, p = .87, N = 100,012). However, the withdrawal rate for postsecondary courses with open textbooks was significantly lower than that for commercial textbooks (k = 11, OR (odds ratio) = 0.71, p = .005, N = 78,593). No significant moderators were identified. Limitations and future directions for research, such as a need for more work in K–12 education, outside of North America, and that better examine student characteristics, are discussed.
... Though tuition is a clear contributor to the cost of a college education, non-tuition college expenses such as textbooks, housing, and other essential needs often exceed the cost of tuition (California Student Aid Commission, 2019). The rising cost of tuition and fees may not be offset by available financial aid (Florida Virtual Campus, 2019), leaving students with difficult decisions about purchasing required course materials, working more, or cutting back costs by way of other vital needs (Gurung, 2017;Broton and Goldrick-Rab, 2018). ...
... Usage research explores how faculty and students engage with OERs, such as evaluating student engagement with OERs and covarying learning outcomes (Gurung, 2017;Clinton, 2018;Cuttler, 2019). Related to studies explore pedagogical techniques made possible by OER (Wiley and Hilton, 2018), such as student generated or remixed OERs (Randall et al., 2013;Azzam et al., 2017;Jhangiani, 2017), and the open sharing of instructional design and pedagogical techniques (Cronin, 2017). ...
... These studies may also evaluate a variety of other use and outcome variables. For instance, Gurung (2017) recruited 1,099 students taking psychology courses at seven institutions and evaluated student satisfaction with the text assigned by their institution, student perception of their class and learning experiences, student performance on a 15-item quiz, and student prior academic achievement (operationalized using ACT standardized college admission test scores). Commercial textbook users reported higher ACT scores, but less satisfaction with learning and with their course. ...
Prior studies on students’ perception of open educational resources (OERs) indicates that students find open resources as good or better than commercial textbooks (Hilton, 2016). However, studies published to date have not attempted to control for student knowledge of cost as a variable influencing perception of quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’ perception of the quality of brief, de-identified open and commercial textbook samples, then determine whether their preferences changed after learning textbook costs. As part of an in-class activity, students enrolled in an introductory-level psychology course reviewed samples of two commercial and two open textbooks. Participants rated the materials on quality measures (Gurung and Martin, 2011), selected a preferred textbook, and provided a rationale for their choice. Next, participants were informed of the cost of each textbook and asked to re-rate textbook quality and indicate whether their textbook preference had changed. Prior to learning the cost of the textbooks from which each sample was selected, 81.29% of responding participants indicated preference for a specific commercial text, citing quality factors related to quality/clarity of writing, book layout, and quality of figures as primary drivers of preference. Following the cost reveal, only 42.46% of responding participants indicated a preference for a commercial textbook while 57.53% indicated a preference for an open textbook. An exact McNemar’s test determined that this was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of respondents who selected open and commercial texts before and after price data were available, p < 0.01. Qualitative comments for participants who indicated a preference shift toward the open textbook referenced cost and quality of the materials as components of their decision-making, supporting previous studies that demonstrate cost is an important predictor of students’ textbook preferences (Clinton, 2019). Regression analysis showed that visual appeal, engaging writing, and clarity of writing predicted participants’ desire to use the text in class, but quality of examples was only a significant predictor for one of four texts. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
... However, a large study comparing multiple disciplines found a benefit for open textbooks over commercial textbooks in terms of final grades, especially for students who were categorized as lower in socioeconomic status based on financial aid eligibility (Colvard et al., 2018). Nevertheless, when expanding comparisons to students at different institutions, at least one study has noted poorer learning performance for students in courses using open textbooks (Gurung, 2017). ...
... One issue is that a substantial portion of these studies did not hold the instructor and course constant (Clinton and Khan, 2019), which is problematic as teaching quality and grading criteria vary by instructor (de Vlieger et al., 2016). Additionally, the learning performance measures in studies often varied for courses with open compared to commercial textbooks (see Gurung, 2017, for exceptions). The issue of objective, identical measures is notable given that Gurung (2017) found students enrolled in courses with open textbooks did less well on objective measures of learning than did students in courses with commercial textbooks. ...
... Additionally, the learning performance measures in studies often varied for courses with open compared to commercial textbooks (see Gurung, 2017, for exceptions). The issue of objective, identical measures is notable given that Gurung (2017) found students enrolled in courses with open textbooks did less well on objective measures of learning than did students in courses with commercial textbooks. ...
Open textbooks, which provide students with electronic access to texts without fees, have been developed as alternatives to commercial textbooks. Building on prior quasi-experiments, the purpose of this study is to experimentally compare an open and commercial textbook. College students (N = 144) were randomly assigned to read an excerpt from an open or commercial textbook, answer questions about content, and indicate their perceptions of textbook quality. Learning was similar between textbook types. Perceptions differed in that the discussion of research findings was reported as higher quality in the open textbook while the visuals and writing were reported as higher quality in the commercial textbook. Neither perceptions of research findings nor visuals correlated with learning performance. However, perceptions of writing quality and everyday examples were correlated with learning performance. Findings may inform initiatives for open textbook adoption as well as textbook development, but are limited due to the use of an excerpt. Reading to learn is a fundamental activity for knowledge construction (Duke et al., 2003; Alfassi, 2004; Maggioni et al., 2015). Textbooks are common educational tools for reading to learn, even in the digital age (Fletcher et al., 2012; Knight, 2015; Illowsky et al., 2016). The rising cost of commercial textbooks, along with the affordances of the internet and growing interest in expanding access to knowledge, has brought about the development of open textbooks, which students can access electronically without cost (Smith, 2009). There have been multiple studies indicating that students' learning from and opinions of open textbooks are similar to or better than those of commercial textbooks (e.g., Clinton, 2018; Lawrence and Lester, 2018; Medley-Rath, 2018; Cuttler, 2019; Grissett and Huffman, 2019). However, these studies have all been quasi-experimental or correlational; therefore, causal claims were not possible. Moreover, students in these studies were aware that the open textbooks were free whereas the commercial textbooks were not, which could bias their attitudes (Clinton, 2019). An experimental examination with participants who are naive to the cost of the textbook would address the confounds related to student awareness of cost. The purpose of this experiment is to examine students' learning from and perceptions of an open textbook compared to a commercial textbook.
... The recent increase in use of electronic textbooks and open educational resources (OERs) has created a need to study the efficacy of these materials in relation to student use and learning. Recent research has indicated that even with a growing comfort with electronic media, students still prefer traditional textbooks to their electronic counterparts (Woody, Daniel, & Baker, 2010 (Griggs & Jackson, 2017;Gurung, 2017). In one carefully designed study, Gurung (2017) found that introductory psychology students spent significantly less time studying from OERs than printed text, a finding in contrast to studies examining electronic versus printed textbooks. ...
... Recent research has indicated that even with a growing comfort with electronic media, students still prefer traditional textbooks to their electronic counterparts (Woody, Daniel, & Baker, 2010 (Griggs & Jackson, 2017;Gurung, 2017). In one carefully designed study, Gurung (2017) found that introductory psychology students spent significantly less time studying from OERs than printed text, a finding in contrast to studies examining electronic versus printed textbooks. Additionally, the author reported OER users scored lower on quiz questions drawn from the standardized advanced placement psychology exam. ...
Time on task has been recognized as an important variable in academic learning, but self‐report measures of study time are problematic. Therefore, this study employs an automated system for recording time spent reading a course textbook. College students in an introductory engineering course accessed their textbook online. The book contained pages of instructional text, worked examples, homework problems, and answers to homework problems. An instrumented document reader program called “STL Reader” recorded the time each student spent on each page, thus providing detailed measures of reading habits. Across the 10‐week course, students spent an average of 1.9 hr reading instructional text, 1.4 hr on worked examples, 22.1 hr on homework problems, and 0.9 hr on homework answers, indicating a preference for practicing to solve test problems (i.e., self‐testing) rather than being told (i.e., receiving direct instruction). Furthermore, course grade (based largely on solving problems on exams and quizzes) correlated significantly and positively with time viewing homework problems, but not with time viewing either instructional text or worked examples, indicating that achievement was related to time spent practicing for solving test problems but not to time spent being instructed. Results suggest a revision of the time‐on‐task hypothesis to include the value of spending time on tasks aligned to test requirements.
Lay Description
What is currently known?:
• Time‐on‐task theory states that students' time engaged in relevant material is an important factor in learning and achievement.
• How students choose to process presented information is important for academic learning.
• Undergraduate STEM students often read very little of the assigned course textbook.
What this paper adds:
• Technology‐enhanced data collection provides more accurate measure of students' engagement with e‐textbook.
• Time spent viewing homework problems is significantly and positively related to achievement in an undergraduate engineering course.
• Student grades were not positively correlated with time spent viewing instructional text or worked examples from the textbook.
Implications:
• Suggests revision of time‐on‐task hypothesis to include the value of spending time on tasks aligned to test requirements.
... Research testing OER and publisher books is still in its infancy, mostly because of the many factors to control for in multisite studies, and has many confounds (Griggs & Jackson, 2017). One large multisite national study found students using standard textbooks performed better on questions taken from an AP exam than students using an OER (Gurung, 2017). Other studies (not in psychology) using standardized or similar exams show no differences in exam scores between OER and publisher book users (Allen, Guzman-Alvarez, Molinaro, & Larsen, 2015). ...
... The current state of pedagogical research on Intro Psych shows few exemplars of these standards. Whereas a handful of studies have included more than one institution (e.g., Gurung, 2017) or are longitudinal in nature (McCarthy & Frantz, 2016), most existing research does not employ such methodologies. ...
The introductory psychology (Intro Psych) course is the bedrock of the psychology major and the front face of our discipline. The class not only provides a foundation for students in the major but also provides a comprehensive portrait of the discipline for nonmajors. Despite a sizable body of research focused on pedagogy related to the introductory class, there are many questions that remain unanswered. We provide a comprehensive review of scholarship related to the Intro Psych course and discuss current practices and concerns related to textbook options, as well as teaching methods, course design, assignments to help students learn, and students’ learning outcomes. Finally, we provide five major suggestions for future work. We charge researchers to identify major bottlenecks to learning, design multisite studies, measure moderators of learning, assess long-term retention, and design/assess different models of teaching Intro Psych.
... Rather than asserting statistical supremacy, a common-sense criteria for replacing pedagogical strategies and tools should be that the replacement be at least as effective with few, if any, subversive side-effects, when compared to its proposed predecessor (Daniel & Willingham, 2012;Gurung, 2017). For example, were we to find that less expensive electronic-textbooks were equivalent to more expensive print textbooks that would be a finding with tangible benefits. ...
... In fact, until equivalence criteria have been consistently demonstrated in representative contexts, we would urge all teachers to be skeptical of adopting the newest and shiniest methods, as it could TOWARD AN ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE OF TEACHING result in providing inferior, but less expensive, tools to our most vulnerable students, with potentially devastating consequences. For example, Gurung (2017) recently found that Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks were less effective learning tools compared to publisher-provided textbooks, particularly for students with lower American College Testing (ACT) scores, a test administered to impending high school graduates designed to measure readiness for college or university, many coming from the exact lower-income population we are targeting a price-point argument. Without demonstrating equivalence to printed textbooks, the adoption of certain OER products potentially harms at least some students and subverts the efforts of good teachers. ...
The need for a primary emphasis on teaching is a necessary, and as yet unfulfilled, goal of psychological science. We argue that an ecological model focused specifically upon understanding and optimizing teaching practice must incorporate the necessary complexity inherent to the teaching and learning process. To do so, we must expand our scope beyond the simple exploration of main effects under controlled conditions to the exploration of dynamic interactions, including the identifi- cation of boundary conditions, and the assessment of potential side-effects across relevant variables and contexts. To do so, foci on internal and external validity must be re-balanced in a manner more productive for practical inferences and applications. With an eye on educational practice, we point out that statistically insignificant results, under certain circumstances, can yield very useful strategies for teaching. Therefore, researchers interested in practical applications for teachers should be encouraged to use active control groups in their studies when feasible. We also argue that practical significance must include context-relevant information, for example, a ratio between the degree to which the findings can be used in context without upsetting other learning objectives and the amount of benefit given the costs (both time and energy) of the intervention, as an essential component to evaluating the potential utility of teaching research. Thus, statistically significant results must be weighed with respect to both effect-size and the practicality of implementation by teachers in authentic educational contexts before being considered a candidate for use in the classroom.
... Although these systematic analyses have concluded there is no overall difference in learning outcomes between OER and commercial resources, there is substantial variation in the findings. Some results indicate higher grades with OER compared to commercial textbooks (e.g., Colvard et al., 2018;Hilton et al., 2016), some a negative effect of OER (e.g., Gurung, 2017), and many show no statistically reliable difference between OER and commercial resources (Allen et al., 2015;Grissett & Huffman, 2019;Medley-Rath, 2018). The variation in findings did not appear to be driven by methodological issues such as whether prior academic achievement was controlled for or not or if the same assessment instruments were used in courses using OER and commercial resources (Clinton & Khan, 2019). ...
Open educational resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are less expensive than commercial course materials. Previous findings have indicated that learning outcomes are similar between OER and commercial resources (which typically require fees to access), but there is considerable variation in the findings. It is not well known which students in what kinds of courses may have different outcomes with OER use. Two characteristics that are important to examine because they are becoming more commonplace in higher education and may struggle with social integration are nontraditionally-aged (age 25 and older) and online students. The purpose of this study is to examine how student age and course modality may vary how OER adoption relates to course grades, withdrawal, and number of credits enrolled in a given semester. To address this purpose, a dataset from seven public postsecondary institutions with 8,033 students was analyzed. Based on multilevel modeling findings, traditionally-aged students had higher grades with OER whereas OER did not reliably relate to the grades of nontraditionally-aged students. However, nontraditionally-aged students in face-to-face courses with OER had greater enrollment intensity (number of credits in a term). OER was not associated with withdrawal rate. Future directions are suggested, which include a need to consider instructor effects and directly hearing student voices on OER experiences.
... Students take a lot longer to read ebooks and are more likely to multitask than when reading traditional textbooks (Daniel & Woody, 2013). In addition, if students use an electronic version of an open educational resource (OER) text they do not perform as well on exams as do students assigned to traditional textbooks in either hard copy or electronic formats (Gurung, 2017). ...
We exposed college students (N = 269; for 126, the first language spoken in the home was English) at a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) to a passage from a digital psychology textbook in which input modality (reading or listening) and level of distraction were varied. Students did one of the following: read the passage, listened to the passage, read and listened simultaneously, listened while doodling (low distraction), listened while simulating a car ride (moderate distraction), or listened while preparing a meal (high distraction). We used a multiple-choice test to test recall. Student retention differed based on input modality. Specifically, conditions that removed text and replaced it with audio hindered performance. For example, students in conditions that involved reading the text showed higher recall scores compared to students in conditions that involved only listening (β = −2,483, p < .001). Performance worsened as we added distractors. Finally, the results suggest that students’ background with English is important for their retention of textbook information that is presented in English. Specifically, it appears that having text is more important to students less proficient in English than it is to more proficient English speakers. Our results suggest that reading digital texts leads to better recall than does simply listening to them, but distraction and early language experience may be important factors to consider when determining recommendations for digital textbook use.
... Although there is no denying the growth in OER collections and usage measured in baseline and longitudinal studies (de Oliveira-Neto, Pete, Daryono, & Cartmill, 2017;Seaman & Seaman, 2017), recent literature reviews are noting few studies on how OER relates to student-based measures such as learning, performance, engagement, and efficacy (Fischer, Hilton, Robinson, & Wiley, 2015;Grewe & Davis, 2017). In general, research and literature reviews and synthesis of the existing literature confirms equitable learning outcomes regardless of course resource cost (Bowen, Chingos, Lack, & Nygren, 2014;Hilton, 2016;Hilton, Gaudet, Clark, Robinson, & Wiley, 2013;Rockinson-Szapkiw, Courduff, Carter, & Bennett, 2013), although Gurung (2017) dissents with findings of lower student performance in courses deploying OER. In addition, several researchers found that OER adoption could serve as a modest predictor to students' completion of courses, class achievement, and enrolment intensity (Fischer et al., 2015;Law & Jelfs, 2016;Weller, De Los Arcos, Farrow, Pitt, & McAndrew, 2015). ...
Evidence exists that American institutions of higher education are well-entrenched in the consideration of mechanisms for supporting the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) and alternative textbooks. Literature reveals that developing and implementing OER is a significant undertaking in terms of time and human resources. This study deploys content analysis of a sample of United States regionally based higher education institutional websites to determine the current state of institutional support mechanisms to implementers just embarking on the OER journey. Findings reveal that institutions have made strides in the development of faculty mini-grants and stipends with guidelines, proposal checklists, and weighting mechanisms to inform decision making. However, due to widespread language across the stratified sample emphasising award pool and individual limits, it is clear that OER funding is still seeking wider support as a permanent funded resource. Sponsorship of institutional OER initiatives seems split between institutional library functions and teaching and learning centres. Other issues, such as ownership and licensing, are significantly underdeveloped in field implementation or fall in a large continuum of practices. Recommendations of shared responsibility and use of data driven initiatives are provided that may improve institutional support of faculty OER adoption, adaption and creation.
... The impact of OERs on the educational experience of students and instructors has received recent attention in scholarly research. Studies have explored topics such as student and instructor perception of the quality of open and commercial textbook materials (Bliss, Robinson, Hilton, & Wiley, 2013;Brandle et al., 2019), barriers to the adoption of OERs (Seaman & Seaman, 2017, and student performance when using OERs compared to using commercial materials (Clinton, 2018;Gurung, 2017;Jhangiani, Dastur, Le Grand, & Penner, 2018). A 2016 meta-analysis of studies on the efficacy and perception of OERs reports that most studies show favorable perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of OER products from students and faculty (Hilton, 2016). ...
Open educational resources (OERs) are materials that can be freely downloaded, edited, and shared to better serve all students.
These resources are typically free of cost, reducing barriers to access for students and ensuring that all learners can have access to
educational materials regardless of their financial status. OERs have been demonstrated to improve student performance and
retention, especially for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education (e.g., first-generation, non-White students).
Although there have been informal calls for additional OERs in behavior analysis, it is unclear whether behavior-analytic OERs
exist. The aimof the current study was to use an OER aggregating metafinder to review what OERs are available on topics related
to behavior analysis and whether sufficient resources exist to serve as primary course materials. Results indicate that OERs for
behavior-analytic content exist but tend to be written by nonbehaviorists for use in survey courses in mainstream psychology.
There also do not appear to be sufficient resources to support a course. Implications for promoting the development and
dissemination of OERs, particularly with respect to increasing the recruitment and retention of diverse students in the field of
behavior analysis, are discussed.
... Students report generating examples to help them learn concepts within their courses (Blasiman et al. 2017;Gurung et al. 2010;Weinstein et al. 2013). In a recent study, students reported spending almost 30 min generating examples in preparing for an upcoming exam (Gurung 2017). ...
Declarative concepts (abstract concepts denoted by key terms and definitions) are foundational content in many courses at most grade levels. The current research compared the relative effectiveness of provided examples to faded examples (a technique involving a transition from studying provided examples to completing partial examples to generating examples) for learning declarative concepts. In two experiments (experiment 1: n = 146, experiment 2: n = 131), participants were randomly assigned to study provided examples or complete faded examples. Two days later, participants took two final tests to assess their long-term learning: a novel example classification test and an example generation test. Results across experiments were highly consistent: performance on both final tests was similar following provided examples and faded examples practice; however, provided examples took much less time to implement during practice. Therefore, considering both long-term learning and efficiency outcomes collectively for evaluating the effectiveness of learning techniques, provided examples continue to be more effective than techniques involving both provided examples and generated examples for learning declarative concepts.
... In contrast, Hilton and Laman (2012), Clinton (2018), Hardin et al. (2018), andJhangiani et al. (2018), found better outcomes for students using OER relative to those assigned commercial texts. To our knowledge, only one study found that students who used OER performed worse (on an AP Psychology exam) than those using a commercial textbook (Gurung, 2017). ...
A college education is becoming increasingly expensive, and the burden of this cost is often felt disproportionately by marginalized students. One aspect of rising college costs are textbook prices, which have increased at a rate that far surpasses inflation. Open educational resources (OER; free, openly-licensed course materials) are often proposed as a solution to this problem. It is not clear, however, whether these materials are equivalent in quality to standard commercial textbooks. During one semester, half of the Introductory Psychology sections at a large, public university were assigned to use OER while the other half were assigned to use the incumbent commercial textbook. Participants were asked to self-report the behaviors they engage in as a result of high textbook costs. We also examined student performance in the courses and students' perceptions and use of the two books. We found no significant differences between textbook groups on course performance or perceptions of the book, but marginalized students (first-generation students and/or ethnic minority students) reported engaging in negative behaviors (i.e., dropping a class) more often than their peers as a result of textbook costs. These findings suggest that textbook costs disproportionately affect our most vulnerable students and the use of OER may be one solution to this problem, particularly given the equivalent performance across textbook groups.
... While some OERs undergo a review and editing process similar to that of commercially produced textbooks (e.g., OpenStax, Noba), practices are inconsistent. Despite the differences between OERs and commercially-produced textbooks used in psychology courses, students typically report similar use and perceptions of these two resources (reviewed in Clinton, 2019), although data about performance in courses using OERs is less clear, in part, due to variations in how performance is assessed (e.g., Gurung, 2017;Hilton & Laman, 2012). Taken together, these findings suggest that the replacement of a commercially produced psychology textbook with an OER textbook is a money saving solution that is unlikely to negatively impact the educational experience of students. ...
The high cost of college textbooks is an access barrier for students to overcome during their pursuit of a college degree. Perhaps most at risk are community college students, an older, more diverse, lower-income population in comparison with their university peers. Recently, community colleges have considered replacing traditional, commercially-produced textbooks with free open educational resources (OERs). In this work, two aims were addressed. First, a small-scale investigation of the need for a low-cost textbook alternative was conducted in an introductory psychology course. In response to the finding that over a quarter of students could not afford the course textbook, a psychology OER was adapted from existing resources and piloted in three sections of this course. The second aim was to assess the impact of this OER textbook. Findings from this second survey found that the psychology OER was easy to use, high quality, and supported students in their understanding of course content. Students also reported that the money saved from not having to buy a textbook made taking the course easier. Together, these findings support that OER textbooks are suitable replacements that can reduce the financial burden on low-income students and support them in the achievement of their academic goals.
... Few existing OER impact studies can plausibly address this question. While several studies have attempted to control for student variables using quasiexperimental statistical designs (Gurung, 2017;Clinton, 2018;Jhangiani et al., 2018;Venegas Muggli and Westermann, 2019), these studies did not evaluate whether the effects of OER were different for demographic groups that may be more likely to have issues accessing commercial textbooks. By contrast, Colvard et al. (2018) predicted that "students from low socioeconomic backgrounds that require substantial financial assistance to attend college would exceedingly benefit from courses that have adopted a free textbook when compared to previous semesters when traditional, commercial textbooks were used." ...
This article examines the impact of Zero Cost Textbooks (ZCB) courses on two key factors of students success: pass rates and completion rates. We examine 3 years of data at Houston Community College, ending with the first year of their implementation of a ZCB program. Following the “access hypothesis,” we suppose that students who would not otherwise be able to purchase traditional textbooks will have higher pass rates and completion rates in ZCB courses. We use Pell recipient status and ethnicity as proxies for socio-economically disadvantaged students, targeting those populations where the access hypothesis will have the greatest impact. We isolate faculty who taught both ZCB and non-ZCB courses during the period under review and conduct a post-hoc analysis, using mixed effects logistic regression, to identify interactions between student and course characteristics and success metrics. We find that HCC's ZCB program had a statistically significant positive effect on pass rates for all students, but no effect on completion. We find a trend to suggest the ZCB program may improve success among Black students, but only a statistically significant positive effect among Asian students, and no interaction with Pell recipient status. These results are not well-explained by the access hypothesis; they suggest the need for further research.
... To learn more about the perceptions of faculty toward OER on college campuses, many libraries turn to institutional surveys. In a meta-analysis of some OER perception studies, Hilton (2019) identified two major trends: first, although the use of OER does not have a strong, direct impact on student learning, OER do not harm student learning either (Croteau, 2017;Lawrence & Lester, 2018;Winitzky-Stephens & Pickavance, 2017); and second, a majority of faculty and student surveys have positive opinions on the use of OER in their courses, even when compared to commercial textbooks (Gurung, 2017;Ikahihifo et al., 2017;Jhangiani et al., 2018). ...
... Machine learning may be suspected of infringement of technical measures or violations of laws and regulations, which can independently determine learning objects, construct their characteristics, perform additional operations beyond the limitations of preset instructions, and discover value from the expression of works [4]. e original material for machine learning is data, and how to deal with the rights above data, such as the right to privacy, personal information, and trade secrets, is a major legal issue facing the development of artificial intelligence technology [5]. e rule management of intellectual property rights protection can test not only the correlation between the characteristic variables and the data quality of intellectual property education resources but also the importance of the characteristic variables to the data quality of intellectual property education resources. ...
Educational resource data are a collection of final documents obtained by users, including full-text journals, books, dissertations, newspapers, conference papers, and other database materials. While searching for information in the educational resource database, these resources also have functions such as copying, downloading, reproduction, and dissemination, which raise the issue of expression and protection of intellectual property. Machine learning takes how computers simulate human learning behaviors as the main research content, which can independently determine learning objects, construct their characteristics, perform additional operations beyond the limitations of preset instructions, and discover value from the expression of relative works. On the basis of summarizing and analyzing previous research works, this paper expounded the current research status and significance of intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data; elaborated the development background, current status, and future challenges of machine learning technology; introduced the methods and principles of data classification algorithm and protection authority identification; performed the technical framework design and expression system establishment of the intellectual property expression of educational resource data based on machine learning; analyzed the mode optimization and rule management of intellectual property protection of educational resource data based on machine learning; and finally conducted a simulation experiment and its result analysis. The results show that the machine learning technology can build a subject-oriented, highly integrated, and time-changing educational resource data storage environment; the comprehensive, analysis-oriented decision-supporting system formed by machine learning can give full play to the potential role of data integration and value discovery and is therefore of great significance for the intellectual property expression and protection of integrated and complexly-related educational resource data. The study results of this paper provide a reference for further research on the intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data based on machine learning.
1. Introduction
Educational resource data are a collection of final documents obtained by users, including full-text journals, books, dissertations, newspapers, conference papers, and other database materials. In the data expression and protection of intellectual property educational resources, many documents are collected in commercial databases with the right to use, and the resources in the library are searched, downloaded, and integrated into characteristic databases [1]. These resources also have copying, downloading, copying, dissemination, and other functions, which caused intellectual property issues. According to different types of educational resources, machine learning educational resource data can be divided into government educational resource data, other public institution educational resource data, corporate educational resource data, and personal educational resource data [2]. The mode optimization can generate massive amounts of data in real time and process them in real time to ensure that intellectual property education resource data become a handy resource anytime and anywhere. In the machine learning environment, educational secret data may not be lost due to the protection of a data backup system, but educational resources may lose control of educational secret data due to data migration obstacles [3]. Machine learning may be suspected of infringement of technical measures or violations of laws and regulations, which can independently determine learning objects, construct their characteristics, perform additional operations beyond the limitations of preset instructions, and discover value from the expression of works [4].
The original material for machine learning is data, and how to deal with the rights above data, such as the right to privacy, personal information, and trade secrets, is a major legal issue facing the development of artificial intelligence technology [5]. The rule management of intellectual property rights protection can test not only the correlation between the characteristic variables and the data quality of intellectual property education resources but also the importance of the characteristic variables to the data quality of intellectual property education resources. The strict regulation and improvement of the liability clause, dispute settlement clause, and confidentiality clause of the license agreement can ensure that the work is copied and disseminated under reasonable use purposes, thereby restricting the dissemination and scope of the data work and preventing illegal use, so that the legitimate rights and interests of the right owner of the data work will not be harmed and machine learning is a science of artificial intelligence [6]. Algorithms mainly including decision trees, support vector machines, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and machine learning technology are a key link in data mining and data protection [7]. The intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data must be established on the basis of technological innovation in order to implement the concept of public welfare, expression, and protection of knowledge [8].
On the basis of summarizing and analyzing previous research works, this paper expounded the current research status and significance of intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data, elaborated the development background, current status and future challenges of machine learning technology, introduced the methods and principles of data classification algorithm and protection authority identification, performed the technical framework design and expression system establishment of the intellectual property expression of educational resource data based on machine learning, analyzed the mode optimization and rule management of intellectual property protection of educational resource data based on machine learning, and finally conducted a simulation experiment and its result analysis. The study results of this paper provide a reference for further researches on the intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data based on machine learning. The detailed chapter arrangement is as follows: Section 2 introduces the methods and principles of data classification algorithm and protection authority identification; Section 3 performs the technical framework design and expression system establishment of the intellectual property expression of educational resource data; Section 4 analyzes the mode optimization and rule management of intellectual property protection of educational resource data; Section 5 conducts a simulation experiment and its result analysis; Section 6 is the conclusion.
2. Methods and Principles
2.1. Data Classification Algorithm
Intellectual property education resource data constitute two important data sets in data mining: training data and test data. In terms of content selection, the possibility of intellectual property protection is inversely proportional to the breadth of data and information; that is, the more comprehensive the collection of data and information is, the less selective it is and the less its originality in the selection of content. The comprehensiveness of the data information content is exactly where its educational value lies.
The consistency of educational resource data refers to the consistency of the distribution of data in different domains. Suppose n different fields X = {x1, x2, …, xn} and the number of resources in each field is {y1, y2, …, yn}, then the educational resource data consistency y (xi) of the candidate data xi is defined aswhere f (xi) is the number of expressions of candidate data appearing in resource xi. When the candidate data f (xi) is more evenly distributed in each resource of the intellectual property, the consistency of the educational resource data y (xi) is also greater, indicating that it is likely to be filtered data.
When the computer uses the training set to train the model, overfitting may occur; that is, the training sample reaches very high approximation accuracy, but the approximation error of the test sample first decreases and then rises with the number of training times. The random forest model will use the exponential gain Q (xi) as the basis for the selection of the decision tree:where a (xi) is the proportion of the number of samples of category xi in all samples; b (xi) is the decision tree judgment node of the samples of category xi; c (xi) is the number of split points of samples of category xi; and d (xi) is the category xi of the number of samples in all samples.
For machine learning, it is easy by changing the protection structure of data information to circumvent copyright protection, which will make the protection of data information meaningless. The value and significance of data information lies in the information material itself rather than the structural order of the information material. The structure that loses the content of the information is just an empty shelf without a soul, with little protection value at all. Therefore, even for original data information, the principle of only protecting expressions but not protecting ideas makes the protection of data information still very weak.
The weighted average of the expression difference ratio of the candidate educational resource data is used in the field of intellectual property, and a comprehensive index to filter the infringement data in the resource data set is defined as follows:where e (xi) and are respectively the total number of expressions of resource data xi in the intellectual property field; h (xi) and k (xi) are the respective contributions of the intensity and expression difference ratio of data resources xi; and l (xi) and m (xi) indicate the frequency of expression and protection of candidate data resources xi in the field of intellectual property.
As a result, data information that does not have originality is a ubiquitous thing and will increase greatly with the development of the information service industry, but intellectual property cannot provide corresponding protection for data information that does not have originality. According to the principle that machine learning only protects expressions but not ideas, what intellectual property protects of data and information is its original choice or protected expression, not the content it chooses or protects.
2.2. Protection Authority Identification
The intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data refer to the whole process of resource data collection, input, processing, analysis, regeneration, and output. At present, many intellectual property education resource data management systems reflect the expression and protection of some resource data. Through the realization of data expression and protection, the informatization, intellectualization, and even decision-making management of intellectual property education resource data can be completed.
The average expression probability of educational resource data xi in a single intellectual property indicates the intensity of xi in the resource field, so the intensity E (xi) of resource data xi can be expressed aswhere o (xi) is the frequency of expression of educational resource data xi in the entire intellectual property; and p (xi) is the number of expressions of resource data xi in the field of intellectual property.
In addition, how to use data warehouse technology to build a subject-oriented, highly integrated, stable, and time-changing data storage environment to form a comprehensive, analysis-oriented decision support environment has become an urgent issue for data integration of intellectual property education resources. Another important question is related to the integral educational resources, which reflects the complex correlation between intellectual property education resource data, similar to the intertwined network of relationships.
The time domain analysis method is to express the information distribution of the educational resource data xi as a function of time; the frequency domain analysis method is to obtain the frequency domain and its energy frequency domain distribution through the transformation of the educational resource field, so the transformation of the educational resource data T (xi) iswhere ai is the expression range factor; bi is the protection efficiency factor; and ci is the total number of data to be protected. The intellectual property expression of educational resource data includes two steps: one is to establish a statistical model through the identification and calculation of the classification of the training set flow; the other is to apply the established statistical model to the unknown and new flow classification in the network traffic. So the probability that each educational resource data belongs to a specific application iswhere q (xi) is the prior probability of educational resource data xi; r (xi) is the conditional probability of given educational resource data xi; s (xi) is the number of times the educational resource data xi performs information automation; and t (xi) is the total number of times of information processing of educational resource data xi. This method assumes that the characteristics of educational resource data are independent of each other.
From an overall point of view, the competent information department takes charge of the overall situation and integrates all business systems. Based on the classification of intellectual property education resource data, data expression and protection will realize the standardization and distributed management of data and ensure the smooth flow of data. Partially, the administrative and teaching departments of universities will be responsible for the management of specific educational resource data, and data expression and protection will realize the specific business of each department.
3. Intellectual Property Expression of Educational Resource Data Based on Machine Learning
3.1. Technical Framework Design
Educational resource data types include not only structured data, but also a large amount of semistructured data and unstructured data, and structured data refer to data with a fixed format and limited length. Unstructured data refer to data with variable length and no fixed format. Data expression and products of educational resources based on machine learning are usually protected by copyright in the early days, but copyright protects the expression form of ideas, the data expression and the selection, arrangement, system, and structure of the work, rather than the protection of the data itself [9]. And if the data are provided in the form of public dissemination, it will inevitably be exposed to and obtained by an unspecified number of people, and the service provider cannot guarantee that its application purpose must comply with the rules, which creates the risk of copyright infringement. Therefore, the data work operator should establish a reasonable control method, use one-to-one network transmission, and protect the security of the data work in terms of identity authentication, access permission control, and control of the operating environment, so as to effectively prevent piracy, illegality, and the occurrence of copying behavior. In this case, the license agreement for the data work becomes a legally binding agreement between the user and the data operator regarding the purchase of the copyright license for the data work. Figure 1 shows the framework for intellectual property expression and protection of educational resource data based on machine learning.
... However, the lack of random assignment in quasi-experiments limits the likelihood the compared groups were similar in important characteristics such as demographics or prior academic achievement. For these reasons, Clinton's review of OER in psychology courses (2019) called for better control of potential confounds as this lack of control is a valid critique of OER efficacy research (see Griggs & Jackson, 2017;Gurung, 2017). Indeed, Clinton (2018) found that differences in prior academic achievement likely explained differences in learning outcomes when comparing an introduction to psychology course with a traditional textbook to one with an OER textbook. ...
Students report that not being able to afford course materials has adverse academic consequences. It is possible that this would be more problematic in relatively more difficult courses. Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are openly licensed and often available at low or no cost to students. This study examined the interaction between OER use through a campus zero textbook cost (ZTC) initiative and course difficulty on student course grades from 35 different courses at a community college while controlling for student gender, previous grade point average, and Pell grant eligibility status. Although the main effect of increasing course difficulty is decreasing individual students' grades, there was a significant interaction between OER use and course difficulty. Student grades in sections using OER declined at a lower rate compared to the decline in student grades in sections without OER use. The findings indicate that one particular context, course difficulty, may be important for understanding the efficacy of OER adoption.
... The material covers the diversity of invertebrates, mostly discussed in the form of reading displaying neither attractive nor colorful pictured examples making students less interested in reading and studying them. According to Gurung (2017), students tend to enjoy reading textbooks if it is provided with lots of colorful pictures with few descriptions. Images can increase reading interest because they can help readers imagine. ...
This research is Research and Development (R&D) model used in the ADDIE model which was done on March until July 2019. The purpose of the study was to develop encyclopedia of macrozoobenthic invertebrates to improve student’s learning outcome. The research was conducted at a High School in Bogor, for the tenth grade students of MIPA 1 as the experimental class with the total number of 37 students and used one group pretest-posttest design. The instruments used in this study consist of expert validation sheets, multiple choice questions and questionnaire sheets to collect student responses about encyclopedia of learning module. Validation data shows that the feasibility test on the content of the material, language and presentations obtain values above 81% included the validity and appropriateness category for learning. The result of the questionnaire shows that a positive response was obtained with values above 82%. The average result obtained at pretest was 43,23 while the average result obtained at posttest was 79,90. The result of the N-Gain analysis shows a medium criterion of 0,6. In conclusion, the encyclopedia of macrozoobenthic invertebrates can improve student learning outcome.
In light of rising textbook prices, open education resources (OER) have been shown to decrease non-tuition costs, while simultaneously increasing academic access, student performance, and time-to-graduation rates. Yet very little research to date has explored OER’s specific impact on those who are presumed to benefit most from this potential: historically underserved students. This reality has left a significant gap of understanding in the current body of literature, resulting in calls for more empirically-based examinations of OER through a social justice lens. For each of these reasons, this study explored the impact of OER and textbook pricing among racial/ethnic minority students, low-income students, and first-generation college students at a four-year Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in Southern California. Drawing upon more than 700 undergraduate surveys, our univariate, bivariate and multivariate results revealed textbook costs to be a substantial barrier for the vast majority of students. However, those barriers were even more significant among historically underserved college students; thus, confirming textbook affordability as a redistributive justice issue, and positing OER as a potential avenue for realizing a more socially just college experience.
This study examines community college students (N = 292) enrolled in introductory criminal justice courses, comparing access, use and perceptions of open education resource (OER) textbooks with traditional textbooks. Data were collected over three semesters from students in a large metropolitan city using an online survey. The sample pool is largely non-white and eligible for low income tuition assistance. The analysis uses survey data to explore the following: access (how, when, how much); use (when, where, how); and student perceptions of learning with digital resources (for OER courses). Findings are largely consistent with comparable research conducted on four year and community college specific samples. Compared with textbook courses, OER students are more likely to access the material within the first week of class, on phones or school computers, and find the material easier to obtain. They are also more likely to say they review more of the material, and are more likely to study on campus. These findings indicate that transition to OER course materials has no harmful impact and may serve community college students by removing a variety of impediments related to achieving academic success for the types of students served by community colleges.
Retrieval practice and spacing out studying help increase learning. Introductory Psychology students at nine colleges/universities took quizzes with more (RP+) or less (RP‐) retrieval practice and more (SP+) or less (SP‐) spacing between quizzes. We compared (N = 351) scores on class exams and on a standardized test. We also measured key student variables (e.g., depth of processing). GPA predicted a significant portion of variance in exam scores, R2 = .05, F (1,204) = 10.84, p = .001. We found a main effect for retrieval practice and a significant retrieval by spacing practice interaction, R2 = .28, F (3,201) = 27.38, p < .001. Students using SP+, as well as those with SP‐ and RP‐, scored higher than students using SP‐ and RP+. In practice, closer attention needs to be paid to quiz and exam content overlap and the duration within which repetition is used.
The purpose of this article is to study the psychological impact of Chinese film and television works in the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels, analyze the role of Chinese film and television works in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels, and to understand the basic situation and influence of Chinese film and television works in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels, as well as their use this method contrasts before and after the study of the influence of Chinese film and television works in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels. Using the method of this article, through the analysis of experimental data, I understand the role of Chinese film and television works in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels, and find that Chinese film and television works play an important role in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Based on the combination of theory and experimental data, it is analyzed that the effect of Chinese film and television works on teaching Chinese as a foreign language is very good. The research results show that Chinese film and television works have an important role in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels. Contemporary Chinese film and television not only impresses foreigners with vivid stories and vivid characters.
This article discusses the development of an interactive online textbook for undergraduate teaching, in response to moving teaching online due to COVID-19. The development took place initially for a university with less than 5% of students studying online in 2019. The online textbook was incorporated into a large, diverse, multidisciplinary and predominantly first-year undergraduate research design and statistics course. Digital tools were embedded into the textbook to facilitate student engagement in lieu of face-to-face contact, including online crosswords for low-level statistical literacy, drop-and-drag activities, screencasts, exercises, animations, and videos. The textbook was prepared in markdown format. This approach allows for instant updating of material and provides focussed URLs that educators can use to point students directly to specific learning outcomes. Despite the textbook being developed in response to restricted teaching conditions, it has provided a cost-effective resource, targeted at teaching research design and basic statistics concepts, interpretation, and communication. Having returned to face-to-face teaching, the text is now fully integrated into the course. Importantly, the online textbook is freely available for other educators to use, either in its existing form, or by forking (on Github) the textbook sources to create a bespoke online textbook for other courses.
We examined the effect of in-text American Psychological Association (APA)-style citations on quiz performance as a function of structure building ability, measured by the Multi-Media Comprehension Battery. Participants were randomly assigned to either APA or no citation conditions and asked to read an expository text followed by a comprehension quiz. Less skilled structure builders performed significantly lower on a comprehension quiz and read faster in the APA citation compared to the no citation condition. In contrast, skilled structure builders performed equally well on the comprehension quiz but had to reduce their reading speed in the APA citation condition. The results challenge the utility of in-text APA citations in textbooks targeted at general populations of students, particularly for moderate to poor comprehenders.
Introductory psychology (Intro Psych) is one of the most popular and frequently taught courses on college campuses, yet educators in psychology have limited knowledge about what is covered in classes around the nation or the extent to which class content reflects the current scope of the discipline. There is no explicit model to guide course content selection for the intro course, which poses substantial challenges for instructors. This article proposes a new model for teaching the intro course that integrates (a) scientific foundations, (b) 5 major domains or pillars of knowledge (biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health), and (c) cross-cutting themes relevant to all domains (cultural and social diversity, ethics, variations in human functioning, and applications; American Psychological Association, 2014). We advocate for national assessment of the course, a similar introductory course for majors and nonmajors, the inclusion of experiential or laboratory components, and additional training resources for instructors of the intro course. Given the exponential growth of psychological knowledge and applications during the past decades, we caution against attempting to provide exhaustive coverage of all topic areas of psychology in a one-semester course. We conclude by discussing the challenges that lie ahead for the discipline of psychology as it launches this new model for Intro Psych.
Despite increased development and dissemination, there has been very little empirical research on Open Educational Resources (OER). Teachers and students involved in a large-scale OER initiative at eight community colleges across the United States were given a detailed questionnaire aimed at uncovering their perceptions of the cost, outcomes, uses and perceptions of quality of the OER used in their courses. Teachers and students alike reported significant cost savings and various pedagogical and learning impacts due to the implementation of OER in the classroom. In addition, most students and teachers perceived their OER to be at least equal in quality to traditional textbooks they had used in the past. Implications for further research are discussed.
In some educational settings, the cost of textbooks approaches or even exceeds the cost of tuition. Given limited resources, it is important to better understand the impacts of free open educational resources (OER) on student outcomes. Utilizing digital resources such as OER can substantially reduce costs for students. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether the adoption of no-cost open digital textbooks significantly predicted students’ completion of courses, class achievement, and enrollment intensity during and after semesters in which OER were used. This study utilized a quantitative quasi-experimental design with propensity-score matched groups to examine differences in outcomes between students that used OER and those who did not. The demographics of the initial sample of 16,727 included 4909 students in the treatment condition with a pool of 11,818 in the control condition. There were statistically significant differences between groups, with most favoring students utilizing OER.
In three separate introductory psychology classes over a three-year period, I tested whether over 600 students’ exam scores were associated with the use of textbook technology supplements (TTSs). Each class used a different textbook and a different TTS (Learnsmart, PsychPortal, and Aplia). In general, students who used TTSs more, performed better on their exams (controlling for GPA). Additionally, higher scores on assignments on TTSs also correlated with higher scores (controlling for GPA). Students reported not having enough time or adequate motivation as the top reasons for why they did not use TTSs. I present suggestions for the use of such systems based on how I required the aids over the years.
At a time when it is seen as increasingly "obsolete," this article analyzes the textbook as an evolving pedagogical form, as a changing medium comprised of smaller media components. These components include images, diagrams and also oral prompts, which have changed not so much through technical innovation as in synchrony with larger cultural and epistemological developments. This article investigates the increasingly sophisticated structuring of this textual and visual content, and the gradually sublimated "oral" interaction simulated through cues and interrogatives. These components have become highly conventionalized and elaborate, characteristics generally ignored to the detriment of publically-funded "open" e-textbook projects. Following Thomas Kuhn's famous analyses of knowledge "paradigms," this article concludes that the textbook's features provide an indispensable animating didactic function.
Almost 2 million students enroll in introductory psychology each year in the United States, making it the second most popular undergraduate course in the nation. Introductory psychology not only serves as a prerequisite for other courses in the discipline but for some students this course provides their only exposure to psychological science. Presently, when introductory psychology students are asked about what they believe they will learn in the course, students indicate becoming more insightful about their own behavior and expect to have improved critical thinking skills. However, what do students actually remember from introductory psychology? Two years after completing the course, a sample of students voluntarily retook their cumulative final exam, and we compared these scores to senior-level psychology majors enrolled in a Capstone course. We discuss the outcomes in relation to the knowledge retention expected for subsequent coursework as well as realistic expectations of faculty members about what their students know.
To determine how topical coverage in introductory textbooks may have changed from the 1980s to the present, the author examined topic coverage in full-length and brief introductory textbooks from this time period. Because 98% of the teachers use textbooks for the introductory course and the majority do not assign reading beyond the textbook, the relationship between the current topical allocation pattern and that in the introductory course was examined by comparing the textbook pattern to the lecture topical allocation pattern derived from syllabi analysis. Several changes were found in textbook topic coverage since the 1980s, with proportional coverage among topics moving toward equality. Lecture topical allocation mirrored that in textbooks, indicating that textbooks strongly impact the structure of the introductory course.
The authors constructed the Textbook Assessment and Usage Scale (TAUS) to measure students' textbook evaluations. They tested the scale in 6 introductory and 3 upper level classes. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors developed the TAUS, tested its psychometric properties, and determined which factors predicted how much students read the book and student exam scores. In Study 3, the authors used different introductory textbooks; and in Study 4, they used upper level classes. The authors found initial data to support the psychometric properties of the TAUS. Sex of student, student perceptions of the quality of visuals, pedagogical aids, photographs, writing, and course design predicted student text reading and exam scores. The number of significant predictors varied across textbooks and classes studied.
Eight hundred and ninety students at 35 US institutions of higher education participated in a comprehensive study of textbook use and its relation to ratings of textbook quality and helpfulness, a student self-report of learning, student self-report of their deep approach to learning, student perceptions of instructors, and a measure of quiz performance. Intercorrelations between key measures revealed surprising relationships about the influence of these variables on self-reported learning and quiz performance. An analysis of textbook differences revealed some significant differences between the books in terms of quality and helpfulness as well as self-reported learning, but not on quiz performance. The authors identified significant predictors of self-reported learning (deep approach and student perceptions of instructor) and quiz performance (grade point average and textbook helpfulness). These results highlight the complexity of examining student learning and suggest some important variables and problems for future research especially the need for a valid, reliable, measure of learning.
This book reviews research into student learning at university and into how teaching affects the quality of learning. It then uses the findings to suggest the implications for teaching.
Many students are being left behind by an educational system that some people believe is in crisis. Improving educational outcomes will require efforts on many fronts, but a central premise of this monograph is that one part of a solution involves helping students to better regulate their learning through the use of effective learning techniques. Fortunately, cognitive and educational psychologists have been developing and evaluating easy-to-use learning techniques that could help students achieve their learning goals. In this monograph, we discuss 10 learning techniques in detail and offer recommendations about their relative utility. We selected techniques that were expected to be relatively easy to use and hence could be adopted by many students. Also, some techniques (e.g., highlighting and rereading) were selected because students report relying heavily on them, which makes it especially important to examine how well they work. The techniques include elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, summarization, highlighting (or underlining), the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, rereading, practice testing, distributed practice, and interleaved practice.
To offer recommendations about the relative utility of these techniques, we evaluated whether their benefits generalize across four categories of variables: learning conditions, student characteristics, materials, and criterion tasks. Learning conditions include aspects of the learning environment in which the technique is implemented, such as whether a student studies alone or with a group. Student characteristics include variables such as age, ability, and level of prior knowledge. Materials vary from simple concepts to mathematical problems to complicated science texts. Criterion tasks include different outcome measures that are relevant to student achievement, such as those tapping memory, problem solving, and comprehension.
We attempted to provide thorough reviews for each technique, so this monograph is rather lengthy. However, we also wrote the monograph in a modular fashion, so it is easy to use. In particular, each review is divided into the following sections: General description of the technique and why it should work How general are the effects of this technique? 2a. Learning conditions 2b. Student characteristics 2c. Materials 2d. Criterion tasks Effects in representative educational contexts Issues for implementation Overall assessment
The review for each technique can be read independently of the others, and particular variables of interest can be easily compared across techniques.
To foreshadow our final recommendations, the techniques vary widely with respect to their generalizability and promise for improving student learning. Practice testing and distributed practice received high utility assessments because they benefit learners of different ages and abilities and have been shown to boost students’ performance across many criterion tasks and even in educational contexts. Elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and interleaved practice received moderate utility assessments. The benefits of these techniques do generalize across some variables, yet despite their promise, they fell short of a high utility assessment because the evidence for their efficacy is limited. For instance, elaborative interrogation and self-explanation have not been adequately evaluated in educational contexts, and the benefits of interleaving have just begun to be systematically explored, so the ultimate effectiveness of these techniques is currently unknown. Nevertheless, the techniques that received moderate-utility ratings show enough promise for us to recommend their use in appropriate situations, which we describe in detail within the review of each technique.
Five techniques received a low utility assessment: summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, and rereading. These techniques were rated as low utility for numerous reasons. Summarization and imagery use for text learning have been shown to help some students on some criterion tasks, yet the conditions under which these techniques produce benefits are limited, and much research is still needed to fully explore their overall effectiveness. The keyword mnemonic is difficult to implement in some contexts, and it appears to benefit students for a limited number of materials and for short retention intervals. Most students report rereading and highlighting, yet these techniques do not consistently boost students’ performance, so other techniques should be used in their place (e.g., practice testing instead of rereading).
Our hope is that this monograph will foster improvements in student learning, not only by showcasing which learning techniques are likely to have the most generalizable effects but also by encouraging researchers to continue investigating the most promising techniques. Accordingly, in our closing remarks, we discuss some issues for how these techniques could be implemented by teachers and students, and we highlight directions for future research.
University students are increasingly choosing to purchase e-textbooks for their mobile devices as an alternative to traditional textbooks. This study examines the relationship between textbook format and 538 university students' grades and perceived learning scores. Results demonstrate that there was no difference in cognitive learning and grades between the two groups, suggesting that the electronic textbook is as effective for learning as the traditional textbook. The mean scores indicated that students who chose e-textbooks for their education courses had significantly higher perceived affective learning and psychomotor learning than students who chose to use traditional print textbooks.
We converted the Teacher Behaviors Checklist (TBC; Buskist, Sikorski, Buckley, & Saville, 2002) to an evaluative instrument to assess teaching by adding specific instructions and a Likert-type scale. Factor analysis of the modified TBC produced 2 subscales: caring and supportive and professional competency and communication skills. Further psychometric analysis suggested the instrument possessed excellent construct validity and reliability, underscoring its potential as a tool for assessing teaching. This instrument clearly identifies specific target teaching behaviors that instructors can alter to attempt to improve their teaching effectiveness.
The race to replace traditional textbooks with electronic versions is on. Although electronic textbooks have been most carefully tested in university students, the Obama Administration is advocating their use in elementary and secondary schools. In February, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
Given their high cost, many students no longer buy textbooks for all of their courses, impacting their learning and performance in these courses. This is especially prevalent at community colleges. Open (digitally free) textbooks constitute one solution to this problem, but the latest national survey of college faculty found that 66% were not aware of open textbooks and 15% only somewhat aware. Because introductory psychology is psychology’s most popular course with 1–2 million students enrolled annually and almost 50% are community college students, we addressed this unawareness problem by providing analytical discussions of the viability of the open introductory textbooks presently available. We conclude that traditional textbooks are higher in quality, but open textbooks meet a specific market need.
"The book identifies excellent teachers in terms of their impact on students, shows how to use various methods to see one’s impact, focuses on how students go about successful learning, highlights how to construct assessment to provide feedback to teachers about their impact, and demonstrates how to become an excellent teacher. The rare beauty of this book is that it is based on evidence, not anecdotes." -John Hattie, the University of Melbourne, Australia
It is important to assess periodically how introductory textbooks portray our discipline because introductory psychology is the most popular psychology course, almost all teachers use textbooks for it, and textbooks play a major role in defining the course for students. To do so, past studies have used textbook citation analyses. We analyzed current textbooks to update the citation findings of these studies for the most cited articles, books, and psychologists. Many highly cited articles and books have decreased in citation frequency, likely due to a currency bias and authors’ citation preferences. Freud had the highest citation page count, reinforcing students’ misconception of his importance in contemporary scientific psychology. Our findings should help teachers in making choices about course content and emphases.
Does adaptive quizzing work in real classrooms? Limited previous research has yielded mixed results (e.g., Griff & Matter, 2013; Phelan & Phelan, 2011). Adaptive quizzing might provide an effective form of retrieval practice, but crucial questions exist about how students use it in the real world. In fact, adaptive quizzing could be harmful. In study 1, we show that students in sections of introductory psychology who are assigned 1 adaptive quizzing product (LearningCurve) learn the same amount as students who are not assigned adaptive quizzing. In study 2, we find that adaptive quizzing provided a wide range of both number of quiz questions completed and quiz question difficulty in a large introductory psychology class. Students who completed the assigned work and answered fewer, and more difficult, adaptive questions showed greater learning in the class, controlling for pretest psychology knowledge. We found no evidence that adaptive quizzing harmed students by leading to overconfidence. Students positively rated the system. However, few students used the system for deliberate retrieval practice, and adaptive quiz use was only modestly associated with learning and those gains were attenuated when pretest and SAT/ACT scores were controlled. Similar to many other educational tools, it is crucial to understand instructors’ goals for adaptive quizzing and how students use adaptive quizzing to find ways to maximize effective use.
The undergraduate curriculum in psychology profoundly reflects and shapes the discipline. Yet, reliable information on the undergraduate psychology curriculum has been difficult to acquire due to insufficient research carried out on unrepresentative program samples with disparate methods. In 2014, APA launched the first systematic effort in a decade to gather national data on the psychology major and program outcomes. We surveyed a stratified random sample of department chairs/coordinators of accredited colleges and universities in the United States that offer undergraduate courses and programs in psychology. A total of 439 undergraduate psychology programs (45.2%) completed the survey. This article summarizes, for both associate and baccalaureate programs, the results of the Undergraduate Study in Psychology. Current practices concerning the introductory course, the courses offered, core requirements, the psychology minor, and tracks/concentrations are presented. The frequency of formal program reviews and program-level assessment methods are also addressed. By extending prior research on the undergraduate curriculum, we chronicle longitudinal changes in the psychology major over the past 20 years.
Despite the fact the many textbook publishers offer several of their titles in digital format, the sale of e-textbooks have been less than stellar. This study investigates factors in the adoption of e-textbooks. Specifically, it examines students’ preferences toward printed versus electronic textbooks, and why they prefer one to the other. In general, students still prefer printed textbooks to electronic textbooks. The primary reason for their preference was because the students simply prefer print to digital. This study helps both textbook publishers and educators to better understand the reasons for e-textbook adoption and help determine ways to communicate the benefits of e-textbooks.
The Visible Learning research is based on a synthesis of 1200 meta-analyses relating to influences on achievement. This article focuses specifically on the evidence and implications for higher education teachers. As nearly every intervention can show some evidence of success, we need to ask not “What works?” but “What works best” and seek comparisons between different ways of influencing student learning. The major implications relate to teachers who work with others to seek evidence of their impact on students, who inform students early what success looks like especially about surface and deep learning, who provide appropriate levels of challenge and feedback, and who have aligned their claims about success, assessment, and teaching. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)
Four hundred and fifty-four students enrolled in introductory psychology at different institutions across the nation participated in a study of factors related to learning. Key measures included an instructor rating, ratings of textbook quality and helpfulness, study time, student self-evaluations of study behaviors, approach to learning, self-report of learning, and a measure of quiz performance using biopsychology and learning chapter questions from a College Board Advanced Placement exam. The authors found significant predictors of both self-reported learning (deep approach, less surface approach, instructor ratings, student self-evaluations, and study behaviors) and quiz performance (grade point average, study time, metacognitive activity, and less use of a surface approach to learning). These results are discussed in the context of optimizing student learning and providing a foundation for future research.
The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on a case study about one community college’s adoption of a free online psychology textbook. During the fall semester 2011, 690 students used this book. Compared with students using a traditional text in the spring of 2011, students who used the free online textbook scored higher on departmental final examinations, had higher grade point averages in the class and had higher retention rates.
Online instruction is quickly gaining in importance in U.S. higher education, but little rigorous evidence exists as to its effect on student learning. We measure the effect on learning outcomes of a prototypical interactive learning online statistics course by randomly assigning students on six public university campuses to take the course in a hybrid format (with machine-guided instruction accompanied by one hour of face-to-face instruction each week) or a traditional format (as it is usually offered by their campus, typically with about three hours of face-to-face instruction each week). We find that learning outcomes are essentially the same—that students in the hybrid format are not harmed by this mode of instruction in terms of pass rates, final exam scores, and performance on a standardized assessment of statistical literacy. We also conduct speculative cost simulations and find that adopting hybrid models of instruction in large introductory courses has the potential to significantly reduce instructor compensation costs in the long run.
We examined motivational orientations, cognitive–metacognitive strategies, and resource management in predicting academic achievement. Undergraduates (407) completed the Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire, Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale, Achievement Goal Inventory, and self-reported grade point average. A MANCOVA (controlling for sex and age) indicated that low self-efficacy students tended to believe intelligence is innate and unchangeable and high self-efficacy students pursued mastery goals involving challenge and gaining new knowledge as well as performance goals involving good grades and outperforming others. Further, hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that self-efficacy, effort regulation, and help-seeking predicted 18% of the variance in GPA. Interestingly, effort regulation partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and GPA. Overall, self-efficacious students are able to achieve academically because they monitor and self-regulate their impulses and persist in the face of difficulties. We discuss implications of these findings for educators seeking to strengthen both self-efficacy and effort regulation towards increasing academic achievement.
Identifying the best predictors of academic performance is crucial for postsecondary institutions seeking students with the greatest promise. We investigated the relative strength of standardized test scores (ACT), high school GPA, and non-cognitive, college readiness skills in predicting college GPA. College freshmen (505) completed the 108-item Student Readiness Inventory (Le, Casillas, Robbins & Langley, 2005) and reported their high school GPA. We also obtained college GPA for 375 students from college records. In Study 1, MANOVA results showed that students in groups with higher high school GPA or lower ACT reported increased college readiness. In Study 2, regression analyses showed that although ACT scores predicted 13% of the variance in college GPA, high school GPA predicted an additional 11%, and Academic discipline, a non-cognitive factor, predicted an extra 2%. Further, Academic discipline partially mediated the relationship between high school GPA and college GPA. We discuss implications of identifying and assisting “at-risk” students.
While e-book sales continue to increase, electronic textbooks are not very popular with college students. This may be due to the fact that e-textbooks are read for different reasons and with different strategies than are e-books. Although previous research has documented this lack of preference for e-textbooks, student performance and use of electronic texts has yet to be thoroughly investigated, especially in naturalistic settings. This study examines students' use and performance on a variety of print and electronic formats in both laboratory and at-home conditions. Although students scored similarly across formats and conditions, reading time was significantly higher in the electronic conditions with this difference increasing for the home conditions. Similarly, self-reports of multi-tasking were significantly higher for electronic conditions in the home condition, possibly accounting for the disparities in reading time. We conclude by urging caution in the rush to assume that electronic textbooks are equivalent substitutes for traditional textbooks and argue for further investigation into the unique ways that students may interact with electronic texts to promote more effective design.
Introductory psychology is one of the most popular undergraduate courses and often serves as the gateway to choosing psychology as an academic major. However, little research has examined the typical structure of introductory psychology courses. The current study examined student learning objectives (SLOs) and course content in introductory psychology syllabi (N = 158). SLOs were mapped to the APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major. Content analysis was based on the principles for quality undergraduate education promulgated by the American Psychological Association. Over 50% of the syllabi contained objectives specific to the science and application of psychology (knowledge base, research methods, and application). Analysis of content coverage revealed instructors spent significantly more time on topics related to physiological and cognitive psychology and spent significantly less time on topics related to the history and scope of psychology, research methods, and developmental psychology. The current study also explored the influence of instructor specialty area on content coverage.
Study habit, skill, and attitude inventories and constructs were found to rival standardized tests and previous grades as predictors of academic performance, yielding substantial incremental validity in predicting academic performance. This meta-analysis (N = 72,431, k = 344) examines the construct validity and predictive validity of 10 study skill constructs for college students. We found that study skill inventories and constructs are largely independent of both high school grades and scores on standardized admissions tests but moderately related to various personality constructs; these results are inconsistent with previous theories. Study motivation and study skills exhibit the strongest relationships with both grade point average and grades in individual classes. Academic specific anxiety was found to be an important negative predictor of performance. In addition, significant variation in the validity of specific inventories is shown. Scores on traditional study habit and attitude inventories are the most predictive of performance, whereas scores on inventories based on the popular depth-of-processing perspective are shown to be least predictive of the examined criteria. Overall, study habit and skill measures improve prediction of academic performance more than any other noncognitive individual difference variable examined to date and should be regarded as the third pillar of academic success.
© 2008 Association for Psychological Science.
We examined the perceptions and performance of students who used an electronic versus a traditional paper textbook. Introductory psychology students (N = 392) who chose between the 2 formats did not differ in course grades. However, students using the electronic text reported spending less time reading for class compared to students using the paper text and generally evaluated the electronic text unfavorably. No student who purchased an electronic text in a prior class chose to purchase it for introductory psychology. These findings suggest that it may be premature to abandon the paper text in favor of the electronic text.
I tested whether students' scores on the semester's first exam would change their reported use of textbook pedagogical aids during the course of the semester. I assessed 240 introductory psychology undergraduates early and late in the semester. The reported use of aids did not positively relate to student performance on any exams and showed only limited changes over the course of the semester. Poor scores on the first exam led only to small increases in the use of summary sections. Furthermore, the use of aids such as boldface terms decreased. Men and more able students used aids less, and women showed greater decreases in the perceived helpfulness of some aids over the semester.
Previous research has demonstrated that the experience of reading e-books is not equivalent to reading textbooks. This study examines factors influencing preference for e-books as well as reported use of e-book content. Although the present student cohort is the most technologically savvy to ever enter universities, students do not prefer e-books over textbooks regardless of their gender, computer use or comfort with computers. No significant correlations existed between the number of e-books previously used and overall preference of e-books: Participants who had previously used an e-book still preferred print texts for learning. Despite the ability to easily access supplemental content through e-books via hyperlinks and other features, students were more likely to use special features in print books than in e-books.
This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps =.340,.359, and.366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps =.496 and.303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes.
OER Research Hub Data 2013-2015: Educators. OER Research Hub. Retrieved from https
- B Arcos
- R Farrow
- R Pitt
- L Perryman
- M Weller
- B. Arcos
- R. Farrow
- R. Pitt
- L. Perryman
- M. Weller
Assessing the impact and efficacy of the open-access ChemWiki textbook project
- G Allen
- A Grumanalvarez
- M Molinaro
- D S Larsen
- G. Allen
- A. Gruman-Alvarez
- M. Molinaro
- D. S. Larsen
Opening the curriculum: Open educational resources in U. S. higher education, 2014. Retrieved from http
- I E Allen
- J Seaman
- I. E. Allen
- J. Seaman
The nonobvious advantages of open digital textbooks
- R Biswasdiener
- R. Biswas-Diener
Discovering psychology: The science of mind
- J T Cacioppo
- L A Freberg
- J. T. Cacioppo
- L. A. Freberg
What can OER do for me? Evaluating the claims for OER Open: The philosophy and practices that are revolutionizing education and science
- M Weller
- B De Los Arcos
- R Farrow
- R Pitt
- P Mcandrew
- M. Weller
- B. de los Arcos
- R. Farrow
- R. Pitt
- P. McAndrew
- R. S. Jhangiani
- R. Biswas-Diener
College textbooks: Enhanced offerings appear to drive recent price increases
- Government Accounts Office
The adoption of open education resources by one community college math department. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning. Advance online publication
- J Hilton
- D Iiigaudet
- P Clark
- J Robinson
- D Wiley
- J. Hilton
- D. Gaudet
- P. Clark
- J. Robinson
- D. Wiley
Open: The philosophy and practices that are revolutionizing education and science
- R S Jhangiani
- R Biswasdiener
- R. S. Jhangiani
- R. Biswas-Diener
Highlights from student watch attitudes and behaviors toward course materials 2016-17 report. Retreived from http
- National Association of College Stores
Open etextbooks: The billion-dollar solution. Retrieved from http://studentpirgs.org/sites/student
- E Senack
- E. Senack
ASSIST: A re-conceptualisation of the Approaches to Studying Inventory
- H Tait
- N J Entwistle
- V Mccune
- H. Tait
- N. J. Entwistle
- V. McCune
- C. Rust
Comparing student perceptions of textbooks: Does liking influence learning?
- R A R Gurung
- R E Landrum
- R. A. R. Gurung
- R. E. Landrum
A closer look at how students study (and if it matters)
- R A R Gurung
- J Weidert
- A S Jeske
- R. A. R. Gurung
- J. Weidert
- A. S. Jeske